Kristy's Entrepreneurial Journal

 I'm finding it difficult to distill all the wisdom from the various sources in this course into one blog post.   One of the major principles that were driven home is that money is simply a tool.  It is never to be seen as the end goal, but a tool to help you accomplish the things that you want most with efficiency.  If you have not taken the time to develop your true character, goals, and guideposts, then money will simply serve as a vehicle to self-destruction quicker and more directly.  If, on the other hand, you have a set mission statement with larger life-goals and a central stabilizing purpose, then money again, will serve as an efficient gateway to those goals.  Though I had earned this knowledge through life experience, it was valuable to have seen it first hand, and to hear it over and over from men and women who had made a lot of money and could say with all honesty that it didn't solve all of their problems or bring them true happiness, by itself.  For that, they ne

 I have a quote painted on a wooden plaque and placed above my kitchen sink.  I read it many years ago in the Ensign magazine in an article about gratitude.  It reads "The grateful heart sits at a continual feast."  Though I made the plaque over fifteen years ago, I've never considered taking it down.  The more time goes on, the more profound it seems to me.   If I get into a mood where I'm looking around at all that is wrong in my life: a difficult child, a messy house, not enough money for some of the things I want, my own personal failures, the failures or unkind behavior of others, life can look bleak and paltry.   On the other hand, if I look with eyes that are searching for the rich blessings that are mine, I truly feel that I'm sitting at a feast that God has provided just for me.  I am dazzled by all that is mine: good health, the good health of my husband and children, a large comfortable house, cars that function, relationships full of love and respect,

The two articles I enjoyed the most from the study material this week were the What's a Business For? article, and the microlending talk.  I enjoyed Handy's conclusion that the true purpose of a business, is not to make a profit, the end, it's to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better.  "That "something" becomes the real justification for the business."   I found it interesting to compare and contrast the American style of business with the European model of business.  I also really agreed with the author's conviction that employees should be seen as assets instead of "costs", although the vast majority of businesses treat their employees as exactly the opposite.  I can attest to this first hand, as James's company recently laid off 10% of its employees, not to stay afloat financially, but according to one senior executive, it was to be sure that the company stayed on track to make a 40 million dollar profit.