C4E Update 1.18.15

In class this week we finished up our storefront project, as well as the presentation associated with it, as well as we finished selling our sock inventory. I am a little bit worried that we made one or two mistakes in the outline that we sent in to the bank. Our group did a relatively poor job of working in tangent with each other, and while we edited and spent extensive time going over the outline, I'm hoping that our hard work was reflected in our end product. In retrospect I would have tried to take on more roles in the storefront project itself. I didn't particularly feel that the other members of the group were putting in the same effort that I was putting into the project. I think that I would feel a lot better about what we sent in had I had my hand in more of the project and knew exactly what went in and where. But live and learn. I don't think that the problem lies in others inability to do work well, but my tendency to want control. I never like group projects because in parts the work reflects work that isn't mine. Thus, if I don't know and trust my group member(s) well enough to trust in their work, I feel uncomfortable accepting that as part of our project. While I think that that can be hurtful to the cohesiveness of the group, I do believe that this is a component of my competitive edge, an advantage that I have. I want to win more than anyone else. I think that is why I feel so drawn to competing in athletics. In school, and this business world, this manifests itself through the effort that I put into my work, especially the work that I feel particularly inspired by. Thus, I'm really hoping that we did well here. We also spent time this week creating our presentation for Ms. Stevens and Mr. Fischer Tuesday which I am excited about.

The Millionaire Next Door p. 140-175

In this portion of the book the author discussed the notion and dangerous of the concept known as "economic outpatient care" or EOC. EOC is when wealthy parents financially support their adult children through annual payments, gifts, etc. While this concept sounds beneficial to the adult children of wealthy parents, in many ways it can be harmful. According to the author there are numerous well known studies that show that the overwhelming majority of those who receive EOC from their rich parents are relatively low income earners. The majority of successful millionaires are people who were taught independence and frugality at a young age. They are people who's ability to survive was based on the success of their business. Had they not strove to create the best possible business that they could, then they wouldn't be able to pay their bills. Oppositely, people who continuously receive cash gifts from their parents are typically underachievers. They don't have the same stresses as the people mentioned above because they are confident that whether or not their business does well, they will have a source of income either way. Extensive studies show that these people are the least likely to be successfully economically in life. The one exception to the EOC rule is education. In a study on millionaires, 80% of those questioned believed that their education was one of the most fundamental and important resources in their financial success. The overwhelming majority of millionaires had parents who took the brunt of the cost of their children's college educations, leaving them without debt or with minimal debt. My parents have always told me that my inheritance is my education, and that I don't have to worry about the cost of college, but that is all I'm getting. Thus, I hope that my frugality and my work ethic allow me succeed in business. And I'm confident that I won't be left with boatloads of student debt, as many recent graduates become.

C4E Update 1.9.15

In class our group focused on finishing up the documents that we are sending in to Mr. Gladstone and the bank this week, as well as selling the rest of our sock inventory. A lot of energy was put into changing our predicted first year numbers to make them more plausible, as well as making our final product look presentable. We had a slight issue putting the document into one file since there were issues translating the format from a word document to a google drive, but I think our work is thorough enough were that shouldn't cause a huge problem.
Additionally, we were able to sell the rest of our sock inventory. Our initial strategy to sell the socks to the basketball team was a success. We sold pairs to all the varsity players, as well as a few junior varsity players. Our other buyers were close friends who wanted the socks. The socks were well liked by everyone who bought them, and I'm convinced that we could continue to make money off this project if we continue to try to sell socks in bulk to teams. It may be worth trying to find a cheaper supplier of the socks though since our margin of profit is only around $2.50 per sock.