When I first enrolled in JRN 450, I truly didn’t know what to expect. A classmate of mine the previous semester had tried to explain it to me, but I knew that I was just going to have to wait until the first day of class to fully understand what type of journey this class was going to take me on this semester.

The first day of class was really intimidating. I knew that this class journey would be one that would be a journey’s road that twist and turn with challenges. But, I was excited. I was excited because right then and there I KNEW that this class was going to teach me lessons about entrepreneurship that I never expected to learn.

One of the lessons that this class taught me is that communication is key. You need to be able to communicate with everyone and get your message clear. I learned this lesson in particular while working in teams. Group work can be frustrating at times, especially when everyone has such busy schedules. I learned that it’s best to communicate your goals right away so everyone in the group is on the same page. I was thankful enough to have such a great team that communication between the three of us flew easily, making the tasks that were put before us not as challenging.

Another lesson I learned was, how important it is to know your audience. If you don’t know your audience you aren’t going to be able to communicate clearly to them. You can figure out who your audience is by doing research and even creating a couple of surveys. Even if your idea seems like it could be applicable to everyone, it’s still important to do your research. You can never do enough research.

Last but not least I learn that start ups are not a piece of cake. Coming into this semester I had no idea that there was so much work going into start ups. We spent the whole semester working on just the pitch! I’m still in awe at how much work we put in! I was so incredibly proud of my team and all the challenges that we face and overcame.

I loved listening to all the podcasts this semester, especially the How I Built This by NPR. These podcasts gave me impeccable amounts of inspiration. Everyone goes through challenges and sometimes people even fail. But it’s through hard work and dedication that people’s start ups become so successful.

I think overall this class taught me lessons that I can not only apply to my academic life but to real life as well. There are going to be times where there are bumps in the road. There are going to be times when you feel down. But it’s how you handle those situations that make you successful. You have to keep pushing and keep your head up. Believe in the magic of the world and the world will believe in you.