Week 3:
It Matters

July 14, 2018

All Staff Meeting

Every other week, all of the staff at Ventures sits down in a conference room to meet and share.

This week was my second time attending an all-staff meeting — It’s one of my favorite parts of my week, as it gives me the opportunity to see what’s going on at Ventures and gain an understanding of how a non-profit works – seeing how each individuals role plays a part in the larger organization as a whole.  We each share a rose, a thorn, and a bud. The rose is usually something we are proud of or excited to share, the thorn is something that might have been difficult or challenging, and the bud is something exciting that we’re excited about. It was my first week of being able to share something since the last all-staff meeting was during the week I arrived.  Being able to share like this is an excellent way of connecting with the people who I sit in an office with every day but don’t always have the opportunity to interact with. It gives me a chance to also learn about what’s going on outside of my bubble of work and see what good work is happening in the office.

For my rose, I shared that the past two weeks I’ve been communicating with clients for the information I needed about them and their businesses for their vendor profiles. I also began designing materials for the upcoming Guest Artisan Market that is happening next week.  I shared my thorn of having a difficult time hearing back from clients as not everyone was responding to my survey. My bud was sharing my excitement for the upcoming Guest Artisan Market, as it will be my first time meeting clients in person and seeing their products.

My absolute favorite part of the all-staff meeting though is the end, when we all share “client successes.”  From stumbling upon client’s goods selling at stores around Washington, to seeing an article in the newspaper featuring a client’s business, everyone always has something exciting to share. This week someone shared that Los Agaves, the Mexican street food stall that I went to eat at during my first day at Ventures, was recognized as “The Best Burrito in Washington” in Food & Wine’s publication, “The Best Burritos in All 50 States.”

It Matters

Something which has stuck with me since the first all-staff meeting was something the Executive Director of Ventures, Beto shared – he reminded everyone to remember that the work Ventures does “matters.” Every action and all of the hard work that the employees at Ventures do matters to an individual.  I think that this is a great reminder, especially working in a non-profit that feels very behind the scenes — unlike direct non-profit work where you work directly with clients on a day-to-day basis, Ventures has clients come into the office outside of business training times quite infrequently. However, this doesn’t mean that the daily actions within the Ventures office aren’t essential or immeasurable in their ability to affect individuals’ lives.

Office Life

Apart from just the all-staff meetings I’m required to attend, I’ve really been enjoying “office life.”  I love having my own desk and sharing a space with such kind people. The Ventures Office has a very clean and minimalist feel, with lots of plants spread throughout the office.  In addition to the office feel, I’ve also been able to learn many “office skills,” such as creating Excel sheets galore and learning to use my online calendar to schedule meetings with other staff members.  These seemingly small tasks have been a learning curve but something I’m glad I’m being exposed to now as I know they’re skills I’ll need for future careers.