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Journal Entry – Week 14 Capstone Lecture: My Advice to You I think the main point I have learned and would want to pass on to anyone hoping to become an entrepreneur is to know yourself. You need to know your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, your interests as well as what does not interest you. You need to have a solid work ethic and a positive attitude to keep you going when times get tough, and a healthy dose of self-esteem and self-confidence to overcome any doubts that might arise as to whether you are cut out for the work you have before you. While some people accidentally fall into a business opportunity, others have to plan and prepare for years to make their dream happen. It is still imperative that they know who they are and what they are capable of. It would be foolish to start a business and then, with others relying on you for their income and welfare, decide it is too much work and you would rather be out playing golf. Going back to the beginning, rememb...
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Journal Entry – Week 13 Recognizing the Right Opportunity for You “Recognizing and Shaping Opportunities” by Lynda M. Applegate Opportunity Recognition: 1-       Sensing or perceiving an unmet market need or new technology 2-       Discovering the fit between market needs and your capabilities and resources 3-       Creating a product, service, or solution for a specific market Advice from Evan Williams: 1-       Be narrow: “Focus on the smallest possible problem you could solve that would potentially be useful.” 2-       Be agile: “Even after extensive market research and the development of a detailed business plan, some of the assumptions underlying the initial business model may be wrong, requiring the entrepreneur to revise important elements after launch.” Intuitive (gut) Thinking = creative, associative, and fast. It is good for findi...
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Journal Entry – Week 12 “What’s A Business For?” §   Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy? I thought a really great quote from this article to answer this question is, “Market rely on rules and laws, but those rules and laws in turn depend on truth and trust. Conceal truth or erode trust, and the game becomes so unreliable that no one will want to play” (Handy, C. 2002. Para. 2). When people become so greedy and self-centered that they are only concerned about their own profit – no matter how it is obtained – others are made to suffer. I think of the people who try to defraud insurance companies. Insurance companies have to raise their rates to cover the cost of such fraud. As my father often told his children, “One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel.” Though fraud isn’t a business (at least not in any definition of the term we have been studying), it does show what happens when people are dis...
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Journal Entry – Week 11 Balance This week, we read a lot about balance between work and life. Some of the highlights were as follows: “A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey” “What emerges here is the distinction between indolence and rest: the former merely bides time while the latter reflects on meaning and truth; the former depletes while the latter enriches” (Sandefer & Sirico, 2012, p. 94). “Neither plentitude nor vacancy. Only a flicker Over the strained time-ridden faces Distracted from distraction by distraction Filled with fancies and empty meaning Tumid apathy with no concentration…” (T.S. Elliot quoted by Sandefer and Sirico, 2012, p. 94). “Formula For Success ” by Thomas S. Monson 1-       Fill your mind with truth 2-       Fill your life with service 3-       Fill your heart with love “I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it” Joseph Smith “Li...
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Journal Entry – Week 10 Companions on your Journey In chapter 4 of “A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey,” Jeff Sandefer teaches about the importance of choosing the right companions for our journey. The first portion of chapter 4 ends by saying, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” This reminded me of an experience I had over 23 years ago. I was very pregnant with my third child, I was exhausted, very uncomfortable, and just didn’t feel very attractive. One Sunday, I walked into my Ward Council meeting early where a few men were setting up chairs prior to the start of the meeting. When I walked in the room, one of them said, “Well hello beautiful.” I got all teary-eyed and said, “We need to have these meetings more often…that was such a nice thing to say!” to which he responded, “Nice begets nice.” I have never forgotten that. It supports what my father always taught me about catching more bees with honey than with vinegar. If we are going to be successful and really enjoy this jour...
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Journal Entry Week 9 A Hero’s Journey Jeff Sanders tells the story of how he worked long, hard hours out in the unrelenting sun of West Texas as a teenager. Then her got this great idea that would allow him to remain in the air conditioning while others did the hard, manual labor in the sun and that summer he made $100,000. As I read that, it seemed like such a simple thing. It didn’t require a tone of planning, preparation, writing of business plans, finding of investors, etc. He had an idea, he convinced other people to work with him, and he made a lot of money. As I ponder on my gifts and talents, I wonder what it is that I could do to find that kind of success without gambling a lot of money or incurring a lot of debt. It is exciting to think that it might be possible to find something like that if I keep my eyes open to the needs in my community. But, my skillset is in baking and my education is in Marriage and Family Studies. So where does the community need intersect...
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Journal Entry – Week 8 The Hero’s Journey This week we read chapters 5, 6, and 8 in the book, “A field Guide for the Hero’s Journey: Inspirational Classics and Practical Advice from a Serial Entrepreneur and an Entrepreneurial Priest.” This is easy to read and full of inspirational quotes and stories. At the beginning of chapter 5, Jeff Sanders shares his thoughts on three kinds of students. As I was reading this, I found myself identifying with the third type of student. This student is characterized as being successful in school and early life with straight As, conforming to parents’ and teacher’s demands, being successful in athletics and making friends. The problem is these children have been sheltered by well-meaning parents from the difficulties of life. They have never faced a difficult battle or made any huge mistakes and so they haven’t really learned about resiliency, overcoming, and perseverance. I have recognized this in myself for a long time and have been working to...
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