Pertaining to Things both Temporal and Spiritual

Pertaining to Things both Temporal and Spiritual

Video: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/principle-1-exercise-faith-in-jesus-christ?lang=eng

How can I more fully act with faith in Jesus Christ?

I can stop doubting and overthinking some things, and act. Faith is a principle of action. When the Israelites crossed the river Jordan they were promised that they would cross on dry land. The water didn’t part until they got their feet wet. The same applies to all aspects of my life, including entrepreneurship. God will help after I make the first step.

What difference would it make in my life if I worked to exercise more faith in Jesus Christ?

Fits of all, I would accomplish more things simply because I would actually start more projects. Instead of just having ideas and plans that never come to reality, if I exercised more faith I would act more.

How could I be of better service to others if I exercised my faith more completely?

I would be more courageous to talk to them and learn about their needs to better serve them. By acting, I would also be able to create projects that provide jobs, goods, and services that others need. Also, by exercising faith and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit I would be guided to those who I can serve. 

My Last Lecture

When I was eleven or twelve years old I was the moderator of an online forum about Real-Time-Strategy Games. The website was managed by a fourteen year old boy in Spain who knew PHP programing, and the forum was moderated by other boys my age in Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. We never saw each other in person and never received any kind of training, but our website became the largest Spanish-speaking online community about RTS gaming at the time. When I look back I realized that we were not afraid to fail, because for us it was just something we liked to do in our free time; a game! What if we could see life like those little kids running one of the most important websites of its kind without even knowing what they were doing? What if we could stop being afraid of failing because we enjoy what we do?

My first summer job was selling computers at a convention in the WTC at the company where my dad used to work. Before I started selling, my dad warned me that I was going to be rejected many times, but that each rejection was only a step closer to a sale. When I realized that I could do it, I was so excited that I sold more than the salespeople who worked fulltime for the company. I think it was because I was inexperienced, unbiased, and willing to learn.

Over time I have grown up and learned that failure is something to be avoided, selling is unpleasant, rejection is hard to take and popular websites are almost impossible to create. Taking classes in college that have an entrepreneurial perspective has helped me realize the need to bring that child I used to be back to life. The most important thing I have learned from entrepreneurship is that I need to unlearn many bad lessons, and start learning with a new perspective.

Christ always taught that we need to become like small children because they are meek, humble, and innocent. I say that entrepreneurs need to become like children because they are willing to learn, not afraid to fail, and are still capable of dreaming big.

If I could give a piece of advice today to whoever reads this is to never stop learning, to be willing and eager to fail, and to be humble enough to correct the course.

‘’Stay hungry, stay foolish’’ Steve Jobs.

$100 Project Report

 Coming up with ideas is hard for me; I have a lot of very exciting ones when it is time to do something else, and I have trouble remembering them when I really need them. Perhaps I need to develop the habit of writing them down. When I was coming up with the idea for my $100 project it was one of those times without a lot of ideas. I chose to make and sell crepes because I wanted to do something within my reach, both financially and time wise; that meant doing something that I knew how to prepare.

I found many challenges along the way like choosing the right kinds of ingredients, setting an appropriate price for them, keeping them warm and reheating them, finding customers, etc. One of the greatest lessons I learned was that people love to buy, but hate to be sold to. I had to find ways to make the product attractive and use strategies that persuade customers to buy it because they want to, not because I offer them something. Some of the strategies I used were making signs or ads, offering the product to other people in front of my customers, and eat crepes in front of them so they would have a craving for them also. I also realized that it was easier to sell to big groups of people, and it became even easier after the first person said yes and created social pressure for the rest.

During this project I made the crepes at home and sold them with my wife’s help. I cooked them, then put them in a topper, and right before it was time to sell them I would reheat them, add a sweetener and put them in plastic food boxes.

I learned that most of my customers were college age women. Most of them are with their friends (other women), or boyfriends who buy the crepes for them. Older people don’t really like them, or know them, and younger people often can’t afford them.

At the end I was only able to make $60 USD in profits. I didn’t reach my goal since it was difficult to sell and very time consuming for the revenue obtained. I developed more respect for people who sell people in the street for a living. It is difficult to sell at the beginning when nobody knows you. My most loyal customers were my wife’s classmates since they already knew and liked the product. It takes time for a business like this to build a reputation among people in the area, and that reputation is essential for having returning customers and become profitable. I see why buying franchise can be worth it: it addresses the reputation issue from the very beginning.

Next time I launch a business (and I have better ideas now), I will choose something that I am more passionate about, I will run it for longer so I can learn and correct the things that don’t work, I will build it like a system to make money and not as a job, and I will involve more people around me.

The main thing I learned from this experience was the value of failing. I learned a lot from my failures and I even tried to fail as soon as possible with little things so I could take notes of what doesn’t work and try something different. Those small corrections really helped the project, and got me excited about failing with bigger and better projects so I can make them successful one day. I also learned that I’m capable of doing anything I want to achieve; this might sound counterintuitive since I didn’t achieve my goal this time, but towards the end of the project I realized that I’m smart, I know how to create online businesses, I know about finances and accounting, and I am willing to fail and learn. This was an epiphany for me that I need to find a project and make it real soon. I can do it.

Journal Entry Lesson 13

This week I learned about failure. I reviewed the story of Esteban de Antuñano that I learned about a couple of months ago during an online meeting of the BYUManagement Society Chapter Mexico. I wonder why we never learn about people like him in history classes at school here in Mexico. Apart from the normal class material, I also watched a few videos from entrepreneurs talking about their failures and what they have learned from them. It was very interesting to see that side of people who are very successful now. All of this is helping me develop a desire to try new things and learn from them even if I fail.

Another important lesson is working on my business, not in my business. This has really opened my eyes to what being a business owner really means and how a business can grow and become successful. In the last few days I have been thinking about business ideas applying this new perspective to them.

Acton Hero: Tom Nall

From this video

Tom Nall started as a salesman selling insurance door to door, then he worked 35 years at an alarm company. After that, he created Republic Tequila, a Tequila importing company.

According to him, being an entrepreneur takes a little bit of ‘’insanity’’, and not being afraid to fail. He recognizes the importance of learning at every chance in all kinds of different situations. When he started working he realized about the importance of learning how to sell.

When he was working at a relatively small company and competing with bigger companies he learned that they needed to ‘’have more imagination than the big companies’’ in order to be competitive. I  relate to that with the following experience: Recently I made a small investment in a startup that sells videogames. At a pitching event, they were asked if a big company like Steam could just do the same thing that they were doing, the answer from one of the organizers of the event was that an employee at Steam could do it reluctantly as a part of his job, but an entrepreneur at a startup can do it better because it is his/her passion.

Tom Nall says that entrepreneurs are calculated risk takers, and that founders need to give other 

Journal Entry Lesson 12

Many times I had said that I didn’t want to do business with family and members of the church because of stories of local LDS businessmen and my own experience. This week I started to question that as I read about successful family business and the advantages of doing business with family. I have learned that the key to a successful family business is making sure that the conditions are set forth clearly, upfront, and fairly. It is also necessary that all parties keep a long term perspective in the business and not just try to ‘’make a quick buck’’.

As I come close to the end of my $100 project I have started to think about the things I learned and the things that I will do differently in the future. I just sold my car and I’m about to cancel a cellphone data plan that I was paying for. This will give me a little extra money available and I’m considering starting a small business with my wife, similar to the $100 project, see how well it works and go from there.

Acton Hero: Erick Slabaugh

From this video.

Erick Slaubaugh was a ‘’reluctant entrepreneur’’ who joined his father’s company when he was 19 years old right as the company was going through a very tough time. Apparently he started from the bottom and worked his way up to become the CEO; he had to earn his position and learn even though he and his father owned the business.

I was very moved by the memories Erick shares about his youth. He ‘’started with less’’ than his friends in a certain way. As a co-owner of the family business, he had to work very hard and at the moment he couldn’t enjoy life as much as his friends. He had to make sacrifices like working long hours, not going to parties, and not earning big paychecks; today the tables have turned and his friends say that ‘’he was lucky’’. He was not lucky, he just worked much harder and now he enjoys the rewards.

Erick mentions that en entrepreneur needs to have the courage to make hard decisions, but let one’s moral values guide those decisions. A successful person must also be humble enough to ask for help and find mentors.

Another valuable piece of advice is not to invest in something just because is trendy when we don’t understand it. He tells about how he invested in a venture during the dotcom bubble because many people were making money off it, but that the investment would have been much more successful if he had just invested it into his own company. 

Journal Entry Lesson 11

This week I learned a lot about how a franchise works and what challenges they face here in Mexico. I tried to find a franchisee to interview, but I wasn’t able to find one. Not too many people in my network of contacts know people who have purchased a franchise, and those who do were unable to obtain phone numbers, or the phone numbers and addresses had changed recently. Employees at local franchises were unwilling to provide information about their bosses and were even suspicious about my intentions.

I continue working on my $100 project, although to be honest I feel that I’m getting tired of it. I suddenly had many ideas that I like much more and that I wish I had thought about at the beginning of the project. Now I’m just waiting for this project to be over in order to start the next one. The problem with feeling like this is that I lose focus on my current goal and don’t work on it as hard as I could, and the deadline is approaching.

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend an event where 6 startups pitched their business to raise funds from investors. This was a private event, just for investors selected by Play Business, an equity crowd funding platform, and the minimum investment this time was above my reach. I didn’t want to go since I knew that I couldn’t afford to invest, but I went anyway just for the experience. It was a good decision and I know that I will always remember it. The day of the event I didn’t even have cash on hand for gasoline for my car and parking space… not even for a subway trip! I had to borrow money for a couple of metro tickets. When I arrived to the event I was warmfully welcomed by the Play Business staff and the founders of Tumbiko (one of the startups raising an investment round). I thanked again one of the founders of Tumbiko for allowing me to interview him last week. Then I started networking and met Humberto Ramirez, the founder of Facturama (a startup that combines electronic billing and accounting with big data and credit scoring). The guest speaker for the event was Alejandro Septien, who was the Country Manager in Indonesia for Nestlè and just came back to Mexico this year to start new projects. This was really a great experience and I’m glad I was there just for the sake of being where things happen. As Woody Allen says: ‘’Showing up is 80 percent of life’’.

Acton Hero: Nicole Donelly

HOW DOES ONE MOTHER'S DISCOVERY BECOME AN ESSENTIAL BABY PRODUCT ACROSS THE GLOBE?

From: This video

Nicole Donelly lived as a ‘’snowboard bum’’ for seven years. One day she discovered that her home-made leg warmers helped her daughter with her rash, and tried to sell them; she was able to sell more than 100 of them since other women really liked them. Upon realizing that there was a very high demand for her product, she launched her company.

I learned that we need to do what we like. She found a business opportunity by just doing things she liked. She also says that one of the keys to success and overcoming fear is embracing fear and do what we need to do even if it’s scary. It is also important to have a strong commitment, not just stop halfway after starting something.

When she started her business she didn’t know about finance and accounting, so she just hired somebody to do it all for her. She soon realized that she should at least have a basic understanding of accounting to keep an eye on the books. The main driver behind her business is that she wants to give back to the world in a meaningful way and serve people. Her product might be something simple, but she takes pride of making people’s life easier through it.

How Franchising Works

Franchising is a popular way of doing business in which an individual or company can purchase and operate a proven business model, this avoiding the risk of starting something that is completely new and uncertain.

One of the main reasons why people buy franchises is the reduced risk. Most small businesses fail, and the main reason for that failure is ‘’weak management’’ (1). A franchised business addresses that issue by ‘’leasing that managerial know-how’’ (1) to those who purchase the franchise.

Another reason why I would buy a franchise is because it allows small businesses to enjoy some of the benefits that only big companies would have otherwise. Some of these are: reduced price for supplies since they are bought for the whole chain in bulk, instant recognition from customers because of standardized products and service in all locations, and chain-wide marketing campaigns.

The downside of purchasing a franchise is the lack of freedom to direct the business, ongoing royalty payments that depend on sales rather than profit, and non-competition rules outlined in the franchise contract.

One thing to point out here is that there are some kinds of businesses that are so similar one to another that can one could think that they offer some of the benefits of a franchise, without the rules and limitations of a franchise. An example of this are Chinese restaurants. When I go to a Chinese buffet I know what to expect from the beginning, their food is almost the same and they even look very similar one to each other. The key here worth considering is that they don’t have a proven successful managerial method, so a new business owner would have to create one from scratch, which implies more risk.

Would I ever consider owning a franchise? Yes; I would do it despite all the limitations that owning a franchise might entail.

1.      Lee Ann Obringer. “How Franchising Works’’. Taken from http://money.howstuffworks.com/franchising2.htm

Journal Entry Lesson 10

This week I had the opportunity to interview an entrepreneur. I interviewed Victor Uribe from Tumbiko. Some of the things I learned were the importance of having a strong commitments for my goals and objectives, but also adapting to change and modifying my strategies according to the new situations I find. He also gave me some advice like observing the world around me looking for problems I can solve, talking about my ideas and sharing them with others, and surrounding myself with more experienced people who can become mentors.

For my $100 project I had to try new strategies because of slow sales. At night, when I drive to the subway station to pick up my wife, I started taking some crepes with me to sell them at the subway entrance. I also planned to take some with me when visiting other town during the weekend and selling them there but I haven’t had a chance of trying that yet.

Acton Hero: Catherine Rohr

Acton Hero: Catherine Rohr

Catherine Rohr was a successful Wall Street executive until she was invited to a prison-tour that changed her life. She realized how people in prison have a great untapped potential and decided to help them change their lives through the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.

I was amazed by her ability to see the best of people and recognizing them for who they are capable of becoming. She has been successful because she has a great desire to help others. She uses her talents to do good for society, instead of just benefiting herself.

The key for her success was that she had a mission she believed in, and she wasn’t afraid to ask others for help and resources. She has a very strong commitment to her purpose and doesn’t give up when obstacles arise. She has encountered many difficulties along the way, from thieves stealing her belongings, to colleagues not believing in her, and prison officials shutting down her program; however, she has been strong enough to work through those obstacles and find success.

Journal Entry Lesson 9

This week I finished reading the E-Myth revisited and it blew my mind. It taught me about the kind of vision I need to have when starting and running a business. I need to think about the kind of company I want to have, and create the systems that will allow it to work without me. In other words, I need to build a business, not a job.

I also learned about how I need to find the best people for my business, which at first seemed contrary to what I learned in the E-Myth, but after reflecting on it for a while I realized that both approaches are compatible and complementary. Even when I hire the best people, I still need to provide guidance, limits, and systems for them to work in.

As I reflected on these principles I learned, I realized how different my last business venture (my car in Uber) could have been, and what I will do in the future. It has also given me some correction for my $100 project that I have been trying to implement. This week it has been more difficult to find time to work on my project, so I have been focusing on the less time-consuming and more effective strategies. I have also been finding a lot of ideas of other things to sell that won’t take me a lot of time and resources.

Acton Hero: Matt Stewart

From: http://www.actonhero.org/celebrating-heroes/stories-of-heroes/index.php?hero=matt-stewart

Matt Stewart started in the world of business after losing his job right when he was about to attend graduate school and become a lawyer. He started his first company and it was there where he learned what his values were; he learned about integrity and how to live life in a better way. Since then he has had experience with many different companies and industries.

One of the most important things I learned from him is that success comes when we focus on the mission of what we do. He says that those of his companies that failed were the ones from where he tried to make money off. He has realized that a successful entrepreneur needs to focus on his core business and not lose track of it.

Matt teaches that success needs to be measured on how well we teach our values to others around us. In business we need to get our employees to share our values and mission in order for the company to be successful. 

Journal Entry Lesson 8

This week I learned about leadership. Some of the things that I would like to remember are the qualities of a true leader. A leader is there with the people he leads to inspire them, show the way, and help them grow. I read the article ‘’Leaders toManagers: The Fatal Shift’’ by Hugh Nibley that I had read a few years ago during my mission. I have read many of Hugh Nibley’s articles and I find them very interesting, however I noticed how Nibley doesn’t seem to be very fond of business majors and thinks that business owners live off other people’s work. I don’t agree with that; I believe that entrepreneurship is an essential factor of production in economics along with labor, land, and capital. Somebody needs to be capable of taking risks, having a vision, and organizing the other factors of production, and it must not be the state in my opinion. I do agree with Nibley’s vision of how a leader should be and I wish to emulate it.

I have encountered more difficulties with my $100 challenge. Some of the extra ingredients don’t cost exactly what I thought and I’m having trouble finding enough clients to match my estimates. I am trying to focus only on what works, or at least what has less issues and more margin! Talking to the people is also a challenge for me that I’m trying to overcome.

Acton Hero: Ken Zolot

From: http://www.actonhero.org/celebrating-heroes/stories-of-heroes/index.php?hero=ken-zolot

Ken Zolot tells how when he was young he felt like he didn’t really fit into the world of school and the traditional way of doing things. He was very curious, restless and refused to play by the rules. He has taken that curiosity to the world of business. Some of the things that I have learned from him is that I need to be brave enough to do things and try something new even if I feel unprepared and inexperienced. Some of the key character traits that Ken mentions that he learned from his family’s example are: accountability, responsibility, and punctuality. He says that many people can fix a technical problem, but few have the character to be responsible and accountable.

Whenever we work at a new venture it is very easy to fall in love with it, even if it’s not going anywhere. I need to ask ourselves ‘’who cares?’’ about what we do, who could be interested, and how what we do can fix people’s problems.

Journal Entry Lesson 7

 This week I learned about customer service. I learned why Zappos pays new employees to quitin an effort to keep only the right people. Those people who stay are more willing to adopt the company’s culture and provide an exceptionally good customer service. Zappos is more profitable in the long run because of having the right people on board.

I also learned the concept of lifetime value of a customer. A customer’s profitability for a company increases over time as increased revenue offsets acquisition, marketing, and administrative costs of serving the same customer. Satisfied customers are more likely to return and even recommend the company to their friends and family creating positive referrals. A satisfied customer invites, on average, 5 people. A dissatisfied customer tells 11 people about his experience, on average.

I am making some progress with my $100 dollar challenge. More importantly, I am making mistakes. I had some problems with the recipe of the crepes and the ingredients. Fortunately, I started small so I can easily correct it now.

Today, my wife and I visited some of my wife’s relatives. As we visited her uncle Guillermo I met Jose, who is married to my wife’s cousin. Jose comes from Costa Rica but he moved to Mexico because of his wife. As we were talking about our jobs and education Jose mentioned how he is starting a construction business and he wants to make it grow into a successful construction company. He said that in Mexico there is a lot of money to be made and that he is very excited and optimistic to have so many opportunities available for him now that he became a permanent resident. He made me feel optimistic with his comments; he is definitely a person that I want to stay in contact with.

Acton Hero: Bud Brigham

From this video: http://www.actonhero.org/celebrating-heroes/stories-of-heroes/index.php?hero=ben-brigham 

Bud Brigham came from humble origins in a broken home growing up in Odessa Texas, but he knew from the very beginning that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. I learned from him that I need to start young and be the best I can be. A great lesson from him, that I want to apply to my life, is that he surrounded himself with bright people who shared his value system; I know that by doing that I can be positively influenced by those people and learn from them without even noticing it. I have heard before that we become the average of the five people we spend more time with so we’d better spend time with people who will help us be better. Bud Brigham mentions that he has received a lot of support from his wife and that his family has given purpose to his life.

An interesting detail about him is that he follows the objectivist philosophy. 

Journal Entry Lesson 6

This week I got to learn a Little bit about marketing. One of the key things that I will take with me is Seth Godin’s metaphor of the purple cow. He explains how during a trip in Europe he was really amazed at the beautiful cows he saw near the highway, but after a while they became boring; so much that the only way to get his attention would be to see something completely out of the ordinary (a purple cow for instance). In the world of social media and smartphones even a purple cow can become dull and boring after a while. I was thinking a lot about how companies advertise their products and about the very few examples that have been remarkable enough to be remembered. I need to find a way to be like them and give personality to my product in a unique an attractive way.

I made some progress with the $100 challenge: I created an elevator pitch and identified my target market, competition, and competitive advantage. I also started creating a plan for more specific things like the marketing strategies I will use, the materials I will use to create food stand, the table I will use, the materials for the signs, the table cloth, etc.

Journal Entry Lesson 5

I am becoming a little bit negative about the future. I see how difficult it is to start a business. Even getting out of debt and making ends meet with a stable job is difficult for me right now. I have a good job and make more money than most college students in my country, but I can’t pay my credit cards off since more unexpected expenses (like fines, emergencies, and taxes) keep coming. I start to feel terrified about losing or quitting my job.

The only thing that makes me feel a little bit optimistic about my situation is reading about successful entrepreneurs who started from zero, like Desh Deshpande who arrived in the U.S with $8 USD in his pocket and became a billionaire. I also get courage from the stories of entrepreneurs who arrived to Mexico without an education and without speaking Spanish and became very successful (like Julian Slim, father of Carlos Slim).

I’m trying to obtain more experience and knowledge outside from school and work by taking courses, investing, and become more involved with entrepreneurs in the community in order to learn from them.

I haven’t had a lot of progress with the $100 project, other than deciding the source of funding.