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 thing to me about this project was the eye opening experience. As an entrepreneur myself I understand the economy is not at its best but I was able to speak to someone first hand that is holding onto a thread trying to keep him-self above water in this recession. I thought that this owner would be a great person to have as a mentor. I was impressed by how he kept quality in his products even though it would help him financially to settle for a cheaper vendor. He seemed to really care about his employees by not purchasing a dough maker to cut labor hours so his employees would get their needed hours. This was really meaningful to me because it showed me of the kind of owner and manager I want to be someday. In this interview I got some good advice on how to start a business. Though the business I want to start is in a different market I feel the basic principles are very similar. To be successful in starting a business I was told that customer service is number one. Don’t just satisfy customers, impress them. I really like that mentality, go above and beyond to stand out to create loyal customers. I learned that being a business owner is not just about making profits but keeping both your customers and employees happy. Seeing a franchise up and running and learning about the company made me interested in the opportunity of opening up a franchise, there are many positives to starting one up. But the best advice that I learned from this interview was to think 10 times before I take one step in any direction. Sometimes people jump into something without really weighing it out, and end up getting their head below water. In my future I plan to ask for advice from people in the industry and out on their opinions and what they feel I should do before making a major business decision. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 16:28:47 |
| What's most meaningful to me about this project is that the information received is from a real business owner. Actually being able to talk to a person that has dealt with the hardships of starting a business taught me more that reading a book ever could. It also gave me insight on what types of problems a business owner may face and how to resolve the issues at hand productively. Also, I figured out to learn as much of the business world while in school as possible. It will help your business in the long run and are skills that will always be of use in the future. I suppose that one of the most important lessons that can be learned from this interview is that communication a key element in running a business. Without communication, a business is likely to not reach its full potential. The Interview also taught me that when starting a business, expect your personal life to suffer a loss because all your spare time will be dedicated to running the business. Business will be on your mind even when at home or on vacation. I knew running a business would take alot if effort, but not this much effort. This project helped me better understand the hardships that I will face when I, one day, start my own business and make it successful. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 16:31:27 |
| This project was fun and a good way to learn about business. It taught you what to expect how hard you would have to work to become successful. This showed you how to overcome the adversity that comes with running a business. I enjoyed every bit of it, gettting to pick apart and entrepreneurs mind. This was a helpful tool for myself and im sure everyone else in the class. At some point in everyones life they come up with a great idea that they believe will make millions. This gave us some insight on how to get it started and how to possibly make those millions. I have had several ideas myself and have recently started to pursue some of them, getting to interview someone who has already done it or is doing it gives me the insight and steps I need to get started. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 17:07:04 |
| This project was meaningful to me because it helped me to realize that I could make a career out of a hobby. It's important to do what I love, so being an entrepreneur of music sounds like a good plan. Sometimes, I feel as though it is more important to get into a field and invent something, but talking to my interviewee helped me realize that I can continue with my singing, as well as making a business out of it. If I take it a step further, I could help people by entertaining them, as well as helping fellow aspiring musicians to get exactly where they want to get as well. I learned that if I continue to follow my passion, the work will come more easily to me. Especially during tough times, I can help my customers get through it. The business aspect was exciting to me as well because I heard him talk about how he got started. He told me about how he hadn't even intended on making a record label, that he had originally wanted to just make music. Once he realized he could use the talent that was around him, through networking and promoting, he decided he could open a business that focused on this as well. This way, he would be able to offer more services and be more a competition against other similar businesses. This helped me to realize that I could do something similar, not necessarily with audio engineering, but with singing. I could open a music store and offer voice lessons, or piano lessons, and help people that are in my shoes now. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 17:48:28 |
| The most meaningful thing that i was able to learn is how to mange a business. for instance, acknowledge other entrepreneurs ideas and constructive criticism for your imagination to expand there forth allowing your business to thrive. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 18:10:07 |
| From this interview, I learned many things about a business. Going from interview question 1, teamwork is very important. Not just that, but a business owner/manager should make sure they hire quality people to work in their company. These are the same people that are keeping your business running, so if you hire quality people, then you can expect quality work from them. Some other advantages of having better workers are that there will be a low probability of embezzlement if any. And you will not have to worry about them slacking off or being lazy because the chances of that are low. Another important thing to keep in mind is to be organized and have good finance management. This is essential because as a business owner, one will come across lots of numbers and keeping track of them will be beneficial when tax season comes. To be successful in any business, one must keep up with the latest technology. It will make anyone’s lives easier to have the latest gadgets such as an iPad 2. After all, we should be moving forward, not backwards. One thing that I was on the fence about is the advice he gave me about school. Although school is a good way to build good habits and ethics, it is not limited to that. The most apparent benefits of going to school is the education it provides on the many subjects it offers. One example is this business management class I’m taking right now. I have already learned plenty about business and managing that I did not know before. Homework, projects, and essays are indirect ways to build good work ethics and time management. All of which are useful in the working world. The last thing I learned is not to take big risks such as borrowing large sums of money from banks or investors unless of course the business plan is foolproof. But then again, nothing in life is certain and you will only know for sure if you try it. Being a successful businessman does not necessarily mean to take big risks but it is to be a moderate risk taker knowing which risk to take. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 18:11:02 |
| I have never thought about having a business in clothing area. I always had a stock broker as my goal of my life. While I was doing this project for the class, I felt like when i was back in high school because the owner, [Name removed] because he is one of my best friends from high school. It was also good to have a fun chat since we have not been seeing each other since 2006 because I moved to Belgium and back to my country, Korea to join the army for 2 years. Many things have been changed in different during five years; I became a married guy with a baby, and [Name removed] became an entrepreneur of three stores. We have our own difficulties in different area, but we are still good friends to each other. When I was in high school, [Name removed] used to say that when he inherits the stores from his father, he will sell them and start a different business from clothing. However, he is not selling the stores, but he wants to make his boundary larger in clothing industry. The reason why are now he got some attractions from having a business in clothing industry, he wants to have more stores, and have a family after. I have never thought of having a small business in my life because I never got to know person who has a small business in any industry. My father is a senior president for Hyundai Motors in South Korea, and he has been working for that company over 30 years. In addition, everyone around my family works for either Hyundai, or Kia Motors. This project has led my interests in small business management area, also it gave me lots more knowledges for the class. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 19:06:33 |
| This project was amazing! I have always wanted to be able to speak to entrepreneurs that could give me guidance for my own journey in business. This project meant a lot to me in that sense. It was a way for me to be able to learn about some of the hardships and obstacles that I would encounter starting my own business; however, I also learned how to avoid them. It meant a lot to me to be able to sit down and take notes on what I could do for myself not only to better myself economically, but make me a better person as well. With this experience I will be able to better my own business aspects in order to provide better service for my customers thus, increasing my own revenue. I learned that the money will come after I have invested the most amount of time and effort into my business that I can. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 19:19:30 |
| I have had the pleasure of knowing Jash for many years and I realized when interviewing him that the most critical and profound things are relationships and the need for diversified credit and how they go hand and hand. I never thought of relationships meaning credit opportunities. Jash has grown up in his fathers business yet he still feels he is learning about the building of his relationships. I came from an industry that your success was built on trust of your customers. Yet, I did not see the natural correlation between relationships and credit. With the banks regulations and strict policies these days the relationships amongst the common business owners is even more vital than ever. I knew from my experience as a service advisor that the relationships with clients brought them back over and over just as relationships within the business world. Diversifying your abilities to get credit through the trusting relationships you have is what keeps you in business. This is because this handshake of trust gives you products to sell and you are able to pay any credit given and the trust continues. As these trusted and respectful relationships grow so does your profit and the success of your business. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 19:38:49 |
| This project was very meaningful due to the fact that I realized all the steps and process that you go through just to start a small business. It takes a lot of courage and committment. If your not one hundred percent committed your business will not succeed. Starting a business is more than just coming up with a name and finding a location for your store, it brings a lot of challenges aswell as rewarding emotions throughout the thrilling journey. Resources are very important during the process, without other people, books, web access, etc. you would be clueless on what needs to be done. Education is a key fact because you need to be well educated on how to manage all your finances, promotion, as well as other ideas to better the business. Meeting people that are in the same industry as you is very helpful, they can guide you through and help you not make the same mistakes they might have made. I enjoyed gaining this experience to meet someone new and at the same time inspire me to look forward to creating my very own project. Regardless of the challenges that I may encounter, feeling successful is the best feeling anyone could ever feel. You must always look at the big picture no matter what obstacles you may go through, keep your head up and aim for your goals and aspirations that you have set for yourself and the future and you will make it in no time. |
| Date Submitted: 2011-10-13 20:18:36 |
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