Week #6

I feel like this week we really started digging into some of the strategies of being a good entrepreneur. I thought that there were some great action items that I could take from the readings to apply to my entrepreneurial ideas and really start heading in a good direction. One of the things that I liked about this week was the idea that you need to do your background work but then you also need to start somewhere. I also was impressed with the idea that you likely will need to make peace with the notion of raising funds for your business. I do not know why this was such an eye opener for me, but it really was. It always seems like people just bring these successes to life and I have never really thought about the fact that securing funds is just a part of it. When I think back on all of the success stories from other people, most had to secure funding before they could get their ideas off the ground. Another key component with this is the fact that you have to have skin in the game as well. Meaning that you need to put whatever you can on the line as well because this signals to an investor that you also believe in your idea enough that you are taking a risk. This whole idea of researching and doing all you can to prepare and then jumping in was very exciting to me.

I also loved the advice to make sure that we take whatever church callings we are given and that we do not become too busy for the church. It is funny because my husband has been in the bishopric for a few years and that is one of the most common responses he gets from people about callings. They are too busy. I like that we were taught that the Lord's work is the focus of our mortality and other pursuits should not stand in the way of that. It was cool to hear someone that had been in the all consuming spot of having a startup and also taking a heavy church calling. Having him bear witness to the fact that the Lord helped him to make everything work was a really cool thing to understand. The Lord knows us and our individual situations. He will help us to find a good balance in life and be able to do all that he has asked us to do, but it will usually come with a sacrifice. That may be time or energy in other areas. Like was pointed out though, we usually have other things that can drop off to allow for the time and the Lord can lead us through that if we take the step of accepting the calling.

I think that this week has been a great one and I am ready to work on the ideas that have come up from the study materials. I think that my biggest realization is that funding is key and not to wait to do that until it is too late.