Mommy Pedicures

As I move forward in my entrepreneurial studies I become more and more excited about the prospect of starting my own business, as well as developing an entrepreneurial outlook on life. In class this week I was able to learn more about business plan development through the Harvard Manage Mentor program. First I learned just how important it is to know the audience your business plan will be directed to. If your venture is intrapreneurial in nature, then the business plan will be prepared for the board of directors. However, if your venture is entrepreneurial, then the plan will be directed towards lenders and/or investors. Investors want to know the long-term potential of the business as well as the rate of return on their investments (or how quickly will they see their investment turn to profits). Lenders simply analyze the company’s borrowing capacity so they can know what the risk of providing the loan will be (or when will they get a return of their funds). Other sections of a business plan include an executive summary, structural overview, business description, market analysis, marketing plan, and more. The plan needs to be concise and detailed so as to answer all of the reader’s questions without boring or confusing him or her. It was really interesting to get to learn more about the planning side of a business this week. As I go forward in my entrepreneurial career, I want to remember the importance of understanding my audience as I write out my business plan.

The lesson this week was fitting because for the $100.00 Challenge I was required to create a one-page business plan. The business idea I decided on for this project is affordable in-home pedicures for women, specifically mothers, in my local area. The business is called Mommy Pedicures and I am very excited about getting started. The following is my mission statement for the business: “Mommy Pedicures’ mission is to offer relaxing and rejuvenating pedicures at an affordable price in the comfort of your own home.” I look forward to sharing more information next week! 

My Vision for the Future

        The readings and videos assigned to the class this week were inspiring and thought provoking. One of the readings was a short excerpt from a book called “A Visionary Business,” by Marc Allen. He offers eleven visionary principles that will help someone to start a successful business, and I was asked to consider three that I want to start applying to my own business. The three I chose are as follows:

                    1.     Every company needs a well-written business plan.

                    2.     Have a higher purpose that is not making money. Seek to make the world a better place. 

                    3.     Keep asking what God’s will is for you and let it guide you in your business, as well as in your life so you can do                      the right thing for you.

         As my business ideas are in their infancy, for now I want to focus on the big picture of doing God’s will for me and starting a business that will build up the kingdom of God. As I continue along my creative journey of entrepreneurship, I want to have my heart and mind open to the Holy Spirit so I will always know that I am on the right path. The first principle I listed above has to do with creating a business model. A video I watched for class was titled “The New Business Model.” Guy Kawasaki stars in the video and points out three things that are crucial to the modern day business model. Those points are to be specific, keep it simple, and ask women. Fortunately I am a woman and so that last step should be pretty simple. Points one and two will be at the forefront of my mind as I create a business plan for my business in the $100.00 Challenge next week.

         For the $100.00 Challenge this week I narrowed down my options to five ideas. They are:

                    1.     Pedicures for Moms

                    2.     Homemade Bread

                    3.     Maxi Skirts

                    4.     FHE Lesson Plans/Kits

                    5.     Scrapbooking Services

        My favorites were numbers one and five, also my classmates felt the same way. I think my final decision will be number 1: pedicures for moms. The idea is that often mothers, who are frugal, want and need to be pampered but decide it is not worth the cost. I would offer decently priced pedicures ($15 for 40 minutes) for moms in my area. The cost should be minimal since I already have nail polish, scrubs, lotions, a foot spa, and a paraffin dip. All I would need to purchase is the wax dip, gloves, and clean cloths for sanitation. (More to come on the business next week.) It’s all so exciting!

Great Entrepreneurial Blogs and the $100.00 Challenge

In my Small Business Creation class, I had the opportunity this week to explore many different entrepreneurial blogs and learn what advice and tools they had to offer to help me on my entrepreneurial journey. Here is a list of my top three favorites:

     1.     Wise Bread

           http://www.wisebread.com

  

     2.     How to Change the World – Guy Kawasaki

           http://blog.guykawasaki.com/#axzz0uF7cE8bd

     3.     Seth Godin’s Blog

           http://sethgodin.typepad.com

My favorite blog was Wise Bread because its main purpose is to help people make good financial decisions, cut costs, and budget. Those are skills that are important to not just entrepreneurs, but to anybody and everybody. The sooner I begin to budget and save, the better shape I will be in to start my own business in the future. This blog will be a very useful tool to have in my entrepreneurial toolbox this semester. As for the other two blogs, Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin are both very experienced entrepreneurs and they give very sound advice. Both of them are also quite personable and funny and so it makes learning from them more enjoyable. I invite readers of my blog to visit these blogs and take advantage of the wisdom that they share.

To finish off this week’s post I will introduce the $100.00 Challenge and give a quick update of my progress on the project. The $100.00 Challenge is to run a business, that I create, for 4 weeks, accumulate 20 man-hours, use no more than $20 in capital, and raise at least $100.00 in profits. At the end of the challenge I must donate 100% of my profits to an organization called Kiva (visit kiva.org to learn more). I must admit that I am quite intimidated by this challenge but I am confident that it will be a great learning experience. So far in the project I have found the person on Kiva to whom I would like to donate my profits to (it is a young woman in El Salvador wanting to start her own bakery business). Also I have come up with pain points (needs in society) that I could solve with a business idea. My goal for next week is to have a business idea nailed down for the $100.00 challenge.

Prioritize and Never Comprimise

This week I have started a new entrepreneurial course at Brigham Young University – Idaho. The course is called Small Business Creation and I have a feeling I will finally get to start putting the lessons I am learning to use. In class this week I was able to watch a video about an entrepreneurial hero named Bruce Thompson. The video left me inspired by his story of perseverance and his efforts to focus on what matters most in life.

Even though Mr. Thompson had been vastly successful in his business, Hyperion energy, he knew that his money, success, and business were not what mattered most. The things that mattered most to him were his family, his faith, and the relationships he had made over the years. Bruce Thompson always made time for his family, no matter how stressful, successful, or exciting his work. He also knew the importance of doing the right thing, even if it doesn’t result in more money. According to Mr. Thompson doing the right thing “will pay enormous dividends.” Bruce Thompson was diagnosed with A.L.S. at age 51, and through that trial he learned just how important family, faith, and relationships really are. He passed away in 2009, but his legacy lives on and I am grateful for his example.

As I move forward on my entrepreneurial journey, I would like to follow Bruce Thompson’s example. Starting and running a business will be an exciting aspect of my life, but I must always put my family first. Also, I need to decide now that I will never compromise my values. If I set those priorities now, I have confidence that I will be truly happy in life.