Final Reflection- 30A

1. During the course of the class I had to conduct main interviews for assignments. I think the hardest part is simply talking to a random person. Many individuals do not want to be bothered especially people in the gym. It is very ironic because the reason I believe my opportunity exists is because at a gym it is very difficult to talk to strangers. I had to experience this often as I was trying to interview people while at the gym and many did not want to be bothered or thought I was trying to "hit on" them. I don't think I developed any confidence as the semester passed because it was still difficult for me every time to ask someone to interview them. However I did make some new friends at the gym from this experience. Therefore I think the interview process is very important since you are contacting potential customers. 
2. The experience I will remember the most as well as the most helpful experience is during the "Growing your social capital" assignment. During this assignment I was able to request an interview with a CEO of a company and he was willing to let me interview him. During the interview I planned to go with the flow and did not have any particular questions instead I wanted to chat with him to get to know him and his business better. The interview did not go according and although I got what I needed for my assignment I felt I did not leave a good impression to build any form of relationship with him. 
3. I do not think I was able to produce an entrepreneurial mindset during the semester. At the start I was super excited to finally put something together towards the idea I had. Once I started doing the assignments I got more and more interested and inclined to start my venture. However towards he end of the semester it became something I am not as interested in anymore. My attitudes towards it changed drastically and I do not know why. Possibly its because I realized how hard it will be to successful start this venture. 
4. The main advice I would like to give new students is complete the assignments to your best ability. I notice many students who became lazy towards the end and would write a bunch of fluff and not try for their assignments. Some also stopped trying to even meet word counts. I think the assignments I designed well to get you started with your venture. Actually interviewing individuals rather than making it up or interviewing your friends is essential to produce real results. For activities such as growing your social capital use your status as a student at UF to get you interviews with individuals in successful businesses. They are willing to speak to you if you email them using your UF email.