Kuratko, bae, tell me about the valuation of entrepreneurial ventures.
Except you kind of already have in previous chapters. Did anyone else feel like this chapter was an accumulation of other things we've read so far? We've been manipulated by semantics. Previous chapters may have touched on many of these concepts, our bias about our ventures for example, but because this chapter is specifically titled "Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures" we're meant to change our perceptual context to receive the information differently. I'm on to you, Kuratko.
Although this chapter was reminiscent of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, I will say the regurgitated ideas were thrown together in a different manner, or rather, for a different purpose. I don't think Kuratko writes to surprise me. You could probably gather from what I've written so far that if there is any deviation from what I've come to expect from Kuratko it would be the Groundhog Day effect; when I set out on this Kuratko journey, I didn't peg him as the redundant type.
Kuratko, do you think there's a more efficient way to present the information in Entrepreneurship? Could the book be shorter? Is there a way to synthesize?
The text is right in so many ways that I can't say Kuratko is wrong, but as a guidebook of sorts, I think something could be done to either meaningfully expand or simplify our book. For what a student's opinion is worth. Tune in next week for our last foray into Kuratko's Entrepreneurship. Who knows what we'll find!
Showing posts with label Week 13. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 13. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2016
The most spectacular failer celebrating failure
Oh man, this post is my jam. I'm going to have to spare details if I
want to keep people from tuning out. Failure is something I have done A
LOT of. In the eyes of some, I've failed even more than I think I have
due to differing perspectives; I often reframe failure as progress. The
whole "every failure is a lesson" thing is cliched, but hey, the
philosophy has always worked for me.
Insert additional cliche about not fixing what's not broken here.
This semester has had less failure than my previous semesters at the University of Florida. I think now that my career here is coming to an end, I'm perfecting the art of being an engaged off-campus student...which is awfully convenient. Why couldn't I have figured it out sooner? I suppose the answer is that I needed to learn the lesson again and again in various shades and only in time for graduation. Boo.
So what have I learned this semester? Engage, engage, engage! I've coasted through higher education. I'm not proud of that fact. I have to push myself every day to engage with course material, and the problem is exacerbated by my status as an online student. I thank professors for everything they do to help (jokes, gimmicks, passion); I do see and appreciate the effort.
Let's get painfully specific. I just failed an International Business exam. Technically it was only a fail by my standards--I didn't get an "F"--but it was a fail all the same. It was a fatal combination of general discouragement--unfortunately the professor's insistence that everyone does poorly on the second exam and has to study twice as hard to get the grade they had on the first exam had the opposite of intended effect on me--and life stress brought on by work, school, kids and the death of my grandmother.
It makes me facepalm. This is not the first test I've taken unprepared, and I imagine I'll repeat offend in the near future. When I do something as careless as blowing off studying altogether (then do poorly) the inner dialogue is highly self-deprecating and always turns to "why am I in school, subjecting myself to this added stress anyway?" Stress does not look good on me, and it has become a much more regular force in my life since having children, so stress management is an extremely important work in progress.
Am I more likely to take a risk now than I was four months ago? No. I think I've always been on the extreme end of risk taking and that each subsequent failure has drawn me closer to calculated risk and away from impulse. I'm impatient and impulsive by nature. Since that's not going anywhere, the name of the game is control, and oh, lucky day, I just so happen to be a control freak. Yay, for Type-A personalities!
What about you? Yes, you! How do you deal with stress? What failures have you endured recently, and how do you use them to grow?
Insert additional cliche about not fixing what's not broken here.
This semester has had less failure than my previous semesters at the University of Florida. I think now that my career here is coming to an end, I'm perfecting the art of being an engaged off-campus student...which is awfully convenient. Why couldn't I have figured it out sooner? I suppose the answer is that I needed to learn the lesson again and again in various shades and only in time for graduation. Boo.
So what have I learned this semester? Engage, engage, engage! I've coasted through higher education. I'm not proud of that fact. I have to push myself every day to engage with course material, and the problem is exacerbated by my status as an online student. I thank professors for everything they do to help (jokes, gimmicks, passion); I do see and appreciate the effort.
Let's get painfully specific. I just failed an International Business exam. Technically it was only a fail by my standards--I didn't get an "F"--but it was a fail all the same. It was a fatal combination of general discouragement--unfortunately the professor's insistence that everyone does poorly on the second exam and has to study twice as hard to get the grade they had on the first exam had the opposite of intended effect on me--and life stress brought on by work, school, kids and the death of my grandmother.
It makes me facepalm. This is not the first test I've taken unprepared, and I imagine I'll repeat offend in the near future. When I do something as careless as blowing off studying altogether (then do poorly) the inner dialogue is highly self-deprecating and always turns to "why am I in school, subjecting myself to this added stress anyway?" Stress does not look good on me, and it has become a much more regular force in my life since having children, so stress management is an extremely important work in progress.
Am I more likely to take a risk now than I was four months ago? No. I think I've always been on the extreme end of risk taking and that each subsequent failure has drawn me closer to calculated risk and away from impulse. I'm impatient and impulsive by nature. Since that's not going anywhere, the name of the game is control, and oh, lucky day, I just so happen to be a control freak. Yay, for Type-A personalities!
What about you? Yes, you! How do you deal with stress? What failures have you endured recently, and how do you use them to grow?
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
My exit strategy
I've alluded to it in recent posts--even though I see 1, 2, 3 Play as my baby, I have mentally prepared to let it go. After all, isn't...
...the end game? I'm a poor entrepreneur because I have a hard time viewing 1, 2, 3 Play as a cash cow or as an investment to cash out later, but the bottom line is that once I've implemented all my plans, it will be time for someone else to step in and run my baby so that I can move on to the next venture. As for time line, I think I would be in and out in 1-2 years. That may seem brief but once the business is up and running, it will be ready for its new owner.
I'm a wanderer and a problem solver; put those two together and I'm a wandering problem solver (which is pretty accurate). Although I love 1, 2, 3 Play, my passion lies in fleshing out the idea, not running the business. I'm passionate about creating solutions, and I would like to replicate that over and over again. I hate admitting it, but the thought of running day to day operations is terrifying.
My intent to sell has made it easier for me to be objective and pull out potential problems with the business. I'm also well aware of the marketability and profit potential of 1, 2, 3 Play--it's a passion project but could be valuable to someone who doesn't intimately understand the struggles of parenthood.
Hey, it's a joy, too, but kids are hard work. The little guy pictured above keeps me on my toes. What having kids has taught me is invaluable for venture work. Ventures are kids. You slowly build them until their birth, they go through infancy and the toddler years onward toward teenagerdom and maturity; ventures take patience and planning and flexibility. I have the skills to create, develop to a certain point then release. Motherhood is my guide, and I'm down for the ride.
...the end game? I'm a poor entrepreneur because I have a hard time viewing 1, 2, 3 Play as a cash cow or as an investment to cash out later, but the bottom line is that once I've implemented all my plans, it will be time for someone else to step in and run my baby so that I can move on to the next venture. As for time line, I think I would be in and out in 1-2 years. That may seem brief but once the business is up and running, it will be ready for its new owner.
I'm a wanderer and a problem solver; put those two together and I'm a wandering problem solver (which is pretty accurate). Although I love 1, 2, 3 Play, my passion lies in fleshing out the idea, not running the business. I'm passionate about creating solutions, and I would like to replicate that over and over again. I hate admitting it, but the thought of running day to day operations is terrifying.
My intent to sell has made it easier for me to be objective and pull out potential problems with the business. I'm also well aware of the marketability and profit potential of 1, 2, 3 Play--it's a passion project but could be valuable to someone who doesn't intimately understand the struggles of parenthood.
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