MBA TOP 6: CLASSES

By some stroke of luck (or maybe greenhouse gas emissions), we're having an unseasonably warm week in February. With temperatures dipping above 50 degrees, I'm starting to think of spring … and summer …

…and unfortunately, the end of my MBA! I can't believe we're about 7/8 of the way there. Everyone says that business school flies by, but to be honest, I didn't really believe them at first (especially with the intensity of the Core Curriculum first semester!) In fact, I recall telling my learning group, one night at 11:50pm when we were gathered around a study room table trying desperately to figure out in our Marketing Conjoint Project, "man, I feel like this will never end…" Now, I eat my words, as the real world waits just around the corner of Broadway and 116!

Academics were an key aspect of the MBA program. Unlike college, there was a much greater dispersion of approaches to academics in the master's program. Each of us came in with a different set of developed skills and a different set of areas we'd like to improve. I personally wanted to develop my technical skills (excel, running analyses, statistical testing, etc.) as well as become a better presenter. Others came into the program with a focus in completely changing careers. As a result, we all valued different aspects of the degree and had different attitudes toward classes. I came to learn - not to get grades - so I'm grateful to have taken such a variety of different classes in terms of both style and subject matter.

These are some of my favorites (in no particular order).

Economics of Strategic Behavior
Professor Angelucci
Type: Case-Based, Elective

This class explores the bases of a firm's profitability with an economics lens (with quite a bit of game theory thrown in). We went through several pivotal cases of firm strategies that blazed the trail for how American corporations operate - or aspire to operate - today. We started with the framework that economic profitability is not just about the ability to form and protect competitive advantages but also operate within an environment of low rivalry and cooperative peers. The former (competitive advantages) is something that I had always looked for when I worked in asset management before business school, but the latter (rivalry) was something that had never even been mentioned in my investment memos.
My mind was absolutely blown by some of the examples of how rivalry has destroyed profitable industries, as well as how some boring sectors thrived and collected huge margins due to the degree to which the firms play a good game: cereal, for example (who'da known, right?) Professor Angelucci was an incredible instructor, who made us think for the entire 90 minutes we were in class. He also has a great sense of humor that comes off as almost inadvertent. For example, one time, when he was teaching us about how companies in collusion were incentivized to "rat out" their peers by getting amnesty for their own price fixing in Europe, one student asked, "wouldn't it be obvious to the public once they read the financial statements, and one company of the peer set doesn't have a fine and the others do?" to which Prof. Angelucci said, "well, they have some way to protect the firm, like maybe they all depreciate the fine over 200 years." Somehow, maybe the way he said it, was so unbearably hilarious. We all cracked up. Now, that's the first (and probably last) time I think a joke about depreciation made me laugh!



Operations Management
Professor Hall
Type: Mixed Case/Lecture, Core

I came into this class with very little knowledge about how "real businesses" that make gadgets and widgets actually work. Having always been in the financial services industry, the only "Inventory" I'd ever seen were printer paper and pens. But I'd always been interested in how retail companies work. I learned so many different ways of thinking about business decisions, and how to think about competing risks (risks of overstocking and spending too much money vs. understocking and not meeting customer demand).

Operations Strategy
Professor Singh
Type: Case-Based, Elective

There is no better way to top off core Operations Management than by taking Professor Singh's sequel, Operations Strategy, which takes the frameworks we developed in Ops Management and applies them to how a business can be profitable (or improve and move toward profitability if it's not already there). Prof. Singh utilized examples from all industries (healthcare, technology manufacturing, etc.) but one of his favorites was the auto industry. Now, I'm the first to admit that I know almost nothing about automobiles and have never owned an automobile (#NYCliving). I still know almost nothing about the sedan-next-door, but I can tell you that I know a whole lot about not only HOW a car company operates efficiently but also WHY.

The 90 minutes of class just flies by because Professor Singh keeps us on the seat of our pants with a combination of cold calls, anecdotes, questions of substance, and of course, carefully timed jokes that have us clutching our sides.

Corporate Finance
Professor Hertzberg
Type: Mixed Case/Lecture, Core

Corp Fin is such a foundational class. I had taken a version of this class in undergrad, but this is very different (and I'm glad that I did not try to take the exemption test to avoid taking this course). Each class builds on concepts learned in previous classes, so there was a high amount of reps behind bond math, calculating the cost of capital of an organization or investor, making decisions on how to allocate money toward projects, etc.

This class really challenged me to think about the drivers behind corporate decisions and question the assumptions behind them rather than accept them as gospel truth.



Strategy Formulation
Professor Meier
Type: Case-Based, Core

I think this is the type of "standard" class that people think of when they think of a general management MBA program. I knew going into it that I would learn a lot, but I was surprised by the sheer number of considerations that firm managers must think of to compete effectively. Professor Meier was an amazing facilitator of discussions, bringing our class forward by asking the exact questions to get us to think on the right track. Then, he pulled it all together to create several large themes of competition - creating and capturing value, intelligent design of corporate scope, anticipating your competitors' next moves to inform your own. These all enabled me to think of business as a dynamic flow rather than stagnant stock.



LEAD: People, Team Organizations
Professor Akinola
Type: Mixed Discussion/Lecture, Core

This class has a really long title (and I'm pretty sure LEAD itself is an acronym) especially for a week-long class, but I think it's completely apropos, because this class covered such a breadth of topics designed to help make us better managers of people, products and processes as well as greater leaders of new thinking. We were all required to take this class as a cluster our first week of the MBA and I learned so much about my classmates - what makes them tick, what they perceive as weaknesses and strengths in organizational leaders.

Professor Akinola also really inspired me from a career perspective. She has a mix of academia and professional backgrounds so she could speak from both hats. She's also been such an amazingly successful as female leader, and I feel lucky to have found a role model at business school, whose successes serve as a guidepost for my own pursuits.

Now that I'm a seasoned MBA class-taker, I've gained a some insights on course selection. If I could go back in time and give myself some advice, it would be this:

• Savor the core curriculum. From a time input perspective, the Core is no joke, and I would be kidding myself if I tried to claim that I got enough sleep that semester. But looking back, the end was truly worth the effort. Four of my six favorite classes, as you can see, are from the core. It was the first time that I had been exposed to so many disciplines all at once. My professors were excellent, and had a mix of academic knowledge and practical prowess. 
• Pick professors, not "course titles." I think there is always a temptation during class bidding time, to choose classes that sound sexy. Something about VC's or startups. Or buzzy buzzwords like "blockchain" or "disrupt." I definitely thought with that frame of mind in my first elective semester, but quickly realized that the classes I found myself diving into most deeply, being most engaged in, and learning the most from, are simply classes that had great professors who can read the class audience and pull the best insights from all the students. Thus, to my own surprise, two of my favorite classes are in Operations, a business area that prior to my MBA, I had written off as "boring." Operations might be the backbone value of businesses at large and often not looked at with the same shining eyes as technology or other growth opportunities, but I happened to have two really tremendous professors - Joe Hall and Medini Singh - who brought the field to life. They showed me the critical importance of managing inventory well and how truly riveting it can be to think about plant set-up as a driver of business success. Well, lesson learned on judging a book by its cover! 
• Case is king. Haha, get it? (Those of you who took Accounting will … it's a spin of "Cash is king.") I didn't realize the value of the case-based class before starting my MBA. I thought, "how could I possibly learn from other folks who are just as inexperienced as me? I'd rather hear the professor talk - he or she is a learned expert in this field." Wrong! The classes that I've enjoyed the most have had some element of case to them. It's not possible for all classes to be solely case-based (e.g., Corporate Finance by default needs some form of basic bond pricing math lecturing), but by and large most classes have found some way to incorporate historical business examples. The value of the case-based class is two-fold: 1) you're hearing perspectives from individuals with varied past backgrounds, 2) you're synthesizing while you're discussing - and you'll remember it forever.

I can explain... :C

Hi, 2018. It's been a long, long, long time since I've actually written here. And I promise, I have a good reason.

First of all, I've been really sick. I'm talkin' Pepto-Bismol Country-Fried Dancin' commercial sick (click here if y'all don't know what I'm talking about). Here's a selfie (yaaaas). Bundled up, no makeup (aka no eyebrows), feeling and looking generally gross. But whatever. I'm glad it's happening now and not earlier. Two weeks ago, I was probably as close to my most stressed out state as possible and had I gotten sick then, it would have been terrible. But now, I am perfectly content sitting around being sicky.


That's because two weeks ago, I was in the home stretch of my final exams of the most brutal semester of my life. More on that later. But first, let's catch up on all things blog.

"Blogger"


I'm ashamed to admit that I really thought I was finished with this platform. I know it came back for a bit when I was into the whole investment blogging phase, but if I had to be real with y'all (and I always am!) the blogging passion plus investment analysis marriage was one of convenience. I LOVE writing (even essays) and I was truly interested in investing in equities, too. Just not the two together. It was not fun for me. So again, my blog fell into a hiatus. Why? There were a couple of reasons: 1) I really believe no one reads this blog or watches my videos, unless I purposely send them the link (and that just feels self-promotey). And what's the point, if it's for no one but myself? and 2) I saw it as a waste of time, when I had so many pressing things to do during the semester (and even during my breaks). I was in a constant state of having not enough time. So with that resigned attitude, I let my domain name expire, I privated my YouTube channel and unpublished many of my blog entries. Finally, 3) I felt overwhelmed by how "professional" other people's blogs and vlogs and instagrams looked -- and felt that I had insufficient time and expertise to curate mine likewise.

So, I more or less forgot about / abandoned TCB. But now that I'm on winter break, I've been watching vlogs and reading other people's stuff -- and going back to re-read old blogs and it made me so nostalgic on their behalf. How cool is it to be able to look back in time and recall/re-savor the details of moments already lived and savored?

So, I guess, "I'm BACK, bitches."

And you know what else? I'm going to really invest in my social media outlet. Because I want to be a writer. What is the point of half-asking this thing (LOL, I typed something else but apparently my MacBook autocorrect thinks "half-asking" is a more appropriate term so I'm gonna leave it. Y'all can probs figure out what I was trying to say.) If I want to do it, I gotta give it a good effort. Otherwise, I'm never going to keep it up. And then I'll be sad later ... like I am now.

Scholar

So here's the deal. Business school has been TOTES different from what I expected. And I had pretty reasonable expectations going in, because I had researched the heck out of it. But I think I took a pretty nontraditional route with how I chose to use my time here.

Now, not to toot my own horn but I am a strong personality ... I'm self-motivated and I make my own decisions, do my own research, carve my own path, yada-yada-yada. But I think inherent in all of us is some sense of needing to respect the dreams of our parents. And, I also believe that we all have an "unrequited lover" syndrome for something (or ... I guess for a lot of people ... it is a someone, if it is actually be an unrequited lover lol). For me, that's my totally-unused chemistry degree. Yup, I majored in chemistry and never-ever-ever-ever-ever did anything with it. And I'd always felt a little rotten about it. Pair that with my mom's insistence that I should get a super-super-super advanced degree in something because she fears that a bachelor's degree may not be enough in today's world. Well, I don't one-thousand-percent agree with you, Mom, but you've done your job in embedding that in my mind.

A toxic combination of those two factors and my -- being totally blunt and honest here -- dead-end job (Yup, I said it) led me back to a university campus. I didn't get into the schools I wanted to go to, either (my top choices were chosen primarily based on location). So I was going into an MBA program in a place I didn't want to be, and I had just gone through a breakup I didn't see coming (again, due to location)... clearly this is a recipe for disaster. So when I was admitted and matriculated, I actually really was not in the right mindset. Especially when orientation started and it was a week straight of people in their mid/late-20s goofing off ("forming a class bond" they say) and drinking excessively. I was that bitter, sober person lurking in the back of the classroom, wondering  if I could get my deposit and tuition back if I maneuvered a way out of this damn commitment.

From day one, I decided I didn't want "the typical MBA experience" and this was fueled more by the circumstances of my start than anything else. I pored myself into finding alternative paths. At that time, I noted that what I had valued most of my undergrad experience was having a "liberal arts" all-encompassing education that was much wider than it was deep. I was determined, from the very start, to spend as little of my time in business school classrooms and as much of it as possible exploring other disciplines. I sat through a super difficult math class. Then a series of engineering modules last semester. They were really hard. After 5 years of nothing but excel spreadsheets, I didn't remember enough from my undergrad chemistry days to actually help me form a clear understanding of material balances. But I did it, and I'm actually very proud of myself for having done that. Academically, I have done well. Beyond just auditing these other departmental classes, I also kept up my business school class work ethic and got achievement awards. But, nearing the end of the MBA experience (and with all of the negativity that marked the beginning in the rear window), I now feel a bit remorseful that I've pushed away "the typical MBA experience," especially when I am scrolling through instagram and seeing all the traveling, networking and -- well, FUN -- that I missed out on by pushing this part of school away. It's not too late, though. I still have one more semester, and I can make it into whatever I want it to be. And I WILL make it into something that I will cherish and enjoy and deem worthy of the $200k+ 2 year cost (ouch.)

Writer?

Oh, another thing, I want to write a book. I LOVE reading fiction -- I always have. When I was younger, I used to write stories all the time on Word on my family's shared desktop computer that ran Windows 98 lol. It was super slow and clunky. It was a childhood dream of mine to publish one of these. It can still be my dream.

In defense of the Endowment Model

When I began my first job as an investment associate, looking at fund investments, I was told by a senior associate to read “Pioneering Portfolio Management,” by Dave Swensen, the former CIO of the Yale endowment. Swensen and other CIOs who followed the approach detailed in this book, were looking for a long-term, sustainable method to the madness of trying to create value out of something so unpredictable. It was a terrific book, by the way. Despite being written by such a celebrated, famous investor, it was easy to read and understand even for a 22-year-old who has not had any investment experience. Even today (after 5 years of IM experience), I find myself digging it out to re-read select chapters.

In business school, I found that people had all sorts of opinions about the investment model used by endowments – with and without basis. I find myself defending these 3 aspects of the endowment model the most:

1) Discipline, not Dead-set. Other students sometimes tell me that endowment analysts will one day find themselves out of a job, their professions replaced by computers. Underlying this thought is that any machine can be programmed to “follow rules,” and that the endowment model is really just about following some set rules about how much to allocate to particular asset classes of investments, and finding the highest-returning (risk-adjusted or otherwise) managers within each asset class. In my experience, this is far from the truth. While there are strategic allocations by investment class, they are not set in stone. They are framing guidelines and the investment team, using what they know of market sentiments, special endowment needs, and sometimes even a little bit of intuition, looks at a broad array of investment possibilities, and determines the best fit for the portfolio. From experience, this is not necessarily the manager with the highest returns or best sharpe ratio. More than anything, it provides a sort of discipline, allowing the analyst or portfolio manager to gut-check.

2) Flexibility, not Forced allocations. The endowment model is not a fixed, inflexible set of target allocations, but rather, a framework for thinking about tradeoffs. Swensen’s book talked about the importance of maintaining a tactical aspect of asset allocation, and over or under-allocating to targets as needed. This has definitely been my experience at the firm in which I began my career. There were periods of time when the actual allocation was notably different from the allocation targets. Sometimes it was because it was an inopportune time to exit certain investments (e.g., after the market correction of the Great Recession) or there were tremendous once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunities aplenty in one particular asset class. Robots and computer programs certainly can’t replace that.

3) Context, not Constant. Each investment decision and the target allocations are re-evaluated year over year by committees of informed individuals. Many more things come into consideration than just the return profile. Universities are often leaders of thought and the endowment reflects that. For some institutions, this has meant divestment from certain asset classes (in spite of returns or diversification arguments in favor of investing) such as tobacco as a message of its commitment to betterment of the world. For religiously-affiliated schools, this may mean refraining from investments that are in contradiction to their founding missions.

I’m so grateful to my previous job for teaching me these aspects of the endowment model. I may not be returning to asset management in the context of an endowment after my MBA program, but the lessons it taught me about being curious, trusting your gut, and taking pride in my work will frame the rest of my career.

Pitch: UAA (Long)

Under Armour class A share price has come down significantly in the past few months despite outpacing peers and indices since inception as a publicly-traded firm (as illustrated by Fig. 1 in appendix), which could be attributable to a sales growth decline in 2016, a slight decline in operating margin (of 1.6 percentage points from 2015 to 8.7% in 2016), uncertainty about the future of its distribution channels (sporting goods and mall-based stores), and skepticism over its ability to capture additional markets (footwear, connected fitness, women, international). However, I believe that Under Armour’s business prospects and current share price, make it an attractive long investment.

• Wide market opportunity: The market is undervaluing the addressable market that Under Armour has remaining and its growth potential as it becomes a truly global fitness lifestyle brand. At inception, Under Armour addressed an unfulfilled need by the athletic performance market (for sweat-wicking, and heat-retaining fabric) and has since gained an almost “cult-like” brand loyalty particularly among the teenage athletic demographic. Under Armour recognizes its over-indexing on US-based male athletes and has since diversified to women athletes, casual wearers (fashion rather than athletic wear) and internationally. Additional growth areas include direct-to-consumer and connected fitness.

International sales still account for a very small proportion of total revenues (just 17% of sales in 2016) and there remains tremendous opportunity in women’s apparel, particularly with a shift into athleisure. To the extent that Under Armour could penetrate the women’s activewear market dominated by the likes of Lululemon and Gap Inc.’s Athleta, it would be well positioned to expand revenues rapidly due to both higher price points (comparable to LULU and Athleta) and greater addressable population. Many doubters believe that athleisure is simply a fad; however, UA’s competitor Nike showed that with a strong enough brand and proposition to customers, an entire lifestyle change can be built. Before Nike, “sneaker” lifestyle was certainly not nearly as prominent in the US and Europe.

• Brand power/partnerships: The market is also undervaluing Under Armour’s brand is built on its reputation for high-quality performance materials that can weather wear and wash. Indeed, in the Q4’16 earnings call, CEO Kevin Plank remarked that while they are strategically moving into apparel at large, “performance” quality is still something that is very much expected of them. Through this enduring commitment to quality products, Under Armour has been able to garner value-additive partnerships, including one with Samsung to develop connected fitness applications. Connected Fitness is a binary bet for Under Armour. Though currently small, if it does take to market, it could follow on the success of devices such as the Apple Watch and FitBit. It could be revolutionary: UA’s existing R&D in materials technology could enable it to incorporate fitness tracking into clothing and accessories in ever novel ways. On the flip side, even if it does not take off, UA’s business prospects are virtually unharmed since it is such a small part of their business (1.7% of revenues for FY 2016).

• Channel/omnichannel: The opportunities for Under Armour to expand via channel opportunities is tremendous. In the FY15 shareholder letter, management pointed out the desire to provide products at multiple price levels and offer superior alternatives to competitors. UA has delivered on this by distributing through wholesale, opening its own retail stores, and more recently, offering outlet alternatives. This allows UA to effectively price discriminate. In addition to marketing through several fitness arenas, UA is also unique among its peer group in its aggressive pursuit of the direct-to-consumer channel through online. Unlike Nike and Adidas, UA has fewer physical stores, so it does not bear as tremendous a restructuring cost as the two larger players would in converting to e-sales. Interestingly, UA also has far more factory stores (151 as of 12/31/16) than house retail stores (only 18 as of 12/31/16). I believe that they are astutely using house retail stores only as a “seat saver” (a la Warby Parker model) in major athletic cities like Boston, but using factory stores to rid excess inventory without affecting pricing through its other channels (profit-maximizing price discrimination).

• Execution: Under Armour has been successful in expanding its product offering and customer base. For example, in 2016, its newly-minted footwear segment grew 49.1% to $1.0B in net sales, led by running and basketball. The basketball sales give credibility to UA’s sponsorship of the NBA and illustrates that such marketing efforts are bearing fruit. But what is more impressive is its penetration into the running population, an area once well-guarded by the two major US shoe-dogs, Nike and Adidas. This gives me high conviction that Under Armour would be able to expand its brand reach to geographies where brand perceptions matter (e.g., East Asia, Europe) and technology via connected fitness.

Valuation: Based on a 15-year DCF, Under Armour has a fair price of about $28/s, which represents 40%+ upside. This intrinsic valuation acknowledges a continuation of its current high growth in apparel, footwear and accessories for the next 5 years, then tapering off to a 3.0% growth rate which it will continue beyond the explicitly modeled period. This 3.0% reflects long term GDP growth of the global markets and productivity gains.

Pitch: GILD (Long)

Gilead Sciences is a research-based pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes drugs in high-impact therapeutic areas, including those treating chronic immunological diseases, oncological indications, and inflammatory and cardiovascular illnesses. Gilead is known for its portfolio of effective antiviral HIV/AIDS and hepatitis treatments, developing its treatments both internally as well as through select acquisitions of existing competencies. Gilead is underpriced, because the market fails to recognize the value of its current and future therapeutic (and therefore revenue) power, and because it holds too much weight on short-term news about downward pressure on its treatment pricing.

Investment Thesis
Gilead’s key competitive advantages lie in its structural advantages and leadership in pharmaceutical development and commercialization across a vast array of therapeutics addressing unmet needs.

Drug portfolio: Gilead’s approved (and future approved) drugs are by nature long-term revenue generators, because the majority of them aim to treat chronic illnesses. The development has also been focused on life-critical treatments, so price elasticity of demand should be very low. Gilead has shown this through its leadership in HIV treatment and prevention (Truvada and Atripla). Gilead has also found a viable cure for Hepatitis C with its Sovaldi and Harvoni drugs, as well as its newest single-dose Epclusa (approved in 2016) and Vemlidy (approved 2016).

Beyond its current slate of impactful treatments, Gilead has a valuable array of drugs in progress, including hematological/oncological, inflammatory/respiratory candidates in phase 3 clinical trials. For example, Idelalisib would address patients with relapsed leukemia, and an investigational antibody, GS-5745, would treat gastric cancer. Both are increasing in prevalence today.

Partnership/Scale: Being a larger player in the antiviral and antiretroviral (and increasingly, chemotherapeutic) space affords Gilead the ability to acquire competencies, assets and talent to fuel research and development. The Gilead team has shown capability in making value-additive acquisitions. For instance, its acquisition of Triangle Pharmaceuticals enabled development of HIV treatments, and its 2006 acquisitions of Corus Pharma for $365M paved the way for entry into the respiratory space. By acquiring Pharmasset in 2011, Gilead capitalized on existing R&D at the firm to develop its acclaimed Sovaldi.

Finally, Gilead is able to capitalize its reputation to partner with other companies on higher-risk drug development. Last year, Gilead closed on a collaboration and licensing agreement with a clinical stage firm, Galapagos, to develop a phase 3 drug with three potential indications: rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, all three of which are markets with expansion opportunity.

Cheap option: Gilead is trading at such a cheap multiple that it is akin to paying a small premium for the optionality of the next blockbuster. From a policy perspective, the new administration may be more open to M&A activity, which would benefit Gilead’s business model.

Valuation
Gilead Sciences is currently undervalued at $67.10/share, representing a $87.7B market capitalization (as of April 3, 2017 market close). This reflects a 6.8x P/E ratio, which is extremely low compared to its peers of similar size and therapeutic areas (including Amgen, Celgene, Novo Nordisk, Biogen, Shire, CSL and Regeneron) as seen in Fig. 1. Gilead is favorably positioned to continue growing in the therapeutic areas for which it has market power, as well as in transformative new pipeline drugs that could prove to be blockbusters. Even with a sizeable discount to peers, Gilead should trade at least in the 10-12x range or about $96.27/s - $115.52/s.

Pitch: NYSE:GPS Long

Gap Inc. is a global apparel retailer with five active brands: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix. GPS is known for its high-quality, dependable apparel and affordable prices. GPS is underpriced, because the market fails to recognize its staying power and discounts its prospects per the backdrop of the rise of eCommerce and fast fashion in apparel, as well as the high profile distress of well-known US department stores.

Gap Inc.’s key competitive advantages lie in its structural advantages and leadership in retail across a vast variety of demographics as well as its management and operational advantages.

Brand portfolio and trademarks: Gap Inc.’s brands can be disaggregated into two distinct categories: tried and true household names (Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic) and newer high-quality brands to compete with up and coming trends (Athleta and Intermix). With most of its brands, Gap Inc. has full operational control. The exception is Intermix, for which Gap controls all aspects of brand development other than product design related to third party products. Gap is known to exhibit ultimate flexibility when it comes to managing its brand and was willing to shutter its Piperlime line (mix of private label and branded apparel and accessories) when it saw that this e-commerce focused line has become a drag on its performance. Its mix of brands gives it a competitive moat by targeting different price levels and apparel styles. In general, Gap Inc. is seen as both high quality and affordable, straddling the dual advantage zone. It has an established brand name which allows it to command a price premium and take wallet share from consumers.

Omnichannel: Gap Inc. maintains flexibility in its operations through its omnichannel management. Currently, Gap Inc.’s brands have retail stores that sell its own goods through both company-owned and franchise stores. Its ownership of majority of stores (88% as of Jan. 2016) allows Gap Inc. to maintain control over the inventory management, feel, and aesthetic of stores in its core geography of North America. Selectively, GPS is exploring and expanding across other geographies through franchising affiliates in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, which gives it an edge in local international markets. As Zara has shown in its local store front customization, adhering to local tastes is critical in apparel.

Gap Inc. is effectively able to price segment its customer base through its separate brands as well as through its retail vs. outlet stores. Selling through its own stores also affords GPS real-time monitoring of its inventory and feedback collection of data on its classic as well as trendier items.

Scale: As of fiscal year 2015, Gap Inc. operated 3,721 brick-and-mortar stores across six continents. Gap Inc.’s vendors number over 1,000 in over 40 countries, and vendors do not have significant supplier power, because the top 2 were only 5% of purchases by dollar volume. Twenty-four percent of purchases were from factories in China. Gap is a major employer of 141,000 employees worldwide (as of Jan. 30, 2016) and its large base allows it to cherry pick and train top talent across functions. Furthermore, its scale is an advantage in this uncertain climate for apparel retail because it allows Gap’s brands experiment without giving up too much brand identity.

Valuation
Gap Inc. is currently undervalued at $24.10/share, representing a $9.64B market capitalization (as of Mar. 17, 2017 market close). This represents a 14x P/E ratio, which is on the low end of its peers (including RL, AEO, ANF, PLCE, EXPR, and GES). Gap Inc. has a more favorable earnings profile and future prospects, so a fair valuation range is closer to 15x – 20x, which represents a price range of $25.35 - $33.80. The midpoint price of $29.58 is more reflective of where GPS should trade given its competitive advantages vs. peers and its potential over the near future.

A change in direction

Hello Blog Fam! It has been a loooong time since my last post, and I really do apologize. I have been extremely busy in my MBA program (more on this later!) and I am excited by the opportunity to share all of that with you here. I have some big news coming up and still a lot of moving parts to wrap up in the next couple of weeks, but I just wanted to provide quick update.

Over the past couple of months, I have learned a lot about different parts of business and have – to my best effort – attempted to remain open-minded about what I would like to pursue after my MBA degree. But it seems that what I have wanted since my very first day of work at 22 is still what I want today – to move into the world of direct investing.

Accordingly, I have been taking some security analysis and finance classes to build a knowledge base. Since that is such a big part of my life now, I would like for it to be part of this blog as well. I will still be posting updates about career, recruiting and experiences, but I will also be incorporating some of the things I am working on for class and extracurriculars, including investment pitches.

Stick around for more!

- The closing belle

MBA Blog #1 - The Beginning

Hi y’all! It’s me, Shell the blogger behind The Closing Belle.

That statement is kind of a lie.

First, I suppose I can’t really in all seriousness still call myself a blogger. I’m embarrassed by the length of time that has passed since my last post (nearly half a year). (I can explain.)

Second, I’m not really going to be the closing belle anymore. Yes, I am still female. Yes, I am still working in financial services. So yes, for the time being, the pun still holds. [In case you didn’t get a chance to read my bio, it’s a play on words - the closing bell is rung at 4pm at the New York Stock Exchange to signal the end of the official stock trading day, and belle means girl. As a female in financial services, and a lover of all things punny, it really STRUCK (pun intended, of course) a chord with me.]

I’m still a female human in finance, but only for two more days. Then, I’m leaving the investment management field for at least 2 years — and potentially, forever. In two days, I’m gathering all the stilettos kicked under my cubicle (assuming that my colleague J hasn’t decided to hide them again - this is a recurring theme but a story for another time), sticking that slide rule back in my purse (just kidding - we totally don’t use slide rules anymore!) and making my grand exit from the professional life to go back to school.

I’m pursuing my MBA for four main reasons: (1) the optionality that comes with the degree, particularly in higher management positions, (2) a chance to do corporate recruiting all over again and land in a more direct, transactional role than asset management - which I have always wanted to do, (3) a GPA reset to compensate for my undergrad grades (no regrets there - I took challenging and graduate level classes and would do it again in a heartbeat), and (4) make life-long friends (some might read “business connections,” but I truly do mean friends). I don’t have many real-life friends. I guess it comes with the territory of being on YouTube in all my free time.

I’m excited to go back to school.

It’s not all puns ’n roses, though. A lot of disappointments have also come with this decision. I was in a great long-term relationship with someone I love very much, and that relationship has ended largely because of the distance that my MBA would necessitate. I’m giving up my job and firm - both of which I really enjoyed and paid an income - to pursue this rather expensive endeavor. I’ve downsized to a 70 sq. ft. bedroom with no closets to be close to school and save on rent.

So really, it has its ups and downs.

I hope to capture as much of all those ups and all those downs as I can through this blog. I plan to revamp it and instead of having a focus on working life and products that I love, I will share my MBA experience with you guys.

xoxo,
the closing belle

Dear Future Me [Open: 3/5/2018] | theclosingbelle

Belle Tells | Mastering Phone Interviews

Got a phone interview? No problem!

Hello! In today's "Belle Tells," I'm sharing my top 5 tips for acing phone interviews. Hope you enjoy, and good luck!

Quick Work/School Hairstyles: 2 Alternative Buns

In this video, I share with you guys 2 non-traditional buns that are great for keeping the hair out of your face for work or school :)

Finding an NYC Apartment - Considerations and Tips | the Closing Belle

Heels Hacks for my Sole Sistas | the Closing Belle

Blogtober 31, 2015: Professional Regrets

This entry is going to be about regrets during my career. I’m a little conflicted about this entry because it is the 15th and final entry for Blogtober 2015, and I feel bad about ending Blogtober on a bit of a sad note. On the other hand, I feel that it does service to the purpose behind this blog. Yes, partly this blog is meant to be fun and encouraging, and full of silly ponderings, like why is pee yellow and where can I find cheap tights? But it is also meant to be a very personal journal of a young urban professional who is figuring her life out. I think that it’s only fair to include the bad with the good.

I have been struggling quite a bit at work recently (more on that here). You may recall from my previous posts that I have really wanted to get into direct investing for the past 3-4 years … basically the entirety of my career. Recently, however, just as I got chances to work on directs, I have been messing up SO MUCH. I’m not saying that messing up is not allowed. Of course, it’s inevitable. I expected this – if everyone was perfect at direct investing then there’d be nothing to trade on – no alpha to be gained! But the emotional hit is pretty awful. I keep feeling that nothing in directs will ever make sense to me. I understand the technical of building a model but how do people manage to make and be comfortable with their assumptions?

My manager says that for him, the key is to read a lot – read 10K’s, read research reports, read anything and everything that has anything and everything to do with the company structure, the underlying assets, the market conditions, the business model. I’ve been trying to do that, and feeling increasingly overwhelmed. I have been staying up late, getting up early, just to stay afloat, fulfilling my current responsibilities while managing the learning curve for directs. Balancing a lot more new things means that at times, I’ve gotten tired … and sloppy. I just accidentally missed an earnings call.

Directs is not easy. The flow among financial statements, the iterative functions of debt, the effect of currency exchange rates on sales and costs  – none of those things are intuitive to me. Not to mention, the terms are hard to understand (Investopedia has been my best friend these past couple of weeks). Of course, I know that I just need to keep persevering, but during times like this, I can’t help but recount my regrets … so here goes:

I regret not getting an investment banking or consulting job right out of undergrad. Seriously, the decisions you make as a 22 year old have ramifications. Had I started out in a structured and huge organization with built-in training for spreadsheet or capital structure modeling, then this would all be second nature to me. I wouldn’t be a 27 year old trying to figure out the stuff that a 22 year old knows by heart, having been through a bank’s training program.

On a related note, I regret not getting better grades to set myself up to get a job at an investment bank or consultancy. I had some consulting offers, sure, but the bulk of the envied positions went to people with 3.8+ GPA’s. It doesn’t even seem fair. I was not busy drinking, I was not lazy, I did not overload on extracurriculars. In fact, I worked very, very hard, going to half a dozen office hours a week, forming study groups, and declining social activities. I just had a difficult major, which I stuck with because it challenged me and I liked that.

I regret not having gone back to school to change my career. I had a chance a couple of years ago, when I was transitioning out of my first job… but I wasn’t excited by the prospect of going back to school, so I decided not to. Had I gone back to school, I would be graduating in 6 months, probably going into a direct investing role, or a role that transitions into direct investing.

I regret not leveraging the reputational currency of my former employer more. Because direct investing was not something that was possible for me at my previous firm, I discounted its ability to get me on the direct investing path. I hugely regret that now, because I realize just how much other investors value its name brand. I wish I had used that to my advantage.

I regret not taking more risk. Whether that’s reaching out to more people to ask for help and mentorship, or taking liberties in generating analytics. I am doing that more now, but it’s a learning curve for me, since it is not something I’m used to.

Anyway, now that I have enumerated this regrets, I hope to move past them, and retain the lessons for my future success!

Xoxo, the closing belle

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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 23: The Clothing Belle | Cheap Hose & Iron Toes: A History, Haul, and Review

I have iron toes.

I swear, my toenails can slice through anything. Many a pair of tights have bitten the dust. Accordingly, I am always on the hunt for cheap and/or durable hose. Black ones, matte, and no support please and thanks.

Last weekend up in Boston, I scored some pretty cheap hose at Primark. I basically pawed them off the shelf without thinking because $3.50 is a steal.

Primark: This store’s structure, to me, is super-strange. Despite being a chain clothing store with a focus on young women fast fashion, it is owned by the UK company AB Foods, which, as you may have guessed, sells foods.  So something like a Kroger’s is the holding company of something like an H&M. It didn’t intuitively make much sense to me at first. But I guess there must be synergies in distribution, and the different business models might create revenue stream diversification.

Hose: Tights and pantyhose (or just plain “hose”) are basically very long socks to go under dresses and skirts, for aesthetics as well as functionality. On the coldest of winter days in Boston, I’ve even worn tights under my pants #NewEnglandConfessions. Don’t lie, ladies, you have too!

History
How did it all start? Apparently, pantyhose are the consequence of women’s rising hemlines, beginning in the 1920s. Tights were a way to keep some leg coverage when skirt lengths grew shorter. The original hosiery were pretty similar in appearance to regular cotton stockings, and were made out of silk (wow, I bet, inflation adjusted, those didn’t go for $3.50).

In 1938, DuPont Chemicals revolutionized the world of hose by patenting the stretchy material Nylon (which I actually had a chance to synthesize in organic chemistry lab!) These were subsequently sewed onto undergarments to create a whole-leg article of clothing known as panti-legs, or later pantyhose. The concept was actually patented in 1956 by Ernest Rice, under title Combination Stockings and Panty”… and many legal disputes around this patent existed for many years.

Textile manufacturing saw huge improvement in 1960s, bringing cheaper and more elastic/comfortable materials such as spandex, to the table, and pantyhose/tights became very popular. It stayed that way until the mid-90s when women began to opt for bare legs in fashion and work attire. And now, it is really a mixed bag … some people wear ‘em and love ‘em. Some people detest and decline.


A Small Haul
I got a pair of the “TIGHTS2GO”, a pair of the “Super Silky Opaque Tights” and of course a three-pack of “Seamless Footies”.

#1: Atmosphere “TIGHTS2GO” Individually Wrapped Tights (15 Opacity)

This pair did not hold up as well as I expected. First of all, do not believe the words on the box – there was only one pair of tights in there … not two. How appropriate that they chose such thick lettering, because it was a BOLD FACE LIE. I nonetheless had high hopes for this singular pair of hose until I stuck my hand it it…

And the material felt extremely fragile – like paper.

When I put it on, it didn’t seem like the material spread that well. Some parts bunched up and appeared darker, while other parts spread very thin and appeared transparent.

And then, during the day, the most annoying thing of all happened… those little dark lines started appearing:

Nope, these simply will not do. They were inexpensive but disappointed.

#2: Atmosphere Super Silky Opaque Tights (50 Opacity) 

These felt much more durable, and the material “gave” more when I put pressure on it.

The only complaint that I really have is that the material is “shiny” and there were a few areas where I felt the weaving was not that consistent.

But unlike the other pair, it actually felt nice and durable. And it also didn’t promise two pairs to only deliver one. I can see myself wearing this a second time.

#3: Seamless Footies with Cushioned Sole

These are basically a glorified short sock to be worn with flats, loafers, boat shoes, or any other foot vessels that don’t cover all footage up to ankle. I’m obsessed with them. These are pretty nice. They stayed on my foot and were low enough that you can’t see them with my shoes on.

The cushion doesn’t actually do much, to be honest, and was a little annoying to get used to. Another complaint that I have is that there were so many loose threads, even before I opened the package.

While the lacy pattern is cute, I am concerned that they’ll be completely destroyed in the wash. Oh well, for $3.50 you can’t expect the world!

Overall thoughts: I probably won’t be repurchasing #1 and #2, but #3 continues to hold up and looks promising. 

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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 21: Dealing with Setback at Work

432 Park view from street level (iPhone with filter)

Recently, I have been struggling a little bit at work. I have struggled to keep up with deadlines (Fall is the busiest season for us), and, partly due to insufficient time, really messed up a valuation model for a direct position. What is most disappointing about this is that my manager had faith in me and tried to help me out by finding opportunities for me to work on directs. The model I built was simplistic. I really feared taking too much risk, so I kept the “industry average” for all the assumptions. But you know what they say – Garbage In, Garbage Out.

This isn’t the first time I have felt swamped or like I have disappointed with delivery at work. But it was the first time that I felt my manager’s faith in me was shaken. This is the first time my boss has ask, “Is direct valuation what you really want to do?”

YES. Yes, it is.

                                                                                                                                                     

This was not a perfect valuation model. But I do know that this is the most imperfect valuation model I will ever build again. I know I can become better than this. In my short career, I have learned that I can surprise people – and even myself – with how much I can learn and how far I can go.

I thought this would be a good time to talk about the do’s and don’ts I’ve learned to embrace in terms of dealing with professional setback (… or any setback, really).

Do:

1. Reflect. Figure out what it is that you’re falling short on; for me, it’s doing the deeper research and questioning assumptions until I came up with an end product that I can be 100% sure of and behind which I can stand -- a valuation model where I can explain each and every assumption and methodology.
2. Plan. Make a plan to fix that mistake but also draw out “error-checking” future guidelines for yourself so that in the future you avoid that mistake. For me, it was as simple as writing down questions to ask myself: Where did that assumption come from? Why is this calculation done this way vs. a different way? Do you really believe company guidance and why?
3. Ask. After you mess something up in a profound way, it can be intimidating to go back to your manager and ask questions, but I promise you, he or she would much, much rather take the time to answer those questions now, in the eve of your big mess-up than have you repeat it later in the future. I used to be afraid to ask questions, thinking that they “made me look dumb.” It took me a long time to figure out that questions at work are more illustrative of your interest and diligence than of your ignorance. So don’t be afraid to ask for help, clarifications, guidelines, etc.  

Don’t:

1. Blame. Pointing fingers won’t get you anywhere. There were many times on my journey to direct investment when I thought of just saying “you know, I’ve never built a model before, so I don’t know this terminology.” But what is the point in doing that? I now try to catch myself when I feel tempted to say “But I’ve never…” with “What a great opportunity to show that I can…”
2. Find workarounds. Workarounds is a word that my boyfriend throws around to describe anything that is really a patch rather than a whole solution. For example, at my old job, in order to access our company network I had to use a special pin to remote into my desktop machine, but it always only shows half the screen. We found a “workaround” by tricking the laptop into thinking its screen is bigger than it actually is. But really, the problem should have been fixed from the company-end so that this does not keep happening to every single person who tries to remote in. Workarounds fix the problem temporarily, but it does not set up your situation for continued future success. Early in my career, I relied heavily on workarounds but it’s always come to bite me in the butt because the same errors show up again and again.
3. Give up. Don’t ever, ever give up.

xoxo, the closing belle


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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 18, 2015: First Flakes, Faneuil and Farewell to Fenway

As I’m writing this, we’re passing the Prudential Center and Hancock Tower. In a couple minutes, we’ll be bidding adieu to Fenway Park to the left. I’m on a megabus back to New York City after a weekend in Boston. This was my first time back in 2-3 months, and so much has changed already.

1. The Millennial Tower, which was an inconvenient – and seemingly perpetual -- ditch in the middle of Downtown Crossing when I lived in Back Bay, is now nearly complete. (My boyfriend jokes that it’s called the Millennial Tower, because it took an entire millennium to build.)
2. Where the gutted building that formerly known as Filenes Basement once sat, there is an enormous Primark store, a behemoth of four stories. I wonder what this means for the H&M at DTX.  
3. There is active construction in front of the Prudential Center (aka “the Pru,” or for the intoxicated speech-slurring college students of the area, “the Peru”). It’s supposed to be new office/retail space, which makes me *wicked* sad, because I liked the openness of the area around the Pru.

Anyway, I was in a really sour mood today. Something came up at home, and I had to be home earlier than my reserved 5pm ticket would allow. So we made plans to catch the 3pm bus, which would arrive in New York at around 8pm.

We went to the megabus counter to pay the change to the 3pm, but as the tickets were sold out, we had to wait until all the reserved seats for the bus were accounted for before we could change tickets. There were already 3 other people waiting, and they all gestured for us to go ahead to the counter. But when we arrived the lady was quite abrupt, “Don’t you see all these people are waiting ahead of you?” I apologized and let her know that we would wait until all the reserved patrons boarded before changing tickets. After 3pm, and after the 3 people originally ahead of us got on the bus, I went up to the counter again to try to change the ticket, but the lady at the counter allowed three additional people who arrived after us get on the bus. When I asked whether we could board the bus, she said, “Sorry you’ll have to wait for the 4pm.” Then I reminded her that I was ahead of the three people she just let on the 3pm bus, and she demanded, in a rising voice, “Did I even talk to you before?” Which really infuriated me, because I know she remembered me. I had a neon pink shirt on and was sitting near the counter the whole time.

I am embarrassed to admit that I definitely cried a little bit, primarily because I was so upset by the inefficiency of the system and by not being able to get on an earlier bus despite making such a big effort to arrive at South Station ahead of schedule. I informed my boyfriend that we had the choice of either waiting 1 hour and paying up for the 4pm bus or just staying til 5pm for my original ticket.

The latter turned out to be a perfect thing to do. We walked to Faneuil Hall to get hot chocolate. There, we saw carolers and street performers, and had the chance to visit some of our old hangouts. On our way back to South Station, we passed by Dewey Square, the site of the #OccupyBoston movement where we first met (to be clear, we weren’t Occupiers – just coworkers in an office that overlooked the Occupy site). Most magically, though… we saw the first snowflakes of the season! (Now, were this New York, I might suspect that the tiny white drifts were morsels of garbage… but this is Boston so I trust that it is actually snow.)

I guess good things come to those who wait – even if they are forced to wait due to an unjust transportation boarding system!

xoxo, the closing belle


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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 16, 2015: Belle Tells | Hallmarks of a great boss

Today is National Boss’ Day.

… Say what?

Yes, that was my reaction this morning, too, when I heard it on the radio during my (increasingly cold) drive to the bus to NYC. I decided to put my WikiPhD education to good use. I discovered that National Boss’ Day is celebrated in the United States (Go Corporate ‘Murica!), Canada, and … Lithuania! It seems a rather random collection of countries but hey, I’ll take it. Wikipedia has never failed me before. In Peers We Trust.

I see lists all over the webs, but over the years I’ve developed my own views on what makes a good manager. I am blessed with a great boss, so in celebration of National Boss’ Day, here is my personal list.

Hallmarks of a great boss:

1. Gives assignments in context. I don’t know how many times in my first job when I had no idea why I was assigned to do something. I spent a lot of time being very confused :P In a larger, hierarchical organization, I think this risk is fairly prevalent. And for someone who had just graduated college, it can be difficult to infer what the purpose of an assignment is. In retrospect, I wish that I had asked more questions of that nature. Now that I have worked under someone who frames my projects with a larger picture, it’s hard for me to understand why I never expected or asked for this before in prior jobs.

2. Answers questions. Of course, to some extent, all managers who want your project to succeed will be open to answering questions that help you get the task done. But some managers can make it intimidating, for example by making you feel like what you’re asking is too basic. My manager, however, is totally open to questions and answers them without judgment, which has made it easy for me to ask higher level questions, which in turn has made me a better worker.

3. Makes you feel important/recognizes your contributions. My boss makes me look good to other managers at the firm. Even when he’s speaking to really important people, if he is referencing something that I’ve spent time developing, he attributes it to me. This has made me feel like an important contributor to the firm’s success, which makes me feel more responsible for my work and do a better job.

4. Gives you projects that develop your career. My boss could have easily given me menial tasks, and saved the interesting ones for more senior analysts who can complete it in less time. But he has been great about giving me chances to work on higher value-add projects. They have helped me become a more confident decision maker and risk taker. I think that in many ways, my decision to put myself on the Internet with my vlog channel was driven by the confidence and risk appetite I gained working for my current boss. 

5. Mentors. We don’t have a formal mentoring program at my company but my boss has done an amazing job being both a manager and a mentor. I believe that the difference is, a manager tells you things to make the company stronger – delegating tasks, training, etc., whereas a mentor tells you things to make you stronger. 

6. Has faith in you. A great boss will keep giving you projects and responsibilities even when you make a ton of mistakes. I have definitely made a ton of mistakes! But for every new project, I definitely make fewer than the project before!

Happy weekend, everyone!

xoxo,
the closing belle

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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 14, 2015: Instant gratification in digital content

New Jersey public schools now require some sort of financial literacy course for all students. I remember taking a version of that – the basic message is: don’t borrow to excess or you’ll find yourself mired in debt. Seems reasonable enough. Another message is, you will want bigger, better things in the future such as a house or car, so save now and enjoy later. Got it: choose delayed over instant gratification.
   
But it seems on social media and digital platforms like YouTube, it’s all about the instant gratification. These are some examples and why they’ll only hurt you in the long run – like uncontrollable credit card debt.

1. Click baiting. This describes the phenomenon of a YouTuber putting up a video with a provocative title or thumbnail to get viewers to click on it. Views are a major performance metric on YouTube, with two major versions. The “video view” describes the number of times that someone has clicked to watch a particular video, whereas the “lifetime view” describes the cumulative number of watches that all videos on your channel have garnered. While click baiting may increase a content creator’s video views for a particular video, that creator’s subscribers will soon catch on to the trick and lose some trust in the channel, which will cause them to watch fewer future videos. In this way, the creator is sacrificing lifetime cumulative views for an instant high video view count.

2. Sponsorship craze.  In the beauty and lifestyle category, content creators are paid in a few different ways – video views and YouTube advertisement overlay clicks, offline revenues like attending meet-ups, and sponsorships or partnerships by companies. The latter is a very direct sort of advertisement – the content creator is making a video to endorse a particular product or service and putting his or her name behind its efficacy, enjoyability or superiority over a competing item. Two years ago, Tom Ford had a huge ad campaign with many of the YouTubers I watched, and each YouTuber somehow incorporated the use of Tom Ford products – whether in Day-in-the-Life vlogs, monthly favorites, or “Day/Night Routines.” And just as soon as the Tom Ford craze started on YouTube it soon ended. Suddenly, the beauty gurus were going back to their tried-and-true facial and skincare products. Of course, I’m sure their campaign was successful in causing some followers to buy Tom Ford products. But in the same vein, I feel hesitant to continue to watch other content by those creators who only seemed to use Tom Ford products during this promotional period and never thereafter. I’ve found that some smaller beauty and lifestyle content creators on YouTube seem to be producing just sponsored videos. While this is quick money in the short run, I think that it will only hurt them in the long run, because they lose the subscriber’s trust in their honest opinions. It soon seems that they’re willing to talk up any product if the company is willing to pay them. While it is understandable that sponsorships are a major source of revenues for YouTubers, they are also not a free lunch. Your good name and credibility is at risk.

I hope that these are things I will remember if I ever become a more successful YouTuber or blogger.

xoxo,
the closing belle

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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!

Blogtober 12, 2015: Exposing my "secret life"

Hardly anyone in my real life knows about my blog and vlog channel (youtube.com/theclosingbelle) but it is such a big part of my extra-professional life – almost every night I fall asleep to YouTube videos – that it feels really weird not being able to talk about it.

So I did something today that would have been unthinkable to a younger, more skeptical me: I not only told my coworkers about my blog and vlog channel, I gave a whole presentation on it!

My presentation was mostly focused on the business side of being a blogger/vlogger, rather than my actual personal channel and experience. They did ask about my channel’s analytics and one co-worker said, “I bet we can find it in minutes if we wanted to.” I don’t doubt that they can… And, co-workers, if you have found it, congratulations  I am happy to work with such savvy Googlers.

I was so surprised by how engaged my office was – they asked a lot of questions and expressed genuine interest. And this makes me feel so regretful that I’d never talked about “my secret life” before. Far from being judgmental or condescending of my non-traditional hobby, they all seemed fairly supportive. Yay!

Big lesson of the day is: be proud of what you do. If it is interesting to you, no matter how contrasting it seems to what you do in your professional life, definitely share it. I think the folks I work with know me well enough to know that off-hours, I’m not reading War and Peace or directing a mariachi band. But now they know what I actually fill my personal hours with – and I’m glad about it.

Xoxo,
The closing belle

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BLOGTOBER: Blogging every other day in October!