Successful entrepreneurs have a unique mindset that enables him or her to recognize new business opportunities. One of the first times that I can remember having entrepreneurial thoughts was when I was in middle school. I was on summer break and I really wanted to create a way to earn money. I was playing outside with a few friends when I noticed many of my neighbors struggling to carry their trash and recyclables to the curb. I knew I was too young to obtain an hourly job, so I had to create the opportunity for myself. I saw a service that could be provided to the struggling homeowners and decided to create a trash removal service. I did not realize until many years later that the trash removal service exposed the start of my passion for business.
Entrepreneurship is about creating new opportunities. When I was a freshman in high school I played on the baseball team. As many of you probably know, the politics in high school sports does not necessarily create a healthy learning environment. I wanted to find an activity that had a positive community and culture. After the first season came to a close, a friend of the family took me to the Adirondacks for a weekend rock-climbing trip. I fell in love with a community that was centered on positive support and reliable teamwork. I wanted to share the community with others, so the following year I did not sign up for the baseball team, instead I went to the school principal and with her blessing, I started an outdoors club. I was successfully able to embed the values of the outdoor community into a club that still runs today.
I believe that the single most important attribute of an entrepreneur is leadership. In 2005, I moved to Wyoming to study Outdoor Education and Leadership. I had the opportunity to take classes with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). NOLS is a unique school that teaches the valuable skills of a leader by leading small groups in the wilderness. NOLS taught me how to plan, prepare and perform. I learned skills such as competence, communication, decision-making, tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, self-awareness and vision and action. I spent two months backpacking threw the Himalayas, three weeks sailing in Baja, Mexico and three weeks winter camping in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. These experiences helped me become a leader for myself as well as my peers.
The activity in my life that has shaped my passion for business is my real-time work experience was in New York City. For the past three years I have been working for an international outdoor clothing and equipment company called Patagonia, which takes pride in its core values of quality, integrity, environmentalism and non-conventional business practices. Patagonia allowed me to use the skills I learned in the past to shape my thoughts and knowledge on business. Patagonia gave me the opportunity to coordinate the Environmental Grants Program in New York City and soon after promoted me into a leadership role as an assistant manager.
As an assistant manager, I provided leadership for the staff in maintaining the highest level of performance standards. In addition to responsibilities as a sales associate, this leadership position took an active role in training staff, overseeing store openings and closings and protecting the store assets by maintaining operational policies and store procedures.
As an Environmental Grants Coordinator, I took an active role in Patagonia’s commitment to protecting undomesticated lands and waters. I oversaw an annual grants budget of $15,000 that was used to fund activists who take radical and strategic steps to protect habitat, wilderness and biodiversity. I made sure that the employees, along with the community, were educated on our current, local and global environmental initiatives. I worked with small, grass-root organizations that were seeking help with their capital, fundraising events, or needed manpower. Recently, I have created a successful program called the Employee Watch Program. This program was installed to help establish healthy, long-term relationships with environmental organizations in New York City. Each benefited employee created a binder that represented an organization, its goals, mission statement and any other information that was useful to Patagonia employees and the local community. The Employee Watch Program now serves as a vital tool for many stores around the country.
Another attribute that an entrepreneur must take on is initiative. Beyond taking the initiative at work to take on more responsibilities, I have shown the initiative to go back to school to further my education and knowledge on business. It is with that initiative that I can express my weaknesses and goals for school.
One of my most lingering weaknesses is not having ability to completely implement my visions into actions. Many times I will make a goal for myself and before I even realize it, I have moved on to another goal or interest. I need to recognize that I need to become patient and allow myself to follow through on my goals. Another quality that an entrepreneur cannot do without is education. I have had good work experience, but I am lacking the knowledge needed to start and run a business. I do not understand the process of starting and most importantly protecting a business.
My most recent goal is to graduate from Canisius College with a solid foundation of business knowledge. I know that this opportunity will only come once and I need to operate with efficiency and effectiveness while concentrating on the quality of my work. I feel comfortable saying that I have the skills of a leader, but with the guidance of my professors and the teamwork of my fellow students, I will leave Canisius College knowing that I have implemented my visions into actions.
The citizens of Romania have a lot to look forward to as the government is on a steady path of regional and international integration. Romania became a NATO member in 2004 and more recently a member of the EU in 2007. The banking sector has changed from a monolithic sector to a competitive system boasting over 40 regional and foreign banks. Because of this change the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided Romanian banks with a 20 Billion Euro loan to help provide small businesses credit. In order to stabilize the economy, the government has put public infrastructure on the top of its lis With access to the Black Sea, Romania will focus on modernizing the rail systems, roads systems, ports and airports to encourage foreign investment in a state that has good opportunity for trade and tourism. Many aspects will need to fall into place for Romania to become a world influence, but the most important aspect to take care of is the infrastructure needed to take Romanian business to the next level. As with all developing countries, Romania must be able to spread growth to all its regions and not focus on a few regions that already have a head start. Romania will need to get all of their citizens onboard to work for a more developed, stronger country.
