My Entrepreneurial Journey

  This week we read "In Praise of the Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. It made sense. He gives a list of 10 things to do in order to find success in your entrepreneurial journey. 1. Differentiate your customers. 2. Seek the underserved niche 3. Create two teams: the inventors and the milkers 4. Get email addresses of 20% of your customer base 5. Try the unsafe things (whether big or small!) 6. Explore the limits 7. Think small - dominate that market 8. Do what's "just not done" in your industry 9. Ask "why not?" 10. Tell the truth in your company and to your customers These were all interesting ways to remember to "be remarkable!" Guy Kawasaki also recommended that you niche yourself. It gives you marketability. It pays to know yourself, know what you can do, and then do that thing. He also encourages entrepreneurs to achieve likability by improving your smile, knowing how to dress for various encounters, and having a great handshake. All things th...

 At the beginning of our studies this week, we read Elder Faust's talk, "Opening the Windows of Heaven", given at October General Conference 1998. At the time he gave this talk, my husband and I had been married just shy of 6 years. We had already learned some incredible lessons on the blessings of tithing. I want to share a quote from Elder Faust that reminds me how much the Lord is aware of our needs and has prepared the way for us to still be successful in difficult times. "In our time we are surfeited with a pestilence of violence, evil, and wickedness in so many forms. Those who keep their covenants and pay their tithes and offerings will have some extra defense against these virulent modern-day forms of evil. But this protection will not come with a sacrifice which costs us nothing. I say this because the world's religious drift is obvious. If something can be had cheaply, without exertion or sacrifice, people do not mind having a little bit of it. In contr...

  Week 4 study was focused on creating a business. Stephen Gibson, in his article "This Simple Little Gem can Help Your Business Grow and Grow", mentions 3 steps with the acronym GEM Gather: raw materials, resources, equipment, personnel Enhance: add value to materials, create a product Market: advertise and sell This seems simple enough. I like the idea of adding value, enhancing something in order to meet the needs of a market. In "The Lean Start-Up" video, entrepreneurship is defined as "creating something new in an uncertain environment". That is the kicker. Entrepreneurs have lots of ideas and their passion and perseverance are key to bringing their ideas to reality. And our week 4 Acton hero, Paul Robshaw, reminded us that it is possible to keep our core values on top. With the will and drive to work, anything is possible. On to our $100 Challenge. This week we had to narrow our list from 5 possible business ideas to one. My husband thought I should ...

  I have decided on doing DIY woodworking classes! I am what you call an overthinker... just ask my husband.  So this is an exciting breakthrough! The final decision came down to either the homemade salsa or the woodworking classes.  I weighed my skill level for both: check. check. I considered the time commitment for both: check. check. I figured the investment and rofits: check. check. Then my husband told me woodworking, definitely woodworking. No question. So woodworking classes it is! I am excited to get going now that I have my business plan decided. I need to build the prototypes and take pictures, decide on dates and times. I need to create a digital flyer and share it on my social media pages as well as email it to friends and family. Then I get to see the signups get filled by anxious DIYers! We have a load of wood from tearing down our fence last year, so the wood is free. I have calculated $10 upfront cost to cover the nails and screws. This cost will be recup...