Last Lecture

If you want to be an entrepreneur you need to view everything around in a different way.  You need to look at the world as a huge opportunity that is just waiting for you to improve everything about it.  Be forewarned though, once you put on those entrepreneur glasses they are next to impossible to take off.  I find myself looking at even the small, tiny problems in life as possible opportunities for me to improve on.  My daughter gets headaches from her swim camps during swim team practice.  Can I make a swim cap that works the same but doesn’t give her a headache?  It can be very distracting!  Two ideas that have proven the most helpful to me is to write down ideas as they come to you and to think in opposites.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, read everything you can and ask questions of anyone who will answer.  Information and ideas are free for the taking, you just need to be willing to do the leg work.  I was amazed at all the information that is available from books, business blogs and case studies.  Be sure you are either improving on something that is already being done, or you have a completely unique product.  Do not try to compete in a market with the same product without offering something new.  Learn from others mistakes and move forward with a new vision.  A vison is one of the most important things to an entrepreneur.  You must be able to picture the end result and be able to have your end result vision change as problems and solutions arise.  The vision must always stay in the forefront of your mind which will keep the focus on the goal.

With that being said, don’t be afraid to take calculated risks and don’t be afraid to fail.  Every failure will get you one step closer to a success.  Failure is part of the journey!

Failing Forward

This semester and especially this week I have really been pondering this idea of failure in order for success.  This is really a new concept in my mind as I am definitely in the category of perfectionist.  What's interesting to me about this concept is that I think my life has actually followed the course of experiment instead of perfectionist so I think that if I can get my mind into that frame then I will learn more from my experimental life and be able to move forward more quickly.

When I was in college in my late teens and early twenties, I was definitely in experimental mode.  My sister had known she wanted to be a teacher from the age of 5 so she had gone to college and graduated right on time and went to work as a teacher.  I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do and so I would change my major often and took classes that sounded interesting to me.  I wanted to learn everything and anything.  I'm excited now because I realize that all that experimenting did count for something and it wasn't the entire waste that I have always viewed it as.  Even though it was a failure in the sense of not getting a degree, I learned a lot and have been able to apply that knowledge throughout my life.

I'm excited at this point of my life to have a greater understanding of why it's ok to fail.  Failure is not the end of something, or at least it doesn't have to be.  Failure can actually be the starting point of getting something that was stuck, unstuck.  For years, I was overweight and I had literally tried everything to lose the weight.  While I wasn't successful in losing weight until I had weight loss surgery, all the knowledge I had gained about nutrition and exercise and how the body works remains useful to me and to the family I care for.  Every path I took to get to this point in my life contained souvenirs that I picked up and placed in my pocket along the way.

$100 challenge

The challenge is over and I am happy to report that the business was a success.  I still have people asking me if I am baking, so this might be a business I continue after this semester.  However, at this point and for this challenge, the doors are closed.  Here are my final numbers.  I sold 16 loaves of wheat bread, 6 glazed cakes, 1 unglazed cake, 12 dozen cookies, 4 dozen gluten free cookies and had 2 delivery fees.  I collected a total of $238 in revenue plus $13 in tips and delivery fees.  My costs totaled $84.75 for a total profit of $166.25.

Family Business

I again enjoyed the readings this week.  The case studies were thought provoking and it’s nice to have the opportunity to visit these decisions in theory instead of waiting to come across them in real life.  I found the idea of family business intriguing and wished there had been a case about a husband and wife business.  This is the plan I have is to open a business with my husband and I would have liked to visit the possible pitfalls with this type of family business.

I also enjoyed imagining I had a large amount of money to invest in a business. I realized something I probably already knew about myself.  I am not very good at taking risks.  Even while fully knowing I was imagining I had this money I was still unable to fully take a risk and jump into a large business.  I was gravitating towards small, side businesses.  This tells me I have not fully committed to the idea of being an entrepreneur which is helpful information for me to ponder.

$100 challenge

I did not have much activity for my business this week.  I posted that I was baking but did not get any orders.  I had a few people ask me if I was planning to bake for Christmas but we are taking a trip.  I think I could have sold some holiday items otherwise.  Overall I am still very pleased with the outcome of my business.

I have sold $228 worth of product with a cost of $81.25 for a profit of $146.75.

Putting God first

I am not an investor.  Not at this point in my life anyway.  Therefore, I am not interested in becoming a franchisee which I see as just an investor.  Not a silent investor of course, but definitely an investor.  I don't see franchising and entrepreneurship as the same or really even similar.  Through my reading and assignments this week, this belief was cemented in me.

I really enjoyed reading “Making a Living and a Life” by Lynn G. Robbins and can honestly say I am A-level as far as motivation for earning a living.  I put God first and strive to have the mind of Christ in all that I do including work.  I consider this mindset to be a gift and one that I cherish and work to improve upon continually.  My focus is to learn all that I can and stay healthy so that I can be of most use to Him.

Another way I know this to be true has to do with my calling.  At the end of my first year as an early morning seminary teacher last year, the bishop called me in to meet.  He asked me if I was willing to teach another year.  I had not prepared to answer this question but I knew without a doubt the answer.  I will be a seminary teacher for as long as they allow me to be. I took the opportunity to convince him further by letting him know that I would take fewer classes and work fewer days as a substitute teacher if needed so I could continue to teach seminary.  This is my focus and I love it!

$100 challenge

I had another great experience with my challenge.  I had been asked by the PTO of the elementary school to donate something for a basket they were auctioning off at a fundraiser.  I made a voucher and offered the winner two of my items for free.  The winner emailed me and order her two items.  I fulfilled the order of one glazed cake and one dozen chocolate chip cookies the day before Thanksgiving.  By the next day she had emailed me back and said they were "in love with (my) cookies" and they had given the cake away to an elderly lady who had just become a widow.  They wanted to place an order for two dozen cookies and one glazed cake!  Amazing how that works!

I have take some time off from baking but will be taking some more orders for this Monday because I know I will be home.

I have sold $228 worth of product with a cost of $81.25 for a profit of $146.75.

Entrepreneur Bug

I realized this week that I am fascinated by entrepreneurs.  Reading about Roxanne Quimby was fascinating to me because it’s as if she put all personal matters aside and followed her business wherever it needed to go.  I can’t ever imagine being that risky and bold but that’s what needed to be done for her business to see the success it had.  I think I will probably be a bit more conservative and I got to thinking that I hope it will not hinder me in my endeavors.

I also realized this week that this course has really changed not only the way I think but also my husband.  We both have entrepreneur glasses on now!  We are constantly observing and thinking of ways to change and improve what we see around us.  That is really cool!

$100 challenge

I have been sick this week.  Being sick and baking don’t really go along so I have taken the week off from my business.  That is a nice option to have and only possible since I have only been taking orders based on if I’m baking.  For instance, I will post on Facebook that I am baking on a certain day that week and then people tell me what they want.  I’m feeling better and am thinking about doing bread only this week for those that want it for Thanksgiving.  I make the most profit from the bread and so this would be an easy way to boost my profits.

So my numbers remain the same as last week: I have sold $206 worth of products with a cost of $72.75 for a net profit of $133.25!!

One problem I am having is that two customer have yet to pay me.  One is a repeat customer and both are good for the money, but still a bit frustrating none the less.  This is the downside to doing business with your friends and acquaintances.  

What I've learned this week

This week there was a lot of emphasis on finding and hiring the right people for your business.  I found the topic very interesting because it isn't something I have a lot of experience with.  I realized that although I have some work experience, I have very little interviewing experience.  All of my previous jobs I either worked for someone I knew, worked up into a company position or started off with a temporary hire company.  None of these situations required an interview except for one and it was so long ago that I don't remember the process for it.

I think the consensus I have come to with all the reading and pondering this week is that it is important to me to hire the right people and I am willing to sacrifice time and money in order to find them.  I also learned that I am not willing to work with family members other than my husband.  I don't think this situation would ever arise for me but it good to know ahead of time where I stand on this.  I also learned that now matter who I do hire, I will completely train them to be successful in their position and to give them the confidence they need to fulfill their commitment.

$100 challenge report

I have sold $206 worth of products with a cost of $72.75 for a net profit of $133.25!! I'm quite proud of the numbers!

This week I have come to realize that this would not be a business that I would pursue full time.  It has served it's purpose well, but if I were to do it again, my profit margins would have to be higher to make it worth my time.  I might continue baking here and there if orders come just to have a little extra spending money, but I would not be able to forgo my job to do this instead.

I have enjoyed making people happy with my products and have enjoyed the compliments towards my baking.  However, I have given up substitute teaching jobs to stay home and bake on days that I promised product and it would have been more lucrative to take the teaching job.

These are good lessons to learn and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to learn them.

Ledership

Another great week of reading and learning!  This week the focus was on leadership and the different ways we can be leaders.  I realized that I am definitely lacking in leadership experience in my life and that is probably due to me being shy most of my life and choosing to turn away from leadership opportunities.  This is unfortunately and limiting because I feel I have much to offer and would be a very fair and logical leader.  I do run my produce co-op twice a month and that takes a degree of leadership but it doesn’t give me much in the way of workplace problems to have dealt with.  I do a lot of teaching whether it be substitute teaching or seminary teaching and I guess that requires some leadership as well.  Just not the kind I think about when we are talking about business leadership.  This makes me realize that I will need to find a way to get this experience to further my career or start my business.

I want to be the type of leader that brings out the best in those I am over.  I want to not only see the potential in everyone, but be able to convey that potential to them so they can see it as well.  From this will come the motivation that they need to do the task at hand in the best way possible.  I think this would be ideal.

$100 project report

Another great week for my business!  I came up with a plan that worked out really well.  I chose one day to bake this past week.  I had a couple orders that I needed to fill, so I chose one day and then posted on Facebook that I would be baking on Tuesday so let me know what you wanted.  I also said I would be making a delivery to the school I substitute at so if anyone wanted to meet me there or anyone working there wanted to order just to let me know.  No delivery fee since I was already going.  I had a bunch of orders come in from that one post.

So far my total sales have been $142.50 with a cost of $53 for a net profit of $89.50.

I had a learning experience this week.  One lady had ordered a cake and some gluten free cookies to be delivered on Friday which was the day I was working.  Then a couple days before she messaged me to hold off on her order because she was ordering it to feed the teachers for a teacher luncheon and even though she knew mine would taste better it would cost her too much to get enough for everyone.  At first I was frustrated by this, but I thought about everything I had learned and how best I could handle this situation.  I messaged her back and offered to make the cake as a donation to the teacher’s luncheon.  That was only a cost of $3.50 to my business but it left her feeling great and the teachers got to taste my cake!  I think it was a win!  I also was asked to donate to a raffled off basket by the PTO.  They get donated items from area businesses and put it together in a basket that they raffle off as a fundraiser.  They then put the businesses name in their programs throughout the year.  I plan to make up a picture that has all my products with the prices on one side and then on the back will be a voucher for the winner to call me and order any two of my items for free.  This is a good investment for marketing, plus I am donating to a good cause!