Journal Entries

Here you will find my weekly journals that answers questions relating to different topics from our modules.

1. Am I an entrepreneur?

I think I am an entrepreneur. Just by learning from the course introduction, an entrepreneur is a problem solver. It does not have to deal with business but can be someone who can find a solution. I would not be where I am at in life right now if I didn’t solve the smallest to the biggest problems that I came across with.

2. What is success?

Success to me is someone who accomplishes a goal or reaches an objective. In order to be successful you must take action. You must practice and if you fail, you must get back up again. Someone who can solve problems and communicate ideas to reach their goal or objective is success.

3. Am I a self-starter? How well do I follow through on my ideas?

It is hard for me to be a self-starter at times because I can be easily overwhelmed. There are a lot of self-doubts when seeing the big picture and a lot of questions arise. Also, I may have a great idea but following through can be difficult because as I develop my ideas into action, I may hit a road block or learn that those ideas just does not work.

4. How does ODU view entrepreneurship?

ODU view’s entrepreneurship is for everyone. It is a way of thinking, solving problems and coming up with solutions. I learned that we use the business model like a navigator to get us to our first step and guide us to our destination.

5. What is my role in this ecosystem?

I think my role in the ecosystem is to produce and consume. We all have ideas we can put into action in which can then produce or solve problems. As consumers, we can learn from a class, a book, or someone and take that information as knowledge.

6. What is design thinking?

Design thinking is the way we tackle problems. It encourages people to discover alternatives, creating options that have never existed before. Design thinking tries to understand the user’s needs by direct observation. Once the real problem is found, the problem solver can brainstorm ideas without existing solutions and encourages multi-disciplinary teams for greater creativity and better solutions. It is also a combination of science and art. It is never one or the other but always a combination of both with them being equal, more or less of each other.

7. How has design thinking influenced a product I use?

Design thinking influenced the product I use because there was a lot of thought put behind what was made for me as the user. For example, what would be the “why” I need the product or the emotion I feel using the product the product. It is a long process from brainstorming to making it a reality for the end user.

8. What are the connections between opportunities and planning?

Opportunities happens when the entrepreneur has a great idea. That idea depends on the product or services will sell and the entrepreneur must study the outside market. Planning is to implement the idea. Analyzing opportunities is about future predictions and future predictions is about research. If you want to implement your idea well, it is necessary to do research. Opportunities and planning both connect with each other because they are both a process with steps in order to move from finding an opportunity and planning for your business.

9. What opportunities have I missed?

I don’t think I have missed an opportunity because I had never thought of coming up with a great idea that I can sell a product or service. Without an idea, I can’t study the market for this innovation. Without the ball rolling of even having an idea, the process of planning ends here. Unless, if never coming up with an idea to sell a product of service was never thought, then I have missed opportunities my entire life. The only idea I have thought of creating is for my paper for my innovation in this class which can be an opportunity.

10. Can a successful venture be unethical?

It all depends on what is the law or what is legal. The law can change as society changes. Something can be legal but not moral. For example, an entrepreneur can legally lay off its employee’s and keep the profits. It is legal for that entrepreneur to lay off his or her employees but it is not moral to do so.

11. Why do ethics matter in entrepreneurship?

Ethics is important because good ethics means good business. People want to do business with you because you have a good reputation. People want to do business with people who have good reputation. That reputation is probably the best advertisement you can invest in because people will have the trust and confidence in your business.

12. How does my own personal budget relate to an entrepreneurship budget?

My personal budget can relate to an entrepreneurship budget because both are concerned in my financial situation. In a personal standpoint, I want to make sure that I can pay my mortgage, utilities, and other personal bills I may have. For the business or entrepreneurship side, I want to make sure I can pay my employees and rent. Both require budgeting because if I cant budget, then I won’t be able to live the life I want to live or own a business and keep it afloat.

13. Why do we need budgets?

We need to budget because budgeting helps you reach your goals. Also, if you are an entrepreneur, you want to keep your business going or afloat. Budgeting also ensures that I have enough money for things that are important for me as well as staying out of debt.

14. What is social entrepreneurship?

From the module 7 key terms, social entrepreneurship is defined as “Innovative ventures with a social mission. Interested in economic development coinciding with social change. As such, social entrepreneurship looks to generate revenue as part of its approach to achieving social change. Accountability measured by the change created.” It is continued by stating “social entrepreneurship’s focus is on providing a product or service resulting in social and/or environmental impact with financial profit primarily as a means to sustain the effort.” In my opinion, I think social entrepreneurship is an innovation that can change society and the way it thinks of things for a profit. That profit will help build their business and keep their business afloat.

15. What is the most significant legal issues entrepreneurs face?

Legal issues entrepreneurs can face is a customer suing you for a commercial that contains misleading information, but you don’t agree them. Legal forms can be an issue too because a legal form from your company may demand too much cash to pay taxes. Understanding a legal form can help you avoid legal issues.

16. Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law?

There are many ways entrepreneurs can get in trouble with the law. A few examples can be not following corporate compliance laws, trademark or copyright infringements, and incorrectly filing taxes. We have learned few ways you can form a business from our modules. Depending what type of business you form (sole proprietorship, partnership, Limited Liability Company, S-Corp, and C-corp), you need to file your tax correctly.

17. What does psychology have to do with marketing?

Psychology has to do with marketing because it affects how people view your product. They may feel the need for it or want to take advantage of a promotion you made so they can take advantage of it. This promotion affects the market because you can attract customers for that discounted price then once your market starts to boom, you can bring the price up to what was original.

18. What types of marketing sway my decisions?

Framing is something that can sway my decisions. Framing can go positive or negative and it all depends how you frame or present it. Also, the four P’s that was introduced which are product, price, place, and promotion. They all break down even further, but a great example would be the promotion example I gave above where I can set a discount on my service and when business is booming to where I want it, I can then bring my service back to its original price.

19. How can I pitch ideas better?

To pitch ideas better you must focus on the pain. The pain is the problem that we are addressing and solving. We also want to talk about the reachable market that is backed up with data of who wants to buy my ideas. Explaining the business model will also help because it will describe how I am making money so the audience understands. Showing my team will be helpful because it shows their accomplishments and what they can bring to the table. I also must explain my metrics on how I got to my numbers and why I am using these metrics. Keeping the audience motivated because it brings energy and they may feel good about the idea. Finally explaining why me as the person to go with this idea and why now.

20. What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching?

Strengths that I have in pitching is I have spoken to many audiences before. The military forced me to give multiple briefs and being on that seat is something I am used to. A weakness I may have is I may sound monotone or not energetic. It is hard for me to be energetic because I can be too serious at times.

21. What are the connections between the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at ODU?

I think that the connection between the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at ODU is  that they all come towards solving a problem. Lean management supports continuous improvement and to me that is problem solving.

22. Is entrepreneurship an art or science?

I think entrepreneurship is both an art and a science because the art comes from solving problems. An innovation can be an art because it is a creative idea that can be a solution for something. The science can come from the technical part of solution by using a business model or mission model to come up with an innovation and solve a problem.

23. How is failure good?

Failure is good because it helps the individual learn and give them a chance to grow. Also the feeling of failure can be good at time because of inadequacy. No one wants to feel inadequate so we want to redeem ourselves or we will forever stay a failure. This give us the motivation to improve our skills and erase our mistakes.

24. What have I learned from failing?

What I have learned from failing is that it is ok to fail. It should be something you should embrace at times because it gives you a chance to grow. Without experiencing failure, you will not know how to deal with it when it happens. I have learned to fail early because it shows where you are lacking or weak at and that learning from it will only make me stronger and to not repeat the same mistakes.

25. What ethical issues might arise related to this innovation?

Ethical issues that may arise to my innovation is that I may lose my good reputation. Since I am a cybersecurity major and my innovation is utilizing the cloud for PC gaming, I can lose my reputation if my innovation does not meet the customer’s expectations or promises that my services provide. Also, if my innovation gets attacked, then the trust of the customers can get lost because they no longer feel safe with my innovation.

26. Describe five businesses or non-profits that have been created in my field.

Five business that have been created in my field in cybersecurity are CISCO, Microsoft, IBM, McAfee, and Palo Alto Networks. Cisco offers security and storage like intrusion prevention systems, firewalls, cloud protection and malware protection. Microsoft offers Windows Defender and protection of web applications. IBM offers Security Information and Event Management, incident cloud security, incident response platform and many more. McAfee has antivirus products and identity protection. Palo Alto Networks offers firewalls, cloud access, end to end protection and many more.

27. What is your overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience? 

My overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience has opened my eyes. I always thought an entrepreneur is all about money but I have learned that they are innovators and that they solve problems. Innovators come up with ideas that has never been thought of or make an idea better than what it was before. They are constantly thinking of ways to improve a community or group of people.

28. How did the entrepreneurship prepare or not prepare you to be a competitive candidate for vacant positions?

I think the entrepreneurship prepared me to be a competitive candidate for vacant positions because it helped me think outside the box. There are many ways to solve a problem and I learned different ways to deliver myself when coming up for an interview. I learned that if someone can sell a pen, I can sell myself for that vacant position by grabbing into the crowds’ emotions

29. What suggestions do you have to improve the experience? 

Suggestions I have to improve the experience is to have available hands on experience. We can write and talk all we want but it is impossible to know what it is like without going out there and working for a company as an entrepreneur. I suggest that we have multiple companies mold us into entrepreneurs so that when we get out into the real world, we have the experience in our resumes and possibly be working for that company later on.

30. What’s next for you?

What is next for me is to finish is to finish what I started by completing and earning my Master’s Degree in cybersecurity. I also hope to get hands on experience or an internship so that I have something to carry when I graduate from ODU. I also am in the military and hopefully this degree will help me promote and be a better person professionally in my job. If the time comes and I decide to hang my uniform, I would like to use the skill bridge program the military offers to get me hands on training that fits my degree and job description so that I am successful when I am out of the military.

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