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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.

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They were two things that I learned while completing this project.  The first thing that I feel resonated with me was the fact that the person I interviewed talked about the Golden Rule and Empathy.  The second thing I learned was that a business owner has to be a strategist.

The Golden Rule I know is important to follow to be a good person.  I never really thought about it as being the guiding key to a successful business.  I can see how it really is.  Honesty and trustworthiness and just being a loyal person is a reputation that will bring you more business, including referrals, which means people are coming back and bringing others with them.  It makes me think about the fact that building a business is not all about income and expenses, it is about being able to build and sustain itself in good times and hard times.

I hadn’t really thought about how a business owner must be able to strategize.  They have to have a plan well before they act and open their business.  I feel like there needs to be a well thought out annual plan that deals with successful aspects of the business and also all the “what ifs” and owners of a business have to plan for the highs and lows of their business.  This project made me realize that there are a lot of things that contribute to a successful business and these change when the economy changes and also when there are changes in society like to internet or computer opportunities that are changing constantly.  Businesses have to change and adapt with the changes to remain successful.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-11 20:57:46
There were so many things about the project that were meaningful. The interview for one was very interesting and made me realize that customers can be a very important part of the certain business I researched. The entrepreneur was very willing to answer my questions and throughout the whole interview he kept repeating customer satisfaction because if that is there the customers keep coming and refer others while helping the business grow even more. It also helped me realize how many problems and all the things an entrepreneur has to deal with on a daily basis but if you are committed to your business it will hopefully work out for the good.
The best advice I was offered was to know what there is to know about what business I may get into and to remain positive no matter what happens. This was great advice because if you let yourself become negative on hardships you could ruin your business. You would have a clouded mind with negativity and will not help the business overcome the problems that it may have. It meant a lot for the entrepreneur to tell me that because it will help me in my future whether it is in a business or life in general.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-11 21:39:26
While I was doing the interview, I can felt my uncle’s passion and insist on his business. I realize that people have to control business, or you will never going to catch it. Although my uncle only has a really small business, he still spends time and always thinks about how to make it better. Business need time and money to make it. If people start the business and give up very fast, then people will never going to make it. Therefore, people need to spent time on their business so that they know what they are doing exactly.

Nowadays, society keeps changing every day. Businessman has to follow the trend or even predict the trend. Therefore, they can survive in the world. For this, people need to have a good relationship. People cannot know everything by themselves, so they have to always talk to other people in order to know what happened in the world. It is same as businessman. They have to have a relationship to get the information that they need for their business. Thus, people always have to keep a good relationship with other people.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-11 22:05:20
The part that was most meaningful was when I first started the interview. I see how [name removed] goes through her day at work and she strives to serve her customer day after day. She's the one that's there for the most part so she runs her business she doen't have to worry about training all of her employees properly, eventhough she has one employee. She get's repeated service because of her attitude and her service, her business pertains in service and her products sold. I consider myself one of her customers because I constantly approach her business for her service.

This project helped me realize the good and the bad that can be expected from running your own business. I realized that there are many pros and cons to make your business successful. This project lead me to answers to questions I didn't have answers to and to questions I didn't even know existed. This was a great experience to meet up with someone who runs thier own business from day to day and that provides excellent customer service to keep her business runing. The interaction between me and [name removed] was great becuase we keept our conversation going eventhough we were at her job station, we were still going thorugh with this interview. This projoect was a great experience and it will be helpful to make my decision for the future in my career.  
Date Submitted: 2011-10-11 22:41:02
It was nice for me to find someone who found a niche in the landscaping business, because I would like to start a vegetable gardening consulting business which is also a kind of niche.  

This businessman was actually very conscience about water conservation, and was able to incorporate those beliefs into his business.  One of the reasons that I want to start a vegetable gardening business, is because I feel strongly about teaching schools and families about nature, science, and healthy eating.  

I was glad to hear him reinforce the idea that you don't necessarily have to get a big loan to start a business.  I would prefer my business to grow on its own.  

Right now I tend to shop around for the best bargains when I buy supplies for a garden, but maybe it would be better to start a relationship with a few suppliers.  I have noticed that family owned businesses are more likely to donate to schools, and it would be nice to reward them with repeat business.

Already, I have noticed that my customers are changing.  I thought I would target schools, but in doing so, I am running into a lot more parents who would like help setting up their own vegetable gardens at home.  I like this business person's advise on being flexible enough to follow my customers.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-11 23:24:00
 The most meaningful thing to me about this project it opened my eyes to the business world. It showed me you can have a dream but sometimes your dreams can change for the good or even the bad but try to work past that.The project showed me that opening a business might not seem as easy as it looks when especially when  your in back of the counter instead of the front. You are faced with many challenges and obstacles from  trying to have a a well working relation with employees, because if the employees are happy it means the business is happy. Also making sure your costumer is pleased with the service you have provided leaving with a smile on he or shes face. Thinking in your mind i hope they come back.Before opening a business you should try to work in the industry first to see if you like it, is it the place for me? Do i want to make this my career instead of just opening a business not knowing what to expect.
  Also I learned that in order to open a business you need to have a mentor. A person who will show you the rope of the business behind the scenes. Who shows you the path which you should follow. Another thing there are many different types of business, but in order to start a business you are going to have  to they risks.I learned the ones that take the risk are the successful ones. So in order for me to start a business I have to be a risk taker.Also to be successful in business you to have good customer service and treat them the way you want to be treated. And know that customers should always think that they are right.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-12 00:09:28
The most meaningful aspect of this project to me was the amount of time and dedication it takes to run a business and to survive. Everyone who has a mindset that they want to become an entrepreneur and be their own boss and set their own rules must also realize that those are all the benefits of owning your own business but they sure don’t come by easy. It takes years of hard work, late nights and frustration to create a solid foundation for a business. Owning your own business isn’t for everyone, because it takes a certain type of mindset to get the ball rolling and to ensure that the ball continues to roll. There is a reason why most small businesses fail after the first couple years of opening, because the mindset was not there and neither was the determination.

Another part that I found very meaningful about this interview was probably in the last question I asked about what advice can be given to aspiring entrepreneurs and my interviewee’s final phrase was “never give up your dream.” I really took that too heart because I strongly believe that if you have a vision in mind or a dream that you’ve always wanted to pursue then nothing should hold you back. It is a great motivation to see that there are still entrepreneurs out there that have followed their dreams and have been successful. It gives me encouragement to push even harder to reach my goals. There is no such thing as a get rich fast route; in reality to become successful it takes time, hard work, organization, strong leadership and perseverance to get to the top. In my opinion hard work will always pay off in the end, whether it’s financially speaking or just the experience you gain. The economy right now may not seem like most fertile grounds to starting your own business but I would say otherwise, because there are always new problems to be solved and new opportunities born.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-12 00:10:04
At first I really wanted to interview a vegan bakery which is right up my alley. However I didn’t couldn’t find one that appealed to my interest. If I would have conducted my interview with that business owner my perspective of getting into that business might have changed or could have been influenced me to go in a different direction. I have mindset of how I want my business to be and didn’t want this project to redirect my initial goal. Therefore I decided to interview my employer. I enjoyed learning about the business end of my workplace, explains why my bosses are so stressed and angry at times. I can sympathize with their day to day even more so.
This project actually made our relationship closer than it was before. They see me as a daughter and want to see me succeed in the future. They established that I won’t be working there forever. That I have dreams and goals or my own to fulfill and genuinely provide me with information that will help me when I am a small business owner. I too believe that customer service is a key element to a thriving business. Being the face of a business and dealing with all sorts of customers is preparing me for my future. My boss always tells me “The salary man will always be a salary man and never aspires to be anything more but you; you want to be a business owner because that is when you have control”.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-12 00:35:25
I have been considering starting my own business, but in my mind it has always been something that is too difficult and takes too much time and money. Doing this project and interviewing an entrepreneur helped me see it as more of a reality and a possibility. I've learned that it is not easy and that it does take a lot of effort, but it could be worth the risk. He stressed the importance of being prepared and doing the research. If you have the resources and have done the work, starting a business can be easy but you have to be prepared for whatever can come up. Success in a business is never guaranteed, but as the owner and main manager, you play a major role in its possibility to succeed.        
Having your own business gives you the independence that you do not have in any other nine to five job. The person I interviewed had a job that was neither gratifying nor rewarding. Instead of hoping it would get better, he decided to look for another job, and after learning the business started his own. He really emphasized the importance of finding something that you're passionate about and having that motivation to take your business where you want it to be. Although I have not decided what I want my business to be, this interview helped me think about my current job and what my role would be if I owned my own business. This interview reinforced my desire to open my own business and think about what that involves.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-12 05:01:55
I interviewed the company’s owner that I will eventually be helping run one day. This project was especially meaningful in that there were questions here I would have never thought to ask but are important. Getting to know more about the company and the owner was extremely helpful. I know now more about what I need to do to succeed in the business. Question four, where it asked about what subjects this person would have studied before getting into the business was the most meaningful question. This gave me more direction, a path of sorts, to become better and more effective than the owner at the job. That was insight I could not have gotten from any class.
I think the most important thing that I got out of this project was a mentor of my own. I have been offered financial help that I don’t think I could have gotten from any bank with my credit. I also have been offered a chance to get inside the head of who I am going to be taking over for. With out these structured questions I would have never known what I do now about how to be successful at running the business. I also know what improvements I can and need to work on to grow and make the company more effective. I am looking forward to getting started in my career as owner and operator of the family commercial cleaning business.
Date Submitted: 2011-10-12 10:28:51
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