You can do this!

This is my last week of this semester of school. This last blog is for the introduction of entrepreneur class that I have been in. I have enjoyed this class and have learned a lot. If I had one final lecture to share of what I have learned this class, it would be on making sure you are on the right path to start your business. That path could include talking to other entrepreneurs and others to get experiences. Working at other companies, gaining the training, guidance, and contacts that you would need to start your business. Being on the right path also includes being nice and doing service for those around you. The path includes building the kingdom of God. Heavenly Father is the one giving us these situations for a reason. We need to be thankful and help others any way we can. We can start a business, while keeping in mind how we can help people and serve God at the same time. Blessing from the Lord will bless our lives if we do this. The last bit advice to give someone would to make sure we are working for the right reasons. We need to ask ourselves frequently, what is the purpose of my business and how is it helping? If we keep ourselves in check with the Lord, I feel like other things will fall into place. That doesn’t mean that it will be smooth sailing. We will have challenges and trials that we will face as we go along our journey. Words of advice, direction, or caution would be, be nice. Hire nice people to be on your bus. Believe in yourself and trust that you can do it. Have mentors and support groups to back you and keep you going. You can do this!

Biggest Challenges for Entrepreneurs

This week in class we had a case study. What stood out to me in the case study by Randy Haykin called, “The making of an Entrepreneur,” was his biggest challenge. This challenge was balancing family and work. Randy commented that when you oversee your own business, it is hard to walk away when things are unfinished or unsettled. It’s like you have two families that you must balance. Family being the first and work would be the second family. Part of that challenge would also involve rest. Randy commented that he feels like a better worker and leader when he balances rest in his life. I know this is true in my life. I can handle things in my life when I have had rest. I seem to have more patience and able to handle challenges or trials that come up in my life. I am thankful to know that through balancing life, business, and rest I can keep going in everyday life without shutting down.

Managing time has always been one of the things that makes me nervous about starting my own business. I’m afraid that I will not be able to walk away from unfinished things and be able to balance family time and rest. One thing I know that would be able to help in that area would be to set rules and guidelines. If I set goals and achieve them, I would also be able to set new goals. I think it is important to keep setting goals. I would help you stay on track of the pathway that you have set for yourself. I should not worry about managing time opening my business. I need to move forward, with goals set of what I want to accomplish and do it. I know that if I trust in the Lord, all things are possible.

What does Business really Mean?

I learned about business and what is so important about it this week in class. I was asked why virtue and integrity is so vital to an economy? I think it is very important because rules and laws rely on truth and trust, otherwise things will be undependable and no one will trust the system. Trust is a delicate and can be broken easily. Some ways that trust is being broken is because of greed. Personal greed is influencing people to sweep important things under the rug or breaking rules to make more money. This is a huge problem and where the lying and deceit come in trust is broken.

The real justification for the existence of business is no longer to help and look out for others. Charles Handy, in What’s a business for? said, “It is about investments and company’s assets are increasingly found in its people, not in building and machinery.” Two solutions that were suggested by Charles Handy were great ideas. The first solution would to have better and tougher regulations. This would help by defining responsibilities clearly and penalties spelled out better and watchdogs appointed to look over these items. The second solution would be to have people who carry intellectual property should have some rights to say what happens in the company. The employees now are considered costs and they shouldn’t be. They are members of the company community and should be treated as. They should also have some rights including the right to note and share their opinions on different issues as they arise. Why is all the power going to outsiders that are only looking out for themselves. But the employees are pouring their hard work through sweat, tears, and hours put in should be given more rights. The thought of what a business is, really needs to be redefined and fixed.

Measuring the Cost

This week in business class we learned about measuring the cost. I was thinking this week would be more the price tag, but instead it was on balancing business life with family life. We also learned about our attitude toward money. We need money to survive and support the family. To put a roof over our heads, food on the table, and other things that keep us safe and healthy are important to buy with money. We need to make money that is sufficient for our needs. If we spend all our time on just making money, we are missing the boat. We need to teach our children about the importance of money and how to budget. Planning for the future is very important for us and our children. Money is not evil if thought about in the right way.

How we view money can affect the way we live. If we live selfishly and make money, only to make more money for yourself, we will not proper in the sight of the Lord. We need to help and serve other around us. We should rank ourselves better than others because of money, we should look to others as equal and find ways to serve. Being the holiday season, this is an excellent time to find ways to help and uplift others. By doing this, we are becoming more like our Savior.

Some rules recommended for prospering are:

1. Seeking the Lord and have hope in Him.
2. Keep the commandments in tithing and fast offerings.
3. Think about money and plan how to become self-reliant.
4. Take advantage of chances of learning. Get an Education.
5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.
6. Do not send away the naked, hungry, thirsty, or sick. Help them in any way.

This was a great week of learning.

Think Big

I really enjoy this week study in my introduction to entrepreneur class. The talk by Taylor Richards called “Think Big” was awesome.  Some of the comments he made really hit home for me. There was four points that I was able to really take to heart and hopefully I will be able to apply them to my life. These four points are only able to be applied to my business life, but also my everyday life. We should live a life that is worth living and enjoy it. We should cut ourselves short because it would be easier.

Here are the four points. Don’t underestimate yourself was the first one. I like to think I can do hard things. If I believe that, I will be able to go farther in my business. The idea begins in your mind, and then is carried out. If we believe we can’t do it, we won’t make it very far. The 2^nd thing was, “Don’t settle for good when you can be great.” I think this is important because we should always try to be better, work hard, and learn something new. Trying to be great will help you be a great leader and help those around you. The 3^rd comment I liked was, “Reach for your dreams.” We should settle for little because it is easy and more convenient. We should shoot higher and get the dream or goal we really want. Yes, I will be harder, but well worth it. The last comment I really liked was to “Dream huge.” Just like I was saying, dream big, shoot for the stars, and fulfill your dreams. When you do and you have accomplished your goal, you will be glad that you didn’t settle for less. You will be glad you believed in yourself, strived to be great, reached for your dreams, dreamed big, and went all the way. 

Leadership

This week in introduction to entrepreneurship we learned about disciple leadership. We learned about the reasons it is important to be trusted. Guy Kawasaki in aspects of building trust compared two types of people. The first type of people would be the bakers, while the second type would be the eaters. Eaters will eat as much pie as possible so no one else can have pie. They are in it to get as much for themselves. Bakers look to help others. They will bake more and make bigger pies to help people enjoy the pie. The baker tries to help everyone have a piece of pie. We should want to be bakers in our business. We should find the ways to help people all around us. 

We also learned about helping your business to be more successful is to hire nice people. Nice people will help other employees out. The team will work better together if they are nice.

Another thing I learned was about being a good leader. A good leader will take people to higher ground. A leader will cause things to happen. It is important to be uplifting to people around you. We don’t want to be the one who brings people down.

The last thing that I really found important and helpful was from the Jim Colins’s book, Good to Great. There are five statements that will help you be successful. The first one is good is the enemy of great. Don’t settle for good, when you can be great. The other thing is getting the right people on the bus. You need to find the right “nice” people to work with that will be willing to help others and work with a team peacefully. The third thing he said is that you need to possess these three characteristics: great product, believe you’re the best, and passion for your product. We will need all three together to be great.  

Overcoming Challenges

This week in class we learned about overcoming challenges. I have many challenges, but my greatest challenge in business is how exactly how to get started. Also, this week we had to start thinking about someone we can interview that is an entrepreneur that we can learn from. I have picked someone who is my friend who I believe I can learn a lot from.  I can overcome my challenge with research and interviewing a person who is a success at his entrepreneur business.

I also know that if I trust in the Lord, I will be guided in my adventures in life. I know that counseling with the Lord in all that I do, will help me know that I am on the right path. After counseling with the Lord, I need to trust myself that I am ready. The next step would be to jump into action and go for it.

With help from my family and friends supporting me I know I can succeed. I also will take the information I learn from my interview and decide how I should proceed. My supporting team can help by cheering me on. I think I can do great things with great people at my side helping me. They can also pass the word around about my business to help with the advertising. Family and friends could also chip in and help work my business while I am trying to get the business off the ground. I know they can be and will be a big support in helping and motivating me.

Together with the Lord, family, and friends I will be able to accomplish hard things. I will be able to believe in myself while taking these big steps and I will be able to start my business with confidence and I will succeed.