Last Lecture

Well here we are, at the end of another semester of academic learning. While this certainly has not been my first semester in college it was my first semester at BYU-Idaho and my first semester completely online. Over the course of this semester I have gained a few personal guidelines for my life as they relate to taking on any entrepreneurial endeavor. I am not the person constantly thinking about what I could do to start a business, I have a good job that I enjoy and that provides the necessities for my family, my wife does not have to work, and I am being developed professionally for future opportunities. However as I have taken this course I have had my eyes opened to the many opportunities that are out there and how many people really are living the entrepreneurial life. What I have learned is how to set yourself apart and see success where many see failure.

The advice I would give to someone with a desire to become and entrepreneur would be, first, do your homework, second, determine what is more important to you than your business, and third, have fun.

Do your homework. I have had opportunities to talk with individuals who have started their own businesses, some have be very successful and some have failed. One conclusion I came to was the people that were successful were also prepared. They had planned, studied the market, studied how to be successful businessmen, and kept on learning. Those that failed had great ideas but never got beyond being the “technician.” They are now working for a large organization and make a good living, but they are missing out on their dream of being an entrepreneur because they did not do their homework. Another important reason to do your homework is that you may simply realize that this isn’t what you actually wanted, and that is okay.

Determine what is more important to you than your business. Over the course of this semester I have made one finite conclusion about the world of entrepreneurship. The greatest failure an entrepreneur can face is a failed marriage. This is a personal conclusion but it allows me to focus on things that matter most. As Latter-day Saints the other portion of this, which can apply to all entrepreneurs, is the standards you will keep in your business. Integrity is vital, don’t allow your business to participate in activities that will break commandments. Believe it or not but your business is not what matters most in your life, if you don’t believe this, you need to get your priorities straightened out.

Have fun. At work we had an employee lose his job because he simply could not stand the work we did and was not willing to put in the effort. His performance was abysmal and eventually the day came where his final check was handed to him and he left the building. He was not happy and was not having fun. I, on the other hand thoroughly enjoy my job in that same department. Our responsibilities were different, but I had previously done what he was then doing. The only thing I wished this man had done different was work hard until the end. He showed part of his character as he gave up, but I do not blame him at all for not liking the work and not enjoying his job. In a similar manner the life of an entrepreneur can be exhausting, stressful, and time consuming. If you are only in it for the money you are missing the bigger fulfillment in life.  

Lastly I would say, embrace the Kiva Project. I cannot say I embraced this as much as others, but as I worked on this with my wife we saw something neat happen. We utilized something my wife has already planned on doing to earn some money on the side, her photography. We learned a lot through the experience, but the neatest part was how it all ended, and it had nothing to do with photography. My wife had the opportunity to do something she has wanted to do for quite some time. Sell Maxi skirts for LuLaRoe. Because of the conversations and work we had put into the photography business we were prepared for this opportunity, we were already in the entrepreneurial mindset, always be looking for the opportunities around you and take the chance to learn for everything you are given.

Eye Openers

This has been a neat week for me and has opened my eyes once again to things I hadn’t really thought about. For starters when I thought about entrepreneurs my mind went to the modern day success stories, but many students, including myself, chose to go back in time and found great examples. Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, these and more were great entrepreneurs who had a huge impact in the world and especially in the Americas. Overall I just enjoyed reading about all different types of entrepreneurs and seeing the challenges they all faced. I learned that there are a wide variety of entrepreneurs in the world, I am a huge nerd at heart so I was very excited to see that someone chose J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series), I hadn’t even thought of her as an entrepreneur but she is, just not in the way typically thought about.

Reading about “Working on your business vs working in your business” hit on many points that have been discussed in this class and other classes over the course of the semester but one thing it made me think about was a family life. Sometimes we get so busy with the day to day activities (working in your family) that we forget to step back and see how we can improve what needs improved (working on your family).  It has given me a goal to do better about stepping back in life and thinking about what needs to change and what can be improved upon, whether it be business or personal life.

My favorite part of this week was taking time to see the hard work and effort that so many fellow students put into their projects, and some had great success! Long hours, creative ideas, difficulties to learn from, there are some potentially exceptional entrepreneurs in our ranks. 

Kiva update

 I do have to say that this project coming to an end has been somewhat of a relief for my wife and I. We were hit pretty hard this semester with many things coming up and many challenges to overcome. However it was also a great opportunity to allow my wife to do something she enjoys (photography) and me to get more experience managing a business/project. More detail will be given in my report, but this really has opened our eyes to some very neat and fun opportunities that are ahead of us.

Cake Boss

Thinking about the discussion boards has caused me to realize two things.

First, family business may definitely entail drama that wouldn’t arise without the family aspect, but it can also be very rewarding. The first thing that pops in my head when I think of a family business is the show “Cake Boss.” My wife enjoys watching this show for the cakes and I enjoy watching the show to see how the business operates. I have grown very hesitant of the idea of a family business or even working with close friends. I do better and I feel relationships go better if business is not involved. This is my opinion, through the studying this week I learned that there are a lot more family businesses than I realized and it’s not like we constantly hear about family drama due to business activities. I think the key points are 1. Open communication 2. Understanding the difference between business and personal life, and 3. Setting clear expectations from the very beginning.

Second, similar to family businesses, there are many more business opportunities out there than I ever realized. I wish this week and the week on franchising were earlier in the semester because they opened my eyes to the vast world of entrepreneurial opportunities. I still really like the idea of building a business from the ground up, but I think just as neat would be to take a struggling business that already exists and turn it around.

 

Kiva Update

We are starting to wind down on our photography business, we have been going since the very beginning of the semester and have seen some neat opportunities and have learned a lot in the process. As I have mentioned previously my wife just started as an Independent Consultant for LuLaRoe Maxi Skirts. This is something she is passionate about and enjoys doing and I am enjoying the business side of things. We talk about how to best advertise, I have created spreadsheets to track information and inventory, I have spent time reading tax law (boring…) so we can prepare and pay taxes appropriately. We still have the photography going, and it has helped in so many ways that I personally have really appreciated this project.

Owning a Franchise

I remember as a teenager a family in my area talking about possibly owning a McDonald’s in a city close by. At the time I didn’t fully understand the idea of a franchise and up until this past week when I thought of a franchise I mainly thought of fast food places. The world of franchises is much more extensive than I ever realized! I found a few neat business opportunities that seemed like they would be fun and great ways to earn a living. One of my main concerns about owning a franchise was the fact that most every fast food location is open on Sundays, this is something that I do not want and would be a deal breaker. For that reason Chick-fil-a seemed like the only option I was aware of. However there is a whole world of opportunities! Another thing I would want to be able to stick to is not having to go into debt, for me personally this just isn’t an option, so that would mean a lot of saving up before I ever really started looking into a franchise opportunity.

Something else I thought about this week based off insight given by Nicole Donnelly, who is a successful business owner, is the importance of not being afraid. We limit ourselves when we fear and we cannot reach our full potential if we are limited. When it comes down to it what do you really have to lose compared to what you can gain? At the end of the day does it really matter if I may have goofed up in a presentation? I’ll learn and do better next time. Would I rather have not even taken the opportunity to present in the first place?

Business Update

Nice weather is a wonderful thing! We are continuing to get ourselves out there and with the nicer weather more people are open to have photo sessions. In addition to this photography my wife has just started as an independent consultant for LuLaRoe Maxi Skirts. She is incredibly excited and I think the effort we have put into the photography has helped her learn some good lessons as she starts this adventure. We have had to go through the process of getting a business license, which will also help if she decides to continue on with her photography!

You’re Hired!

One main theme this week has been the importance of getting the right people in an organization and getting the wrong people out. It has been neat getting this insight to add to what I have learned previously about the management process. One of the big takeaways for me is the importance is putting more into hiring than just having an interview with the potential candidate. A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to go over an Excel test that a former co-worker has created to help him when he hires financial interns. The main purpose of the test is not to see if the potential intern knows how to do very detailed things within Excel but more so to see if they are able to navigate their way through Excel and troubleshoot. While I enjoyed the Hire Slow Fire Fast article one thing I struggled with is that to me giving up too fast may be even more damaging. There definitely are times when you just need to make the decision, but I was once told that when someone is fired they should know full well that it was coming. The example given in the article almost makes it appear that no real communication or feedback was given in an effort to get Jerry working more effectively. Then again, I can definitely vouch for the fact that in the corporate world it is sometimes much too difficult to get somebody fired when they are wasting company time and money.

Kiva Update

Not much to update this week. I have been sick most all week and my wife is just now getting over being sick so we have tried to relax as much as possible. We will have to double our efforts this upcoming week!

Being an influential Leader/Manager

In my current position I am part of the management team, it has been a very eye opening experience for me to go from a processing employee to part of the leadership team. Quite often employees will complain about how their bosses for a variety of reasons, the challenge is everyone is seeing the work from a different perspective. I cannot say every leader is fair or has the best interest of the team in mind, but I do think there are times when an employee misjudges a boss’s intent. After reading President Kimball’s talk Jesus: The Perfect Leader I sent it to my co-workers (I work for the Church so I can get away with something like that). When it comes down to it the best way to be a good leader is to be a good person. If we are following the guidance given by our Savior we will naturally focus on what matters most. The challenge is that as a manager you have certain responsibilities and will have to require certain performance measures of an employee. I have had opportunities to talk with my manager and realize how much effort goes into helping an employee before letting them go. Once again I recognize that not every leader out there manages the same way and provides the same level of support for their employees, but my goal is to be a leader that emulates the attributes of the Savior.

Kiva Update

We currently have two photo shoots scheduled. One will be maternity pictures for a lady in our neighborhood that my wife has become friends with and the other will be a family session for an extended family of 32 people. The family photo shoot came about as a referral from someone my wife knows who knew we were working to provide photo sessions. Overall things are going great!

Pay me to quit?

This week we learned about a company that will pay new employees to quit while they are in the training process. Zappos will pay them $2,000 in their first week of training and up to $3,000 by the last week of their training. On the surface this may seem crazy. Why pay someone to quit working for you? We had some excellent discussions about the benefits to the company but what I overlooked until just a few days ago was the benefit this would have for the employee who realizes this isn’t a fit for them. About 6 months ago we had an employee in our department who just did not enjoy the work. He was an internal hire, came into our department at a higher pay grade then his last position and our entire management team was very excited to have him. Unfortunately everyone quickly learned the job was only taken for the increased pay. He really didn’t enjoy the job and consequently did not perform. For this job he was not a fit, but to this day when he is brought up no one will deny that he was a sharp individual with great potential. I think trainees at many companies may realize they do not fit the culture or job but cannot make the decision to leave when they finally got a job and they have bills to pay. Zappos incentive to quit may give these employee the courage to quit and take some extra time to find a job that fits them a little better without having to worry as much about the financial aspect of quitting the job. In all reality even $3,000 is not a large amount of money when put into perspective of supporting life and lifestyle.

Changing topics…

In the HMM study this week the following statement was made. “Even firms that have relied upon high employee turnover—for example, fast-food chains, which have tended to hire low-skilled employees at minimal wages and provide them with minimal training—are beginning to understand that satisfied, long-term employees help build customer loyalty and satisfaction and cost less to manage. As a consequence, these companies are starting to question their traditional assumptions.”

This caused me to think of two fast-food style restaurants I went to recently. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of one of them (but I know exactly where it is!)… It was a baja style fish taco place. A little nicer than a typical fast-food atmosphere but nonetheless still fit the style. The other was Chick-fil-a. Both of these restaurants were very impressive when it came to their customer service, the question was “How do these companies cause employees that probably aren’t making much more than minimum wage to be so happy?” I think these are companies that understand the statement made above, maybe they are making better money then I assumed, or maybe the company provides other means that help them be customer service oriented. I would love to find out, maybe I’ll just ask them next time I’m there… because I can guarantee you I’ll go back due to the nice experience (and the food is good too!).

Business update

Not a whole lot to update this week. The weather has gotten much nicer who knows how long it will last… but we are going to start pushing the idea of outdoor family pictures. My wife grew up in this area and knows of some really neat places to take pictures even when the trees are bare and it isn’t quite as bright and beautiful outside.