A typical day at my internship

A typical day at my internship consist of me learning the various systems involved with running a successful business and learning best practices in the private sector. Learning systems such as: QuickBooks, Saleforce, Nexonia, as well as some databases built by the company to provide analytic services takes up a good part of my day.  This has given me hands on experience utilizing the systems that are being used in the workforce today, regardless of whether it is a nonprofit or a for profit entity. Although I am not the best numbers person out there, these systems are simple enough that with enough practice anyone can learn how to use these.
When I am not learning these systems I am discussing best practices in regards to how the private sector works. Thus far I have learned of the importance of providing value to people. Although having a good product is important, value does not necessarily mean your product needs to be the best in the market, it can also include customer service and time. I have come to realize that time is a commodity in the private sector that has a lot of value. The more time you are able to save your client the more time they have to provide better services to their clients, so anything you can do to save people time is of extreme value.
Furthermore, because this is a smaller entity, I have had a lot of time to discuss other important matters with the director. Another big part of my internship has been identifying problems in the community and coming up with solutions that the company can help lead. This includes things such as financial literacy in low income communities, political advocacy for legislation that helps improve the lives of Arizonans, as well as a plethora of different problems plaguing the veteran community. Being able to look at these issues from the private sector perspective has taught me think of efficient and practical solutions to these problems.