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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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Records 1121 to 1130 of 1253
There were several meaningful aspects to this project, but the biggest aspect would be sitting down with my mother for two hours and talking about the company. Using the questions as guidelines, we just talked about advancements, new hires, new contracts and etcetera. It is something we have never done before but it was an enlightening experience. Starting from the history of our young company, to the challenges it is facing right now to the wisdom she has gained through her experience. After interviewing the CEO of Botica 637, I have a new outlook on entrepreneurship. With my new knowledge of business models, business practices, accounting and products costs that I have learned from this class along with all that I have heard from my mother, it felt like all the puzzle pieces were coming together. I understood the references she used and rationalized why she did something based on the things I learned in this class.
Having been given a snapshot of entrepreneurship in a vividly imaginative way was extremely helpful because even if the textbook tells summaries of entrepreneurship, it is in the form of chapter case summaries. However, being able to sit down with an actual entrepreneur was different. Any questions I had could a right away and I could hear more about something I had been curious about. For instance, I cannot ask Jack McCarthy what led him to design Christmas shirts instead of sweaters because he is unreachable in practical matters. He is based geographically far from me and also in terms of networking it is not easy to reach him. Having a sit-down interview with an entrepreneur I respect and holding a conversation with them about the challenges, goals and achievements of the company was inspiring. In conclusion, this project was meaningful to me because I discovered an abundance of new information behind Botica 637 directly from my mother, the CEO of Botica 637 and also because it was a direct-line to any questions I had about entrepreneurship and everything it entails.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-16 22:52:00
The most meaningful things took me and that I really enjoyed hearing was the way Aaron was talking . He was full of positive thoughts and the way he was expressing himself was so joyful. I would also like to mention he is 34 years old so when he started his business he was 24 years old. For me the way he is so mature and again his faith he has and how he never gives up is what I loved the most. Another thing that really got my attention was that he started when he was 24 and he had barely learning about Upholstery but he still went for it. I mean i'm 24 I love dancing but even then i'm scared to join a dancing team because I feel like i'm not good enough. So maybe I will definitely take some advice and take a risk. He also talked to me about how it never to early/late to do something. He talked about going back to school and how we would love his business to continue to grow.
I would like to end by saying that another part I loved was when he said "I want to be a good leader I want to guide other people and maybe instead of having followers and I can create people who walk next to me and have the same goals/ambitions." There is many people out there who would love to see you fail, so they can always be on top. Hes words I felt they where sincere and for me those are the people that are valuable. People who are willing to help other people are the best. Entrepreneurship, Engineering, any path you are willing to take is never easy, but it is certainly less harder when someone is willing to guide you.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-16 23:25:31
The most meaningful thing about this project was talking to someone who happens to be really passionate about what they do. I could tell that she was comfortable speaking about what she does and the experiences that have taught her lessons that she knows applies in future situations. A lot of what she spoke about I already had a basic idea of, since I’m taking marketing, management, and an entrepreneur class, but it was nice to see someone out there doing something they love and able to make money off of it.
This project really inspired me to find what I love first. I always focus on what will make me the most money, but I also want to enjoy what I do. I want to do what I love to do for a very long time, not just for a small amount of time.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-16 23:40:43
After the interview, I think I got a lot of knowledge that how start a business. First, setup the goal is very important to a business. In the beginning of a business, we just need a small goal to help us build the good vision, and then we need achieve it step by step. I still remember the presentation I did in class. Jack Ma was setup a small goal in the beginning, which was survive first. Second, finding the opportunity in the business. During the business operation, we can get a lot of business ideas. Some of ideas are enough good to do more research. It is possible for us to get the business opportunity. Third, finding out the right person in the right position. If a person can be put on the right position, then she/he can play a important role in this department. If everyone do the right things, then the business will archive steady and fast growth.

As myself, I think the first thing is to keep learning. Basic theoretical knowledge can help me build the right vision in small business. With the development of society, it is hardly to do the business without any professional knowledge. When we don’t know how to operate a business, at least, basic theoretical knowledge can give us an example. Second, open for any good suggestions. I think good suggestion means that good opportunity. Everything is changing rapidly, we need follow the development, and then we have chance to catch up the opportunity to start a good business. Third, do more research. All business need to face customers. We need to know what kind of products or services should be delivered to customers. Finding out what they want and what they need are one of our goal.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-16 23:55:58
This was very meaningful to me because I saw that one who does start their own business all have different outcomes and different ways of approaching things. I guess that there is really no right way to run a business of course other than obeying the laws. I liked seeing that there is a business for almost anything. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a store. Jose ran his business straight from home. Or at least made his business home. I also learned that you really must give it your all you really can not half ass a business. I really liked how it was a family owed business. I know Jose mentioned how it was a struggle with is in laws but I do feel like I would enjoy running a business with my family.
Something that Jose id scare me with is the money part. I feel like there is so much that has to be taken care of with the money part. I feel like he got lucky not having to look at the financial aspect of the company. If I had my own company I think that I would always try to be involved in the financial aspect of my company just to make sure I know what is always going on. Something else that surprised me was that Professor Silva always hassled us on targeting a specific customer and Jose’s company was big on targeting a specific customer which was the Chinese community in Garden Grove.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 00:50:12
What was most meaningful about this project is being able to hear all the struggles that one must face building a business. Its very inspiring to hear the struggles that he has had to face and everything he has had to sacrifice to get to where he is right now. All his sacrifices have been worth it because his business has been successful for several years now. I admire that he is his own boss now. I also admire how he has built a business where customers are loyal and refer to him as family. He is loved by many of his customers because he is a truly caring person. I had a chance to witness customers who have been loyal to him since the day he started his business. I would want to have that kind of relation with my customers.

My dad works for this company which makes this project more meaningful to me. I have never personally met Pablo, but have heard great things about him from my dad. It was a great experience to have a chance to have a one-on-one interview with him because he was very helpful and provided me a lot of insight of what its like to own a business. He truly cares about his customers and employees, and I find that very inspiring. My dad is very happy working for Pablo and has been working for him for over 10 years now. He delivers great value and make sure that customers needs are always met.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 01:23:59
Something that was very meaningful to me about this project is the fact that I learned about how a person started a business. I never knew that you don’t necessarily need to have a plan set in stone to be an entrepreneur and start a business all of a sudden. I always thought that being an entrepreneur would take forever to plan and then finally set up a business somewhere in the future. However, that is not the case as the entrepreneur I interviewed made their business off of a misfortune. Something else that I learned and that was meaningful was that I should learn the most I can about my potential business before I get into as it would give me an advantage and have me prepared for any obstacle that I may encounter.
Something else that was meaningful to me about this project is that I learned how to interview someone using a set amount of questions and maybe in the future I can do something similar except with entrepreneurs similar to what I want to do. That way I can get insight into the industry and what is required to get into it. What was also meaningful was the fact that I should network as much as I can as networking can help me start up my own business and help me with guidance and direction when the time to start my own business comes. Overall, I think everything I learned from this interview was meaningful since it was very beneficial to my entrepreneurship skills and some of the responses, I received I will use in the future.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 03:04:27
The most meaningful thing about this interview was all the business knowledge I gained personally. This was especially interesting for me because the entrepreneur I interviewed my dad and I was not aware of the information he knew. His journey of starting a new business in a different country was very inspiring and it is commendable on how far he has come and successful he has become. I was also not aware of the sources that can be used for certain businesses. There are several databases out there that is specified for certain types of businesses. Another thing I found interesting was all the problems his business is facing and how he chose to approach them. The idea of finding markets in different countries to open new firms is a really good idea instead of giving up or selling the company.

One thing I learnt was the fact that private loans have higher interest rates than the bank loans. I had no idea about this. He really put emphasis on communication with potential customers. This is because his business revolves around how he maintains his relationship with his customers because it needs more loyal customers. Since he is a merchant, he buys and sells diamonds, so he has to talk to them face to face. His idea of online selling is really great, it helps promote the businesses a lot. Social media right now is a very powerful too and helps reach sever people. I also appreciated the advice he gave me on being an aspiring entrepreneur. Overall, this experience was very informational and motivating.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 03:26:14
The first thing I felt coming out of this interview was that passion may be the number one requisite to success. Mike did not do a ton of schooling or take small business management classes, he just found what he wanted to do and gave it a shot. Combined with passion, the second most important trait I saw is understanding and relating to your customer base. Mike and his team are very understanding of the needs of their customers and, surprisingly to me, may know more about the customers house than even they do. By knowing their customers and each of their unique situations, they provide a service tailored to each one. This level of personal experience plus the consistency of working with the same team on each issue keeps the customer coming back for future business.
The second big thing I came out of the interview with was wishing I had asked about competition with larger businesses and corporations. Mike said he is looking to incorporate, but at the moment his team and business remain rather small. The amount of jobs they can do at a time a limited, but so is the service area. After all, Yorba Linda Air Conditioning mostly only services Yorba Linda. I do see the benefits in having a small team though. Small teams are less expensive when there are no active jobs to work on. Larger teams would require more work to justify all of the paychecks. My last big thing I thought was really interesting was his comment about recruiting youth. It makes sense that youth are being pushed towards college but working for small businesses such as his is a viable option. After all, with the business small and looking to expand, there may be ample opportunity for upward movement in the future. However, most people now aren’t willing to start out in a labor job, and looking at myself, I don’t think I would either even knowing how it could pay off. I am not entirely sure what to make of that observation or what it says about myself, my peers, and society as a whole.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 09:16:08
The most meaningful part of the project for me was the perspective and ability to talk with someone who went and decided to make their own business. Also, as to how they came from a similar background such as mine being that they came from not having much money to being able to save up enough to open a business and achieve their dreams. He saw an opportunity for achieving something that he loved, and he went for it after saving enough money and realizing that it was within his grasp. Another thing the talked about was the classes he wishes he would’ve taken regarding being more knowledgeable about his business which means I am able to be slightly ahead of the curve since I’m taking some of the classes he mentioned.
Another thing I took away from the interview was how much he had to learn by just doing, rather than having someone teach him how to do it. This is an interesting realization seeing as I always assumed most entrepreneurs went to school or some type of training before considering opening a business. Then seeing my entrepreneur who just wanted to do something he loved and believed in and chose to go for it and make his dream of owning his own restaurant a reality and go from there.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-17 09:30:44
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