While Winter Quarter May Be Coming to an End, BUSN 188 Is Only Just Beginning
Well here we are, week 10 of Winter Quarter, with only a couple of days until our finals begin. However, unlike a majority of my classes, which have been wrapping up, my BUSN 188 class (or the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative Program) feels like it is just now picking up. For those of you who don’t know, the “Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative Program” is a 2-quarter ELSJ class offered here at Santa Clara, that allows groups of students to team up with local small businesses in the San Jose area. The students are given a budget of $3000 to plan and implement business improvements such as adjustments in sales, operations and/or marketing. My business, Floreria Juanita, is a small flower shop run by mother-daughter duo, Esthela and Sandra Herrera. Throughout the quarter my group has gotten to know Esthela and Sandra on a personal level and has begun brainstorming different things we can do to help their business succeed.
This week my team and I presented all of our research on the flower selling industry, along with specific information about Floreria Juanita that we have learned throughout the quarter. Specifically, we compared basic characteristics of Floreria, such as appearance, pricing, location and finances, with other flower shops in the area. After visiting an assortment of different flower shops my group concluded that, while Floreria’s pricing is competitive, both their storefront and online presence are lacking. Unlike all of the other shops, Floreria doesn’t seem to have an apparent theme or ambiance in the store with their products ranging from extremely nice flower arrangements to Avengers party balloons. One of the main things that my team plans to focus on next quarter is improving the shop's interior through the purchase of fake plants and a more uniform decor.
We wrapped up our presentation by going over all of the improvements we hope to make next quarter. In addition to improving Floreria’s storefront, we are planning to help them organize their website by adding new, professional photos of their arrangements, and making their delivery page easier to use. We are also hoping to take advantage of the upcoming “prom season” and work with local high schools to set up mass orders of boutonnieres and corsages. These products are extremely cheap and easy to make and, because of that, Esthela and Sandra are willing to sell them at a really low cost. Lastly, my group is in the process of creating a new logo for the business as they are hoping to change their name to “Juanita’s Bouquets” this spring.
So while Winter Quarter may be coming to an end, BUSN 188 is only just beginning. I am beyond excited to start putting our plan to action and begin seeing improvements in Floreria Juanita’s business this spring!