Course Wrap Up

For my last ever blog, I want to keep it short and sweet.

As I mentioned in my first blog, this entrepreneurship class was not my first choice when registering for classes this spring. As an Arts Administration and Music History double major, I wanted to take a class about grant writing, but it ended up not being offered this semester. Thus, I registered for MGMT 137: Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and learned a lot about what it is like to be a leader and an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs work tirelessly. It is pretty much a 24/7 job and I truly don’t think that that sort of lifestyle is something I would ever take part in. I view myself as a creative person (I am a musician and a self-taught makeup artist), but not in the way that I think I can come up with a product or service that has never been done before.

I enjoyed our reading this semester, particularly the book “Start Something That Matters,” because it very clearly explained that starting a business is not as intimidating as it may seem. Having an entrepreneurial mindset - the ability to quickly sense, take action, and get organized under certain conditions - is important in any field. Especially in the music nonprofit world which I am currently working in right now, things are always changing and the level of uncertainty is a lot higher than in most for-profit businesses.

I also appreciated our guest speaker Bianca Harris who came to speak to our class in March. She helped solidify that it’s okay to jump around from job to job and that it’s important to always be professional. I thought she was really cool and especially liked that she had us each shake her hand and make eye contact, as that’s something that a lot of people are uncomfortable with. I will remember her calling me “quirky.”

While I have a feeling I am never going to become an entrepreneur, this course still provided me with beneficial knowledge about how to be a leader. I know I will use the knowledge and concepts from this class in my future endeavors as an artistic administrator.