30-A Final Reflection

30-A Final Reflection

1) Read through your posts from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had along the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.

This was a tough semester-long process for me.  I do not like talking to strangers.  It was very difficult for me to get over that fear. At one point I had my husband standing by our car while I walked the parking lot trying to get interviews.  I do NOT live in a good area, so this was frightening to do at 7-8pm at night.  I had no other time to do it because I work during the daytime hours. I absolutely HATED the stranger interviews. I dreaded reading the assignments due each week, wondering if I was going to have to go back out and interview people. 

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later. What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I also had a rough time coming up with an idea to even focus on, and when I came across the parking lot problem, I thought I had come up with such a great idea.  Who actually likessmall 90-degree angled parking spots---no one?  I thought I was going to rock the whole semester solving this problem.  But right after I chose it, things went awry because Dr Pryor made it clear that there is only a problem if you know you have it. And I found out quickly, businesses did not want to know, and did not care.  So, the joy that I had was replaced with frustration on how I was going to make it through the rest of the semester.  I had to skip assignments because there was no real way for me to complete them, because I had discovered there was essentially no problem.  I will never forget the fact that just because there is a problem, sometimes there is no fix for it.  

I am most proud that I realized I am right, and I am not an entrepreneur in any sense of what I thought it was before this class started and what I learned during the class.  I do not have a problem-solving mind. 

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I am not a problem solver.  I have been taught now how to go about solving a problem, but I did not enjoy it and would not pursue a career at doing it.  

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

Pick a problem that you know A LOT about and have many people to talk to about.  To perform best in this class, wait to watch the lectures JUST before the cupcake so you won’t forget the minute details of the lectures. Be a time management freak and schedule yourself to the nth degree to get the stuff done on time.