Week 7 Journal Entry

Weekly Readings 

In Praise of the Purple Cow

 -Stand out from the herd!
-Don't be afraid to be different
-If you're a boring company, customers will also be bored.
-Find things that are “just not done” in your industry, and then go ahead and do them.
-Create two teams: the inventors and the milkers. Put them in separate buildings.



Affordable Consumer Research Tools





-ATYM, ask your target market.

-Target respondents through a variety of criteria, such as age and income, to ensure you're talking to the right audience.

-Zoomerang:
create your survey online using the Zoomerang tool and fill out a form outlining your targeting criteria.

Acton Hero: Phil Romano 

-Go against the grain
-Actions speak louder than words
-Do the things people tell you not to do in business.
-Create things.  Innovation.
- If it doesn't feel good to you it won't feel good to your customer.
-Ask people what they would want from your service.
-Think about service.  Giving people what they want. 





 5 Company Naming Mistakes That Can Kill Your Business

 -Building a long lasting, attribute-based company name can add value to your business and reduce customer confusion.

- search engine ranking becomes a major issue as you compete with thousands of other “alphabet soup” company names.

- customer won’t understand the business unless it’s described in literal terms.

-

$500 Dollar reflections

- Team is working hard
-Everyone has made at least 5 sales
- Met twice this week and set sells goals and finalized designs for different teams
.

 

Personal Reflections 



Look for a purple cow opportunity.
Be different.
Think of what could make like easier.
What things do you not enjoy doing? What could make this easier?


 

E Myth Notes

-Your "Strategic Objective" is what you want to do with the business in order to fulfill your "Primary Aim" in life.

-You must speak to people's unconscious minds - all the rational arguments in the world won't win over someone whose unconscious mind has already said 'no'.

-The author explains that in order to make your business work, you must have a "Primary Aim" in life - not business, but your life.  Without that, your business may come to consume you.

-If the business is to thrive, it must move beyond the founder

Week 6 Journal Entry

Weekly Readings 

Cow Pie Clocks
-Look for business in everything.  Be creative.
-Personality and charisma can go a long way in the business world
-Be aware of how much the business you can handle yourself
-Consider hiring the right team and employees to help your business progress
-Consider increasing your product line


The customer is #1

-Every time you touch a contact or prospect, you should feel your brand breathing.
-A brand has a tremendous impact on your business!
-One of the most important assets you can develop for your business is a powerful brand.
-"your brand purpose" is a logical snapshot of what you provide the market

$500 Dollar reflections

Increased profit to $260
Rec Sports won't allow us to advertise in the I-Center or on campus. 
Too much conflict with IBC.
We are limited to flyer and word of mouth advertisement
.

Personal Reflections 

-Look for business opportunity in everything, a la cow pie clocks!
-Be willing to expand your product line if one product will eventually fade out in time.
-Your personality in the business world can attract the right investors to your company.
-Be Charismatic and likeable.  Don't have a big ego.


E Myth Notes


-Your "Strategic Objective" is what you want to do with the business in order to fulfill your "Primary Aim" in life.

-You must speak to people's unconscious minds - all the rational arguments in the world won't win over someone whose unconscious mind has already said 'no'.

-The author explains that in order to make your business work, you must have a "Primary Aim" in life - not business, but your life.  Without that, your business may come to consume you.

-If the business is to thrive, it must move beyond the founder

 

Week 5 Journal Entry

Weekly Readings Italia Factoria

-Look for an experienced and reliable architect when constructing a building for your business to minimize problems.
-You can expect competition and sometimes legal issues when entering a business where other competitors are already present.
- Doing lots of research and knowing your market is crucial before commencing a new business venture.
-Knowing when to move on from a business or continue to improve the business you already have is an issue all entrepreneurs will need to deal with

Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts

-First step to financial freedom is paying your tithing.
-Debt is a form of bondage
-It's ok to go into debt for the following: modest home, vehicle, and education.
-heavenly debts are much harder to pay back than earthly debts

$500 Dollar reflections

-Team has now successfully designed T-shirts for two intramural teams.  We currently sit at around 150$ in profit.
- Had a mishap with RecSports saying we can't advertise through our BYU Idaho e mail account.
-Held team meeting discussing contacts we've made as well as a sales quota from each team member by the end of next week.

 

Personal Reflections 
- Going into business with family and friends can be risky but also very rewarding if you can all work together.
-Before you go out and start your business, study the business model you plan on using and see what successes are out there currently and why they are successful.
-Know where you will place your business and what the population/needs are in that area.
-Always remember that paying your tithing is the first step to becoming financially free.

E Myth Notes

-Everything about the business should be documented in operations manuals.

- You need as much data as possible - with time you'll learn what the critical numbers are, and be able to tell how things are going by keeping an eye on them.

-The key question to ask is: "does the business I have in mind alleviate a frustration experienced by a large enough group of consumers to make it worth my while?".

-You need people that believe in what your company does to make those systems work, but having a system in place that doesn't require a fantastic manager.

Week 4 Journal Entry

Week 4 Journal Entry

 

 

Weekly Readings

Heather Evans Case Study

 

 

 

Provident Living

-Some of the most loving words you can say to your spouse is "we can't afford it".

- Hold family council's and teach your children the importance of keeping a budget and being frugal with your earnings.

-It's ok to go into debt when purchasing a home, buying a modest vehicle, and education purposes.

-Ask yourself before a purchase, "“Is the benefit temporary or

 

 

Bootstrap finance

-Venture Capitalists are neither greedy nor short sided

-Venture capitalists incur significant costs in investigating, negotiating, and monitoring investments.

-Raising big money requires careful market research, well thought-out business plans, top-notch founding teams, sagacious boards, quarterly performance reviews, and devilishly complex financial structure.

-Many entrepreneurs thrive in rapidly changing industries and niches where established companies are deterred by uncertain prospects.

-An entrepreneur's time is not well spent courting investors.

 

$500 Dollar reflections

- Team has reached deal with printing shop for our T-shirts.  It'll cost us $1.89 per shirt.
-Every member of the team has been assigned to a group of intramural teams to market too for our business.
-Flyers have been made.
-Decided to not focus as much on the website that we previously had spent a lot of time trying to develop.
-Best way too sell our product is through word of mouth and personal interaction.

 

Action Hero Video

Paul Robshaw

-Founded AIC ventures
- Learned the will to work from his Father
-Learned how to work at an early age.
-Lists honesty, integrity friends, family, and God as core values
-Went bankrupt and divorced in the same day
-Created a life plan that he still works with
-Dreams are reality without boundaries
Personal Reflections
- Keeping core values such as honesty and integrity will be driving factors for your success in the business world
-Don't assume or count on one big investor to invest in your company.  Build your network and don't put all your eggs in one basket.
-Don't waste too much time within your groups talking about possible methods to sell your product, get out and go do it!
- There is no substitute for hard work in the business world.

E Myth Notes

-Everything about the business should be documented in operations manuals.

- You need as much data as possible - with time you'll learn what the critical numbers are, and be able to tell how things are going by keeping an eye on them.

-The key question to ask is: "does the business I have in mind alleviate a frustration experienced by a large enough group of consumers to make it worth my while?".

-You need people that believe in what your company does to make those systems work, but having a system in place that doesn't require a fantastic manager.

Week 3 Journal

Week 3 Journal Entry

 

 

 

Weekly Readings

 

-Boston Duck Case

·         Andy Wilson worked his way through college at the university of Kansas working as a full time deputy sheriff.  This shows his work ethic and appreciation for hard work to make a living.

·         I was really impressed by Wilson’s sense of inspiration.   To just hop on a greyhound in search of business ideas and finding a worthy one to pursue while on the trip is awesome to me.  During my travels, I plan on paying more attention to detail and seeing what successes I could find or build off of.

·         Wilson’s sense to go to the right people was also impressive.  He sought out Bob McDowell, one of the largest duck owners in the country to get his foot in the business.  To go directly to one of the most successful people in any industry is gutsy and admirable.

·         Wilson’s persistence is another thing I want to touch on.  To get his DUCK tours started in Boston he had to go through over thirty permits and allegations to get started.  It was during this time where it could have been very easy to call it quits but Wilson pressed on.

·         To have a dream and follow through with the steps to get there is a perfect example of what Wilson did to get his DUCK tours business going. 

 

Start up Nation

·         Do not fill your business plan with complicated descriptions.  Be clear and concise.

·         Your financial section should always have a statement of cash flow.

·         Creating and writing a business plan is as valuable as your business itself

·         Refrain from fancy graphs and photos in your business plan

 

 

 

$500 Dollar reflections

- Team has finished our business proposal

- Held a focus group where we each invited random students into a practice room to look at our sample valentine’s day gift baskets.

- Asked key questions for feedback and how to better the product

-Found out a good price range to sell the baskets at.

- Met with team twice outside of class to discuss launching date and review individual positions.

-Everyone needs to be a sales person!

-

 

 

Action Hero Video

Tom Monaghan

·         Original pizzeria was named Dominic’s.

·         Tom calls himself the first to take pizza delivery seriously.

·         Credits a book by CS Lewis that changed his prideful ways.

·         Took the, “Millionaires vow to poverty”. 

·         Found the best way to give to the people was through education and started a university.

·         He isn’t trying to buy his way Into heaven, he is using it to help build the kingdom. 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Reflections

·         Making sure your team understands the goal(s) behind your business makes for a much more efficient business.

·         Communication continues to prove itself as a key component in working with others in business

·         Who do you know?  Who does a member of your team know?  Networking is a crucial and strategic part of building your business.  Meeting and knowing the right people can help jump start your future and success.

 

 

 

E Myth Notes

·         Everything about the business should be documented in operations manuals.

·         Your "Strategic Objective" is what you want to do with the business in order to fulfill your "Primary Aim" in life.

·         Be open to change when it's necessary.

·         A real business is one where the founder has created a system so that the business can run itself without their constant presence.

The key consideration when you determine what kind of business your in, is to look not at the thing you sell, but the feeling you create for your customers about your product a

Week 2 Journal Entry

Weekly Readings

Startup Nation

Business Model Options
-Home Based
- E-Commerce
- Brick and Mortar
-E-Bay Prenuership
-Franchising
-Resource  
- Multi Level Marketing


Points of Pain 
-Most entrepreneurial ventures are created out of frustration
- Instead of wishing for the person to "be a man" and quit complaining, the entrepreneurial mind will listen carefully and see the opportunity in the person's complaint.
-Look for a more simple to access a good or product.
- Something that can make life easier.
- Product or service "flaw.

Top ten principals and practices  
- You want to be an entrepreneur. you need to lead.  This is how I would summarize all the points.
-Exceptional customer service.
- Training and Developing skills 
- Have integrity. 



$500 Dollar reflections
- My group switched gears and we threw out the T shirt idea and are now whole heatedly pursing a Valentines gift bag business.
- We've already set up a bank account and have assigned group members to either marketing, sales, or finance positions.
- We are bringing samples of gift bag designs and products to class on Tuesday
- We have named our business "Double the Love".  You buy from us you aren't just showing love to your significant other or family member but you are also donating to a charity.



Action Hero Video
-= Harvard business school seems crazy!
- Case studies are effective because they allow you to analyze and dig deep into a real life business and see why it succeeded and where things could have gone better.
- Instructors prepare almost 3x as much as we do preparing the case studies for us!.  At least at Harvard.  I'm sure the same applies here at BYU-Idaho which I highly respect.  






Personal Reflections

-Look for the opportunity in everything!  This what a true entrepreneur does.
- Working well with others and in a team setting is a key characteristic.  I'm starting to realize this even more while working with my group on our $500 dollar challenge.  I fill like we are a step ahead of the other groups, having already met numerous times outside of class and getting a feel for each other personalities and attributes.
- Wake up with the idea, how can I make life easier for people.  You'll be surprised how many diffrent ideas and opportunities come to mind.
- Don't be afraid to attempt a entrepreneur venture that has already been done.  If you believe you can make it better and even more attractive, go for it.


E Myth Notes

-Your "Strategic Objective" is what you want to do with the business in order to fulfill your "Primary Aim" in life.

-You must speak to people's unconscious minds - all the rational arguments in the world won't win over someone whose unconscious mind has already said 'no'.

-The author explains that in order to make your business work, you must have a "Primary Aim" in life - not business, but your life.  Without that, your business may come to consume you.

-If the business is to thrive, it must move beyond the founder

Week 1

Weekly Readings


Beyond the lemonade stand:

* An entrepreneur is a person who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of running a business or enterprise.
* If you choose to work alone as an entrepreneur, you must have a solid work schedule that allows you to work effectively while running your business.
* If you want your employees to enjoy work and be positive works for your business, make sure they all understand the mission and goals of your company in order to put forth their best effort . 



Start up nation:  

*The things that you are going to do to make your idea come through is called your action plan.
*  Keep your life plan in plain view where you can see it.
* Evaluate your current status first thing as you make your life plan.  Where are you at?  What goals are you seeking after?
* Knowing where you work best would be considered your ideal work style.




$500 Dollar reflections

*  My group and I met today and discussed are business proposal
* We have decided we are going to sell and market T shirts.
* The idea is to target intramural teams and make T shirts for them
*We are in the process of contacting housing managers to be able to pass out fliers for our business
* Our team name is Cause & Affect. 



Action Hero Video

* Business is fun and you should make it fun but it's not life.
* It's your relationship with your friends, family, and your God that will set your mark for you in life not money.
* The key is not how smart you are it's the ability to sit down and preserver
* The worst deals are the ones you feel pressure from your investor to buy
* Be confident in yourself






Personal Reflections
* If money is your sole purpose for pursuing a career in business, you won't ever find true happiness, not matter how much money you make.
* Working well in a team and with others is a key attribute to succeeding in the business world
* Confidence and perseverance are also key characteristics in succeeding.