Isaiah Sparks

Responsibilities

My responsibilities included planning and creating displays using merchandise, inventory management, restocking merchandise, opening and closing the shop, attending to customers, buying products within a specific category of merchandise, and assisting in planning and implementing a store liquidation.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment was the capstone project that I completed throughout the course of my internship. I developed a buying plan for a specific category of merchandise. I held a focus group, browsed through numerous catalogs, took notes of merchandise that sold well, received and took note of merchandise that customers frequently asked for, talked to sales representatives, attended a vendor market, and compiled all of this together to create a buying plan for several items that I know will have great success in generating revenue.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson that I learned was to not be afraid to seek out help if I was unsure about something. There are plenty of individuals that may have more knowledge than me in a particular field and I should acknowledge that and use it as an opportunity to grow.

What advice would you give?

Try to do what you love! It’s much more fulfilling when you find something that you love to do and make a living at the same time. There are so many options and paths that you can take with your career, don’t limit yourself to a narrow field of view!