The Pondering Thoughts of an Entrepreneur

  In my sophomore year of high school, I was suspended for the second time.  This time the punishment was a week of suspension.  My parents thought and prayed about what kind of punishment they should give me.  Obviously, since this was my second offense what they did the first time didn’t work.  After a few hours of discussion, my father entered my room to let me know what I would be required to do. To my surprise he said I could do anything I wanted for the next week, however, I had to memorize D&C section 121 verses 33 to the end and read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People .  Their punishment was right on! It literally changed my life. The thing that stood out to me the most was how different our society is now.  We all want a quick easy fix on life and we all expect it to be that way.  But in reality, it is the focus of constant improvement upon our life and methods that gets us from point A to point B. I take responsibility for my own ...

 Why am I an entrepreneur? When I was young, I had such a creative imagination.  My 7 brothers and sisters would tease me about all the things I could dream up. These crazy business thoughts continued in my mind throughout my teenage years, and honestly throughout my life.   I had the opportunity to serve a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Before, I returned home from my mission I had an interview with the President of the mission.  He sat me down and explained to me how I needed to keep my focus on the Savior.  He then told me something I never forgot.  He instructed me to own a business.  He said that it would allow me to provide well for my family but more importantly, it will give me the freedom of time I will need to serve the Lord. I had never really thought about a business giving freedom of time for the Lord.  I always just focused on the wealth it would provide me and the excitement of creati...

This week I had the opportunity to read the first several chapters of Mastery by George Leonard .  In his book, he talks about three different personalities the dabbler, the obsessive, and the hacker.  It was interesting to evaluate myself in these three personalities, I am sure I have spent my life in all three of these personalities. The Dabbler- When I was young I think I found myself in this category seeing everything around me as an opportunity.  I still find myself even today looking at a variety of business opportunities and dreaming about how I can make them successful.  I get that fleeting excitement until I did into and see the work involved.  The Obsessive- I have found myself as an obsessive in business a lot.  I get my mind focused on something and I just can’t let it go.  I have a specific vision about something, and I drive and drive towards it without stopping, analyzing, and seeing other options around me.  I can often focus a...

  I found this week of learning very fascinating.  I was asked to write a book report on Launching Leaders.   The report brought back memories of failures and successes.  It also helped me recognize the source of the success.  I believe that the best thing to do for this blog is to post my book report that includes my personal experiences over the last 12 years. Launching Leaders   It was January 2011 when I was reviewing our company financials.  We were close to a million dollars in debt and finished the year with $500,000 in revenue!  To make matters worse, I was working 12-16 hours a day 6 days a week.  I couldn’t provide for the basic necessities of life for my family. For the first time in my life, my wife insisted that we get government help. I was embarrassed and ashamed.  How did it get to this point? As a young boy my mother always taught me that I could achieve anything in this life if I worked hard . I applied that principle a...

This week’s lesson has been something that I truly appreciate!   We learned about honestly and integrity in business.   We also did a case study on entrepreneurship that helped me in my current thoughts. The world around us seems to be putting the dollar or self above others and honesty.    I have always operated my business with the goal of making sure every customer and employee feels respected and honored.   A smile and recognizing those around you go so far in business. Smiling on the phone, a thank you, and a text of gratitude goes so far!   The one thing that has helped those companies that focus on their employees and customers is the online reviews.   I feel like any small business that abides by these rules will finally succeed above all others as their customers and employees write about their experiences online.   The idea of the past that you can take advantage of 1 customer and when they leave you gain another, is gone!   You...