Business for Rookies

Of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the one habit that has the most meaning to me at this time in my life is habit number two: Begin with the end in mind. I love to solve problems. This habit has helped me to solve them most effectively. The first questions I ask myself when working on a new project or addressing a problem is, “What is my ultimate goal?” or “In a perfect world, how would this process function?”. Time is the most valuable resource available. Working for the sake of being busy is not an effective use of time. Beginning with the end in mind sets a straighter path towards a goal. The straight path always arrives quickest to the destination. It prevents wasted efforts on working toward something that will have to be done over again. This principle applies well to life. What type of person do I want to be? Once this has been established, I can build and plan daily habits that will help me to become that person. The older I become, the more that I’d like to be someone...

In reviewing this week’s study of “So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur”, I came across what Acton suggests as three critical areas of knowledge for starting a successful business, which include: 1) Having an in-depth knowledge of the industry you are in, including important contacts, 2) The skills to run the company, such as basic day to day operations such as accounting, general management, etc., and 3) Being able to raise money when needed. It’s funny because when I read this, I couldn’t help but reminisce on the beginnings of my company and how I didn’t have any of those things. I had absolutely zero knowledge about the industry I was in, how tight-knit it actually is, and how when you visit kitchen and bath expos you see the same faces every year with a couple of new additions. I didn’t know anything about cabinetry hardware and I knew no one within the industry. The only skill that I had was having successfully sold items online through e-commerce marketplaces since I was eight year...

On Monday this week, I read “A Hero’s Journey”. It was enjoyable and I felt inspiration here and there but there wasn’t a whole lot that caught my attention. This week, I also started getting heavily involved in playing a video game on my phone. At the end of the week, I chose to re-read “A Hero’s Journey”. I've noticed many times that I can read something at one point in life and then re-read at another time, yet have a different experience. I love how the Spirit talks to me and teaches me lessons depending on my current situation.  While re-reading, I came across this text: Choosing a hero’s journey means to “live every day like it matters.” This instantly stood out to me because I feel that I had a very unproductive week. Instead of prioritizing things that are most important, I spent a large amount of time playing that game. I had big plans for this week. My goal was to try to get ahead of my school work so that I could be less stressed as the semester continues. Instead, I fel...

Deconstructing your fears is an important exercise for anyone, but especially those who have their own business. It’s about hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. When we look at our fears from another vantage point, we have the opportunity to see that most of the time the worst-case scenario isn’t the “end of the world”, although it may feel that way without thinking too deeply about it. My worst fear at this point with the business is losing Amazon as a marketplace to sell on. This could happen in numerous ways by things that are out of our control. Amazon is a tough place to sell because of the many policies that they have and because they are so large that it’s sometimes difficult to represent your case when they claim that you aren’t following a specific policy. We have had to go above and beyond in particular processes to ensure that our account is protected against Amazon randomly deciding to suspend us. Considering this marketplace makes up nearly 70% of our total a...

I would be lying to myself if I said that honesty and ethics was a topic that I actively think about. I probably should think about it more often than I do. With anything that is of importance, there has to be intention behind it and it should be thought about more often, especially something as important as being 100% honest in all of your dealings. For the most part, I feel that my daily decisions are usually honest and ethical, but there is always room for improvement. Honesty and ethics is the foundation of how to live a life that you can be proud of. If someone were to live without honesty and ethics, there is a good chance that toward the end of their life they would have regrets. But choosing to live by a higher standard is something that would likely never be regretted. This week, I read a talk from Elder Lynn G. Robbins called “Making a Living and a Life”, which left me with much to think about. He gives grades to companies. An A level company is one that has the love of God a...