By far my favorite part of the course was being able to learn so much about myself. Before this I never really thought about what drove me as a person but when someone’s business and livelihood is on it really makes you think about your priorities especially when its your own business. I was forced into many different uncomfortable situation during the course of this class. Everything from public speaking in front of parents and strangers, interviewing random people in public places, getting deep into testing prototypes and so on. I was pushed to the edge and past the edge of my comfort zone almost every single day. Part of being pushed out of my comfort zone was all the time we spent downtown at the Gries Center. Without the Gries Center I don’t think the entrepreneurship course could have been half of what it was this semester. Being at the Gries Center and being downtown opened up a whole new world that we otherwise would not make part of our everyday normal lives. Down here we were able to have access to many more types of people which made our interviews more effective, we also had access to all different types of food which was just a bonus :-)
Throughout the entrepreneurship course I was able to really see the kind of worker and person I was in different settings. I was able to see how effectively I could work by myself and in a group setting. I’ve alway been the kind of person who liked to work by themselves because I was sure that everything would be done in a way that I found to be best but here I didn’t have that luxury, everything I did effected my team. I had to suck it up and learn to take my work ethic as an individual and apply it to team settings. I definitely don’t think this is something I ever really learned outside of this class. I have been taught how to be a team player but I never really had to be part of a team for so long that counted for so much that my choices as an individual really affected the rest of my team. That helped with the importance of communication, because if the team wasn’t on the same page, nothing could ever get done and we didn’t have the time to waste fixing something that could have been done right the first time.
The last and most important thing I learned about myself during this course was my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I think of myself of a fair leader but working effectively is one of my main priorities. As a leader of one of the final groups when we created our own businesses it took me a long time to figure out how to balance being a leader and being a friend. I have no problem telling it like it is and being a little mean when I have to. But it is 10 times harder to do this when the person you're being a little mean to is still your friend outside of class. Creating a healthy professional work relationship while still maintaining a friendship is probably one of the hardest things a person can do. If I had the choice I’d never start a business with friends, but if I ever did I think I’m a lot more prepared than the start of this class.