Job Shadowing with My Sister in Colorado

Career Shadowing 2

Job Shadowing With My Sister in Colorado

In this career exploration, I have had the chance to shadow my sister in her cellular phone retail store. This was a possible path I was thinking about taking dealing with management and owner aspect of a business. After being able to spend time with her and observe her everyday tasks and challenges, I have been able to have a better understanding of what this career path might mirror for me.

I was able to identify what originally interested my sister in starting this type of business. Her main drive is that she enjoys retail work, and she likes to interact with people. She definitely enjoys being her own boss. I have often found myself wanting to be my own boss; although, I found out quickly that it meant having a lot of self discipline and motivation. Being able to make your own schedule and rules would seem appealing to anyone. The difference, when you are the boss, is that all the income and the success of a business depends on you instead of someone else. Also, it seems that being your own boss requires extra hours and hard work. On that note, you also have a sense of pride and are able to enjoy all the benefits.

My sister completed her Bachelor's degree in both business administration as well as business management at USC of Pueblo in Colorado. This was a step toward her being able to obtain and begin a new business from the ground up. As I was able to

Career Shadowing 3

see firsthand during my observance, the education has paid off in her success as a business owner that it makes me want to pursue my education even further.

Since she only has one employee who works opposite days from her, my sister deals directly with customers and handles the daily financial transactions. She is responsible for the reconciliation of the finances each day and stays in communication with the corporate office for which she represents. Since she is a franchise of the company, she must follow all policies and procedures of the company in reference to the products and services she provides to her customers.

When I asked her what the most rewarding aspect of her job was, she replied, "Providing number one customer satisfaction, being my own boss, and enjoy the overall interaction with diverse people." I could only envision myself as a business owner, because I also enjoy interaction with others and have always been a "people person."

As we all know we do not like everything about our jobs, so there were a few things that she was dissatisfied with in her career. The portion she didn't care for the most was the travel, which is not involved in all retail business owners' daily routine. She opened the store in a market with little saturation of the product she