L14: Last Lecture: Aldo Arteaga

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All roads begin by taking the first step.

One of the most difficult things in this course is to commit to creating a small business with a small loan of $ 20. It is a unique experience that teaches you how to start a business from scratch.
The first step is to lose the fear of failure once you have overcome this You will realize that each failure is a teaching to be able to do better.
The questions in your mind before starting any business should be: I can or want to start a business?
Maybe you can do it because you have the economic position to do it but if you do not have the love for what you do and that passion for your business it will be very difficult for the business to survive because in the first trouble that arises, you could be discouraged.In the other hand, there are people who say that you want that power and it is true but we also have to be realistic about our position if we want to start a business we need a small capital to be able to do it.There are People who say that they want to be able to do it, but we also have to be realistic about our position. If we want to start a business we need a small or big capital to be able to do it.
One of the fundamental questions is to which business you should choose which business you really like so much that you would even do it for free, once you have The answer in your mind that will be the business of your life.The first step to starting any business(after you know exactly what kind of business to create) is to have a business plan to be critical in the success of it.In that business plan must be included a very well-developed market study which will give you an idea if your business is profitable or it is not.You must choose the right people who will accompany you throughout your business way, those people can be mentors or even business colleagues who will give you tips to succeed.
Never forget that the only person who can make your business does not grow you, you put the barriers to wanting everything on your own, bring together the best possible people to grow your business in such a way that you focus on The business and Not the product this will help you to continue your work as an entrepreneur.
Sincerely love your customers They are the reason for being in your business never disappoint them and you will see that they will correspond to you faithfully when acquiring your product .
The road is not easy, but it will be worth it.
I wish you the best of luck in this project and pay close attention to each of the details and do not pass up the opportunity when it presents itself to you.When the world tells you that you can not do it show them how to do it.

Let's create a business. Sincerely Aldo Arteaga

Lesson 13: Failing Forward

  My $100 dollar report: This week we sell the last 5 Cycream sales, and with it I accomplished the goal of the 20 projected sales. Blackberry(a regular client) and 4 pecan Cycreams were the trend this week, I learn a lot regarding phone calls sales and how people responding positively when they know that profits will be donated, so I learned that people looks with better eyes to the  business that helps the community.

This week I learned that it does not matter that we fail the important thing is to recover and learn from the failure, in such way that we have to remain positive and focused without losing the spirit of our business. I learn from Richard Branson that "Every business involves risks. Be prepared to get knocked down, but success rarely comes from playing it safe. You may fail, "there's no such thing as a total failure." 

From Tom Nall I leaned that we always takes risks but we have to calculate it.

Also I learned that we have to see our business as a business not like a 24 hours job, in this week reading says: The over-involved business owner has no time to spend with friends or family, and he is generally so busy with the day-to-day operations of the business that he fails to give adequate attention to the strategic planning that is so important for the business' long-term growth and success. But the totally absent owner has no control over what happens with the business she fought so hard to establish. She is unaware of the direction in which her business is headed, and she pays no attention to the strategic planning that, again, is a crucial aspect of business growth. Many dangers, including theft and mismanagement by employees, can cost her the business". So we must to be careful always taking well balanced business decisions.

Lesson 12: Buyouts and Family Businesses

My $100 challenge report: Cycream return to the business! after a whole week with our products in hold we were able to deliver Cycream pending orders , Mango and butter pecan were the trend this week , I learned that clients who paid for quality expects the best for their products received because if you paid $20 for half gallon  Cycream you have highs expectations on it. I'm sure that this is a very profitable business and it could be sold without problems as a franchise. Cycream click here

This week I learned that opportunities do not last forever, I found a great massage business but in just 2 days it was sold. Sometimes it could be risky because you just have a few days to think about it but if you stay informed about business that you are interested you could have some advantage than others.

One of the things that has been difficult for me is to analyze a family business because of sentimental and business factors that come into play in the business, at a certain point it can be identified as an inheritance but in the wrong hands the business can go awry and result In an irreparable fault that puts the business at risk;One of the best solutions is to choose who can take over the business in a concrete way leaving aside the sentimentality and focusing on the welfare of the business because ultimately who does not want to be involved in the business should be kept to aside and let their earnings simply come to them.
Another of the things I learned is that a market study is very important when it comes to choosing a business because numbers can be inflated by the seller but once you analyze the behavior of the market you can see for yourself if a business is successful Or complete fraud.

Lesson 11: Franchising

My progress on the $100.00 challenge.This week product deliveries were delayed due to the overwork of my company. The good news is that customers are still willing to get their Cycream for next week.It could be said that the goal was met in the sales department aspect but our logistic team are a little behind.

It is definitely a week of much learning I learned How to start a franchise and the procedure that is needed to be able to do it one. One thing that most caught my attention was the advantages of having a recognized franchise because it is practically money in the bank, the marketing has been done since long time ago in such a way that when you put franchise your clients recognize your business almost instantly in such a way that success is almost assured, I say "almost assured" because you still have to make your business plan and dedicate yourself to 100% until the franchise is working correctly.

 

On the other hand I learned a lot about Steve Jobs, he was a character without doubt with a great knowledge that left us a legacy of teachings based on his example. I really liked the speech that he gave in Stanford student’s graduation. The best advice for me was when he said that we must live every day in such way as if it were was the last day of our life, if we doing so we can be more grateful and humble but with strong determination to makes everyone's life better.

This week I learned from our Acton hero activity Nicole Donnelly, that we should have our eyes open when business opportunities arise and that supporting the community with the benefits gained from our business is a way of giving back.

Lesson 10: Production, Operation, and Location

  My report for my Cycream Company: I have found good customers who have told me that the snow is delicious and they have even given me some tips to improve it, the best of all is that they are customers who have buy the product again. I have learned that in some point the Cycream orders have been surpassed and we have to improve our production in order to satisfy our customers demands . This week we made 4 different kind of Cycream flavors, strawberry (with chunks of strawberries), mango and pistachio and coconut. 



I always had the belief that money is a necessary evil but I have learned that it is not as bad as it seems because it is only a way of exchanging goods or services to make life easier for us. The bad thing is that people often lose themselves trying to earn more money leaving our Heavenly Father with no place in our hearts. The best quote that I found in Elder Perry reading is this one : “But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.“And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the- hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted” (Jacob:2:18-19)


I loved the videos this week is awesome as people have too much skill to start a business from scratch."Being committed to do it" is the best advice I learned this week from the readings (Catherine Rohr)I ,can see that all entrepreneurs have it in common, being committed is more than do it but learn in each step how to improve it. Also this week I learned that a the importance of business process to accomplish a specific organizational goal and the steps to make a Business process Improvement. 

Lesson 9: Finding Great People

Is amazing the response of people to Cycream, many people are willing to buy the product because of the high quality of its ingredients and the excellent references of our customers we have made some improvements in the product thanks to the comments of our customers.also Until today we continue with the projected in our business plan we are having the sale of two products per week.

This week has been a lot of learning in terms of hiring and early firing. One of the things that drew my attention to the reading of Jetblue is that David is very humble with his clients in a personal way and this humility is transmitted to his employees in such a way that they are willing to clean a complete plane and unload the luggage of the passengers. The market survey was impressive all the information he collected throughout his career within the Aviation made him see all the gaps that existed in the business of plane passengers.  

I learned a lot about how to hire the staff, first of all, we have to be very clear on the position that our candidates are going to occupy in our company, and then choose between the job application candidates who have the qualities that we are looking for.and the importance of the interview before any employee is hired so that we have to listen 80% of the time as to their answers to our questions that why significant questions will be the key to being able to choose the best candidate.

One of the best tips I learned this week from Matt Steward is that we should stay focused on the mission of the company. If you only work for money, it is very unlikely that the company will emerge from Good to Great.

Lesson 8: Management and Leadership

My $100 dollar project report:  I'm very excited with the project because we have a great acceptation from our clients. Due my others activities I have time enough to sell 2 products weekly as it was projected and it working great according to it. In this week we sell to new flavors Blue berry and coco.

AMOUNTS SHOWN IN U.S. DOLLARS
SALES
SALES PRICE PER UNIT	$20.00
SALES VOLUME PER PERIOD (UNITS)	40
TOTAL SALES	$800.00
VARIABLE COSTS
COMMISSION PER UNIT	$0.00
DIRECT MATERIAL PER UNIT	$9.00
SHIPPING PER UNIT	$1.00
SUPPLIES PER UNIT	$1.00
OTHER VARIABLE COSTS PER UNIT	$0.00
VARIABLE COSTS PER UNIT	$11.00
TOTAL VARIABLE COSTS	$440.00
UNIT CONTRIBUTION MARGIN	9.00
GROSS MARGIN	$360.00
NET PROFIT (LOSS)	$360.00

 So far everything projected is working well except for rising prices I hope I can reduce some costs to be able to have a slightly higher profit

This week I learned many things about the leadership and opportunity we have as church members to be in addition to entrepreneurs, pastors in our heavenly father's business in the in the James Moss speech I learned the importance of leading the sheep with Love and to know them in a personal way and to help them carry their burdens in such a way that they feel involved and attached to their leader for this it is necessary to sacrifice oneself for their sake and in the case of an entrepreneur for the sake of the company.


I also liked the speech of President Kim Clark who taught us how to be a leader with small L. Sometimes we think that to be a leader is to be only the one who commands but he teaches that we should lead by example with vision and with love to the people we have in our care.

There is a substantial difference between manager and leader. The leader should genuinely care about the people around him while the manager usually only cares about results.
 I have taken the Leadership Style Survey and I feel surprised about the results on it. I found that I have a  democratic leadership and it helps me to improve another aspect in leadership as delegate a little bit more some task to others.

Lesson 7

As an update of my $ 100 project I can say that my business is giving gradual results. We already had our first sale and we have 2 more orders for next week. We even made a label for the snow jars. Here a picture of my first valuable clients.






This week I learned a lot about how to learn to value clients in a way that builds a relationship of trust with the goal of maximizing profits with them in the long run.

One of the concepts that caught my attention this week is to give your new employees $ 2000 to quit the job, this concept implemented by Zappos company is a little risky but seeing it from a bigger perspective it will bring you better results because your employees will be committed to the values of the company in such a way that will be reflected in higher profits at the end of the day.

I really liked how we were taught to treat clients with the assignments of Harvard manage mentor.One of the things that hit me the most is the implementation of the three r's because thanks to it we can learn why loyal customers are more profitable.

In the Jet Blue Experience video I liked the way they channel customer needs into their budget, offering a better service in such a way that even benefits the company itself,I would never have imagined that the fact that they help you unload your luggage, is to make the time more productive.




For Stew Leonard ear"you eggnog is sour" was hard for his ego but thanks to his wife who tell him:"I don't blame her at all," ..."You didn't listen to her. You contradicted her and practically called her a liar. I hope you are not going to run your store like other store managers, who think all customers are trying to put something over on them. They don't trust us -- but we fix them -- WE JUST NEVER GO BACK!"

Thanks to this incident he was able to implement the two golden rules in his company

1: the customer is always right.

2 if the customer is wrong read rule number 1.

In short if we make customer service a priority in our company we will have short and long term results that will reflect better profits for the company.

Lesson 6

This week I learned about how to make a "elevator pitch" to use it in 100 dollar project, I think that it is very useful to letting people know you idea in less of 2 minutes so if you get investor's attention in these time you have a better opportunity to make business with them. 

On the other hand I learned from Phil Romano that " Serving a need is what makes a good business" He said that not all the services we offer are going to be remunerated with money, as in the case of Hunger Busters, but certainly leave a mark on all those people who were benefited by a plate of hot soup; Doing this we will recognize that in our life is more important when we are alive than when we are dead because here we have greater chance of continuing to help living people in this world because how Phil says: "people will remember you for what You did”.

Another great concepts that I learned in HMM is about marketing, I used to think about marketing as publicity but now I have learned that is a great difference in those terms so marketing is a process that includes publicity.


The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing:

(1) identification, selection and development of a product and why people should buy my product.

(2) determination of its price, according our research and expectations and elasticity of the market  .

(3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and

(4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.  where finally publicity get in the game plan.

Also I learned in this lesson how important is in a business find a "purple cow" that not only boost your project but that helps to stay in the customer's mind longer than a simple novelty.

Lesson 5

This was a very interesting week because I learned a lot about how to start a business. Certainly many people think that to start a business it takes a lot of money but in "Startups on a shoestring" reading from this week I learned that you do not have to be rich in order to start a business many people can start a business With less than $ 200 bucks or less the main requirement perhaps is not the money but the willingness to do it.

  From Desh Deshpande I learned that you need to have a 100% compatibility with your partners in business in such way that there is no doubt in any agreement between the people in charge of the business, this will help the company to be benefited and not their own personal interests.

From the $100 dollar project asked for a loan to my wife in order to start my little business. I hope to start my first sell next week.

In HMM I learned budgets importance and how keep our expenses inside of it could help us to succeed in our business plans.

I liked my the experience that I gained in the entrepreneurial interview it makes feel that anything is possible thanks to the advice that I have received from my interviewed.

I learned from the Italian factory reading the importance of planning your business and the process of researching the market to contact financial advice and value the details before starting a business.

Business Plan

I have learned this week about business plans and how to create it. I made my Business plan to my $100 dollar project and looks good to me, because I can see in a tangible form my thoughts and plans regarding how to make this project a reality. Definitely make a business plan is best way to encourage business to success because it shows a well defined path; its like a map where people (investors, entrepreneurs and more) can lean on it to evaluated risks and potentials gains. The best plan,the best chance to success.

I have learned from Paul Robshaw the importance of father's role in their son's life because sometimes an Heritage of knowledge is better than money, also I have learned from him this great quote : "Dreams are reality without boundaries" I love it because it makes me feel that I can achieve my dreams working hard erasing boundaries like money or resources, giving an opportunity to the creativity to come out.

Another great learning thing in this week is the 4 advises from Richard Branson:
Stay on target
Be realistic about costs
Hire the people you need, not the people you like it.
And my favorite: know when to say good bye.
BTW I have added this guy in my Facebook account because he gives a plenty of great business advises to entrepreneurs