Adventures of a Business Noob

My professor directed our entrepreneurship class to watch a free documentary called "Startup.com". Given no context to the video, we left the classroom confused and unsure of the purpose of watching this short documentary. As I watched the free film on YouTube, it became clear to me why he had recommended this video. In short, it was about the "start up" of a business "startup". It showed the beginning, the middle, and the unfortunate end to a company that had so much enthusiasm and promise at the start. A few lessons could be gleamed from watching this short documentary, lessons that I believe are vital for starting your business. The biggest lessons I learned from this film: 1. Take the losses as gracefully and humbly as you take a win 2. Growth and money should be second and third on priority list, user/consumer benefit is number one 3. Communication and business roles are important when sharing knowledge and creating trust  The video talks about a comp...

 Just as an idea is important to start a business, I soon found out that self awareness is just as important. Sure, I can create 1000 ideas to start a business, and 999 of those business ideas might fail, but it might not be for the reason we expect. As you start to flesh out your business ideas, take a moment to self reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses. Does your strengths vibe with you business idea? Does your weaknesses cause issues later down the line? Knowing who you are as a person can help your business in the long run. Some of the strengths that I found through self reflection were a mix of education and personality based. Strengths: Professional Communication Design understanding Organized Motivated Good Analyzer Good with finances Friendly Dedicated Good Researcher Fast Learner Now that I had recognized my own strengths, I moved on to my weaknesses. Weaknesses: Impatient at times Not charismatic Terrible Presenter Rough Communicator (I expand on this later) Terri...

 It starts with 3 business ideas, or so says my Professor. In my first entrepreneurship class, the Professor tells everyone to blog about 3 business ideas that they can come up with. The purpose? I suppose to get the brain juices flowing, get the ideas rolling, fire up the cylinders as they say. Thinking on fly, I wrote down my thoughts of three business ideas: 3D printing and laser cutting makerspace A Cafe / Library A PC troubleshoot and guidance service Additionally to these three, I thought I could also provide classes in 3D printing and provide services to those who need it. Creating ideas was simple, but working towards actionable goals was going to be much harder down the line. With the 3D printing business, I could set up a small 3D printing farm and invite consumers to come in and print whatever they wanted. I could offer classes to students and consumers on how to 3D print, or even provide troubleshooting courses in the difficulties of 3D printing. The cafe/library idea w...