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.

The Customer is Always Right

There are a few things that I want to remember from the things I learned this week. First off I read the story about how eggnog and how there was a customer that came and complained about the eggnog being sour. Instead of the store manger being apathetic and doing all he can to please the customer, he argued with her and just gave her money back. The customer then said "I'm lever coming back" as they left the store. Its an important principle to remember that happy customers come back and they bring their friends, unhappy customers don't come back. Another take away from this week was the story about Jet Blue and how structured they company. They originally served food but realized that's not what customer really wanted so instead they focused on a few other things. First was putting their money where it was most valuable. They purchased TVs for each seat instead and that gave each customer a little bit of control where they previously had none and just encouraged passengers to bring their own food on board. Secondly they increased efficiency and service satisfaction by actively assisting customers with their bags as they boarded the plane. They quickly become known for these things and they found that their customer satisfaction increased. In summary, spend money were it will do the most good, and serve the needs of the customer.
 My $100 challenge is coming along but a little slower than I originally hoped for. I have not yet obtained by first set of tires but that should happen early this week. I am currently designing a logo to put on all of my online adds, one that people can recognize and easily refer their friends to. I was thinking and I realized that return customers will likely be long term or only once or twice if I market this correctly. They bulk of my advertising is online and word of mouth though so satisfaction with my tires and complete honesty about their condition will be absolutely essential for me to be successful. Hopefully I will be able to get my first sale this week! My supplier has some set backs that I was not planning on having but I am working through it!

Being Different

This week I was able to read some things about marketing that are key to success in any business and of course that apply to me directly. The first thing that is import to remember is that all business are different. They have a target market, a product or service, or whatever it may be that they must learn to market for. The principle of the purple cow is what really stuck with me this week. The purple cow is basically the idea that your marketing has to stand out in a crowd of "cows." Basically that you need to separate yourself for the pack. The example was given of driving through a herd of cows. At first its interesting but it quickly becomes boring and you stop paying attention. But if you saw a purple cow, then that would catch your attention. I need to remember to figure out a way to not follow the "rules" of marketing and to make my marketing a purple cow. Another principle that I learned was the most products or services are "very Good." In today's world "very good" is very common and not good enough. Well even though so many of those very good products understand the principle of the purple cow, they do not implement it often due to fear and criticism. I made the decision today that I will never fall victim to that attitude. I will strive in all of my ventures to market like a purple cow. To replace fears with faith and to do my best to be as unique as possible in a marketing way. In my $100 Challenge business I already hit road block number one. The original idea I had fell apart completely because I could not figure out a way to develop the product. So I went back to square one and brainstormed. I came up with another business idea that came about from some networking that I did. I am now selling used tires on the online market to locals that are in search of a cheap set of tires. These are often 40 percent worn or even more but I can obtain them cheap and sell them cheap in relative to new tires. This gives people a cheaper option to get them by for a few seasons. I'm excited to see how I can apply my purple cow marketing lessons to my new business.

Moving Forward- Principles and Struggles

This week has been full of money advice and interesting experiences. I learned so many things about money and its importance from the weekly readings and videos we had. A few key principles included learning to save and to budget. Every reading I think talked about how learning to save can be one of the greatest and most important things we can do as a provider for a family and as an entrepreneur. The management of money can be difficult but is essential for a successful family and a successful business. We read about how tithing and honoring financial obligations is important for success and many other little tips. One thing I found interesting from a video I watched this week was one man’s outlook on venture capitalist funding. He said that it is rare and you are lucky to get it if you can but he also said that it can warp you into spending more money on things than you should. He said to take the funds but if at all possible keep the boot strap mentality of only spending where it is needed to make the business grow and succeed. This is similar to good budgeting and saving principles that were discussed through the week. Some key take-aways to remember; learning to save money is essential, spend where you must, build accurate budgets and forecasts, hard work and optimism can get you through any low that you might be experiencing. Successful people do not quit when hard times come, they work harder and get through it. Every business will hit a hard spot but those that push through it are the ones that make a difference.

My $100 Challenge is already off to an interesting start. I tried to develop the product I wanted to sell and I have not been able to even get a working prototype. As a result I have solicited some outside help as well as formulated a backup business plan in a different area of business. As research continues and I try to make a sellable product, it will be import for me to keep my costs low as not to exceed me startup cost limit. If all else fails, I will switch to my second idea in which I will be obtaining used tires and selling them on the used retail market. Both are great ideas and I think both have great potential for success but I’m excited to see what I can make happen this next week.

Remember What's Important

We watched a video this week about lean startups and the difference between successful startups and unsuccessful ones. The video talked about how a successful start up follows a pivot pattern. This is basically when they encounter a problem and discover a flaw in the plan, they remember what they learned by the take a step in a new direction that might work better and fill the real need society has to be filled. I found it very interesting this week how much I leaned about the business mindset and the mindset that is necessary to be successful. I was reminded again this week to remember the things that are most important in life like family and relationships and not money or temporal possessions. Perhaps what really hit home for me this week was the concept of dreaming and planning to achieve those dreams. I heard dreaming defined as reality without limits or constraints. I can dream big.  What would I do if I had unlimited resources? What business would I want to start? Where would I live? All of these thoughts can drive creativity and they help us keep focused on our goals and redefine what is possible for us to achieve. The 100 dollar challenge is going well though I am having some doubts in my ideas and plans. None the less I am excited to move forward and adapt in whatever way that I need to. Bring it on!

Discovering My True Purpose

This week for class we had to read a short reading called "A visionary Business." The reading summarized points from a book by Marc Allen sharing the same title, and it really got me thinking about who I am and who I want to become. One of the points in the reading was to have a higher purpose than just making money. It said to discover my unique purpose for living and the talents and abilities I have been given to achieve that purpose. I need to find something in my life of actual worth, not just the monetary wealth I desire. So I did some pondering this week to try and identify what is truly important to me. I know that creating and raising a family is top on my list. I will love my future wife and children more than anything in the whole world. I want to be successful to provide them the life I know they will deserve. Also up on that list is service to my Heavenly Father. I want to be successful in my business endeavors so that I can be financial stable enough to serve in whatever capacity the Lord needs me to. Wither that is contributing financially to those in need or serving in specific callings or full time missions, I want to be ready to serve. There are many things that motivate me but that short article really made me think about who I wanted to become and how my business could be an avenue to help get me there. I have a desire to read Marc Allen's book that I may learn more.
My $100 Challenge business is coming along. I'm really trying to reach out to family and friends for feedback and ideas on what would be the best approach and the best idea that I could implement quickly and make very successful. It's been a little bit of a struggle but I'm figuring it out and I look forward to seeing what I can make happen over the next few weeks. That assignment is a great example of a visionary business and the principles I discussed above as all of the prophets are going to go to helping some other entrepreneur that needs start up money. I feel as though things are headed in the right direction.

Beginning My Journey as A Young Entrepreneur

Beginning My Journey as A Young Entrepreneur

I am a 23 year old college student attending Brigham Young University Idaho. I have a passion for business and I am always looking for a new challenge. I am not yet married nor do I have children but family is the most important thing to me in my life, next to God and my religion. I have recently just started a business on my own as well as working through the process of starting an addition one with my father.  In this Blog I intend to share the things I am learning and experiencing on my journey through this small business creation class and as a young aspiring entrepreneur.

Ever since I was a young boy I have had a passion for making things work. Wither that was fixing something, organizing a group of people, or even planning a last minuet party, I was your guy. As I got older, and watched my father start several businesses, I constantly brainstormed new ideas and tried to identify "points of pain" that I could potentially create a business to solve. Now I am in a small business creation class that is helping know how to take those ideas and make them a reality. This week I was reminded from my coursework about what's really important in life. Business is great and we should aspire to make all of our dreams become reality in that aspect, but at the end of the day, at the end of your career, at the end of life, what really matter is who you have become. Nobody is going to care, on a large scale, what you have accomplished but those who matter to you are going to know are care about who you have become. I aspire to become the kind of person, business man, and family man that is kind, has integrity, works hard, and puts the needs of others in front of his own, all while creating and running wildly successful businesses.

Throughout this class I will be participating in a challenged called the $100 challenge. In this challenge I am required to design and create a small business with a much as $20 that can generate at least $100 in profit by the end of the semester. So far I have brainstormed 20 ideas of what I might be able to do for that business. Some of the most important parts of starting a business, formulating an idea, expanding a current business, etc., involve brainstorming. This past activity where I identified 20 new ideas was painful at times. I felt like I was scraping for new ideas and at the same time scraping my brain. I have learned that its important to remember that a good business will fill a need or serve a purpose in making the lives of those around me better somehow. As I remembered that in this activity it helped shape my thought process and pushed me in the right direction.

Personally I like to remember the connection between business and Heavenly Father in my life. Like I said previously, business is fun, challenging, and an important part of my life, but God and family come first. That being said, I believe all good ideas come from Heavenly Father. Its okay to pray for direction and to pray for ideas that could become successful. Inspiration comes from above. It doesn't matter if times are good or times are bad, Heavenly Father is there, waiting to provide direction, comfort, and new ideas. I aspire to make my Heavenly Father a part of every thing I do wither it be with my family, my schooling, and absolutely in my adventure as a life long entrepreneur.