Week 14 Last Week

Week 14, this is the last week, I have really enjoyed the content and pace of this class it seems to be a perfect balance between learning and testing for knowledge. There has been so much to think about in starting up a business especially on the spiritual/ethical side of it. It gives me a lot of hope to start something with the purpose to be able to help others with either the product, employing people with jobs, or giving back to society. Ethics seem to be lacking quite a bit in business these days. The thing that maybe has struck me the most throughout this class is that money does not bring happiness. This sounds cliche and I have heard it a million times but when you don't have a ton of money it does make me think it is the key to helping with happiness. I like what was said that money to the point of paying your bills and being comfortable does bring a level of less stress in your life but really doesn't make you any happier. True happiness comes from within. It comes from serving others and I believe having a balanced life. Having a purpose and feeling like you contribute and are appreciated in whatever you do. I am more excited to begin something business-wise and I hope that I can become my best self so when the right opportunity comes along I will be ready and in the right mindset to accept. I am getting myself educated in school and need to work on a balance portion of my life. I need to list what qualities I have and what things I can learn to be more of an asset. I really need to write down my goals and I loved this week of learning that talks about our personal constitution to write down as if we are already that person. 

 Week 13

I am really sad that this class is close to being over. I have really enjoyed every week's subject that we are learning about. I realize that this is just an introductory class, but there is a lot of things that we study that have so much depth to it. My minor is in business management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. I think the subject this week on Gratitude is really one of the keys to happiness. When we find ourselves down and complaining about our problems we can always think about and even physically list if we need all of our blessings. Right now when life has been so weird with the Pandemic it is easy to get down and negative about life. When in reality we should be looking at all the miracles we have seen and the blessings it has brought to us. Attitude is really one of the only things that we can control in our lives why not exercise control for the better and be happy. And in those times that are hard if not happy then at least grateful for the goodness in our lives. 

 Week 12

The thoughts this week center around how we think about money. I loved all of the talks we listened to about people who did so much good in the world. I love that their thoughts about business and success are tied so closely to giving back and making a difference. The news article about Mother Teresa and how the reporter said to her that statistically she is making no dent in helping people, and the idea was talked about that God is not interested in percentages. He is interested in helping the individual. I believe when we are helping others and touching lives we are mostly changing ourselves and becoming more Christ-like. I also love the concept of bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. This definitely brings to mind the law of consecration. How are there people starving? why can't we figure out how to more evenly distribute wealth. I think this week was inspiring to learn of the goodness and difference that one person can make by an idea to help and not letting things like fixed ideas of how it is supposed to happen to get in the way. Elder Gay says that beyond making money that makes ends meet, we should be concerned about what our attitude toward wealth is. He said this is critical. 

                                  Week 11 Thoughts on Money and Happiness

    This was an awesome week for me on the correlation between money and happiness. I have had several conversations with friends about this topic and their thoughts on it. I spend entirely too much time worrying about money and if we will have enough. Money is important to live but it should not be what consumes my thoughts. The first time I had the realization that money was not responsible for happiness I was traveling with my husband to Fiji. We did not have any kids at the time. We met a lot of islanders who were beaming with joy they lived in grass shacks with dirt floors. They were truly happy. It seemed so odd to me that they had no modern conveniences like even a fridge and they did not care.  There have been so many studies on happiness and I love that a lot of people who "get rich" really are not any happier and sometimes less happy than when they were poor or less well off. 

    I also like the thought to be around people with the same core values as you have. This also brings happiness. You will not be in as many situations in your life that will challenge your core values if you surround yourself with others with the same standards you have. Randy Komisar said that we should never put ourselves in a place in life where we cannot say no. Be able to say no will give you the right balance that you need. I love the idea this week that real happiness is a life of service. When we can achieve a level of financial success and we are able to give back to others then we will be so happy. I know that when I step outside of my own problems and reach out to others to help I always feel 100 times better. I sometimes think this is funny that you are trying to help others in service but in reality, you are the one that feels so good, and who knows if the other person you serve is as happy with what you did. 

 Week 10

Lessons learned:

What a great week of information. I feel like I enjoyed the most interviewing business owners and how their success came about. 

Be committed

The process can be years in the making

Believe in what you do

Be passionate about the business that you choose

Sometimes the first step in the hardest

Make a master goal plan

Break down the master plan into smaller steps to achieve success

Research and Pray about decisions

Ask as many people as possible about advice in the industry that you can

Lessons to look into: 

See who is willing to talk about their experience and willing to share advice

Open my mouth more and talk to people about what I am looking for

Look at what makes a good franchise to buy

Be optimistic about the future

Be grateful for what my life is now and enjoy the process more

Think more of others less about myself

Spend more time with my kids, they won't be around forever

 Week 9

Things learned:

This has probably been my favorite week so far, in this class. 

There is a lot of knowledge to be had with talking and interviewing business owners.

I was able to interview two different people this week and it just makes me want to interview more. I told both people that I just needed about 15 min. That was a joke. In my first interview, my first question wasn't even fully being answered 25 minutes into the conversation. I can see if you had the right mentor in your life how valuable it could be because he was giving me a lot of story and background that I found to be super helpful in the journey of starting up a company. I always look at people who are successful and think it's an overnight success. In reality that is not the case. 

I loved hearing about people's journey and what they think is key to being successful in business. 

One owner said that failure was not an option even if she was the only one buying the product she was going to buy it all if it meant getting going. 

Things to learn more about: 

Lookup more success stories of people who made a change later in life and were successful. help to stay motivated that it is never too late to start up a business adventure.

How to help my kids be business successful at a younger age. Take more risk. Have them look outside the box and not be afraid to fail. 

 Entrepreneurial Class Week 8

Lessons learned:

We are the only ones who can create our own destiny. I need to make smart decisions and be ok with taking calculated risks. It is ok to listen to people and their advice especially when it is very negative. This helps me to know other things to look for in starting a business. Negativity never pays off but being able to look at all sides of the situation is a good idea. 

Ask lots of different peoples advice who are in the industry about what I am wanting to go into. Ask the right kind of questions. Would they do it all over again? What was different than they expected? Was buying a franchise the right thing for them to do? 

There are three things that can grow a business 1. Increase the number of customers 2.Increase the frequency of purchases 3. Increase the average number order. 

Work on consistently executing the brand.

Always keep pushing forward the Lord will open doors. 

Don't underestimate me or the Lord. 

Behind every technical problem, there is a human problem. Find out the root cause. 

Trust in God for good things to come. 

Lessons to research more:

Look into how you run numbers on buying a business, specifically a franchise. How long would it take to pay off? Can we make the monthly payment starting out? How hard is it and is it a good idea to manage/own a company out of state?

How to find the right person for mentoring? Success is so much about finding the right mentor, but how is that really accomplished?

Stay positive and read success stories of people over 40 who have changed their life and been successful.