The Blue Sweater Post 1

In the The Blue Sweater, Jacqueline Novogratz points out a few struggles that the people in Rwanda face, many of them are low income families and are only trying to make a living with what the have. It is difficult for these people to expand out of their communities because they do not have a vast amount of opportunities that they can undergo. Jacqueline is stationed to work in Rwanda, where she teaches the women how to invest their money and also creates small bank accounts for them. By doing this Jacqueline teaches them the importance of money management. I think that this is a great opportunity because by educating other, you are giving them the chance to break out of poverty and allows them to learn how to make a better living.

In my opinion, Jacqueline is making a significant impact on the lives of these people. She is giving them an opportunity to succeed. I think that this is something that should be encouraged among others.

Small Business Expo in Los Angeles

Last week on November 5th, I had the opportunity to attend the Small Business Expo at the California Market Center. It was about fifteen minutes away from campus. This was a trade show that displayed a wide range of small businesses near the Los Angeles area. A majority of the companies that attended the events offered a service rather than a product. For example, there was a company that was offering digital marketing services, advertising through social media, and website management. There was also a company that was offering information technology consulting services. The various companies informed potential customers about their services and explained a little about their companies and what their main goals.

Moreover, I felt that some of the companies that I networked with were lacking understanding about the companies they were working for. A few of them were not able to answer certain questions and would have to direct my questions to another representative at the booth. From this, I learned that it is important to hire the correct candidates for your company. Workers need to have a good understanding of the company and what is it that the company does. Other than this, it was a good first experience for attending a trade show. Furthermore, I was also given the opportunity to met a self-stater and he shared his experience about how he created his company called CorporateFilming.net. It was great to hear the different challenges he faced and how he overcame them. He was able to succeed because he truly believed in his product and had a strong passion for filming.

Overall, this was great learning experience. If anyone is interested in going into a specific industry, I would recommend going to a trade association first because it gives you the opportunity to see different companies in the industry. You can learn from theses companies and see what new products or services being offered. This ultimately provides you with a better understanding of the industry and gives a clear view of the potential competitors.