Day 11 – Entrepreneurship from 4 different angles
“Hire character, train skill”
Peter Schutz (former CEO of Porsche)
The first WhatsApp message today: “In Baton Rouge bleibt am Morgen die Wolkendecke geschlossen und die Temperatur liegt bei 14°C. Gegen später ziehen Wolkenfelder durch bei Höchsttemperaturen bis zu 18°C. Am Abend gibt es in Baton keine Wolken bei Temperaturen von 14°C. In der Nacht gibt es keine Wolken und die Sterne sind klar zu erkennen bei Tiefstwerten von 13°C”. As soon as we looked at our phones we realized that today will not start with a bright sunshine.
The weather did not stop us to have an energizing breakfast and being punctual at Room 3107 PFT. The first presentation started at 9:30 a.m. by Jacques Hopkins who developed software packages to teach piano to beginners. His first words to us were that he failed six times before he got successful. It made us realize the strong mindset and deeply rooted motivation you need as an entrepreneur. He also explained to us the benefits of having an online start-up.
The courage and ambition of the next presenter – Jaime Glas – was just impressive. She started her own business to provide work clothing only for females and made it her mission to design safe, comfortable, and stylish FRC that is flattering for all women. Jaime financed her company all by herself.
Not being able to trust the employer was the reason why Stan Prutz became an entrepreneur. He started an engineering consulting firm that has grown dramatically. Now his company makes a seven-figure number of sales per year. He advised us to build our future businesses based on trust and transparancy.
Ricci Hull started a distillery as a weekend venture while still working fulltime. He basically told us that he was able to set up all by himself. In the last official part of today’s program we drove down to Ricci’s distillery at 2:30 p.m. where he showed us his equipment and answered all of our questions.
When we drove back, the climate suddenly started to change. This day ended with enjoying the amazing weather (and for some with a topgolf session). Conclusion: Although the start of the day was not the best, it turned out to be one of the most enriching days we had so far. Don’t forget… You never know what your day (business) may turn into…
That was day nb. 11…
