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Mastery Journal Month 12: Business Model Presentation and Thesis.

My original goal for this course was to be able to present all that I have learned throughout the year and apply it to my business endeavors. I felt that by making all way through the program, that I should be a master in business science with a focus on innovative entrepreneurship. I also had the goal of knowing how to put a business thesis together and having a clear foundation on how to and when to launch my business. 

My goals were exceeded by this course and this entire program. I feel that I actually have a clear vision of what an entrepreneur is and I also have purpose to my business vision. When I first began the program, I knew that I wanted a Master’s Degree and I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had so many business ideas floating in my head that I was unfocused and didn’t know where to begin. This course showed me that I learned how to think, and innovative like a business woman. I was able to properly research my field of interest and construct a sound presentation that was clear, organized and that could be used to gain investors for my business. I became confident in communicating with colleagues and industry professionals and I found that I really do have a passion for business ownership and mentorship. 

As stated previously, I learned how to build a business model thesis and presentation as true entrepreneur and as a business scientist. I learned how to create and perfect my elevator pitch and the importance of having one not only for my business but for my personal brand. The business launch roadmap, taught me how to identify the areas that I had taken care of and also the areas that still need my attention. I learned for myself, what I truly envision for Ample by tdbg and the steps that are required to get me to the launch of my company. With the SMARTStart Canvas I leaned how to segment my company’s needs into diverse categories to really dissect and analyze each and every part of a business. Most importantly, I learned that Ample is a business that I am truly passionate about.

I will take everything that I have learned in this course and throughout the program and apply to Ample so that I will have a successful launch. I know that as an entrepreneur I will have many ventures, and I feel that beginning my entrepreneurial journey with a motivational t-shirt business, is the perfect catalyst to my larger business goals. I now research everything and I am not afraid to just take the jump into launching instead of waiting for everything to be perfect. This is the end of the road for me and my potential but only the beginning.

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Mastery Journal Month 11: Business Model Management

My original goals for this course were pretty general, because at the time of writing my goals I had no idea what starting a business consisted of. I knew that I wanted to test out my business model for critical analysis, and implement that business  model into an active start-up venture. I also wanted to learn how to manage my business goals and timeline. I anticipated that this course would bring everything that we had learned for the past ten months and it did. I especially appreciated learning about the Human Resources aspect of building a business and discovering that management and leadership doesn’t always come naturally to an entrepreneur.

In my own business endeavor, the main thing that has held me back from launching is (1), wanting to complete this degree program so that I have the adequate tools to be successful, and (2), see if my idea could be at all profitable. I understand that capital is a major part of creating a start-up as well and I have been working diligently in that area.

In this course, I like the fact that we were guided in preparing for our capstone thesis. I also like that I learned the difference between an independent contractor, a manager employee and a full-time employee. With this knowledge I was really able to brainstorm on which direction I want to grow Ample and how fast I plan to grow it. I know that I want to build a team of great individuals, but I have some more contemplating to do to figure out if when I am ready to grow my team, if I would like to hire someone who treats me as a client, or someone who is an employee of mine. I guess I will have a better grasps on this area once I actually laugh my business to the public.

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Mastery Journal Month 10: Innovative Work Environments

I had a couple of goals that I planned for this course. The first one was that I wanted to learn how to create a space conducive to innovation and creative. I secondly wanted to study creative workspaces and companies that had productive workspaces and learn how to incorporate their models into my business. Lastly, I wanted to learn how to support creativity through my environment.

Through personal examples from Professor Kegel, to the various readings and videos, I gained a vast amount of information about innovative work environments. I knew about the new age work environments of companies like Google and Amazon, but I never knew that non-tech companies had creative work spaces as well. Companies such as Whole Foods have work spaces that encourage productivity and comfort.

I learned that people want options and transparency when it comes to work environments. People are productive in different ways and no longer is there a one-size fits all mindset with office design. Employees are working and taking meetings from home virtually, going outside to work on a project, working from hammock and cafeterias, whatever gets the job done flies nowadays. Office furniture also has multiple uses in innovative work environments. Desks can take you from sitting to standing, or moved around to transform from individual work spaces to conference spaces.

I plan to apply the knowledge that I have gained about innovative work environments starting with my at-home office space. I plan to ensure that I designated area for my business. Right now, I do work and research all over my home but I definitely need my own private office. I also plan to use Co-working spaces to conducted interviews are have in-person meetings with team members and clients. For my future office, because it will a clothing line, I want the space to allow my team members to work the best way that allows for their creativity to flow. Working from home will be an option as well as flexible work spaces.

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Mastery Journal Month 9: Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs

My original goals for this course were to gain the tools and knowledge needed in effective brand marketing. I wanted to compare my prior knowledge of marketing strategies with currents trends and learn how to incorporate them into my marketing plan. Another goal of mine was to learn what branding is and how it differs from marketing, and to learn how marketing differs from public relations. 

My goals were met by this course overall. I learned that branding is the what defines the company and marketing is the action or efforts used to get that definition of self to your targeted audience. Despite having a background in public relations, I was always confused on how marketing differed. Marketing is tangible and public relations (as I would tell my past clients), is not so much. There are various ways to measure whether  or not your marketing is working. Through metrics, sells, etc... Doing exercises on branding really helped me fine tune what my target audience is. I realized that my original target audience was too broad to be effective. 

I will apply everything that I learned in this course moving forward. I am already working on creating and really understanding what I want my brand to represent. I have been brainstorming ideas on what tools to use and which are the best ways to introduce ample by tdbg to the public. I am firm believer in a company having one chance to make a good impression. I what my marketing to be effective, resourceful and unique. 

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Mastery Journal Month 8: Entrepreneurial Finance

My original goals for this course were to learn how to research and obtain adequate financing for my business endeavors. I wanted to learn how to estimate start-up costs, and all of the costs related to starting a business. The goals were met and exceeded. Professor Thompson helped us by providing excel sheets for our start up costs and for our pro forma. Through this course I realized that starting a business may not be as costly as I anticipated. There are many avenues that can be used to obtain investment money and I can always start at a smaller scale and build up to what I envision. Based on research, most t-shirt lines that have effective marketing and appealing apparel, sale between $10,000 to $100,000 their first year. I am already applying what I have learned in this course by working on a crowdfunding video and adjusting my projections for savings. 

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Mastery Journey Month 7: Legal Issues in Entrepreneurship

My original goals for this course was to learn how to properly and legally, trademark and or copyright my company, brand, and intellectual property. I also wanted to identify legal issues for my industry and learn how to buffer against them. Lastly, I hoped to learn how to allocate a business attorney that I can afford. I was excited about this course because this particular topic was in a way a nuance for me. I knew to some degree that I would have to legally protect my business, but I didn’t know where to begin and I didn’t know how to research certain topics. I knew that this topic was something that I would need assistance in with forming my company. I knew that I would need trademarks and copyrights for my clothing line and blog, but I also needed to know the proper licenses and permits required to operate a business.

 My goals for this course were met and exceeded expectations. Each week touched on every point of knowledge I sought to obtain about business law.  I learned about different business structures and that I wanted to run my company as a LLC (Limited Liability Company). All of the research that I had to conduct for myself help to really understand what all goes into starting and running a company. I also learned which channels to go through in order to get trademarks, a business license, work from home permit, etc…I was even surprised to learn that there were certain legal issues that pertained to the fashion industry. Learning about BATNA and alternative ways to handle disputes was a real plus for me. I definitely became a fan of mediation of litigation.

 What I will apply moving forward and what I have been working on throughout this journey is time management. Time management was something that I was excellent with in the past but with the last two years have fallen off the punctual path. I do realize how important it is to be early and have things in on time, especially when it comes to starting and running a company.

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Mastery Journey Month 6: Business Model Development

1. What your original goal was for this course.

My original goals for the course was to develop a business model that is customer centric, learn the advantage of creating a competitive edge, and mimic the success patterns of my mentors.

2. How the goal was met by the course.

I honestly struggled during this course do to life and didn’t meet any of my goals.

3. What you learned from this course.

I need to take a step back and relearn and evaluate the information that was provided and given, and go back and apply the knowledge to my business. I reached a professional and personal roadblock that caused me to stagger on my mastery journey. 

4. How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally.

I want to focus on my original goals. I  need to figure our if my current business focus is the right one for me. I know that it is month six and the half way point on this journey but this month was by far the most difficult for me to conquer. 

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Mastery Journey Month 5: Business Feasibility

My original goal or goals for the Business Feasibility course were to understand key industry factors, market conditions, competitive forces and the customers needs in my chosen industry of business. I also wanted to learn how to adjust my venture to be competitive and feasible in the current economic market and insightful knowledge from an industry mentor. I feel that my goals were indeed met throughout the duration of this four week course. 

Business feasibility isn’t something that I paid too much attention to in the past when I was developing my business concept. Liken to many new entrepreneurs, I automatically thought that my concept was feasible simply because it made sense to me. However, I was very wrong. There is so much that goes into a business concept being feasible and ultimately feasible. Having to actual pin point my competitors and research the in’s and out’s of their business was quite beneficial. 

Studying and surveying my potential customer helped me pivot my concept as well. I originally was going to be a discount retailer for popular plus size brands, however through consumer research, I found that the plus size community welcomes and yearns for more brand diversity and options. Back in 2013 I did plan for AMple to be its own clothing line and it felt refreshing to go back to that  concept. 

I realized by working on my business feasibility that I have a lot of work to do. I need to acquire capital for my business and because of that I recently got a job as a substitute teacher to invest in AMple. I have recently began working on a logo and building a team that can assist me in the areas that I lack in. . I know that truly understanding my market and finding my exact niche, will help AMple have longevity and success in a very competitive retail industry.

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Mastery Journey Month 4: Product, Design, and Development

My original goal for this course was to learn the skills required of developing my product and brand. I also wanted to connect with industry leaders on the best avenues to develop my product and have a functional prototype to expand upon. 

I gained so much valuable knowledge from this course. Really diving into the lean startup method, I realized that I needed to treat my business like an experiment and my business model as the hypothesis. I found a problem with the plus size retail industry, and I set forth to solve it with my business AMple. Ample is a brand that seeks to create body positivity for both plus size women and men, and strives to offer popular brands in plus sizes, at discounted costs. 

I learned that my concept doesn’t have to be completely perfect before I launch it, and in actuality, that it shouldn’t. I now have to get out in the public and see and test if this is something that my target audience truly wants. An idea can seem great in your mind, but with the lean startup method, until you test your idea, you are setting your business up for failure. It’s not about having the perfect plan, but doing multiple testing phases until you can’t test anymore.

 I just needed to jump into my idea and get out in the field to get to know my consumer and cultivate my brand. I have even joined an app called shapr that is a used for networking and mentorship. I want to connect with my target audience as well as with industry professionals that can help me learn more about the fashion and technologies industries. Since I plan for my business to be mostly online and mobile, I want to learn how to be tech savvy.

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MASTERY JOURNEY MONTH 3: BUSINESS VENTURE RESEARCH

My original goal for this course was to grow my understanding of various research methods and how to conduct research for business needs and goals. Conduct surveys and interviews for my target market and solidify by business venture concept. 

I can honestly say that for the most part my goals for met with the instruction from this course. I absolutely learned about business research methods, practices and tools. I grew to appreciate the research process and how it began to shape my vision, mission and business goals. I was able to interview entrepreneurs that are running a successful business and gain primary research and advance from people who have the need to be self sufficient just like me. I learned how to collect and analyze data to suit my business purpose. I see that my past endeavors failed because I launched just based on excitement, and didn’t take time out to understand my market, competitor, and industry. I now know how to collect the correct data for my business, what to look for, and how to analyze it to my advantage. 

I learned that library databases can be very helpful such as business source complete, as well as business websites like entrepreneur.com. I also find networking and interviewing to be very essential to research and learning your industry. It never hurts to simply just speak to people and ask them their likes, dislikes and purchase patterns. 

I will forever be an extensive researcher when it comes to planning and navigating my business model. I will continue to conduct primary and secondary research for my business. Through research I find different elements that I want to add to my business as well as thing that should be altered. 

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Mastery Journey Month 2: Creativity and Innovation

My original goal of the Creativity and Innovation course was to learn how to access my potential customer demographic and market. I also wanted to learn how to create a unique path for myself in my targeted market, and I wanted to learn how to acquire customers and stakeholders for my entrepreneurial venture. I believe that my goals weren’t met but were changed and surpassed. I learned so much more about creativity and innovation than I anticipated. I was able to hone in and focus on the customer that I wanted to service which helped to focus on the type of business that I wanted to create. I had no prior knowledge of design thinking, social entrepreneurship, empathy maps or even the differences between creativity and innovation before taking this course.

I learned that I must be activity in my creativity in order to accomplish change but flexible enough in my innovation that I stay creative. I learned to use design thinking when developing my business. Design thinking helps with innovation because it requires you to empathize, define (a problem or opportunity), ideate, create a prototype and this test the prototype. I also learned about social entrepreneurship and how the entrepreneurs of today look for ways to help their communities and the planet. It very encouraging to know that people are looking to do more than just make a profit. Lastly, I learned about applying empathy to anything that I do in business. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and truly acknowledge their desires, needs, wants, and struggles. Sometimes even realizing what your target audience needs before they do.

By taking and completing the creativity and innovation course, I have done a full overhaul of my business idea and path. I definitely want to make my business socially responsible by employing senior citizens and aged-out foster children. Not only will that give to polarized groups employment, but they can assist and mentor one another. Putting myself in the customer’s mindset, it allowed me to make a selection amongst all of my business ideas and focus on creating a fitness and active wear brand completely dedicated to plus sized women.

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(Cup of Tia Daé)

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Is it Sunday night already?

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBDiJR1lxGI)

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Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.

Philippians 4:6-8 (KJV Bible)

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Screenshot of my Feedly reader. I have started following entrepreneurship, lifestyle and food blogs...my passions.

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My forever inspiration. Harlym Geneva proudly made my husband and I parents on January 13, 2017 at 8:51 p.m. Words cannot explain the overcoming joy that we both felt at her arrival. Despite being overjoyed, we were filled with a lot of fear. Harlym was born at 30 weeks. Yes she came exactly two months early. Nobody in my family was prepared for her arrival. I literally was sent to the hospital after having a routine obgyn appointment because my blood pressure was through the roof! 

I stayed in the hospital 7 days before having an emergency C-section and delivering Harlem. It was hard to heal physically and mentally from the ordeal and having to come to the NICU everyday just to see my baby was very taxing. But I pushed through. This picture was taken around two and half weeks after Harlym’s birth. She was a super star in the NICU! Beating the odds and progressing at a very advanced rate. It gave me a sense of peace and purpose. When I took this picture I knew that I owned this little girl the world. I decided that I could no longer let fear, doubts, worries, or complacency control my life. I knew that I HAD to achieve my goals and take the jump to make my dreams a reality. So in everything that I seek to do now, I have a fire in me like never before. To this I give thanks to my Harlym.