Course Reflections

My experience studying Entrepreneurship this semester has helped me gain a clearer understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur, and what it takes to become so.  There are several things that resonated with me as I went through the course.  The concept that stood out to me the most is that to become an entrepreneur, you need to get to know yourself.  It’s not just about knowing that you want to start a business, an entrepreneur needs to understand what they are passionate about and what their skills and strengths are.  Once they have learned these things, they can use that knowledge to find a need they can fulfill using the passion and skills they have. 

The second thing that stood out to me is the need to truly believe in whatever venture you create.  One cannot become a successful entrepreneur if they do not believe in what they are offering people, whether it is a good or a service.  When you are passionate and believe in something, you will put forth your best efforts, and resist becoming discouraged.  Starting your own business is hard and believing in what you are doing is what keeps you from quitting when things get difficult.

Another part of what learned is that an entrepreneur needs to give back.  When someone who starts a business find success, it is important to use some of that success for the benefit of others without receiving anything in return.  It is in serving others that we maintain our humility and our humanity.  It is easy to get caught up in money and success when you find it, but that is not where true happiness lies.  True happiness is in taking care of others.  Remember to serve others.

The last thing that I found important is that we cannot get so caught up in our successes that we forget to spend time on our families, at church, and taking care of ourselves.  Starting a business takes a lot of time, energy, and persistence.  If we are not cautious, we could find ourselves devoting too much time to our business and not enough time in the things that are eternal.   As President David O. McKay said, “No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home.”  It is important, as we start down out path to becoming an entrepreneur that, to make sure that we maintain a proper perspective, and keep our priorities in the right order.  Then, we will be the most successful selves we can be.

Use Your Skills and Talents

This week, we learned about being grateful and we also learned ways to help us find our path in our careers.  On of the things that I thought of when I looked back on our studies this week is the need we have to be grateful for our skills and talents.  I have not always been proud of my talents. I am a smart person who is generally able to catch on to new concepts quickly.  When I was in school, it was not a popular thing to be smart, and I have never liked to stick out.  The average student would comment on my good grades, and some of the smart people resented how quickly I picked things up, so I found myself frequently trying to hide my intellect.  It took me growing into adulthood and marrying my husband to finally accept my intellect as a blessing and not something to be hidden or ashamed of.  We all have skills and talents that are unique to us.  It is our responsibility to find a way to help others using the gifts we have been given.  It is also important that we show our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for giving us our gifts, so that we may help others. 

This leads into the next thing point that stood out to me this week.  It is important that we find a way to use our skills and talents to bless the lives of others.  There is more than one path to finding our own way.  My path has taken many years with twists and turns.  I worked many jobs in college, then quit after having my first baby.  From there I became a stay at home mother, and caretaker to my husband as he battled mental illness.  Now, the path has turned back towards a career, however, I now have a new perspective.  I have found that I have a deep love for math and finances.  I am currently exploring that path as I work at an accounting clerk.  I’m not sure where I will end up, but if I keep my eyes open to new opportunities while learning as many skills as I can, I know I can be prepared when opportunity knocks.