The most meaningful thing about this interview was that I got to see how my dad of all people started his own business and what the trials and tribulations he went through to make (name removed) the successful businesses it is today. He told me what he went through in the beginning of his business which was for one where to start his business which was to start small and to keep the prices of everything down and low enough so customers can afford what he offers, but also hiring employees and what he is looking for to see if they are qualified and trusting enough to work on customer’s vehicles. He then went on to tell me what every entrepreneur fears the most which is finances. He told me how much money I will need to start up and the amount of profit that I will need to make to keep the business up and running not only for a month but for a week alone, cause there is A LOT of work that goes into the financial aspect of the business. This experience was very enlightening because of the fact being that my own dad is giving me, his own son, an aspiring entrepreneur such as himself when he was my age, what I should do to make my business as successful as his is. He told me tips and tricks of the trade that he knows, has experienced, and has found that could help me along the way. He also gave me ways that he has networked with other companies such as Eclipse Smog, AC-DELCO, MATCO, SNAP-ON, etc…. He also told me to watch my back because of employees I hire. He told me straight up that they might look good on paper, but in reality they might be embezzling, stealing, or even just straight up accepting bribes under the table and pricing services the right way and I took that to heart because if my dad says it is going to happen, not only because it has happened to him, it more than likely will happen. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 09:07:04
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The most meaningful thing about this project was talking to the owner. I was able to learn a lot from what he was telling me. Also he gave me a lot of example and his past experience. He told me a lot of information about his Jewelry store and how it impacted his life. The owner was giving me tons of tip on how to start a business. This helped me in many way and when the time I comes, I now know how to start one. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 12:04:29
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The most meaningful to me about this project is , just getting to know about someone else. Their life, their business, and their hussle. It is really cool getting to see what people do to build and have a business. The person I did , I loved i've already knew her so it was great to see hr growth from just thinking about her business to actually having one. Although , it was a lot to deal with asking the questions and getting the answers , from a business stand-point . I really enjoyed it overall. I enjoyed it because I just looked at the project as wow , this is going to be me in a few years, doing the same thing as an Entrepreneur. I enjoyed the experince . Know the business you are investing in and dont be afraid to fail. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 13:19:50
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I really enjoyed talking to (him) in this interview. I liked the fact that he started when he was young and had footsteps in which to follow. He is admirable because he started his own company right out of his home. He was so dedicated to making his company work that he gave up a full-time job that was providing for his family. He took a risk in chancing his future for him and his family, becasue he didn't know whether the company was going to be sucessful or not. I like the fact that he is his own boss. He doesn't have to work weekends so that he has time for his family. The interview was taken in his office so he showed me his routes and the way he ran his business. The office was in West Covina close to his house and he also said that most days he was able to work from his computer at home. He stated that this career wasn't his first choice but he doesn't regret starting his company. He gave me great advice on how to start my own small business and that advertisment or knowing someone is always a great start. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 13:31:23
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Doing this project opened my eyes on what kind of sacrifice and risk is taking to have a successful business. Sometimes you don’t even know if it will succeed, but I think it’s the experience you learn from it and with that you learn how to make it better there or next time. I see now that it takes more than just talking about opening a business or just dreaming about. It is truly hard work and at the same time it gives some pride and happiness to you when you’re finished. Its takes great determination and focus on achieving. My interviewee was very helpful and made me more determined to do what I want to do. Acknowledging the financial sacrifices you have to make and not knowing if it is even worth it makes it iffy. However, learning from the interview it’s all about not thinking on the negative side and not giving up. There will be a lot of challenges that I am going to face and I will meet them head on with all I got. So, I will take what I learned from this interview and put them to use with my goal. Overall, I really enjoyed this project and hope my interviewee keeps on succeeding. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 13:53:40
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The first part of the project that had to be the most meaningful to me would have to be the fact that I got to interact with an actual successful business owner. For one thing I got to learn about his tips that he had for me to be able to survive in his type of business. One thing would have to be is to do everything right and legal so that in the future I would run into any problems. Then I also got to listen to the mistakes that he made so that I would learn from his mistakes and I would not repeat them myself. For example he told me to choose the people I work with carefully because they represent my business because if I choose them wrong then it can hurt my business. He also reminded me to build up my credit as much as I can so that my credit line increases more overtime. The other half of the project that was the most meaningful to me was being able to not be afraid to start up my own business. It took away some of my fears of staring up my own businesses. Not only was I able to ask him the questions that were given to me on the paper but I also had the opportunity to ask him some questions of my own. I was given a business owners opinion on my ideas that I had for my own business that I want to start up. It was overall a great experience because it is a new way to learn about a business. If I was given the opportunity again I would do it with another company to see what other things I could learn about small business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 14:07:32
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The most meaningful part about the project was getting to hear the different business ideas of my interviewee. He gave me some pointers on how to start an apparel business. He also gave me a few tips on how to obtain large amounts of product for cheaper prices in order to resell my the items with my brand for a profit. He also informed me of his different ways of promoting his products. For example, he created his own webpage for his company Oneupmanship where millions of people can view it. He also told me of his club promotions and convention where he gets to promote his new ideas with celebrities at special events. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 14:52:03
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I’m glad I had the opportunity to sit down with an entrepreneur because I had a lot of questions, answered. He had a lot of good points like making sure you had enough money to start. He is a very experienced boss; he’s been through it all. He has been in business when there was always work and he has dealt with times when there was no work. Something that I noticed is that he started his business so that he didn’t have to worry about being treated badly. He makes sure that his employees get fair treatment and don’t get over worked. I thought this was cool in the sense that he didn’t want to turn around and start treating other people badly just because he was in charge. I think the most meaningful thing to me is the fact that I interviewed my grandpa. I got to ask him questions that normally would not come up in a conversation. Another thing that helped me out a lot was the fact that it’s the line of work I could possibly pursue in the future. Now if I ever am the owner of (name removed) plumbing I have a solid foundation of notes and ideas. This could help me avoid situations and problems in the future. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 16:34:54
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Having the opportunity to interview a small business owner was a great experience. Not only was I able to learn about the business but I also got to get some advice for myself for later on in the future. The best advice that a person can get before starting a business is by someone who did the same and was able to work their way up. My meager is business management and I plan to start my own business once I finish school, so getting to do this interview made me learn new things about opening a business as to how should things be done and not done. I liked this project because it opened my mind more about businesses and how they are managed. I think that I would have never done this on my own because I do get a nervous, but once I finished the interview I felt comfortable and wanted to do another interview. After this experience I feel like I might just do this again with other businesses just so I can get more ideas about ways to start my own business. If I were to interview other people I might even get better advice and I will successfully start my own business. Overall, I enjoyed doing this project and I would highly recommend other students to this project if their major is business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 17:45:18
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Being able to interview a business owner was an overall great experience for me. I felt like I learned a lot about what it takes to start up and maintain a business. After all interviewing someone who has gone through all the trials and errors of business start up has firsthand experience. I never really thought about just what exactly it took to start business. The interviewee was able to show me what it took and it made me chi angel my perspective on businesses. Someday I plan on opening up my own auto repair shop and this gave me some insight. I feel more comfortable with the idea of starting my own business after the interview. I wouldn’t mind interviewing another business owner to get a better understanding and different views. Overall, I think anyone who is thinking about starting up their own business should find someone to interview. You learn some of the first hand experiences and can even learn from others mistakes. |
Date Submitted: 2012-04-11 18:19:54
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