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W14 Celebrate Your Life

 This weeks post is reflective. It will include my main takeaways from this 14 week entrepreneurial course. The first takeaway- I still cannot spell entrepreneur without the help of spell check... if you had one final lecture to share with a group of students on what you have learned from this course, what would you share? My final lecture would be on resilience. This is a highly important skill if you want to find success as an entrepreneur. Failures are part of the process of growth an learning. Whether big or small, failure will happen. Take accountability, learn from the experience, and try again.  What would be your last bit of advice to someone wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey? I feel so new and fresh on my entrepreneurial journey- so I feel like a rookie giving advice to a fellow rookie. That being said, I would say- take the time to read. Reading of others entrepreneurial journey's gave me courage and energy to start. Additionally, reading will enable you to c...
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W13 A Journey of Gratitude

            Risk Management            Is the risk of entrepreneurship worth it? This is something that has been a central focus throughout the semester. My conclusion is the risk is worth it. While entrepreneurship seems to carry a heavier sense of accountability, I do not think the risk is inherently greater than other options. Layoffs still happen at “secure” companies. People still fail and lose their jobs. Even if the risk is higher than other careers and lifestyles, the payoff is worth it. My perspective on this completely shifted from the start of this semester. From my husband losing his job last year, to reading all the case studies and finding my entrepreneurial drive -I am left with one question, “why not me?” If others can follow their passion and find success, why not me? I am no longer terrified of risk. It is worth it and I am excited to see where my entrepreneurial journey takes me.     ...
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W12 Becoming a Changemaker

Become a Changemaker Virtue and integrity are vital to an economy. When these values disappear so does just and fair business. The divide between classes becomes larger and the public is failed. According to Charles Handy, we should "measure success in terms of outcomes for others as well as for ourselves." This helps keep business reciprocal and sustainable. Two solutions to help make this happen are to take it seriously when creating a wealth-creating community. Allow people to be rewarded honestly and generously for their efforts. This will breed creativity and innovation. It also finds ways for community to be centered and give freely. What I take form this is the importance of working to make a difference and the value in giving back These concepts are important to me because they give drive and purpose towards running a business outside of financial gain. This will help keep me in line with my ethical and morale guidelines. It will also enable me to continue to love and...
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W11 Measuring the Cost

This week brought excellent self reflection.  Every thing we choose to do comes with an opportunity cost. It is how we evaluate and prioritize that will have the biggest impact on the outcomes of our choices.  Measure The Cost In order to measure the cost of a decision, especially with an entrepreneurial path or starting a business, you need to be able to evaluate each decision. You also need to know your ethics, morals, and order of priorities in order to evaluate the options in the right context. The priorities I base decisions off of are the following categories in the following ranked order: Mental well being Relationship with Spouse Relationship with children Financial Gain Time Commitment Total Time Duration or (Change is Time Commitment over a long period of time) This ranking and values have been added based on real life experience and learning how to properly put family first. My spouse and I have made mistakes in the past placing total time and financial gain ahead o...
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W10 Dream Big Dreams

This week, along with the readings and videos, I learned a lot from my peers in class.  Key Takeaways: It is important to dream big dreams To achieve big dreams you need to set realistic goals and set goal markers or milestones Reaching success takes diligence, research, and an effective scope Ask the right questions Takeaway's from this weeks readings: Directly from my discussion board post from the week because I want to be able to find this analysis and reflection easily in the future The example of the boating industry top 100 made me realize I should do that type of research in my industry - crochet and crochet bloggers. This will require some research based on sales, follower numbers, and subscribers and compiling who the top earners are. Then I can set goal posts and milestones for where I want my small business to fall and when. This will be an effective way to manage my growth across the industry.  An additional takeaway I had from this weeks studies is Googles 20% ru...
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W09 Disciple Leadership

 The core to disciple leadership is character development. Growth and learning need to be at the forefront of my mind.  Here are some key steps I learned about this week: Learn who I am Decide who I want to become Set Guardrails that align with the previous bullets Move forward with faith, trusting the process As I start my business I have done a personal inventory of who I currently am and what business and crochet skills I currently bring to the table. Next, I spending time figuring out what skills I lack and what I need to do to gain them. This is how I decide who I want to become and what I want my business to become, in the long run. Part of setting guardrails is decide my pricing strategy and quality goals for my company. I do not want to cut corners. I firmly believe it is worth the time it takes to learn a new skill. The final bullet feels the hardest, as it also encompasses continually working on the first two bullets. However, moving forward with faith and trusting t...
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W08 Overcoming Challenges

Challenges will arise. Fears and doubts will creep in. Setbacks will happen. How will I deal with it all? This is why it is so important to view entrepreneurship as a journey and a mindset, not a destination. Setting continual goals, holding firm boundaries, and evaluating progress in meaningful ways will empower me to find growth despite rising adversary.   As I start my small crochet business- no one knows who I am. It will be hard to drive sales and build a customer network in a market that is already oversaturated on certain platforms. To over come this I plan to follow advice from David Carrington "Know who [you] are and what the brand is. And consistently execute the brand." This means putting a lot of research and work into the brand development of my company. My colors and logos need to be consistent and intentional. My purpose behind my crafted items needs to follow my brand pillars and align with my long term goals. This will require a lot of introspection and plann...
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