Lesson 6 Entrepreneurial Journal

Lessons Learned:
I learned from the video "In Praise of the Purple Cow" that in order for a business to be successful, you have to stand out from the crowd.  It's important to find a niche market or produce a product that is new and different from what is currently on the market.  My favorite example from this was Dutch Brothers Paint.  It was such a simple thing, yet remarkable because everyone who has done any painting can relate to the frustration of the paint can.  That is a great example of thinking outside the box.  You don't necessarily have to come of with a new product, you can package it or vary it in a way that is remarkably different than everyone else.  I can also see the genius behind suggestive selling.  It really is much harder to find a new customer than to up-sell and bundle to your existing customers.  A fresh example is my husband's company. Everyone comes in to purchase landscape rock, sand or gravel and asks them "Do you carry Portland Cement?"  For years they have said no, and the customer has had to go elsewhere.  Just yesterday the boss finally caught the vision and is now going to carry Portland Cement, shovels, and work gloves.  I also see the value in having a good marketing strategy and plan in place before you open your business.  It's important to do your homework before launching into anything, including needs, markets, competition, pricing, etc.  I also learned that you cannot just put a product or a service on the market and never change a thing.  While you may have a great product or service, your customers' needs and wants tend to change over time and it's important to pay attention to changing needs and change up your products or services so that your business doesn't go extinct.

$100 Challenge:
My business is going at a slow, steady pace so far, which is great for me.  I have had a couple of missed opportunities where I should have promoted my business but did not.  I have had a former client ask for my help with minor projects and should have asked her to pass the word among her writer friends that I was available for more work.  I will do that this week.  I have also finished a project this week for another person who teaches adult creative writing classes and I will ask her if I can give her some business cards to offer to her students.  I have set up a "Documents Done Right" Facebook page which feeds from my Facebook account.  This next week I will create some social media ads to run on it and ask my friends to share it.  My biggest concern right now is figuring out the right pricing for my services.  I have always charged by the hour, but am considering charging by the page.  I need to do more research on competitor pricing.  I have made a couple attempts to get pricing from Craigslist advertisers, but they have not given me price quotes without having an actual project.  Freelance.com does a bidding system, so their prices end up being much lower than I am willing to do the work for.  Financials are:  Total Revenue $25.00; Expenses $0; Net Profit $25.

Lesson 5 Entrepreneurial Journal

Lessons Learned
I like the quote by President Faust that talks about a religion that does not require sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary for live and salvation.  This reminded me that anything worthwhile in this life or the next is worth great sacrifice.  Obtaining my Bachelor's Degree is requiring great sacrifice, but the reward and blessings will be worth that sacrifice.  How much more sacrifice should I be willing to make for the Lord; which brings even greater rewards and sacrifice.  This kind of helps me see that I am spending lots of time making sacrifices for my education, but also need to give more time and service to the Lord and the gospel.  I also learned from the video from Peter Diamandis the importance of being creative when looking for funding.  Even though the business couldn't give him the cash he was asking for, they could provide the services he needed.  And all it took was for him to ask.  The "Startups on a Shoestring" article helped me to see that if you have the vision and the passion for something, you can create something out of next to nothing.  All you have to do is figure out how to fill a need or desire on the part of a customer.

$100 Challenge
For marketing this week I have let a couple of my writer friends know that I am interested in finding more proofreading and editing work.  I have posted an ad for services on a city Facebook page for Home-Based businesses.  I have been researching online Virtual Assistant websites but most of them charge a monthly fee to look through the posted jobs.  I also have been looking at publishing companies to see if they need virtual proofreaders.  I found one publishing site that posts jobs needed for writers, editors and proofreaders, but they also charge a fee.  I have found a couple of people advertising on Craigslist for similar work, but I am a little hesitant to use Craigslist.  This weekend I plan on setting up a Facebook of page that is linked to my personal page and asking all my Facebook friends to like it.  I am taking it slow, because I can't handle too much work right now with my load.  An accounting for my business for the week is: $10 Revenue, $0 Expenses = $10 profit.

Lesson 4 Entrepreneurial Journal

Lessons Learned - Week 4

I thought the "Defining Dozen" questions for a startup were very helpful and a great resource for the planning stages of a startup.  It covers the most important questions you would want to have answered and include in your business development plan.  I also learned the important of the PIVOT points that I need to be watching for in a small startup.  This was also discussed in the book I read. It's a start to have a great idea, but along the way if something isn't quit working, you need to be able to be flexible and grounded enough to say "my original plan isn't quite right."  Then you can work out a modified plan that may work even better than your original idea or plan.  If your ego is too big with your original idea, this can become a stumbling block if you are not willing to make changes when necessary.  The HMM gave a great review on business plan development.  I learned a lot from the descriptions of each section of the business plan.  I haven't really ever seen a business plan before, so this was great new information for me to learn about.  One point that I will remember is the importance of reviewing your business plan from the reader's point of view.  And also to write it specifically tailored to who will be receiving it -- a lender, an investor, or Board of Directors.

$100 Challenge:
I have decided to do the typing/editing/proofreading service for my $100 challenge and have come up with the name "Documents Done Right".  I have decided that I will have two phases to this business.  Phase I will be the next 2 years while I am still in school and working part-time.  I have limited time to spend on anything extra, so my goal is to spend no more than 5 hours per week.  Once I have graduated I can decide if I want to pursue this work to supplement my income or find full-time work.

Lesson 3 Entrepreneurial Journal

Lessons Learned: The things I want to remember from this week include Marc Allen's advice on business; in particular his discussion points regarding the need to have a higher purpose than just creating wealth.  The rule of 3 was also good information that a startup will take 3 times as long and cost 3 times as much as you expect.  I saw the correlation there with the Boston Duck Tour startup.  I liked what he said about practicing management by goals, not by crisis.  So often managers are just putting out one fire after another.  I think it would be important to be organized enough to steer your department to meet the company goals.  I learned a lot from the teachings about creativity.  I have always thought of creativity in terms of the arts, music, etc.  But I can see how importance creativity is in business.  The ability to think big, outside the box, and use the techniques in HMM to create an atmosphere for creativity are all important things to remember.  I learned from the 5 company naming mistakes article that I shouldn't use my last name in my business name.  I will have to work on a new name for my $100 challenge business.

$100 Challenge:  I loved reading my classmates ideas for their $100 challenge.  I received good feedback for the business I am wanting to create -- a typing/editing/proofreading business.  I have gathered information on ways to find business, including Freelance.com, Craigslist, college bulletin boards, and my writer friends.