When I was little, I always wanted a specific LEGO set. It was the Jek-14 starfighter. I wanted it so bad, but I didn't have enough money to buy it. My mother sternly told me that if I wanted to buy it, it would be with my own money. The problem was, I didn't know HOW! I eventually realized that the best way to make money was to sell things. I decided to pick a couple avocados off of my grandma's tree for some quick cash,, and it blasted off from there. I went back, hungry for more avocados, and inherently, cash. After selling enough, I was finally awarded with the lego set I had my sights on, my Jek-14 Starfighter.
From that small, seemingly insignificant experience, my entrepreneur spirit was born. It also caused me to realize some important things; 1- It is reasonably easy to make money. If my 11-year old self can do it, anybody can! 2- I also learned the value of money. Instead of seeing my starfighter as another toy, it was my prized possession, something I honestly earned and cherished. After that, I took very good care of my very own starfighter. 3- I loved being my own boss! The feeling of freedom to work when I want to for when I deemed necessary, was a feeling unlike any other. What i learned has left a lasting impact on me, and leads perfectly into what I have accomplished now.
When I was a Junior, , I took what I learned from my avocado business with me and implemented it into my life, hoping to start my next great accomplishment, a trash can cleaning business. Knowing how I wanted to make my money, and that I wanted to work on my own time, I figured that it was time for my next business. Noticing that there was a high demand for clean trash cans, I got a pressure washer, and went door to door asking if people would like their trash cans cleaned. While partially successful, I wasn't being as successful as I knew I could be. I figured out that technology, specifically social media, can help me meet a lot more customers. After using social media , I was able to get many more customers, and am doing very well for myself now.
Even though this wasn't my first time starting a business, I still learned many things. I learned the value of kindness; being kind to people isn't only the way to make money but it is ultimately the right thing to do. Secondly, I learned to take responsibility for my mistakes. There were times when I messed up, or did something wrong, or made one of my customers angry, and it was scary because they were my clients. Even though it can get scary, the best thing to do is to always take responsibility for your actions and see how you can better the situation. I also learned that Building relationships is the most important thing anybody can do when it comes to almost anything. When you have good relationships with people, not only are they more understanding, it makes you love your job more.
I have had many experiences in relationships, many good, and some bad. When I say relationships, I don’t mean romantically, but just from person to person. From these, there are more things I have learned. For starters, It is almost always better to be a bigger person. From all the relationships I have had, I can guarantee you will go through arguments.If you want to stop the argument, you should always apologize first to diffuse the situation. Once you do, you will be able to make a better argument without the other person shutting down.
Now I may not be the wisest person, or the most accomplished, but I make sure to always learn from what I do, and that is all people can really do. The more things, I do, the more I will learn, and the more prepared I will be for my future endeavors. Pretty soon, What I learned from my past businesses will directly relate to my future challenges. Because of my experiences, I am able to know what most people still don't know when they are adults, like the value of relationships. If everybody was able to realize that, then we would all collectively have the skills necessary to succeed in our future. No matter what you do, there will always be things that are important no matter what, and relationships are one of them.
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