Enchantment

This week has been a bit of a blur, but it's been a good one. In our readings and videos, I listened to a great talk from Guy Kawasaki talking about his new book and the way of enchanting others.  This talk was given in 2011 to a group of students at Stanford and gave some pretty good advice.  In his talk, he went over many aspects of working with others and how we can engage others.  One of the most basic things he talked about that I loved was having a genuine smile.  He talked about smiling with the eyes.  Being genuine.  That part, although extremely simple, really struck a chord with me in how something so simple can be such a huge part of how people see and view us.

The $100 challenge has been going well. I have made my first sales and I am on my way to reaching the goal of gaining at least $100 in profit.  People seem to like the idea of customized stickers and they have loved the idea it also supports a good cause.  People want to show their support for their kid's teams, their kids, and the added bonus of helping others with the proceeds helps as well.  It is looking very positive going forward.

Here is some cash, now get lost!

The $100 challenge is going along well.  I have created my first designs, and I hope to be able to start advertising this week or next.  I’m getting excited to see what The Stickr Company can do.  I have high hopes and really think this concept can generate the revenue and profit I need in order to get a good grade in this class and help others in need.  I am going to be pushing that the profits go to a good cause in hopes that it will help motivate others in their purchase.

This week in class we learned about how Zappos would offer their new hires $2000 to leave the company during training.  They wanted only people who were motivated to stay with the company in their ranks.  I was blown away with how few took the money.  This was for entry level jobs in Las Vegas, and that money was no drop in the bucket for these people.  In the video, they talked about how the company culture was so important and that customer service was a companywide trait.  They wanted to make sure that everyone felt the same way about their company and that they could keep morale high and turnover low. I think this is a good example of planning with the end in mind.

Elevator Pitch

So this week in my business class we have been focused on marketing and building our brands.  I really enjoyed one of our videos this week by Guy Kawasaki.  In it, he points out how we need to be unique and bring value to our customers.  It is in that sweet spot where greatness can be born.  You can see the video here.

This week I also had to create an elevator pitch for my $100 challenge company.  It was great getting feedback from classmates and going back and refining what I would say if I met an investor in an elevator.  It helped me really drill down on my concept and make sure I could quickly and clearly explain what I was trying to do, who I was trying to sell it to, how we would make money, and why it would be exciting.  It's a great way to look at a company and get down to the roots of what it is and how it will bring value to the customer, owner and investors.  I know that my company will do this in my area.  Here is my video of my elevator pitch.  I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Starting a New Business

Another week has passed, and move decisions have been made.  I'm excited to say that I have narrowed down my business for the $100 challenge to The Stickr Company.  With this company, I plan on selling vinyl stickers that people can put on car windows, walls, binders, or really anything they want.  I plan on focusing on local teams (high school, club, etc) and even have some upsell items like custom numbers, names, or other things to make their sticker unique.  Through that, I know that I can make a good amount of profit so I can be able to give through Kiva.org.

This week we learned about raising funds and being able to either bootstrap a business or looking for funds through a VC or other funding.  Although many businesses will never be able to get VC funding, I find it an interesting problem.  In one of our videos, they discussed how you must ask for money to make it a possibility.  It seems like a simple thing.  Just ask, right?  Well, it is the first step and it is part of the selling process.  If we don't make that step, it doesn't require the other party to answer.

Finally,  I just want to share a great part in my personal business life.  My personal IT company was purchased this week and I am now working for a new company, Integrated Technologies.  I'm excited about the new opportunities it can bring and we hope that this risk will be a good one.

The Lean Startup

The week has been a stressful but fulfilling one.  First, I'm grateful for modern medicine.  We spent most of the last weekend in doctor's offices and the ER twice as our oldest son had a blood infection of strep and went septic.  I'm so glad we have modern medicine and he is now doing well.

The rest of the week I have been able to work on my new small business trying to raise over $100 to help other in need.  I have now shifted from doing custom t-shirts to doing custom vinyl stickers and logos.  This will make my overhead much lower and be able to customize either without having the cost of different size and color shirts.

I was also able to listen to a great video called The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.  In this small clip, he talks about what he calls the small dollhouse myth.  In this myth, people think that startups and small businesses should just be smaller versions of big companies, and this just isn't true.  He focuses on being lean and making sure we are efficient in making, what he calls, pivots, in our companies.  I feel I did just that when pivoting from shirts to stickers and logos.  It was an important move in my company without having to deal with things like a marketing division or talk to R&D.

Creativity

In my business class this week we focus on creativity and the creative process.  How as a manager, business owner, or entrepreneur can we help foster creativity in those we work with and lead?  In one of our videos we watched this week, Marissa Mayer of Google talked about how if we foster an environment of ideas in our businesses, ideas can come from anywhere.  It doesn’t always have to be top down.  Bringing together those with different backgrounds and expertise can help with this creative processes.  No matter what business we are in, ideas are still important and can help keep the business afloat for years to come.  Things change, and we need to be ready with new ideas, products, and services to stay ahead.

Also, I’m pretty sure I have narrowed down my business idea for the $100 challenge. I was thinking of doing baseball training, but instead, I’m going to do some custom shirts and go from there.  I plan on focusing on local events and sports related apparel.  I will start small and reinvest in inventory as money comes in.  I plan on getting to the $100 pretty easy, but hope to get well beyond that so I can really benefit others and help those in need.

A New Beginning

Well, here I am again.  It is a new semester at BYU-Idaho and I have started a few new courses.  One of those is Business 283.  In this class, I have been asked to keep this online journal/blog.  I'm excited for this opportunity to continue sharing my experiences and insights.  I'm really looking forward to some excellent projects in this class including the $100 challenge.  In this project, I need to make a new company with a maximum of $20 seed money and after all is said and done make at least $100 profit. The other great part of this is that my profits will all be donated to someone in need through the site Kiva.org.  This is a great chance to learn and give back.

I have also really enjoyed this weeks' lessons on finding good business blogs.  I have decided to follow the blog,  The Entrepreneurial Mind  I hope following it will help give me insight and ideas for my own career and businesses. I know that as I explore new ideas and learn lessons from other business owners, it will help me in my passions and pursuits.

This week I also learned about Corey Bell.  He is a man who saw how his life wasn't going to get him to the place he wanted to be in 15-20 years.  So instead of feeling down and defeated, he decided to do something about it.  It pushed him into being an entrepreneur and work for himself.  I loved his attitude about always doing his best and never using the word can't.  When challenges come, we must find a way to overcome!