Lesson 10

Entrepreneur Journal – Week 10

The semester is almost over. There have been many things I have learned from this course. Some of them I would like to remember and I decided to keep those assignments in here. One this week was our Acton Hero named Catherine Rohr. What a woman she is. I am just going to paste my assignment here as I want to make sure I remember what I wrote.

Another fantastic woman we hear about, so amazing I had to look her up online and find out more about the story. Here we have a Wall Street investor who decided to start a prison entrepreneur program, even though at the time she felt those behind bars were animals and not human. Catherine was invited to go to the Texas prison, and while there she saw something she did not expect, and that was real humans. She soon realized that many of those men had the same qualities as those who become entrepreneurs. Catherine decided to start a program called Prison Entrepreneurship program. She would commute from New York to Texas every weekend for six weeks. After six weeks of travel her and her husband decided to use all their money and move to Texas. While in Texas the U-Haul that they had everything in was broken into and they took everything. All they had left was the clothes on their back. Catherine said she became a professional beggar. She raised money for the program, and within a week she earned $40.000, the first year she raised $230,000, the second year $680,000 and the third year was $1.7 million. Catherine overcame a lot of hurdles to get this program started. She has seen men wearing a cap and gown for the first time. Again, what a fantastic woman to take these men who did wrong, sometimes very terrible things and gave them a new lease on life. Catherine is my hero.

See what I mean? Catherine is amazing.

For my $100 challenge this week I made up fliers and gave them to my friends and posted it up on Facebook. Here is what I came up with.

Lesson 9

This week was another hard week. I think it's just going to keep getting harder as my life schedule is making it this way. As I have mentioned before, I run a small in-home daycare. For a while my number of children was low, about 4 per day, because of this I was able to do school during the day. For me, studying was always hard as it took me longer than the average person to study. In the past, I would have to study during the daytime and then after work and family time, which would be around 10p I would start and go to be by 2a. I would then get up at 5a. every morning for seminary. I now have 7-10 kids per day from 2 years down to 3 months. With this number of children, it gives me no time to do my work in the daytime and only at night. I still get 3 hours of sleep a night. Trying to read the E-Myth book was very challenging for me as I would always fall asleep as soon as I would start to read it. I was able to finally get the book report done as on Friday nights I stay up until 5 or 6a on Saturday getting my work completed for the week.  I did find the press release assignment also challenging yet that too was accomplished.

On my $100.00 challenge, I am having a hard time. As I mentioned last week, I can only sell to my friends and family. I decided to post it on my Facebook page. I explained what I was doing and how all the proceeds were being donated to a worthy cause, telling them what it was. I expected a lot of my friends to purchase nothing yet. I was saddened as when their child is selling something for school, etc. I support them by buying what they are selling, whether I needed that item or not. I just hurt knowing I don't have the support of my friends to help me help a great cause.

Week 8

This week was a hard week. We had lots of reading assignments for both my classes. One of my significant challenges in this class is trying to stay awake when I read. With work, school and what little family life I have, I only get three hours of sleep a night. When I open a book or try to read an article online my brain tells my body it's time to shut down and I pass out without even knowing it. There have been times when I would be typing a report and all of a sudden; I would notice a whole page of "K" s on my paper. I guess I past out with my finger on the K key again.

For the $100 challenge this week I went to a Ward function and was able to sell some of my Hot Unicorn Fudge there. Because I decided to go with a food product, I learned to sell it I would have to get the food tested and then get a permit to sell it. To get it proved would take a month. I knew I didn't have that long to wait. It was told to me that because it was a school project and I was donating the proceeds that I would be able to sell it to family and friends. I would not be able to sell it outside of Alaska since I had no permit. Hopefully, my friends will come through for me, and I do have to say this Hot Unicorn Fudge is outstanding.

Lesson 7

This week we talked about a company named, "Zippo's." I find Zippos' philosophy quite interesting. I love how everyone is trained the same, no matter what department they will be working. Often in companies, I feel there is always a hierarchy, managers might look down on employees, etc. With Zippos, it doesn't matter if you are a lawyer or work in customer service, everyone must learn how to answer the phone and do the basics. I see their point in training this way as like they have said, during the busy months if they hire a temp, they will not be invested in the business as much as those who work there permanently. I also like how Zippos pay people to quit. Paying people to leave makes sense. If you have a business, you want to hire those who believe the way you do and value your company. By offering to pay someone to quiet, and a significant amount at that, you know those who do not take it will be valuable employees. This idea is a great way to staff your business.

We also talked a lot about the importance of customers. Why it's better to keep your old customers coming back versus finding new customers. Finding customers is a lot harder and more expensive as you have to use ads, sales, and other forms to bring new customers into your store. If you can do things to keep the old ones coming back, and they the customers like it, they could tell their friends about you and gain new customers without paying for advertisements.

I want to get to our $100.00 challenge. This week we were to go to the Kiva site and find someone we are going to donate our money to so they can explain their business. What I decided I wanted in my search was a woman, single parent, maybe widow and one who is really struggling. It took hours upon hour to search. There were ones I wanted to help yet their time was closing. I finally decided on Ester Cherotich from Machakos, Keyna. She is 64 years old, a widow and mother of nine children. Ester wants to add stock of fruit to sell. By helping those who need help we are following Christ example of being charitable. We are so blessed here in the United States, even if we struggle day to day, month to month, we are still better off than most of these people asking for a loan on the Kiva site. We can all give a little, even if it's $5.00 per month. I feel there is always something we can sacrifice to help others. I am hoping my donation will help someone out there have a better life. If I can help someone obtain more supplies for their business or even start a business, how wonderful that will be. I want to help all of them, yet I know I cannot do that as I don't have the funds I would need to pull that off. I can help one or two people per month fulfill their dreams. Some people are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, yet I can see myself becoming addicted to the Kiva site, in a good way, and helping those who could use my help. I am a mother who owns a small in-home daycare and struggle each month not knowing if I will have enough money to pay my bills, yet Father has blessed me with so much, the least I can do is help others.

Lesson 6

Another week of learning. Some days I think to myself if only I can remember all of this. This week we worked on our Elevator Pitch video. I hate, no, detest being on a video. Recording a video was very hard for me to do as I don't like what I see or hear. I was able to get through the video even though I dislike it. This week was called, going out of my comfort zone.

On the up note. I love our acton hero this week, who was Phil Romano. He had so many great lessons to share. One he believes, actions speak louder than words. I also agree with this statement. People can say anything they want, yet will they do what they say? Another philosophy Phil has, "If it doesn't feel good to me, it's not going to feel good to the customers." Another statement Phil has, "Never think about profits. Think about service and what the customer's needs are and then you will make twice as much." We only live once; we should be doing all we can do! Don't wait for a later day as there may not be one. Great advice from Phil that we can all implement in our lives.

Another idea I liked was in Guy Kawasaki's video. He tells us the keys to increase your likability.

·         Improve your smile - use your eyes. If you are doing this correctly, you should have strong crows-feet.

·         Dress for a tie - You should dress equal to those around you.

·         Have a great handshake - This is very important as you can tell so much about someone through their handshake.

First impressions are crucial as you will never make a first impression again with the same person.

These are some of the lessons I have learned this week.

Lesson 5

This week was an interesting week. In our readings and videos, I have learned many things. One being, Fundraisers are one of the most critical skills we can learn. I also learned, when you ask for money you get advice and when you ask for advice, you might get money. When looking for investors, we need to convince others to join our cause.

Reading the talk, Opening the Windows of Heaven by James E. Faust, I have learned. Tithing is a principle that is fundamental to personal happiness. Tithing is also a principle of sacrifice. By paying tithing, we will always have food, shelter, and clothing; this is not saying we would have the most expensive or name brand items. Tithing is a principle you have to try and see the blessings you receive.

Another talk I read was called, Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually, by Elder Robert D. Hales. One thing that stood out was when he said, "When we live providently we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior's example to serve and bless others."

We learned about budgets, and the process is to set goals, evaluate and chose options, identify budget impacts and coordinate departmental budgets.

Desh Deshpande from Action Heroes states doesn't matter where you start. The best thing you can do is to become motivated. It doesn't matter how many resources you have; you need the motivation to succeed.

This week for the $100.00 challenge, I set up an appointment to talk with an entrepreneur. By interviewing him, I am hoping to gain insight on the best way to run a business and stay in business. I have had a lot of starts for businesses in my life yet I fall short of what to do with the business as it grows.

Week Four

This week felt like a busy week. We started out with our case study about Heather who was going to school and starting a fashion business at the same time. We read about things she did right and things she did wrong. One of the first things I felt she did wrong was starting the business while going to school. Because of this, she was not able to give her full attention to either subject. She also ran too fast. By this, she started spending money before even obtaining her investors. When it came time to pay rent and payments on supplies, she had no idea how she was going to pay as she ran out of funds. One of the first things to do is get your finances in order, whether bank loans or investors. You need to know the money will be there before you start making purchases or promises.

This week we also worked on our business plan. We've learned how a one-page business plan is better than a long one. I had a struggle deciding how to word my business plan. By having a one-page business plan, you can look at it often and change when needs are. A business plan should not be put away but used and revise.

This week for the $100 Challenge I came up with a business plan. I also created fliers and want to create business cards. My daughter names the business Hot Unicorn Mud aka Hot Fudge. As we told people about this, they weren't too sure what it was I had in the jar. I finally decided to change the name to Hot Unicorn Fudge as this is a more descriptive name. I've heard, It's all in the title.