Business Class Journal

My Last Lecture… There are many things that I have learned over the last 14 weeks of this journey and I am going to share them with you. When I started this journey I was scared, wondering what could I learn, is this going to be difficult, am I supposed to figure this all out in only a few weeks? How was I going to come up with a business, work my business and be successful when I haven’t done this before. How can I impact the world with my idea and how can I help people in a way that makes me happy and want to be to work each day? These questions plagued my mind and I had to find the answer. When it all came down to it I wanted to do what I learned from each of the action hero stories that I watched. I needed something that would make me happy, that I would enjoy doing and loved. During this journey I learned that I need to remember to find out what my resources are and how to plan them out. I learned that one thing you need to be successful is to remember you don’t have to prod...

There was a gentleman named Tom Nall. I really liked what this entrepreneur wanted to accomplish. As a business owner Tom wanted to make sure his team are keeping with the core values of the company. He wanted his team to have a passion for making their mark in the business world. And he wanted to do that by being honest and having integrity in all things surrounding his business. I really feel like it is better for a business to be honest because if you aren't honest the word will spread faster than you can believe. I always think of how fast bad news travels and that makes it difficult to come back from. I really liked how he said that in business you need to make sure that you be yourself and don't be afraid to be different. Take fear out of it and do your best. I think that he had some great advice for someone that is wanting to own a business. I love how the Work on your Business, Not Just in Your Business article. It points out how to work in your business or on yo...

This week there was a lot of learning on buying a business. It was interesting to see how many different businesses there are out there for sale and what it entails to purchase one. I found it interesting how some of the costs are a lot more and the businesses are smaller and so on. It really was eye opening. We also learned about working with family and how do you make that the hard decisions that come with that. My father owned a boat business growing up and I began working there when I was 14 helping to clean the boats. As a child I didn't know if I had been doing things correctly and if there was anything that they needed me to do over. When I would ask for help and ask those questions to the other employees they would just say, "we can tell you that you are doing anything wrong you will go tell your dad." That really made me mad because I wanted to do the best job I could and if I was doing something wrong or it needed something else done I needed to be told so ...

This week as we learned about franchises there are many things to consider. A franchise is a great way to go if you don't want to take the risk of coming up with a business on your own. You can buy into a franchise and you have everything given to you and you are able to get your feet off the ground rather quickly. The only thing that really scares me with a franchise is the cost that is required up front. Some of the franchises cost a lot of money and that along would put me out of that business. I wouldn't be able to come up with that money so I would think that a franchise in my future is not possible. I also loved what I learned from Nicole Donnelly. She finds it challenging to leading others and interacting with them, but she is learning to do better at those interactions. Having the interaction with others is not as easy as some may think. Yes, some people are able to interact with others without a problem, however most people struggle and it is a very difficult thi...

What choices are easy to make in your life? What to have for lunch, what should I wear, what movie should I see? But there is one choice that is really hard to make, Should I buy a Franchise or start a business from scratch? If you have ever wanted to go into business for yourself you know there are many different options. However, you need to have the knowledge of choosing the right one for you. One that feeds your passion that you will love to work at for a long time. One that makes you successful because you are skilled and amazing at what is required for that business venture. If there is one thing that I have learned over the years while watching my father run his business or talking with the franchisee owner it's that if you have the personality for working with people you can be successful at anything you do. If you are someone that is patient and willing to put the work in you can be successful. Now that doesn't mean that everything my father did in his business was...

Many things went through my mind this week. As we discussed who to hire and how to look for the right people to work with it was very eye opening. We are in the process of looking for 9 people to hire at work. And the "Hire slowly, Fire Fast" article really stuck out to me. It stuck out because I find that those that are hiring will hire whoever walks through the door and that makes our turn over rate extremely high! I loved this article so much that I printed it and took it to work and gave it to the team that is over the hiring process. The other thing that I really enjoyed this week was learning about Matt Stewart. He has failed in some of his business adventures and for that he has also learned many lessons. He recognized that the businesses that were failing were the ones where he tried to make money. The ones that were most successful were the ones that he focused on his company mission and not the money aspect. What an important thing to learn while you are ...

This week as we learned more about leadership style I wasn't surprised to find that I was a Participative Style Leader. I have always believe that micromanaging employees removes their ability to trust and feel open to telling you their thoughts and ideas. When I worked for Morinda, I remember once a month the Owner/founder of the company would come down to each floor in the building and would walk around shaking our hands and thanking us for the great work we were doing. I was also very impressed that he not only thanked us but he wanted to meet with us every couple of months and would ask us what was we were doing right and what we were hearing from our customers. How could we improve? It was incredible to me that he would take the time to talk with us and value our ideas and thoughts. I for one would never want my employees/team to fear me or not trust me. I would want them to know that I trust that they will do their jobs until they prove otherwise. If they aren't doing th...

When I think about this week and the discussion of Customer Service it reminds me of what I have done for over 20 years. I love customer service and love working with people. Over the years I have experienced watching the decline of basic, dare I say simple customer service skills that everyone should already know. If you were to be asked who has the best customer service are there any companies that pop out in your mind that still have great customer service? One that comes to mind for me is 1-800Contacts. They will not only check with your doctor to get your prescription but if there is a problem they notify you immediately. If you call because you tore a lens they immediately replace the that lens with a new one, and not only that but they will hand write you an apology note that includes a $5 gift certificate. WOW, when was the last time you received a hand written letter? If you call because your prescription changes they will immediately exchange your old prescription for the ...

This week we talked about something that I actually enjoy, Marketing. It is something that has always intrigued me and wanted me to learn more. I feel a strong connection with marketing, I love talking about products and selling products and learning what new products are coming out. It all just makes me smile and want to get involved in marketing. I feel like I can sell ice cubes to Eskimos so why wouldn't I want to be in marketing? This week I learned a lot of things regarding marketing. Sure I know that you have to appeal to your customer and have a product they want but what I like was that Phil Romano said, "Go against the grain, Have a point of difference, don't be like everyone else." Sometimes I think it would be easier to find a product that is already out but redevelop it with your own company to compete with them. However, there is a lot that goes into that and it is probably better to come up with your own product by noticing and then filling a need th...

When I first thought about all the different things that I learned this week the main thing that stood out in my mind was something that Action Hero: Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande said. He was talking about how we all set goals in life and we are working through what we need to in order to meet that goal. He said that “If you know something is possible, you can do it. But just getting the opportunity to know what’s possible is probably the biggest gift you can have.” There are so many possibilities in this life and that is what makes life so amazing! We can look at something and decide how we want to tweak it so that it makes a great business. In business there are always ups and downs which lead to many learning lessons. We are able to learn from each choice we make and to be able to grow from that so we don't make the same mistake in the future. In reading this week about what it took for the HourlyNerd business to get going it is a reminder that you really do need to have peo...

When we are beginning a new business or shall we say adventure why do we need a business plan? The business plan helps you to organize what you need and want to accomplish in your business. For each person the business plan may look a little different. That is because we are all different and we each have our own way of organizing the information we are given. In the reading this week it outlined the structure of a business plan as follows: - Cover page and table of contents - Executive summary - Business description - Business environment analysis - Industry background - Competitive analysis - Market analysis - Marketing plan - Operations plan - Management summary - Financial plan - Attachments and milestones While every business plan is different and not all follow this structure they are still very important to starting your business. Like all good plans sometimes you run into issues or delays that you didn't pl...

If you are thinking of starting a new business there are a few things that you need to make sure you do before you begin. You will need to make sure that you know what resources are needed so that you don't get in trouble for your business. Depending on the location there maybe certain laws and rules that your city or state require. I also learned about the misconceptions regarding Entrepreneurship. There are 5 main ones but the one that stood out to me was #4 - To succeed, you must produce some world-changing new product. I have always thought that most businesses began and were successful if they had a new mind blowing product that people think they need but it is just a want. This week was very difficult with all the reading and I tried to understand it all but the one thing that really stood out to me this week was the story about Tom. I was really impressed by Tom and how humble he became when learning about pride. I was really amazed by his honesty and how he openly adm...

There are a few great things that I have learned over the last few weeks in my business class. There are life lessons that were learned from a gentleman named Robert Bruce Thompson. He said that in life it is important to appreciate the people you meet, and the relationships that you form. He was diagnosed with ALS when he was only 51 yrs. old. I really enjoyed learning his prospective on things. He said he learned, "The key is not how smart you are, its not your education, its the ability to sit down and persevere." For me the most poignant thing he said was this,"Business is fun, make it fun. But business is not life, business is just a part of what we do. Our families, our relationships, our faith. Those are the things that really matter, when you get down to the end." This is such a great reminder that I need to not just focus on my work and business life but on my family, faith and relationships. In my life right now the one thing that I am learning is b...