Final Reflection

I remember and really enjoyed doing all the elevator pitches for the blog and just practicing presenting my business idea in a concise and magnetic manner. The first time I received feedback on my blog posts via comments was really exciting too. Just reading about what other people in the class thought about my business made me really happy to hear.

I definitely think that with all the of assignments and exercises I had to do for class I developed more of an entrepreneurship mindset. The assignments helped me practice to think in a very business oriented way and to search for new pockets of innovation and opportunity in my everyday life.

I would recommend for anyone who is remotely interested in business to take this course. I would suggest that the future students who take this course take it very seriously because that way they will surely get the most out of the assignments and activities. Also, time management is very important in doing well in this class.

Experience Portfolio

LAUREN HOFFMAN

EDUCATION                                                                                                                         

University of Florida                                                                                                  Gainesville, FL       

Bachelor of English Literature

Minor in Business Administration                                                                     May 2017

Pre- Law                     

                                                           

Relevant Coursework: Advanced Exposition, Modern Criticism and Theory of 20^th Century Thought, Business Finance.

WORK EXPERIENCE                                                                                                           

Founder, My Venture                                                                                       2016- Present

• ·       Composed and thoroughly thought out a possible business venture.
• ·       Interviewed entrepreneurs about their businesses and how they became successful.
• ·       Interviewed possible customers for my business and inquired what they thought of the idea.
• ·       Delivered multiple elevator pitches, venture concepts, ect. and received feedback on my idea.

College Magazine                                                                                             Gainesville, FL

Writer                                                                                             October 2015-February 2016

• ·       Nationally recognized magazine that provides an inside look to the lives of college students.
• ·       Compose, edit and promote articles daily, as well as communicate with the other editors and writers of the publication.

Speakiesy App Company                                                                             Gainesville, FL

Brand Ambassador                                                                             January 2015- May 2015

• ·       Updated and advertised for the company daily, through the app itself as well as other forms of social media such as: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
• ·       Attended workshops and assisted in running large fundraisers and conventions to promote this app and sell it to consumers.

Gordon & Donor Injury Law Firm                                              Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Internship                                                                                           June 2014 – August 2014

• ·       Organized and prepared case files, medical documents, medical records, evidentiary support cases for hearings and trials.
• ·       Contacted and collaborated with various insurance companies to confirm that all medical files were accurate and present in the law firm, as well as confirmed court dates and legal appointments with various clients.

Talay Thai Restaurant                                                                               Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Hostess                                                                                                 June 2012 – Present

• ·       Coordinated reservations for the restaurant, dealing with accommodating both the costumer as well as ensuring possible availability with my supervisor.
• ·       Received take out orders. This involved balancing the amount of take out orders sent to the kitchen with the kitchens availability to prepare the orders that served satisfactory to the customers.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE                                                                                    

The Odyssey                                                                                                     Gainesville, FL

Writer                                                                                       December 2014- October 2015

• ·       The Odyssey is a nationally recognized magazine present in almost every university throughout the United States.
• ·       Continuously write articles and submit them weekly concerning a large array of topics; both connecting and informing everyone around campus of present news.

Swamp Party                                                                                                 Gainesville, FL

Member                                                                                              September 2013- Present

Invisible Children Chapter                                                             Riviera Beach, FL

Founder and President                                                                        August 2008 – May 2012

Suncoast High school                         

Debate Team/ Club                                                                           Riviera Beach, FL

Public Forum Captain and Team Member                               August 2008 – May 2012

Varsity                         

Suncoast High school

Soccer Team                                                                                      Riviera Beach, FL

Captain                                                                                                September 2011- February 2013

Suncoast High school

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION                                                                                           

Languages: Spanish and English

Honors: International Baccalaureate, National AP Scholar and Honor Roll.

Other Involvement: Delta Phi Epsilon Member, Pre- Legal Honor Society, University Campus Ambassador, Tutor.

Interests: Reading, Writing, Tennis, Soccer, Piano, Yoga, Guitar and Traveling.  

Skills: Mac and Windows Platforms, Word Processors, Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Word Press, ect.)

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was how micro finance is a solution to poverty. I have heard many things about poverty and different ways to solve it but micro finance was never one of the things anyone talks about as a possible solution.

2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the part about having Indian villagers explain when they would need to borrow money or not. Also, I was wondering how the exchange rate from whatever money these impoverished countries used to the U.S. dollar. Even though their company is a non-profit they still need to break even or else their business would be losing money and would not be able to maintain itself.

3. If I could ask the author two questions, I would ask: 1). How do you get the people in these countries to trust your business as a method of money lending? 2). Which country has been the most successful to your business so far?

4. There wasn't anything in the reading I thought the author was wrong about.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

The opportunity I saw in creating my business idea started with my own frustration with a personal unmet need. There were times where I needed to eat something quickly and at the same time wanted something healthy like- sushi. Sushi is available at restaurant establishments for pick up, delivery, and dine- in experiences, but never have I seen or heard of nay drive through sushi places. I then began to research, and noticed that this was also an unmet need a lot of my friends were experiencing as well, the ones who enjoyed eating sushi of course. Hence, I saw a great opportunity to create a sushi to go restaurant named Roll Through that also has a dine- in and asian cuisine option. Sushi is great if someone is looking for something healthy, compact, and non- messy on the go, or if they simply don't have the time to dine- in, pick up, or have anything delivered. 

The customers my business would be approaching are obviously people who enjoy eating sushi. I wanted to take my business a step further and also include some asian cuisine that is also available for dine- in or drive through as well. That way my business could garner more customers for those who don't like sushi but enjoy asian food, and are looking for something on the go. My business is not limited to any age group, just those who enjoy eating the kinds of food that would be provided at my establishment. I think this is a great benefit to my business because there aren't any strong restrictions to my target population. 

It would be both ideal and beneficial for my business to be open somewhere that is a busy city where a lot of people are on the go. This would be a better target population and demographic for my business than if it was placed in a rural or suburban area. Still, a suburban area could benefit from families looking to get something quick and healthy to eat before taking their kids to soccer practice, or an individual in the work force on a lunch break. A busy city would be ideal, but not too busy. For example, a city like New York City would not help my business because a lot of people don't drive cars there. Perhaps even a college town would be a prime location since a lot of college students are always on the go. Overall, the business would benefit from a location that is full of busy people, but a place where majority of residents use cars. 

I think the window of opportunity for this business would be indefinite. For the most part, there will always be people who are busy and cannot find time to eat, as well as people who enjoy eating sushi or asian cuisine. 

Innovation

As I have mentioned in the previous section, I decided to extend the kind of products I would be selling to not only sushi but also asian cuisine. That way my business could appeal and benefit financially from people who don't like sushi. Additionally, for people who like sushi but not raw fish, there can be some vegetarian options or "fake sushi" like a roll with chicken instead of fish. I'm not exactly sure how much each ingredient to make the sushi or cuisine would cost, but to make my business both appealing and affordable I would try to range my products to around $8-10 per roll/ meal if that would be financially feasible. 

Venture Concept

I believe that customers will switch to this product because there is nothing like the business I have created. Through my research there has yet to have been a sushi drive through place and I think because it has never existed, people will be very intrigued by it. My business would definitely rely heavily on customer loyalty, because as it has been expressed in comments on my posts and in interviews, people would be concerned by the freshness of the raw fish included in the sushi. My business would have to put in a lot of work in marketing the freshness and quality of the sushi used in my business. I think to start there would not have to be many employees in the store. Perhaps, two people to make the sushi and then one person at the register inside and one person handling the drive through window, at least until the business proves that it is busier and needs more help. 

Three Minor Elements

I think that my business's major resource would be the innovation and uniqueness of my idea. That is has not been done before or at least proven successful. If my business promotes enough where people will trust the quality of the fish, it would be very hard for another business to open replicating mine because I have already established customer loyalty and people are not as adventurous to try raw fish at other places. 

The next opportunity I would want to try for the venture would be to open more stores across the nation. I think expansion would be a great next step for my business. 

After creating this business and in five years, I see myself overseeing the franchise of what hopefully will be successful sushi to go establishments in different cities and states. 

Google Gold

1. My general approach and strategy to SEO was to use key words that would catch peoples attention when they search on the internet or that people would most likely use when searching about things that are related to my blog/ business idea.

2. My key works were: delicious, sushi, business, drive- through, health. I thought these words were broad enough that people would google them who are looking for something along the lines of what my blog could offer them.

3. Social media is a good tool to garner more traction from users on the Internet. A great way to promote the blog on social media would be through sharing this blog on Facebook, Tweeting, setting up tweets on Hootsuite, and even just simply emailing people or telling them about the blog by word of mouth. Social media worked reasonably in having people read my blog.

4. I think my first elevator pitch garnered more traffic from the rest of my blog posts, probably because that blog post included the main idea and focus of my business idea venture. If people would want to know the central idea of my start up business that would be the page to go to to find that out and that is why I think it got the most traffic.

5. I made it onto the first page of google, second link down. My mantra was the first thing to come up.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1. One thing that surprised me in the readings was how many different strategies organizations have when trying to create a start up and all the different mentalities entrepreneurs have when creating and running their business. 

2. One part of the reading that was confusing for me was the part about some of the ethical challenges entrepreneurs face. 

3. Two questions I would ask the author are: 1). Will there ever be a time an entrepreneur won't have to face an ethical challenge when starting or conducting their business? 2). Over time, what has proved to be the most effective kind of business organization for entrepreneurs?

4. I did not find any information that I thought the author was wrong about in the readings.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

Looking back on the initial assignment at the beginning of the semester, I would say that I still agree with the answers that Joe Runk had provided me on my questions concerning what it means to be an entrepreneur and the like. It was interesting to see how what he has said seems so applicable now that I have taken this entrepreneurship course. I think that the questions I asked him were pretty broad, probably because I did not know much about entrepreneurship coming into this class. But now that I have taken this class I feel that I can ask more in-depth and narrower questions.

I am unable to record the interview with Mr. Runk since he lives several hours away, so I will write down what our conversation consisted of.

1. Did it take a long time for your business to be successful?

"Since my business has a very niche market specializing in a specific branch of commercial real estate and business, it was not entirely that difficult to get the business going. Of course, finding clients and establishing credibility was a little slow in the beginning, but because of my previous work at bank doing finance, I was able to bring in existing clients into my new business."

2. How did you think of your business idea?

"I thought of my business idea when I was working at a bank and found an unmet need that arose almost everyday during my work at my old job. I thought to myself about how to fulfill that need and create a business around it and then I went for it. I have always wanted to have my own business and be my own boss."

3. How were you able to keep your business successful and thriving after so many years?

"Innovation and thinking outside the box was certainly key while making my business grow and keeping it going. Reaching out to other clients and establishing great connections with existing clients has definitely contributed to the success of my company."


I was certainly more comfortable speaking with Joe now about his business than I was during the first interview, since I feel that I have more of a bearing about creating a business and entrepreneurship. I think he was very impressed with the amount of information I gained during the course of the semester, which reinforced my pre-existing thoughts of how much I learned this semester. I think that after this class I sounded more confident and was able to carry on a less awkward and more fluid conversation concerning his entrepreneurial work.

Celebrating Failure

1. This semester I failed to get an editorial writing job for a college magazine that I applied for and really wanted. They said that they were looking for someone with more experience than me, even though I had already worked for another college magazine before in the past.

2. I learned to never give up because a different magazine was interested in me for an editorial position and even the magazine that rejected me for the editor's position still wanted me on board as a staff writer. So I learned not to take rejection so personally.

3. What I learned about failure is that it happens to everybody and not to take rejection so personally even though it can be very embarrassing and certainly a blow to your ego. Having experienced failure before during times in my past, I realized that I should take more risks, because the worst case scenario that could happen is that I don't get it but so what? At least I know the answer and I can move on, or I gained an experience I would've otherwise not had if I hadn't taken that chance.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was how many entrepreneurship ventures there are in existence and possibly available for people to create. It was amazing to read about all the options available.

2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was one of the charts that was included in the chapter about some of the kinds of ventures available.

3. Two questions I would ask the author are: 1). What constitutes the most successful entrepreneurship venture? 2). What are the necessary qualities an entrepreneurship needs to have to be successful in this area?

4. There wasn't anything I saw in the reading that I thought the author was wrong about.

My Exit Strategy

1. I intent to stay with the business for many years until I feel the need to sell it. At the moment, I don't see any potential reasons why I would end or sell my business in the future. As I have mentioned previously in past assignments, I believed that my business could turn into a chain that can be opened anywhere and everywhere, across the nation, since my business is a sushi drive through place.

2. I chose this specific exit strategy because if the business is fruitful why end it prematurely? When it can be both a great source of income and potentially become a family business.

3. I think that my exit strategy will influence other decisions that will be made for the business because I don't have an ending in mind for my business. That means that I will be constantly looking for innovative opportunities to prolong the business into a long fruitful life so that I wouldn't have to sell it or close it down. If my business expands as well, it would require for me to find resources for the business in order for it to thrive and gather the ingredients it needs to preform successfully.

1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was how many different ways there is to market your business idea, as well as how important innovation is to the product of your business as well as keeping the business alive once it is established.

2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the part showing the different charts to test the different kinds of marketing plans for the company and how innovative the company is in the current market compared to the other businesses.

3. Two questions I would ask the other are: 1). What do you do if not all the partners agree on the new marketing plans for the business?  2). How do you know if your company is doing enough marketing and getting enough word out about the product your business is selling?

4. There was not anything I thought the authors as wrong about.

What's Next?

Existing Market

What I think is next is having each drive through store include a prepackaged sushi kit box where people can teach themselves how to make their favorite rolls. Additionally, another progressive step for the business would be the sushi place starting to not only include drive through access but also deliver people their sushi orders, either through the restaurant itself or a third party delivery service. 

The three people I have interviewed for the existent market, claim that my business doesn't seem to need a second step since it already encompasses various needs that people would want; a way to eat sushi on the go or in the restaurant. 

With the information I got from the three people in the existent market, the plan I would orchestrate for my business would be the same plan I was initially going with, except it would be a good idea to keep my strategy the way it is for the business but expand with more stores in different areas. 

New Market

A new market I could be targeting would be an area of people who don't live in a college town, but more of an older and somewhat suburban environment. People in these areas as still busy, although not as busy as a young city full of college students, but I feel those with families and kids would sometimes need a quick way to feed each other in a healthy and fast manner. 

The three people I interviewed agreed with that changes I wanted to make to improve the business- by means of having a devilry service for the restaurants. Another way they suggested to improve the restaurant would be to also offer Chinese/ Asian cuisine, that way it could target people who don't like sushi but want fast asian food. This kind of food is easier to make as well and the concerns about freshness would not be as pressing since it does not deal with raw fish. 

I agree with the people in both the existing and new market. Once the business is strong enough it would be a good idea to expand. Additionally, I think that it would be a great idea to include Asian cuisine in this restaurant in addition to sushi in order to garner more customers and do more business reaching to people outside of my market who don't like sushi but enjoy Asian food. 

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1. What stood out to me the most throughout the reading was when the article mentioned innovation systems and innovation stems from it. I was not aware of this process before I read the article and I found it really interesting. I had no idea that this could be part of the business proposal/ concept. 
2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was trying to understand the innovative landscape map. I have not really seen this map/ diagram before so it was a little confusing to understand at first. 
3. Two questions I would ask the author would be: 1). Why did you choose the company Cornig and not a different one as an example? 2). Is there a time with your business where you put aside innovation to work on current problems that arise?
4.  I think that the general question of asking yourself what is something innovative that can set your business apart and help it succeed is not a waste of time. I think it is a necessary brainstorming step to take before concluding concrete strategies for executing these ideas. 

Amazon Whisperer

• Revenue Drivers
• Different ways in which my business would make money is through the sales made from the sit down and drive through sushi. At first to garner money to create the business, I would take a small business loan from a bank that decides to accept my business proposal. 
• Next Product Offering
• Thinking ahead, a possible product to be selling next could be "make it at home sushi kits." This would offer all the ingredients and instructions to make one roll of sushi in this kit that people can buy and take home if they desired too. 
• Also, another possible new product could be that this business would eventually start delivering, either through a third party delivery service or by hiring more employees to deliver.
• Eventually, if the business took off even further, Roll Through could start expanding across the state or even nation.
• These further product offerings could appeal to different services needed by customers. Delivery could garner more revenue for sushi eaters who don't want to drive anywhere for their food, even if it's a drive through. The expansion of more stores could also garner more revenue and increase the customer market size to people in different areas who are in need of my business' services. 
• Amazon doesn't sell food...  but they do sell sushi kits so here is a picture of one:

• This is not exactly one of the new products I would include, since Amazon does not offer raw fish as a part of the sushi kits. This makes sense as people would not purchase raw foods from the internet. Therefore, Amazon does not really have a competitive market in the market my business is in. 
• In the customer reviews, they found this kit very helpful and one of the best ones that they have ever invested in. 
• My product would be entirely different since it would include a variety of raw fish, rice and some other garnishes they would possibly want to include in the rolls they made at home. This product found on Amazon is just a guide, a customer would have to find their own materials to make the sushi. My product would eliminate that kind of trouble by including the elements to making their sushi roll in the kit itself.
• I think it would make a good addition to my business because it would intrigue people who enjoy doing things themselves, or are adventurous and want to make their own sushi and don't know how to. It would add a different angle to my business instead of just offering food. 

My Unfair Advantage

1. Persistence 

I am a very persistent person when I want something. Persistence is a great quality to have when opening up a business and it is hard to find people who are truly persistent in making something work when times get tough. I would run my business with great persistence and try to work through obstacles that may arise with great vigor instead of turning away or faltering.

2. Ambition

I have always been a very ambitious person. This is a rare quality, in that I would always strive to improve my business and make it more efficient and desirable than any other competition that may arise

3. Uniqueness

My business idea is extremely unique, in that through my research I have yet to find a business that is similar to mine. With this kind of originality, any other business that would try to replicate mine would not come across as "new" or "exciting," their business would just be known as the variation of mine.

4. Trust

When opening a drive through sushi place, at first there would be the issue of trust in how fresh the fish would be, and this would be something hard for a competitor to overcome since they would be new to that kind of business.

5. Convenience 

Although other restaurant serve sushi, my business would offer sushi at a much more time conserving and economical manner. At this day and age, people are much busier and take less time for themselves to even sit down and have a meal. My business idea is the first opportunity that offers fast food at a considerably healthier quality than the other drive through businesses out there.

6. Adaptability 

This kind of business that I would be opening up is not restricted or limited to one age group or specific locations. People everywhere and at any age enjoy eating sushi. So this business, if successful, is something I could open up as a possible chain throughout the U.S. and perhaps if I was even more ambitious, overseas.

7. Connections

As I have mentioned in previous assignments, I have spoken with and have known someone who has started a start up business of his own and spoke with him extensively about his experience and the process. This was a unique experience that I can use in starting a start up business of my own.

8. Experience 

In my past I have worked as a hostess for four years in this small family owned Thai Restaurant back home. After working in this restaurant for so long, I got a close and first hand experience in seeing how the owners would run the business and some small changes they would make to make the restaurant more efficient as well as methods to market more customers to come eat there.

9. Work Ethic

I have a very strong work ethic and when I am set on making something succeed I do everything in my power to make it happen. I have had a job for many years of my life, and I have always been motivated to do the best in any task that comes my way. I feel I would apply this work ethic to a future start up company I would create as well.

10. Ability to Deal with Stress

Taking so many classes in college and having both a major and minor and at times even a job, I have learned how to be calm in stressful situations, as well as deal with overwhelming amounts of stress. I think this is a very important quality, because in any start up business, there will be extremely stressful times and I feel that I would be able to adjust and work through it to succeed. 

After looking at the 10 resources I have listed, I think that the most important resource I have is the uniqueness of my business. Creating something new and innovative in the business market will make my business stick out more than others that are already established as well as any incoming ones.

Growing My Social Capital

Person #1

1. The first person I spoke to is named Charlie Soo. Charlie Soo currently owns a Thai restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens but originally worked on Wall Street before he thought of opening up a business of his own. The restaurant has been doing very well, and the skills that he learned while working on Wall Street helped him greatly in creating this business as well as making it grow. 

2. Charlie Soo is a domain expert since he is in the food industry, which is what my business would be. Charlie could also fit in the market expert as well, but I thought that domain expert would be a better category since his business is what my business would be minus the drive through aspect of it. 

3. I found him because my parents really enjoy eating at this restaurant and I called and asked to speak with him for one of my class assignments. 

4. I simply asked Charlie a few questions about his business- there wasn't really any 'return favor' involved. 

5. Including this person in my network could enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by asking him advice about the steps he took in opening his own restaurant. Since a high percent of most restaurants that recently go into business go under, I would ask him how he managed to make his restaurant so successful with the other competitions around him. 

Person #2

1. I spoke to Dalton Thomas, who used to work as a bartender/ bouncer for the bars Fat Daddy's and Rowdy's at midtown. He has worked for this company for four years.

2. I chose Dalton to be the market expert for my company. Although my business would be desirable for any age group, since the food group sushi isn't classified as a certain age group preference, I want to open my business in a college town. This is very similar to the bars Dalton works at, since a bar isn't limited to a certain age group (of course those 21+), but since it is located at a college town, the business would be targeting college students. Therefore, both my business idea and the business Dalton works at targets customers of a similar age group.

3. I have some friends who know him and I have seen him at work before. So I asked my friends a way to contact him to ask him some questions of this assignment.

4. The nature of this exchange is the same as the one before. Nothing was asked in return, he simply agreed to help me in my assignment.

5. Although Dalton doesn't own this business, he has been working for this company for many years. Establishing this contact with him could give me an unique inside look to how a business operates from the inside.

Person #3

1. Garret Mano is a UF graduate who studied Food Science and currently works at Publix as he develops his own start up delivery app.

2. I am filling Garret into the supplier slot, since many restaurants get their food from Publix and not necessarily whole sale markets. 

3. Garret is currently dating my friend's roommate and I told my friend's roommate about the assignment. She invited him over and we chatted a bit for this assignment. 

4. Similarly to the other two people I spoke to, he agreed to talk to me about how his job works and the other companies Publix supplies for and there weren't any requests from him. 

5. This person can enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because if my business would actually come to fruition, I could ask him about how I can go about Publix being the supplier for my sushi drive through business. 

Reflection

This experience differed from the assignments in the past because the requirements of people to speak to to complete this assignment were much narrower than the previous ones. I found this exercise to be harder than the other ones because it required me to put myself out there a lot more, but as always it garnered more of a reward, as I practiced my ability to speak with people I don't know and network with strangers. Overall, I found it to be a very beneficial and fruitful experience. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

My Secret Sauce

1. I feel that there are a good amount of unique attributes I have that can contribute to an interesting collection of human capital. For starters, I think I have the ability to carry on a conversation with literally anyone. After working as a hostess of a restaurant for four years, I had to learn how to talk to many different kinds of people, even if I wasn't necessarily in the mood, and at the same time appear intrigued and interested.

Two other unique qualities that go hand in hand that I have is the ability to formulate my thoughts and present them in a concise manner very quickly. As a third year English major, I am trained almost everyday to form an argumentative thesis about something we have read or discussed and present it to the class or the professor. After doing this so many times, I find that I have masterfully honed this ability and have been able to utilize it outside of the classroom as well.

I also find that I am very compassionate for other people. Compassion is a quality that is both important in everyday life as well as in the business world. The ability to understand other people's feelings, desires, and needs, I feel, is an important part of being a successful entrepreneur.

Lastly, I find that I am also very ambitious and assertive in fulfilling my ambitions. I have always had goals that I wanted to achieve throughout my life and I have always been the kind of person to do whatever necessary to achieve them.

2.

3. I think for the most part, the interviews have shown that my friends and I share similar opinions about what are some of the strong suits I have and how it contributes to my human capital. Although maybe the adjectives I used and the ones in the interviews were not the exact same terms, I think the overall message is the same.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise for me in this reading is how many different ways of funding there are for a company and all the processes to obtain such funding.

2. A part in the chapter I found most confusing is when the author is talking about activities being outsourced whenever possible under the heading of Internal or External Funds. In the previous sentence the author is talking about assets but then refers to activities which is confusing as to what company's activities he's talking about.

3. The two questions I would have for the author are: 1) Why would a business choose debt financing in giving up their personal assets as collateral? 2) Would a business have to be at a certain establishment to ask for a governmental grant?

4. There wasn't anything particular I thought it completely wrong with what the author said, but I might have to slightly disagree with the statement of how banks are hesitant on giving small business loans. I thought banks advocated small business loans so that they can make money off the interest of the loan, since regardless of the business' success, the lion has to be paid back.