Guest Speaker & Entrepreneurship Flashcards
Innovation
Create market that wasn’t there
Brock’s Identity
Innovation, Sustainability, Customer Service, Integrity, Quality
Sustainability
Closed loop product cycle
Business card is seed paper
Customer Service
Came from health care
Shipped in 24 hours, forced industry to change
Integrity
How you handle problems
Cost of fixing problem is always cheaper than not and suffering back end
Problem=opportunity
Quality
Use material that doesn’t fail
What do you remember about a company?
Reputation
Company differentiation > Product differentiation
What it takes to be an entrepreneur
Strong financing & product differentiation
Understand difference between reality TV & reality
Be honest about your weaknesses & hire a team around them
Ability to inspire people
Be ALL IN
Understand every aspect of the business
Creativity, don’t follow rules, take risks
Passion
Quality product/service
Challenges you’ll face
Market acceptance speed (it's slow) Globalization:not for everyone Finding GREAT people Financing Competition (IP & willingness to defend it) Price Stability Quality-turn failure into opportunity Changing costs Obsoleting your own product (innovate or die) Understand strategy vs tactics
Other Factors
What we do vs why we do it
Indentify & develop personality of your business
Intellectual property (trademarks, trade secrets, patents)
Sustainability & application
Entrepreneurship
The combination of innovation, initiative, and willingness to take the risks required to create and operate new businesses
Entrepreneurial Spirit
The positive, forward thinking desire to create profitable, sustainable business enterprises
Why do people start their own companies?
Control over future
Avoid working for someone else
Passionate about new product ideas
Pursue business goals that are important on a personal level
Seek income alternatives during tough employment markets
Common Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs
Love what they do Driven by passion to succeed Disciplined and willing to work hard Confident & optimistic Like to control their own destinies Relate well to others Ability to inspire others Curious Learn from their mistakes Adaptable Moderate but careful risk takers
Michael Leeds’ 7 Principles
Be a great company to do business with
Be a great company to work for
Only provide superior products and services
Grow 20% each year
Contribute to better social/physical environment
Remain independent of larger companies
Be profitable to provide resources for the other 6 principles
