Journal 6

This week I learned a great deal about the importance of customer service and its relation to company culture and employee satisfaction.  I was particularly intrigued by the Zappos example and their commitment to the importance of their culture.  It has helped me understand that a good and successful company has determined what is important to their business and created an understanding of how employees should strive to do their work - or in other words created a culture.  For me it is important to then identify what things I would want to be a part of my companies culture even though it is still new.

I feel that I have come to understand more about the importance of keeping regular customers and maintaining their business. Most businesses seek for the most part to create more new relationships, and while that is important, the most cost effective and business building relationships are those with current loyal customers.  Doing more for them in order to maintain their business is ultimately very profitable for a business.  While I am still working on starting my business it is important to keep this in mind and find a way to retain as many customers as possible.

$100 Challenge - This week I finished purchasing all necessary items to begin my business and collected my first 5 orders.  I found it a bit challenging to remain inside my budget, but believe I have all that I need to fulfill the orders I have received.

Journal 5

This week I have learned the importance of marketing, and that every member of a business should be focused on having a marketing perspective.  Marketing involves thinking both about the customer as well as the competition.  It also requires developing new products, conducting market research and then communicating to customers about your products in the appropriate and most beneficial way.  Marketing can also be done by building relationships with customers who continue to do repeat business and who find mutual benefits such a relationship.

I also gained a great of insight from this weeks' E-Myth reading.  Creating a new business requires thinking about how your business will run.  However, one of the most critical parts of the new business is also about working on one's self.  It is changing how a business owner thinks and avoiding having a business that is your life, but one that supports and makes your life possible.

$100 Challenge - This week I worked on how to sell my business through creating an elevator pitch.  I also began putting together order forms and purchasing necessary items for my business.

Journal 4

This week I feel that I have learned a great deal about making plans when starting a business.  Of great importance is to plan through budgeting.  Having financial plans and identifying expectations is one of the key parts of having a successful business, as ultimately one of the purposes of a business is to bring in revenue.  It is important to realize that a budget is not a guarantee, but it should help you identify key activities and factors in your business that as a business owner it is important for you to understand and be engaged in.

Also in the E-Myth reading this week I feel that one of the important parts of starting a business is doing so with a plan for how the business will run as a large company.  If you start with the business model in mind then your growth can align with these plans.  Without such thought, it is easy for the growth of a company to overwhelm an entrepreneur.

$100 Challenge - This week I have selected how to raise the capital for my business (through my own investment) and begun detailed plans for how to accomplish starting my business.  I have also received approval to move forward with my business plan, and am excited to get started on purchasing necessary items, producing, and selling during the next few weeks.

Journal 3

This week I have learned about the importance of business plans, and some common mistakes to avoid.  In this week’s case study I felt I learned the importance of considering funding.  While money isn’t always the point of business, there is a reason they say it takes money to make money.  Taking the time to not only plan for how to adequately deal with money, and also prioritize it correctly is one of the most important steps in a new business.

I also really enjoyed the reading from E-Myth this week.  One thing that stood out to me was that companies are often either growing or shrinking.  If one doesn’t plan correctly for growth, and be involved in the most critical aspects and entrepreneur can easily lose control of the business they have created.  It is important to plan with the end in mind when starting a business.  This allows for the right culture and priorities to be built in from the beginning, and for the entrepreneur to be successful.

$100 Challenge – This week I completed my business model.  I have made solid decisions about what my business will be doing and forecasted how I would like to achieve the goal of profiting $100.  This plan has helped me not only outline what I want to accomplish, but made me consider the many facets of my business.  I have truly learned that there is much to consider when starting a business venture. 

Journal 2

This week I have learned that businesses require creativity and that creativity is hard work.  Often creativity is thought of as a moment in time when the breakthrough happens; instead, it is a process that results in new ideas which may conclude with the discovery.

Also, I really enjoyed reading the first three chapters of The E-Myth.  Personally, I have experienced those moments when two parts of myself have contended with each other, particularly the natural man and the spirit.  As such, I related to the idea that when starting a business there are three parts that we must play and that may at times, if not often, these parts of ourselves may be at odds.  I feel that this particularly applies since this experience of starting a business is part of a class - so  I believe that being an entrepreneur is new to a majority of us, and thus our situation is very similar to the situation in the book.  I have already felt that insecurity of not being sure about how to balance the entrepreneur, the manager, and the  technician.  I look forward to applying the principles of this book into my venture throughout this semester.

$100 Challenge Progress:  This week I feel I have made good progress in narrowing down my initial brainstorm to a couple of business ideas.  I feel I received good feedback and that there is potential in my ideas to meet the challenge of profiting from my business venture.