Managing a Budget
Using the Action mindset, I applied for the class role of Finance Director to learn how to create a budget and figure out how to generate wealth to fund the budget. Our class identified several items that would add value to the class. We had to be creative to find avenues in which our class could generate wealth in order to purchase the items.
Problem
Our class wanted to buy certain items that would add value to the class. but we would need money to make the purchases. These items included; a woodblock for each individual to leave our photo and name for the rest of the classes throughout the day to see; monthly snacks to be purchased and enjoyed; and custom merchandise that everyone could wear. The merchandise would be the most expensive item which would cost around $1,400. With $0 to start, raising that much money would be nothing short of impressive.
Process
First, I had to assess what we could offer as services in order to produce this much money. In the past, the class was a photo class and there were some photographers that are really good with cameras. I thought that could be a valuable service others would want. I pitched this idea to Mr. Schwab and it became a reality.
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After the idea was approved I needed to figure out who would want our services and how much we could charge. I knew there were certain sports teams that would want to have their pictures taken. This would be an easy way to get money for the class as it was high in profit and wasn't too complicated. So I reached out to the volleyball coach and Mr. Schwab reached out to the lacrosse coach.
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After emailing back and forth with the coaches they both agreed to hire our photographers. The problem was that I am not a photographer and I needed to find photographers that would be willing to put in their free time so that the class could make some money. I had to ask the photographers I knew if they would be interested and they all agreed to the job which made my job a whole lot easier.
Reflections
Through the process of successfully creating and funding our class budget, I learned several skills that will help me along my journey to becoming an entrepreneur including:
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Taking action and stepping up to volunteer to be the Finance Director
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Building consensus and pushing a group towards agreeing on the items the class needed and wanted
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Overcoming the fear of rejection when approaching a coach to ask to hire our photographers
Results
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Defined budget including
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$1300 woodblocks​
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$850 merchandise
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$600 food
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2 sports photo shoots booked generating $1500​​
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A happy class knowing we achieved our common goals
