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Business Model Presentation and Thesis

         For the final course in the IEMS program, my initial goal consisted of many aspects from each of the twelve course. The goal was to create and present a fully developed business model for my business venture. That will allow me to create a  successful business venture. I can honestly say the task was a bit difficult learning and completing the required courses for graduation.

      Portions of the goal was being met every month, each course taught me something knew that allowed me formulate my completed business model. The goal was actual met during week four of the Final Business Model Presentation course after my scheduled live presentation. My company Wilson’s Bright and Early Daycare Center is creating value for parents, staff as well as the community by creating a meaningful and life-enhancing relationship that will help meet the challenges of balancing work and life.

       There was so much valuable information I was able to grasp from this course. First, off the design of this course was well put together. Although, most of the materials from this course were already taught in previous courses, I was still able to pick up some more vital information from it. During the initial week of the course, we were focusing on our elevator pitch. A link from the weekly resources was an article from James Goffrey titled 3 Ways to Perfect the Elevator Pitch. The Business Launch Roadmap Assignment easily informed me on the things that must be completed before starting any venture because not all aspects of the checklist apply to each business.

       The materials that learned from this course will be used in the near future and will be used to personally. The business model that I have been working to complete for the past 12 months will be used to start my journey. I’m so happy someone referred Full Sail University to me, my journey towards mastery was great. I plan to use the entrepreneurial tools, tips, and techniques to be successful in today’s competitive business world.

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Business Model Implementation and Management

     Prior to beginning this course I had my mind set, and created a few goals that I planned to  accomplish prior to final date of this course. However, my original goal for the Business Model Implementation course was to learn and create an effective business model. My goal for this course was actually met in previous courses. Therefore, my goal consisted of learning and being aware of the importance of identifying your particular leadership traits.

     Several pieces of the goal for the course was being met each week. During the initial week, I was able to identify the leadership trait that closely relates to me. I can honestly say that the leadership style that I believe fall under is the coaching leadership style. The reason I believe that this is the leadership style that I fall under is because of the top three it’s the only one that has a positive overall impact on the climate. I took the time to do some addition research on the topic Leadership Traits throughout the month, that allowed me to meet my goal.

     I learned so much valuable information relating to business model implementation. A great percentage of what I learned from this course came from week 3 three of course while closely focusing on the feedback loop. The video provided by Nickey Skarstad titled Refining the Feedback Loop: Using Customer Feedback to Build Better Products, was a great source of information that allowed me to learn a lot from this course. I can honestly say that the second step that Nickey Skarstad mentioned in her 4 things we do to get better customer feedback that’s titled “ Give them access” which simply gives them the opportunity to test what we are building. That statement or step was so important in the feedback loop and was a great piece of information I learned.

     In addition to that I learned about developing metrics. The provided reading and video sources allowed me to learn that a business metric is a quantifiable measure businesses use to track, monitor and assess the success or failure of various business processes. The main goal of measuring business metrics is to track cost management, but the overall point of employing them is to communicate a company's progression toward certain long- and short-term objectives..

     Considering that this course focuses on business model implementation, I plan to use the materials learned from this class professionally towards the success of my business venture. The steps that were mentioned in Nickey Skarstad’s video of the 4 things we do to get better customer feedback will be used for my business venture and will be highly recommended for future ones as well. Overall, this and the 10 courses were awesome courses that I was able to learn plenty of useful information from.

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Innovative Work Environments

      Before starting the Innovative Work Environments course and the other 11 courses, I was required to set three personal goals with strategies to complete each goal. My original goal for this course was to study and learn what’s needed to create a good innovative work environment. Also, to learn the different strategies needed to improve my current work environment.

      The goal of this course was met week after reading and watching the provided readings, videos, and completing the weekly assignments. The goal was actually met during the second week of this course, after completing week 2 assignment, Cool Office Environments. The assignment consists of me describing some  things that a company can do to create happy employees and how I plan to apply some of these ideas to your own business. By answering these two questions and doing some addition research allowed me to complete my goal for this course

      To be honest I actually view this course as one of the most helpful of them all. My reason for saying that is simply because learning about innovative work environments is very important. Research proves that over the last decades, innovation and creativity have become critical skills for achieving success in developed economies. The need for creative problem solving has arisen as more and more management problems require creative insights in order to find suitable solutions.

      I learned a lot from this course, some of the most valuable information came during the initial week after learning the importance of workplace design. I was able to grasp the concept that good workplace design supports creativity, innovation, and communication and fosters the development of new products, services, and revenue streams. That statement is so vital to my road towards mastery.

      Some more important pieces of information I learned came during week three of this course. Learning the concepts of incubators and accelerators was very significant in my studies of innovative work environments. I learned that incubators, and accelerators, are very similar programs that will help you grow your business through mentorship and funding opportunities. Incubators support startups entering the beginning stages of building their company. While, accelerators advance the growth of existing companies with an idea and business model in place.

      Overall, this was an outstanding course that allowed me to grasp the concepts dealing with Innovative Work Environments. This course helped me understand how in today’s competitive business industry there are new innovative ways that companies are using to change today’s workplace environment. The materials I learned from the Innovative Work Environments course I plan to apply professionally to benefit my business venture. For example the article Future-Proofing the Startup Office that discusses the four stages that successful startups go through, I plan to apply that material to my advantage. The stages Founders Only, Early Crew, Full Team, and Great Expansion will be used during my startup stages, and personally I believe this particular article was a perfect provided source of information. This was a great course that allowed me to grasp the concept of good innovative work environment.

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1.    What your original goal was for this course.

Before starting this course I already had several goals outlined that I feel need to be met before the last day of week four. One of the goals that I believe was the most important was to learn the importance of brand development and to learn as much about brand equity. While setting this goal I knew I would be important to know simply because brand development is a process of building and cultivating a positive reputation among employees and the public. It is a critical long-term investment as it aids your target customer in easily identifying who you are and what you do.

2.    How the goal was met by the course.

However, this was met during the initial week of this course. During the first week we were to discuss and define brand equity. I learned that brand equity is a single financial measure, and others say that consideration has to be given to individual indicators that together make up Brand Equity. Brand equity is a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand name and symbol, which add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service.

3.    What you learned from this course.

I learned a ton of useful information/ materials from this course. I was able to choose a brand of my choice and determine; What business are they in? What do their customers want now? What do their customers want in the future? What is their sustainable competitive advantage? What is their social media strategy? I also learned about different Target Markets and  CRM & Positions. To be honest some of the most important information came from week 3 when I learned about Chapter 30 SOSTAC® Planning System

4.    How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally.

I plan to use the materials I learned from this course professionally when initiating my service. The product development materials allowed me to gain the knowledge and skills they need to step into a new career field. I plan to use the SOSTAC Planning system in my business venture.

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Entrepreneurial Finance

·      What your original goal was for this course.

For this course and the other eleven each student was to create three personal goals with strategies for each goal. For this course which is the Entrepreneurial Finance my main goal was to learn and focus closely on how to quantify sales and expense estimates and create Pro Forma financial projections. Another goal for this was to examine short-term and long-term financial planning, business valuation, and exit strategies.

·      How the goal was met by the course.

The goal for the course met during week four, one of the most important assignments for this class was the Pro Forma Project. The Pro Forma statement is a projected or estimated financial statement that attempts to present a reasonably accurate idea of what a firm's financial situation would be if the present trends continue or certain assumptions hold true. However, the instruction consisted of me completing a Profit and Loss Statement and a Break-Even Analysis for my new business venture.

·      What you learned from this course.

Overall, this was a great course that allowed me to significantly improve my knowledge on entrepreneurial finance. For each week of this course I learned some exciting new things that will benefit my venture and allow me to be a successful entrepreneur. During the initial week of this course I learned about the metrics, or key performance measures that are essential to an entrepreneur. I was able to grasp the concept that performance measures are based on data and tell a story about whether an agency or activity is achieving its objectives and if progress is being made toward attaining policy or organizational goals. This course also allowed me to understand the importance of an elevator pitch and what’s needed to perfect the elevator pitch.

·      How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or

professionally.

Based on the material learned for the entrepreneurial finance course I plan to those key metrics, business model samples, and pro forma statements professionally when establishing my business venture. The data values that I entered on my Profit and Loss excel worksheet were actual estimated numbers for my start-up costs, that will be my way applying the material learned in this course professionally. Overall, this course was awesome and was one of my favorites simply because it involves business finance and I love working with numbers. 

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Legal Issues in Entrepreneurship

What your original goal was for this course.

Prior to starting this course each student was required to establish three personal goals and three strategies that will be used to reach the goals. My original goal was to research, learn, and study the legal issues that entrepreneurs encounter while launching their business venture. Another goal that I planned to reach was to create my own legal plan for avoiding the legal issues entrepreneurs face.

 How the goal was met by the course.

However, before the end of week four of the Legal Issues in Entrepreneurship course my goal was completed. Actually, my goal was met during week two after learning that social media ownership is one of the main issue that entrepreneurs face. After reading about different court cases that involved disputes about ownership of social media accounts. Those cases allowed me to understand that something very little can cause a big dispute within a organization.

 What you learned from this course.

I learned a lot from this course. Honestly, I learned much more than I expected. One of the most important pieces of information from this course came during week two. During week two I learned the importance of creating a social media policy for your business because if you fail to do so legal issues may arise. Some addition information that I learned from this course that feel is very important is the different alternative dispute resolutions. I learned that there are three basic types which are arbitration, mediation, and litigation.

 How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally.

I plan to apply the materials learned from this course professionally to improve the overall services that ill offer. Especially my social media policy. My social media policy will require employees to agree “that the company, not the employee, owns the account and that employees must return all social media logins and passwords at end of employment.Overall, this was great well needed course that helped me gain the needed knowledge and legal issues to avoid, I’m so excited to start my venture.

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Business Model Development

      What your original goal was for this course? Prior to actually attending the required courses needed for graduation I believe each student created a list of 12 monthly goals for each course. For this course, titled Business Model Development there were three goals that I planned to achieve after completing this course these goals are as follows. The initial goal was for me to learn what makes some business models better than another. The second goal was to learn what it takes to develop a good business model and how to create revenue streams for my venture. My final goal for this course was to establish a successful business model. How the goal was met by the course? By now, which is the fourth week I can honestly say my goals for this course was met. I’ve learned about the different types of business models and what makes a great business model. One of the types of business models I reviewed was an open business model. I learned that an open business model is a business model that uses external sources for innovation or external vehicles for commercialization of non-core innovations.

       What you learned from this course? Besides the open business model, it was a lot of more information I learned about business models that I learned from this course. I also learned about value proposition design and how to create products and services customers want. I understand that the Lean Canvas is the perfect format for brainstorming possible business models therefore, another important characteristic I learned from this course involved me creating a lean canvas for my venture. How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally? Overall this was an awesome course, I honestly believe this was one of the important courses for the degree program simply because a business model helps organizations realize the economic value of their product, services, business and/or technology without a good business model your chances of being successful are slim. With that being stated I plan to use the material learned from this course professional while establishing a great foundation for my venture.

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Business Feasibility Mastery Journal Assignment

What your original goal was for this course. My original goal for the business feasibility course was to study key industry factors, market conditions, competitive forces, and customers’ needs. In addition to that my goal also focused on making good business decision by being able to identify problems and business opportunities. How the goal was met by the course. By end of the course my goal was completed. During the past month, I learned so much about market conditions and competitive forces which allowed me to identify my ideal customer and also identify some of the issues that I’m currently facing. What you learned from this course. Every assignment for this course was well put together and helped me learned a lot about business feasibility. In my opinion, some of the most useful information came from week three assignments after reading about pivoting by author Ries. I learned the   importance of pivoting and some supporting facts as well. It is now to my understanding that a pivot is structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, business model and engine of growth. Although I felt as if it was very difficult to find a way to pivot my business, the assignment allowed me to expand my thinking and research about my business. Another important aspect I learned from this course came from Rhonda Abrams feasibility checklist in the text book. After completing the feasibility check list, I was able to identify a lot of issues that I need to show immediate attention to in order to be successful in the child care industry. I learned that the five areas that I need to show some immediate attention to are my operations, management team, service, competition, and my financial business model. How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally. I’m actually applying the material learned in this course now professionally as I gather all the sources and information needed prior to entering the daycare industry. Overall this was a great course that push me one step closer in my journey towards mastery.

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Product Design and Development  Week 4 Mastery Journal Assignment

What your original goal was for this course? Months ago, before starting the Product Design and Development I had already set three goals that I was to complete before course ended. My goals consisted of learning how to address the design process while creating and developing a product/service that customers need and want. During this course, I learned that it is very important to know your core customers because it gives you an advantage when marketing, it also allows you to better design your business suit. How the goal was met by the course? This was an awesome course that I can honestly say was well needed in building my product/service. My goal for this course was met after developing the service that I plan to pursue in the near future.

What you learned from this course? Throughout the four weeks of this course I learned a lot of information. During the initial week, I learned about product design and what makes a product design great. I discovered that good product design is a product that is intended to focus closely on the consumer’s needs however, the product should be well designed and easily functional. Some of the most important information was introduce during week 2 of this course. During the second week, I learned about the Lean Start-Up Process. I learned that the Lean startup is a methodology for developing businesses and products, which aims to shorten product development cycles by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning. Minimum Viable Product also known as the (MVP). I learned that an MVP product is a product with only a basic set of features, released in order to test a new business idea and gauge people’s reactions.

How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally? I plan to use the materials I learned from this course professionally when initiating my service. The product development materials allowed me to gain the knowledge and skills they need to step into a new career field. I plan to use the lean method for start-ups when establishing my service and also plan to create an MVP that will help me get my audience’s feedback first before releasing a full-fledged product.

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Week 4 Business Venture Research Mastery Journal

      What your original goal was for this course. Before starting the Business Venture Research course, I had already set three personal goals with strategies to achieve those goals. My original goal consisted of me learning how to properly use the different research methods provided by Full Sail student library. The strategy I formed involved me researching and studying the different methods like interviews, surveys, and direct observations that is needed in order complete sufficient research on entrepreneurs, company profiles, and startups.

       How the goal was met by the course. My goal for Business Venture Research was met during the initial week of this course. After reading Chapter 3 "Basic Business Research" in Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach by Rhonda Abrams and reading chapters 1 and 2 of Business Research Methods by William G. Zikmund, Barry J. Babin, Jon C. Carr, and Mitch Griffin I had a clear understanding of basic research. Those provided sources are considered as very helpful, the information, allowed me to grasp the concept of completing basic research.

       What you learned from this course. Mention at least 4 research resources you found useful. Throughout the four weeks of this course I have learned a ton of useful information. I’m 100% positive that all of the information retained from weekly readings, videos, and assignments will be well needed in my journey to success. Some of the most important lessons I learned from this course came from the idea evaluation panel discussion. During the panel discussion, they mentioned idea generation is not the most important thing, you should focus more on implementation, management, and passion of the entrepreneur behind the idea. Another research resource that I have found to be very useful is the Entrepreneurship Lessons for Success by Bruce Barringer, Edward D. Hess, Charles F. Goetz, R. Duane Ireland, Wes Moss. The reading gave me specific guidance on how to beat the odds and launch a high-profit, high-growth business that lasts. I also found the EBSCOhost Database and the LexisNexis Academic Database as very useful research resources.

       How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally. I plan and will apply the materials learned from this course personally and professionally by constantly using the researching tips and techniques I learned from this course on a daily basis. Over the next nine months while completing the required courses for my degree I plan to use this information as well as the resources provided by Full Sail’s student library to complete sufficient research on each topic. Overall this was a great course that was well needed in the success of my future.

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The Creativity and Innovation Course

This creativity and innovation course was a great course that I feel have increased my knowledge on how to become a successful entrepreneur. The weekly readings, videos, class discussions, and assignments are great tools and information that I’ll need and use in order use my design thinking in the near future to develop my business ideas. To be honest I learned more about innovation and creativity in the last few weeks than I have I learned my entire life.

What your original goal was for this course? Before starting this class I had already set a few goals that I plan to achieve while completing this course. My first or original goal was to learn the difference between creativity and innovation.

How the goal was met by the course? The goal was actually met the second week of the creativity and innovation course after defining the two terms creativity and innovation in my own words and determining how they are similar and how they are different.

What you learned from this course? I learned a lot from this course as I previously stated I learned about creativity and innovation how they are similar and different and the 5 different types of innovation. I also learned about the design thinking process which is seen as a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success and a tool of the design thinking process which is called empathy mapping.

How you will apply the material learned in the course personally or professionally. I plan and will apply the materials learned from this course personally and professionally by stressing the importance of creativity and innovation in today’s competitive work environment and using the design thinking process to formulate my creative ideas into reality.

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July

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June

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May

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April 

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March 

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February