BUILDING OUR BUSINESS

 REFLECTION #4 - WEEK 6: LICENSES AND PERMITS February 3, 2021 I had my eyes opened this week regarding licenses and permits.  I have been a bit more familiar with permits in my areas of Arkansas as I have worked with the Washington County Health Department to obtain permits for septic systems.  I am learning that it is beneficial to ask questions first rather than ask for grace later when I do something wrong.  When we first started to remodel our existing cabin shell, we learned by error that we needed a good relationship with the Washington County Water Authority.  It is very important to make friends and keep friends within the license and permit world.  We made a friend with the representative at the water company and he guided us to work with the Washington County Planning Commission.  We were able to have our plans approved there and now we are going forward with the proper permissions and plans.  I have not yet been told that we need any s...

 REFLECTION #4 - WEEK 5 February 1, 2021 I learned so much this week about designing a websites.  I chose to use Wix as my platform and I am slowly learning to manage the tools.   I am getting some ideas by looking at other successful websites that are similar to my cabin rental business.  There are many things I would like to change, improve and add.  It is a work in progress and will continue to evolve.  I have learned the great importance of the first second that a person in at your website.  That is a new way that I now look at my website.  I can see that it is important to not "compare" myself to others, but rather decide what I want my business to be and then look at others and glean the elements that will help me become the better version of "me."  I am still struggling with syncing calendars.  I don't want to pay extra to sync multiple sites, but I might have to.  Ugh! I like to do things on my own and not pay extra fee...

  REFLECTION #3 -- January 27, 2021 For the past year, I have been afraid to jump in and build a website for our cabin rental business.  I have asked my adult sons for advice and kept hoping they would offer to do it for me.  No luck.  Over the past 10 days, I have had to take a couple of deep breaths and jump.  I really appreciated the encouraging word of our instructor, Brother Scott, to just do it and go for it.  I guess I had to give myself to not do this perfectly the first time.  I know I will make mistakes and learn and I hope it isn't costly.  :)   I first planned to use Squarespace because my son had recommended it and I have seen ads for that site frequently.  Once I started using it, I just knew it wasn't going to be easy and I remembered in our  live class session Brother Scott said "don't reinvent the wheel." So, I decided to look again at other sites and took a leap and started with Wix.  I found a perfect te...

 January 19, 2021: This week I was most excited about learning about the affiliate business model.  I think this is something that I can look at doing and I also shared information with my daughter who has started an Instagram account to start generating followers for a future business.  It is amazing that it is possible to start a business online and run it and really never leave your house.  It is sort of crazy to my "old-fashioned" brain.  It is also exciting to see the possibilities that technology provides!  I am excited that my daughter could use technology to build a business and use her education and expertise from home while raising a family.  I am excited to learn how I can use technology to run a business and perhaps even generate some money for my future!  With the current pandemic, all of this becomes even more practical and timely.  More and more things are happening online and through the air waves.   I am really exci...

JANUARY 12, 2021:  REFLECTION #1 I learned a lot about business models.  I took time to really try to understand the differences in the various models.  It is amazing how many options there are for a person to start a business without a lot of start up cost.  Technology extends a customer base to all corners of the world and makes many things possible that were not even a thought 10-20 years ago.  I also really enjoyed learning to use Google Ads.  The results I found gave me a lot of insights for the potential for several business ideas.  This was a new skill for me and it is really amazing what predictions can be made to provide information for decision making.  So far in my business ventures, I have just gone with the feelings and impressions in my heart and mind that I truly feel is guidance from the Holy Ghost.  My husband, the accountant and investor, likes to see a little more for us to invest significant money into developing a busines...