I think this week's topics of the course had the most profound impact on me the first time I took the class, and upon reading the material again, I found I remembered these talks and readings. They affected me greatly and I have even shared with friends that the readings are valuable to anyone, but especially small business owners. This week, we've learned about creating a personal constitution for your life. At first, this seemed like a silly activity, but the more I read and actually DID the more I realized it's value. The first step, which I found to be enlightening, is evaluating your own desires and goals. WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE? This question is not a career question, like "I want to be a doctor," but more of an internal reflection of who you want to be as a person. After I evaluated myself, and really thought about who I want to be, and what attributes I value and want to embrace, I realized I want to help people. That seemed rather vague, but it also gave me a direction. There are many occupational fields I have considered, and I might enjoy aspects of several of them, but I know that I am happies when I am serving others. I know that for me to feel successful in life and in a career, this would need to be an important aspect of it. The video this week references the book by Jim Collins, "Good to Great" which is a fantastic book, with lots of great insights for a business owner. The speaker discusess the three circles to help determine occupation would be best for each invidivual. First ask "What am I good at," and this is an evaluation of natural talent, I think more than learned activities. Second, ask "What ws I born to do?" (or what do I enjoy doing the most), and third, ask, "What are people willing to pay for?" The answer to what type of career I should choose was so much simpler, once I answered those questions. I am good at juggling lots of different tasks; I am good at finding discrepancies, and fixing them. I am also good at helping others learn a new concept (Training). I was born to help and serve others. I know people are willing to pay for others to handle the details of their business, so they can focus on their actual business product or service. With this information, it immediately made sense to me to try looking for small businesses that would be willing to have me work for them in a virtual office manager capacity. I can provide support for multiple small businesses, and I can do it well, and get paid for it. I liked the idea of this business also due to the extremely low overhead required. For now, I provide support full time to one small business entity, but I want to eventually expand and offer services to multiple small businesses.

Taking the course a second time, and listening to the talks again has been very enlightening. Currently, I an working with a small start-up company that has been in business for a little over a year. As such, there are many dynamics that come with rapid growth, managing staffing, revenue, and liabilities. Many of these talks have had little snippets of information that I realize I can use to help in my current role as assistant. I'm not the business owner, but the principles I'm learning can still be applied.

This week, we learned about starting a new business, and what things are necessary, and what things are not. Many people want to start a business with all the things an established company would have, but it's better to grow from small and humble, and then earn the rest as you grow. I like the Stanford talk about having too little money. I agree that the best innovation will come from necessity.

I also liked the talk about having skin in the game. I realized that the company I work for now is doing that right. They've hired people in decision-making positions that are accepting lower pay in exchange for anticipated gains later on. We all put in lots of hours and accept that it will take the whole team giving their all, in order to succeed.

This week we also studied a case in which the subject had to determine her priorities and discover what was most important for her in her career choices. I've completed a career assessment, and discovered that I'm most interested in a career that is helping others, but my main concern is stability and income. I also want to be working independently, and manage numbers and existing processes. I enjoy evaluating and improving processes, and working to improve a company. I value a flexibile schedule and autonomy, too. I also want to work with people who are positive and encouraging, in a team environment.

I've already watched and read the content for this week, but the second time around, I'm still hearing things that didn't stand out to me before, but they do now. I think I am blessed to have the opportunity to have a second chance to explore this content and learn more about entrepreneurship.