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W14: Entrepreneurial Journey

The last week of class is here. What a journey this has been. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a school that ties higher education with spiritual progress. Relatively speaking, there’s not many places that would allow for such an education to exist. The freedoms we are afforded should not be taken for granted. What stood out to me the most from the last 14 weeks is the idea of having a why and writing it down. I think back on the very first week of the semester when we listened to a devotional from the BYU Pathway President. He urged everyone to not only think about why they are taking courses to further their education but that we should also write it down. In thinking about my “why”, I have a couple of things that come to mind. Firstly, I want to ensure that my children (at the beginning of the semester I had one son, and now my wife and I are expecting another boy) know the great value of higher education. I want them to see that their father prioritizes educatio...
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W13 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

The past couple of weeks have been filled with the idea of giving thanks. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, that makes sense and is what should be expected. However, this year has been unlike any year before. It would be easy to have a negative attitude going into the holiday season with all the troubles that the world has offered throughout this year. Through a worldwide pandemic and a tumultuous presidential election, it can be difficult to find things to be grateful for. I greatly appreciated the call to #givethanks on social media from President Nelson. This week, I was able to read words from the late President Thomas S. Monson. He talked about having an “attitude of gratitude”. In spite of all the things that are wrong in the world, we can still be thankful for all that is right. This has been the most stressful year of my life. But I feel that it is ending on a very good note, especially when I reflect on the things that I am grateful for. When upon life’s billows you are tem...
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W12 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

Since the average Joe relies on the stock market to grow his wealth, the companies he invests in have to be honest and true. When companies are dishonest, they inevitably go under. People want to invest their money into growing and trustworthy companies. No one wants to wake up with a large portion of their retirement account gone because a company was being dishonest just so they could meet their profit projections. Virtue and integrity are vital to an economy because without them money would not be invested in the market, wherein lies the highest potential returns. According to Charles Handy’s “What’s a Business For?” Harvard Business Review Article, the “real justification” for why businesses exist is to make a profit in order to do “something more or better.” Money should be viewed as a means to an end. It’s important and necessary for a business to have, but shouldn’t be the sole purpose behind a company. Handy provided a couple of solutions to correcting the public’s view of busi...
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W11 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

My attitude on money has evolved over the years. As a child, I loved money because of the stuff that I could buy with it. I would spend money as quickly as I earned it. I spent without regret because I felt like money would always come. My parents didn’t really teach me about money. Today, I view money with a scarcity mindset. This has affected the way I live because I often worry about not having enough money if misfortunate events transpired, such as the loss of my business, becoming permanently disabled, etc. This can negatively affect the way you live. When you are in scarcity mode, you let your mind fog with worry. It reminds me of the parable of the talents, where one buried his talent out of fear of losing it. This is not a healthy mindset. I am actively working towards steering away from this mentality. I am trying to change how I view money. I now recognize that money is simply an indicator of how much value that someone is putting into the world. People pay money for things t...
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W10 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

“Unfortunately, innovation and the pursuit of opportunity impose a cost that many executives resist—the necessity of change.” From Heart of Entrepreneurship by Howard H. Stevenson and David E. Gumpert Being willing to change is a crucial component of both innovation and pursuing opportunities. You must be willing to change your mentality. When you change what you are already used to, you take on more risk. You already know what works, because you’re doing it already. But to do something different takes courage. I have found myself in this situation numerous times. I get comfortable with the status quo. I stick with a routine or a process that kind of works, even if it’s not the best. But when I do this, I don’t leave room for growth. Growth comes from change and doing things differently than how I’ve done them before. I must always be looking for a better way. I have found it helpful to surround myself with those who hold me accountable. I do this by letting managers who work for me k...
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W09 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week's epiphany: I enjoyed reading a talk from Elder Bednar this week entitled "A Disciple Preparation Center". He spoke about the important role that BYU Idaho and other Church-sponsored institutions of higher learning have on the lives of members. Within school, we are able to learn heavenly principles, such as the importance of faith, and apply them to mortal experiences of a personal and professional nature. The combination of faith in Christ and being spiritually prepared is the recipe to conquer life’s most challenging circumstances. Whether at home or at work, our greatest challenges are typically those that come from within. A school like BYU Idaho will help me to become equipped with strong spiritual habits that I can benefit from throughout life. So far, my first semester at BYU Idaho has been filled with inspiration. I can literally feel my knowledge increasing. I love how interconnected everything is that I’m learning. One business principle is associated...
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W08 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

This week, I have been dealing with some Amazon listings that have been flagged. We received 2 customer complaints that we were selling used products as “new” because the items were received in packaging that was opened or damaged. I know for a fact that we don’t sell anything used. Being accused of something like this made my stomach turn. Now I have to present my case to Amazon. In order to do this, I have to acknowledge the root cause of the issue and then describe what measures are being taken to prevent it from happening again in the future. Just the idea of having to present a case and defend ourselves over something like this has continued to feed into my negative thoughts of selling on Amazon. I’ve always been afraid of losing it and what that loss would mean to the business. Here’s the thing; I can choose what I think. I can tell myself positive thoughts or negative ones. I can say, “Here we go again, getting closer toward a permanent suspension of our selling privileges”. Or,...
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