Very Short Interview, Part 2

1. In our initial interview, we asked: 1) What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? 2) What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course? 3) What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? For the answer to the first question, my entrepreneur answered that it mainly involves risk taking and taking advantages of opportunities. Looking back on this now, I could not agree more because although we haven't invested money into our ideas yet, we had to put ourselves in uncomfortable positions talking with strangers. We also had to find an opportunity which we could base an idea around, which was the central element of this class. Her answer to the second question said that it should not just teach technical skills out of a textbook but finding your passion and advancing that when an opportunity presents itself. I think that this is fitting to this class because I found an opportunity that matched what I was familiar and related with most. Her answer to the third question was that she wishes she was taught more on how to make connections and make relationships with people around you. This definitely was taught in this class which is incredible, as we actually had to make phone calls to people of the industry and their clients, which is very unique.
2. Now back for my second interview, I was able to write down what she said but was still unable to get in an interview. This time I gave her a description of what this class has taught me and a summary of my business concept. I then asked her 3 questions:
• How did you identify the opportunity for your business? In the beginning of my career, fresh out of college, I worked as a public accountant for Ernst & Young. I worked there for 5 years in the healthcare industry, so I was always around this industry and the trends of it. I saw that businesses, but hospitals, specifically, were looking for people do help them with their taxes and other paperwork. I realized that they were tired working with these big accounting firms, but rather were looking for personal relationships so they could better understand the people filing their bills. 
• How did you ultimately turn this opportunity into a business and get it started? Now that I had identified this opportunity, I really saw the potential and wanted to jump on it. This was also good timing as I was getting very bored and frustrated working for this big accounting firm with many people giving me orders. I wanted to work for myself and I saw this was a great opportunity. Because I worked at Ernst & Young for a while, I had made some valuable relationships, and thus I started by company with 2 of my other coworkers. Obviously, this wasn't going to be easy but I trusted them and we all were set on the same goal. Beginning a company is not easy because we had to convince these hospitals to give us their businesses and leave the other companies they've been working with for years. We started in a very small office, and each one of us had to take a loan out just on each computer we were using, if that puts it in perspective. We then essentially had to do "door to door" selling by calling these hospitals one by one demanding business. It wasn't an easy process, but it slowly kept building, and people started to respect us and our customer service, leading to more business. This kept happening and now the rest is history as we file bills and taxes for over 50 hospitals in the state.
• What do you think of my business idea and what's the next step? I think this sounds like a great idea. Although I might not be as plugged into that market as you because your involvement on your college campus, I could see it being a potential opportunity. I think that if you want to get this off the ground, you should really contact people in that field. Before you begin anything, you should get your basis' covered, so talk to as many people as you can about this product and people in that industry. Once you are confident enough, you just have to start grinding and talking to suppliers and customers to get the ball rolling. Working with 2 other people definitely made it easier for me, but many people have been successful doing it on their own. Getting your business off the ground is the toughest mentally as well as for your pocket book as you will be working very hard to get clients. I wish you the best of the luck and remember to always trust your instincts! 
3. Yeah after my interview, I reflected on our conversation, and the entrepreneur definitely was impressed with my knowledge about entrepreneurship just based off this class. During the interview, she would say things like "great question" which made me feel good and I could tell that she was surprised about my in-depth questions and my forthrightness. After our interview, she asked about the specifics of our class, and when I told her about the assignments we had to do, she was very impressed. She thought the ones about interviewing customers and talking to potential suppliers were the most valuable things as those are real life situations. As we talked, I felt as if we were almost on the same level and didn't feel blown away by what she was saying which gave me confidence. I think that I've definitely came a long way in this class in learning about entrepreneurship and how to handle myself in the business world.