One of the things I have learned is that to have a chance at building a business, you have to disregard the problems you may face.  Acknowledging the problems is acceptable, but failing to attempt the business due to the problems is not.  Understanding what the real definition of an opportunity is another concept I have more thoroughly understood.  Opportunity isn't just an idea, it also needs to satisfy the customer's needs along with a reasonable price for both the customer and owner.  Shumpter's five ways of using different sources to enable the business to produce more efficiently helps me understand what I would need to look for in building a business.  The gist of the information learned today was dealing with what ways opportunities come about, how to look at the opportunity, what ways you can enhance the productivity of the idea, some specific things to recognize like opportunity cost, and cost/benefit analysis.  We also learned what is needed for in an opportunity to succeed.  These include Timmon's Idea plus 4: Attract customers, will work in business environment, can be completed within a feasible guidelines, and resources and skills to make the business are available to the entrepreneur.

Reflection

The information today was important beginning to understand how or what to look for in pursuing an opportunity.  Things like not looking at the "cautions" of an idea, or looking at the cost/benefit analysis to see if it worth while.  It has given me an outline to what, and how to approach an opportunity later in life.  By the end of this class I am hoping to be able to have a more clear understanding of how to start a business if I wanted.  This guideline will help me later in that it will allow me to eliminate unfeasible ideas and help carry out the real opportunities.  It has helped clarify how to start a business and what goes on behind the scenes of a new upcoming business.