My Final Lecture

What a semester it has been. This class has allowed me to gain some interesting and useful insights on what is might be like to be an entrepreneur and there are some key things that every entrepreneur should know and remember. First thing to remember is who you are and what you stand for. When you engage in any business venture, first make sure that you define your core values and what you stand for. That way when opportunities come up to be dishonest, unlawful, or whatever it may be in a way that would benefit your company, the decision is easy. This may sound obvious but remember you employees act in your company name. they as well as you, must know and live by the core values your company is built on. Some other things that are key to remember when starting a business are do your research, obtain the right amount of funding, be passionate, and find the right balance between working in your business and working on your business. So many of the case studies we read about failed because they did not understand what market they were entering. Its super important to know your target market and what they want as well as competition, demographic, and so on or you may run into unexpected downfalls. The biggest issue that causes start ups to fail is insufficient capital. My father always said define out have much money you need and get and then double it and get that much money to start your business. Be sure to be frugal and calculated in the purchases you make. Business is about passion and creativity and problem solving. Be fully invested in what you set out to do but at the same time remember to not get too caught up in the day to day and spend time trying to plan and expand. In the end, put your heart into it anything you do, give back to society and serve, and keep moving forward. I am excited to get started with my entrepreneurial adventures and to apply all the things I have learned.

Coming to a Close

I have learned a lot of things this semester about starting a business and the time and energy it takes to do so. This week we studied a lot about failure and risk taking and overcoming hardships to push through and be successful. Some of the most successful people in the world today failed miserably when they first started out. People like Thomas Edison and Michael Jordan but it was that failure that really drove them to overcome, to push through, and to prove themselves. Anyone in this world can do great things. But everyone who tries is going to fail at some point or another. That is the beauty of risk taking. Some risks work out and some don't but if you let the ones that don't define you, you will fail yourself. Get back up and keep trying. Make changes and attack at new angles and something that I want to remember forever is never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do; find out for yourself.
My 100 challenge ended up with a growing success. I only had sales in the last two weeks and it was a scary thing to think I might not make a single dollar. Half way through I took a risk to purchase another product to sell and it payed off. The risk went my way in that case and I'm grateful for it. My business will continue to grow and make more and more money now and I am grateful for the lessons I learned through this course and this assignment in particular. I was able to reach and exceed my goal of over 100 dollars in profit and I actually look forward to donating it to some other entrepreneur that needs the start up money. Funding like that can change a mans or a woman's life forever. Its not just a give away that someone is going to throw away, but it can enable them to create a business that could support them and their family for generations and not to mention help them to fulfill their dreams.

Success and the Future

My family currently owns and operates a family business in which myself, my father, and two of my uncles are involved as well as several other employees. As I read about different things in family business that are important to its success, I compared it to the personal experience I  have had in this area and they are a few key take-a-ways for me. The first is defining clear roles within the business. This week emphasized the importance of being clear and defining the roles that each person would play. This has been a struggle for us sometimes in our business especially when it came to defining my role. First hand I can tell you that it gets a little bit frustrating. The second thing that stood out to me was the joy that can come from running a family business. It can be stressful because as well all well know, money and family can be a touchy subject, but when handled correctly it can bring much satisfaction and joy. It provided opportunity for a father to see his children be successful and to learn and grow together. I know that my dad has a dream in which out family business becomes profitable enough to support generation after generation as the company is passed down. As that begins to happen, clear communication is essential to the whole process.

My 100 dollar challenge is becoming successful now. I sold a set and potentially a second set of tires that I purchased if the transaction goes through. I also have online sales of other parts as I mentioned before. I have not finished updating the accounting but I think I may have reached the 100 dollar goal already due to my good margins. There is so much potential for growth. Each time I speak with the supplier I learn of other parts that they take and dump or give away or sell a wholesale bulk rates to other companies. There is potential to organize an agreement with them to sell those parts in their shop but I am not sure why they haven't done it yet. I am interested to continue to speak with them about the issue.

Problems and Progress

This week has been ups and downs all the way along. I learned that franchising is not for me. I am not really interested in a hybrid entrepreneurial/still have your own boss type of venture. I really enjoy the thrill and the adventure of creating an idea and a dream and creating it from the ground up. I like to create the problem and solve it rather than just manage it. I also was reminded, through my own personal ventures, that it is important to obtain financing for your business long before you need it. I am currently in a jam for one of my companies as I have business and need the funding to follow it through. I know it will work out as I work hard and pray harder but for now its a little frustrating. My 100 dollar challenge is going well. I started selling more of the same jeep part that I sold before but still have not sold my tires. I am working on a solution to get a better turn over rate. Maybe I need a new audience/market. I am going to approach the dealership and see if they will allow me to sell them outside their dealership in a little display. Its a bit of a long shot but it could work. I am working hard to make my 100 dollars and I think I'm on track but it will be close. I am also trying to define my dream. What is really important to me? Who do I want to become and how can my business ideas help me to sustain that?

My first Dollar

I made my first dollar! I know it took several weeks but I finally sold my product! Hopefully it will pick up and I will be able to make my 100 dollar goal by the end of the semester. I actually did not sell my tires that I purchased yet but it was a jeep part that acquired through the same source. At any rate I am pretty excited. This week on my entrepreneurial journey, I leaned a few key things that I feel are important to remember. The Acton Hero that we studied, Catherine Rohr, was inspiring to me. She talked about how business transformed her view of people and of life and the transformation she made from specifically seen people in jail as animals to seeing them as the great people they have potential to become. She now uses her talents to help others make transformations in their lives. It was a huge reminder that the most important thing in this life is not successful business, its people and the relationships that we develop. Elder L. Tom Perry also touched on the values side of business and the spiritual side in one of our readings. He talked about how we should first seek to build the kingdom of God before we seek riches. Then the Lord blesses us with success if we should desire it to do good and build the kingdom. The Lord wants us to be successful but He also knows our true purpose and measures of success in this life.

The Struggle is Real #Entrepreneurship

This week for reading and learning, I learned tons about the importance and the how to of hiring and firing employees. I learned from the good to great reading the most companies hire with a backwards mentality. Most companies try to say where they are going and then find people to get on the bus that want to go that direction. In reality, successful companies put the right people with the right people on the bus and then decide what direction would be best to go. I also want to remember that its important to take as long as it takes to hire the right person and when someone needs to be let go, to let the go as soon as they can be replaced so it doesn't cause mores issues within the company.
My 100 dollar challenge business is not going as planned at all. I have not sold a single thing yet and I am starting to get anxious about it. However I am considering new crowds to advertise to, changing my prices, or just being a little bit more patent and seeing if it can work out. Either way I am confident that I will be able to work it out because I'm dedicated to being successful. I know that in one reading we read about how it was important to find a balance between being obsessed with an idea and being dedicated. I'm working on discovering that line in my own business.

What Type of Leader are You?

This week I learned many things about myself and many things about different types of leaders and leadership styles. One of the articles I read throughout this week talked about disciple leadership and how it pertains to me here at BYU- Idaho as well as how it can effect the rest of my life. I mentioned how disciple leaders lead as the Savior led while he was here. They lead by example, they lead with the spirit as their companion and they involve the Lord in their decisions. The Disciple leader also has a firm understanding of who he/she is and what he stands for. He knows his values and does not say from them based on a popular vote or a situation that arises. I also learned a little bit about other business aspects from a video of Florina as she spoke about some different things. What stood out to me most was how to tell if a business was doing well or struggling. According to her, the sure fire way to tell is customer satisfaction. Although she admitted that customers do not always know what they want, but they do know if they are satisfied with what is being provided wither it be service or product. She gave an example that compared IBM to HP and how HPs satisfaction was increasing and IBMs the opposite. From this alone she made the prediction that HP would pass IBM at the time and it did indeed happen. That shed an interesting light on understanding customer satisfaction for me in business.
My $100 challenge business is coming along and changing rapidly. I have not sold my set of tires yet but I did add an additional part to my business. I was able to acquire so other unwanted jeep parts that the company was going to get rid of and I am adding them to the list of things I will sell in the online market expanding from craigslist into EBay and such. In this segment ill have a little different competition but I thing that it could help me begin to get the cash flow that I need to buy more tires and other parts to resell.