Interview an Entrepreneur

We believe that his business is interesting, because he not only operates his business in Indiana but he also works in Virginia. He has to make several trips a month to Virginia to oversee projects and things of that nature. One of the great things about his business is that he sometimes is able to take his family along with him to Virginia. This allows him to still have the work-life balance that he needs. As with most entrepreneurs, Brian has to put in long hours. Another thing that is interesting about his business is that he doesn’t have to pay for any kind of marketing. He has been able to use word-of-mouth and networking to generate more customers. Marketing is a big expense for most companies, and it is interesting that he was able to be successful and maintain his business without it.

“It is now very clear to us that you cannot run a business half-heartedly. Clear, good decisions cannot be made at the last minute; time and energy must be put into every decision in order to do well in the business world.”

Zumiez Inc. history started off with the owner of the business wanting to do anything he could do to give back to his community. When Zumiez was first created their target market was in action sports retailing, when they really started making more money they started giving back in an even bigger way to 13 charity organizations in Snohomish County, Washington by purchasing jackets, flannels shirts and blankets to give away to those who couldn’t afford it. Up until that point Zumiez was a private company until their launch in the spring of 2005. By the time we hit 2012 Zumiez had already donated over 180,000 items to over 180 organizations in 21 states helping more than 60,000 men, women, and children. Tom’s philosophy of business and life has been there motto since day one. “We help our employees to become successful, which makes the company successful. This in turn allows us to use that success to help others and to develop our employees into community leaders on issues that matter to them”. As Tom always says, “it’s about the leverage- creating it and using it for the benefit of others, and in the process, of ourselves”

they chose to do business would ensure that they are viewed as a valuable member of the community. I

In addition to having my own company, it would be a great dignity to donate my time and resources to the community. The opportunity to create a business is a lifelong dream, which will hopefully come true in the near future. Along with that dream comes the ability to donate to others around me, and make their lives better than mine ever could have been.

In modern day society, Veronika Scott takes a role of a hero. Scott creates jackets that go to the homeless to keep them warm. Not only does she make the coats, but she has an non-profit organization which hires homeless people to manufacture the coats and provides jobs. Scott says “We look for people that are going to make the culture better, people that are going to invest in the organization and take ownership of it. It's a big deal to us to find the right individuals.

Here are some of the young black business owners who are giving back to the community.

You can’t go an organized event without seeing major business owners because they keep a deep connection with the community. Lindale has grown exponentially but school sports/band is still the center of this community. New businesses understand this concept and are willing to support these kiddos because this passion contaminates anyone who will take a second to breathe in the spirit of Lindale. This is the reason why I’m part of the Band & Football booster Club. This allows me to be part of this great community but it also allows you to grow as a person.

What was the value of any tangible gifts your association made to community organizations this year? (Short answer)

During one of the company’s presentations to the Dellberg city council, commitments were made to sponsor community events, to support local youth leadership development programs, and to invest in infrastructure to aid in the rebuilding of the city of Dellberg utilizing environmentally responsible techniques.

After interviewing Chris Bouwens and listening to Joe Smith talk about his business. I have learned that they both have owner multiple companies. It is very interesting to see the business that they started with and what business they are running or looking to run today. Another similarity to both of their business stories was that they both have a hard time hiring people. It is interesting to me because they both seem like very intuitive people. I am so glad that I took the time to sit down with Chris to really understand what he does. I am also glad that I had the opportunity to meet Joe Smith. He is a kid wise beyond his

To conclude I would cite the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Being an entrepreneur means being able to go where nobody else went before you, being able to take risks, being able to see opportunities where nobody has looked before you… In my mind there is different ways to succeed in

The entrepreneur that I interviewed was Lydia Patterson. In 1989, Lydia and her husband, Lou, decided to start planning to open up a new Italian restaurant in Virginia. The restaurant industry, especially in the Washington DC area is very competitive. It is highly competitive with respect to price, value and promotions, service, location, and food quality.  There are a substantial number of restaurant operations that compete for customer traffic, some of which have significantly greater resources to aggressively market to consumers, which could result in losing market share.  Consumers are highly focused on value and if other restaurants are able to promote and deliver a higher degree of value, guest traffic levels

Taking this entrepreneur course has been the best thing I could do for myself. Not only did it grow my mindset, but it taught me how to focus and concentrate on meeting my goals. At the beginning of this semester I could not let go the negative self-image I had of myself. Since I have been able to reflect on who I am I am slowly able to let go of that past image. I now know that I am more than able to reach my goals with the proper mindset and skills. I have come a long way since the beginning of this course. At the beginning of this course we were asked what is most important in life, and when I chose myself I knew after that reflections that I was off to a great start. Putting myself first these last few months has been the best thing I

Have you ever had a miraculous idea? The kind of idea where your head keeps on spinning with intriguing questions, so many that your head might spin right off. Where to start and whose going to pay for it? Is the idea even possible to make? These are a couple of the question racing through your mind. The adrenaline is rushing through your blood steam. You want to tell everyone in the world, but in the real world there are people out their looking to steal those great ideas. Which in turn leads to secretiveness of the idea. In a sense it would be like spilling the beans on the Manhattan project.