Week 1 Journal – Connor Williams

Am I an entrepreneur?

          I would say I am not an entrepreneur. I do not do the things that entrepreneurs do. I am still trying to understand what it means to be an entrepreneur. I do not have a business or plan on starting one so I would definitely say I am not an entrepreneur. One of the articles I read for another course I am currently taking was on the topic of the entrepreneurial mindset. It defined this as creating value by “synthesizing original ideas through novel assembly of resources and process to take advantage of opportunity” (Morris, 2017). At this point in my life, I have not had many opportunities to exercise entrepreneurship. To some extent, so of my research papers have synthesized the works of others to come up with my own ideas, however I would not say I have used that much to my advantage or created opportunities.

What is success?

         Success is achieving your goals. Success is obtained through hard work and dedication.  To be successful you must dedicate time and resources to whatever your goal is. Success is the opposite of failure in a way; however, you cannot fail but also not succeed at the same time.  Often, success is attained after successive failures and obstacles are overcome.

Am I a self-starter?
How well do I follow through on my ideas?
          I am a self-starter. Most of my goals in life I am pursuing because I want to pursue them. One of my main goals in life as an ROTC cadet is to earn my commission as an officer in the United States Army. This goal is one that I made for myself, and I am currently pursuing efforts to achieve it. I would say that I follow through with my ideas well. If I have an idea or a goal, I stick with them and try my best to accomplish them. In terms of entrepreneurship, I am not sure I would call myself a self-starter. I have not really had a desire to create or innovate new ideas or products, nor promote myself. I simply desire to complete college with a degree in Cybersecurity and serve in the Army as a cyber officer. 

How does ODU view entrepreneurship?

          Old Dominion University views entrepreneurship as starting and running business or creating a new product or innovation. ODU sees 6 different paths for entrepreneurs, lifestyle business, small business, scalable startup, buyable startup, large company, and social entrepreneur.

 What is my role in this ecosystem?

          My role in this ecosystem is to be a student and a ROTC cadet. My role is to work my hardest so I can earn my commission in the US Army so I can serve my country. My role as a student is to ensure my pass all my classes so I can graduate and earn my degree in Cybersecurity. I am a bit apprehensive in regard to entrepreneurship as I currently have little desire to strike out on my own to start a business or promote a new product.

Week 2 Journal – Connor Williams

What is design thinking?

      Design thinking focuses on the needs of the customer. Design thinking is a process to help understand your target audience. The design thinking process has five phases; Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Design thinking is a combination of science and art.

 

How has design thinking influenced a product I use?

        Design thinking influences a lot of products that I use. Almost every piece of technology I own has gone through some kind of design thinking process. For example, my iPhone is a product of design thinking. Apple has made a new phone almost every year for over 10 years. Each year they get feedback from their customers and revise their software and hardware. They incorporate the latest features that  customers desire and sometimes emulate innovations of competitor phone manufactures into the iPhone.

What are the connections between opportunities and planning?

       Once you have an idea of what the opportunity is you must make a plan of action. You must systematically analyze things in order to identify your opportunity. You must then properly plan and implement your strategy in order to be successful. The connection between opportunities and planning is that you have to identify an opportunity and then implement the plan you have devised to leverage that
opportunity to your advantage.

 

What opportunities have I missed?

         I have not missed many major opportunities that I can think of in my life. One opportunity I have may have missed was earning an Army ROTC 4-year scholarship. This was partly because I had not planned on going to college and joining ROTC until my senior year of high school. By the time I had set my goal, I had not positioned myself academically to be competitive for that scholarship. However, once I had decided on becoming and Army officer through Army ROTC, I took advantage of other the opportunities available such as ODU’s Army ROTC 3-year scholarship program. My plan to get and keep that scholarship was to do well in school, participate in as many ROTC activities as possible and demonstrate my willingness to work hard in the program. 

Can a successful venture be unethical?

         Yes, a successful venture can be unethical. Everyone has different morals and values so
something that someone sees as ethical may be unethical for someone else. There can be
ventures that are legal within the law, yet be unethical from certain points of view. The law can
generally be close to what society deems as ethical and unethical. If your end goal of a venture is met through unethical actions then the venture can be deemed a success although it was unethical. Some ventures could be illegal, for example if your venture is to become a successful drug dealer that would be illegal and most people view it as unethical. 

 

 

Week 3 Journal – Connor Williams

Why do ethics matter in entrepreneurship?

         Ethics matter because your reputation means a lot as a business. If you are seen as a morally good company people will think of your company in a good light. If your company has had some questionable ethical choices in how your business operates then people may not want to buy from or interact with your company.  

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

        My own personal budget doesn’t relate much to an entrepreneurship budget. An entrepreneurship budget will see the expected income and the expenses that they will need to spend. Entrepreneurship budgets are based on their best guess on how much they will make and how much they will spend. I know how much money I have coming in and I know just about how much I need to spend each month. My budget is not like an entrepreneurship budget because I know that I will make a certain amount of money guaranteed through my scholarships.

 Why do we need budgets?

          We need budgets because a business will fail if you spend more money than you are making. It is important that you are able to keep your budget below or at least even with how much money you are making in order to succeed as a business. You also need to be able to see how much money you are allowed to spend to see if you need to make adjustment to what you plan on spending money on. Some things may need to be cut out in order to afford more important things.

What is social entrepreneurship?

        Social entrepreneurship is taking a business approach to solving social problems. Social entrepreneurship looks to generate revenue as well as achieving social change. Social entrepreneurship is different from a charity as social entrepreneurship is run like a business and strive for self-sufficiency. Social entrepreneurships goals are to have a lasting effect on what social problem they are trying to change. 

What are the most significant legal issues entrepreneurs take?

         The most significant legal issues that entrepreneurs take is deciding the legal structure of their business. Some of the legal forms of organizations like sole proprietorships and partner ships are the cheapest and easiest form to start, however, they offer the least amount of legal protection. Corporate forms are harder to start and are more costly, however, they offer more legal protection.

Week 4 Journal – Connor Williams

Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law?

         Entrepreneurs can get in trouble with the law for a lot of things. Entrepreneurs can get in trouble with the law for copyright infringements. Entrepreneurs can also get in legal trouble for not paying their employees or violating employee rights. Entrepreneurs can get in a lot of legal trouble if they don’t file their taxes right. 

What does psychology have to do with marketing?

         Psychology helps to understand the way that consumers think and make decisions. If you know how your target audience makes decisions you will be able to tailor you marketing towards them. Understanding you target audience is very important when it comes to marketing.  

What types of marketing sway my decisions?

      I don’t really know what type of marketing sways my decisions. I don’t really pay attention to the types of marketing that make me want to buy something.

How can I pitch ideas better?

       I can pitch better by adding visuals to my pitches. Making your pitches interesting to your audience. You want to draw their attention to what you are pitching. What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching? I have never pitched an idea before. My weakness is probably that I have not had any practice pitching anything before. A strength that I would have is I am good at speaking in front of an audience.

Week 5 Journal – Connor Williams

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

      The connection between the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at ODU is that they can all be used to be an entrepreneur. As a cybersecurity major, I could start my own business based on cybersecurity. All the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship could be used to help start your own business.

Is entrepreneurship an art or science?

         Entrepreneurship is like being a leader. Entrepreneurs are their own bosses and often have employees that work for their business. Leading is an art and a science. There are always some things that are data driven and proven to work if the numbers come out right, like managing your expenses. The art of leading is getting people to follow you.  

How is failure good?

        Failure is good because is drives us to do better. Failure teaches you that not everything is going to be handed to you and if you want to succeed you have to prepare, train, and learn. The ability to push past failure and pick yourself up demonstrates resilience. 

What have I learned from failing?

       I have learned a lot from failing. I have learned that not everything is going to go your way. Not putting in enough effort can lead to failure. Sometimes you can try your best and still fail. I learned that if you care about something enough no matter how many times you fail you pick yourself up and keep trying to get better.

What ethical issues might arise related to what I am working on?

        The project that I am working on for this class is a business that helps companies, organizations, and people dela with cybercrime. Some ethical issues that might arise is the advice and help that we give people. If we don’t give people good advice that could lead to problems for their security.

Week 6 Journal – Connor Williams

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

            Cisco is a cybersecurity company that focuses on network security. They make network security products like firewalls and endpoint security products. McAfee is a company that specializes in antivirus software for computers. McAfee is a big name and one of the best antivirus software companies out there. Lookout is a mobile endpoint security app used on mobile phones and devices. It allows you to control which apps are able to access your personal data. Duo mobile is a two-factor authentication app that we use at ODU. It is used so that you have to have your phone or other device as well as a password to access your account. CrowdStrike is a company that provides endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyber-attack response services.

What is your overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience?

            My overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience is that it’s not for everyone. Not everyone needs to own their own business and it is a lot of work, time, effort, and money to invest in a business. Not every business is successful and the risks of starting one can be very high. I personally am not interested in the entrepreneurship experience at this point in my life.  Possibly after I have gained enough expertise in my field would I even consider starting my own cyber business.

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

            I do not feel like entrepreneurships have prepared me to be competitive for vacant positions. Being an entrepreneur means being your own boss, starting your own business and not working for someone else. I believe being a competitive candidate for vacant position would better help through an internship or some other exercise involving preparing resumes or preparing for job interviews. As an Army ROTC cadet, I have been offered employment after graduation and am not currently looking for a job.

What suggestions do you have to improve the experience?

            To improve the overall experience of this course, I would recommend not making this class a group project. As an asynchronous online course, it is difficult to coordinate and communicate with other groups members.  This can usually be overcome with a couple online meetings and dividing up various work products.  However, working as a group but producing different products does not promote teamwork as it is all based on your individual assignments. Nobody has the motivation to help you because if your assignment is lacking, their grade does not suffer. For group work to be successful there has to be a reason for people to want to work together. Team effort means that the effort you all put in is toward a common goal. When you’re working on your own assignments with individually submitted products, it is not a common goal.

 

 

What’s next for you?

            My next step is to continue doing well is school to I can graduate summa cum laude and commission as an officer in the US Army. Next semester will be my 8^th semester at ODU and I have 13 credit hours left to graduate. My next immediate focus is to get through next semester. After graduation and commissioning I will go to Signal Basic Officer Leader Course (SBOLC). This is where my career in the Army will really start. I will not only get to apply my cybersecurity degree in the workplace, but I will also get an opportunity to gain skills and experience that will help me outside of the Army. After my 4-year active-duty commitment, I may decide to go to the Army Reserves and seek a job with the FBI. The skill and experience I will gain from the Army Signal Corps should definitely help me secure a job with the government after my military career.