My internship
For my internship this year I planned to find a company specialized in AI, and obtain a spot. I reached out to various companies, but due to Covid, most couldn't take in anyone new. This process took a few months, and while I did find a place accepting remote interns, I could only attend full time meaning I had to start in the summer. At this point, first semester was coming to a close, meaning I needed to pivot quickly. Luckily, another learner in my class had taken on a substantial project and offered me to join. He planned to start a car washing business in Alameda, so as the new year rolled around we got to work.
Week 1 (1/3 - 1/9)
Hours: 2
Much of the first week was spent getting me up to speed. This project, not only had been in the works for the past semester, but a bit over a year, so much of the prior research had to be passed down to me.
After getting caught up, we dove headfirst into creating our business plan. This consisted of a variety of things, including executive summaries, defining principle members/ legal positions, creating statements about the industry, customer base projections, and more. The tasks varied in difficulty and time, but the process was well documented online which helped quite a bit. It also gave us a much realer look at how the business would turn out, and what we would need to do.
Week 2 (1/10 - 1/16)
Hours: 3
Week two started just as the first concluded: with us continuing to work on our business plan. However, it was here when we hit a bit of a snag. The barrier to entry kept growing; between getting a loan, construction, and permits, we realized it would be incredibly difficult to get this done, especially if we wanted something to show by the end of the year. I felt bad doing so (especially because I joined so deep into the project), but I suggested we reevaluate either our end goal (possibly complete the business on paper, until a later date) or switch up our approach. We took a night to sleep on it, and like magic, by our next meeting we came up with a solution. Instead of a full-fledged car wash, we would capitalize on the same need, and do a mobile car wash. This was as close to a perfect solution as we could get, as we could still use all of our previous work and research while completely sidestepping all of the most pressing issues of the previous idea. We took the rest of the week to flesh out this idea further, essentially catching up to where we were before.
Week 3 (1/17 - 1/23)
Hours: 1
This week we slowed down considerably. Both of us were busy with other work, so I took the week to talk the idea over with various people, getting their opinion and a few ideas to bring back once we started working again.
Week 4 (1/24 - 1/30)
Hours: 8
In contrast to last time, this week was anything but slow. My partner called me, claiming they had mapped out exactly what we needed to buy and how much it would all cost. We took a few days to discuss this list, mull over the details, and finalize many of the items. This let us map out a detailed calendar of what we need to do, and by when (this included acts like, designing shirts/advertisements, making a website for orders to come in, etc).
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Money was still a slight issue as despite cutting out much of the fat, vital items like a pressure washer, water tank, and general materials set the minimum price of entry at about $1000, or $500 each. This is something we talked about extensively, eventually realizing we still needed some form of outside funding, something that could prove to be a major roadblock.
Week 5 (1/31 - 2/6)
Hours: 4
This week we largely kept up the pace, as on Sunday we knocked out our first list item, and designed our business cards. This proved to be more difficult than initially expected, as we spent a large amount of time researching different printing companies and general design tips before starting. We had to decide what information was most important, what size to make everything, etc. In the end, it turned out fine, and it was nice to check off the first main item from our list. We followed this up with even more graphic design, using a similar process to knock out the flier, car magnets, and uniforms.
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This put us ahead of our schedule, but we continued our productive spell with a batch of research on each of our items, ensuring we were getting exactly what we needed, the quality was good, and it was as inexpensive as possible. All in all, our ideal layout would cost us $1350, although there were a few optional things we could cut out if need be.
Week 6 (2/7 - 2/13)
Hours: 4
With a bit of extra time on our hands, we decided to slow down on the main item lists and spend some time figuring out how we could get the money to actually start this. We were both quite hesitant to go straight to the bank, as it would be a pretty hard sell, and paying back interest could be a problem. We decided to look into getting the money from CCEF, as it was for a school project. We got in contact with the CCEF president, making and presenting a slideshow detailing our project. Unsurprisingly, she didn't think we could get the full amount from the board, but suggested we ask for part of it and fundraise the rest.
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We both liked this idea quite a bit, and spent the rest of the week planning a pitch to CCEF for the next meeting. This included working out the logistics of the fundraiser, filling out a funding request form, and creating a presentation for the meeting.
Week 7 (2/14 - 2/20)
Hours: 1
This week we had off of school which would have been great, if not for us both being busy with other work. We managed to spend a bit of time working on the CCEF, but there wasn't much we could do outside of the meeting.
Week 8 (2/21 - 2/27)
Hours: 1
Another slow week. For the most part, we only attended the CCEF meeting. Luckily, however, we got our grant passed, and can now move on the next steps in planning the event. Thins should pick up from here on.
Closing Statements
Total Hours (so far): 24
It feels weird writing this before finishing my internship, but I do have to turn something in eventually.
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Throught my time working on this internship I've learned a lot. While part of me regrets the time spent working on the parts of this that were eventually scrapped, it gave me a much better understanding of the business starting process. While I have no major intentions of starting that kind of business any time soon, I at least know where I would start. I'm sure things like writing grants, creating pitches, market research, and selling ideas will be great skills to have for many of my other enevours down the line.
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Other than a more technical side of things, the many people I've interacted with have been a highlight of this project.
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Overall, all I can say is that I'm excited to keep working on this throughout the following months!