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Week 12

what is working?

I am being able to find a rhythm, by blocking off time regularly allows me to focus on what needs to be done and schedule items and complete various priorities

what is not working?

Not familiar with the accounting side, making sure I am collecting the information I need for tax time

How do you feel the project is coming?

I am hoping that I can submit my assignment early, as I am travelling at the end of the week, but for me I will use it as an opportunity to reflect

what are you learning about running a business?

What I am learning about running my business is while I am adjusting to the expectation of being a service provider I need to be confident in communicating that I have clear policies and procedures and reassuring my self that what I have set in stone if for the benefit of my company, myself and those I provide a service to.

what are you learning about yourself?

I have a bleeding heart, meaning that I can get entangled in wanting to support a family or client in need, but my boundaries is to provide a service and I do not need to provide all the answers

#ARS #whatsworking #whatsnot #entrepreneur4life

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Week 11

what is working?

I have my first official client and I was able to get a commitment of service. This is week 3 of meeting with the stakeholder, meeting with the team and conducting my in-person visits

what is not working?

Part of my service was to hire/offer jr staff an opportunity to gather data on my behalf, which will allow me to focus on the report writing and meet with supervisors to discuss next steps. It is very difficult to hire someone of a temporary/on-call basis.

how do you feel the project is coming?

It is coming along, I had to put everything on pause did to another area of my life requiring some attention...my health. But I am enjoying the process and seeing how things are pulling together

what are you learning about running a business?

That you constantly need to be open to readjusting your plan. The vision is the same the goals are the same but how you get there is not defined by what you put on paper - but how I am responding to the different challenges I encounter. My vision and goals is a reference of where I would like to be. I just want to continue to make sure to write down my learnings so I can revisit at another time and try to learn from these challenges

what are you learning about yourself?

I am learning that it will be difficult that when I hit a road block, I figure out another way to get it done by myself. I will need to be strategic in how I can add strategic partners if I want to scale this business.

#smallbusiness #ARS #entrepreneurlife #lifeentrepreneur

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Week 10

In the final weeks of providing services to my client a residential agency, I feel good about the service offered and the connection​s​ I am making with management in meeting their needs for staff training and producing a​n​ assessment for a ​person in their care.

What is not working?​Juggling the aspect of being an entrepreneur, it does not stop at offering a service, but putting together a marketing plan, billing, expenses and consolidating everything to make it a viable business

​How do you feel the project is coming?The best way to describe my feelings towards this project is nerve wracking. At times I can go over a final decision ​a number of times before committing to a final draft. I am thankful that I have a sounding board to go to as I am good at speaking about the service but forget to​ ​place an emphasis ​o​n the service ​that I am offering and the pieces that need to be considered to be a functional business.

What I am learning about running a business is that it doesn't need to be perfect but I have to be committed to putting in the work and remain motivated especially as I become overwhelmed with making a budget, creating an invoice and putting together my expenses.

What are you learning about yourself?What I am learning ​about myself is to​ harness certain characteristics that are there and become more disciplined in areas of determination, learning​ new skills (e.g. video editing) and ​continue to build ​knowledge​ about the service that I am offering​. I'm learning new stuff all the time but I would like to invest more time in building relationships and how to effectively communicate with other leaders.

#motivation #determination #grit #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

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Week 9

what is working? I have been able to connect with some knowledgable people not necessarily in the same industry but other entrepreneurs. Lots of encouragement, motivation and reassurance that things don't always go they way you wish

what is not working? Time management, a lot of things are being mixed together and I am losing track of what I need to get done. Example forgetting to send an email, submit a proposal etc.

how do you feel the project is coming?

Slow and steady, I have tried to strategize of working on different elements and hopefully be able to pull everything together neatly for the end.

what are you learning about running a business?

What I am assigning more detail to is my price points and doing soft calls to treatment centres and agencies I can offer service to

what are you learning about yourself?

I am okay with receiving a no and see it as motivation to tweak and try again

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Week 7 ...Already

What is working?

For me doing the research is not only helpful to understanding some of the mechanics of starting my business but it is insightful. It really is stretching me as a person to be more discipline in areas that would not be a choice for me, typically I am client facing and do really well in making those interpersonal connection with clients and stakeholders but getting me to document a business plan, and prove a case for my business it hard and not always the area that I would like to focus.

What are you learning about running a business?

Determining to run your own business really takes more than just commitment, but a level of determination and resilience, because you are not going to be an instant success. But from a passion to serve this community I need to insert the business aspect of it to allow it to be viable. I am learning more about funding and how to include research when drafting a proposal.

what are you learning about yourself?

What I am learning about myself is the level of discipline that is required to be entrepreneurial. How establishing a routine for my day gives me structure but also the clarity and ability to organize myself and get things done, but also do those wellness pieces to get clarity and peace of mind when trying to execute.

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Financial Source

The funding opportunity that ARS would be looking to secure are:

A funding opportunity from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The grants supports children's service providers that deliver clinical services.

A Business Loan. ARS would secure $15,000-$20,000, preferable via a line of credit as an unsecured loan can be challenging to secure.

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My strengths would be my ability to create and be imaginative with ideas or processes. This allows me to be engaged with projects and helps me to capture or factor micro and marco concepts when shaping a strategic plans. My past experience allowed me to work as part of a team liaising with external stakeholders to secure funding and help to establish a vision for a program. It was important to do some target research on how to bring this initiative to life but the research had to be conducted in an unorthodox way to produce a favourable outcome. My strengths of being imaginative, allowed me to expanding in the areas of resourcefulness, being solution focus and developing on my social skills in the areas of negotiation and communication. I became comfortable and confident with a 'No' for an answer and often used it as a springboard to explore other avenues.

Areas of weakness: I would like to have more discipline in the area of setting boundaries and not overwhelming myself in taking on too many task. At any point in my life, I was a photobooth attendance, wedding planner, interior decorator, property manager, proposal writer, and working full time. Now I want to be more more intentional with my time and begin to phase out the 'Ms. Do it All' Burn out is real and self care is important and I need to consider where do I see my self in 5, 10, 15 years and what steps I need to take, now, to get there? When I commit myself to all these other things, it becomes a distraction from what I need to do. Another area I would like to see some growth in is establishing ongoing mentorship opportunities for myself. Where I am able to effectively network and connect with someone in the area of entrepreneurship.

#strengths&weakness #entrepreneurship #business #strengths #weakness