Entrepreneur Journal Entry 4: A Numbers Game

I absolutely hate math. In my mind, Satan does math as a hobby. I dropped Math for the Real World after one class period at the beginning of this semester; I looked at the first day’s homework and thought I was looking at Chinese. But the cold, hard truth is this: A lot of entrepreneurship is dealing with numbers. It’s a numbers game.

Reviewing the case study of Shelby Givens and Westlake Lanes was a healthy reminder of the importance of finances and strategy. Looking at those numbers on the last few pages felt like a smack in the face; a bucketful of ice-cold realization dumped on my head. I’ve had to file my taxes for the past three years and each time I did, I had to complete the “business owner” section of it. While my freelancing started out small, it’s grown into my sole source of income. Keeping records of business expenses, income, and tithing is crucial for thriving success, and I have to admit I’m not doing very well at that aspect of business. I’ve got to learn to play the numbers game.

Heck, when Brother Wasden asked us the total number of customers needed for Westlake Lanes to break even, I didn’t even know where to start. I felt like an idiot. But I think if I learn to handle the numbers I have, I will slowly begin to process and understand them despite their growth and complexity. Unfortunately, running my own business can’t only consist of putting my talents out there. It’s hard, stressful, tiring, but so worth it.

Entrepreneur Journal Entry 3: Business and Bacon Numbers

LinkedIn confused me for years. As I was getting started with video production, some of my mentors talked about LinkedIn and told me to get on it. I signed up, but I didn't really take it seriously. I hardly knew anyone, and the people I did know (usually just distantly) worked for companies that didn't interest me at all. To me, LinkedIn seemed like Facebook for old boring people. I ignored it and didn't invest any time in building my connections or profile.

When I started college, however, the topic of LinkedIn started coming up again in my classes. I got annoyed; I thought, "I've already got an account on there; it hasn't helped me at all!" Well of course it didn't--I simply had no idea how to use it.

This week in my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, Steve Davis gave us a run-through of LinkedIn, taught us how to use it, and (the most significant part) shared some success stories of people he knew personally who used LinkedIn.

The presentation was awesome! I was interested the whole time. Wheels started turning in my head; adding one person could give me hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of new connections--new potential opportunities. It's like the Bacon Number on steroids!

The Bacon number of a person is how many connections they are away from actor Kevin Bacon, a connection meaning starring in the same movie. So if Kevin Bacon and Bruce Willis starred in a movie, then Bruce Willis and Steve Carrell starred in another movie, Carrell's Bacon number would be two.

On LinkedIn, the connections of your connections are called your second connections, or "seconds." I thought it was an intriguing and well-designed system. It avoids totally random strangers from connecting with you since you can only connect if you're seconds or thirds (or obviously firsts).

I hope to use LinkedIn more effectively with my new knowledge!

Entrepreneur Journal Entry 2: One Man's Success

"One man's trash is another man's treasure," the saying goes, reminding us that value is all relative. But this idea expands beyond just physical items; I would venture to say "One man's failure is another man's success."

How could this be?

In my Intro to Entrepreneurship class this week, we discussed an article about successful entrepreneurs Chip and Joanna Gaines. The author of this article argued that the Gaines family couldn't possibly be as family-centered as they claimed while still running multiple businesses and product lines. Our teacher then asked us, "is it possible to have it all?"

The room separated into three main groups. the middle ground, those in agreement with the article, and those against it. As comments and points of information started darting back and forth across the room, I started to ponder the term "successful," which was being used as if it was a set definition that everyone understood.

My own conclusion is this: it is possible to "have it all" (meaning have success in life/business and put your family first), but that depends on your definition of success.

Some people's idea of success may be running a multimillion-dollar company. Perhaps to others, it's creating a non-profit organization that feeds thousands of children in Africa. Maybe some just want to make enough money to buy a house, a Lamborghini, and a maid service. But none of these things are my desire for success.

Success to me would be making a comfortable living for my family doing what I love. That's it. I want to continue producing quality content for others. If I'm doing that, I'm not working a day in my life--I'm living a busy, fulfilling, happy life with my family.

If that isn't success, I don't know what is.

Entrepreneur Journal Entry 1: Human's Vast Potential

Fun fact: you have copious amounts of potential; much more than you currently imagine.

A pessimist would look at this and let the air out of his or her emotional balloon. "Look at everything I'm not doing," they might think. "Why even bother trying if I'm never going to reach my full potential or even close to it?" And so they continue living with a fixed mindset, barely brushing the surface of their abilities.

An optimist would take this statement as a joyous testament to a human's possibility. Any direction is yours to venture; any career lends you keys to its doors; any goal or great deed extends a hand in your direction. We'll never become "perfect" on this earth, so there's always something out there to learn; to attain! It’s not that some have achieved some “highest level.” We’re all walking on a beautiful, scenic path that never ends.

Learning new skills and tackling unfamiliar situations have always been anxiety-inducing experiences for me. But that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about. I hope to stretch this semester as I study the “soft skills” of entrepreneurship. Because I have just as much potential as anyone else on this campus: a vast world of possibilities which I have pick-and-choose power over. It’s simply up to me to reach out my hand.