This week I
bought the supplies for my $100 project. I also helped my wife start her project
with 500 pesos (around 35 dollars) to buy and sell women’s handbags. For the $100 project I went to downtown Mexico
City and bought high quality USB drives for very good prices in a very
convenient location with a very reliable and recognized wholesale supplier. The
real challenge was obtaining the mini stuffed bears; they were really difficult
to find and suppliers are in a location that is very hard to reach and they are
not very reliable. I am seriously considering changing the project a little bit
using handmade hard dough figures instead or finding another design for the
USBs. I felt firsthand the frustration of an entrepreneur when things don’t go
according to plan in the most unexpected way and solutions need to be found. I’m
not too worried about it though, I think I will be able to figure something out;
the only thing I’m worried about is the project’s deadline and being able to
obtain the goal of $100 in profits by that time.
My wife and
I set a very bold goal. We want to move to New Zealand in a couple years when
both of us graduate from college. We are starting to save up money for that and
do the research in order to be prepared, get work visas and find jobs. Our plan
is to live there for a couple years and then come back to Mexico and obtain a
scholarship for my Master’s Degree in BYU- Provo. We also talked about starting
a Mexican Food restaurant in New Zealand or a travel agency for people in New
Zealand and Australia who want to visit Mexico and Latin America.
Acton
Hero: Desh Deshpande
He
emigrated from India to the U.S and founded Cascade Communications and Sycamore
Network.
Some of the
great lessons I can learn from him are that I must learn from my mistakes. We
attempt to do things and fail, it is normal and it’s not the end of the world.
Making those mistakes helps us grow and expands our comfort zone. When we look
at those failures from a greater perspective we realize that things are not as
bad as they seem at the moment.
Another
great lesson is that it doesn’t matter where people start but their motivation.
Motivation is what matters to be successful in life. Many times we don’t
realize how lucky we are to have all the resources, technology and comfort
available to us until we lose it or see other realities with our own eyes. We
must understand that everything is possible for us if we are motivated.
Acton Hero:
Ken Zolot
He has
founded robotic companies. As a child he had problems because of his excessive
curiosity and desire to do things differently.
I learned
that technical issues and people issues are interrelated. Human relations are
very important for business to work properly. We are accountable to others as
we are all connected and in order to lead effectively we must understand
people’s motivations and help them.
When we
create a new business or product it is important to ask ‘’who cares?’’. We tend
to believe our product is the best thing in the world but we need to confront
the brutal facts trying to understand what customers really want, what keeps
them up at night?
’’ by Michael E. Gerber and ‘’
’’
by Jeff Benedict. I have learned about the importance of discipline. I realized
that I have many ‘’personalities’’ inside of me fighting for control and setting
opposite goals and plans; one day I will want to create a business, the next
one I want to stay in bed and not worry about anything. I need to be
disciplined and find a way to balance my personality and motivate myself.