Very Short Interview Part 2

My first interview revealed a good deal about both my boss and what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I feel like that first interview has helped me in this course as it gave me insight into the entrepreneurial process from someone who has been doing it for thirty years.

For this interview I again sat down with my boss after work. My experiences, and indeed my frustrations in this class helped to influence my questions for this round. First I asked her if she could go back and do it all over again would she. Her response to this was yes. She said that being independent and being able to run her business how she pleases makes up for all of the troubles it has caused. She did say there were of course some details that she would change given the knowledge she has now, but over all she wouldn't choose a different path. I spent a few minutes explaining my business concept as it stands now after a semester of work. I had talked about some details of my idea before to her, indeed before I even took this class, but i had never "put it all together" for her before. I asked what she thought, and she believed the ideas have merit, but were not compatible with her current business model especially given the corporate rules which govern her as a franchisee. My final question was hypothetical given it would require me to quit working for her. I asked if I were to actually pursue my business venture, what my next step should be. She answered with: "Start making connections." This of course made me recall the social networking assignment. She went on to say that her customer database was the most valuable thing her business possessed. Equipment and workers can be replaced, but without that there is no business.

While we of course are not on equal footing in the subject of entrepreneurship, I feel my experiences in this course over the last semester have helped me to understand the world of an entrepreneur a bit better and allowed me to relate to my boss on more even ground, if even by a tiny amount. I could not accurately gauge how well I was coming across to her nor did I directly ask the question, however I feel that I have progressed on my journey, and I would imagine that she would agree.