Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

1. Mentorship Log 

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?

- Kevin Lopez (626) 478-4958

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?

- What does it take to open a venue?

- What legal codes must be met/kept in order for the venue to be “up to code”?

- How much money is needed to open a venue?

- How much money is needed to keep the venue running monthly?

- Where should the money come from?

- How should the weekly/monthly income of the venue be handled?

- What needs to be done in order to keep the venue a safe environment for all ages (drug free)?

- What type of insurance policy should the venue have?

- What is a suitable location for a venue?

- How does one go about dealing with noise complaints?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

- I believe the most important thing I’ve gained from this experience are the managing skills I’ve been taught. It’s the most important thing because I actually want to own and manage my own venue in the future. When volunteering, I was placed in the position to manage the money coming from ticket sales. I had to make sure everything was accounted for in the end. Including ticket to money ratio, water sold and donations.

5. How did what you did help you choose a topic?

- I have always been fond of going to shows (concerts). It has become one of my goals to work in the music industry even though I do understand that it is competitive and a difficult industry to succeed in. I figured that since I want to eventually own/manage my own venue, I might as well gain experience by volunteering at one and basing my senior project off of this. What I did this summer showed me, more or less, what happens behind the scenes at a venue. For example, what needs to be done to book bands, how to promote events, running the door and how to handle the income of a certain event.