What Have I Learned About Myself As An Entrepreneur

I have learned a lot more about myself as an entrepreneur through this course.  When I started this course I had just closed the doors at Express Motors, which was a bittersweet experience.  I was running a very profitable business and because of a lease renewal increase (double what I was previously paying) and not having another property to move to I closed the doors.  On one hand it was hard to do and on the other hand I knew it was the best timing in the world because the largest and deepest recession since the Great Depression was just getting into full swing.  So needless to say, when I started this class I was in a weird place in my life because I felt like I was starting over and going back to work for someone else was very hard.  I still owned a lawn care business, but it just was not the same as the dealership and I was looking at selling the business in the spring.  Needless to say this course has sparked my entrepreneurial spirit all over again and I am working on starting another business and I am currently growing my lawn care business.  I have hired a full time employee for the lawn care and I am looking at using its strong balance sheet to finance my new venture.  The way I look at Express Motors closing is no longer a failure, but a success.  I gained a lot of knowledge and I know exactly what I will do different this time.  The greatest success of closing Express Motors is that I preserved my excellent credit and all of my capital investment.  I even managed to come out ahead after the closing of the business. I now look at my past experiences as cinder blocks in my foundation and now I am going to start the frame work to something more fulfilling and successful.

Bryan Lawlor

Personal Finance Issues

Personal finance is a huge component of whether a venture is a success or a failure.  First, most of the capital to begin the venture will have to come from the owner themselves.  If they do not have a substantial amount of cash they will have to get loans any possible way they can and a lot of times the stress of the loan repayment may be overwhelming upon start-up.  Second, if the venture fails your personal assets will be at risk. You will have to back any loans you have with your personal credit and assets.  The last and most crucial component of personal finance in a business venture comes in to play with your daily and monthly personal budget.  If you are not able to save and budget for the venture and manage your own money well on a monthly basis your business will have a hard time as well.  A lot of times when you first go into business for yourself you will have to balance your own books and pay your own bills and salary.  One of the biggest mistakes I see small business people make is that the money in their business account is also used as their personal money and if there is not any separation it becomes a recipe for disaster. 

Bryan Lawlor