Last Lecture

After spending a mere semester learning about entrepreneurship, I hardly feel qualified to give a definitive lecture on the subject.  I have, however, learned a lot and a few key points have stayed with me.  I've learned how important it is to set ethical guardrails for yourself in place, to set clear and lofty goals, and to pro actively make a plan for keeping your life balanced.  I think that understanding and applying these key points will make a good beginning for any entrepreneur.

I've never been a blatantly dishonest person, but I've always been more of a cut-corners if you need to, make up your own rules kind of person.  Through case studies and lectures we read and watched in this class, I've realized how important it is to be exacting and honest.  I never saw myself as important enough for my actions to really impact the world, but now I realize that I've been given so many gifts, I really am in an elite group that has the potential to make the world a better place.  That makes all of my actions, even the small ones, feel more important.  It's important to commit to following God's laws as I understand them with exactness, to commit to not letting any other consideration change my behavior.  I'm reminded of a favorite quote from Jane Eyre,

     "I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad — as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?"

I hope I always remember this, no matter where life leads me, no matter what temptations might come my way.

Another key principle I've learned this semester is the "stars and stepping stones" idea.  It's important to set lofty goals, and then set the smaller stepping stone goals that will lead to the far-off star.  My patriarchal blessing tells me to "set noble goals and pursue them with a clear and keen eye, knowing they will be affirmed through prayer by your father in Heaven if they are righteous."  As a young teenager I set a goal to be married in the temple, to be a righteous mother.  The Lord has helped me to achieve those goals, and they are, of course, ongoing.  In the last couple of decades, though, I don't think I've taken my Heavenly Father up on that challenge.  Now is the time to sit down and ponder what the next phase of my life will be, set those goals, and pray for affirmation.

Work/ life balance is a big issue for entrepreneurs, and even putting it like that vastly oversimplifies a complex life.  If we only had to balance two areas, that would be comparatively easy.  But work itself contains many sub-areas and competing priorities, as does a personal life.  I feel like God/spiritual life deserves equal billing at least in the equation.  Work life, personal life, spiritual life.  It's important to set guardrails here to protect the important areas that you can't afford to neglect.  After all, the work life is supposed to support the family/personal life, and the spiritual life is the engine that runs all of it.  It's important not to make the mistake that money is the only and over-riding value.

This is not a complete map to success, a wise man I know once said that in order to be successful monetarily, you have to obey all of the laws of success and money, ie. paying your tithing and being a good person does not guarantee business and financial success.  But these are foundational principles that need to be in place before pursuing the other laws of success.

Reflections

As this semester quickly draws to a close, I'm reflecting on how my ideas about my future business have changed.  I didn't really think of my plans as entrepreneurial.  I plan to work for myself, freelance, from home.  That didn't seem quite grand enough to take on the title of entrepreneur.  But I felt prompted to take this cluster of classes on entrepreneurship, and now I can see that's exactly what I plan to do.  Maybe I will decide to just freelance as a graphic designer, and that in itself is an entrepreneurial effort, but I've been inspired by this class to think a little bigger than that.  I have a friend who just started a business as a freelance writer focused on marketing.  She asked me to design her logo and business cards, and we worked really well together.  We both realized that our skills are complementary, and we've had some discussions about collaborating.  She has a vision for a full fledged marketing firm, and that might become my vision one day, too.  I'm excited about the possibilities.  My daughter is also interested in working with me, and that would make me really happy to be able to be successful enough that I could take her on as an associate.  I really appreciate all that I've learned in this class, and look forward to continuing my business education next semester. 

Microlending

I was most impressed this week by the article "Micro-Lending: Toward a Poverty Free World" by Muhammed Yunus.  I was impressed, first of all, but his honesty and humility in realizing that the "elegant theories" he taught students were at odds with the realities of the world around them.  I'm even more impressed that he went out into that world with a desire to learn the realities, and then followed through with something concrete he could do to improve the lives of those around him.  When he said that the forty-two people he talked to needed loans totaling $27, not much more than fifty cents each, I thought of the dollar bill that's been on my closet floor for a month.  I see it every time I put my clothes away, but I haven't bothered to pick it up because it's not that critical.  I'll get to it when I get to it.  To think that that one dollar bill could be a critical difference in changing two lives.  It's hard to imagine, I'd love to hear more specific stories about how these micro-loans are used, how they actually work in people's lives.  I'm also very impressed with Yunus' idea that greed is not the only motivating factor, but we've built all of our economic systems on the assumption that it is.  That's a paradigm shifting statement, and one I will think about for a long time.

In "What's a Business For?" Charles Handy says that integrity and virtue are vital to an economy because when "the game becomes so unreliable, no one will want to play."  If people don't trust the business world, they'll keep their money to themselves, and the whole thing collapses.  He says the real purpose of a business is not just to make a profit, but to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better.  I agree with his assertion that businesses need to take the lead in issues of environmental and social sustainability.  That only makes sense if you want your business to be profitable over the long haul.  I also agree with his assertion that a business should measure success in terms of outcome for others as well as itself.  At the very least, they should care about the outcome for their customers, which again, just makes sense in terms of sustainability over time.

Work Life Balance

I really enjoyed thinking about the questions posed in the mini case studies this week.  It was a good reminder to keep family the priority, and to stay realistic in your promises and expectations.  I think keeping the family a priority doesn't always mean sacrificing every career goal, but rather just to keep the lines of communication open. Pay attention when family members seem unhappy, and look for ways to show them they're loved.  This week I realized that my youngest was feeling neglected with me being so busy with schoolwork, so I made a special effort to take time to do things with him.  It might mean getting a B instead of an A, but I guess I'd rather have a B on an assignment than a failing grade as a mom.

The article about attitudes on money was interesting.  I think I've always had kind of a distrustful attitude about money, viewing the acquisition of it as shallow and greedy.  This class has helped me to see good examples of people who use their money for good.  I still think it's risky, I think that money tends to lure people more to the selfish side than the selfless side, but if you're firmly grounded in the gospel and listen to the promptings of the spirit, and surround yourself with good examples, it's a wonderful thing to acquire money, take good care of your family, and bless the world around you.  I also need to be honest, in that I like things that cost money, like good quality food, and hand made clothing.  I like the idea of being able to patronize people who make things by hand, and those things are always more expensive than mass produced junk.  If I had more money, I would enjoy the freedom to spend it on businesses who operate in alignment with my values, instead of always just looking for the lowest price.  

Entrepreneur Interview

I really enjoyed interviewing an entrepreneur this week.  The first person I set something up with didn't work out, so I had to be creative and persistent to get my interview.  I thoroughly enjoyed my talk with Carolyn Allen of My Miracle Tea.  She brims over with enthusiasm and confidence.  I'm touched at the generosity with which she shared her time.  As a student, mother, and homeschool teacher, my plate is full to bursting, so I'm acutely aware that time is our most valuable commodity.  I didn't take it lightly to ask someone to spend some time talking to me.  Carolyn got me all fired up, I can't wait until I'm in her position, and I'm the one that gets to encourage someone else starting out.  For now, I really am getting into the mindset of myself as a professional, which was Carolyn's biggest recommendation.  A friend asked me to design a logo for her new freelance writing business.  I impressed her and myself even with how organized and professional I was about the whole project.  I worked really hard, and we're both happy with the results.  I learned a lot, it built my confidence, and I have something to add to my portfolio.

Small "l" Leadership

I appreciated the opportunity this week to re-read President Clark's talk on small "l" leadership.  We read it during Pathway and it has stuck with me, often coming to mind.  Once you hear this concept, you start to examples all around you of big "L" vs small "l" leadership.  I have been blessed in my life to know many small "l" leaders, most of them in the church.  I know that I tend toward pride, it's one of my weaknesses, and I have made a concerted effort over my lifetime to follow our Saviour's example of humility.  At age forty, I can finally see that some of those efforts are becoming more second-nature.  I feel more of a willingness to submit myself to the will of the Lord, to the direction of others.  When I find myself in positions of leadership I feel more keenly the responsibility than the power.  I have learned that leading with love is the only way to get people to follow.  I still have a lot of work to do in this area, and I appreciate the examples I've seen and read about in the content of this class.  It has inspired me to hold myself to even higher standards of honesty, integrity, and to approach each task with determination to do my best.

Real Life Application

I look forward to every week when the new assignments for upcoming weeks open up.  I've been so inspired by all the readings and videos.  I had an opportunity this week to apply some of the things I've learned in this class when a job opportunity came up.  A former student had posted a job opening on a Facebook group for a developer, which I knew I wasn't qualified for.  But I felt prompted to click on it anyway, and I followed through on that prompting.  When I got to the company's website, I saw that they also have an opening for a designer, which I'm still not quite qualified for but I come really close.  I contacted the person who first posted the opening to find out more details, and then I spent a day working on my LinkedIn profile and my Behance portfolio, both of which were required to apply for the job.  I also followed through on a prompting to post about what I was doing to a group of friends on Facebook who are fellow homeschool moms.  Several of them are ten years or more older than me and I've watched them start to go through this process of moving into the world of paid work, and framing their decades of full time mothering as an asset to potential employers.  Several of them offered good advice, and one in particular was very helpful with my resume.  Before taking this class, I would have never followed that first prompting to click on a job opening I wasn't qualified for, would never have been brave enough to share what I was doing and ask for help, and would never have dared to apply for a job that is a bit of a stretch.  Whether I'm hired or not, I'm so glad that I applied and went through the process of starting to work on how to present myself to potential employers.  That is also something I've learned from this class, just because an experience doesn't have the outcome you thought you wanted, doesn't mean it was a waste.  It can be just another steppingstone on the path you were meant to follow.