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That’s a wrap!

Friday, April 27th, 2012

The internship has finally ended and it has been quite the ride! Highs and lows filled with learning experiences, made friends along the way, and got great work experience to help me get that next job! Now that this experience is over, I can reflect on all I have learned about myself. Coming into this internship, I was very unsure about which direction I wanted to take with my career (besides the dream of working in action sports!) I wasn’t sure what area; marketing or sales I wanted to focus on. I ended up being put on the sales team. With no experience in this area prior to the internship, I didn’t have much confidence and wasn’t sure if I could sell. Over the last 4 months, I have pushed myself into uncomfortable situations through visiting skate parks, skate shops, and events to practice my sales approach. The biggest thing I have gained from all this is confidence and belief in myself. As an end result, I introduced our brand into 7 new shops and gained some applicable experience that I think will really stand out on my resume. Whether I choose to stay in action sports or not, the experience gained here is applicable to other industries.

I would also like to give other potential interns who are reading these blogs and thinking about whether or not this internship is for them some advice. Expect to commit a huge chunk of time and effort to this internship! Be prepared to give your time to BambooSK8 without being compensated monetarily. It is a sacrifice but BambooSK8 will compensate you in other ways; such as experience, friends, and recommendations. Do not come in with the expectation that this is an ordinary internship in which you can skate by! (excuse the pun haha) Treat it like a job, because it is one and your livelihood depends on it!

BambooSK8 – OUT!

Panda at the BambooSK8 Grind for Life end of internship event!

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BambooSK8 at the ECO FEST 2012! (and skateshop of the month)

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Last Friday, Dave and I attended the Eco Fest at California State San Bernardino. The Eco Fest is part of a sustainable living tour to educate people on the benefits of sustainable alternatives. We thought this would be the perfect place to showcase our skateboards built of bamboo! Props to Tameka (PR) for getting us a vendor booth at the event! Dave and I were able to educate the masses on the benefits of using a bamboo skateboard. Everyone was really positive and receptive to the message we came to deliver. We even sold some decks in the process! Events like these are really great for spreading the word on BambooSK8 because it helps us build the brand and build a positive image. I hope future interns take advantage of opportunities like this and continue spreading the word!

Also, don’t forget to check out BambooSK8’s video feature on Soul Grind as our shop of the month for April!

http://youtu.be/M6ZBqelDL_I

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Check BambooSK8 out on KRUSH beginning 4/02!

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Coming into the final month, I am amazed with how much I have learned in 3 months. The internship experience has had its ups and downs, long hours have been put in, but I can really see this effort paying off. It pays off not only for what I learn as an individual, but also for the company. Facebook and Twitter followers are growing, sales are increasing, and BambooSK8 is being represented in more publications and websites. One of my commitments I can say that I am truly proud of, is expanding the exposure of the BambooSK8 brand through different online, sales outlets. A couple weeks ago, I coordinated a sale of long board completes to run with a member only action sports site for super discounted deals (www.thryll.com). Next week, beginning on 4/2, I will be running another event with KRUSH. KRUSH is a really cool website that exposes actions sports brands to a market that is in touch with that type of lifestyle. In addition to using this new audience for posting our products for sale, KRUSH also uses a customer feedback system. With this system, products are rated and reviewed to help identify trends and to help us make changes and improvements to the BambooSK8 brand. Be sure to check our Sneak Peek running through www.krush.com next week!

 

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Learning from the Big Dawgs!

Saturday, March 17th, 2012

So, we have this thing called the MPS (Management Performance System) at BambooSK8. It allows us to set, measure, and track to goals both individually and as a team. This has been instrumental in helping my personal progress throughout the internship. For one, I never consistently set specific goals and frequently checked my progress toward them. With the current system we have in place, I am forced to stay on top of my goals. Every week, I am working toward a weekly goal that eventually cumulates in a monthly or semester period goal. Using this system, I am constantly aware of where I stand in relation to my goals. Additionally, when I begin to add numbers to this to track my success, I am able to see areas I can improve upon to better reach my goals. Overall, it has really helped to contribute to my success while in the internship program with BambooSK8.

Beyond the MPS, I am learning tons of information from the big bosses at BambooSK8. Through constant feedback and constructive criticism, I am gradually becoming stronger in areas such as attention to detail, focusing on effective communication, and how to lead a team. We can also learn about life at BambooSk8. Our CEO has a fresh, insightful outlook on life, which I am beginning to apply to my own.

Cheers!

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Halftime!

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

 

This internship is incredibly fun yet challenging at the same time. We just got passed our midterm exam this week! Income statements, cash flows, gross profit margins! Sounds like Accounting101 right? I know this isn’t supposed to be school, but the concepts covered in this exam (which are continually built upon in everything we do is truly valuable to running a business) sure makes it seem like it!

 

Beyond all the hard work put into this internship, I have to say that working in the action sports industry is definitely as cool as I pictured it. The people are awesome, from the interns and mentors at BambooSK8, to all the shop owners and industry leaders I have met throughout this experience. People working in this industry work here for a reason, because they love what they do! The love for what they do is reflected in the amount of dedication and professionalism that each one of them puts into their work. Looking forward to the 2nd half!

Just Another Day in the Office!

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6 down, 10 to go!

Friday, February 17th, 2012

I am learning a lot with BambooSK8. When it comes to business, it really is amazing to see how a company works. With BambooSK8, you have the ability to see it very clearly because it is such a small company. I am able to quickly recognize the tremendous value each employee adds to the company, even the interns! Once again, since it is small, all the employees wear multiple hats. One day you can be working on sales, another marketing, and the next managing how the company operates. Being able to see and experience all these different roles first hand has also allowed me to learn what I do like and what I do not like. One example of something I learned about myself is that I can be salesperson. I never really considered myself a person with a sales mentality, but I have gotten a chance to learn this skill with BambooSK8. I have found that not only I can do it, but also I enjoy it. I enjoy the aspect to it of building relationships with people. It is also interesting to me to see how sales affects and adds value to a business firsthand.

Trying to manage all the different tasks with the various roles I mentioned above is not easy. That is why the leadership at this company is crucial. The president of the company, Geoff, does a good job at this. When he shows us the importance of what we are doing and stresses that what we achieve here will ultimately determine our next jobs; this helps to keep me on track and motivated. It also spurs on myself and other interns step up and assume leadership roles. This internship is 16 weeks long. Six weeks are in the books with ten now to go. Leadership will be critical to ensure we meet our goals in these remaining weeks.

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Off to a fast start!

Friday, February 3rd, 2012
The Bamboo decks I am selling at skate shops and skate parks!

We are already into week 4 of the internship! I have to admit that I did not think this internship would be such a big commitment when I signed up for it.  I am finding it is difficult to meet my 20 hour requirement while also working another job.  It is definitely a sacrifice to do something like this without being paid. With that being said, I believe this internship will pay dividends down the road. The things I am learning about business will make me much more marketable when this internship is completed.  Even more importantly, I am learning more about myself. Since I still do not know exactly what I want to do for a career, I like the fact that I am exposed to every area at BambooSk8 from marketing to sales to operations and inventory. I think working a little bit in each of these areas will help me identify what I do like and what I don’t like so I know what to focus on when I get out of here.

Even though we are only interns, we are definitely not treated like interns. We have access to all their information, facilities, etc. from Day 1. We are held accountable for meeting our goals. The office is super cool too. It is a laid back environment but everyone works really hard! Being connected to the warehouse and getting to see all their products helps even further to understand the Bamboo business model.  And finally, a company wouldn’t be anything without good people.  The mentors here are all dedicated to helping us succeed. On top of that, they are fun to hang out with. Since I work in the office on Fridays, I am around when they make their weekend plans so I got a chance to hang out with the crew for pizza and drinks Friday night, good times!

 

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Hello Bamboo!

Friday, January 20th, 2012

It’s been quite a ride for me to get to where I am with BambooSk8 today. So I guess I’ll begin with where it all started. I was born and raised in a suburb of Connecticut about an hour outside of New York City. I continued on to Penn State University where I had a great college experience. After college, I followed what I thought was the expected path and took the 1st high paying job I was offered without really giving much thought to what I really wanted to do with my life.  After 18 months working back in Connecticut with a well known insurance company spending most of my days in a cubicle managing multiple Excel spreadsheets, I decided I had enough. So I quit my job and moved to South Lake Tahoe, CA in December of 2010. I spent the winter working for Heavenly Mountain Resort and snowboarding just about every day. Life was good, but as spring came and the snow melted I knew it wouldn’t last. But what I did realize was that I wanted to work around something that I was passionate about. For me, that was snowboarding, or really anything in the Action Sports Industry. So when I moved in with some old college buddies in San Diego this past July, I got an awesome internship with an upcoming snowboarding magazine called SBX Magazine. I learned a lot about marketing and worked with some really great people. However, I knew that working in the Action Sports Industry was difficult to break into. I just didn’t have enough connections or experience. So I got a job valet parking to pay the bills here in SD while I refocused on my search for a more traditional career. But I did still frequently peruse Malakye (the job listing site for action sports), which is where I found the opening with BambooSk8. So here I am today, trying to give another shot at following my passions by working with BambooSk8!

 

PS. Attached are a couple photos from my winter in Lake Tahoe, there is one that might give you an idea about how much it dumped last winter!

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