Words of Wisdom

As I sit here and type this last entry for my entrepreneur class, there is a sense of pride and humility for all that I have learned and accomplished this past semester. I wish I could remember half of what I have learned. It went so fast it seemed like a blur. I've read a lot of material in the last 6 or 7 weeks and I wish I could go back and really digest everything. It was so interesting to me but way above my comprehension. But I think I've gathered enough information to help me grow my business and keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive in me. Everything was relative and relevant to my life and to my entrepreneur goals. I've been motivated by personal and professional interviews from people I look up to and hope to emulate a piece of their wisdom in my own life. My classmates gave me that extra boast and encouragement to dream big and to work hard. My family support has been so influential and motivating and I do all of this for them. To those who might read this blog, I send you off with a few words of wisdom from my 34 years of life and 5 years of trial and error in the business world. Its not much, but for what its worth, I know it will make a difference in your life. First, pay your tithing. I hate to bring in the religious aspect of money but it has been a foundation of strength for me. I promise it has nothing to do with money! Donating 10% of my income to the church has nothing to do with money, but EVERYTHING to do with faith. Business is hard. It is very risky. I guess that's why they say its "risky business." Combating risk has everything to do with faith. Faith in a brighter future. Faith in being successful. Faith that customers will buy my product and enjoy it. Faith really is a key factor in my progression. I am far from being successful but faith has lead me to all my little growth spurts throughout my life. It has given me the strength to overcome my fears. Trust me, it is very scary to provide for a family of 5 dependents reliant upon my ability to put food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads. They depend on me and I must depend on a higher power because I cannot do it alone. Trusting in someone you can't see or even exist takes faith. Faith is power that can only be activated by my actions. You might say I do things blindly, but I can tell you I am acting on pure faith. Paying my tithes and offerings to the church is part of my formula for exercising my faith. That's just what I do. It works for me. It's worked for millions of others. God doesn't bless me with magical checks in the mail, or unknown deposits to my bank account. I honestly believe God just gives me what I need. It is sufficient for my needs and growth as an entrepreneur. One weakness I have is my ability, or lack thereof, to communicate effectively. I can get by with my writing but my conversations with others and public speaking needs a lot of work. One common theme I have noticed with all successful entrepreneurs is their ability to communicate effectively with the public and within their businesses. It seems so basic yet it is very difficult for me. I've even avoided all my English classes until I absolutely need to take them. This is more venting than advising but practice practice practice. That's all I can say. Practice in front of a mirror. Ask others for constructive criticism. Read the dictionary. Add more vocabulary to your arsenal. Most importantly, read read read!! Read a book every day. Read the scriptures everyday. Just read it!! Last but definitely not least, ask God for help. They say meditation and prayer every morning is good for the soul. For me, its more of an accounting of what I've done for the day. Its also a time to give thanks to the God who gave me everything! The strength to wake up, the air you breathe, the protection over my family while at work, and the opportunities to advance in my career. All things given can be taken in the same breath. If we desire success as an entrepreneur, God counsels us to ask in faith, nothing wavering. Ask and it shall be given unto to you. As you can tell there is a spiritual theme to every thing I have conveyed to you. This is the type of entrepreneur I am. This is all I know. Alvin the entrepreneur and Alvin the spiritual person are the same person. Again, I don't claim to have monetary success. Hell, I don't even claim to be the angel you might perceive me as. All I want you to know is these things have worked for me personally. But I'm pretty sure it will work for you as well. The rewards may differ but nevertheless, we receive blessings regardless. I wish all of you the best in your business endeavors. Remember to have faith, pay your tithes, read, and pray. Those are good principles to live by. Until next time. Alooooooooooooooha!!

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

I was reminded of the simple truth of revelation and how much it actually applies to business. I read about a man named Randy Haykin who started his own business based off of what he had learned through out the years working for big corporations. Part of his success as an entrepreneur was thanks to his attitude of lifelong learning. I've related much of what I learned from Randy Haykin to a simple, but important gospel subject: Revelation. I've come to realize how wonderful and awesome the human mind is. Science has discovered that we only utilize 11% of our brains. I think our minds are so much more capable than what science has taught us. I think we continue to expand our minds based on what our Heavenly Father is willing to grant us through revelation. It's our duty to be open to the Spirit when he prompts us. Likewise, it is our duty to be open minded and ready to learn when the opportunity presents itself. Those are times when God says, "see what I've been trying to teach you all along!" It starts with having an attitude of willingness to continue to learn. Let us be lifelong learners no matter how much we know, what we've learned, who taught who, and what degree we've attained. There's always something to learn, no matter who you are:)

The Journey Never Ends

This class is almost coming to an end and I've reflected on the important lessons learned thus far. I became an entrepreneur before the semester started opened up a whole new world of application for me. I started my online business before I even enrolled in classes. I did it with one purpose in mind, to apply what I learn from class into my business. It has made all the difference in how I conduct business. It has also made me aware of how others do business as well. What made them successful and what they could do better. Virtue and Integrity in business can affect the economy on a global scale. It is vital that we instill in our young entrepreneurs the need to conduct honest and true business if we want the economy to flourish. The pursuit of money and power within big corporations has stalled progress in our economy through out our history. Something as simple as integrity and virtue still proves to be a weakness in big business. Owners and CEOs have to be more transparent with their employees and shareholders. In life, we need food to survive. It is a condition of life. In business, we need profits to survive, it is a condition of business. But it is not the sole purpose of business. I became an entrepreneur to help others with my services or products and in the process if I achieved monetary success, it is a benefit. The real purpose of business is to make money, but also to do something good with that money. Charitable organizations measure success in terms of outcomes for others as well as for themselves. This is one way we can measure our business success with. Are we in business for the money and power? Or are we here to help others become better in life. Having a desire to help others is truly a selfless and noble characteristic. We are born in this life to help our brothers and sisters return to live with God again. Business is one avenue we can do this. Our journey on this earth is but a small moment in the grand scheme of things. Our outlook on business should always center around our true purpose in life, to serve God and to fulfill his purposes.

What Kind of Businessman Am I?

One of my goals as an entrepreneur is to always get returning business from loyal customers. Having a good relationship with customers is an indication that I’m doing things right. In my eyes, getting rave reviews about my product or services affects me as a person. In a way, my business is an extension of myself. It is a reflection of who I am as a person. If I get a bad reputation, others will no longer do business with me and in turn it effects my name and reputation. With my tee shirt business, I’ve already had an unsatisfied customer who asked for a refund. Even though I had to go out of pocket to refund their money, I wanted to make sure that customer was satisfied no matter what, even if it means inconvenience for me. It's very important to me that my customers have a good professional experience. Its a reputation thing but also its who I am as a person. Sometimes I don't know if I can succeed in business. My wife tells me I'm too nice. But to me, somethings don't bother me as much. I take on this online store with minimal risk. $29 dollars a month is not worth a bad reputation. So I'm still in question as to who I am as a entrepreneur? I want to succeed but I don't want to angry customers. What would you suggest? Comment below and let me know what you think?

How to use Instagram to promote your business.

For the past 2 months I've had an online business selling tee shirts. I've had a lot of fun designing shirts. It's almost a way for me to remember those "a ha" moments and put them on a tee shirt. I've had some success promoting the business on Instagram and I wanted to mention some of the things I'm learning, what's working and what's not working. The first is the power of the # hashtag. Hashtags are a powerful tool to reach not just the masses, but you also have the ability to focus on your niche audience. I've had a lot of success with the hashtag, not just in business but also with attracting other entrepreneurs. I can now network with them and see what their struggles and successes are. I've also learned the importance of keeping my niche audience engaged. When I post a product I try to encourage discussion by leaving a thoughtful, purposeful comment to encourage discussion. I want to engage the customer to try to connect with them. It's important to me to try and find a common ground with them so I can cater my products to their needs and desires. If there are any other things you guys are currently doing with Instagram, please let me know. Even though I have more friends on my facebook, Instagram seems to be a better platform to do business. Let me know, and while your at it, happy blogging.

From Good to Great

One of my favorite quotes from this weeks reading material has to come from Jim Collins, "Good is the enemy of Great!" What an awesome quote. Mr. Collins continues to school us in what he meant by that. He says, "“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority have become quite good – and that is their main problem. That good is the enemy of great is not just a business problem. It is a human problem. If we have cracked the code on the question of good to great, we should have something of value to any type of organization. Good schools might become great schools. Good newspapers might become great newspapers. Good churches might become great churches.Good government agencies might become great agencies. And good companies might become great companies.” In thinking about what it means to me, I have identified a few personal characteristics that I can change to get to that "great" level of leadership. I will need it if I plan to be a manager at my employer. Some of what I have to change is personal but I will mention one thing I need to change. I need to learn the power of delegation. I also need to learn how to say "no" to people. I get overworked because I don't know how to change that aspect of my decision making. If I change just that one thing, I think I'll be on my way to becoming better....not great yet. But it's almost there. Lets do better to change our attitudes from good to great! I think I can do that at least. I know I can have a great attitude to start my day. I can have a great attitude when I have a bad day. Maybe I'll start there. Let's make it a great day, not just a good one.

Be Not Weary in Well-doing!

I'm only 4 weeks into this semester and I am starting to feel the pressure. I love everything that I'm learning in school but my mind feels over loaded! This week was especially hard due to my family obligations, work obligations, church obligations, business obligations, and just life in general. It feels like I have to run ahead 10 yards to do 2 yards of work just to keep pace in school. As I talk to my wife at night I let her know my frustrations. I actually made the comment that I should just quit. School is getting to be too much! It wasn't until I read an article by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I envision Elder Holland's intensity as he reads and pleas with his audience to hang in, and hang on. He quotes from the Doctrine and Covenants section 64 verse 33. "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." I'm sure I've read that scripture a million times but envisioning elder Holland say it brings me great comfort and encouragement. Everyone has to go through this learning process. Be not weary in well-doing. That is my new anthem to help me get through this semester and on to my degree. I understand the process. It's just hard sometimes. But knowing that God is there to cheer me on brings me joy. Better things are coming, I know it! Hang in there, hang on. Enjoy the process, trust the process, and have a little more faith.