Entrepreneur Journal – Entry 10 (B283)

This week’s study was on the subject of franchising. It covered the pros and cons of purchasing a franchise. It was fun to research the different franchises available in my area. I decided Terry would probably be really happy in owning an ACE Hardware. It’s a great company with a wonderful training and support system set up for franchisees. I watched a video of a couple that purchased a franchise. I loved how they customized their ACE to fit their tastes and the needs of their community. They even built an entire kitchen in their store where cooking classes were taught. They had a great display of dishes and cookware. I’ve never seen an ACE like it. It makes me excited to see the prospects of how you can put your personality into your own business even though it is a franchise. Of course, not all franchises are that lenient. I think that’s what I really appreciated about ACE. They want each store to have that home town community feeling about it.

We also studied several article on Steve Jobs. What an amazing man! I love how he celebrates the “crazy ones”. He says in order to succeed at changing the world you’d have to be crazy. He also says you have to be passionate about what you do. If you’re not passionate about what you do, you will never be able to endure the hard times that inevitably come with starting a business.

I haven’t had a chance to finish up the paperwork on my $100 Challenge. I was hoping to get that done this week, but it looks like I’ll be doing it in the next few days instead.

Entrepreneur Journal – Entry 9 (B283)

This week has been great. I think my favorite part was the Action Hero Videos on Catherine Rohr and Corey Bell. Catherine has taken her talents and implemented them in the criminal systems in hopes of giving them the ability to become an active participant for good in society once they are out of jail. Her efforts to teach them have given them so much hope that they otherwise wouldn’t have. These men are now becoming supportive fathers, business owners, contributors to society in speaking to youth groups, etc. I am so impressed with her efforts and the impact for good that she is having on what could be generations of people. It seriously makes me want to look into how I might be able to help as well.

Corey Bell was very impressive with an attitude that could conquer anything. To him, nothing is impossible. “Can’t” is a forbidden word. He believes our number one value is that we are people of character, passion, and intelligence. He believes we are all called to be people of impact. To give back to our societies and to bless the lives of other through our abilities.

Both highlighted Action Heroes are amazing people. It was a great experience to learn of and from them.

As for my $100 Challenge, I’m just needing to finish up my PowerPoint Presentation. I’m excited to see how everything looks on paper in a nice organized “business plan” sort of way:)

Entrepreneur Journal – Entry 8 (B283)

This week was full of excellent readings and videos. So much good information on hiring and firing and how to find the right candidate for job positions. Out of all the information given this week the one I enjoyed the most was the article and video on JetBlue. The best part was learning about the CEO, David Neeleman. His vision of what he wanted his company to be was incredible and very criticized by many. But he’s very determined and knew it would work, and it did! His main goal was to provide a great flying experience at low fare prices – 65% lower than the competition. He believed there was a way to provide air travel without people being herded like cattle. Another major goal was to be a completely paperless airline. All tickets are e-tickets. He was also focused on investing in what brought value to the customer. Most people make fun of airline food, so Neeleman omitted it. He used the money instead to invest in more room on his planes, leather seats, individual TV’s with satellite channels for each passenger. His airline has and continues to grow at an incredible rate. He takes a modest salary, helps in every aspect of the airline including passing out snacks, cleaning up after a flight, and helping with baggage. He teaches all his employees that they are members of a team – crew members, actually. They also take part in cleaning up the plane between flights, even the pilots help clean. It’s a great environment with a company culture of caring and doing their best.

I think I’m done for the semester with my $100 Challenge. I’d love to keep producing and selling, but my school work is getting more and more overwhelming. It’s been a tough semester so far. I’m going to do all the paperwork to calculate exactly what expenses and revenue were accrued during the project. Hopefully I’ll have that done by next week so I can report it in next week’s journal entry. It’s been a fun experience.