Counting My Blessings

Today is the last day of classes. I have one more class and then a midterm tonight, and then I'm off for two weeks. March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, I will be on a flight at a ridiculously early hour in the morning to fly to Florida and then to Abaco, Bahamas, to spend a week on my father's boat with two of my best friends and my family.

I can't imagine being luckier.

I wasn't tying to spread around the news of my trip to many people. I don't like to brag that I'm going on a wonderful and relaxing vacation with some of the best people imaginable. I also hate people saying "wow" and "I'm jealous," especially when their expressions and tones indicate that they are sincerely impressed. Honestly, for a while I wasn't so impressed.

I am very privileged. I don't own a lot of top-designer clothing or products, I don't like in a mansion, I don't have money dripping out of my pockets, but I am very privileged. My father loves sailing. He owns a large catamaran and is frequently taking us on sailing trips around New York and in the Caribbean. My grandparents also live on the beach on Long Island, close to the outlets but just far enough away from the bustle of normal life. In many ways, these retreats from reality keep my entire family sane. However, when something has been handed to you and you accept it without a thought (or has always been there), you sometimes lose sight on how lucky you truly are.

I'm sure that everyone can look at their own lives and see why their lucky. I originally got the idea from a post I found through a friend's blog. Their lists begin with "I'm alive!" How miraculous is that? You are alive and can do anything that you want with your life. Many people forget that.

I'm curious- in what ways are you lucky?

Switching Gears

What do I want to do? What do I want to do? What do I want to do?

This is an entrepreneurship class. Of course for this course I will be focusing on my pursuit of owning my own business... and if I were to own any business it would be a hotel. I already blogged about why I want to own a hotel-- so much to do with it, many ways to expand, and shear fun of it all-- but I have so many ideas in my head!

What about consulting? My favorite courses in my college career work very well into a career in consulting. The courses, information systems and knowledge management and innovation (taken abroad) have taught me to think critically about things and how important correct systems in place in a business in order to be successful. Of course these will be helpful in my business. You can't fix a business if you are not able to make one yourself... plus entrepreneurship is scary. So much risk. So many chances. So many way you can be rejected. Consulting is a safer bet... and similar in the level of difficulty.

Decisions, decisions.

Business Thesis

As a good business woman, when you see an opportunity, you jump on it, right? But how do you measure whether that opportunity is good? How do you know if it is worth it?

I was presented with the opportunity to join a program in order to do a thesis. The first part of the class is learning out to do a thesis paper (while researching and developing your topic), while the second semester is devoted in the completion of the paper. Is the expertise and the knowledge I will gain doing this paper be enough to outweigh the opportunity costs that I will have?

Its going to be a lot of work, so much time and energy... in a year when all you want to do is be with your friends for one last time before the "real world" hits. I think I'm going to do it. I want a challenge... and this is something that I may not get the opportunity to do again. I will be creating new knowledge, becoming an expert in something that I am interested in... and working with some of the best minds that Fordham has to offer. What a way to end my time here.

The interesting thing about my business is...

If you are to spend your entire life doing something, it should be something you love. Happy people are those who enjoy their jobs, and enjoying your job when you're an entrepreneur is especially important.

I am probably unlike a lot of people who go into entrepreneurship. I love businesses. I say that in the most dorky way possible. I am not over interested in any particular type of business in general, but more interested in the different parts of businesses and how they interact. I would love to speak to CEOs and ask them what makes their businesses successful. What attracts me to becoming an entrepreneur is that I would be able to build something from the start and build it into a successful, smoothly run business- something that I can look at and say, "I helped make that."

So you may ask why I choose the hospitality field. Can I blame Gilmore Girls? I'm just joking. I have two main reasons why I would like to own a hotel: versatility and fun.

I enjoy researching and the prospect of owning a hotel because there is so much that you can do with it. I have talked to different friends of mine, all with very different majors, and we joke around how they all could help out. My best friend joked about owning a day spa. Guess what- a day spa would be great attached to my hotel. I love basketball; if I wanted I could have my own court. If I wanted to learn horseback riding, a stable and a horse would fit in easily if I owned a smaller inn with lots of land.

Yes, all of these add-ons would change my prospective hotel. They would affect location, and dealing with friends is hard to do in business. But they're options, and I love options. I would hate to be told that I could not do something with my business. Hotels vary so much these days that I could possibly get away with anything (tasteful and marketed in the correct manner). I can change and expand as much as I'd like. My job will never be stagnant.

Second is my fascination with designing. I enjoy looking into real estate or even building houses and rooms myself. Making rooms and architecture delightful and comfortable to live in is fun for me. Making a place for other people to visit and sleep would be very stressful and hard, because every one's tastes are very different, but I will find a versatile way to suit the needs of most people staying.

I'm not looking to own a bare-minimum inn (although it may have to start lower-end). I want to provide my customers with a quality experience in a friendly and luxurious atmosphere. Decorating and formulating different ideas to keep customers happy will be a creative and enjoyable experience for me.