Deca Starting A Business: Fill & Download for Free

Well technically this happened right after my exam, but I'll put it in here anyways because it's a good story…This was my last year of highschool DECA as I am graduating grade 12, and will be going to university next year. For those of you know don't know, DECA is a business club that allows students to participate in interviews, oral presentations and written business proposals. Anyways, just after I had finished my oral presentation ( 10 minutes of verbally explaining how to compete against large chain resteraunts in a small town community), after round 1, our entire chapter of students (60 of us) got the most delicious cookies, and some water from these big brown water dispensers. You know the ones.Anyways, as we all munched on our cookies, and sipped our water, the DECA teacher advisor went up to the front and started a long, drawn out speech about thanking the college for allowing us to stay the day, all the teachers, volunteers ect. But about halfway through, things got really exciting. The water container’s tap gave way, and water started flowing out of this thing like the Hoover dam had just busted open. She rushed over the cooler (which was almost full at this point) and shoved a cup underneath to try and stop the water from going all over the floor. Needless to say, these tiny 4 oz cups were no match for the awesome 30 litre volume of this cooler. Suddenly about 30 of the students ran down to the cooler to help; mostly by getting more cups available and moving away the full ones. Water was still leaking all over the floor. As I sat back, chewing on my gum, watching the chaos unfold, I realized that I was the only science student in the whole room of 80 people (volunteers and teachers included). I walked up the cooler, took out my gum, and shoved it into the air intake that allowed the water to flow out freely (because of pressure you know?) everyone then watched in amazement as the flow of water seized up and it went down to less then a trickle. The looks of bewilderment were golden.That is the smartest thing I have done at an exam.

There are countless tips I wish I knew when I started my first business. Some of them would’ve been game changes and others would’ve been nice to know.I’ll list out a few tips that should serve you well.Focus on your customers more than the competition. It’s tempting to copy everything the competition does. While you may make some money, your business won’t stand out. If you focus on your customers then they’ll sing your praises.Always be learning. There’s always more to do in your business but take out the time to level yourself up. Dedicate at least an hour a day to pure learning.Set rules and follow them yourself (and enforce them). Did you know that it’s illegal to live with your girlfriend or boyfriend in about 10 states? It doesn’t matter because that particular law isn’t enforced. Everyone you work with is looking up to you. If you don’t follow rules and enforce them then they don’t matter and your company will descend into anarchy. Do I sound dramatic?Understand your unit economics like the back of your hand. In retail, they say “we lose money on every sale but make up for it in volume” No you don’t. You’re slowly going out of business. Moving a million units isn’t where the money is made. You make money on every single unit you sell. If your unit economics are off then you’ll eventually crash your ship.Enjoy the business while you’re building it. It’s tempting to reinvest every single penny waiting for the day you’ll become a deca millionaire. While it may happen, it’ll probably take longer than you expect. Don’t sacrifice your present for a future that may never come.Learn to sell. As a business owner, you’re always selling something. You sell your vision to employees and shareholders. You sell your products to customers. You sell your dreams to your family. If you’re afraid to sell then you won’t win. Period.Get on the right side of the law. Ignorance of the law is not protection from it. Understand what your business requires to continue operating. Get an idea of tax requirements. Call an attorney. Call an accountant. It’s cheap insurance.Get a mentor. You don’t know it all and never will. It’s the gift and curse of business. A mentor will help balance your experience and perspective when you encounter difficult problems. At the same time they’re a few steps ahead of you and make it possible to accelerate your growth.Develop a strong vision but don’t sweat the details. It’s important to know where you’re going as a company but how you’ll get there should be flexible. You may have put a lot of energy into a product but if it doesn’t pan cut your losses and move on.Don’t kill yourself. We live in a society that glorifies working hard. There’s nothing wrong with it but the concept has been distorted to mean working all day every day is cool. No, it’s not. Take a break. Get away from it all. Give yourself the opportunity to recharge. You’ll be happy you did.Learn from the failures. This may be the most important tip of them all. You will fail and make mistakes. It’s expected. What most people do is try to put it behind them and move on. Instead, analyze the why of your failures. Write about it, gather your team and debate it, and implement changes that’ll prevent it from repeating itself.This should be enough to get you started.Good luck!

Stanford? That's an easy school to get into. Any combination of curing cancer, winning an international STEM Olympiad, being nationally ranked in a sport, competing at the national level for FBLA or DECA, holding statewide or national office for Key Club, running a homeless shelter, starting a business that exits for over 10 million dollars, being so good at your instrument you get invited to solo at Carnegie Hall, or getting elected as the student member of your district’s board of education will give you a good shot at getting in. Good luck!