Mr. Rob Coons, who is the Co-founder & CEO of Scout
Military Discounts, delivered a presentation about his life as an entrepreneur
for our class. One of the very first things that Rob made is that: to be a
successful entrepreneur, one needs to know how to play the home games—knowledge
of self will take on further in their career. Learning that Rob was passionate
about running businesses, I think that he really meant what he said: to really
know what you are good and not good at, so that you can play the home field
advantage and be successful by emphasizing on your specific skills. For me, Rob
was the first guest speaker that really talked more in-depth about the obstacles
that he had to face and overcome in order to be where he is now. He brought up
the event where an investor pulled the plug right before their product was
ready to go on the market. The lack of funding at the crucial moment was a
heavy set back. Although his current
product is still in development, his company through all the struggles, is
currently in a good place in terms of progress and preparation to launch and
expand their business. Through all the ‘shady’ incidents that happened mentioned
by Rob, one of the things that I got out of this presentation is that, business
means business; you will almost always at least encounter people who find ways
to get advantages over you unethically and that you should always be ready for
those encounters and have a plan B in case partnerships/deals don’t go as
planned. Relating to our class, Rob’s slide
on ways to generate revenues had me thinking by comparing what I’ve had in mind
so far about ways to bringing revenue. I feel that my scope was still too small
(inside the box) and that Rob’s presentation brought up a few suggestions that
might be useful for my Business Plan.
Although I never had an intention to be an entrepreneur or starting my own business, I still wanted to take this class to explore this career path that many people have often found it successful enough to pursue. Another reason why I chose this class is because it focuses on entrepreneurship opportunities through the tech industry. As a student in the field, I’d like to learn about how and when to take advantage of certain types of emerging technology, so that I can make better career path choice with better chance of success. I’d like to learn about the process of running a business: dealing with taxes, legal obligations, marketing, expanding business, etc. Although it is very unlikely that I’d need or use these skills, I’d still like to know them to better prepare my portfolio, to deal with situations in future work, and maintain professional life. Knowing the process of running a business does not only benefit the business owner, it can also benefit those who work in the busin...
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