Leading

I have really enjoyed learning how to become a good leader. I think my favorite part of this week was the talk by President Kimball. I generally always like reading their talks but this one really resonated with me. My favorite part was how he talked about Christ being a listening leader. That is something that is so important in not only running your business but also in your daily life. Everyone wants to be listened to and to feel like they are actually heard. I know that as an employee I enjoy having my boss respond to me in away that I can tell they heard me. Too many people listen but don’t hear anything. When you own your own business you have to make sure that you are listening to your employees, when you do they will be more willing to make sure your business runs as well as they can. The other thing that this talk made me think of was responding with out being condescending. This is something that really makes a difference in how people are going to respond to you. I want to make sure that I always treat people with respect and in a way they deserve. $100 challenge is coming along nicely. I’m really impressed with how smoothly it is working out to be. Hopefully it stays that way. 

decisions, decisions

I enjoyed this week much better than last because I didn’t have to record myself, I very much hope that I don’t have to do that again this semester. I would have to say that my favorite activity from this week would have to be from the Zappos video. I had never heard of paying your employees to quit, but I can see why it is beneficial. The major benefit that I can see is that you only end up with those people that really want to be there and are invested a little to your company. On the flip side, I know that I have taken a job just to get paid and I don’t blame anyone for doing so. It just gets to a tricky place when you are faced with a decision like that. I know that a lot of people would take the money for quick cash, however that will only last for so long and eventually they will be out looking for a new job. I guess I’m a little tender hearted but I think I would have a hard time doing that even though I can see the benefits from it. I really have no idea what I would do in that sort of a situation. I suppose this week has made me think a lot about what I would and wouldn’t want to do with my future business. And now on to the $100 challenge. I am slowly getting ready to start advertising. I had no idea that it took so much. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m learning now. We will just have to see how it goes. 

Oh the Video

This week has been kind of dreaded. I really did not like recording myself for the elevator speech. I already have a hard time getting in front of people I know and talking, but getting in front of people that I haven’t nor ever will meet was something entirely new and uncomfortable. None the less it is something that I will have to get over if I ever want to be successful in life. My favorite thing this week, as it seems to be most weeks was the action hero video. The men that I have seen thus far on the videos have really impressed me. They have worked so hard to get where they are and it gives me hope that I could, possibly one day, be just as successful. I really enjoyed Phil’s video. You could tell by the way he was talking that he really loved what he did. What really impressed me was that he wasn’t afraid to try new things or to move on when his time was done. I can see myself having a hard time with this. I think that it would be really hard to walk away from something when you have put so much time and effort into it. I guess its just something that I will have to get used to. The final thing about the video that I really took to heart was never to sell something that you don’t love. If you aren’t loving it then it will come across and your customer wont love it. That right there is something that should be taken to heart.    

Easy Breezy? Not so much...

Some people may say that online classes are easy and that you don’t really have to put any effort into them. Well I would beg to differ. This class hasn’t been so far out of my capabilities but it has definitely helped me to expand my abilities. This past week as far as class has gone and been good. I really enjoyed all the readings that were assigned from general authorities. I especially liked reading Elder Wirthlin’s talk. I am not the greatest at budgeting my money but I’m not terrible at it either. However, since I am getting married soon it would be good to start being better. I suppose that is why I liked reading his talk. I loved his 5 keys to financial freedom. The one that really stood out to me was talking about spending less than you earn. I can see how this would be very important but I have a hard time believing that it is easy for a business owner to do. I suppose that it can be done but I’m sure that it takes a lot of practice. I think this week really helped me to know that I can be in control of how much I let money run my life. I don’t want to be in so much debt that I feel the burden on me all the time and these lessons have really helped me learn ways of being able to avoid that. The $100 challenge, where to begin. I’m getting anxious to start running my own “business”. I just really hope that all turns out well and that I can get over this nervousness. 

A week of learning

This week, as far as the class goes, has been very good. I am finally feeling like I understand what I am doing. The assignments that have been given this week have really helped me learn and understand a little more as to what will be expected of me if I ever want to start a business. I really enjoyed the case study about Heather Evans and her start up. I feel like I would never want to start a business right off of coming out of school. I think that it would be beneficial to me to work for someone in the same industry that I’m interested first. I feel as though this would give me a good idea as to how to maybe run my own business. I could see what worked and what didn’t work. The other thing that I really didn’t like that Heather did was that she sat around and waited for the investors to approach her. I have always been taught when looking for a job or something along those lines, that “the squeaky wheel gets noticed”. The other thing this week that I also really enjoyed was the short reading from Richard Branson. He made a lot of really good points. Most of them weren’t really anything too new but it was good to get a refresher on them. He explained his reasoning’s behind his decisions really well. Finally we come to the $100 challenge. I am still not sure where I am going to take this. There are so many different ideas that sound good but who knows if they will really be good. I guess that’s the reason it’s called a challenge.  

Points of Pain? I think so!

This week has been one of much learning and stretching myself. It has been very difficult for me to figure out what my “big ideas” are. I have never seen myself as an outgoing person or one who would just automatically be able to list out everything that I want to do with my life. And I am still not that person. It took me so long to come up with a list for the points of pain project. But as I look back on it I am amazed at how wide my ideas have reached. It will be interesting to see if anything ever comes of that list. Through my readings and studying this week I was really shocked to see the list of things in the article “5 company naming mistakes that can kill your start up.” As I was reading the 5 points, I was stunned to see certain things on it such as being very literal with your name (naming your business after exactly what your product or service is). I couldn’t help but think about all the business I know that have done the things that they advise not doing. But I suppose that this list may not be something that affects every company. That was something that I had to keep in mind. This week has also helped me get the ball rolling on my $100 challenge. I am getting, slightly, more excited to start my own little business. It will be interesting to see if I am able to do as well as I hope to do. I guess we will just have to wait and see in the coming weeks. 

Hero Tom Monahan

I was really impressed with Tom Monahan. He had a “go get ‘em” attitude. What really impressed me was that they never let anything get in their way. They could have let the owner not allowing them to use his name anymore ruin their growing popular business, but they just went with the flow and made it work a different way. Because of that they are one of the biggest pizza places in America. It really showed me that you can’t let things get in your way of reaching your goals. You have to just keep pushing through no matter what. That’s something that Domino’s has done, they have rolled with the punches. This is something that every business has to be able to do to become successful. I was also impressed with how he was willing to give his money to charity. Too many people in this world are so obsessed with trying to make millions of dollars that they forget sometimes where they come from and don’t give back. I find it admirable that Monahan didn’t do this and that he could be so selfless.