Journal

Am I an entrepreneur? With my idea and visualization of who or what an entrepreneur is, I would say I am not. My idea of an entrepreneur is self-sufficient. Self-sufficient in that they do not rely solely on a company or business to provide them with compensation for their hours worked. They may work a regular nine to five job but that is not the main source of their income. They have created a successful and lucrative business from the ground up. They are well versed in the ins and outs of business and a great understanding of what it takes for a business or product to succeed. Although I do not consider myself an entrepreneur based on my own definition, I like to think of myself as possessing somewhat of an entrepreneurial mindset. I enjoy mentally evaluating businesses or products by how well they work and if there are aspects that could be improved upon.
In my opinion there are many aspects of success. In broad terms I would say success is achieving the goal(s) you set for yourself no matter if they are short or long term. They could be as simple as reading one book in a month or a longer-term goal of paying a vehicle off in two and a half years as opposed to the full five years of a loan. Success is also excelling and doing the best you can at everything you do. No matter if you are mopping a floor, playing a board game, building a deck, or answering phone calls, you take pride in the job and task at hand to do your very best and to me that is success.
I would describe myself as a self-starter who needs little motivation. I tend to get an idea in my head and can sometimes get fully immersed in it where that is all I can think about. My interests and infatuation of the many hobbies I enjoy doing seem to ebb and flow effortlessly. Seems like one month I will be focusing on this and then the next month I be focusing on that. Of the many ideas I do have I would say I probably follow through with about one third of them if that. I would say these ideas weather they be work, school, or hobbies are more daydreams than anything. I will play the devil’s advocate in my head and think through these ideas trying to prove why something would not work or it would be a waste of time, money, and effort.
My perspective on how ODU viewed entrepreneurship was minimal if not zero before taking CYSE494. I was completely unaware there was a whole department for entrepreneurial studies and advocation. With that being said, ODU has an astonishing positive view of entrepreneurship and giving the students a huge advantage or resources to pursue their educational and business goals. Not only does ODU have mentors and peer groups to brainstorm and generate ideas, but they also offer the campus spaces to promote these entrepreneurial businesses.
My role in this ecosystem is of a Freshman with a Junior’s transcript. I am definitely very interested in the entrepreneurial world although my knowledge of that aspect is minimal. This semester is going to be a great learning and growth experience. Ultimately my role in this ecosystem is someone with an open mind and creative mind that cannot wait to brainstorm with my peer’s perspectives and ideas along with my own.
Design thinking is a step-by-step approach of attempting to solve a social problem or create a new product to address a problem or want from a future customer. There are a few different terms used to format design thinking, but the steps are similar. The steps are empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Furthering these steps, design thinking is a combination of science and art. Breaking down the framework of design thinking one must address and ask themselves what the problem is? The individual(s) need to understand. Next, ideate and selection to ask the question, how might we solve the problem. Finally, taking action which leads to prototyping and validation.
I could only imagine how many products I use or have used in the past that were influenced by design thinking. One product I recently purchased was a small portable pressurized water tank. This product is marketed towards the camping and the outdoors marketplace. Now understanding what design thinking is, I can think of how the producer of this product implemented the framework. Taking an outside in perspective I would imagine the producer(s) to be “outdoorsy” themselves. They have probably been on camping trips where there was not a readily available water source to clean there outdoors equipment or take a warm shower while camping. As I am sure they are not the only ones and after trying many different products that left them to desire more which led them to set out to solve this problem by creating a product for themselves and likeminded individuals.
The connections between opportunities and planning go hand and hand. I feel that without opportunities there would be no need for planning. Once an opportunity or idea presents itself timing is of the essence to begin planning. At the same time by planning, opportunities may present themselves. This could be an individual wanting to be an entrepreneur and has a few ideas of what they wish to achieve and accomplish. They begin planning and setting goals for themselves. They have design thinking in the back of their mind of how to go about it. They are always observing the world around them and low and behold an opportunity presents itself. They delve deeper into the design thinking framework by understanding, ideating, selecting, prototyping, and validating.
I am sure most people have had the epiphany of thinking about a product or thinking to themselves or others, “what if there was a product that could do X, or a device that would help someone do Y”. Then not long after this image in their head they see it advertised on TV or see in real life. Now, who really knows who the first person to imagine a product was, but one can research and put two and two together to see who the first person was to get a patent or to get their product to the market. With that being said, I am no different and have had this same experience. One product I thought about many years ago was a storage device for a pickup truck. This storage device went into the bed of a truck with long drawers that ran the length of the bed. On top of these drawers was a solid surface just like the truck bed to still make it useful to carry large items. It probably was not but a few months later that I began seeing this product I envisioned in my head advertised on TV. I saw the price value of it and how well it was selling and could not help to think, “that was my idea or that could have been me”.
In the world of ethics there are many different opinions and viewpoints of what is or what is not ethical. A successful venture an entrepreneur might develop is no different. In my opinion, just because a venture is successful does not necessarily make it ethical. An ethical mindset an entrepreneur may have and use during the development phase may end up being unethical. I will revert to my previous post of an idea I had that someone else developed. Hypnotically speaking, this product was designed to help an individual with storage while still enabling them to have full use of their truck bed as they normally would. Everything seems good to go with it being a good idea and one may ask what could possibly be unethical about this product? Well, what if this producer was cutting corners and trying to save money by disposing of the waste material by just dumping it on the side of the road instead of properly disposing of it? What if the source of the material was manufactured by slave labor to cut costs? This could be an example of unethical behavior. The product in a nutshell is completely ethical in the grand scheme of things but going down the rabbit hole so to speak can bring up unethical behavior chasing revenue.
Ethics matter in the entrepreneurial environment just as they matter in an individual’s day to day life. An entrepreneur should possess ethical behavior how they engage with business partners, costumers, and future customers. If the entrepreneur is designing a product or providing a service for an individual, they should have their needs and wants taken into consideration. The entrepreneur should make sure they are treating the individual with care and provide a product or service that adds value to their daily life and is of good quality and that they can stand behind. Without good ethics in the entrepreneurial environment the entrepreneur might not be as successful or lucrative as they could be.
My personal budget relates similarly to an entrepreneurial budget in that I generate a spreadsheet of income and expenses much like a business’s income statement. I do not have business expenses or estimate future sales, but I do look at my monthly expenditures and estimate what my future expenses will be. At the end of the month, I have a balance sheet of whether I had a gross or negative income once I calculate my income and expenses. In a way it equates to a cash flow statement where I can see if that month I had a surplus, negative cash flow, and or broke even.
As a reference from our class’s weekly modules a budget helps, “entrepreneurs to test the feasibility of the new business so they can revise and improve their business plans.” It allows an entrepreneur to see the big picture and cater to their business needs. I allow them to see if there is adequate funds to invest in their product or service or if they need to cut back spending in different areas to make for necessary expenditures such as necessary supplies and to pay their employees. A budget will allow them to stay ahead of tax bills and future business loans or licensing payments. Budgets will enable the entrepreneur to grow their business and invest in a better-quality service or product for their customers.
Social entrepreneurship strives for new innovations in ways to solve problems to a society or with a certain category of individuals. Entrepreneurs want to be successful and profitable, but their main priority(s) is of social concerns. Social concerns good be a form of public transportation that brings value to a resident of an area who may not have an adequate form of transportation for work or leisure. Another aspect of social entrepreneurship could promote environmental change within the long run benefits the society. Social entrepreneurship could also lean towards a charitable organization to assist those who are less fortunate which again keeps the society in the forefront of their intentions.
Some of the most significant legal issues an entrepreneur face is the entity could have legal action filed against them such as being sued for harm, fraud, or gross negligence. Another signification issue that can lead to legal action is a poorly managed financial statement. A poorly managed budget can lead to a business or individual entrepreneur owing a significant amount in taxes or being unable to pay employees along with necessary business expenditures such as utilities or various bills.
Entrepreneurs can get themselves in trouble with the law in many ways. In one instance they might not have been completely transparent about their product or service. Some customers may have felt misled in the product description to the extent, they may sue the entrepreneur and or business. In another instance, legal action could come in the form of business administration and business finance. The business might not be set up correctly as a legal entity which could lead to trouble when tax time comes around. Relating to this administrative issue, the business may not have their finances in the best shape and in the event, they made too much money throughout the year there might not be enough free cash to pay their tax liability.
Although it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of marketing, but psychology is a huge aspect and plays a vital role in promoting a product or service. Research has made a significant emphasis to correlate psychology with marketing and most individuals make a purchasing decision based on their emotions and mindset at the present time of the sales interaction. How information is presented will affect their decision in how they feel at that time. Presenting and framing information on the profits/benefits of the product or service instead of the losses increase the odds of a sale even if the outcomes are the same for each. An individual’s psychology wants to feel that the product they are buying brings value to their day-to-day life.
Marketing that can sway an individual’s decisions can include the tipping point / diffusion curve, value differentiation, life cycle, diffusion strategy (groups your seeking), benefit that outweighs the costs. To expound upon a few of the fore mentioned terms, value differentiation, paints a mental picture for an individual where they began to see themselves using the product or service being sold. The entrepreneur is painting that figurative picture and emphasizes the benefit and not only the desire but the need for what is being sold. Life cycle in that the product will last for the specified life span depicted. The customer finds value in this longevity and can justify the price for the quality they are purchasing. They also feel there is an un-met need that this product will fill the void. Finally, no matter the cost, the customer feels that the benefits of the product they are buying are worth the costs and any other draw backs they may find.
There are many ways to improve a pitch to prospective customers. With reading through the modules and being a customer of various products myself I feel to pitch ideas better an entrepreneur needs to have a detailed plan, do their research, be organized, and have an end goal in mind. The pitch needs to be categorized in the venue in which the pitch is to be given. This could be a 30-90 second elevator pitch or a 20-minute-long form. None the less the pitch should include how the product solves a problem, explain how it works and how the business is structured/funded, prove there is traction and that they have actual sales in that individuals find the product useful, and finally show the team’s expertise/experience.
Some strengths I possess in the terms of pitching are that I am personable, can read a room being very observational, and speak intelligently. The biggest weakness to pitch a product is that I strongly dislike sales and talking with prospective customers.
The connections between the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at ODU is they lay out the facts of the subject and issues at hand. Each discipline will address problems and solutions that are in place to fix these problems of which may or may not be working. By laying out the information in this fashion and entrepreneurial student can see failures and cater more to the issue and focus on what works and avoid trying things that have been tried but prove to be unsuccessful.
Entrepreneurship is neither a complete discipline of the arts or of science, but a combination of the two. Entrepreneurship is a well-rounded discipline that considers financials such as income, expenses, investment, and taxes to also bridge into humanities and psychology of what leads individuals to purchase certain products or spend money on certain services. Entrepreneurship looks at all angles of a particular problem, creating a solution by the way of a product or service then develop a business plan and tentative path to follow.
Failure is good because it forces individuals to be innovative, use their imagination, and really think plans through. Failure should be embraced and viewed as part of the process to success. A rudimentary analogy is looking at a baby learning to walk. They fail countless times every day. Eventually they become so successful they can walk for months or years at a time without falling. Failure teaches us to be resilient and really hone in on our skills practicing them until they are perfected, and the margin of error is minimal.
I have learned a great deal from failing. I have failed countless times in all aspects of life. I have failed academic tests, failed at hitting a golf ball, and even failed at woodworking. All these failures have been a teaching moment and something I have always remembered. These failures have forced me to be better in perfecting the craft I pursue. I learned that with everything new I take on and learn there will be some extent of failure along the way. Someone can tell me do not do this or that until they are blue in the face, and I hear them, but I am truly not listening and until I experience it on my own those words of advice tend to fall on deaf ears.
Some ethical issues that may arise relating to the product I am working on is that the product makes a bigger burden for customers than the problem it is set to solve. Next, failure of the product could lead to an ethical issue in which if there is a data breach or the product does not work as advertised and customers personal information is released or easily accessible to the wrong people.
Recently an organization was started called, Nonprofit Cyber, that is setup to serve the public in the form of sharing and increasing interest and awareness to include cybersecurity education. JOURNi is a non-profit cybersecurity organization that strives to help small businesses in Detroit, Michigan. Then there is a training program to assist youth with education in the cybersecurity field called the Michigan CyberPatriot program. Next, GuidePoint Security which is another training and vocational program that is geared toward training veterans and recruiting those with computer backgrounds as they leave the military. Finally, Halock, which is another cybersecurity firm that assists small business and other organizations with IT and cybersecurity framework and other computer needs.
My overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience is much to be desired. I think there is so much to the subject that it is difficult to digest in a 6-week course. I also found it difficult with developing a fictious company and product. There are a lot of great ideas but to just write about them and do some reason I feel does not equate to the full product. I also feel that at my level in schooling and fairly new to my major I do not have the amount of education and fortitude to truly develop a product and or start a business in this field when I feel behind the power curve so to speak.
I think the entrepreneurship gave me a good exposure and avenue for resources if later on down the road I were to fully consider the entrepreneurial world. At this point in time in my career and school I do not have the greatest desire or interest to start down the entrepreneurial path.
To improve the entrepreneurial experience of this class I would include the group presentation project and the individual paper to be one product. For one group member the pitch video was their product that their paper was written on while the other members had to write a paper on a different product. They could have used the same product as the video but writing the product proposal before starting on the pitch I do not think many people would want to start over.
The next steps for me are to continue my path with earning a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. I am still very interested in the field and feel there is unlimited potential especially with the advances in technology. Once I finish my degree, I would like to work for the Department of Homeland Security or Department of Defense in some capacity. I will still not rule out the avenue of entrepreneurship and continue to keep it in the back of my mind.

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