"Be remarkable, NOT boring"

          As I was reading the article "In Praise of the Purple Cow" one thing defiantly clicked with me and I realized the importance of being REMARKABLE. While Seth was driving down France as saw so many cows they quickly became boring and the family lost interest. Seth's experience made me realize that is true in real life as well we need to stand out in order to be seen and not get lost within the crowd. This made me think about my $100 challenge small business and what I can do to stand out from all the other free-lance photographers.

          Something that also caught my attention and really made realize it is ok to want to change and create something else is this action hero Phil Romano. Phil would easily get bored with his business and sell it to create another one. That really touched me because I often feel like I want to change professions and accomplish another job/ obstacle.

          An updated with my $100 challenge is that we made elevator pitch this week to attract investor to our business. This was a little difficult for me as I am very shy, but it was great practice to be able to get feedback and get out of my comfort zone.

Be Financially Responsible!

        I love the talk by Elder Robert Hales titled "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually'' because it great advice on how to good providers and be financially responsible. Elder Hales said "To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies". I personally want to follow this advice and be financially responsible for my family and to also be a good church member. I have always had a hard time staying out of debt since I got a credit card, but I am trying to pay it off as soon as possible to have a debt free life and not feel like I am in bondage. My favorite scripture Malachi 3:10 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Because I have a great testimony that paying tithing will bring great blessings.

         My $100 challenge business is coming along great and I have started buying some props for the pictures. Also, I have started spreading the word with family and friends to get some business and start taking some pictures.

Don't make the same mistake!

This week my favorite to read was the article by John Gachiri titles "Richard Branson: How To Avoid Common Startup Mistakes". I will be defiantly being referring back to this article because it gives great advice on what to look out for and avoid while building the new business. It mentioned 4 steps to follow which are:

1. Stay on target

2.Be realistic about cost

3. Hire the people you need, met the people you like

4. Know when to say goodbye

Out of the 4 steps the one that impacted me the most was number three because I know we all want someone we can trust to work with and it would be so much fun to have family and friend in your team. However, this can become a problem if things do not turn out to be good because it will ruin relationship if the person has to be let go.

Update on my $100 challenge small business! I have chosen to start a photography business which will be called "Michelle's Photography" and will mainly focus on taking graduation, newborn and family pictures. I have created a basic business plan to lay out my vision and plans for the future.

Business Vision

                  As I was reading the material for this week’s lesson I really enjoyed the quotes that where in "A Visionary Business" and I picked three of the eleven quotes to use for my small business. The first one is "The rule of three: Every start-up will take three times as long and cost three times as much." I think this is super important to keep in mind when building the business. Being able to be prepared financial and emotionally on what to expect is key to help the business startup. The second quote is to "Have a higher purpose than just making money. Discover your unique purpose for living and the talents and abilities you have been given to achieve that purpose. Money is not the final measure of your worth; the life you lead matters most. Make the world a better place." I would like to print this off and keep it in my business at all times because being able to make the world a better place by having a great business and employees who are comfortable there. Lastly, I liked the quote "Put the company's interest before your own. Take care of the company and it will take care of you." Having good employee who feel they are being treated fairly will make for a good business.

                      This week I have narrowed down my choices for the $100 challenge and I am looking at 5 choices. 

                                 1. men’s/women's haircut 

                                 2. manicures

                                 3. photography

                                 4. edit pictures and invitations

                                 5. cloth alterations

Out of the five I am really looking into doing photography because I think it will be more successful with the senior pictures season.