The Ashton Journal

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...

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...

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...

 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...