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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| The most meaningful to me about this project is I get a chance to talk in depth with a successful entrepreneur. It makes me get a chance to listen to the real obstacle of doing a business. It makes me learn about personality I need to be in order to do a business, so I can improve myself, be creative, and find passion to start a business. I have to grab all opportunities that come into my life. Chainarong determined to take over the business. He already had skill at that time, so it made him success in the business. This example taught me that I have to improve skills so when the opportunity come, I can be ready to take it and do it with knowledge that I already have. He has taught me some trick to survive in a business which is honestly which is the most important thing. The word of mouth is the most powerful tool that will help us survive in business, so we have to do our best job to serve our customers . |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 18:46:15 |
| The most meaningful part of this project was the challenge to conduct an interview with a business owner. This is because I learned that the owner assures responsibilities in his company. He attributes his company for success in his life. The company started in 1965, relates to killing unwanted pests in or around houses, commercial buildings, docks, warehouses, and train stations in the city of Los Angeles. There are nine employees who work with him. He and his father are working together as partners in the company. They earn between $50,000-300,000 in annual sales. His goal is to expand the company by franchising it, so other small companies to be followed methods by this company. He finds it wise to find the right employees, because he wants them to have a good attitude so the company can have a good reputation. Another meaningful part of this project was that the owner has a hearing impairment. Sometimes the employees accused him of slowing down the company production due to his hearing impairment. He told me that they were not patient when communicating to him. He had defended himself because he realized that he is the owner. As an owner, his biggest challenge is competing with other companies for more customers. This is because other companies take them away from his company. Another thing that he uses is new technologies that are helpful to him in his company; he uses an iPad that he can carry everywhere easily, and needs to go to a computer in his office. Also, he uses all software, which relate to checking the balance in his company and reports. I am sure that there will be more new and better technologies in the future. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 19:42:03 |
| I have learned a lot productive things from this interview, such as never to give up on ones goals. It will not be easy to start your own business and keep it, but with determination and hard work your business can go very far. When one owns a business you will face a lot of challenges such as money issues, own issue that he faced was not having enough money and sleeping in the streets, and he said that that made him stronger. Also I learned that knowing your market and competitors is crucial to succeed. Knowing your market lets you come up with a business plan and with this business plan you will have your short term and long term goals and different approaches to solve different problems that might impact your company in the future. Knowing your competitors lets you know what your threats are and by knowing this you can seek different opportunities that will help you succeed. After doing this project I feel more confident with my life goal, which is to open up my own nursing home. interviewing this entrepreneur inspired me to follow my goal, and he gave me confidence to pursue my education. I got some very good advice that I never knew about and got introduced to new concepts such as the secured credit card. Also it made me happy that we both had similar goals, which are to help those in need. Intrinsic rewards are a big part of our personal satisfaction, knowing that I made someone smile today, that I helped out and possibly made their day is the most important part of my job; by pursuing my career I know that I will always be helping people who need help is enough inspiration for me. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 19:47:36 |
| This project was something I was looking forward to for some time. What a great way to see how a business operates and continues to be successful. Some things I was already expecting to hear, such as the need to stay competitive with your rivals. What I wasn't expecting to hear were the methods that had to be developed to stay competitive. Not only do you have to understand the flow of money between customers, the company, and bankers; you have to be creative in order to adapt to an ever changing market. You have to start off strong. As the saying goes start off running. This doesn't mean you will be making profit as soon as you open up for business. You have to be patient to develop your customer base. Know everything that needs to be known and have a strong financial support. It seems that even if you’re good at what you do, but can’t adapt and stay strong, you may fall. Banks are there to help you so long as you’re a successful entrepreneur. This is a great resource to have. After this project my view of owning and operating a small business has changed. Before I was thinking that I would be able to do it all by myself. Maybe hire a few employees to work when I can't be there. That is a bad idea! You need to have a strong network of people and resources or else you will be crushed. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a lot of employees, which is nice if you have a big company, but that you need to have good relations with other companies, such as the ones that sell you raw material. A business is a large organization that has to be carefully run, or else it will chew you up and spit you out like it has done with countless amounts of people. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 20:04:50 |
| What is most meaningful to me from this project is that dedication is needed when it comes to doing what you love and making a business of it. Dedication meaning that no matter how hard the business gets either from the start of the business or with time I cant give up, I have to dedicate my life to what I want to succeed in. There is also a lot of effort that goes into starting your own business whether it is in the fitness industry or not. There can be many competitors that have possibly been in the business longer but I cant let that stop me from reaching my goal of having my own business. The person that I interviewed helped me realize that anything is possible if I have patience. If I fully embrace and am comfortable with being challenged regularly I can achieve success. Starting a company can be compared to a thrilling roller coaster. Emotions are high at times, and low but at the end of the roller coaster the ride was amazing and you were able to reach your goal of conquering the thrill. So starting a business is the same no matter the industry one is in. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 20:22:05 |
| I wasn't sure what to expect when we first got this project. I was a little nervous because I couldn't think of anyone to interview off the top of my head, but after going through my phone book I remembered my friend Jessika and her family owned and operated their own donut shop. It was actually quite perfect because my goal within the next few years is to own and operate my own café. Being able to interview someone with a similar business was very insightful. They have been going strong for 10 years, where some businesses don’t last their first year! I saw on first-hand account how friendly and giving they are to their customers. Remembering their name and always going one step above in their customer service. It made me realize something about myself; I do that on a day to day basis at my current job as a Barista at Barnes and Noble. I know how important customer service is! It can be part of the make it or break it for a company. It can drive or deplete your sales, and it’s just nice to be friendly with people who are supporting you by buying their product from you. I also learned how important it is to know your business inside and out and to save, save, save! Being in tune with what is going on in your business will help in the long run. It seems like a common sense thing to know, but I feel like sometimes people go into the idea of running their own business with the sole intent to make money. It is an important and gratifying part of owning your business, but there is so much more to it. It’s knowing and being comfortable with your product and always finding ways to be innovative. It’s taking the time to see the service you are providing for someone and appreciate the little things that you can get by running your own business. This project also opened my eyes by showing me that there is a possibility of an unsuccessful business. My interviewee was very willing to tell me all the praise her donut shop gets because of what other donut shops lack. Which in some cases wasn't just good customer services, it was also the product itself that caused customers to gravitate towards my interviewee’s donut shop. It was a very great experience. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 21:04:36 |
| What was meaningful about this specific project was the fact that you get to interact face to face with a small business owner! Even though we talk about these type of topics in class, we hardly ever get the chance to see the real world. By going out and conducting the interview, I was able to see firsthand how a small business owner runs a business. I was very interested in the small business owner because he was very outgoing and positive. I learned a lot about small business in just 30 minutes! There was a lot of knowledge that the owner shared with me that is going to stick with me for the rest of my educational and professional career. What I learned was that if you want to start a business, just believe in yourself and just do it. A lot of people are always saying that they want to do something, but they never act on it. The owner knew what he wanted from the beginning and he act on it. I learned that you need to have a positive attitude in life even when things are going south. I have been to this business before and I always thought of how the business owner would be. Thanks to this class, I was finally able to meet face to face with the owner. Thanks to this class I have formed a new connection. Because I have interviewed him I have opened my doors to an internship when I transfer out to Cal Poly Pomona. He said once you’re there, come back here and I’ll accept you as a small business management intern. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 21:29:22 |
| I learned quite a bit from this interview. I learned from a professional what kind of classes he would have taken that would have bettered prepared him for his company. I also learned that there are a lot of things that need to be considered in his field of work. People may believe that the entertainment business is a simple business to be in, but there are a lot of legal and financial risks. It can also be hard to find talent. A lot of people think they can sing and act, but its more than that. You are handling someones livelihood. It requires a lot of trust from your clients. One of the most important thing I learned is to have patience. You have to have patience and an open eye for any kind of talent. A lot of people will come trying to get you to sign them, but you can't sign everyone. You have to hold off for the right talent. I also learned how possible things can be. Sometimes I think to myself certain things are too hard or too risky to do, but having those like minded people who believe in you and believe in your cause is something worth the risk. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 21:34:04 |
| The most meaningful part of the project to me was when he told me about the advice and how I should make sure it's something I'm really passionate about. Before I was looking into the merchandise or products that I believe would sell great. But after he told me what he did, I realized that I don't think I would be happy with that company because it's not something that I love doing. It got me thinking about what I have a drive for and what kind of business I would like to open. Before I wanted to open a restaurant because I thought that it would be a little easier to manage. However restaurants are not my passion. If I was to open a business right now, I believe that the business would be along the lines of either sports or electronics (more on the lines of e-sports like video games). But now that I understand little ways on how to save money or small tips on how I should keep my business going, I will be able to sustain and open a company that would benefit me a lot more. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 22:40:42 |
| This project was definitely an eye opening experience for me. It provided me with insight to the constant and daily struggles of business owners. We take businesses for granted and are so quick to judge everyone’s mistakes without having any previous knowledge of the high expectations they have for themselves. All it takes is one bad review on our part to jeopardize the well-being of the business. That is the reason I am against websites such as Yelp. Although they are mostly helpful to the businesses that are trying to improve themselves, more often than not, our input is detrimental to new incoming customers because of our bad judgment. It was wonderful to hear someone talk about their childhood and how they continued to stay on that path as they got older. Sometimes, we tend to fall back on what we know and it is the only way for us to thrive successfully. It is apparent that my interviewee is struggling in some aspects of the business because of environmental factors. I believe every business faces various types of struggles at one point or another. However, there are many approaches geared towards improvement such as using Total Quality Management, training employees properly and implementing a great emphasis on customer relations. The advices provided to me at the end of the interview were very logical and helpful. There are many things in life we wish we knew earlier, but unfortunately that is just not possible. We grow and learn things as time goes by and it is extremely important to be open to change and jump on opportunities others can’t easily detect. I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity for the interview. I plan on utilizing the knowledge I gained while conducting it. |
| Date Submitted: 2014-10-22 22:55:09 |
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