Entrepreneur Journal

My $100 business challenge is wrapping up now.  Juliet’s dad is doing better and is out of the hospital, but he is withdrawing from school for the semester and will be taking care of her while his wife is at work.  It’s been so much fun taking care of Juliet and watching her grow!  And the experience I gained in caring for two kids is invaluable and will undoubtedly help me for when I have another baby.

This week I was able to learn about franchising and learn about some of the benefits as well as disadvantages of opening one.  I studied a case study about some friends who wanted to start a business and their business deal with an ice cream franchise.  It helped me to see the potential problems as well as strengths that come with working with franchises. 

I also learned about an entrepreneur named Nicole Donnelly who sells baby leg warmers.  I love how Nicole Donnelly relates her snowboarding experience to her business.  She was able to make a great transition from being a snowboarding bum to a successful business leader.  I love her sense of giving back in a bigger way and her willingness to donate and help as many as she can through her business and products.  Her giving attitude is an inspiration to me and helps me to want to give back as much as possible.  I know from person experience that there is a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from giving and serving others.  Sometimes I get tired of doing everyone’s dishes every day for them, but if I maintain the right perspective and see my contribution as a way to give back to the world, I can be happier to do them all the time.  While a lot of my giving and service is done just at home, I also want to look for ways to give back to the community and the world.  I’ve had a recent experience of donating services and items for a charity auction for my friend’s mom in the hospital.  Doing so made me feel noble and that I was contributing to a good cause.

Creating My Entrepreneur Journal!

Lessons Learned:

This week’s introductory assignments have made me so excited for this class.  Being able to read about the different assignments that we will be doing this semester helps me to feel confident and know what to expect throughout the course.  I always love video assignments and I found President Hinckley’s words so empowering.  We must always uphold strong ethics and maintain our integrity.  President Hinckley’s love for us is so evident.  I also loved what Elder Bednar had to say about BYU-Idaho being a DPC.  His comparisons between the MTC and BYU-Idaho helped me to gain a better perspective of my education and the importance of learning with the Spirit.  In his talk “You Whole Soul as an Offering” helped remind me of the true purpose of our education.  I shouldn’t only focus on getting all A’s in my required classes.  I should look for opportunities to learn, take courses that challenge me, and grow from those experiences.

Lessons Not Yet Learned:

I was able to read about how the case studies work in the class and the importance of them.  However, I have not done one yet, so I will need to learn more about them as I go.  They sound like an excellent way to learn the material and present opportunities to analyze and contemplate different problems and situations that we may face throughout our careers.  I also want to learn how the information I am obtaining can be used at home with my family.