When I think about an entrepreneurial experience, my mind immediately travels to the story on how my grandpa and my dad built their business. In the 1960’s, my grandfather, Warren Wheeler,
started a wholesale produce company named Warren Wheeler Produce inc. My father
joined years after the company’s inception and eventually earned his position as a co-owner of the corporation. Together, through dedication and
hard work, my dad and grandpa built one of the most successful wholesale
produce business’s in the Tampa Bay area. Though, building their success was
not easy. For nearly 40 years, my dad and grandpa worked Monday through
Saturday from 2:00 AM to roughly 12:30 or 1 PM. For many years my grandpa
performed hard labor, such as loading semi-trucks full of produce and transferring
heavy crates throughout the market. Similarly, for nearly all 40 years, my dad
performed hard labor. Their strong work ethic taught me many things, but,
perhaps two of the most important are: hard work and integrity are essential in
nearly all facets of life and that, to inspire one’s subordinates as much as
possible, one must lead from the front.
I enrolled in ENT 3003 because I believe
that this class is pertinent to my life. I have spent my entire life around entrepreneurs
and I want to learn as much as I can about the entrepreneurial process. My hope for this class is that, by the time it is
over, I will have a better understanding on what it takes to make an entrepreneur successful and the knowledge necessary to bring a product to market.
