My Entrepreneurship Story

Last year, I went to a Retail Smarter conference, which is basically an event where business execs and entrepreneurs come together to explain their current ventures and humble beginnings to college students who aspire to join the retail industry or create their own business one day. Throughout the event, I gained a lot of insight into both operations and management, consumer behavior and demographics. Nonetheless, there was one presenter that stood out to me: John Rivers. At first glance, his name doesn't ring any bells, or is attached to anything major or notable. A quick google search shows that he's the founder of 4 Rivers, and if you've never been to 4 Rivers before, now is the time to go.

As John Rivers stood on the stage to explain how his company was founded, I took three mental notes of advice that he gave us: have a goal, be passionate about your goal, and be persistent. He reiterated numerous times that nothing in life comes easy, so we should expect to see failures. Surprisingly, John Rivers was the president of a billion dollar company, and yet still decided to risk it all by pursuing an unbeaten path: "de-regionalizing BBQ." As stated by Rivers himself, "this was never supposed to be a restaurant. My definition of helping meant doing what felt most natural when comfort was in order—feed those in need." Rivers took that concept, that idea, and transformed it into several locations across the state of Florida, with a staff of more than 1,000.

Inspired by John's story, I decided to take ENT 3003 because I believe I'm capable of finding a niche in the market to help out those in need. With hard work and perseverance, I know I'm capable of creating an experience that consumers would want to return to. I hope to get out of ENT 3003 a better understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

It all started in a garage...