Assignment 3A- Your Entrepreneurship Story

Culture and Entrepreneurship

All around us are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial happenings, even if we may not realize them. When first reading this assignment, I thought “I’ve never done anything like an entrepreneur” and “I don’t know any entrepreneurs”. After further thought, and recognizing the characteristics and actions of entrepreneurs, I realized it was way more common than at first glance. I even realized that I had had entrepreneurship experiences that I almost forgot about. 

            In my sophomore year of high school, I took a college-level Travel and Tourism Class. The final exam was a paper that detailed the planning, execution, and reflection of an event that I had to plan. I worked with a group of four other students, where we decided to host a Culture Festival. We invited students to make booths that had cultural items and foods from different countries around the world. The way we got students to sign up was by reaching out to teachers to provide extra credit for participating and offering cash prizes. Our main goal was to make some profit so that the event could be hosted next year. We charged two-dollar admission during lunch, and students were allured by the fact of “free food.” After paying for all of the decorations and prizes, we ended up making a $200 profit, just with the purpose of students being able to have a budget for next year’s event. 

Students who made a booth for Haiti (photo release signed)

            Hosting and being apart of this event taught me many skills that are vital to entrepreneurs. Being a part of a team of four that had an influence on my overall grade proved to be a challenge. I had to learn how t be respectful to other members while also assuring that everyone did their part. As an entrepreneur, it is not realistic to always be working solo. Some times groups are vital in certain stages to ensure success. Also, I took on risk when I had to utilize my own money and capital and was unsure if the event would be successful. If the event was not successful, we would lose our own money and our grades would suffer. Finally, I had to be persistent and ambitious because the event required three months of planning and a 90-page report at the end. This experience helped me gain general business skills with budgeting and also entrepreneurial skills. 

            When looking through the variety of business electives that I was able to enroll in, Principles of Entrepreneurship automatically stuck out. I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue a career in business. I wanted to learn how to think like an entrepreneur and expand my horizons when it comes to solving problems. I always love learning about new perspectives and ways of thinking. I am excited to learn how to identify problems and opportunities that I otherwise would not have known existed. I am excited for a great semester and can’t wait to learn more about entrepreneurship!