| This is a very meaningful interview for me because the entrepreneur’s opinions talk me a lot about the real world situations. Her patient response gave me a different impression from her daily life response, too. The entrepreneur was in this business for more than ten years. She need to be in the store seven days a week, ten hours a day. Because this is a small business, she has to take care the customers by herself. That way she may save some money for the expense. The toleration and patience by her make me respect the way she treats her career. She also taught me the new technology is the trend for our new world. It totally changed my thinking about the importance of computer. I learned we can use the computer to catch the trend of our world, quickly serve our customers, and provide more ideas to the end users. For example, we may find the new techniques to create new creatures to attract younger customer, or returned customers. That way we would not be lost the opportunities or lose the trend to catch the fast pacing world. In this century, computer knowledge is the essence to survive. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-09 12:07:47
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| I am very grateful for this project, it was very helpful for me as an aspiring entrepreneur. By offering me the change to interview an entrepreneur with a set list of questions it also opened the door for me to ask my own questions and really get an understanding of what it really takes to start your own business. If I had to pick just one question that really hit a home run with me I believe it would have to be the one regarding the best source for financial help. I had previously heard that choosing a credit union for your loan needs would give you a better interest rate, so when the interviewee had mentioned it it did not come as much of a surprise however, I had no idea that I could have so much power to work with the vendors for my needs. I would have never expected that I could have an open discussion with the vendor about financing the product though them. I believe this information will really come in handy for me in the future. I can already see so many places this will come in handy for me in the future when I am starting my own business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-10 17:16:44
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| Everything about this project was meaningful to me because i was able to speak to an actual entrepreneur and see his prospective in the business. It was meaningful that i was able to learn strategies for doing business if i ever open one. Also i was able to see the differences between his ideas and my ideas, his ideas for business was motivation. Motivation help him to be successful. I also enjoyed talking to him because to me it felt as i am doing an actual business with him. He shared about things that led him to this business and what he had to do to get where he is today. His story impressed me because he told me that he worked ever since he was 16 year old and never stop working till now. He explained his first, second, third job, and how'd he saved his money to open his first business. Also how he went from his first business to the one right now, he went through a lot of hard work and sweat. Everything about this project was meaningful to me and i learned new things that can help me in my future. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-12 18:36:23
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| While I was doing this interview, I realized that how bad the economy is. I knew that economy is really bad these days around the world, but when I saw the differences in the numbers of his business profit, it was horrible. He kept mention me the importance of the relationship between the vendors and the owner to continue and success in the business. He told me not to start the business too young, but to work for somebody to learn and experience the process of any type of business. He also told me that if I pursue the money, money will always try to run away from me, but if I love my work and care about the people around me well, money will come to me eventually. I think I understand a half of what he said. I look forward to have my own business in near future and I think this assignment help me to get me the initial direction for my business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-13 12:31:59
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| The most meaningful part of this project to me was actually having the chance to interview someone with a small business. I was given the right set of questions to ask and they were able to go into detail with them. I learned that that you have to be confident in the business you are going into.I liked that the business I interviewed is like a mom and pops places and it is still going good even though we have been going through an economic crises. They are doing something good in order to keep there business up and still running. I learned that advertising plays a big part in small business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-13 22:40:22
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| By doing this project I was able to gain insight on how an on line business is ran. I have learned that having a business takes a lot of commitment. An owner must be willing to spend a lot of time planning and prioritizing their day, in order from what must be done, to what can be done later. The owner of a business must be able to make decisions. They have to decide what their businesses main focus is and be able to stick to it. The owner must know every little detail about their products or be willing to find out. Sometimes they have to be willing to spend extra time, if needed, to finish a project that cannot wait until tomorrow. I have learned that resources are a business owner’s best friend. A business owner is constantly using their resources to keep them informed and up to date. They use their resources to keep them informed if there are any changes in the laws or regulations in order for them to continue running their business. They use their resources to find the latest trends and products that are in high demand. It lets them know what is coming in and going out. A business owner must always have access to their resources. The most important resource is having a mentor or people you can go to for help and are connected in the same line of business. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have someone you can go to for help and to ask questions. They will be able to comment on ideas that you have, help you get through problems, and most importantly encourage you. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-14 14:02:07
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| The most meaningful part about this project is to see how a person starts off with an idea. It’s interesting to see how far a person can go with a simple concept. I do believe in the phrase “being with a problem in mind” because when you get tired of a job or there’s a problem you have to find a solution. People with families have to find ways of supporting their family so that’s what inspires them to start their own business. At the beginning of this class I never thought I’d want to start my own business, but as we got more in depth with the class, now I’m inspired to start a business of my own. This interview project also taught me that anything is possible. The person I interviewed is similar to my background: Hispanic, middle class, and got tired of their job. I can relate to the stories of small business owners. Most of them start off working for a large company and surely they believe in themselves and start their own business. What I also found meaningful is the marketing aspect of a business. It was most meaningful to me because that’s my major; so I tried my best to understand and learn from them. I do agree that innovative marketing is helpful to a business. Talking to someone who has gone through the whole process is inspirational to anyone. Not only is there success, but obstacles and mistakes. Taking risks is also something I learned any business owner must do. It may be a small risk or big, either one impacts the business. I will defiantly keep in mind to please a customer and do whatever it takes to bring a customer to the door. I agree with word of mouth advertisement, it may be an old form of it, but we do it every day. I do it when I try something new; I either report it on twitter or my closest friends. I’m glad I had a chance to meet with someone who inspired me that I too, can start my own business. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-14 20:42:08
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| I loved everything about this project. Every question provided new insight on owning and caring for a business. What I most appreciated about the project was our face to face interview. Speaking with Melinda in person gave me a chance to connect with her in a way that is impossible to do over the phone or through an email. I got to observe first hand her mannerism and the personal characteristics of a successful business owner. I agree with Melinda in that it is important to be friendly and articulate with customers and I appreciated her friendliness and willingness to comply with my schedule. Her actions really matched up with her words and to me that gives real validity to her answers and advice. I feel more comfortable taking her advice knowing that she is a woman of her word. Secondly I really enjoyed and appreciated Melinda's honesty concerning questions 4 and 7 in particular. I was happy to learn about points of interest that should be looked into before starting a business. Like Melinda, I thought that having a good solid knowledge of the trade would be able to take a person's business far. However I have learned that human resources and financial planning are crucial to a business's success. Instead of quickly glazing over the questions so that she could get back to work, Melinda was very thorough when answering my questions. She put her real time and effort into helping me complete my assignment and that is what I appreciated most. I was able to take a lot away both academically and personally from my meeting with Melinda. I learned that customer service is perhaps the most important aspect of a business's success. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-14 23:54:35
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| The most meaningful part of this project was the interview portion. I believed the questions that were wrote up already were very good questions to ask and they helped give me a lot of knowledge from the entrepreneur. I have been wanting to interview this women for a while and this project has given me the chance and I am grateful for that. I am an aspiring entrepreneur and the answers to the questions that were asked were very helpful to me and I learned to much from this project. The answers have given me a lot of insight into being an entrepreneur and the things that go along with it. I feel like I have a better feel for the business environment and I feel more comfortable in the fact that I want to start my own business one day with the knowledge that this entrepreneur has passed on to me. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-15 15:14:42
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| Interviewing Gayle has been so inspiring. I've known this entrepreneur for as long as his store has been open. The advice and challenges he faces in his small business are things that many entrepreneurs face all the time. To know someone who can still be so successful in selling items that are sold by so many big name vendors is so inspiring. I have seen the store when it was just a small little shop, it's still small but its moved up to a larger space that has the capabilities to hold so much more in the store than it had before. Gayle has a knowledge for growing a business. His work ethics are so wonderful, and for someone who is not much of a people person, his soft skills are remarkable when faced with working with customers. He takes his job/ retirement hobby very serious. With his passion he has taken a small guitar shop in a small town to something else. Not only does he have music instruments there and clothing but he and his employee provide the customers with an option to take music lessons there. And when all is set and done and and the store has reached out to the customers he still goes out of his way every Friday night around 6-8 p.m. to provide live musicians to play. He gets few celebrities and local bands to play, but by doing this he goes the extra mile to reach out to the local community to get people to have a night of fun. |
Date Submitted: 2012-10-15 16:59:50
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