Week 7 - Business Model and Lean Startup

 This week was focused on learning about - you guessed it - Business Models and Lean Startups. 

This included readings on why Lean startups were better and more viable than "over-planning" startups and the super confusing Business Model Canvas.

Overall, looking at the Canvas made sense, I can see why it's useful.  But trying to fill one out for a company that I don't work for was confusing because I didn't know which piece of information fit where.  It's not like there was an area of Thorn's website that outlined all their Key information. And while I understand that doing the research to fill in these areas is educational - the perfectionist in me stresses about confusing vagaries' like that which make me worry that I can't complete the assignment to the teacher's satisfaction.  I do feel like I knew more about Thorn at the end, and that's definitely coming down on the "pro" side of the list. 

Sharpening my business skills benefits me in a number of different ways.  I no longer work in the Financial Services Industry, but even within the Public School System as a teacher and advocate, I appreciate understanding the steps advisable for building a successful endeavor that can last past the first few failures. My co-worker and I are co-directing the school musical this year, and being able to break down our overall goals, themes, messages as well as identifying our resources, people and talents has been so helpful to organization and stress relief.  As she managed all the music and script cuts, I prepared all the office-y paperwork and documents needed; as she worked on set design and ordering from manufacturers, I was having the emotional discussions with kids who weren't cast. Knowing where our resources are and how will will address problems as they arise is essential to being a fully functional team/business. 

I can see the need to do something similar with my co-worker with whom I share a classroom. We could better outline our issues, resources, goals, activities, and other key items. 

I'm really glad for the reflection this week because it really helped me see how useful the Lean startup mentality and Business model canvas can be in situations other than strictly business. 


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