The Last

If there is anything that I've learned from this class, it's that the path to business ownership and entrepreneurship is going to be both a journey and an adventure.  The journey will definitely not be easy and it is guaranteed to be difficult.  The hope is that as long as you're doing something that you love and are passionate about, the difficulties won't be any worse than the monotonous chore of working for somebody else in a job that you despise.  As a result, I have come to conclude that the difficulties in the journey will be worth it in the end. 

There are several tips I could give as a result of learned from this class and from my experience in working for a company run by seasoned entrepreneurs.  The first tip I have is to make sure that you figure out a way to differentiate yourself from the other players in the market you plan to enter.  There may be a thousand people making and selling the same widget you want to sell, so figure out a way to make your widget special and difficult to live without.  So learn how to separate yourself from the pack. 

The next tip I have can be scary but a necessary & vital step in the entrepreneurial journey.  Be willing to take risks.  Unless you inherit a family business, it is not often that a business just falls into your lap.  You have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and take the first step.  More often than not, that first step can be the most risky simply because it will not guarantee success.  Taking risks will sometimes lead to failures, so when that happens, learn from those failures and try again. 

One of the most important things to remember when beginning an entrepreneurial path is to never compromise your ethical foundation.  Determine early what your ethics, morals, and boundaries are and never jeopardize them.  In my working life, I have definitely seen ethical boundaries crossed and it has always left a bad taste in my mouth.  It is very easy to make little compromises here, take a short cut there, and before you know it, you've not only crossed a line but are suddenly wondering how you are going to get back.  It might be more difficult to take the higher, ethical road, but in the end, it will be easier than trying to dig yourself out of hole. 

There are so many things to learn and master along your entrepreneurial path, but the last thing I want to share is to remember to be thankful and express gratitude along the way.  Your family will make sacrifices for you.  Your mentors will share their time, talents, and knowledge with you.  Investors will take a chance on your idea and believe in your ability to succeed.  Customers will continue the investment in your success by showing good faith in your products and services.  Regardless of how much is contributed by people along your journey, always maintain a thankful heart and give outward expressions of gratitude. 

I will leave you with my expression of gratitude.  I am so grateful that I've had to opportunity to learn and grow through this course.  It has given me knowledge and skills that I was able to apply immediately to my current job.  It has given me the starting point that I couldn't manage to find before now.  It has given me the belief in myself that I can actually join the ranks of entrepreneurship and has given me the skills to not only be successful in my own journey but to pick myself up if I fall along the way, and that is priceless. 

Winding Down

As this semester is coming to a close, I've come to realize that I'm going to miss these weekly reflections and the time to consider the week's materials.  I think that I've liked the videos most of all, because they have offered a more personal glimpse into the real world of business and entrepreneurship through real world applications and experiences.  Here is some of the things I learned this week"

"Avoid the Wrong Job"  Stan Christensen

I really enjoyed watching this video and thought that Mr. Christensen gave good advice when he pointed out three key assumptions that people make that can lead to trouble.  These assumptions are:

• Building your resume.  Too many people build their resume with the intention of out guessing with the employer wants.  He suggests that you should use your resume as an opportunity to begin telling your story.
• Picking a job to get to the next level.  Many people will pick a painful job with the intention of only doing it for a few years simply to get to the next step in their career.  Most people make this mistake right out of college.  Instead, Christensen suggests that you pick your first job based on something you think is fun and that you might enjoy.  It will still be work, but your chances of prospering in that setting are greater.
• Specialization is not always the best route to success.  The idea that you have to specialize in something is the only way that you can succeed and advance is a faulty assumption.  If you stick to one specialty in business, you will always be pigeon holed to that one thing.  Instead, you should focus on generalizing in order to do a variety of things and take advantage of opportunities as they come up.

"Action Hero Larry North"

I thought it was really interesting to hear the background of Larry North and see how he was able to turn his less than ideal upbringing into life-long success.  There were two things that really stuck with me from this video.  The first was his observation and advice that "Being an entrepreneur takes having a thick skin."  He went on to explain that there will be blows along the way that come in the form of lawsuits, dishonest employees, or even losing key employees.  But you have to "Be prepared and expect that the water will get murky."

The second thing that I really liked was his thoughts on mentors.  He said, "Don't just seek the advice of good mentors...put it to good use."  I really liked this insight, because what good is seeking the advice if we are unwilling to consider it and put it to use.

The last thing that stood out from Larry North's spotlight was one of his parting remarks.  He said, "Learn from your failures."  This phrase is heard often but it has applied meaning when you hear someone like Mr. North admit some of his failures along with what he learned.  It's this type of personal connection that I will miss from this course.

Good Stuff to Learn

There were a lot of materials for this week, but it was all full of good stuff to learn.  As each week goes by in this course, I find myself more eager every day to start my own business.  Not because I think it will be easy or that I will become wealthy.  It's because I want to put into practice all that I am learning and be able to truly make a difference in the world around me.  Here are some of the things I learned this week:

"Make It Personal and Make It Work"  Sheryl Sandberg

The basic message of this presentation is in the title.  When choosing a business or developing an idea, you should do something that matters, and to do that you have to do create a vision that scales.  She gave some examples of some companies that have taken their grandeous visions and scaled them down to make them accessible to the masses.  Here are some of those companies:

• Google - Google's mission was to take the world's information and make it useful and accessible.  They were able to compile information that prior to that time, was only available to the elite through education and money.  I personally have experienced the vision of Google every single day when I perform at least one information search through their platform when previously I would have had to consult encyclopedias, do library research, or talk to knowledgeable people on the topic.  
• Facebook - Their mission has been to give people the power to share and make the world a more connected place.  Facebook has been a useful tool for me in reconnecting with friends and distant relatives that live far away.  Facebook has under recent scrutiny for it's advertising practices.  I can't help but think that if they had stayed closer to their original mission, these missteps might not have occurred. 
• Apple - Their vision was to bring computers to the masses by making computers accessible and affordable outside of a business setting.  They wanted to get a computer in every single home.  That sounded outrageous at the time, but I would dare say that this particular vision has been realized in the United States.
• Nike - This company has redefined what an athlete is.  An athlete is no longer an elite status individual that only competes in the Olympics or in professional sports.  Anybody can be and is an athlete.  They have even convinced me a time or two that I might qualify as an athlete too, even though I'm not an athletic person!

I really liked the examples she gave of how to scale your vision.  She concluded by saying, "Make it personal and make it work."  I'm definitely going to remember this presentation.

"Entrepreneurship & Consecration"  Elder Gay

There were so many wonderful things shared in this talk and I took a lot of notes.  But two things really stood out to me.  The first was a quote he shared by Thomas S. Monson that said, "God give to mean the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things."  This is applicable in business, scholastic and personal endeavors.  So many times I have wished for things to be easy, but I know that without the challenge of working through the raw materials of the situation, I wouldn't be able to learn, grow or succeed.

The second thing that stood out to me was one of the closing statements of his talk.  He said, "Business is about service and rescue."  I really liked this and have taken it to heart.  If we are able to use our business endeavors as a way to serve in some way, we will eventually be in a position to help rescue others when the need arises.  I really hope to be able to serve others through my business goals and never forget to give back.

"What's a Business For?"  Charles Handy

Truth and integrity are vital to an economy, because without them, capitalism will falter and society will be forced to rely on the government for the creation of wealth.  Truth is a very thin line to walk in the world of capitalism, but it can be done...it must be done in order to maintain the confidence of society and to maintain confidence in the economy.

Mr. Handy explained with the real justification for business is.  He said, "The purpose of a business...is not to make a profit, full stop.  It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better."  I can relate to this philosophy.  I have always been grateful for my job and the ability to provide for myself and my family.  But as I get older, I find myself really wanting to work for a business that is able to do more with their profits by giving back to the communities they thrive in and through charitable work.  Of course, the ultimate goal is to be able to give back through my own business one day.

Choices

This week we had to read and respond to a couple of mini case studies regarding choices one might have to make when in the working world, either as an entrepreneur or working for another business.  After our response, we were to engage in discussion with our class mates on the discussion boards.  I thought it was interesting that an overwhelming majority of the responses mentioned that they would never choose work over their family, regardless of the circumstances.  I can't help but wonder if those responses came from people who have never been in the workforce.  I don't think they are wrong in wanting to always choose their family in these circumstances, I just don't know that it's always realistic.

Just this week, I was forced to make a choice.  A dear friend's mother passed away and I made plans to attend the funeral service, not only to support my friend but to also honor a woman that I respected and loved.  Death is never convenient, but this funeral happened to fall on my day off which would make it possible to attend.  A coworker also had a death in her family this week and that funeral service was at the same time as the funeral I was planning to attend.  My coworker was left trying to find somebody to cover her position for the day and that duty fell to me as the only qualified person to perform her responsibilities.

I wanted to say no for several reasons, but if I were to refuse to cover my coworker, it would leave her stranded and unable to mourn the loss of her loved one with her family.  While I desperately wanted to attend the funeral of my friend's mother, I knew that I needed to forgo that opportunity to assist my coworker and work on my day off.  While it wasn't my first choice and it prevented me from supporting my friend, in the end, it was more important for me to extend kindness and compassion to my coworker by working for her than to support my friend. 

I realize this situation wasn't as extreme as those presented in this week's case studies, but it emphasizes the fact that as contributors to the workforce, we have to make choices every day that will have a trickle-down impact on those around us.  The impact isn't always negative, but if we don't make mindful, thoughtful, and meaningful decisions, the impact can definitely be disastrous. 

This week we read the talk titled, "Formula for Success" by Thomas S. Monson.  In it he gives a simple, three step formula to help the journey through mortality and achieve the reward of exaltation.  The following are the three steps to the formula:

1. Fill your mind with truth.
2. Fill your life with service.
3. Fill your heart with love.

While I don't know that I will master this formula for success in my mortal life, I do feel like I was successful in practicing two of the three steps this week.  My heart was definitely filled with love (and a lot of aching) for both my friend and coworker as the loss of their family members.  In trying to make the right choice, I ultimately chose to serve my coworker on this one day so she could be with her family.  I think I made the right choice. 

Dream Huge!

This was a crazy week of work so I welcomed the chance to sit down to read and watch this week's lesson materials.  Here are some of the things I learned from this week's lesson materials:

"Think Big"  Taylor Richards

Don't underestimate yourself.
Involve the Lord & you can do the impossible.

"It's a whloe lot more fun to do great things than to just be good or just be mediocre."
It's not harder to be great than to be good.
Pursue your goals & dreams.
Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it.
Dream huge!

I really like the last statement of "Dream huge!"  As children this is not difficult, but as adults we often let life and responsibilities get in the way of our dreams.  This was a good reminder to keep dreaming. 

"Action Hero Kathy Huber"

It was interesting to listen to Ms. Huber describe her schooling, early career and struggles with being in a male dominated field.  The thing I enjoyed learning the most was how she described what she learned from her setbacks.  I can only imagine the turmoil she must have gone through when her company, Iron Bridge Networks, folded in the dot-com crash.  Rather than let it destroy her or her ambitions, she chose to look at that experience as the Iron Bridge University and considered it to be better than any MBA program available.  It provided her with new opportunities and the ability to mentor others and share her experiences.

Turn your setback into your university.  I like that!

"License to Pursue Dreams"  Marissa Mayer

At the time of this recording, Google offered "20% Time" to their employees.  This meant that they could dedicate 20% of their time working on whatever they wanted to work on outside of their regular jobs for something that might potentially benefit the company.  This allowed employees to be creative and innovative as Google trusted them to use their time wisely.  Ms. Mayer stated that in 2005, approximately 50% of the products Google launched came through the 20% Time pipeline.

This sounds like a great way to to foster work creativity and I wondered if it was a program still in practice at Google.  Upon doing a little bit of searching (on Google, of course!) I couldn't find anything dfinitive to indicate if the program was still being used.  I did find this article from Business Insider written in 2015 that suggests that it may no longer be an active program.

The article also quotes Ms. Mayer, who later went on to become the CEO of Yahoo, as saying, "I've got to tell you the dirty little secret of Google's 20% time.  It's really 120% time."  This is definitely something that I wondered about.  I know that if I wanted to work on something at my job outside of my normal scope of responsibilities (even with permission) I would end up doing it outside of my normal work time.  Whether her statement from this article is correct or not, I do like the idea of 20% Time and the creativity it could encourage.

Application

As each week goes by in this course, I can appreciate the weeks that I can find applicable concepts to my current job. 

Here are some things I learned from this week's materials:

"A Message to Garcia"

There were so many wonderful tidbits of information crammed into this reading.  Here were some of the highlights for me:

• Learn to get the job done.
• The ability to execute is more valuable than education or talent, because it is far rarer.
• It is impossible to build an effective organization without delegating important tasks to talented and capable people.  
• If 90% of life is "just showing up" then the most important 10% of life is execution.
• The greatest challenges always come from within.

The secret to developing the right attitudes, habits and instincts for execution:

1. Accept the mission and get started.
2. Be curious.
3. Immediately sketch out a plan.
4. If you need resources, don't be afraid to ask.
5. Enlist help when needed.
6. Report back and show your work.
7. Under promise and over deliver.
8. Expect to make (small) mistakes.
9. Put results before schmoozing.
10. Replace the voices in your head with positive action.

This list is particularly beneficial to me because I sometimes do struggle with executing tasks.  It isn't because I am incapable, but rather because I get so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start.  I really like to make lists so the irony isn't lost on me that I connected with the above list!  It is often the act of making a list or sketching out a plan that helps me focus and navigate the path to completion.  

"Aspects of Building Trust"  Guy Kawasaki

I think this was my favorite video this week in which Mr. Kawasaki laid out the three characteristics of trustworthiness.

1. Trust people and they will trust you.  The basic concept is that that you have to extend trust first before people will ultimately trust you.  He gave an example of three business that exhibit this characteristic...Amazon, Zappos, and Nordstrom.
2. There are two kinds of people...Bakers and Eaters.  Eaters will look at a situation and see what they can get out of it which is essentially a zero sum gain.  Bakers will look at a situation and see it as an opportunity to make it bigger and better.  Be a baker.
3. Default to YES.  As you meet people, you should always be thinking of how you can help that person rather than wondering what that person can do for you.  This can be beneficial with networking and gaining customer loyalties  

I think the reason this resonated with me so much is that I can see the lack of these three characteristics of trustworthiness in my current place of employment.  It isn't blatant or always obvious, but there is definitely an underlying tone of a lack of trust between employees and with customers.  This is something that I definitely want to evaluate and change within myself but also change the trust culture at my work.

Never Give Up

This week was a physically demanding one for me that involved long hours at work and not a lot of sleep.  As the week wore on, I kept telling my husband that I just didn't know how I was going to make it through in one piece.  As I was complaining to him Thursday night about the bleak realization that I had to get up early again the following morning, he looked over at me and said, "Babe, you can do it.  Don't give up."  Such wise words that had significant meaning to me this week as it was a topic of  scholastic and personal learning for me. 

Here are some of the things I learned from this week's materials:


"Action Hero David Carrington"

I thought it was interesting to hear that we should embrace the idea of thinking backwards.  I find myself thinking backwards all the time and figured that was a bit of a thought process flaw for me.  But it's nice to know that I can use the skill of thinking backwards and randomly to find solutions to problems. 

Mr. Carrington shared his personal insight into his bought with cancer.  He stated that "Cancer forces you to reassess your life and put things into balance."  I have heard that from several people who have faced a daunting illness or tragedy.  It's unfortunate that it takes something drastic to help us focus on what is truly important in our lives 

He also shared his three ways to grow a business:

• Increase your number of customers.
• Increase the frequency of purchase.
• Increase the average order.

"You Can Do Anything"  Taylor Richards

This was a short video, but I took away three things from it:

• We should be like Nephi & never quit.
• We should involve the Lord in what we do (including business decisions.)
• Never underestimate yourself or the Lord.

"However Long and Hard the Road" Jeffrey R. and Patricia T. Holland

This was an excellent talk with many good points of information to apply to every area of life.  I think that one thing that stood out and was an excellent reminder for me was the following passage:

"The only limitations you have are those you set on yourselves."

This struck a chord with me because I have often found myself to be my worse saboteur whether it's for work, personal goals or educational ambitions.  I rarely run into opposition from others telling me that I am incapable of doing something but I don't seem to have a problem with telling myself that I can't.  This was a good reminder that I need to be as supportive of myself as I would be to anybody else striving for personal improvement.