The biggest thing I’ve learned during my RBE experience was to never give up. Although One Stop College Shop faced a few challenges, we were all able to pull through and make a successful concept. No matter what one does, there will always be some sort of road blocks along the way to push our patience and help us learn what to do whenever another difficult situation arises. Throughout this experience, I learned more about myself and how I perform under pressure as well as learning how to be more logical in my thinking in terms of making decisions. In the end, I thought RBE taught me quite a few things about myself, as well as give me more motivation to look for other alternatives when I do hit a road block in my professional career.
During this RBE experience I have learned many things. RBE has taught me to be a better speaker, leader, and a better overall team member. I believe that I can use some of what I have learned over the past semester in real business settings that I will encounter during my career. RBE has definitely given me a more positive view of the field of entrepreneurship, which was something that I had never considered pursuing previously. This course has challenged me to perform at a high level while meeting strict deadlines. Overall, the RBE experience was positive, but I believe that the goal of all of our businesses was not clearly stated at the beginning of the course. The funding panel is not so much looking for innovation and creativity, but rather short-term viability and financial safety. I believe future RBE students should know this at the start. I think that the number one takeaway from this course would be skills gained from working together as a team. In business, teamwork is very important and this class helps students work together as a group, towards a common goal. I feel more confident in my ability to be a good team member in the future. RBE has taught me to be confident in my own ideas and feel more open sharing them with a group. I enjoyed my time in this class, with my team members, and with my mentor. This is a course that challenges students not only academically, but professionally as well.
During my Real Business Experience I not only was able to mature in a professional manner but have learned to better work within a group. Taking a similar course last year I have realized how hard it is for people to come together, not knowing one another, and, in a way, be “forced” to work with one another. It is a very important aspect that one can acquire and I have been able to see how much I have grown to work so well within a group that has come together because of one similar interest, the business. It really makes such a difference. Last year, in freshmen business experience, students were put together automatically by their professor which caused some group members to clash and some not even care about the business plan. I have been able to enjoy working with my group who has continued to keep in mind the importance of listening to one another’s viewpoints, keep in constant contact making sure that the group was remaining up to date, and so much more. Especially when presenting in front of the funding panel it was easy to see the respect that the group has gained for one another. This was the portion of RBE that I enjoyed the most and have learned as an ability that I will bring forward with me in the field of business.
One Stop College Shop, the Butler web store with deals galore. Real Business Experience was a fantastic learning tool for me when it comes to figuring out what I want to do in the business world. My experience in Freshman Business Experience was not a pleasant one. My other group members and I did not get along very well. They did not feel like doing their part on the team and as a result we did not do a very good job as a team. So, going into RBE I was skeptical as to whether it would be a better experience. Now having completed the class, I can absolutely say that it was a complete turn around from my past experience. What truly separates the two is that in RBE we were able to choose what kind of business we could run. I can easily say that being apart of One Stop College Shop was the right move for me. The teammates that I had this time around were absolutely wonderful. We all worked so well together, we never had any conflicts, and we all put everything we had into making One Stop College Shop a successful business. We did hit a few problems along the way. Creating the website turned out to be a real headache, as originally we planned to hire another student to make the website for us, but he backed out at the last minute, so we did it ourselves. The slow development of the website set us back in our proof of concept, but we were still able to manage to put together a solid business plan. Although we did not get funded by the funding committee, we still presented our business well and did a great job with it all semester. One Stop College Shop may be done, but the memories of it and RBE will always be with me, and I will cherish them, because this was the most fun I have had in a class in a while. I learned many things from being apart of this team and being in this class, and I will take these lessons into the business world with me after college is finished.