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.