Student Insights for Entrepreneur Interviews
Entrepreneur insights and perceptions related to their businesses were obtained through interviews conducted by students. Student insights and reflections regarding the interview process are shown on this page.
Simply scroll down the page to view. They are shown with the most recent reflections appearing first.
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| The most meaningful to me about this project was that the owner of the business is my dad. I had never asked my dad about how he started his business. It was a unique experience questioning him about his business. Now I have an even better opinion of my father. I value him more because without paying attention I was a witness of his growth in his business. When I was born we lived in an apartment and now he owns two houses on one lot. For our family this is a great accomplishment. I feel very proud of my dad’s accomplishment. I have learned that a customer is treated with honestly and respect. Now I believe that “honesty and respect” is the main thing to keep your customer coming back. Another meaningful thing I learned is that loyalty and honesty are very good with businesses. For example my dad told me that he has a client that has been with him for 20 years. I personally think it was because loyalty and honesty are essential in a business. Growth in a business is meaningful and not everyone achieves it. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-05 23:13:46 |
| It has giving me an inside of what to expect, Such as: financial issues, partnership issues, and how hard it is could be to keep customers and vendors. I wasn't aware of how important and how hard it is to keep and find the right vendors. I thought it was easy to find vendors and they were the ones trying to get your business. Know I know to goes both ways. And you should plan of the unexpected. Just in case they go out of business or they can't meet your needs. You should be prepared to go somewhere else, so that you could meet you customers needs. I also learn how important it is to do your research on your future business. It helps by preparing you to face or prevent possible problems. It also made me realize that partnership isn't for me. I rather hire the right personal to help me, because if the employee's don't work out, I could replace them. And I don't have to share my profits. I realized that by attending business, it will give me the recourses that I need to make my business successful. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-05 23:28:33 |
| The most meaningful thing about this project is talking to successful business owners and seeing the glow in their eyes as they talk about their success. One of the thing I learned from Ebrahim is that nothing is impossible if you are determined to make your success happen. He was an immigrant 35 years ago from Iran. "Starting in a foreign country is really hard," as he said. With his success I believe I can make my life successful if I just keep myself motivated. Ebrahim, now lives in Beverly Hills and with a wife and two kids. It is very interesting listening to someone successful, because its keeping motivated and wants to start dreaming big. I am thankful for this project as i am motivated to have my own business in the future. As what I always hear from successful business owners JOB means (journey of the broke)- I know that I need to journey to achieve this success of owning a business, but I will do it no matter what it takes as long as I don't step on other people and do it credibly. Hopefully Ia will be successful and will be well known in the future to come. Recognition is one of the things I love to hear, because it makes me accomplish that people actually notice the great work I give the, |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-05 23:46:49 |
| I learned it is important to have a sucession plan or an exit strategy in case of emergencies. One of the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship is that the business could cease to exist if the founder/owner is unable to continue in his capacity as an owner/founder/manager due to injury, sickness, or death. My interviewee did not thought about potential replacements as he set up and expand his business. As a result, he was unable to transfer his knowledge and skills in time prior to his temporary departure. Nor did my interviewee give anyone the legal power of attorney in case of a sudden injury or death. I am glad the situation did not apply to me. Since I am valued for my unique services (providing one-to-one tutoring for AP/IB/SAT/Honors Biology), it would be hard to replace me. Thus, I expect my business to dissolve when I am no longer able to work. This interview also taught me the importance of identifying and targeting my customer base. Just like the segment exercise we did in class, it is essential to classify customers according to demographics, geographic, psychographic, and end-use factors. Based on his customer profiles, my interviewee was able to connect to them through social network media such as Facebook and Twitter. He knew online orders would help him increase profits and reduce cost.I admired his courage. Recently, I have to do the same. I have to ask myself who are my key clients and what kind of experiences I want to bring into the teaching/mentoring/coaching relationships. In the past, I accept all type of clients. Now I realized I am most productive and valued as an AP Biology specialist. Consequently, I started looking for clients who are preparing for careers in the healthcare services. Word of mouths are my most effective marketing strategy now. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 00:11:46 |
| The entire interview was meaningful. First hand knowledge and hindsight are great tools to have when planning and trying to organize your own business and when drafting business plans. With First hand knowledge I will able to prepare myself better for future ventures. Tools and technology of course will help me be come better organized and prepared. Motivation and hard work are the most important keys to starting and running a successful firm. armed with knowledge I should be able to avoid some novice mistakes. Speaking to someone who has been through the trials or preliminary business start up has definitely bumped up my confidence in working on my own projects. I also know now that a good bit of business math may be helpful. business courses and and other helpful classes will only further my success so why not take advantage. Most importantly loving what you do and being passionate. being able to wake up and say aah! work is going to be great! |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 02:19:22 |
| This project is very meaningful in my eyes because i Interviewed [Name removed] to get a better understanding of his company. I intern at this mans company and am also a trading agent. In honesty i didn't have an idea about the company until we sat down and filled out these questions. I then had clarifications about where the company was at and how I could fill some of its voids. This was a golden opportunity to talk about Intl. trade something in which i hope to do shortly, with LB International Inc. I fill as though his company is out dated but with that said 40yrs of knowledge is still being used today, I hope I can bring the company up to date rather shortly so I can truly call myself and Intl. Business Man. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 06:36:14 |
| At first, I was not sure that interviewing an orthodontist as an entrepreneur would be relevant to my goals of becoming a sports marketer. After completing the interview, I realized that certain topics are important for any entrepreneur to understand. I learned that regardless of the field, an entrepreneur needs to understand basic business principles to succeed. I also learned that it is important to have a broad understanding of business and not just knowledge in a specific field. It was also good to hear the advice that it is important to choose a field that you really have interest in. Since I love sports, I believe that I am on the right pathway. I think the emphasis on education was important. Hearing that a strong business education is an important foundation for an entrepreneur gave me motivation to continue my business studies. I am now looking forward to taking classes in accounting, marketing, and communications because I understand how important those skills are. Before the interview, I assumed that one just needed to complete college and then go out into the world. I now understand that an entrepreneur needs to keep up with all of the rapid change that is occurring in the world. To be successful, you need to become a life-long learner. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 12:47:44 |
| I think that really the most meaningful thing about this project would have to be just talking to someone that was an owner of a small business. Someone that went through owning a business and knows how it works. The entrepreneur I interviewed is my sister's friend, so I already knew her, but it was nice talking to her about owning a business. Even though she doesn't own the same type of business that I would want to own, I know that she could still help me out if I ever needed anything. I think that before opening my own business, I would want to apply and work at a shop of the same type so that I could gain some experience and see if I really would want to open my shop like that. If not working in a similiar business, I would definitely talk to fellow business owners in that field and learn about my business from people who actually know what it's like. Research is key. If you want a business, you need to figure out if there is a need for your business. If there is then you need to pick your location and find out demographics of your location. I think location is a big deal too, because if your shop is is difficult to find, you can lose business. It is important to find out if your business is just going to be popular at the moment and will eventually die out, or if it will last for some time. Keeping products current and up to date is a good tip too. I like what she said about the money management and testing out a new product. Managing money is very important, cause like she stated, if the product doesnt sell you don't want to be out of too much money. It is obvious that marketing is too important. You need to have things like specials, events, promotions etc to bring customers into your business. I definitely would have special offers in my business because it makes people want to visit. I know that if I have some coupon, it makes me want to visit that place, even if I don't normally go there. Special events and offers might also bring in new customers and attract new people. That could be really important. I think that you should always try to have good relationships with your customers and always try to bring in new ones. Overall, I think this project was really helpful and it taught me some basics about owning a business from an actually entrepreuneur in business today. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 12:56:14 |
| From this project, I found that meeting with the owner is the most meaningful thing. Since they actually started their own business and know how everything works. I learned several things about owning a business. It's important to explore more markets than just the one you are in because you can find there are better markets and you might be able to expand to those too. Also, in starting a business, you must have experience in hiring and managing employees. So before I would start a business, I would definitely study that, or find resources to help in that process since people management seems to be critical in owning a successful business. Before starting my own business, I would take his advice and spend time researching and getting a job in the same field. After some time in working in the business, I would get consulting from professionals. Then, when I think I am ready, I would open up my business. According to this owner, I found that marketing seems to be important, but not only one type, you should explore and have multiple types of advertising so that different types of people would see it. Constant research is important too. You have to know the new trends or technologies that are out so that you can adjust to that and work with the latest advancements. Therefore, it seems that owning a business isn't easy, there is so much research and time that has to go into it before you can actually start your own business. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 13:23:59 |
| I think the most interesting part of this project was to be able to apply it to my own life. With this being a family business, I have been working here full time for about 6 years and part time for another 3. It was very interesting to learn the different facets about the business from this interview and find that I had similar ideas as well. Over the last 3 years I have taken a more integral role in the overall running of the business and have been very intrigued to hear these ideas and philosophies. As an added bonus, with my brother in this class as well, we were able to compare the answers that were given and learn how both people view the business, it's future, as well as their own overall business ideologies. I am eager to apply these ideas to my current role in the business to help it grow and expand. I hope to someday take over for my family and it is nice to understand where they feel the business should be headed and the best way to get it there. Overall, I have really enjoyed this experience, as it has allowed me to actually relate my school work to professional work. This is the first time I have really been able to do this and as a result I feel like I have gained more from this assignment then from any I have done thus far. |
| Date Submitted: 2010-10-06 14:10:18 |
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