Week 13

Failing Forward is the title of the lesson this week.  It’s very fitting since it’s about failures and how overcoming them can help us get to where we want to be in life. Usually we think of failures as set backs, but really we are taking a step forward. Through failing, we learn what doesn’t work and become one step closer to finding something that will. If a business fails, you are then closer to finding a business that is needed, you enjoy, and can be successful with.

This is really something that I need to keep in mind since my $100 project was such a failure. It’s embarrassing that I actually lost money with it, but at the same time, I learned so much from it. I learned that I don’t actually like being in the food service industry and that, while it’s convenient to live near the schools, it’s not a good place for a business. I also learned that I prefer to have a business that people come to me when they need my service and not having to try and convince people that they need some product that they might not really need. Basically, I prefer the service industry. This is huge for me because I can now focus my energy in a different direction than the one I had been looking into.  So, looking back, my failure was a step in the right direction.

Week 12

While I’m extremely glad to be done with the $100, I was able to learn a lot from it. Selling baked goods just wasn’t the business experience that I had though it would be. Too much of it depended on the schools and people walking by. The timing should have been different in order to get people when they weren’t in a rush to get kids and get home. Now I know that if I want people to have time to stop and look, I should pick a place where they aren’t in a hurry. Picking a spot around the  tourist attractions would have probably worked better. Having a building to work out of would have been good too because it was raining for several of the days.

Learning about franchises has caused me to actually look into those more. Some of them are very expensive, but others aren’t. I am looking into starting a dry cleaning business and buying a franchise might be the way to go. Our town really needs one, but I don’t know where to start. A franchise would train me and help with setting it all up, which would be ideal. There has been a lot of assignments to get done though, so I haven’t had time to do much research but hopefully I will have time soon.

Week 11

This week, the schools have been out for spring break. This means that I had lots of help from my kids, but nobody to sell to. This reiterates my discovery that I need a business that isn’t dependent on the kids being in or out of school. Which brings me to my “big idea”. I’m very seriously considering a roller skating rink. My kids could help run in and it will give other kids something to do besides getting in trouble. My husband is doubtful about its viability in our area, but I would like to try.

Steve Jobs’ life and career was part of this week’s reading. I have mixed emotions about the fact that he dropped out of college but was still incredibly successful. It would give me more of an incentive to finish myself. I can’t blame him for dropping out when he realized that the college path wasn’t as productive as he was hoping for. If we only took the classes that was part of our major, we could all spend less time in school and more time in a profession. At the same time, there seemed to be a great work ethic and motivation to actually make something of himself. This show that it’s not really about what you know, but your drive to get there that can really make a difference.

Week 10

Week 10 was a very busy week for our family but not so much for my $100 project. I missed a couple of days on account of Parent/ Teacher conferences and the schools got out early several days. I think my next short-term business will need to be something that isn’t dependent on the schools.

The week’s readings were about Roxanne Quimby and how Burt’s Bees got started. It’s interesting that something as simple as bee’s wax can be made into a large and successful business. They stayed with the business and kept growing it until it outgrew them. By the end, I don’t think it was really the same business she had started. It used bee’s wax but not to make the same products. I don’t think it was a fun thing for her anymore either. Her story made me think about what I want my business to become. Do I want it grow? How big should I expect/plan for it to get? I don’t want a big corporation. I would prefer to be successful in a small town kind of way;large enough to make money, but small enough that I don’t want or feel the need to move and expand. Success for me isn’t making lots of money or having a large business. I just want to help the people of my town.

Week 9

The readings this week have been very interesting to me. JetBlue made a company offering low prices to needed cities, paying employees more than other companies and just focused on serving the people and their employees. Most of the time, you read about business with a  “go big or go home” attitude. JetBlue didn’t do that. They didn’t start huge, only 2 planes, but they grew. All the while, taking care of their employees and offering low prices. There really seems to be a running theme here, that if a company focuses on profits, they will fail. But as they focus on the service and helping others, they find success and the profits follow. I don’t know if other business classes outside of a Church school focus so much on the same idea, but it appears that a Christ-like run business is far more likely to succeed than those that are self-serving. As I have interviewed people, it does seem to be true. They have also said that their business survives because they are honest in their dealings and help the community where they can.

My $100 project has been a flop. I think the product was just not what the customers wanted. My location was convenient but not really as ideal as I had thought. I should have used a busier corner location that would have made me more visible to more people. The people at my location are really only focused on picking up their kids and since they are in cars, it is inconvenient for them to stop and get out at such a busy time. I have learned that while location is key, you need a location that offers people a chance to see you. Near a school isn’t good, but around the tourist attractions would have been much better. My product was a good idea, but I got a lot of comments about new years resolutions and cutting back on sugar a lot. This project has really made me rethink my big ideas and businesses that I have been thinking of starting.