My first day of Senior Projects was both difficult and
exciting.
It was difficult, because I learned that my shipment of
oyster seed would not be ready until much later into the project. Therefore I have had to make some changes
already. Disappointing as it was, I
decided not to perform scientific research on the oysters. I felt that the period of time that I would
have the new seed would be too short to have legitimate data, and the year old
oysters would not show enough growth since the water temperatures are so cold.
While I am sad that this development means not being able preform
research the baby oysters, it comes with some distinct advantages.
I decided that since I will not have a research component to
my project, I will have to focus more on making a comprehensive and workable
business model for a start up oyster farm.
I am hoping to talk to several local hatcheries, farms, suppliers,
distributors, and banks to gain a full and rounded understanding of the
business. I am actually quite excited
for that aspect of my project. When I
met with Captain Bill today for lunch, we discussed the various contacts that
Mrs. Leary and he have that would be able to speak with me. They all sounded interesting and intelligent
and I am looking forward to meeting and talking to them.
I think the first people I will contact will be banks. I am hoping to discuss how to put together a
business plan and proposal and also what they look for when someone is applying
for a business loan. So, tomorrow I will
am going to go to Eastern Bank (the one located near Cumberland Farms). Captain Bill recommended them, since they
deal with many of the fishermen in the area.
Today was definitely not what I expected from my first
day. I really thought that I would hit the ground running and be a lot more sure of what I was doing. It was really hard learning my shipment was late and making the decision not experiment on the oysters, but I think it was the more reasonable thing to do given the circumstances.
However I
was surprised by how excited I was to embark on this different angle to my
project. Since my mom was once a movie
production accountant, I always tended to steer clear of business and “mathy”
type things, since I assumed it was boring and for "grownups." However I myself found genuinely interested in my Managerial Accounting for
Dummies book, since it seemed like intricate puzzle more than anything else.
