Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. The due diligence evaluation came as a surprise to me. It’s not just evaluating the company’s profitability, it goes through the name of the company, the CEO, the date founded, the location, etc. This is different from my expectations of a thorough analysis of a business. Especially since it is pages long!

2. Nothing was necessarily confusing; it was just a lot of information to retain. Every table was pages long on things to do for analyzing businesses. From a chart for the amount needed to buy a business to a checklist for analyzing a business, it was all very intricate and detailed.

3. My first question would be if he’s ever bought a business and used these principles in real life or if he is just basing it off others experiences. I would also ask if valuating what a venture is worth in the future is really possible since it is essentially based on how well you run it.

4. I can’t deny any information that Mr. Kuratko used in this chapter. It all seemed logical and I don’t disagree with anything he said!

Celebrating Failure

1. While I luckily haven’t failed any classes or exams this past semester, I have failed a significant amount of times outside of the classroom. For example, as a realtor one of the things I do to get leads is cold call. Everybody hates getting bothered on the phone and asked questions about their home and why they don’t want to sell it through a realtor. Doing this, you fail the majority of the time, but occasionally you get people who will let you come out and check out there home and potentially sell it for them. I’ve literally failed so many times doing this I’m used to getting either hung up on or cussed out, and have desensitized myself to this. When I first started doing this however, I was always nervous to call and talk to a stranger that I didn’t know and most likely get shut down.

2. I learned to fail my way forward and never give up, because every time you fail you just get closer to that one success.

3. Failure definitely is hard, and it’s harder when it’s something important. I’ve come to realize that failure is inevitable in life unless you live such a boring life that you never challenge yourself or go outside your comfort zone. I’d rather fail 1,000 times than do the same thing every day and never fail. This class has helped me realize that failing is ok. Also, from reading the Entrepreneurship book, I’ve come to realize that its better to fail when you’re young and don’t have as much to worry about like a family or needing money to service when you’re too old to work. Go for broke while you still have a chance and give it all you’ve got!

My Exit Strategy

1. I don’t necessarily have an exit plan but I do tend to stay in the business. With manufacturing, I feel that a lot of the business is automated and once you have a system going you can have other companies do the work for you. For example, with amazon they will reorder your product when they run low, store your product, and ship the product whenever a customer orders it. This leaves you time to come up with new products, test the market, and then put your products on the market. I assume I would be able to either sell this business when I retire or pass it on to a family member who has the will or drive to keep the business running.


2. I have selected this particular exit strategy because I feel like I can still live an open and free life with the business running. I want to own a business that runs on automation and liberate myself from the 9-5 curse that most Americans deal with.


3. This exit strategy has definitely changed my decisions I’ve made in my concept. Because it’s not just about coming out with one successful product and then selling the company for a profit, it’s about continuous innovation and helping people. I will constantly be looking for reachable niche markets, brainstorming products, micro-testing products, and hopefully launching successful products that help people in every day life. I plan on using the successful principles of past companies to grow this company into an income producing giant! Using this strategy I will always be cautious of payables and receivables and not just what product can take off and make me a million bucks.