Who I interviewed was Eduardo
Cortez, he is a tested business entrepreneur and a clergyman. He first came to
this country from Ecuador at the age of 30 with his family, with only one goal,
to establish a Hispanic church. Eventually he found a work opportunity with the
United Methodist Church. He started with a congregation of 5 members and is now
the biggest and growing Hispanic Methodist congregation in Central Florida.
Before that, Eduardo was very much involved in the business world. In Ecuador,
Eduardo learned at an early age the tactics and strategies it would take to
become a successful entrepreneur. By the age of 25 he was managing several male
boutiques in 3 central malls in the capital. Finally here in the United States,
he decided to dedicate his time to his ministry. A few years later, he would
make a bad business decision and invest a large amount of his savings into a
business called “The Natural Home” which would eventually go under. But
business is trial and error. With this failing business venture came lessons, tactics,
and strategies, which he put into practice with his church and his current
successful day care business.
I started off by letting him know
about my assignment and I just had a couple general questions for him to
answer. After he agreed I started the interview.
My first question
was, what does it mean to be an entrepreneur? And he responded as follows…
“It
means to be persistent and consistent, and you need to shows dedication towards
your projects at all times. It’s a challenge in someone’s life, but it’s
definitely a reachable goal. Entrepreneurship isn’t always about money, but
money is something that’s critical in a starting business. You have to realize
that when you are an entrepreneur, you are helping other people, not just
yourself, you’re a part of what’s helping your community and this country
prosper.”
I went on to ask him
my second question, which was, what should I learn from this course? And he
said…
“You
have to have a vison, and entrepreneurship vision, with a goal. This class
should teach you how to focus on that goal and how to identify it. It should
help you take those beginning steps in becoming an entrepreneur. It should help
you have a general idea of those first steps, so when you do start your own
business you have a solid foundation that will sustain you.
Another
thing that I usually notice is that people usually start off with an emotional
plan, an emotional business. When you first start off you need to start with a
profit point of view. A lot of people don’t like to hear that. But in order to
be successful you have to be organized and start off on the right foot or you
could potentially lose a lot of money.”
Lastly I asked him if
there was anything in school they wished they would have taught him, or if
there was anything he wished he would have known before starting on this
entrepreneurial path. Which he responded as follows.
“I
always had a vision of what I wanted to do, but I never had a vision with a
strategic plan. These two things go hand in hand. Something I wish they would
have taught me in school is how to manage people. Also I wish I would have
known, but also accepted that failure is inevitable. Lastly, it’s important to
save money, to have something to always fall back on just in case, because
business is not always good.”
All in all I thought the interview went well. What I found
most interesting was what he said about not starting off with an emotional business
in mind. I understood that as people who have always dreamed of doing something
and then have unrealistic expectation that in turn doesn’t allow them focus on what’s
real, the numbers, and then they end up failing.
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