Last Week

My group ended up winning the class competition that Brother Nygren challenged everyone with. We decided to sell little wristbands that were raising awareness for the Children's Cancer Research Fund. One of the members in our group has a little brother that was recently diagnosed with cancer. So we went door to door with these little green wristbands and sold them however we chose. My method of selling turned out to be quite effective. When someone would answer the door, I would tell them that I was there for a class project and asked if we could gather all the roommates into the living room area so I could tell them why I was there. I would then tell them about the twenty four hour challenge and tell them we were raising money for cancer research. I would then show them the picture of the child that was our inspiration and our reason behind the wristbands. And finally, I would hold up a bag of change and a few bills and tell them we were accepting any amount of change that they could donate and if there were to donate three dollars or more, then they would receive a wrist band in return. I was probably at it for an entire hour and a half and I raised over one hundred dollars by myself! I was amazed at how receptive people were and how nice everyone was. After winning the competition I decided to go back to every door that I knocked and handed out little twix bars to show my gratitude. And for the apartment that donated the most money, I told them that I would get them a Papa Johns pizza half off! My brother in law works there so I knew I could hook them up with that prize. The apartment was very happy to see me again and was really happy to win a half off pizza! Anyways, I was overall very happy to be a part of raising awareness for cancer research and still wear the band proudly!

This class has been a wonderful experience. I really like everything I learned and have put most of it into play already. One of the first things I learned was accomplishing your life dreams and don't be afraid to do everything on your bucketlist! Out of everything I learned, I would have to say this has given me the most inspiration. The reason is because I went back to my bucketlist I had made on my mission and decided to accomplish my biggest project this summer break. My idea has to do with bringing investigators and non members to church. I don't want to give away my awesome idea on the internet just yet because I don't want anyone building my project before me! But as soon as I complete it, I will be happy to let anyone do whatever they want with it.

I want to give a big thank you to my entrepreneur teacher at BYUI and all the work he put into helping us gain confidence and fulfill our dreams. I went ahead and started a business already and I am starting to try to live my dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Without this class, I would still be timid and scared and doing nothing to accomplish my goals. I will go on to be a successful entrepreneur and I have this class to thank for getting me started.

Week 13

Week 13 was pretty interesting and I discovered the meaning of risk when selling a product or service. People might be unhappy about the product or service and demand refunds or maybe they just changed their mind and decided that they want to eat more fast food this week. Owning a business means risk so its a good thing to be prepared for it when it comes. This is why contracts are important instructions clear enough for a toddler to even read. There is always going to be someone that changes their mind and tries to shake things up a bit.

I had an idea this week to finish the semester strong. I figured out how to clean a bathtub in about 15 minutes. You have to spend a lot getting all the products ready, but it is possible to do any bathtub in a short amount of time. Because of this, I figured that it would be a good idea to go to different apartments near the end of the semester and offer to clean their tub for a small fee. Not only would this be a great donation to the KIVA Foundation, but it will help me get out there and make something happen. I’ll update next week and let you know how it went.

Week 12

This past week was actually pretty good. I was able to do a ton of pre-sales and I found out that my recipe is very popular. I didn’t even have to mention the fact that it was a donation to KIVA during the pitch to get people interested. Of course, I would tell them afterwards, but I like how popular my product became and I was able to reach my goal. 

Being an entrepreneur is harder than I imagined. There were times when I would second guess myself and even start to convince myself that what I was doing was a terrible idea or a mistake. Each time this happened, I would just stop myself and think “A man makes his own luck, A man makes his own destiny.” I want to push through anything to reach my goal of becoming the ultimate entrepreneur. It doesn’t matter what feelings of doubt creep in, I will never stop until I find success. As long as I keep telling myself that I make my own destiny, I will succeed. After going out and going door to door, I found a huge measure of success and only a handful of people said no. It’s amazing what you will find if you ignore the negativity and just get out there and work.

Week 11

This week was really awesome! I got to do some pre-sales to market a product for our class project. The assignment is that we have to sell at least 100 dollars of any product of our choosing and we only have one day to do the big sale day. If we fail to sell at least one hundred dollars of the product, we fail the assignment. All the proceeds go to the KIVA foundation to help less fortunate people set up their own businesses. 

So this week I went out and gave people a bunch of surveys. The survey just had a few questions and it was to see how many people are interested in donating or helping out with the project. Also, this was a big help for me to get out and go talk to strangers to see how successful we could be. And even if we decide to go with a different direction and sell another product, at least I know that the one I am soliciting is a popular sell in the future and I might be able to make a business out of in the future! The plan is after two weeks of pre-sales, I will be able to just go to every person that agreed to buy and do a quick exchange of product and money. There were some people that wanted it right away so I decided to get them one anyways regardless of whether I use it in my class project or not. And the coolest part about my product is that it is just a recipe! Next week I will have another update on how my pre-sales are going. So far I have gotten 16 “yes” answers and 4 “no” answers out of 30 people. The rest said “maybe” so we will see how many of that group will agree to buy. 

Week 10

This week I realized how important it is to reach your goals. Last week I failed to follow through with my idea of knocking on some doors and asking if I could wash windows. I failed because I was afraid to fail so I set out a goal this week that I would at least knock one door and see if they would accept my window washing service. As I was knocking, I made it my goal to have at least one person accept my invitation and lo and behold it happened!
I figured out that people have been telling me the wrong thing all my life. Mentors, teachers, coaches, and others have always told me to not be afraid to fail but I think this is the wrong way to put it. The right way to teach the principle of courage is "Be excited to fail!" Without failure, you cannot have success so be really excited to get out there and fail. Once I realized this little gem, I gained an entirely different perspective and was able to go knock doors no problem.
This week I have a few more ideas I want to try out. I want to try selling a product door to door this week and see how it goes. I will be sure to write and tell all about it next time for week 11!

Week 9

This week I learned how hard it is to be an entrepreneur. My wife brought to my attention that she feels a little bit of stress now that she is the only one working to support both of us while I am in school. She graduated last semester and has been working since then to support us while I am in school. This is a bit stressful for my wife so I decided that I need to have some sort of income myself to help out. I couldn’t really think of anything so I came to the idea that I would go door to door asking if I could wash some windows. As I was driving around looking for a good street to knock, my mind kept playing through different scenarios of me failing. I saw people outside working, busy, and the idea of going up to them to disturb them was impossible. Would me going up and asking them if I could wash their windows ruin their day? And what if their kid answered the door, what would I say? All these thoughts kept coming to me deterring me from my objective. It took quite a bit of driving until I decided that it just wasn’t my day.

I know that this was the wrong choice, however it taught me something. This whole entrepreneur thing is harder than I thought and not all that I thought it would be. Now I have a goal and am determined to reach it. Before next week is out, I will have knocked one door and asked them if I can wash their windows. This is my goal and I will report next week.

Week 8

What I learned from about entrepreneurship this week has to do with balancing time spent with family with time spent doing work. This class has inspired me to begin a new business and that has required some start-up. Start up takes quite a bit of time and is really new and exciting. When I think about working now, I get so excited and cannot wait to try something new. I love the idea of bootstrapping everyday and being creative. But I have found out that this takes a lot of energy and time. My wife can feel a bit neglected at times when I get too excited about work and lose all sense of time. Not only do I lose track of time, my brain doesn’t care to eat, sleep, or do anything that is naturally healthy. I tend to lose myself in work and I forget to care about other things that need caring. This is why I have decided to start early on in my career and devote a set amount of time to family and free time.

Each time I start to get really caught up in what I am doing, I take a minute to analyze what I need to do that is important before I get into a project. Sometimes I will just get up from my computer and go jump over the back of the couch to surprise my wife and watch a movie with her. This is a small gesture, but I know it means a lot to her and it also means a lot to me. I wouldn’t get that same pleasure if I were to always be working because I forget what matters most. I am thankful for a great wife that supports me and glad I didn’t start my business before I was married because I probably wouldn’t have had time to get married otherwise.

Week 7

This week I really learned the lesson of being innovative no matter where you are and making the best of your situation. Throughout my life working in various industries, I have always come up with ways to make a company better or more productive. In a fast food Mexican restaurant, I was originally trained to be a cashier. The idea of the restaurant is for people to walk up to the front, order and then wait for their name to be called to come get their order. After they were done eating, they would get up and throw their tray away and just leave. I found this to be a bit dissatisfying for the customer and also me as a worker so I started to do things a little different. I started bringing the food to the customer where they sat. Near the end of their meal, I would walk out and see if they were going to have dessert or if they would need any to-go boxes. On top of that, I would always take their trash for them and tray so they did not have to stare at their mess while trying to talk with each other. I also came up with ways to clean faster and more effectively by focusing on areas that needed the cleaning. I tried my best to be innovative and come up with new ways to help the customer for a more satisfying experience and I was only being paid minimum wage! But it wouldn’t matter whether I was making $100 dollars and hour or $7, leaving a business better than you found it is what is important.

I want to take my innovation to my entrepreneurial life and keep making my business better everyday. Just like we learned in class, if any company in the world decides to make a better decision each day, it can become the most successful company in the world.

Week 6

This week I learned about the power of influence in entrepreneurship. Influence is a powerful key because without it, you won’t be very successful. Each time you go meet a client, you need influence, and each time you even use a power point, you will use influence.

The best form of influence in the entrepreneur world is a first impression. A first impression is something that you can never get back. One experience I have of this is dealing with a ward mission leader one time. The first time I saw him at church, he had a suit on but he was wearing short white socks! Every time this good man would sit down, all you could see is his very white leg and his ankle socks. I cannot think of this man in a different light because when I first met him, this is what I saw. The memory is never erased easily.

An entrepreneur never knows when his first impression will be crucial so he must always be on his guard. An entrepreneur must keep the appearance of attractive. Men should be dressed nice with at least some jeans and a collared shirt. The women should be dressed nice also, but modest in my opinion. I would rather do business with a modest woman rather than someone who craves the attention of men.

I believe this is why BYUI has some sort of a dress code because it wants to teach students to give a good impression. First impressions are everything so make sure to treat each meet and greet as if it were your last!

Week 5

This week I was able to interview a brother from my local church ward about his entrepreneurial journey. He gave me some wonderful insights about what it is like to start small and some things to watch out for. One thing that really impressed me about our interview was that he said he likes to manage his own company so he keeps it a small business on purpose. Interacting with clients and his work staff is something he really enjoys to do and if he were to expand his company, he would lose this ability. He only sleeps 6 hours a night and does the same schedule everyday. It was surprising for me when I found out he rarely has a minute to himself. And I thought my schedule was crazy! Yet, he still walks around with a smile and is always optimistic.
One theme that I discovered about being an entrepreneur is that a problem is a goldmine. Whenever people are experiencing a problem, the man that fixes those problems will be a rich man. I think of the story about Ammon and how he was sent to water the king's sheep. When the sheep were scattered, instead of sobbing and getting heart broken, he was glad because he saw this as an opportunity. After fixing the problem, Ammon was handsomely rewarded by the king once the king found out. He became a trusted man and was able to go from land to land, doing what he loved. There is no difference between Ammon and an entrepreneur in this regard. Entrepreneurs find problems and then they provide services to fix these problems. Because of their success, they are rewarded and given the ability to expand. This is what I learned in week 5.

Week 4

This week’s journal entry comes from an amazing lesson my uncle taught me. I want to attempt to capture everything in that brief lesson right here in my journal so that I will have it forever.

When it comes down to it, most people are smart and can work hard. He told me that he knows people that are smarter than him and probably more hardworking too, but he is more successful than these people. So I asked the question, “If it isn’t hard work and being smart that made you successful, then what is it?” The answer was so simple but still came as a shock and really taught me what separates regular working men and entrepreneurs. The answer he gave was risk.

My uncle was very poor for most of his life. He would start a business and for one reason or another, he would have to shut it down. There were times when he would have to let very close friends go and tell them he didn’t have any more work for them. I know my uncle’s heart and I can tell you, this was not easy for him. After many, many failures in life, my uncle never quit trying. He told me that he was broke poor and had nothing to lose so that drove him to take risks. All this effort paid off for him in the end. I am happy for my uncle and the success he found. He now owns a multimillion dollar water business and not only will he never be poor again, he has built a company to sustain our family for generations to come.

The takeaway from this lesson is risk. Risk separates the good from the best. Yes, there may be failures, but never give up. Even Henry Ford went bankrupt before he found success. But if it weren’t for his determination, we would not be where we are today. Don’t give up and take risks. And most important, don’t look back.

Week 3

This week I learned some amazing things both in my entrepreneurial class and out. One thing that I learned from the class is that lifelong learning can really be a benefit later in life. I read a story about a fascinating entrepreneur that dedicated her life to learning and always improving. After many years of being an entrepreneur, she had built up skills and obtained so much knowledge that she became extremely valuable. Many companies wanted her to be a part of their team. Because she had the desire to keep learning and keep trying, she had an amazing career. This is they type of career that I want to have. I want to keep learning and keep trying so that my skills and knowledge become valuable.
Something that I learned out of class is the advantage of having a team. The more people you know, the more connections you will have and the more connections you have, the more possibilities will come. I was recently listening to an entrepreneur that invests in real estate. One of the things that he said is to always have the appropriate team members. He had a lawyer, a broker, and a construction inspector. Because of these three connections, he would learn about great deals that he would have never heard otherwise. His construction inspector would go down to a property and inspect if it was worth the cost and if it was, he would let the investor know. All the investor had to do was sign papers because his team took care of everything! This is amazing to me and really helped me to see the value of having a team.

Week 2

This week I was able to learn some amazing things from Randy Pausch and a mentor that I interviewed. From Randy Pausch I learned that it is never too late to go after childhood dreams. There will always be "brick walls" in the way of your goals, but never become discouraged and look at the walls as an obstacle that can be overcome, not a dead end. Also, I learned to be optimistic about life even in the face of diversity. Randy Pausch had cancer in his liver when he gave that last speech and was still telling jokes. That man is a true entrepreneurial hero.
I had the privilege of interviewing an entrepreneurial hero this week that taught me some amazing things. The first thing that school never taught me and would probably never teach me is how to get started! Yes we learn about being an entrepreneur and what it takes, but they never teach you how to set your business up. Luckily for me, this mentor was able to let me in on some pointers for getting started. Kickstarter.com is a great way to look at ideas and post your own ideas where people can provide funding or you can provide funding for. Once you have the money and you know your idea is a good one, type in (state)business papers into google and set up your business. Get a separate bank account for your business and just dive into it. If you lose money, you at least get the experience of what it is like to be an entrepreneur. These were great insights that my mentor shared with me and I'm excited to learn more.