Irvin Baker is looking for a career after high school.  He knows he wants to open his own business someday, but, is not quite sure what type of business.  Irvin decided to interview Raul Berrios, owner of RulyScapes Landscaping out of Centreville, Virginia (http://www.rulyscapes.com), to learn more about business ownership and the landscape industry.  He also learned how EF skills play an intricate part in life after school.

An informational interview is a brief meeting between a person who wants to investigate a career and a person working in that career. The goal of an Informational Interview is for a job seeker to learn about a certain career or industry of a potential interest.  This differs from a job interview because the conversation is not about hiring, or a specific job, it is to gain knowledge about a career or industry. The interviewer asks general questions about the nature of the company, or the industry, in order to gain knowledge about the career.  The questions are prepared ahead of time by the person conducting the interview.  The interview usually last 20 to 30 minutes at the most.

Here are a few things Irvin learned in the interview about opening a business:

• Start with writing an official Small Business Plan (Task Initiation)
  • https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan/write-your-business-plan-template
• Have a business education background to include Marketing and Finance training (Growth Mindset)
  • Go to NVCC or take ACE courses
• If it is a seasonal business like landscaping learn how to stretch your company finances over the slow season or have another seasonal business like snow plowing to cover the slow periods. (Metacognition)
• Be able to supervise & manage people (Time Management)
  • hire good people to help you so you do not have to do everything yourself.
• Be able to Network with people for marketing your business.
  • Use your local business organizations such as Chambers of Commerce etc….(Flexibility)
• Have money to invest in the start-up of the business such as for equipment & maintaining equipment, hiring employees & marketing (Task Initiation)
• Always have goals & objectives for growth and progress (Goal Directed Persistence & Sustained Attention)
  • Continue to focus on these goals and set new goals
• Work in the actual industry to know if you really like it & to learn all aspects of the career.
• Have great planning & organization skills (Planning & Organization)