Final Reflection

This class has been full of ups and downs, with the ups being defined by moments of enlightenment and excitement and the downs being moments of distress and misery. I think that the most formative experiences from this class were the interviews that I had to conduct with people that I didn't know. These experiences forced me to face my anxiety and leave my comfort zone. I have had to face clients and customers that I did not know in the past, but in all of those situations, the unknown individuals were asking something of me, not the other way around. I had to approach people who I had never met before, call random business owners and community leaders, and ask friends of friends to do me a favor and listen to my questions about single-use plastics. These interviews forced me to accomplish something that I did not think I could and it was something that I was proud of completing.

I believe that I have always had a bit of an entrepreneurial mindset because I have been raised in small businesses, but I think that after completing all of the tasks that this class has required, I have developed a more wholistic entrepreneurial mindset. I have spent time in and out of this class trying to find problems in my daily life and finding solutions to fix them. I have also started to consider my business idea as a potential plan for my life and not just an assignment that I had to complete for a class. I struggled through many of these assignments, usually because I could not find inspiration for the prompt, but as the class progressed, it became easier and easier. I had more of an entrepreneurial instinct and was more willing to work outside of my comfort zone.

If I could only make one recommendation to a future student in this course, it would be to put extra time and consideration into the earlier assignments. They may seem easier and like a quick finish, but if you do not put time and effort into them, all of the subsequent assignments will be more difficult. Put special consideration into the assignments in which you decide on your business idea, because this will determine how
the rest of the course will be for you. I think that it can be helpful to look ahead at the assignments for that week and the subsequent week before completing one that seems easy because this may help you realize the importance of putting extra effort and consideration in. In general, I have found that looking ahead and planning my week based on all of the assignments as a whole has been very helpful in managing my time and mental state. As long as you stay focused and put in consistent effort, this class is manageable and helpful for developing an entrepreneurial mindset that will benefit you throughout your life.