My Own Last Lecture:
At the end of the semester, some of the advice I would give myself is that I don't necessarily have to be an innovator or an entrepreneur to start my own business. Those skills can be learned, and as long as I have a passion for what I am doing, and determination to figure out how to learn the things I do not know, and the persistence and patience required to start up a business, I can achieve success. There are proven formulas I have learned about for having a successful startup, but there is so much more to learn about business, finance, and marketing. It is important to keep learning all I can learn my entire life. I have learned that I am a bit risk-adverse, and I need to be more open to taking risks, as long as I have done my homework thoroughly.
Some of the keys to developing successful business relationships are to have honesty and integrity in the way I do business; from how I interact with customers, to how I treat employees. How you treat people matters. If you treat them well, they will become loyal employees, customers, and friends. It is also important to surround myself with "A" players. I want to work with people who share the same values and ethics, and with people who share my passion and vision for my business.
It's important if you want to have a successful business to find a way to really stand out from the crowd, whether that is in your product, your advertising, or your customer service. Standing out in the crowd of competitors is key. And once you achieve a measure of success, you need to be looking for the next strategy to stay ahead of the competition. You cannot become complacent with your business or the competition will pass you by.
It is also important to have a meaningful purpose to your life and your business vision, so that you can use your business to fulfill your dreams. There is more to life than making money. Find a way to find meaning and happiness will follow. Find a way to give back to your community as part of your business plan.
Lastly, I would just say to myself to find my purpose in life, then pursue the things that will lead me to fulfill that purpose. Ask God what He wants me to do, where He wants me to be, and whom He wants me to serve. When I include God in my plans, they will turn out far better than if I made the plans on my own. Have faith and trust that God will lead to where I am supposed to be, where I can help others, and where I can make a difference.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Lesson 13 Entrepreneurial Journal
Lessons Learned:
The article I learned the most from in the reading this week was the Harvard Business Review article "Strategies For Learning From Failure". After reading about the varying categories of failure (preventable, unavoidable, & intelligent), it broadened my thinking about degrees of failure and that the majority of failures are not bad. Something can be learned from failures, and in fact, for new innovation to take place, failure needs to be part of the planned learning process. It surprised me that there is really only one category where failure could and should have been avoided. The statistic quoted that only 2-5% of all failures are truly blameworthy but 70-90% of failures are treated as blameworthy, speaks volumes about the need to change our thinking on failure and blame. I also learned about why it's important to provide employees with a safe environment for reporting and learning from failures, and that by providing the right environment, much more learning will take place. I like IDEO's slogan -- Fail often in order to succeed sooner. I liked the philosophy to try to find small failures before they turn into big failures. Preventative measures are always better than cleaning up messes. I loved the video clip of Michael Jordan talking about how many shots he missed, how many games he lost, and how many times he missed the game-winning shot. Yet, nobody remembers that -- all they remember is that he is remarkable. I like that he attributes his success to many failures. I also gained a better understanding of finding the right balance of working in your business and working on your business. Every business owner needs to spend time thinking and planning strategies for the future growth and success of the company, or it will just remain the same old company, and you may get bored spending all of your time IN your business.
$100 Challenge:
While working on my Powerpoint presentation, I was able to take a look back over some of the things I have learned through the startup challenge. I could see that I definitely need to pay attention to marketing my business and posting on social media regularly to remind customers of my business. I learned that I need to have a backup plan for when business is slow. My backup plan will be to do work for a transcription agency that has a steady flow of work. I was really excited this week when I had a return customer bring me some more work. I won't be completing the work until finals are done, so it won't count for my challenge, but it was still exciting to have some more work. I have more confidence that I can run a small business successfully. My financials are the same as last week: Revenue $153.00; Expenses $10.00; Net Profit $143.00.
The article I learned the most from in the reading this week was the Harvard Business Review article "Strategies For Learning From Failure". After reading about the varying categories of failure (preventable, unavoidable, & intelligent), it broadened my thinking about degrees of failure and that the majority of failures are not bad. Something can be learned from failures, and in fact, for new innovation to take place, failure needs to be part of the planned learning process. It surprised me that there is really only one category where failure could and should have been avoided. The statistic quoted that only 2-5% of all failures are truly blameworthy but 70-90% of failures are treated as blameworthy, speaks volumes about the need to change our thinking on failure and blame. I also learned about why it's important to provide employees with a safe environment for reporting and learning from failures, and that by providing the right environment, much more learning will take place. I like IDEO's slogan -- Fail often in order to succeed sooner. I liked the philosophy to try to find small failures before they turn into big failures. Preventative measures are always better than cleaning up messes. I loved the video clip of Michael Jordan talking about how many shots he missed, how many games he lost, and how many times he missed the game-winning shot. Yet, nobody remembers that -- all they remember is that he is remarkable. I like that he attributes his success to many failures. I also gained a better understanding of finding the right balance of working in your business and working on your business. Every business owner needs to spend time thinking and planning strategies for the future growth and success of the company, or it will just remain the same old company, and you may get bored spending all of your time IN your business.
$100 Challenge:
While working on my Powerpoint presentation, I was able to take a look back over some of the things I have learned through the startup challenge. I could see that I definitely need to pay attention to marketing my business and posting on social media regularly to remind customers of my business. I learned that I need to have a backup plan for when business is slow. My backup plan will be to do work for a transcription agency that has a steady flow of work. I was really excited this week when I had a return customer bring me some more work. I won't be completing the work until finals are done, so it won't count for my challenge, but it was still exciting to have some more work. I have more confidence that I can run a small business successfully. My financials are the same as last week: Revenue $153.00; Expenses $10.00; Net Profit $143.00.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Lesson 12 Entrepreneurial Journal
Lessons Learned:
Something I gained from reading the DAG Case Study, about the Harvard MBA students wanting to open a dry cleaning business, is how important doing the research is before venturing into a business deal. They were very prepared, they knew the 4 best strategies to have a successful dry cleaning operation and they were able to weigh all the options with really great data to support their decisions. I learned from the reading about the pros and cons of buying an existing business that it can be very beneficial to buy a business IF the business is already doing well and has a great customer base. If the business has been poorly managed and requires a great deal of change, modernization, or is not in an ideal location, you are better off served opening your own business. I learned that I would need to learn a great deal more about buying a business before even considering going down that road. There are a lot of variables to watch out for when analyzing a business and I am just in the infancy stages of learning what I would need to know. Knowledge is power!
$100 Challenge:
This week I have been unpacking and getting settled into my new apartment. I did have one small typing job from a ward member. I did spend some more time going through virtualassistants.com to checking into transcription work. I'm a little frustrated with that process, but I do know a couple of people who do transcription locally for a company here in Arizona and that may be an easier route than the VA website. I need to look at more ways to market my business. I am happy I have had some typing jobs, but would like to have a little more work than I currently am getting. Financials for my business are: Revenue $153; Expenses $10; Net Profit $143.
Something I gained from reading the DAG Case Study, about the Harvard MBA students wanting to open a dry cleaning business, is how important doing the research is before venturing into a business deal. They were very prepared, they knew the 4 best strategies to have a successful dry cleaning operation and they were able to weigh all the options with really great data to support their decisions. I learned from the reading about the pros and cons of buying an existing business that it can be very beneficial to buy a business IF the business is already doing well and has a great customer base. If the business has been poorly managed and requires a great deal of change, modernization, or is not in an ideal location, you are better off served opening your own business. I learned that I would need to learn a great deal more about buying a business before even considering going down that road. There are a lot of variables to watch out for when analyzing a business and I am just in the infancy stages of learning what I would need to know. Knowledge is power!
$100 Challenge:
This week I have been unpacking and getting settled into my new apartment. I did have one small typing job from a ward member. I did spend some more time going through virtualassistants.com to checking into transcription work. I'm a little frustrated with that process, but I do know a couple of people who do transcription locally for a company here in Arizona and that may be an easier route than the VA website. I need to look at more ways to market my business. I am happy I have had some typing jobs, but would like to have a little more work than I currently am getting. Financials for my business are: Revenue $153; Expenses $10; Net Profit $143.
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