My last Lecture

Just do it! Life is too short to sit around wishing for the things that might have been or the things you want to do. Just do them. The fact is we will fail at things. Prepare for the fall and pick yourself up and keep on moving. Don’t let anything get in the way of your success. Success won’t come until after you start so get started! 

Much has been learned yet there is still much to learn. The entrepreneur’s journey isn’t an easy one that’s for sure.  It’s overwhelming and full of insecurities. The best way to combat insecurities is with knowledge.  Fill yourself with the knowledge of those you came before you. There’s zero need to reinvent the wheel. It works great as it is. Don’t waste your time when someone else has put in place a successful model. There are hundreds of great models out there set up for you. Find the one that you can relate to the most and embrace it. I found a book called The Ministry of Business by Steven A Hitz with Hames W. Ritchie was a perfect set up for me. Again find what’s right for you and run with it. Learn all you can.

It is vital you learn everything. Entrepreneurs are more than just a cool business idea.  You have to have more than that if you are to be successful. You must learn accounting/bookkeeping, filing. Add to that warehouse, storage, buying and selling. Don’t forget insurance to protect yourself from that random stuff life throws at you or your company. The more you know of these and many other aspects of business the more you can do on your own. Which means you’re saving money and you have more control of your business and the direction you want to go at least until it’s time to expand.

Don’t Settle! So many people settle in life for example in careers, or worse spouses. You deserve the best you can afford don’t settle for something less than that. Don’t go in crazy debt buying the best save buy quality the first time. Be picky about you friends and the people you put around you in both your personal life and your business life. Putting the right people around you makes all the difference in the world. The right people will lift you up and support you when you are down. They will be by your side through thick and thin and will say something to keep you out of trouble.

Lastly, Believe. To quote one of my favorite movies Serenity “I don’t care what you believe, just believe it” I believe our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Maybe you do maybe you don’t. Find your higher power, I guarantee He’s there ready to help you in your journey.

He believes in you as do I. 

Roundness

This week we learned of Randy Haykin a quite impressive individual. Who, like many, kept them busy and learned all they could learn in many areas. He’s a great example of what we all should be doing. Getting a job and just doing the basics isn’t enough we should go the extra mile. It may not be in our job descriptions to do a particular task but if we are able we should help. There are the types of attributes I aspire to and should I get the opportunity look for in employees. I would want my employees to want to learn the different jobs the business has to offer. It allows for people to try out other fields of interest and help them improve their skill set. Although it may take more time to teach someone how to do something instead of just hiring someone to do it, it’s worth it in the end. That’s what we should be doing helping those around us. As we encourage our employee’s to grow and learn they become better people. We may lose them to another company however we can sleep well at night knowing we helped them become better. Until I am in that position to help others in a business I will do I can to help the business I’m in by learning all I can. 

Doing all I can

The real justification for existence of business according to Charles handy is “is not to make a profit… it is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better.”

We learned in this week’s readings and video’s just that. Yes, we need to put food on the table but we need get the business to do something more or better. We should treat our employee’s with respect and care and support them. This can be done many ways, days off with pay, lunch’s or treats. Perhaps allow pets to be brought in to the office. When you take care of your people they take care of you.

We should take some of the proceeds of the business and give back to a local charity help the 

community we are a part of. As we make it more personal we will establish stronger bonds with our clients/customers and which will help us make that much of a greater impact.

Finishing the book A field Guide for the Hero’s Journey by Jeff Sandefer and Reverend Robert Sirico was on our list of things to do this week. It was a good book with different takes from people of all walks of life from all different times of civilization. I started volunteering at 11 years old and it’s all I have ever wanted to do, give back. My dream would be to start my own foundation and give grants. In the book I just mentioned on the last page it essentially asks if you accomplished all you wanted to, what would you want to do? What would be your next adventure? Take care of mom and help the world is my answer. I am doing what I can. I am happy knowing I’m doing all I can now.