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Purpose
Purpose
At Romo's Power wash I was a shadow assistant to the owner of the company. Within this role my responsibilities were to help with the invoicing and contract negotiations. During this time I learned how to negotiate with different type of cultures and beliefs. I also gained knowledge on how to manage teams without supervision and still being able to rely on them. The most important thing that I feel was learning how to negotiate with people and making them happy while I still benefit.
Prior Experience
Prior Experience
During my time with Romo's Power Wash, I was able to connect the material that I learned in class to develop my skills further in the workplace. For example, when I was in my Computer In Business class I was able to get certified in Microsoft Excel which made my time with the company so much easier. Working as a team on group assignments in class allowed me to manage the tasks that the owner of the company had told me to delegate within the other teams of the company.
It is very important to be able to manage technology and be able to work as a team in order to succeed in the workplace. All my other experiences from my past jobs also helped succeed. Before this opportunity I worked in a company that allowed me to learn how to invoice, and create contracts. So when it came time to create contracts with Romo's Power Wash I had a foundation of knowledge to start.
Community Connections
Community Connections
While my time with Romo's Power Wash I was envolved with many different people. Although they were mainly from the Latin Community, I dealt also with people from the black community and the white community. As the owner's shadow I had the privilege to be able to treat people in the minority communities with respect and equality. Something that I learned they did not have when it came to negotiations or as business owners.
Since I am bilingual in Spanish and English, I concentrated more on the Latin Community. My role was to interpret their needs and come up with a potential offer to present before making it a contract. I would frequently be on calls with people from Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. Although we all spoke Spanish I learned that the interpretation of words were different for each culture.
New Skills/Lessons
New Skills/Lessons
I discovered that when you humble yourself and make yourself accesible to those that you want to negotiate with it turns out better. For example, when it came to small business owners; Ruben, the owner of Romo's Power Wash; he would approach them in everyday clothes and with a freindly attitude. Ruben would specifically tell me to wear jeans and polo shirt when it came to them, just so that they did not think that we were trying to place ourselves at a higher level than themselves.
Now when it came time for the big company negotiations he would always instruct me to wear the best clothes I could. For as he put it, they are the country club members that think they ride the high and mighty horse. Although I thought that he was just joking, when it came to the meetings I really did see the difference. Now when it comes to the tasks I learned how to create contracts from scratch and be more confident when it came to manage a team.
Impact
Impact
The opportunity had a huge impact on me. It confirmed the goals that I had established for myself. I want to become a business owner, I do not want to work for a big corporation all my life.My next step in life is to finish my career and raise potentially enough money to either buy or start a agricultural machinery dealership.
Not only did the job have an impact on me but the community that I was working with, being around people from my community just allowed me to want to better myself and know it is possible. When I met a customer called Chanate, it completely changed the way I viewed things. He is possibly one of the richest men in the city and yet he is so humble you wouldn't be able to tell. The man did not wear any expensive clothes or drive an expensive car. Chanate literally drove and old truck and work clothes.
Career Connections
Career Connections
While my time at IUPUI I am going to concentrate myself on building connections with important people. I want to make sure that as soon as I graduate I will be able to have people that can connect me with agricultural auctions or farmers that could potentially sell for cheap. This experience has opened my eyes to not only investing in one area but into many differnet lines of revenue.
For example, if I sell agricultural equipment I can also sell parts for them or seed as well as animal feed. This connected with my career goals because Ruben is involved in cars and has a life that is in constant negotiations which is something I love to do. He not only has his power wash clients but he also sells cars to customers from Mexico and Puerto Rico and Honduras. These customers later transport them into their countries which is something that I am interested in learning so that I can know the process to do it myself.
Summary
Summary
My biggest takeaway from this experience is that anything is possible. All that is needed is dedication an hard work to accomplish your own goals. It was a fun and intellectual experience, it allowed me to fine my skills in negotiations and contract writing.
While I was also working with the company team building skills were also worked on, I was able to manage teams to be able to accomplish tasks by the due dates given to us by the owner. Overall, I really enjoyed working with the company. I felt like I was actually making a difference within the company because I dipped my toes into different departments of the company.
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