• Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law?

Entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law for a number of reasons. As mentioned in the previous journal entry, it is extremely common for entrepreneurs to run into legal issues with the organization of their company. Depending on the way that a company is organized, there are many different legal responsibilities and tax liabilities that must be taken into account. Beyond that, there are also the legal issues regarding items such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks that can pose a large threat to certain types of entrepreneurs. There are also the less than favorable issues that some entrepreneurs encounter such as fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.

• What does psychology have to do with marketing?

Psychology has everything to do with marketing. Marketing is a practice completely based on enticing a customer to have interest in something. This can be anything from a service to a product, but the main goal is to generate interest that produces results. To accomplish this, it is imperative that the party doing the marketing has an understanding of what makes a person want something. This obviously requires an understanding of the product, but it also requires an understanding of the way that people think. Without understanding how people think, it is very difficult to understand what will make them want to purchase something.

• What types of marketing sway my decisions?

I try not to fall for too much marketing in my personal life, but I always find myself believing review-based marketing. It is easy to create flashy branding and list off the capabilities of a product, but I always find myself more compelled to trust the marketing of a product when it is given by a third party. This is not to say that I find a random celebrity marketing a cleaning product to be compelling, but I often find that a trusted reviewer can market a product better than any company can. This stems from a more modern take on companies in which a company cannot be trusted at their word. Almost any product can be polished up to look like the newest shiny toy, but a review can typically pierce straight through any company façade.

• How can I pitch ideas better?

Pitching ideas can be daunting for most. It is difficult to sit in front of someone that you want something from and try to sell not just a product to them, but yourself as well. To pitch ideas properly, it is important to be concise and not waste time with fillers. It is important to pose a problem, explain your solution, and explain how it can benefit the other party. For pitching an idea to investors, this can be done by showing your solution to a problem, explaining that solution, and then finally showing the investors how this will benefit them. The investors will want to understand if there is demand for the solution and how that solution can generate interest and profit. One of the most important parts of a pitch is to sell yourself and your team. A solution is great, but people are often greater assets than individual products. If your pitch can sell your expertise and the value of your team, there is a much higher likelihood of generating interest.

• What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching?

When it comes to pitching my solutions, I have had many different approaches in the past. My strength has always been my ability to create the solutions. I see problems constantly in my line of work and my natural curiosity or frustrations will often lead me to solving them. This helps me build credibility in my solutions and myself. Those around me understand me to be a problem solver and therefore are more receptive to my ideas even when they do not pan out. My weaknesses in this however are that I often rely too much on the solutions to speak for themselves. I can often get too caught up in small details of the products that I end up losing the focus of those I am pitching to. This is of course offset by my reputation, but it leaves me losing out on some opportunities as well.