Water Sports Retail Associate (Job Post Assignment)

Water Sports Retail Associate

Everyone always tells you that you should get a job doing something you love. But how many people actually do this? As a water sports retail associate, I do. Many people have no idea what this job is, which is why I will outline what a day in the life of a water sports retail associate is.

A Water Sports Retail Associate is a person who researches, markets, and sells the most cutting-edge products in the water sports industry. The only people who appreciate this role are individuals who enjoy water sports. Do not confuse us with the typical retail associate at your local Zumiez. In this position, it is required to have interest and knowledge in the water sports industry in order to be successful.

There are three descriptions that can summarize the main duties of a Water Sports Retail Associate:

*      Expert

*      Promoter

*      Anchor

I will describe these duties using real examples from my time in this position.

EXPERT

Being an expert includes the following:

*      Learning from brand ambassadors about new product lines and features.

*      Understanding the differences between each brand.

*      Knowing which products are best suited for each customer need.

For instance, a family comes into my store looking to purchase a new wakeboard for their daughter who has never wakeboarded before. In this case, I would bring them to the board room and outline the different boards available from each brand. brand offers its’ own unique competitive advantage over the other, so I would outline each for the family to narrow their scope to one brand. From there, I would use my knowledge of the products to recommend a board from that brand that offers the most stability and balance for their beginner daughter.

PROMOTER

In this duty, it is the responsibility of the associate to generate awareness of new products available in order to create business. This is accomplished through the following:

*      Using the newest equipment when we are on the water.

*      Creating marketing material for social media platforms.

*      Providing opportunities for potential customers to test new products.

As a promoter, we must incentivize people to purchase these new products. At the company I work for, we are given the newest surfboards every year to use when we went out on the water. When people see these boards, they often ask about them and want to try them out. We then film videos of us using these boards that we later post on social media, advertising their new features and availability at our store. Additionally, advertise events where any potential client can come try the boards for themselves.

ANCHOR

The final role of being a water sports retail associate is being an anchor to our clients. We must earn credibility and trust by:

*      Creating a personal relationship with clients to build comfort in their purchase decision.

*      Establishing credibility for the recommendations made on certain products.

*      Building a reputation among clients as being an accredited salesperson.

This is the most important part of the job. Clients in the water sports industry are very interconnected. Each client I work with knows at least one other client. This can be either the most helpful or difficult factor in the job. If a client is satisfied with the product, they will most likely recommend their friends to work with me on their purchases. This makes it easier to establish a sense of familiarity with clients, earning their trust. However, if I client is unsatisfied with the product, my reputation in the water sports industry will likely suffer. This can impact the amount of sales I make drastically.

Flesch Reading Ease 58.5

Flesch Grading Level 8.7

Book Post #1: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

            I chose to read How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown this semester. I chose this book for a variety of reasons – one being I remember when Pluto was officially deemed a “dwarf” planet and my friends and I wondered how they even had the grounds to determine that. I have always wondered about the story behind the sudden change of Pluto and I am excited to hear it first hand from the man who created the controversy. Although my copy has not been delivered yet, I have been able to read up on the overall plot and reviews online. From what I have seen, this text contains a lot more than just the scientific reasons as to why Pluto was suddenly determined to be no longer a planet. I am really excited to read the humor and drama that will come in this book.

I can relate on a much smaller scale to the position Brown found himself in. In high school I was Student Body President. When I was organizing an annual event our school held with our administration, I proposed a new idea for the event that made them realize the significant risk already associated with the event. Because of this, they ultimately chose to cancel the event, making me the reason as to why we no longer had this tradition. I caught significant heat from the senior class, putting me in a very isolated position. I am looking forward to reading about how Brown handled a similar position with much more significance.  

WHO YOU ARE MATTERS

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Needless to say, it is much different than big bad Los Angeles. Portland can be described as a very “interesting” town that prides itself on its’ bridges, great food, and the Portland Trail Blazers. I came to USC in the fall of 2016 hoping to broaden my horizons while also pursuing a degree in Business.

In my future, I want to take over my family business while also developing a real estate investment portfolio on the side. My family business is a sheet metal and precision manufacturing facility. They do a lot of indirect work for the aerospace and semiconductor industries. This is not a glamorous job by any means. However, this company is a huge part of my family’s heritage and has a lot of potential. I plan on getting there by trying to gain as much knowledge about the real estate and aerospace industries as possible while I am at USC. So far, I have taken a number of internships in both fields and have made valuable connections that will help me get to where I am going.

I am very much so like my parents in a lot of ways. For example, I hear over and over again how much like my dad I am. I know everyone says this, but I actually have the best parents in the world. They have taught me the values of respect, kindness, and support. Needless to say, in a lot of ways I hope to be a lot like them. That being said, there are definitely points where I do not see eye to eye with them. For example, sometimes my parents get a bit too much anxiety about things and have trouble seeing certain situations as they really are, but rather through a doomsday scenario lens. I am fortunate to have parents looking out constantly for my best interest, but sometimes they can be a bit too overprotective.

The people I look up to the most are my parents, my grandparents, and my uncle Jeremy. All of them are incredible people and have been very successful in their lives. Although they haven’t set any expectations for me and truly want me at all costs to be happy, I have definitely set expectations for myself to live up to what they have accomplished.

If I were to be a wild animal, I believe I would be a lemur. As a child, I was a huge fan of the show Zaboomafoo. When I got to college, life came in a full circle when I was given the nickname in my fraternity “Zaboomafoo.” I was told I was given this nickname because lemurs have the tendency to have high energy, jump around a lot, and explore. When I was a child, I loved climbing trees and making tree forts in the forest we had in our backyard. From these times, I developed some of my most fond memories from my childhood.

Rising Sign: 00 Degrees Virgo

Sun Sign: 25 degrees Aries

Moon Sign: 09 Degrees Sagittarius