Week 4 Reading Reflection

I found that the most interesting part of the reading was the appositional relationship. I thought that it was a new way of thinking by relating items and their creation to cause and effect which can help entrepreneurs find unmet needs. The one thing that I found confusing was that the author wrote about one being creative in any place and any time, and then goes on to write about one specific place that a person can be creative, that confused me a little. A question that I would ask the author would be, if he believed that there is only one creative process, because I believe that everyone can be creative in their own way. Another question I would ask is why the author believes that corporate entrepreneurship can solve so many difficult problems. I do not disagree with anything the author wrote.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 World Problems:
1. Terrorism
2. Global Warming
3. Homelessness
4. Crime
5. Traffic
I believe that terrorism is the world's top problem because it costs the lives of many innocent people and there is no easy solution to terrorism. It scares many people across the globe and has to be stopped soon.

Solutions:
1. The solution to traffic is probably the most possible to implement, I think that there should be a new form of transportation that is a little smaller than a car. Roads could also possibly be widened in order to reduce the amount of traffic.
2. I believe the solution to global warming is the next most possible to implement. We should find another form of fuel for cars and make it easily accessible for people to use.
3. Crime is the next most feasible in my opinion. If we hired more police officers and used cameras in public places, that would deter people from committing crimes.
4. Homelessness is an extremely tricky issue to solve. But if more jobs were created in the United States somehow, these people could earn an income and not live on the streets.
5. Terrorism is nearly impossible to solve. I have no idea how we can combat terrorism enough to put an end to it.
The solution to the traffic problem is most possible to implement because all other issues require more than just money. The traffic issue can be solved simply by either funding wider roads, or a new form of transportation.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise that I found while reading this chapter was the amount of sorrow and disappointment one encounters when their business fails. I would expect an entrepreneur to learn from their mistake and move on, rather than be disappointed. I did not find anything in this reading to be confusing. The first question I would want to ask the author would be how he recommends to move on from a failed business venture. Another question I would want to ask is how can I prevent failure and ensure a successful business. I did not disagree with anything in this reading.

Very Short Interview No.1

I interviewed a man named Juan Fernandez de Castro, who is the founder of Rhino Footwear in Miami, Florida. He created his own company after he began to design shoes and wanted to put them on the market. These are the questions I asked him:

1. What do you wish you were taught prior to opening this company?
-I wish I was taught that your market cannot be everyone, because you can't please everyone. I found while starting my business that you must find a select market and appeal to them.

2. What are you most proud of being an entrepreneur?
-Being able to support my family. Before opening Rhino my family and I struggled, but once the business took off, the struggle ended.

3. What should I expect when I become an entrepreneur?
-Expect that there will be ups and downs, there will be good days and bad days. If you stick with what you believe in and put in the work, you will be successful.

During this interview the main takeaway that I had was that in order to be successful, you must learn to weather the storm through the bad days in order to get to your good days. Not all entrepreneurs will be successful, but I believe that if I overcome my failures, I will be.

World's Biggest Problems

1. Crime causes so many innocent people so much trouble. People lose money, possessions, and even lives sometimes as a result of crime. I believe that an increase in the amount of police would help to reduce crime, the problem being is that there are not enough funds to pay more officers and not enough people pursue careers in law enforcement. 

2. The large amount of homeless people in the United States needs to be addressed. There need to be more jobs created to help reduce the amount of homeless people so they can be productive citizens. 

3. Global warming is a process that has already began and cannot be stopped, but the process can be slowed down. A new form of fuel for cars needs to be introduced into society and be widely available and cheap in order for more people to transfer over from gasoline. 

4. Traffic needs to be reduced throughout America. During rush hour it can take an absurd amount of time to go short distances because of all the cars on the streets. This speeds up global warming and wastes gas which wastes money. There needs to be a new form of transportation that is more convenient than a car. 

5. Drugs are a major problem in the United States. They can destroy lives and eventually leave some individuals dead. The drug problem needs to be monitored more and I think individuals who are employed should be given drug tests by their superiors. 

6. Unemployment is also a major problem. There needs to be more jobs created in the United States to help people emerge from poverty and be prosperous. New industries need to be found in order to create more jobs. 

7. The killing of endangered animals needs to stop as well. Certain species will be eliminated from Earth if this problem is not controlled. I think that there should be more wildlife protection officers in areas with endangered animals to help deter their killing. 

8. Pollution is also a major problem. We are destroying the Earth little by little each time that we pollute. I believe that there should be laws in place that are much more strict that the ones we have today in order to scare more people to not pollute. 

9. Terrorism is probably the biggest problem that we face in the world today. There is no easy way to stop terrorism, because if there was, it would have been stopped by now. But I think we should start by limiting our involvement in wars. 

10. The lack of formal education in the United States needs to be addressed. We are quickly falling behind other countries from an education standpoint. I believe that teachers need to be more educated and should be required to have higher degrees. 

Week 2 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me was that entrepreneurs and small business owners can have totally different meanings. A small business owner is content with his small business and does not really look to expand, versus an entrepreneur who is always looking for growth and expansion. I did not really find anything in this reading that was confusing to me, I read it over a couple of times and it all made sense. I would ask the author if he truly believes that one day huge corporations like Apple will die and if so, when, because he states that all corporations eventually come to an end. I would also like to ask him how some of these myths came about. I do not disagree with anything that the author wrote, I learned a lot from this reading.

Bug List

1. Traffic on Archer during rush hour
-People are just getting out of work and need to get places

2. My kitten's litter smells
-My kitten eats a lot

3. My alarm doesn't always wake me up
-It needs to be a little louder

4. Chicken takes forever to cook
-It just takes a long time

5. My neighbors are too loud
-Walls in my apartment need to be a little thicker

6. My phone runs out of battery too quickly
-My iPhone's battery is not working properly

7. The person who parks next to my assigned spot always parks too close to my car
-They need to learn how to park

8. There is no fast-forward when I watch long lectures
-Some professor speak slowly and I want to speed it up

9. When I cook, my apartment smells like food for a long time
-The smell of the food is very strong, and there is no enough circulation in my apartment

10. The water in my shower isn't hot enough sometimes
-The hot water runs out sometimes in my apartment

11. The gym is always packed
-People have New Year's resolutions

12. Parking near or on campus takes about 30 minutes
-There is not enough parking on campus

13. The Chipotle line is always long on University
-People like Chipotle as much as I do

14. There is no parking in Chipotle on University
-The parking lot is always packed

15. I can't watch Miami Heat games in Gainesville without purchasing League Pass which is $100
-League Pass is too expensive

16. Tuition is too expensive
-Enough said

17. My dryer takes too long to dry my clothes
-I need a new dryer

18. When I lose things that I need
-Things fall underneath my bed or the seat in my car

19. When my computer restarts for no reason
-I need to fix my computer

20. My cracked phone screen always scratches my ear
-I need to fix my phone screen but it's too expensive right now

I found this exercise of writing 20 things that bug me really difficult. After the first 10, I had a hard time coming up with another 10. I'm not one to really get bothered by much, so I really had to dig deep to find 20 things that bug me.

My Entrepreneurship Story

Hey,

I have been around a very successful entrepreneur my entire life. My father who grew up in a poor neighborhood and struggled for most of his childhood began his own business around the time that I was born, and has taken his business to heights his industry has not seen. He is a customs broker and is the founder and CEO of one of the largest customs brokerage firms in Miami, my hometown. I have learned a lot from him, about life and also business. He has taught me to never give up on my dreams because your big break could be right around the corner and you might not even know it.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I would like to develop a more innovative mindset and become an entrepreneur. In the future, I would like to open my own stock brokerage firm, and I believe that this class can lay the foundation that I need in order to do so.

Introduction

Hey,

My name is Tristan Whittingham. I am a sophomore finance major and I am from Miami, Florida. I am the oldest of 4 boys and the first to go to college. The only time I have ever been outside of the country is on a cruise last summer, but this coming summer I am going to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland and I am extremely excited about that. In the future, I'd like to become a stock broker on Wall Street.

Go Gators!

Entrepreneur's Mantra