B283 Capstone Journal Entry

 

Balanced Rock

Entrepreneur Journal

Journal

If you are a little bit like me, when you see a rock like this and have an overwhelming desire to get a large pry bar to roll it down the hill; you might be an entrepreneur. Would you do it just to see if you could? Would you do it because it’s there? Would you do it for the challenge? I think the best way to describe the entrepreneurial spirit is, you will know it when you feel it. It is an urge. It is a desire to make or build something. It is what you think about as you lie in bed before you fall asleep.

Reflecting on this last semester has allowed me the most serious reflection on my time as an entrepreneur. One of the biggest “aha” moments has been a semester-long “aha” moment. This “moment” came gradually as I realized how differently my entrepreneurial experience could have been, had I had the information I received piece by piece in this class. I wish that before I struck out on my entrepreneurial journey I could have had a guide to describe the path. With that in mind, here are my words of wisdom for a would-be entrepreneur.

First, get an education. It doesn’t need to be a college degree, it just needs to be enough so that you are not going into it blindly. I would also recommend a couple of books, “The E-Myth Revisited” and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” Second, find a mentor. Become their friend, their sponge, and their student. Third, decide if the life of an entrepreneur is for you. If you are not sure, then it probably isn’t. You will need an unwavering commitment, an unquenchable desire or passion, and a tolerance for failure and risk. If it’s not for you, that’s all right. If it is, you will be sure to experience some very gratifying highs, along with some difficult lows.

So here we sit at the fork in the road. Only you can tell which path is the best. One thing is certain, make sure the path you choose also leads back to your heavenly home. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) See you at the end of the road, brother or sister.

B283 Week 12

 

Red Rocks of Colorado

Entrepreneur Journal

Journal

Failing forward. Well, I am very well acquainted with failure. Hopefully I have learned from my failures in a positive and helpful way. This week’s material has helped me put my failures into perspective. Reading everyone’s examples of entrepreneurs who have overcome failure to go on to great successes was encouraging. As our semester winds down, I am reflecting on how I have shared my experiences with the class. I hope I have been encouraging, positive, and able to share in a way that helps others avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made. All in all, I have learned a lot from this class and appreciate the wide variety of case studies and the challenge of putting ourselves in the heads of entrepreneurs and business owners.  

 “$100 Challenge” Progress

I really enjoyed putting together the narrated PowerPoint presentation on the “$100 Challenge.” It gave me the opportunity to reflect on the experience and what I had learned. I really did not need the experience of what it feels like to have a small business (been there, done that). What I realize that what I did need was the experience of the complete package, from start to finish, in somewhat of a compact form. Like our hero focus this week, Tom Nall talked about wanting to have the biggest paper route, not for the money, but just to say he had the biggest paper route. It was about the challenge. While I did not reach my lofty goal of $750, I did do really well with $239. For me it was not about the money – it goes for a good cause, it was about the challenge and I am glad I rose to it. It feels really good. I’m proud of my work.