Overwhelmed Turns to Excitement

     This week was very beneficial for me. I was able to visualize how to I am going to build a website for my teaching business. Seeing some examples of websites that meet the requirements for the class was the best help for me. Jumping in and exploring some of the templates that are available made it that much clearer. Where I was feeling so overwhelmed by the whole process (the hosting and site builder is still confusing to me), I am beginning to feel excitement.

    I started teaching a new set of beginning students this morning. It was so much fun! That, combined with the new confidence I am feeling, is a wonderful push for this website to be successful and provide communication to my students and their parents (most of my sewing students are kids).

    I still have a lot to learn and work on to make this a successful venture, but I am excited to see where this journey takes me.

Web Hosting and Site Building

    This week we discussed web hosting and site builders. We were speaking a whole language and it was very overwhelming. Some hosts are also site builders. Some bundle the cost all together and others don’t. Some work with Google Analytics and offer advertising credits. Others don’t.

    I am grateful that I have classmates asking questions and doing their own research. Their insights as well as my own research are helping me sort it all out. Now, I need to decide which one (or more) fit my needs the best. There lies the next problem. What are my needs? What business have I decided to build a website for and promote?

    I teach kids how to sew (sometimes adults too, but kids are what I am good at) and have been using Facebook as my website. This has been working but not super effectively. I would like to build a website around my teaching business. This would feature details about the classes I am offering as well as allow a student to sign up for the class and pay for it. I would like to reach an audience that I can’t reach through social media.

Money and the Internet

         This week our study and discussions were about different types of online businesses and how to choose suppliers, etc. It has been interesting and eye-opening. I knew that there was money to be made on the internet and that lots of people are successful at it. Wrapping my head around that and seeing it in a way that I could be successful doing it has always been daunting. It makes more sense now and something that I might actually be able to do.

        As I do more study and narrowing things down, it appears that an affiliate program would be a great place for me to begin. But that requires an audience, traffic to my website. In the back of my head, I keep hearing, why would someone what to visit your site? What do you have to offer that someone else hasn’t already put out there? I guess that is where marketing comes in, creating content that is interesting and that people will take time out of their busy lives to engage with.

        I have a lot to learn! I have a hunch that this class is going to be a grand adventure!

New Year, New Class

I find it interesting that a second class in my college experience uses blog posting as part of the assignments. I guess that comes with the online college experience. This new class is called Web Business Creation. I am really excited about it and also really intimidated by it. Thank goodness the class takes you step by step, week by week.

For a long time, I have wanted to connect my sewing life with an income, discovering how I could make a living using my passion. I have had thoughts and ideas but haven’t been successful at settling on what will be the best option. I am excited that this class will help me to simplify and narrow down the world wide web.

This week the discussion was based around business models, demand and competition. We were introduced to resources such as Google Ads. This was very beneficial to me. I have been exploring it and learning how it works and how I can use it to work for me. 

This is going to be a great ride and I am holding on tight!

My Journey Continues

         This semester has been quite the journey for me. My kids recently informed me that while I am in school, they are in bondage. We are ready to be out of bondage! This tells me that I struggle finding balance in my life. Balance is such an important part of the journey. In my study, balance was compared to someone trying to spin multiple plates on sticks. It can be done, tending to each one, but if one is neglected it falls to the floor. This is just like our lives. If we neglect our spirituality, our testimony falters. If we neglect our marriage, it will fall apart, etc. Balance often takes sacrifice. What are you willing to sacrifice to make your business successful?

I have really enjoyed the opportunity to learn and study what entrepreneurship is. Entrepreneurship isn’t just beginning a business or striking out on your own. It begins with a journey of self-discovery. From taking this class, I have learned some of my strengths and weaknesses. Through this knowledge I am now able to learn how to work with those strengths and weaknesses more efficiently. One of my favorite parts of the class were interviewing a successful entrepreneur. Learning from someone who has been there and done that was a wonderful opportunity.

If I was to share a last bit of advice it would be that we are all on a journey and that journey never ends. Before jumping into beginning a business it is important to discover your why, your reason. Why do you want to be in business for yourself? What do you want to gain from the experience? If the answer is money, you are barking up the wrong tree and look into other options.

This class is coming to a close but my journey continues. I look forward to discovering what the Lord has in store for me and where the journey will take me.

Gratitude

In this week’s study I was able to listen to the words of one of my favorite speakers, Thomas S. Monson. He spoke of having an attitude of gratitude and the importance of it. He shared the lyrics of the favorite hymn Count Your Many Blessings.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings; name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

 

[Chorus]

Count your blessings;

Name them one by one.

Count your blessings;

See what God hath done.

Count your blessings;

Name them one by one.

Count your many blessings;

See what God hath done.

 

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by. [Chorus]

 

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.

Count your many blessings; money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven nor your home on high. [Chorus]

 

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged; God is over all.

Count your many blessings; angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. [Chorus]

 

In the entrepreneurial journey I think it is so important to have an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude keeps things in perspective for me. For example, my husband and I have a small home with four children who have quickly shown me how small my home really is. We could go purchase a beautiful, large home that would fit our needs so much better, but then we would have a mortgage payment (we currently do not have a mortgage payment). We are feeling so confident that being out of debt is where the Lord wants us to be that we are managing with our small home. We have so much gratitude to have a home (especially after the fire came through so close to our home). I have been slowly making small improvements to make our small home more beautiful; plants in the flowerbeds, a new coat of paint (inside and out) and new furniture that actually matches. The fire helped me put a lot of things into perspective. Gratitude isn’t just to be grateful for the things around me but I must have gratitude for the Lord in all that I do. The journey with the Lord on my side is difficult. I can’t imagine trying to do it without the Lord.

Money

 This week we read an article regarding money and how we perceive it. There were a couple of parts of this article that I really enjoyed. The author, Stephen W. Gibson, related the story of the Good Samaritan, with a different perspective. We always hear the story, learning who our neighbor is. This time we learn about money. The Good Samaritan took the time to care for the wounded man, bandage him and take him to a “hotel.” All of these things take money. He also left money for the inn keeper, telling him to take care of the wounded man. The Good Samaritan had money and chose to use it for good.

Being wealthy can be good or evil. It is how you choose to use the money you have that makes the difference. Brother Gibson shares 6 rules to making money.

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in Him

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity. 

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated. 

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.

These 6 rules can help each of us to be self-reliant. It makes me think of the early pioneers that kept moving from place to place. Many of them had no money to start over with. They depended on the kindness and wealth of others.

In my own life, money is something that we need. We need it to provide shelter for our family, pay the bills and clothe and feed our children. We are working on being self-reliant so we can increase our ability to provide opportunities for those around us.