O.P.A Assignment- Presence Class

O.P.A Assignment

 

Presence Workshop

 

 

 

 Good Listener

 

While having a conversation with someone, I occasionally have a hard time listening to what they are saying. Instead, I am only preparing to answer instead of valuing their opinion.

 

Outcome- An outcome of becoming a good listener would be the ability to build trust with someone.

 

Purpose- The purpose of becoming a good listener is to make the person feel their opinion is valuable which could build trust.

 

Actions-

 

• Ask more questions when having a conversation

 

• Pause before responding

This is to retain the persons thought and give a thought out response.

 

• Give feedback

Feedback and recommendations will also show the person that their opinions are valuable.

 

 

Confidence

 

Confidence is a trait that could improve my overall presence. Humility sometimes takes over my personality and trying to be quiet, small and humble prevents from looking or even speaking confident.

 

Outcome- People will trust and value my opinion as an outcome by improving my confidence.  

 

Purpose- Becoming confident helps build trust and helps when leading a team, therefore having a confident presence is crucial.

 

Actions-

 

• Always keep my head up

This will help with my physical presence.

 

• Speak with a full voice from the diaphragm

Speaking with a full confident voice will help with a confident presence.

 

• Listen well to others views or beliefs

Listening well will allow me to answer with a confident well thought response.

 

 

 

Mindset of Success: Leadership Assignement

 

 

 

Mindset of success

 

 

 

1. Which of the 8 Leadership Skills are your strongest?  Why?

 

 

Vision is one of my strongest leadership skills. I am able to paint a picture of the vision to anyone and sell them on the dream. This trait will help me recruit key employees, with a start-up business.

 

Talent Development is a skill that I have acquired through working in network marketing. In network marketing, it is imperative that you pull talent from your team members to get them to their full potential. This is done simply by observing, listening and helping with weaknesses. This skill will be valuable because as a start-up we may not have the money to hire many employees, so it is essential to pull the strengths from the employees we can afford.

 

Communication Expert is a recently acquired skill that allows me to go “Communication Crazy”. This meaning using all forms of communication including text, email, blogs and snail mail. This skill helps me to respond with a sense of urgency, and makes it easy for people to contact me. Having great communication also allows me to have great listening skills and take effective actions.

 

 

Adaptability allows me to adapt myself to any situation that occurs. When running my Breeding Facility, two of my breeders died. I didn’t let the event stress me out, or hold me back. I went on the internet and found breeders who needed supplies and traded a great amount of supplies, which I got wholesale, for two lizard breeders. In that situation I adapted to the situation of not having two breeders and found a solution. Another example is when I ran my gym shoe business. Once Nike sent a cease and desist letter, I was forced to stop selling Nike shoes on Ebay. I then adapted by finding another brand to sell, and multiple selling venues that would amount to the number of shoes I was selling on Ebay.

 

 

Personal Growth is one of my favorite leadership skills. With this skill I am constantly in search of articles, books, and websites about entrepreneurship. Outside of business, I read other types of books to expand my knowledge. Being a young entrepreneur it is imperative that I have not only excellent business knowledge but also an overall knowledge of the world. I also set life and business goals to keep me focused and moving in the right direction. This skill will also help me grow with my business and help the people on my team grow with me.

 

Presence is one of my strong leadership skills. With this skill I show my humility, confidence and professionalism. I am able to exhibits patience, humor and compassion when interacting with others while still being productive. I have a likeable but serious presence that demands respect in a business setting.

 

 

 

 

 

1. Which of the 8 Leadership Skills are areas of opportunity for you?  Why?

 

Deep Thinking is one skill that is improving but still needs help with. I am able to go deep on things that I choose to go deep on and in business it is a must that I go deep on everything to have a clear understanding of what’s going on.

 

Living the Culture is one skill that I am working on and it really just has to do with my consistency. Sometimes I stay consistent with the culture and other times my actions are outside of the culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.       What actions will you take to improve these Skills?

 

 

Deep Thinking- I will improve this skill by continuing to read articles and making myself a master in the industry. If I am very knowledgeable of the business I will be able to make good situations based on knowledge and previous experience.

 

Living the Culture- To improve this skill, I will start by

writing out each ISM and defining the ISM with my own words. This will allow me to see which ISM’s I do and don’t understand and implement. For the ISM’s I don’t understand I will create a task a day for each ISM. For example, one ISM that I don’t implement is “Taking the roast out of the oven”. In this case, I will take action in the process of launching my business everyday. Instead of sitting at the computer I will make phone calls, and take a step to launching my business with an         action, such as establishing a vendor relationship or finding a web designer to help with the development of the business.

k-9 to 5, daycare

 

Liz Blondy came to visit our class and shared with us her experiences of owning a business and shared many interesting stories with our class on some of the mistakes she made while running her business. Liz started of

f by saving all of the money she could to get the business started. I thought this was an excellent example of bootstrapping. She was basically bootstrapping her life so she could save her money and ope

n

up her business. She got the idea to open a doggy daycare from a friend who would drive all the way

out to ferndale from Detroit to take her dog to a daycare. She saw the opportunity and took a

dvantage of it. Before opening Canine to five she wasn’t a dog owner didn’t have any skills nor did she have any knowledge on dogs in general. All she knew was that there was an opportunity that had not been taken advantage of. In preparation of opening her daycare she started volunteering at dog shelters such as the Michigan Humane Society and

Ohio Dog shelters and Day-cares. After working in the field she then could go into the business with some knowledge rather than none. The only element I think Liz is missing from her business is a unique selling proposition. One of our students consistently asked her what it was and she couldn’t give an answer. I think if she could find a unique selling proposition rather than just good customer service I think she would be able to double her sales. One thing that I did like about her was that she worked in the field before actually entering into it. That is something I need to do because I have 1000 ideas but have not worked in most of the industries. I do believe this speaker has given me the push to start working in my field before I start my business.

purfect, the opener

Bob Mazur has demonstrated to me the true definition of  faith and hard work. I truly respect Bob for being where he is today.

Bob Mazur is still in the introduction process of the life cycle of a business and is still testing out the market after 5 years of hard work. He has not returned a profit yet and he is fine with that. Bob Mazre thought of his product from a family member who needed to open up a pill bottle and could not. So he decided to open the purfect opener which would take care of all the problems of opening a pill bottle and other useful tools for everyday living. Bob is bootstrapping his business and is paying himself very little in order to put more into the business. Bob has won many awards on his business and business plan and receiving cash rewards for his business from business competitions. He has had his product sold at different trade shows and has sold on QVC.

One problem that I think is wrong with Bob is that he doesnt really know his target market. And doesnt have a solid marketing plan. He really doesnt know how to do a consumer analysis or a SWOT analysis. I honestly think that 5 years could of been reduced down with an excellent marketing plan and a detailed business plan.

Innovative Learning

Lisa Toenniges graduated from Michigan State University with a major in music and graduated in 3 1/2 years. Prior to opening Innovative Learning, Lisa worked with a company of the same business concept that failed in the start-up phase. After the company closed for business. Lisa had three days to determine what to do with the former business, so she took action. Lisa thought of a business plan and a unique selling proposition to make the company more profitable and sustainable. Innovative learning targets large companies who need training for their executives. She focuses on a wide range of customers ranging from Automotive to Graphic Designs. Lisa does 60-70% of work out of southeast michigan. They also focus on local businesses such as Lasalle Bank and other local enterprises.

I respect Innovative learning for their leverage of employees. They only have 6 employees and have independant contractors come in to do work where the employees can not. Innovative learning has a long list of contractors who specialize in specific areas that Innovative teaches. The first thing the company performs is an analysis on the company which generally takes a month to complete. One of the advantages of this company is that they already had clients from the former business which made it easier to complete analysis on the companies and to do repeat business. One of the advantages of this company is that they work on relationships and word of mouth, which limits their cost of advertisments and PR. Using this technique the company is now a 3 million dollar company.

Overall, the Innovative Learning Group is a well-rounded, highly focused, structured business. An approach of strategic planning and extreme efficiency has made the Innovative Learning Group an idea company for entrepreneurs with start-up businesses, such as myself, to model after. This was a great opportunity to be able to hear Mrs. Toenniges speak, and I am extremely greatful. 

Micheal Melfi, The small magazine

       

 

                   Micheal Melfi is a passionate business man who has found his passion and his “niche” and i s taking advantage of the opportunity. Micheal Melfi has created something that has revolutionized the way society thinks of magazines. He has created a small portable pocket sized magazine that is serving Detroit, Atlanta and Miami. Micheal does not sell the magazines to the public but passes them out at functions, luxury hotels, and many other locations. His goal is to create connections in the form of experiences. He does not want the reader to just read the magazine, but to also experience the magazine. The three pointers that Micheal taught our class were Integrity, Humility and responsiveness. These are the three keys that lead Micheal to his success. My favorite key is Humility, which means to be humble and listen to those around you. There is a reason why god gave us two ears and one mouth.

             6 degrees wants to truly define what culture and style really means by offering compelling images the best pictures and fashion at its greatest. Micheal Melfi loves colors and makes sure that the schemes are eye catching and compelling to the audience. He also had a great idea by making the magazine pocket sized so the reader can actually focus on the ad, which will increase sells from the advertiser. When I looked at the magazine I actually remembered some of the ads in the magazine which proved to me that the magazine has a unique way of locking in the advertisement into the readers mind.

            

                 One of the biggest features of the magazine is that it serves the local market. Micheal does complete marketing for the customer( advertiser), he will provide a total package, not just a page in the magazine to local businesses. If the business is not ready for the advertisement he will not follow through with the sale of the marketing package. The thing i like most about Micheal is that he truly cares about the consumer and not just the money. He is an overall great person and a great business man. Micheal is also thinking of franchising the opportunity to individuals with the same passion and drive that he has. I will support 6 degrees magazine in the future by having the magazine in my place of business.

John Ferchill, Confidence is the key

                               John Ferchill was one of my favorite speakers because of his confidence and his power. John started with only twenty five thousand in his bank and account and developed ”The Ferchill Group” .The Ferchill group was found in 1978 and grew fast from the start. John Ferchill’s technique was to find locations that had high traffic and put some type of real estate in the area.  He also looked for ball parks, if there was a ball park,  John would put some Real Estate up. John currently nets over 250 million dollars per year

                     One thing that Ferchill talked to us about was finding your ”niche”. John found his niche and his passion and turned it into profits. He has always had a passion for real estate, so he took that and added a unique selling proposition and is highly successful from doing such. I noticed that he doesn’t do everything under the sun. He specializes in Real Estate and since he focuses on Real Estate he became a master of his craft and became very successful. John Ferchill even sold 40 units with an average unit price of five hundred thousand per unit. To break it down, he sold 20 million in 4 hours.

                   “There’s a lot of money in Detroit”, says John. I do believe that there is money simply because the economy is down and buying real estate is the smart way to go and starting a business. This is because the value is low in a lot of property and once the market goes up, those who have taken advantage of the opportunity will be greatly rewarded. John also says that he built his empires off of loyalty. To hear that come out of his mouth made me really realize that he didn’t need big advertisement or some fancy commercial, he built his business of of pure loyalty and faith.

The most fascinating thing about John was that he only has 9 employees that work for him. I really think its interesting and motivating to see someone making 250 million per year with only 9 employees. He is using leverage by not hiring 100 employees but hiring 9 people who can serve as or better then the 100 people.

I really appreciate John Ferchill coming to speak to our class. He was a very confident and strong entrepreneur and I really am grateful to have been in the presence of John Ferchill.

Dave Bing, My Roll Model

           

        ” I know I’m not going to be a ball player all of my life”, said Dave Bing. This statement alone made me realize that he was  a forward thinker and an excellent and superior entrepreneur so I began to listen closer. Dave Bing was born in Washington D.C and started his basketball career in Spingarn, Washington D.C. He was an all star player and was highly recruited. He finally decided to attend Syracuse University. He worked many jobs including working in a plant and a car dealership. At his job in college, he approached his employer and told him that he wanted to own his own business.

            Prior to Dave Bing being an All star player and changing the game of  basketball. Bing began researching and developing his business. Dave began first by creating a business plan in which he went to an accounting firm to make sure it was professional and correct. Bing Steel opened in 1980 and did not make profit until 6 months into the year. Dave Bing also told us that it is not uncommon for a business not to make a profit there first year or two. Bing stressed about having enough equity to start a business properly, he mentioned that without equity businesses are more likely to fail due to the lack of proper funds. Today Bing Steel is a well developed company and has gross sales of over 600 Million.

         Dave Bing also said that you should hang around people like yourself. This is not the first time I have heard this so this time it really stuck. If you hang around people who are entrepreneurs and who are going to be successful you will end up being a successful entrepreneur. I believe that with all my heart, and hope to be as successful as Dave Bing one day.

You can check out more of Dave Bing and his business at:

www.binggroup.com

Our Guest Speaker John Ferchill

 Today we had a guest speaker by the name of John Ferchill and he was absolutely a great business Idol. This man has accomplished so much and I look up to him greatly. He is a real simple business minded Entreprenuer. He has simple concepts and simple task that makes his business so profitable. He only has 9 employees that can perform any task that he throws up. To me that is a great form of leverage,being able to only pay 9 employees. I imagine that he has the cream of the crop on each area that he needs to run the business. Its fascinating to me that he makes so much money with the amount of people and the amount of marketing he does. I also like his confidence. Its almost to a point where its arrogant but its not. Its more of a confidence that he knows what hes talking about and that he believes and has a passion for his business.

Overall It was a great experience and I really enjoyed myself today and by the way Happy Birthday Ross !!!