Month: October 2020

Good morning! Sorry, this one is so late! WWU sites were down all last week so now we are back! So far for my venture, I’ve reached out to a heck of a lot of people. That’s kinda what you have to do when you are trying to throw an event. Seraphia, Tara, and Aida have been awesome resources for understanding what is required of me and what steps I should take to make my event a success! I hope to talk to Meg this next week which will be super useful. 

I’m good on evidence and customer discovery. Right now my main focus is figuring out who should perform at the event (music-wise). We want to keep a consistent vibe which can be a big challenge. The other thing I’m trying to figure out is how to create the right environment for the event so that everyone feels comfortable. I also have a team together and we are each working on our own part of the project! 

I learned that it’s important to use coaching for helping others learn about their emotions. I think people really struggle to understand what’s behind their first reaction to things. They may have logic for it but I find there is a lack of knowledge of how they truly feel. I have applied this to my relationship with my boyfriend because he has a hard time talking about how he feels. So I do this with him and it helps. 

I’m not really sure that I learned anything this week from class that will help me with my venture. 

Good morning/afternoon/whatever time you decided to read my week four traction journal! This week was the week where I learned all about what it means to be an E4. Meg did an awesome job of sparking curiosity in me and I’m really excited to explore some of the fields that pique my interest. I didn’t realize that we would need to have a legitimate offering by the end of this quarter so I think I might pivot in my thinking for my project idea. I think it would be really fun to plan and host a rave. Let me know your thoughts!

How have you deepened your understanding of business research, empathy and alignment?

I’m not really sure that I have, I feel like I’m a week behind everyone else in the class right now. I had to take the E4 exam and so none of my attention has been on anything relating to expanding my research yet. I’ve been so focused on making sure I understand what’s required of me that I haven’t focused on anything else.

How does IdeaGrit and Major Definite Purpose resonate with you right now?

I think right now I am focused on “discovering you on purpose”. I want t find something to create that I really care about. Something that will be engaging, fun, and inclusive. Specifically to Bellingham. My major definite purpose isn’t going to really be something I focus on right now because my purpose in life is a heck of a lot different than my purpose in this minor. In this minor, I want to try things that I’d never try without this community helping me. In real life, I don’t fear my passions and purposes. I want to face the unknown while here.

How might you apply this week’s learnings to your venture?

This week’s learnings pretty much taught me that I need to possibly pivot my initial idea to something totally new. Not for any bad reasons. Simply because I want to do something else that allows for my own personal creativity to shine. I hadn’t ever wanted to do another event after E3 but I guess that it does seem like fun. The fun part being, how do I do this during Covid?

How did the prep for the E4 exam go for you?

I don’t think we got a very good prep for the exam. It was kinda thrown on-to us. I knew that we’d have an exam during E4, however, we weren’t told by any instructors. Also, I had no idea we were doing the empathy interview in class on Wednesday and so we had a hard time learning about him for the exam. In the end, I think it was okay because I knew what I needed to do.

How are you feeling in the process of self-discovery and venture formation?

I’m feeling pretty good honestly. I wanted to do a venture for a bagel pop-up shop but I decided to go a route that fits my dreams more. I wanted to create something that will have a real impact. I think I am going down the path towards helping youth who may be at risk after the COVID economic crisis.

What have you learned about SWOT and Pestle?

I’ve learned how to do them. I already knew how to do them since we did them for our E2 venture. I think something important bout them is that it allows you to see things about the inside of your venture and what’s happening outside of the venture. It allows for a deeper view of everything.

How might you apply this week’s learnings to your venture?

I’m not sure since I don’t have all the pieces figured out but I suppose that could be good. I think if I come up with a less detailed venture and then do a SWOT I could learn where I should continue the venture.

1. What did you love this week? What would you have loved to have achieved this week?
   1. I loved the speaker we had come to class on Monday. As a psychology major, I really liked that the process he went through to discover the metaphor of the bees which to me compared to the business model canvas. He told us that he watched the bees as they behave in nature and then he applied that to how people in the business world behave. So awesome! I would have loved to start change leadership this week but it’s challenging to do tasks that require meetings nowadays.
2. Applying the content from this week’s learnings, connect your understanding with something that’s relevant to your venture.
   1. The speaker did a good job of opening more context to the common notion that there are bound to be unexpected things that will interfere or improve your progress through a venture. The weather metaphor was what did a good job of this for me. You never know what obstacles may come or go throughout this process. I have to take that into account when creating my venture this quarter.
3. What tools are you applying that you have learned from, or deepened understanding of this week?
   1. I am trying to understand how a BMC works and how to apply it to multiple situations. This has been somewhat of a challenge for me in the past but now I recognize that it will be helpful for my personal organization. I want to be able to do this naturally and quickly. 
4. What challenges are you facing? What’s Next?
   1. Once again, the main challenge I am facing is deciding if I want to be on the leadership or founder track. I plan to set up a meeting with one of the student leaders in our class to get some guidance.

 

1. What did you love this week? What would you have loved to have achieved this week?
   1. These first two weeks were, as always, spent on VP1. During this project, I loved the prompts. I think they were definitely appropriate for the current media and social issues. I think my team generated a solid idea for the prompt we picked which was the prompt for sustainability. I do wish that we would’ve been a more productive team. Taking online school and our skill sets being rather similar, I think this made this project rather hard for progress.
2. Applying the content from this week’s learnings, connect your understanding with something that’s relevant to your venture.
   1. Honestly, before this project, I hadn’t considered why test cards would be useful. My team did a really good job applying our test cards to producing a better project and business model. It helped us realize what customers we should target and what they want from our product. I’m going to use these for my E4 project this quarter to ensure that I am truly filling the gap.
3. What tools are you applying that you have learned from, or deepened understanding of this week? 
   1. This week I learned a lot from the younger E-levels. I hadn’t realized how much information had been lost over the summer and they brought a lot back to my attention. I think that using our community was probably the tool that deepened my understanding this week.
4. What challenges are you facing? What’s Next?
   1. I need to decide if I want to follow the leadership or founder track. After class on Monday, I think that I am more likely to go down the leadership path because I want to learn more about the styles Meg mentioned. That information feels like something I would use more in the future.