We have spent three months together studying all the
beginning concepts of entrepreneurship and exploring different ideas and
methods that a person might take to create self-employment for themselves. I
hope you'll take this opportunity to reflect on the options that life holds for
you and if you feel like you have something unique to share with the world that
you'll find the courage to begin. What assignments meant the most to you? What
person or company made you excited? What was something unique that you took
away from one of those stories?
The Bucket
List assignment was particularly difficult for me at first. I pride myself on
making things happen and ignoring excuses, so as I started the assignment I
could only think of things I had wanted to do - and done. As I dug a little
deeper, I threw some things on the list that I'd never thought much about
before. One of those was to take my 11-year old daughter to a Taylor Swift
concert. Less than a week later I heard someone mention in passing that Taylor
Swift was coming to town soon. Previously, I may not have thought much about
it, but now, this was a bucket list item! I checked ticket prices only to
discover they were far more reasonably priced than I would have imagined and
next thing I knew, my daughter and I were belting along with Taylor at the Rose
Bowl.
Together
we've studied a wide variety of people that took incredibly different
approaches to entrepreneurship and learned that there isn't just one way to
success. You'll remember Erica Mills started a card company, Warm Fuzz Cards,
at a time when she was unable to work in a foreign country, primarily as a
creative outlet. She ended up pulling from the skills she'd developed as a
child and later as a sales representative to turn her art hobby into an
incredible business opportunity. She wasn't trained in business or finance, she
just wanted to share happiness and brighten people's days while creating art.
I've thought a lot about what work really means and how to make something we
love into work that can bless others.
We also had the opportunity to
interview an entrepreneur. Not only were you able to glean knowledge from
someone who has walked the path, but you have established a valuable contact. Remember
those useful pieces of advice and apply them when they're required. It would
not be a bad idea to send that person an email once a quarter or offer to take
them to lunch once or twice a year. Take advantage of the valuable asset of
knowledge and networking that others can provide.
Only you
can decide whether you're going to take the tools you've been provided from
this class and apply them to your life. If you feel like you've got something
inside of you that the world needs, I hope you'll find the courage to start.
Don't let fear or frustration keep you from doing what you're meant to do. Good
luck!
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