Entry #2

This week for the $100.00 challenge, I made the decision to have my business be an in-home nail painting service. I considered what my start-up costs would be and I ultimately decided that the best way for me to earn $100.00 during the semester would be to paint nails. As I went through the different readings for this week, I was especially struck by a few of the things that I learned as I studied the Entrepreneur PowerPoint. For instance, I learned how important it is to make sure the purpose of your product is clear and useful. I also learned about the importance of addressing potential “fatal flaws” that might be present within my business. I considered these things and many others as I thought about what I might do for the $100.00 challenge. I especially thought about how I might market my business and I decided that I would probably be most successful by clearly stating the purpose of my business and advertising it to the proper audience. As I continued through the readings, I also learned a lot about the importance of the name of your company. I had never considered how crucial that seemingly small detail would be until I read the article on it this past week.

Entry #1

So far, for my $100.00 Challenge project, I have had the opportunity to consider ideas for a product and/or service that I could provide. I am strongly considering doing very discounted nail services in my home because I feel that my low prices will draw people in, and I also know that it won’t cost me very much to begin since I already own quite a bit of nail polish and other supplies that I will need. I’ve really enjoyed the different activities that we have been doing this week and last week because they have shown me that I truly can be creative when I really try to be, and that’s saying a lot for me because I have never considered myself to be a creative person. I’ve also learned a lot about the different resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs such as myself over these two weeks. For example, I am currently reading a book for my book report that’s titled “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” by Seth Godin, and I am learning so much from it! It is definitely teaching me a lot about how to make my future business stand out from all the rest. The blogs that I read taught me a lot of different things as well, including the idea that accepting criticism is necessary in order to be successful in business. I am really looking forward to what lies ahead in this course, especially the rest of the $100.00 Challenge and also the “Big Idea” project because I love learning through doing. I think that keeping this journal will be a good idea because it will give me the opportunity to look back and review all that I have learned over the course of the semester.