What appeals to me about entrepreneurship?

Before taking this course, I was intimidated by the word entrepreneurship; I wasn’t comfortable with using the word, not completely understanding what it meant. I understand it a bit more, and that anyone can be a entrepreneurship. It all starts with an idea; it’s the creation of a new venture. There is a lot of work involved with entrepreneurship, its not easy to take an idea and turn it into a potential commodity and not everything has to be a commodity. What I find appealing about entrepreneurship is that anyone can be one. There is no age limit, and it can be simple, although its challenging, I like challenges. It is risky. What appeals to me, it that being an entrepreneur can be individual, enterprise, a business big or small. As an entrepreneur, and starting a new venture, you should be aware of business plans, how to create one and follow through with your plans.

Sharing information about a business plan.

I took my presentation on making a business plan and read it to someone; my goal was to explain to the individual what is a business plan and how to create one. I used the power point presentation to share what I knew about making a business plan. After I finished reading the power point, I asked what the individual thought of my presentation and to share feedback. The individual stated that they did not know much about administration or starting a business. After listening to my presentation the individual said that they could use the information that I presented as a guide to making a business plan. They stated that there was a lot of information and now this individual knows more on what’s needed to making a business plan. They stated that they are more aware of the contents of starting a business. They said that they were not aware that a business plan had to be 10 to 12 pages long and that it required so much specific information. Although a lot of information was presented but very informative.

Business Plans, what have I learned.

I have learned a lot in regards to a business plan. I had made the presentation on how to make a business plan. I have learned that a business plan is pretty straight forward. A business plan is important to have when wanting to start a business, it shows organization, professionalism, and, the willingness to start a business. A plan should not be more than 12 pages long. The most imporant and vital piece of information in a business plan is the executive summary of your plan. This piece includes the most imporant information that is needed for your plan. Most time when you present your plan to lenders and investors, this is most likely the only section that they read and use in refernce to making a decision for your business plan. I have learned that there are different types of formats of a business plan but basically the content of the business plan is the same. A good market plan could be used as arumentive piece to demonstrated that your business is a need and demand in your community. Financial informations is alos needed so that your lenders and investors have a sense of what is needed for business. I could go on and on what I’ve learned about bisness plan since I’ve was part of a group and researched and presented on how to create a business plan. I hope that the presentation was helpful and striaghtfoward for my fellow classmates.

"Fulled again: U.S. gas prices 30% below those in Canada” from the Current Business Feed

I have read the article “Fuelled again: U.S. gas prices 30% below those in Canada” it was interesting to read the arugments why US gas prices are less than the gas prices in Canada. The factors stated in the article stating why the price of gas is higher in Canada is as stated, the wholesale of gas in the states is cheaper. In the article it states that the tax on gas in Canada compared to the US is couple times higher, the exchange rate was another factor. Another factor is the US population is about 10 times higher than the population of Canada. Also, Canada does not make enough gasoline sales to lower the prices of gasoline. Understanding the gas price in US and in Canada are significantly different due to population, I think. US has 10 more population that Canada, that is what I think the biggest difference between countries. If Canada had the same amount of people as the United States, then Canada could afford to lower its taxes and could compete with United States with their gas prices. The market demand is perhaps not as high in Canada as it is in United states, due to the population difference. United States is our neibouring Country, I do not understand why there hasn't been an agreement on gas prices between the Countries. Perhaps with the new president, the gas price issue will be brought up. I think that being so close, and Canada makes gas and sells it out of country, you would think that the gas price would be lower than the US. Its something to think about.

First Nations Women in Business

I had the opportunity to interview an successful businesswomen. I interviewed a woman who is an owner of a Curves. I had asked her what were her barriers being a First Nation businesswomen owner. She stated that she does not have any barriers. She said that there are some challenges working in all women’s environment but they were not barriers. She stated that if she did have any barriers she would approach them and deal with them right away. I went on to ask her how she felt about being a First Nations woman, owning a business off reserve, if she seen that as a barrier. She went on to explain that she did not grow up on a reserve therefore, she doesn’t know the any different about how a business would function on a reserve. I had suggest that she consider opening a curves in our First Nation community, she said its something to consider but also said there could be some barriers in regards to the market demand, and if the services would be used in the community.

What does it mean to be a professional?

Being a professional can mean a lot things, it depends on how we see it. I think that there is a general understanding in all its definitions. For instance a professional is someone who is an expert in their field, someone who makes a living out of a sport or talent.
A professional can be someone who is seen as a role model for their community for what he does. A professional is someone who takes their job seriously and they are for what they do. A professional is someone who presents himself or herself in a manner that is respectable, well mannered and has respect for others.

I also feel that being a professional is a learned talent. There are aspects of being a professional that you acquire from being a student. For instance as students we learning about our professionalism, what we will be as professionals, our careers. I don’t think that being a student you are taught how to act as a professional. I think that work experience teaches us in ways to act as professionals, because in our work, it requires certain behavior. In our work, there are policies which provides us with guidelines on what behavior is tolerable, and how we should present ourselves. They don’t teach us this as students. Although there are ethics in certain careers that as professionals we must follow, for example, there is one in policing, social work, Psychologist. As I write this journal, I am beginning to change my mind about the question asked, Are students in training to be professionals? Yes, I think we are.

Why is this Subject Taboo?

What I got from the reading was that the author was saying that Natives should be treated equally as the Non-Natives of Canada. The article talks about how we should educate ourselves, and our families. In the article it states that it is up to our leadership take the initiative to educate our people and families.

After reading the article “Why is this Subject Taboo?” I was left a little confused on what point the author was trying to get at. Is our Native history taboo? Some take the topic as taboo because the Native history in Canada is a hard history to swallow. Native people have been through a lot and it is not always a good history on part of what the Governments have tried and is still trying to segregate and colonize the Native people. I think that from our history of assimilation and residential schools and, our treaty rights, all this makes talking about Native issues taboo.

What is my objective for this class

There are a number things that I would like to get out of this class. First I would like to fully understand the concept entrepreneurship. I think I understand it, but there are times I still find it confusing. I can contribute some of my administration experience to the course. I have been working in administration for 4 years and I can share my experience with my classmates, and also learn from their experiences. I am a Director of a non-profit organization, call the Gesgapegiag Early Childhood Center. I would like to learn how to create a business plan and also find recourses to help start a business. I am not a business owner, although I hope to be a small business owner in the near future. I would like to learn about taxation and how does it apply to First Nations. I would like to know the loop hole that the Government uses to have First Nations pay tax when it is a fiduciary right not to pay the Provincial and Federal tax according to our Treaty rights.

Quizz 1 What type of learner am I

I would have to say that I am on the fence when it comes to what type of learner that I am. I think I am combination of the two learning styles. I am both auditory and also a visual learner. If I am going to learn anything new, I need to be interested in what I am about to learn. If I have no interest in the topic or concept I will have a difficult time staying focused. I pick up on concepts by applying what I have learned to my work. If I am shown what I have read then I can better understand what I am being taught. For instance if I have to read about a concept, I would then have to talk about the concept or if a lecture is given on the topic I will pick up the concepts easier if they are discussed and then read about them..

I find it most useful to have discussions with my classmates about the material being covered in class. I have to be able to understand the concept being taught by applying to my work or experienced it through work.

Journal Entry 1

After reading both articles, I was seen the positive and negative aspect of Non-Natives using First Nations culture for a financial benefit.

I had a hard time seeing First Nations in the articles as entrepreneurs when they allow to have their culture exploited for a financial benefit, especially when Non-Natives are benefiting from our culture. I am not practically happy with having our culture exploited in a way that is negative for a profit. First Nations should benefit from our heritage.

I did like how First Nations incorporated their traditional values and beliefs as part of the decision making process when is comes to making business decisions. The article put the decision process in a way that makes sense, and holds values to the cultural dynamic of First Nations peoples I think that it is a good venture to incorporate First Nations traditions into the today’s businesses. By doing so, it will make First Nations’s people better entrepreneurs.

Nursing

When I was pregnant I had planned to nurse my little one. I had no idea how difficult it would be. I was aware of all the benefits to breastfeeding. It is the best that you can give your newborn baby. I was so determined to breastfeed, therefore; I didn’t buy any bottles. When she arrived the nurses at the hospital were great, they helped with nursing my newborn. They aided me with the technique of having the baby latch on. The first few day was easy. I was warned by the doctor to prepare myself for the second and third would be most difficult. The Doctor was right, the second and third day, the baby ate every hour on the hour. I was exhausted and not getting much sleep, I didn’t let that discourage me though. I continued to nurse. I was getting much support from my spouse and family.

It wasn’t until the second week that nursing started to become real difficult. I started to experience difficulties with nursing on one side. I had tried to find a solution to my problem; I had spoken to the nurse, other mothers who were nursing their babies. By the third week, I had made the decision to stop nursing, unfortunately; I did not find a solution to my problem with nursing.

It was a difficult decision; it took support from family and my spouse to actually be ok with my decision. I felt like a failure. I wanted nursing to work out, it was something that I enjoyed. I had created a bond with my daughter while nursing. Even though I could no longer nurse, I had to keep in mind that my bond with my daughter would not be affected. I would prefer to nurse over bottle-feeding. It was so convenient to nurse, there was no heating up the milk it was always ready. I have accepted that nursing is not for everyone and that formula is good for the baby aswell.

Super Mom

When I was pregnant I had lots of plans. I planned to be super mom. I had it all figured out. I would tell my sister-n-law that I could go back to work within 3 months of having the baby. I had plans to travel with the baby, go to school. My sister-n-law told me that I will not want to go back to work, nor do all the things that I have planned. Now that I have given birth and am home with the baby, there is no way that I would be able to go back to work in 3 months. I would not feel ready. There is so much more when it comes to caring for a baby. I am struggling to keep up with my schoolwork. I don’t know what I was thinking, when I was pregnant. Must have been the hormones.

More sleepless nights

Sleepless nights had come around again. When you are pregnant, your body prepares yourself for the sleepless nights that you are going to experience after you have your baby. I can’t remember that last time when I had a full night a sleep. The baby gets up twice a night to eat. I have to admit she is a good baby she eats and sleeps. I was reading the baby bible book, and it says that a baby doesn’t fall under a schedule for about 3 months. So I am wondering when the baby will sleep through the night. I enjoy getting up with her, even if it means I will be sleep deprived for the next few months.

40 weeks pregnant

Finally 40 weeks pregnant and my due date has arrived, May 26, 2008. At this time I was anxious to go into labour. I was ready to deliver and meet my little Ansale'wit (Angel in Mi'kmaq). I was scheduled to see my Doctor at 8 am that day. When I saw my doctor, she said I was only open 1.5 cm. I was determined to go into labour, therefore; I went for an hour walk immediately after my appointment.

At around suppertime, I started to have contractions, they were not strong, but they were consistent, every 5 minutes. I knew that my labour had not started yet, although I knew that my body was preparing itself. I had let my family know that there was a chance that I would be going into labour sometime during the evening. At around 10 pm. I decided that I would walk around the block, to keep my contractions consistent. I walked for about a half hour, then decided that I should rest up. I went home and went to bed.

It was midnight when I was woken up by sharp abdominal pain. I looked at my watch, and five minutes passed when I got another sharp cramp. I was in labour, I wasn’t nervous, there was no time to be. I waited for an hour to pass before I went to the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital, the contractions had got more intense. I was open at 3.5 cm’s. Before I knew it, I was in the delivery room preparing myself for childbirth. My water broke when I was 6 cm’s dilated. Before I knew it I was I was 10 cm’s dilated and ready to push. I pushed for 44 minutes, and at 8:49 am I gave birth to my daughter Anayah Ansale’wit Swanson Larocque. She weighted 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 19 ¾ inches long.

The moment I saw her face, I fell in love unconditionally for the first time. I was over welcomed with affection for my daughter. It’s true what they say, you forget the pain of labour when you see your baby’s face for the first time. After all I experienced with Labour and giving birth natural without the epidural; I must say, I have a new level of respect for mothers.

false labour

I experienced false labour at 35 weeks. I was a nervous, not feeling ready to deliver my baby. I did not know that I was experiencing false labour until I called my mother. I knew I was having contractions, braxton hicks, but they lasted longer than normal. I was scared thinking, is this it? After one hour of timing my contractions, they went away. I did everything I was suppose to, I went to lay on my left side. With relaxation the braxton hicks stopped. What a relief, being 35 weeks pregnant I just wasnt ready for the delivery. I was still working and going to school.

Sleepless Nights

Sleepless nights, is something I have to get use to. I will be giving birth to my first child at anytime now. My bladder is getting me use to motherhood. It seems like I am getting up to use the bathroom every hour on the hour. The closer I get to my due date, the less I sleep. I’ve been told that it is normal and it’s part of preparing me for when the baby arrives. I have been experiencing the sleepless nights for the past couple of months. I would say I am as ready as I would ever be for motherhood.

PC'S VS. MAC

I am a PC owner and I am currently looking into getting a Mac. So I have been asking friends that own them. I have been doing a bit of research on how they work. So far I have heard only good things about a Mac. A friend told me that once you transition over to a Mac you don’t want to go back to a PC. Is this true? I was told once you get use to using a Mac, it is more user friendly than a PC. Another friend told me when comparing a Mac to a PC it’s like comparing a good looking intellectual to a pocket projector geek.

WWW.

I was just browsing in my textbook, and I learned something new. Do you ever wonder what WWW. stands for? It's before every think you look at on the web servers. wheather you want to check your e-mail, search google. WWW stands for World Wide Web. I thought that was interesting. People can confuse the interent and the world wide web. Before reading about it I didn't know the difference. The internet allows your to connect to the web servers to browse the files that are stored, this includes google, hotmail, ect.

Computers in Polite Society

I use e-mail only to communicate important private messages. I rarely use it to send junk mail. I am not big on looking at forwards and reading them. If I cannot get a hold of someone via MSN messenger, or facebook, I will write an e-mail. I am able to write an e-mail and get the point across. I don’t try and get all emotional, but I feel that communicating online is impersonal. If an important topic needs to be discussed I would rather do it in person, and if that’s not possible, over the telephone. I wasn’t aware that there were basic rules to writing e-mails. I wasn’t aware of netiquette, and the basic rules. I just discovered that you can send a vacation message. It sends a notification to the people that have sent you an e-mail to let them know that you are on vacation. That’s pretty neat. I would use that if I used my e-mail often. One netiquette I can think of is your sender should include the subject of the e-mail that’s pertains to the actual topic that’s written in the e-mail. If that makes any sense?

Shhh, It's a Secret, Privacy and Digitial Security

There are two types of business threats:
1) Surveillance of employees example of this is, having your employer to read e-mail and overview of what you do on your work computer.
and
2) The use of business-related information, including transaction information, for other purposes. An example of this would be, when you make a purchase with a check or credit card, or debit, the business where you make the purchase can obtain your personal information and use it to send you information, like business ads.

I would be more worried about the business aspect of managing personal information more so than government official. I did not realize that business could use our personal information from our purchases and add us to a data entry for ad’s. What a scary thought. I am fortunate for not living in the states, they don’t have strong privacy laws. There is not much protection for people living in the states when it comes to your personal information. If you want to protect yourself and your personal information you have to subscribe to a protection plan and pay for it. That’s outrageous!

Web2.0 and cell phones

Cell phones has advanced enromously over the past few years. Every year there is something new you can do with a cell phone. I seen an ad on Tv not long ago that you can now use your cell phone almost like video conferencing. You can set it up so that your caller can hear you speak and see you speak through a camera on your phone. Thats pretty neat.

You can do just about anything with your cell phone, you can browse the net. Set up facebook, msn, instant msg's from you hotmail account. You can text, send pictures, the list goes on. You cell phone can as as a mini computer. If you wanted to keep up with the changing technology upgrades with cell phones. It would get pretty costly. You would find yourself buying a new cell phone annually.

Voki Demonstration

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a Voki now!

Cell phones and cars

Quebec passed a new law about using cell phones while driving. It was just effective as of April 1, 2008. You are no longer allowed to drive your vehicle and talk on the cell phone. Although, there is an exception, you can talk on your cell phone if its hands free. If you have bluetooth you can use your cell phone while driving. Is it still a distraction as though you were holding a cell phone?

Now vehicle companies are starting to make vehicles with built in bluetooth. Acura is one of the vehicle companies that include it in all their vehicles. It’s neat that these companies are keeping up with the growing and changing technology…

4D Ultrasound

While I was away on vacation, I was informed of new technology called 4D ultrasound. I thought it was pretty freaky, seeing the demonstration of it, because it is still in black and white. You can see the liquid around the baby. I then wondered what type of technology is being used to creat the 4D ultrasound. I wondered if the 4D ultrasound is more harmful than the regular ultrasound? The ultrasound techonology has evolved over the past 40 years. You can set up the 4D ultrasound to e-mails, where other people of your choice can watch your ultrasound. Although, the closest place to have this 4D ultrasound is Montreal. I wonder what they will come up with next?

Technology for Pregnant women...

Well being pregnant I’ve learned about the technology that’s available to make the delivery much easier. It’s called epidural, that’s suppose to be the end of all pain during delivery. Well, I come from the sticks and from what I heard that it’s not an option here for women who deliver naturally. It is given to women who under go a c-section. It’s 2008, it should be at least an option for women who need or request it.

Cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying has become as common as bullying that done in person. My niece has experienced cyber-bullying. I didn’t really understand the concept of it, until I asked her what was going on. She stated that there were a group of girls sending her mean massages through MSN messenger. She said when she sees theses girls in public or in school they don’t say anything to her. Even though those girls were being mean to her over the net, it affected her. Her feelings were touched. I just encouraged her not to listen nor let the girls bother her. I really didn’t know what to say to help her with the cyber-bullying. I just gave her advice not to fall into cyber-bullying when she becomes the one that’s bullying.

On-line Banking

I believe that the everyone needs to know and use online banking. I had to go make a deposit at the bank for work last week, and I encountered what I thought no longer existed. There was a little old lady at the teller, updating her bank statements with the bank book. I didn’t know that bank book were still being used. The teller used up two books. I thought to myself, if this lady knew that she could access her account from her home and all her banking info from home. Then I thought maybe she is not into technology. Then I thought she could receive her statements by mail. It was just a thought...

I’ve had an experience with technology, where it was not in my favor. You know how technology can be very useful. Typing rather than writing saves time, but is not always an easy way out. I’ve just responded to the class blogg. I had to respond to it twice. The first time I wrote my comment and try to post it I experience a server error and everything I wrote was lost. Now that’s not convenient. So I had to write out my comment for the second time and post it. This is a good example why we should maintain our traditional skills.

We are not alone..

We had had to respond to a class blogg, are we alone? Well I just had an experience that we are not. I am staying in a Hotel in old Quebec. I had trouble connecting to the internet, I call to call a internet technician for the Hotel. So while speaking to the lady, I had to giver her information on what room I am staying ext. As I am giving the women the information to help me, she finds me through the connection. She was able to read my IP Address. I was like nope, we are not alone in cyber space......

Online Networking

Online networking, is a modern way to communicating. For example Facebook, it is fairly new and it's incrediable how many people use it. Facebook is not only used to chat with old friends you haven't seen in years. It's also used to advertise personal businesses, upcoming social events. Online networking is becoming more popular.

Jump Drives...

This blog is used to just discuss anything that comes to mind about technology. Well I had an experience with my jump drive the other day. Well I had tried to save something one it, in which I thought I did, and guess what, I didn't! I removed it from the computer sooner than I was suppose to. I thought technology was fast or I didn't eject it properly. It's a mistery. I wasn't impressed with technology that day. I've learned a lesson, always save it to your computer before tranfering it to your jump drive.

Technology has its disadvantages

I see technology being a disadvantage at times. Sure if you have the means to pay for the technology then it can very useful. If you do not have the funds to for it, it can work to your disadvantage. For instance, I have a nephew with a disability and he does not have the proper transportation to get to school. There is not a vehicle that accommodates my nephew for his schooling, that’s provided by the community. He has to be transported by his parents. There are vehicles that are designed to transport individuals with disabilities. It’s too costly for the community or schooling to provide the service.

New Technology

It's amazing how technology is evolving so fast. It hard to keep up with all the new things that you can do, from cell phones text messaging, high speed, computers to smart boards. I just recently heard of the pen-based peripherals, wamcom tablet and the smart airliner in class. It' pretty neat what you can do in a classroom or a business meeting. I thought the wamcom tablet was pretty cool.

I am new to blogging. I think it's a neat way to post our thoughts about what is discussed in class and share them with others.