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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 1201 to 1210 of 1253
I think what was most meaningful was learning about the different kinds of mistakes that you can make in a business and how sometimes you can get out of it easily or your stuck in it for a long time. I really learned what you shouldn't do in your business if you have a loan on your property and how maybe you can get a better loan compared to the one you have now. Also how you may not know you community very well and how you should talk to people and find out certain things to know before buying or even leasing the property. One thing was knowing about the different kinds of loans and how you can even sometimes be declined from certain ones because you haven't been in this type of business before. It really showed what not to do in a business but also just how one mistake can really end up being a bad result on the business and how fast you might have to get rid of a business because of one bad mistake. I think it also showed how you might consider where your located and knowing the community really well in order to thrive in your business. Lastly it shows how much you can learn from all your mistakes and that if you start over than you know now what you shouldn't do or jump straight into.
Date Submitted: 2018-10-26 00:16:21
Honestly, I did not find this project meaningful as I don't plan to become an entrepreneur. I usually ask my managers all these questions indirectly any time I get a chance, since I am a management business major student. Perhaps, having questions asking about the entrepreneur/s' personal "I made it" story would leave the interviewer with a better understanding of what it takes to own a business. Only two questions kind of touch on this about overall the interview was set-up to go directly into the aftermath on having the business established. Secondly, as a full-time student with two jobs, the project asked you to go out of the regular hw realm to find an entrepreneur. A list or resources to find individual/s who are entrepreneur would had made the project more interested. For example, a classmate mentioned they wanted to one day own their sport center. If a list or link was provided with records of local entrepreneurs, the classmate would have more resources that can later help her build her network in her path to become a sport center owner.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-12 19:43:25
The most meaningful aspects of this project was getting knowledge from someone who has been there. My granddaddy was a hard worker and getting to know more details about his story was inspiring. When your younger you don’t even think to get to know your family careers. Even though I know most of the details, these questions gave me more of an insight to his struggles and triumphs. For example, I had no idea he was an accounting manager while pursuing his degree at Cal Poly. I also didn’t know he started as a computer programming major but switched to production and management. Also, I didn’t know how many projects he created throughout this career.
Robert Rice in his first career focused job made the accounting department more efficient. He created a system that was automated verse by hand. Another intrapreneur move Robert made was at Marsuda- Rodgers International in 1997. To make inventory more efficient he implemented a coding system. The bar-coding system for customers that required bar coded labeling for all their inbound material. Barcoding made manufacturing more efficient and accurate. As the years went on he learned more and more. The last company Robert worked for and also retired early as controller, he contributed many projects that impacted the company. At Lindsey Manufacturing Company, where he worked for six years impacted their inventory, account receivables, and monthly financial statements. He impacted their inventory creating a system that was accurate. In doing so he found overstated inventory, cycle counts without raw material included, and over spending of $2 million dollars. He also impacted accounts receivable and monthly financials by; creating the first budget and made excel sheets that would be reviewed by upper management. Robert was an intrapreneur in every company he worked for and built upon what he learned continuously.
The most meaningful aspects of this project was getting knowledge from someone who has been there but More than that was being inspired. Being in college, it can sometimes feel like an endless cycle. It can give the feeling of being stuck in school and not yet in the real world. By getting the insight to someone who’s story so close to mine is inspiring. Especially in this era of social media, it is easy to envy success we see. Success for an entrepreneur or intrapreneur is about hard work and learning from others. Robert’s life quote he has always told me is “learn from others mistakes”, but his success story is quite the opposite. Learning from his journey has inspired me to be a valuable intrapreneur like he is.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-12 20:53:34
Well Speaking to James and listening to everything he done besides answers above, what really got me was how diverse he has been. From running his own business,which he sold, to now in sells with me at Ferguson and running this production company as well. the reason why this stood out to me more is that I realized that i need to start getting more motivated to invested myself and my talents into opportunities that open up in the future. After completing this interview I set a new goal for myself which is to constantly look and think about new ways to do business. Whether that be with the company I am currently employed with, my own, or others.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-16 14:12:04
To me the most meaningful thing about this project was learning the thoughts of a real entrepreneur. Many of the things that Ronnie answered her topics from the book. For example, he spoke about passion, differentiation, problem solving, and quality. I bought a purse from Vessel and it was pricy so I expected high quality. He was right about his quality and packaging. The leather feels very smooth and has lasted for some time now. The purse was packaged in a nice little fabric bag. I also follow their account on Instagram and he is getting his name out there; actor Mark Wahlberg posted the custom golf bag Vessel made for him. Vessel sells online and they have their store in La Jolla, CA. I think Ronnie is really passionate about his company. He is knowledgeable and has a clear vision.

I think this was a great opportunity to speak to an actual entrepreneur and learn about his insights. I would have liked for him to speak about banks and loans. I think I would have learned a lot from it or at least get an idea of where to start with a business. I think the credit or loan related information is really difficult to understand and do research on. It would have been a great opportunity for me to learn how to financially be prepared for a new venture.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-16 20:51:58
9. When I first began this project my goal was simply to get it done. I felt the original purpose felt more like busy work then a meaningful learning experience. I planned on just doing it on just about anyone but as soon as I started asking around I realized I didn’t just want to get it over with. That if I was to ask someone with learning experience about their journey I would prefer to make it applicable to the course at hand. What I came to find by the end of the project was that it was more than just applicable to a class. It was applicable to life in general. The truth is a lot of what Mr. Lau said were things that we had learned about in class but hearing it from someone who is completely separate from the University say these things adds a bit of reality to the concepts as a whole. Professor Silva is a magnificent teacher for us to learn from but I think often times it’s hard for us to see past the title of Professor. Speaking with Mr. Lau about a lot of the same concepts set these ideals in stone for me. I feel like I walked away with a greater appreciation for what we learn in class.
Beyond that I also learned that despite how calm a business may seem at storefront behind closed doors things are always moving and changing. That at any moment a business owner is willing to completely change what he is doing if it will keep his business going. Mr. Lau gave me the impression that despite all his experience in this field of work he is still always trying to learn about the next big thing. Learning about what’s coming around the corner. I always figured that after a few years of owning a business an owner would be more comfortable and daily occurrences would seem routine but I guess keeping up with trends is how any businesses continues to make themselves relevant in the ever-changing business world.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-17 00:48:35
This project meant more to me than just interviewing an entrepreneur. I realized that as I compiled the answers to each of these questions, that this project is almost like a formula, detailing the path of how to start and run a business. The entrepreneur I interviewed is a close friend of mine. Back in the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s, we used to live in San Diego, California. My friend became an automotive technician and was going to school to obtain his smog certification. He had no plans to open his own business back then. I shortly followed suit and started taking automotive courses towards obtaining a smog certification myself, but I never completed the courses required for a smog certification. After a couple of semesters of taking automotive courses at my community college, the automotive certifications I earned opened new doors for me. I was hired by a reputable repair shop full-time earning good money, and eventually dropped out of school to focus on my automotive career. My friend took a different route than I did. Instead of attending the community college, trying to earn an Associate Degree in Automotive Technology and then passing the state exam, he enrolled himself into a private institution that solely focused on the required courses (A6, A8, and L1) for a smog certification. It is from there, I witnessed my friend working at different smog testing shops till eventually, I stopped hearing from him from around late 2002. Around 2006, my friend made the announcement that he is the owner of a smog station in Rancho Cucamonga and that I should come attending his opening. I was excited for him! The years that I did not hear from him was because he was doing his research. He traveled throughout Southern California. He was improving his knowledge skills set as a smog technician by working for different smog stations and at the same time researching potential locations that he could open his business. He always worked as much overtime as possible, working seven days a week and kept saving money towards his goal. He was on a strict budget. For instance, instead of renting an apartment, he would just rent a room. Everyone we know such as friends and family, only knew of his success story, but I knew his background story, the struggles and sacrifices that he had to make for his dream to come to fruition.
In my friend’s early years of when he first opened his business, he had expressed his interest in me coming to work for him. This is partly why I ended up leaving San Diego and moving up here to Rancho Cucamonga, California. There were conflicts though such as he only wanted to continue being a Smog Test Only Station. I would have to finish completing my certifications and pass the California State Board Exam, which I was willing to do. I wanted him to expand his business into other automotive services such as tune-ups, repairs such as alternators and starters, oil changes, tires and wheel balancing, alignments, brakes, etc. I wanted him to incorporate these other services because that was the type of automotive work that I did, and I was good at it. Lately, those past talks have had a resurgence and I have expressed to my friend the same sentiments from the past, that he would need to incorporate other automotive services. If this were to happen, I have also expressed that I would not only want to be an employee, but a potential business partner. I believe in my friend’s business, and I truly believe with my help, he can turn things around, but he is going to have to improvise and adapt to our current market trends. His business is not generating the same revenue because times have changed. He is only focused on one niche of the automotive market.
His business has been suffering a loss for the last five years. I remember there was a time when his business was profiting over $100,000 a year after his expenses. That is no longer the case. There are numerous external factors that have contributed to his business decline and he is taking counter-measures to overcome these factors and increase revenue. Some of the internal factors that contributed to his business hurting I have been able to assist my friend in overcoming. For example, in 2018 for seven months straight, my friend was unable to perform emissions testing on vehicles that were older than the year 2000. This was because his BAR 97 and his dyno were inoperable. It took many service calls from us to the manufacturers technicians to come out and correct the software issues with his BAR 97. On top of that, his dyno was having electrical issues. Service calls are very expensive like I stated earlier, so some of the hardware that he needed we were able to purchase on eBay and install it ourselves. Also, the motor in his dyno had faulty electrical connections. I possess a different skill set than what my friend has, especially with automotive electrical. I assisted my friend in disconnecting the heavy motor inside his dyno and repaired the electrical connections by soldering and rewrapping each one. My friend’s dyno is now fully operational and that has helped to increase business and bring in new and repeat customers that own vehicles that are older than the year 2000.
Since I have a background as an automotive technician, my friend has relied on my help in assisting him on his day-to-day operations within his business. I serve as an Automotive Service Advisor when I come to work for my friend. Presently, he is unable to pay me for my help, which I understand. Professor Jorge Silva recently taught our class a new term that really resonated with me. The term is called sweat equity. Professor Silva explained that our time is not free. I had never heard of this term before and this perfectly sums up my help that I have contributed to my friend’s business over the years. When I am in my friend’s shop, I do more than just help. I pay attention and try to learn as much as possible because someday I might own my automotive shop but in a different part of the automotive trade. My friend has taught me a lot about how to operate an automotive emissions testing station, how he acquired a loan for his business, how much money the bank required him to have in his account to be approved for a business loan, etc. I have learned how smog stations are heavily regulated by the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) and they are constantly making surprised visits to his shop, conducting audits to ensure everything is being run legally and ethically. My exposure to my friend’s smog station and the concepts that I have been learning from Professor Silva is preparing me to understand what it takes to own and operate a successful business.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-17 04:34:09
I work in a hospital and before I set up this interview, I asked some of the case managers about home health agencies. They gave me an insight about the business and they also mentioned that home health is a growing business and racks in a lot of money if done properly. And that approximately 20% of US population will be over 65 years old by 2020. Without a doubt, the home health agencies will not cope with the demand. Hearing this information was the most meaningful part of this project.

Because I have been working in that hospital for 8 years and prior to the interview, I would have never bothered to find out anything about home health agencies. I have now developed a keen interest in this business. I intend to do some research on it and enlist the help of the hospital case managers on an in depth reality pros and cons of the business because they deal with agencies on a daily basis.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-17 19:14:43
The most meaningful thing about this project was the opportunity I was given. I was given the opportunity to interview someone I look up to and hear what brought him success. I was also able to hear the obstacles that caused trouble and difficulties during this process. The amount of time and focus needed is much more than what people know. I feel that knowing how hard this individual worked was life changing. The individual I interviewed was an intrapreneur and it was interesting to hear what politics are involved within a company. There was so much useful information that can help my growth.
This assignment was great to learn from a successful intrapreneur and it allowed me to learn great tools that can help. This assignment will be appreciated as it gave us students an opportunity to grow.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-17 21:35:16
The most meaningful lesson I took from this project would be the adaptation for future generation. Although my father's business has been a blessing for many of us, adapting for the future ensures the success of a business continuing forward. From POS system's to Yelp critiques, my father had no idea how important these things would be within the development of his business. The internet has quickly adopted business into it's playing ground and is testing many businesses with it's adaptation.

I found the POS system issue to be extremely interesting because it highlighted his failure to adapt. With a lackluster POS system, the business's problems evolved into a networking issue which heavily discouraged associates and sales report. For a week, the printer wasn't functioning which also resulted in longer lines, discouraged customers, and negative reviews. Such a simple solution could've been solved if my father were to adapt and upgrade.

The Uber Eats issue also surprised me. As a consumer, Uber Eats, Postmates, and Grubhubs has been revolutionary. Having any sort of food other then pizza at my door within a few minutes has been a luxury. I view this technology to be implemented within every restaurant in the upcoming years which demand adaptation for restaurant owners. The importance of adaptation was the most meaningful thing I took from this interview. As a future business owner, I will instill both my father's success and failures to establish a successful business.
Date Submitted: 2019-03-17 22:05:50
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