IA05: Guest Lecture


Rebecca Harris is an executive director for the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship, which is a part of the Chatham University Women's Institute. She came in and spoke with our foundations of business class about starting a business. She personally has 30+ years of experience as an entrepreneur. Rebecca has founded businesses, patented innovations, and consulted others in developing their own. She has received many awards and honors for her work and dedication. 

Throughout the lecture she reminded us to be passionate about an idea, but to remember that it isn't about what you want to sell, instead it is what the consumer wants to buy that matters. She also spoke on knowing your style of entrepreneurship, such as knowing if you're the type to see it to the end or walk away when your part is done. Another point was patience, like with her parent news, it took awhile to take off but it was steady growth. Continue cultivating an idea to be its best is something I learned from her. Rebecca Harris mentioned working with others, either as a co-owner or as a boss. While that was covered in human resources, it is important as an entrepreneur too to know how to work with others. This is key, especially if you are the one in charge to interact well with coworkers. 

"Social Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, and Innovation in China and the United States" is an article that talks about life after being successful, and how to give back. This reminded me of Rebecca's lecture because she does something similar now. The article talks about how successful individuals who want to become philanthropists should focus on using their learned skills and knowledge as a way to give back, rather than just making big donations. Rebecca now spends her time as an executive director for the Center for Women's Entrepreneurship and is doing exactly that. She is taking what she learned and imparting that knowledge on women who are looking to start their own successful businesses. In turn, she keeps being successful and helps others reach this point as well. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IA03: Create a Personal Business Plan

Personal Business Plan Mission Statement To engage with the community, lead others, and continue to grow the industry of information technology. Business Environment What economic forces influence the supply and demand of opportunities in your industry? Employment, inflation rate, interest rate, fiscal and monetary policies are all economic forces that influence the supply and demand. Production, marketing and distribution are affected by these forces. I will be competing in the information technology industry as a computer and information research scientist since I am a data analytics major. The technology industry is rapidly growing, some report 15% to 35% growth. The wages are good, with a median $55 an hour, or $114,520 annually. There’s currently about 28,000 employees, and a projected 2,500 job openings. Top industries for computer and information research scientists include professional, scientific, and technical services. Economic forces that could influence supply and de...
Read more

IA04: Practice Professional Networking

I attended the kickoff event for the M.I.S./Analytics Club. There were several speakers, but Youssef lead the group. We also heard from current and past undergrads who majored in either MIS or DSA. The focus was on what experiences they had while at Chatham, and what it has lead them to. Most of the speakers highlighted the importance of networking, and interacting within our industry field. A common place for this was working for the IT Helpdesk or another tech involved campus job, simply to learn buzzwords. The speakers agreed it was helpful and good preparation for their internships and jobs, plus it looks good on resumes to these places. Youssef and Kat Pulaski also talked about how conventions, conferences, and competitions have helped grow their resumes and knowledge. It is also another way to network since you often interact with possible employers there and meet other students. I read an article from MIT Technology Review's The Download titled "Tech talent actually...
Read more

IA02: Find a Role Model

I interviewed Jordan Schultz-McArdle, who is a junior majoring in Data Science Analytics. She has been involved in Hackathon, which is a 48 hour competition where her team made a tech based product. Jordan has also been to an International Artificial Intelligence conference. And this summer she is going to be doing research in Singapore working with a professor at the National University of Singapore.  When asked about studying strategies, Jordan recommended changing it up every once in awhile. She does this by utilizing flash cards, study guides, rewriting class notes, studying with others, teaching the subject, and typing up notes. She says she changes it up because the variety is nice and keeps her brain busy and avoids boredom. Jordan said this is especially useful when many tests are occurring in a small time frame.  When asked about building a good portfolio, Jordan immediately said talking to people, being polite and not burning bridges are all good advice. Jo...
Read more

IA01: Stay Current

     I listened to a Freakonomics Radio episode by Stephen Dubner titled “An Egghead’s Guide to the Super Bowl.” The episode covered the Super bowl and ways for everyone to enjoy it. The author invited current and past NFL players T uck, Winston, and Urschel to share their helpful tips for Super bowl 52. They all recommended watching not only the game, but the commercials and halftime show. Plus, there is always the pre- and post-game shows where anyone can hear points of views from their favorite ESPN commentators and analysts.       So, what were some of the main ideas? The first was that the Super Bowl is for everyone to watch. You can be young or old, a newbie or an expert, living in the United States or watching internationally and so on. As a business, the Super Bowl and the NFL have it down pat. They've created a business that virtually anyone can enjoy and participate in. The Super Bowl itself has shows before and after to discuss it, plays a...
Read more