You Too Can Be an Entrepreneur

State 4-H Public Speaking Competition

Olivia gave a very good speech Tuesday entitled,

You Can Be an Entrepreneur.

It was a great topic and she did well, though she did not place. This was her first time going to this level.
This event was a good reminder for us the importance of being able to communicate with confidence.

You Can Be a Entrepreneur
By, Olivia Brodock

Would any of you like to be able to buy what you want when you want it? Do any of you like being in charge? If so, listen to this!
85 Years ago a little boy was born. 8 years later that boy went door to door selling ice cold coca colas, later magazines, after that by the age of 12 had his own established paper route. Immediately after high school, he was drafted into the military where he served honorably until he was discharged. After being discharged, he and his older brother Ben had the opportunity to purchase a small restaurant. It only had four tables and was appropriately titled “The Little Dwarf” Unfortunately; two years after their grand opening his brother Ben died in a plane crash. He continued to grow the business and in his ‘spare time’, he worked on a small creation of his. The “Chicken Sandwich”. Every one had eaten chicken and every one had eaten sandwiches, but for some reason they had never been put together. After 12 years of working on the “creation”, he had perfected it! He went to market; he got it into the mouths of every one he could convince to try it. He even brought one personally to Lady Bird, President Johnson’s wife. Due to its popularity, he trademarked it, Entitled Chick-fil-A! S. Truett Cathy, owner and founder of Chick-fil-A, one of the biggest chicken fast food chains in the U.S. made over a billion dollars in year 2000. That same boy, who went door to door selling coca colas, now owns 2000 restaurants!
Why not you? You could be just as successful as he is.
The most successful entrepreneurs had two things in common strong character and a willingness to work. Some of which character is:

INITIATIVE

They WOULD NOT put off till tomorrow. They got up early. Mary Kay got up at 5:00 every morning after realizing that by doing so she had a more successful day! Also included in the 5 o’clock bunch are Donald Trump, S. Truett Cathy, and world famous entrepreneur and founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton. Mary Kay also contributes her success to her “$35,000 list.” Before bed, she writes a list of “to-do’s” she had to accomplish the next day.

WISDOM

They use wisdom to make practical applications of truth in daily decisions. They never stop learning. They read extensively. Some even endeavored to read for 2 hours each day! They knew that by reading they opened a completely new world. You can learn anything if you can read.

DETERMINETION

Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is 2% inspiration and 98% determination” Nothing is worth having if it is not worth working for. The most successful businesses were made successful only by hard work and determination.

COMPETITIVE

They also have highly competitive spirits. They not only compete with their industry, but also rule their industry by competition. Their real competition was not other businesses it was against themselves. They were such high achievers that they set a goal and not only topped that goal, but also tripled it many times! Learn to compete against yourself. Set your own goals. Set them high! Then, top those goals! You will only be as great as you really want to be. You are responsible for yourself and yourself alone, no one else will reach your goals for you. The Greek philosopher Cicero said, “The greatest waste is the difference between what we are and what we could be.” (-Cicero)

FAMILY

The most successful entrepreneurs knew that if they wanted there business to last they had to make it family. Some thing they could share with their spouse, children, grandchildren, even great grandchildren. In so doing they have made their business something that will last for generations. To this day, S Truett Cathy’s’ whole family is involved. His wife, his sons, daughter, and grandchildren even his 12 great grandchildren all participate. If you want your business to last, make it something that you can share with your existing family and generations to come.

PURPOSE

They were living their lives with purpose they wanted to achieve much. They set high goals with an even higher purpose and reached them! In turn, they changed the culture and the world around them and became history makers.
Through looking at their life stories, we see how God prospers the faithful business owner. They made history! So, what about you? Do you want to be a history maker? Find a need in your community, find a way to fill need, find what your good at, and follow that. I am not saying that you will not fail, you probably will 9 time out of 10 but that one time you might hit it big!
You just might be the next billionaire! You might even be the next Donald Trump. Initiative, Wisdom, Determination, Competitiveness, Family and Purpose, these are the things that make an entrepreneurs successful.