“Resources,” Starting and Growing My Business (2014)
“Resources,” Starting and Growing My Business
Resources
We Can Do This!
Choose roles and act out the following.
MARIA: Wow, this really works! I finally see it.
MARIA’S HUSBAND, DIEGO: What are you talking about? What works?
MARIA: Everything fits together. Twelve weeks ago, when we started going to our self-reliance group, I had no idea how much it would improve our business. The commitments we’ve been keeping, the things we’ve learned in our self-reliance group—it all makes sense!
DIEGO: Yes, I’ve found the same with my job search self-reliance group. I now have a great job at the hospital. With the income from my job and your egg business, we will finally be able to provide for our family. Everything does fit.
MARIA: Diego, it’s not just my business. It’s our business. Thank you for working so hard at your job and then helping me with our egg business.
DIEGO: It’s also the Lord’s business. We’ve consecrated our business efforts to Him, exercised faith in the Savior, and prayed about our business.
MARIA: We needed to look very closely at our egg business. We talked to customers and other business owners to figure out what people wanted. Remember? We realized that we should sell milk with our eggs.
DIEGO: Yes, and we looked at where we get our eggs and milk. We decided that it wasn’t a good idea for us to get a goat for milk. It is better to buy fresh milk from Pedro, who already has several goats.
MARIA: Then we learned how to make money every day. I’ve been keeping track of everything we’re spending and how much people pay us. We made a lot more money when we started doing home delivery.
DIEGO: And I’ve also been tracking how much we’re spending and how much we’re making for our family. We can pay for the kids’ school supplies now.
MARIA: Naomi helped us figure out how to sell more. We started asking our customers questions, listening to them, and making suggestions. We encouraged customers to buy more eggs and to buy milk. That was a great idea to send Sophia for home delivery. We got to know our customers better and became friends with many of them.
DIEGO: Then with all the new customers, we needed more eggs every day, and we learned about borrowing money to get more chickens. I’m glad we didn’t get that first loan. We wouldn’t have been able to make payments. We just needed a small loan to buy a few more chickens.
MARIA: See?! It all fits together. Now we just need to keep looking at ways to reduce our costs and increase how much we sell.
DIEGO: Yes. We can do this!
Back to page 184
My Business In Five Minutes
The facilitator should read the following while the other group members follow along on page 187.
MARIA: I’m a little nervous to present, but I have gotten to know you all so well. I’m going to be okay. Part 1—I’m supposed to describe my business. My business is selling eggs and milk. I started with just eggs a few months ago. I added milk after I learned that my customers wanted it. I also have a home-delivery service now. My business is doing much better since I have been going to this self-reliance group.
MARIA: Part 2 is about the questions of the week. The questions have all helped me. But if I had to choose one, the question that improved my business the most was separating business and personal finances. Before that, any money I made in my business got mixed with my personal money and was spent. It wasn’t good. Now I keep them separate.
MARIA: Part 3—financial records and savings. I was able to save money 9 of the 12 weeks. I kept financial records for my business for the last 8 weeks straight. I did the same for my personal records. I plan on continuing to keep records. I really like knowing how much I make and how much I spend. I am also very happy to have money in savings. I’ve never had that before. It comforts me to know it is there.
MARIA: Ok, now for part 4—continuing to improve my business. I have learned so much in the past 12 weeks. I want to continue to learn. I’m going to join our stake’s business owners’ group.
MARIA: Last part. Part 5 is a business goal. In one year, I want my business to have enough cash flow that I can rent a space in the busiest part of the market. That will help me grow my business even more.
Thanks, everyone. You have really helped me improve my business!
Back to page 187