Week 3... 9/26/17

First off, I got accepted to go to the Boise Start Up Week, next week. Super stoked for that, I thought that there was no way I was going to be going, but I am! It is a 3-day convention in Boise where entrepreneurs from all over come and present and tell their story as well as there is an internship part where students can go and see if they’re a good fit for certain companies. At least that is what I understand it to be. 

Next, I contacted two mentors this week, one over email, the other over the phone. 'm going to jot down a few things that each of them said to me. 

Brad Barrott, founder of Big Dog Home Systems, is in my home ward in Pocatello and I happen to know him well. I emailed him a few days ago and asked if he would be willing to be my mentor and answer a few questions for me. He was totally willing and called me a few days later saying that he was just driving from Utah and thought he could answer my questions as he drove. 

Here are the main points I got from the conversation;

·         He didn't know he wanted to be an entrepreneur and wanted to be a doctor until he went on his mission then changed his mind and went to school for biology, while at school he started up a few small businesses just to make some money for school and it took off from there. 

·         When asked about failure his response was, 'failure is part of the rules of the game, everybody who is successful fails first, it’s a stepping stone'. He said that the hardest thing for him was when he failed in any instance it would take a big toll on his confidence and self-esteem, that was something that he struggled with throughout his entrepreneurial journey. He said that he believed that failure wouldn't have taken such a toll on him if from the beginning he had seen it as a necessity and a tool for progression instead of a setback. 

·         Also about failure, he stated something that I really loved, ‘We still make bad decisions, failure is a constant. Setbacks always come, your never immune to it. You have to celebrate failure and get on with it.’

·         He has a hard time with firing people, he found that the hardest part, along with the stress and burden of being in charge. Unlike a 9-5 job where you can just go home from it and hang up your coat, you can’t do that as an entrepreneur, you are constantly on the job.

·         Along with that, he loves being his own boss. He said that being an entrepreneur aligned with his core value system one of which is freedom. ‘there is no limit to what I can do, I can accomplish as much as I want, I create my own success.’ He loves having that freedom over his own life.

·         He also stated that ‘Constantly progressing as a human is how you stay happy’. Even though it can be stressful and a burden, that is how you are progressing and that is how he finds happiness. Or in other words, that’s what brings meaning into his life.

·         When I asked him what values he deems necessary in the business world, and what values he himself has, his answer was that values are very personal. For each person they are different, everybody has different driving core values. For him it was Adventure, experiencing new things. Other values or personality traits that he saw as important were; courage, having little fear in the face of risk, the mindset of personal growth. He said that I should find what my driving value is and then follow it. Whether it be freedom, adventure, or personal growth. Find what drives you.

·         What would he do differently, if he could start over? ‘Limit failure by education, by going to school, by experience, and by finding mentors. He said to learn everything about what you are going into, study, study, study. Then jump in! That is what being an entrepreneur is, its jumping in and learning how to swim against the flow of the world. He said that if he were to do things differently he would have settled down in one place to build traction and get things moving sooner instead of moving all over the place. But he also said that he didn’t regret his decisions in anyway because they are what led him to where he is today.

·         I asked then asked him what advice he would like to give me.

Ø  Be aware it’s not easy. It’s not for everyone, but if you feel you have the passion and the independence that is takes, you will be successful, maybe not the first time, or the second, or the third but you have to pay the dues, you have to keep going.

Ø  You must set goals, without goals you will end up lost.

Ø  Talk to people in the field you are interested in. For motivation in seeing others doing what you want to do. For making connections and friends. The more people you meet and connect with the better.

Ø  Its lonely, you must be independent.

Ø  And it can be Very Rewarding.

I need to learn how to be more concise, but I just loved everything he was able to tell me. I was also able to ask some questions of Oliver Demille, but I will tell you what I learned from him in next week’s journal.

I now want to jump to the readings and class,

The readings were all about integrity this week. This brought up some questions. Obviously, I believe in being honest in all your dealings. I truly believe that God will bless you if you are honest to a T, without any deception. But if also made me think of how easy it is to not have integrity in the working world. Brother Nygren asked some questions today for us to think about;

1.      Is your word your bond?

2.      Do you make promises that you don’t keep?

3.      How many times within the week do you break a promise?

4.      What is your personal level of integrity?

I believe that we have to take these questions seriously. It is so easy to say, ‘I forgot’ when someone asks you to do something and you just thought it was a bit to inconvenient. Or to say, ‘I’m busy’ when you just don’t want to hang out. I believe that no matter what you should always try to be completely one hundred percent honest. That is the goal that I have for being an entrepreneur, I want to be the most honest employer that anyone has ever had.

For an assignment, we were supposed to make a Code of Conduct, three I will always, and three I will nevers. Here is mine;

1.      I will always look for and hire employees with high values before talent and experience.

2.      I will always teach my employees how to tach and interact with customers and other employees. (using tactics such as taught by the Arbinger institute)

3.      I will always be present with people, not on technology, or rushing through the conversation, but I will make eye contact and make sure they know they are worth my time.

4.      I will never deceive my employees or customers in any way. I will be totally upfront with them and totally honest. I will have personal and professional integrity.

5.      I will never blow off a concern of an employee or customer without first addressing their worry, and being sure that they know I will take care of the situations.

6.      I will never lower my religious and personal believes in any situations. I will also Never ask a customer or employee to lower their standards in any situation.

These are my value system. I will never cross these and if I do, that will be a time that I will know that I must take a step back and reevaluate.

We also learned about franchises. It was an interesting discussion but all I got out of it was that I don’t want to have a franchise. No, I did get other things out of the reading, such as its ok to be young and not have experience as an entrepreneur, we don’t wait till we know everything to dive in. We just dive. But we should know the market we are going into. Don’t get blindsided because you didn’t do the research.

In brief, have personal integrity, period.