Last week we listened to Erik Hanberg, a local entrepreneur talk to us about his route to entrepreneurship and everything it entailed for him. One of the first things he talked about that I connected with was when he talked about his experience at The Grand Theater. When he realized the big difference between running a theater and owning a theater, that was huge for his future. I also think I have had recent experiences in my day to day life where I have realized that you will always be so limited if you are working for someone else. But, if you create a business and are able to be financially successful with it, then the sky is the limit.
On a related note, another huge takeaway for me was when he talked about breaking the tradeoff of time and money that holds most people to be so limited financially. When Erik finished writing that book in 2009, he was (for the most part) done with putting any more of his time into that book. However, now while he sits at home or pursues other ventures, the book has been bringing him money every month. That jump to passive income I think is key to becoming free of financial
burden.
Lastly, the part that struck the closest with me is when he talked about what he thinks is the hardest part about being an entrepreneur, which is the fear that comes with it. This is especially true for me. Whether it comes to my parents, family, or friends, I would hate for them to know I tried to do something and completely failed at it. I think this is what has stopped me from pursuing business opportunities that I have thought of in the past, but hopefully going forward I can get the confidence to simply start a venture even knowing the chance of failure is there.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
My Three Business Ideas
1) With drones becoming more popular, I have an idea to start leveraging the possibilities with drone footage in multiple different markets. The basic concept is to sell drone footage after being edited and formatted in a professional manner to anyone who would benefit from owning such footage. For example, one of our primary customers could be real estate agents. We would go out to their properties, film plenty of footage around the house as well as inside the house. This could be a huge selling point for real estate agents since sometimes pictures can't quite capture the essence of the property. We might also target this service to dealerships or private car owners looking to sell their vehicle. We would put together a high quality video of the car with the drone, showing all angles as well as some rolling shots. This could easily make a potential buyer fall in love with the car after seeing what it really looks like from the outside when driving.
2) My next idea ties virtual reality to the restaurant industry. In this one of a kind restaurant, customers put on a set of VR goggles upon arrival and are immersed in an experience that is much more than just food. For example, if the restaurant is one with a focus on sushi, the customer would be served by Japanese chefs while looking around downtown Tokyo. Every inch of what they see should be taken directly from the place we are attempting to imitate, therefore giving the customer the feeling of being taken to Japan and enjoying the food as if he were there himself.
3) Being someone who buys or sells cars on Craigslist often, I have an idea that would aid the average person in buying a used vehicle from a private owner. Whenever a lot of my friends go to check out a car, they will often take me or someone else that is at least fairly familiar with how cars work. This person will advise the buyer on the pros/cons of the car they are interested in when they go check it out in person. A more experienced person will know what type of questions to ask, what the answers they give you really mean in terms of financial cost, and other related information that is not only helpful when buying a used car, but sometime crucial. However, sometimes you might not have access to a friend with this type of knowledge/expertise or they just might not be available when you need them to be. My app would provide you with a list of people in your area that are available to come check out a car with you and provide their insight, for a small fee. Some mechanic shops offer this, but you would be paying $100-200 for that service, which might be much more than the average person is willing to pay (especially if they are checking out multiple cars). The "specialists" that you are provided within the app would probably range from $25-$75 depending on the car, location, and time needed. Our app would take a small fee (3%) per transaction.
2) My next idea ties virtual reality to the restaurant industry. In this one of a kind restaurant, customers put on a set of VR goggles upon arrival and are immersed in an experience that is much more than just food. For example, if the restaurant is one with a focus on sushi, the customer would be served by Japanese chefs while looking around downtown Tokyo. Every inch of what they see should be taken directly from the place we are attempting to imitate, therefore giving the customer the feeling of being taken to Japan and enjoying the food as if he were there himself.
3) Being someone who buys or sells cars on Craigslist often, I have an idea that would aid the average person in buying a used vehicle from a private owner. Whenever a lot of my friends go to check out a car, they will often take me or someone else that is at least fairly familiar with how cars work. This person will advise the buyer on the pros/cons of the car they are interested in when they go check it out in person. A more experienced person will know what type of questions to ask, what the answers they give you really mean in terms of financial cost, and other related information that is not only helpful when buying a used car, but sometime crucial. However, sometimes you might not have access to a friend with this type of knowledge/expertise or they just might not be available when you need them to be. My app would provide you with a list of people in your area that are available to come check out a car with you and provide their insight, for a small fee. Some mechanic shops offer this, but you would be paying $100-200 for that service, which might be much more than the average person is willing to pay (especially if they are checking out multiple cars). The "specialists" that you are provided within the app would probably range from $25-$75 depending on the car, location, and time needed. Our app would take a small fee (3%) per transaction.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Why I Took TINST 475
For a long time now, I have been interested in being an entrepreneur. But for the most part it was never anything more than just interest or curiosity. Over time though, I have become more and more inclined to pursue a career path of an entrepreneur. When I got the opportunity to intern for a large well-known company, it actually helped me realize that I definitely do not see myself working for someone else for the rest of my life.
Wealth potential is another huge factor. When you start working for a company, you start out making pretty decent money (kinda). Your pay will increase over years, but only so slowly. The ceiling for salary is very low. Being a business owner or entrepreneur, your ceiling is almost completely unlimited! Nothing restricts you from making twice as much money as you did last year. This sort of growth is simply not possible with traditional day jobs.
Now, being that I have decided that I want the life of a entrepreneur, going forwarded I needed a way to make that dream a reality. Every time I get a chance to talk to a business owner, I always bombard them with questions so I can try to piece together what it takes to create those types of opportunities for myself. The more I talk to people though, the more I realize how much I don't know. I am more than eager to learn as much as I can about this field, as I'm convinced you can never know it all (especially when it comes to technology entrepreneurship). From Day 1 of this class, after hearing Andrew speak about what the class would entail and his brief introduction to his past businesses, I became even more excited to listen and participate in this course.
Wealth potential is another huge factor. When you start working for a company, you start out making pretty decent money (kinda). Your pay will increase over years, but only so slowly. The ceiling for salary is very low. Being a business owner or entrepreneur, your ceiling is almost completely unlimited! Nothing restricts you from making twice as much money as you did last year. This sort of growth is simply not possible with traditional day jobs.
Now, being that I have decided that I want the life of a entrepreneur, going forwarded I needed a way to make that dream a reality. Every time I get a chance to talk to a business owner, I always bombard them with questions so I can try to piece together what it takes to create those types of opportunities for myself. The more I talk to people though, the more I realize how much I don't know. I am more than eager to learn as much as I can about this field, as I'm convinced you can never know it all (especially when it comes to technology entrepreneurship). From Day 1 of this class, after hearing Andrew speak about what the class would entail and his brief introduction to his past businesses, I became even more excited to listen and participate in this course.
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