Journal #1
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1. Am I an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who creates and manages a business or innovation. They also take on the risks that come with said business or innovation. I am definitely not an entrepreneur. I don’t own any businesses, nor have I invented anything ever. I don’t think I ever will either, I have no interest personally. Starting a business requires so much, and I really don’t think I’d enjoy taking on that type of responsibility myself. 2. What is success? I think the definition of success differs for everyone. It really depends on what the person sees as the best outcome for them in a situation. What a person considers a favorable outcome might not even have to happen for them to feel successful, just knowing that they have improved or developed a new skill, sticking with something through hard times, or overall just doing the absolute best that you can. 3. Am I a self-starter? How well do I follow through on my ideas? I think it depends on the situation/project. If its something that I’m familiar with and have done before, I can take the initiative to start the task and follow through with things. However, if it is something that is new to me, I’m not usually one to begin things without seeing others do it first or to receive some type of guidance. I’m also a very indecisive person, so following through on my ideas the first time around never really happens. |
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4. How does ODU view entrepreneurship? ODU has established entrepreneurship and economic development as primary missions by partnering with organizations throughout the university and community. The university also offers not only faculty/staff, but students opportunities that are interested in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial skills are offered and taught through co-curricular activities for economic growth in the long run. Research is also provided on multiple topics including regional economic development, local public policy etc, which includes scholarly articles, program evaluations, tech reports. The university also provides assistance in start-ups as well as existing businesses, and even hands-on internships. The Strome Entrepreneurial Center (SEC) was created to promote an entrepreneurial culture that will mobilize regional economic development for students, as well as faculty/staff. 5. What is my role in this ecosystem? Because I’m not really interested in becoming an entrepreneur at any point in time, I would say that I am most likely a consumer. I’m always going to be the one to purchase and consume other people’s creations and products. Another thing that I’ve realized is that some people start off like me, having no interest in inventing or creating products, but later on in life see something or experience something that changes their mind. That could also happen to me later on in my life, but at the moment, I’m just a consumer in this ecosystem. |
Journal #2
| 1. What is design thinking? Design thinking is a approach that was introduced by individuals at Stanford, that pretty much encourages others to look into alternatives to the methods and processes that already exist. It can be utilized for both creative and practical problem solving as well. This encourages focus on the people, and their needs which in turn leads to better understanding of the products and services that are desired. 2. How has design thinking influenced a product I use? A product that I use that design thinking has influenced greatly is Uber Eats. The creator of Uber Eats wanted to understand the difference between markets within numerous cities, everywhere and then connect them. Understanding that not everyone has access to a vehicle to drive whenever they are hungry and want to order food. There are also a lot of little things that we might see in passing but not realize it has to do with design thinking. The team at Uber Eats research and run experiments amongst their customers to create the features you see like the “Most Popular Items” or the “Newly Added” categories on the app or site. |
| 3. What are the connections between opportunities and planning? Planning and opportunities go hand in hand when dealing with entrepreneurship. In order to plan for what can be done, one must first identify the opportunities within their environment/organization. Both identifying opportunities and planning for them must be done in a systematic way, that way, future opportunities in the market can be planned for as well. If no planning is done, then that could also lead to a lack of future opportunities or even none at all. Planning also gives an advantage to a company/organization over one that does not, it gives them an idea on what’s to come or what may come. 4. What opportunities have I missed? Technically, this missed opportunity wasn’t my fault, it was my mom’s. When I was younger, maybe around 11 or 12, there was this boy group called Mindless Behavior, and I was a huge fan of them. They went on tour and ended up coming to some venue in Norfolk or Va Beach, literally the closest places they ever could’ve stopped at, I wanted to go see them but my mom told me I couldn’t go by myself…. which is crazy because she could have just went with me. I can’t really think of many opportunities that I’ve missed, and the ones I can think of (like this one) aren’t anything serious, however this is one that I think about a lot. |
| 5. Can a successful venture be unethical? I definitely believe that a successful venture can be unethical. The way how the success was obtained may not be supported by everyone, but for the people that do support it, any support is good support and they can get by with it. Another way that a successful venture can be unethical is that the entrepreneur hides the true way that they have achieved their success. If no one knows that the way they gained success was through unethical means, then there most likely won’t be any type of backlash and the individual can get away scott free pretty much. |
Journal #3
| 1. Why do ethics matter in entrepreneurship? Ethics is kind of like the framework of good business. If a company has good ethics, they have good business, and it will definitely show. If others put their trust into your company to do what it is that your company claims to do, then they will continue to want to do business with you. It’s not likely that anyone would want to do any type of business with a shady background or reputation. If your company’s reputation is on the line, then it is one of the best things to invest in. |
| 2. How does my own personal budget relate to an entrepreneurship budget? Budgets, whether personal or entrepreneurial endeavors, are vital in keeping things running and to prepare for the future. To keep a business running, an individual must have the funds available for that business. On the personal side, it is still important to have funds available, whether it is for rent, bills, personal wants, needs. Allocating the proper amount of funds to things is beneficial to both personal budgets and entrepreneurial budgets so it is important to plan these things out in a planner or book to keep track of. 3. Why do we need budgets? Having a budget put in place is one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do for their business. It’s a key element that helps business owners prepare for future endeavors and to keep their businesses running. If it is a newer business, drafting a budget up can help entrepreneurs assess the feasibility of said business, maybe test the waters, to get a feel of what kind of things work best and revise their plans. Business budgets are often important parts of a business plan that is shown to employees, potential business partners and investors. Emergencies are unplanned events that may take up some of a budget as well, so it is important to plan for those as well. |
| 4. What is social entrepreneurship? Social entrepreneurships are aimed to both develop innovative solutions to various problems and also come up with opportunities that create better methods to do things. Applying business principles to address social issues is one endeavor of social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurships explore both social and financial value where financial profit, social and environmental impact determine the value. 5. What are the most significant legal issues entrepreneurs face? One of the legal issues that entrepreneurs face throughout their business journey is choosing the correct legal form for their new and upcoming business. Being knowledgeable on the several types of legal forms is vital for anyone that is interested in starting a business or even just understanding the legal side of businesses in general. If an owner of a business mistakenly chooses and fills out the incorrect legal form for their business then it could increase further tax burdens, which then the company could get sued for and other liabilities can get transferred over to the business owners. This transfer of liabilities could cause a loss of assets, whether personal or other type. |
Journal #4
| 1. Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law? It all starts with legal forms. Some entrepreneurs end up choosing the wrong legal forms for their upcoming businesses. Being knowledgeable on the several types of legal forms is vital for anyone that is interested in starting a business or even just understanding the legal side of businesses in general. If an owner of a business mistakenly chooses and fills out the incorrect legal form for their business then it could increase further tax burdens, which then the company could get sued for and other liabilities can get transferred over to the business owners. |
| 2. What does psychology have to do with marketing? Psychology studies human behavior, so that makes it extremely helpful to use for advertising and marketing. Understanding how the public is affected and how they react to a company’s advertising will help greatly. Companies are able to better understand how consumers feel about their products by drawing conclusions and bettering their future strategies. This ties psychology (human behavior) together with marketing. 3. What types of marketing sway my decisions? One way a person’s decision can be swayed is by the Tipping Point. This is basically the tipping point of the idea, meaning to get enough people to support an idea or product till it tips over then everybody supports it and it becomes big. The tipping point is kind of like peer pressure in a way. An good example of this is how majority of the country’s population has an iPhone, it was never like this before. |
| 4. How can I pitch ideas better? A great pitch contains a couple pieces of essential information. Solving a problem, then explaining how that said problem works, after that there has to be some type of proof shown that there is traction within the problem, and finally the team must show their expertise on the subject/problem. Using the 10-20-30 rule can also help a lot in pitching ideas. The 10 equals the optimal amount of slides to use in a powerpoint presentation about the pitch. The 20 stands for the amount of time (20 minutes) it should take to go over the 10 slides. Lastly, the 30 is the smallest font that you should use on a slide. 5. What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching? Because I have little to no experience in giving anytime of presentations, or pitches I think I have more weaknesses than strengths. One of my biggest weaknesses is that I do not have a loud voice at all. I’m very much soft spoken and I really do not enjoy raising or projecting my voice. So because of that, I feel as though if I ever had to give an actual pitch or presentation (not in this class), that I would struggle with being heard. On the opposite side of that, I do think that I’m good at listening to advice that I’m given and using that advice to make adjustments to what I’m working on. |
Journal #5
1. What are the connections between the disciplines addressing entrepreneurship at ODU?
Almost every one of the entrepreneurs listed, has mentioned failure in some way. It is important to know that just because you fail at something, doesn’t mean that you will never succeed at it ever again. Learn from your mistakes, and keep trying. A few of the entrepreneurs also said that it is important that you are doing something that you enjoy, as it will never feel like work to you if you enjoy what you do.
2. Is entrepreneurship an art or science?
I think entrepreneurship can be a little of both, depending on how you look at it honestly. Science is more so the knowledge approach to something? While art is something that can use knowledge, but also requires a skilled side to it as well, sometimes even hands on. Entrepreneurship as an art can include things like internships and apprenticeships, while the scientific approach can include things scientific facts, numbers, and things like that.
3. How is failure good?
As it is with every stage in life, there is almost always going to be the risk of failure. Everyone runs this risk at some point in their lives or during their entrepreneurial journey. How an individual deals with failure is completely up to them. Failure can be used as positive motivation to grow and do better in the future for not only themselves but for their company as well.
4. What have I learned from failing?
Personally, I’ve learned that it’s perfectly fine to fail. It’s going to happen at some point in my life, if it hasn’t happened already (it has). Even though I am still very young, I can say that the things that I have failed at in life, have indeed shaped me into a better person. I have definitely learned, and grown from my mistakes, and I will continue to do so as I get older.
5. What ethical issues might arise related to what I am working on?
For our entrepreneurship, we are to make an educational game on cyber awareness, and it is also meant to appeal to multiple age groups. I can’t think of many ethical issues that may arise from our idea, unless it were due to things such as filling out incorrect legal forms, or maybe even unknowingly using the same idea as someone else. If we were to come up with funding for our project from unethical means, that would most likely be frowned upon as well.
Journal #6
| 1. Describe five businesses or non-profits that have been created in my field. Black Cybersecurity Association (BCA) – nonprofit organization focused on building community, mentorship, and job opportunities for underrepresented minorities in the cybersecurity space. Cybercrime Support Network (CSN) – a public-private nonprofit collaboration created to meet the challenges facing millions of individuals and businesses affected each and every day by cybercrime. CrowdStrike – founded in 2011, it was created in response to massive cyberattacks affecting nearly all industries caused by malware that went undetected by antivirus software. Fortinet – founded in 2000, it is one of the fastest growing network security companies that serves numerous governments around the world with a broad portfolio of spanning network, infrastructure, edge, cloud and IoT solutions. FireEye – built an award-winning ecosystem of innovative cybersecurity solutions by taking a holistic approach to security, combining hardware, software and human consulting services to provide a platform that blends innovative security technologies, nation0-state grade threat intelligence and world-renowned Mandiant consulting. https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/top-100-cybersecurity-companies/ https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybersecurity-associations/ 2. What is your overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience? I do think that this course would have the best impact on a student that is looking to maybe start a business, or learn about entrepreneurship. However, I do think that having students that have no interest and have completely nonrelated majors take this course is a bit….pointless. I did learn quite a few things that I did not know about entrepreneurships, both the basics and the in depth aspects of it. Maybe I’ll use this knowledge later on, I could change my mind completely on my future endeavors I have no idea. But I do know that I did enjoy writing these journal entries, I like little reflection questions like these. 3. How did the entrepreneurship prepare or not prepare you to be a competitive candidate for vacant positions? I’m not going to lie, I do not think that the entrepreneurship prepared me at all to be a competitive candidate. I mean maybe it is because I’m not going to be pursuing any type of entrepreneurial positions at all. So I don’t think that much of what I learned could be applied to any of the positions that I will be going after. But again, if I were planning to start up a business, or if I was a business major, then I would definitely find this course’s entrepreneurship project helpful. |
| 4. What suggestions do you have to improve the experience? Personally I do think that group projects are a good idea, for building teamworking skills and all that. So, honestly I didn’t really mind working with other classmates on project together. The only thing I can think of to maybe improve this entrepreneurial experience is to make the project more…..teamwork? I’m not sure how else to explain it, but I felt as though it wasn’t really a group project as the only thing we did together was come up with a project idea or like what we were going to create. After that, everything we did was pretty much our own project. 5. What’s next for you? Honestly, I have no idea. I graduate this coming August, and I have one more course to take this summer semester. So I think I’m just going to finish up these last two courses, then maybe continue working as a substitute teacher for now while applying to jobs within my major. Hopefully, I will hear some news about a job soon. Honestly, while working as a substitute teacher, I even thought of becoming maybe a technology teacher of some sort, but I’m not too sure. Also, like I said in the first question, I could definitely change my mind on what I want to do in the future and end up in a whole different job field. Who knows? |
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