Misconceptions on Entrepreneurship (Report Card #1)

Author

Aswin John
August 28, 2023

Learn Through Action by Aswin John
Report Card #1

Welcome to the LTA Report Card. The format of these emails will probably change, but it’s a way for me to plan out my weeks, hold myself accountable, and document my growth.

Learning: What “Value” Means

I always told people I wanted to “start my own thing” and move from wantrapreneur to entrepreneur. But coming from working “9-5 jobs”, this period of my life is where I’m starting to understand what “value” is.

The common entrepreneurial question is: What problem am I solving?

But I would counter that you should be asking: What problem am I solving that’s going to save someone time or money, or generate more time or money?

And then, how do I capture a percentage of that value?

I believe that focusing on the Indian Wedding market is still a good idea. I can save the couple’s money, but I believe the real returns will come from generating more business for vendors.

The game plan: Directory of Vendors (w/ subscriptions) > Design/Social Media Agency > Wedding Expos

Review of Last Week’s Tasks:

Since this is the first report card, I’ll quickly recap what I’ve been working on the last couple of weeks:

  • I’ve been applying to a lot of companies.

  • I finally put up a portfolio/personal website. This should help me with the job search and it’s good to finally have something up on https://monitormonkey.com again.

  • I bought a sponsorship for a dating conference for Malayalee Christians. This has pushed me to move faster on getting the Manthrakodi Planning Package ready for purchase.

  • I printed and started selling Family Prayer Books.

This Week’s Tasks:

  • Build a template for the vendor listing pages, starting with vendors in the DC/MD/VA region.

  • Send the Manthrakodi Preferred agreement to at least 1 vendor for each category in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and the Tri-State area.

  • Have at least the to-dos section of the Manthrakodi Planning Template created.

  • Build an MVP for the Manthrakodi planning package. Focus on linking payments and how to track and pay out referrals.