Today, I worked on the remaining sections of the unit "Product Manager", which were "Product Planning", "Product development", "Analytics and measuring success", and "Communication and storytelling".
The section "Product planning" talked about the categories in the development process, which as strategy, roadmap, and backlogs. Strategy refers to the overall vision for the product and its creation. The roadmap is the timeline for implementing that strategy, Backlogs are used to manage the day-to-day tasks in the development process.
The section "Product development" talks about the stages in product development and the tools and resources that are used. During the beginning of product development, it is important to first identify if there is a market need for your product. Then, conceptualize the product and build the product roadmap. Develop an MVP and release it to users to garner feedback and improve the product based on the feedback.
The section "Analytics and measuring success" talks about the importance of analytics and how they help improve the product. Analytics help measures the state of the product, which tells us what is going on with it, but not why this is going on. The analytics lets the product manager know what else they can do to help improve the product.
"Communication and storytelling" emphasized the importance and benefits of telling a story for our product. When presenting your product to the world, it is important to keep everyone-- customers, investors, and your team-- engaged in what you have to say. People generally love stories, so telling a story is effective. Product/brand stories can help the tea, connect emotionally to the product, create an emotional appeal for the customers and investors, and simplify the product idea and make it easier to understand.
Overall, there are many tasks to do and resources to invest in for a product manager to ensure that their product is on track to being successful.
Today, I continued to work on the unit "Product Manager" and completed the sections "What is the daily role of a product manager?", "Getting user/customer feedback", and "Employment".
The section "What is the daily role of a product manager?" talks about what a product manager is and what their role is. A product manager is responsible for the development of products in a company. Their tasks are different every day but they generally have the same general tasks they need to complete. A product manager helps identify what can go wrong in a project and look for a solution, communicate with customers to see how the product can be improved, create mockups for the product to see how it can be improved, etc. Though they don't get into the technical aspect, they work in other aspects to see how the product can be involved.
The section "Getting user/customer feedback talks about the efficient ways developers can gather feedback from customers to see how the product can be improved. One way is by conducting surveys. However, it's hard to create a survey that will have the customers care enough to answer. It is important to make the questions as simple as possible, but still concise. Another way is by conducting an interview. It is important to make the customer feel safe and not restricted. You can achieve this by making small talk and not making the questions biased.
The section "Employment" gave resources on how to determine how much the job of a product manager would make. The section also gives resources on how to get hired as a product manager. It is important to possess general skills such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, time management, etc. Some other requirements that need to be fulfilled are: get a degree, gain entry-level experience by working as a product coordinator or any other job in that field, develop skills and product knowledge, etc.
Today, I worked on the unit "Selling Computer-Designed Objects and Technological Crafts" and primarily worked on the section "3D printed products" and I got started on the unit "Product Manager".
The section "3D printed products" focuses on how to create our product and the financial aspects of 3D printed products. There are many resources we can use to help with the creation of our product, such as TinkerCad, Blender, Autodesk Meshmixer, Solidworks, etc. TinkerCad, Blender, and Autodesk are all free to use and they all specialize in specific aspects of 3D printing (ex: Blender is ideal for curvy blobby shapes). It's highly recommended that in order to make a profit for 3D printed items, we sell them for more than the fixed per-unit costs. There are resources such as Thingiverse to help give an idea of how much we should price our products.
The unit "Product Manager" talks about what a product manager is and what they do as well as the skills that they possess. A product manager is someone who is responsible for helping guide a product from idea to launch. Some of the things that a product manager does are gather feedback, choose which features to develop, and then guide the team to execute them.
Today, I went back to the previous units (up until the unit "Selling Computer-Designed Objects and Technological Crafts") and watched the videos/read the articles that I might've overlooked/missed. I mostly spent time on the unit "Improving Your Quality of Life".
The section "Identifying positive role models and mentors" highlights the importance of finding the right mentor and how to do so. The article "The Right Mentor Can Change Your Career. Here's How to Find One" tells us what we should keep in mind to find the right mentor (know your goals, as yourself "who do I look up to?", do research on who would be a good fit, look into who you already know, etc). Once we've found someone that we think might be a good fit, we have to then muster up the courage and ask. The article "Be My Mentor? Craft the Perfect Email to Someone You Admire" gives tips on how to create the perfect email to send to your potential mentor. The subject title is the first thing someone looks at in an email so it's important to make the subject line stand out. As for the content of the email, make it short, but precise and respectful.
In the section "Earning income by living a jet setter lifestyle", one of the videos I watched debunked some of the stereotypes surrounding travel vlogging-- one of which being that travel vlogging is unique, even though anyone can do it-- and how to live a comfortable life financially through travel vlogging. Some of the great income sources are social media, promotions, sponsors, Patreon, etc. The video also touched up on some skills one might need when video vlogging. Some of those skills are videography, photography, editing, and marketing. Those skills are important to have, as people are paying money for your work.
Today, I started on the unit "Selling Computer-Designed Objects and Technological Crafts" by watching the introduction video and completing the sections "Brainstorming" and "Project planning".
When selling computer-designated objects and technological crafts, it is important to keep in mind that income will vary. It is important to remember to keep designing more products, market them, and have good customer service to keep running a successful business.
The "Brainstorming" section gave questions on what to ask ourselves when we're starting out to make sure we're on the right track. For example, "what things do people buy or want a lot of?", "what do people want a lot of?" "what would benefit the world?", etc. After coming up with an idea, think about possible risks that might happen and prepare for those possible situations.
The section "Project planning" gives tips on how to organize our ideas to prepare for the final product. It is important to give a description of the final product, preferably with visuals. It is also important to keep track of what resources are required for this product and the finances that come along with it.
Overall, there are multiple things to keep track of before coming up with the finished product to ensure that everything stays on track and afloat.
Today, I continued with the unit "Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership" by working on the sections, "Creating your product", "Getting sales/clients", and "Hiring".
"Creating your product" talks about how you can, well, create your product, or an MVP version of it. An MVP, or Minimally Viable Product, is a product that attracts customers earlier on in the business. Because it's so early on in the business, it is easier to receive feedback and use that feedback to improve on the item.
"Getting sales/clients" gives tips on how to attract clients and buyers. There are many methods to do this, such as using psychological and interhuman tactics to win over potential customers, using silence to gain the upper hand, successful marketing, etc.
"Hiring" gives tips on how to look for and maintain a successful group of employees for your business. First, identify what kind of management style works for you, and then look for and hire people who fit your style. This section also teaches what to do if an employee no longer fits your management style and needs to be let go. It is important to follow protocol when going through with this decision.
Overall, there are many things that you need to maintain when running a business to ensure that everything remains on track.
Today, I continued the "Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership" unit by working on the sections "Branding" and "Obtaining funding".
"Branding" highlights the importance of building your brand's image, how to do it, and the legalities of it. When coming up with your name and logo, it is important to not take someone else's copyrighted trademark. There are many websites and resources to make sure that you're not taking someone else's work. The section also provides resources to create your trademark and everything else surrounding the branding of your business.
The section "Obtaining funding" talks about the financial aspect when starting your business, more specifically, how to obtain funds to start up your business. It is important to first calculate your estimated venture costs and profit margins, and the timeline for spending. This will help keep your finances organized for the future. Knowing the financial value of each of your customers is also important.
Overall, there are important steps that must be completed before you form your business, to ensure that your business is able to stand on its feet. Branding and obtaining funds are two important prerequisites for planning a new business.
Today, I worked on the sections "Co-founders" and "How to set up a legal business entity" on the unit "Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership".
When you have a business idea, you might want to work with another person who shares the same passion for the project. This might lead you two to start the business together. The section "Co-founder" talks about what to look out for when forming a partnership, as well as the pros and cons of forming that partnership. A partnership could be beneficial because you have an extra pair of hands helping you out in a variety of aspects, such as financial and when you encounter an obstacle. However, you can't make decisions on your own and you might get into disagreements. Starting a partnership depends on the type of person you are and whatever works for you.
The section "Set up business entity formalities" explains the legal aspect of a business. However, it varies depending on if the business is a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation. For a sole proprietor, you need to file an application with the "county-clerks" office to open a bank account for your company. There is a fee for filing the application. For a partnership, it's the same as a sole proprietor, though the filing fee for the application might be higher. For a corporation, taxes will have to be filed separately and they are usually higher. If the company is sued, your personal assets will be protected, but it is the company's assets that will be affected. A corporation is its own entity. The same can't be said for a sole proprietorship.
Overall, there are many things to consider when starting and maintaining a business in a lot of aspects.
Today, I worked on the section "Identifying your customer and market". That section emphasized the importance of understanding your customers when it comes to maintaining a profitable business.
In a business, competition is important. Businesses observe their competition and see how they can change their own prices and quality to ensure that they obtain their competition's future customers. Not only does a business need to compete to obtain their competition's customers, but they also have to keep theirs as well. Defensibility is also important when it comes to maintaining a profitable business. It is common to start off a business that is similar to others. The company will thrive from there to make the business profitable.
Exit strategies are also common in the business world. It is when a company-- usually smaller-- wants to reach its end in a positive way. One common exit strategy is the acquisition by a bigger company. This could be beneficial, as the company can help generate profit for the bigger company, and the workers from the smaller companies still have jobs. However, some employees from the smaller company might be laid-off. Overall, acquisition is usually the best exit strategy.
Today, I got started on the sections "Business model" and "Profit models and revenue streams" in the unit "Entrepreneurship & Business Leadership".
The "Business Model" section gave tips on how to start and maintain a successful business. When starting up your business, it is important to first have a good business model. It is important that the business model be set realistically. Most businesses fail because some fail to be realistic about their business potential. It is better to fail earlier on, that way, you won't lose as much money and can learn from your mistakes and start up your business again when you're ready. "Profit models and revenue streams" continue this conversation by highlighting the importance of planning out how your business and profits will be like to ensure that your business will be successful. This section also discusses the dos and don'ts of how to handle your business's profitability.
Today, I worked on the sections "Time management", "Health and Productivity", "Stress Management", "Identifying positive role models and mentors", and "Earning income by living a jet setter lifestyle" in the unit "Improving Your Quality of Life".
The "Time Management" section gave tips and resources on how to use our time effectively and productively. It emphasized the importance of organization, prioritization, goal-setting, communication, planning, and stress management. These skills will help us use our time more productively, and make tracking and planning our day easier.
"Health and productivity" emphasized the importance of maintaining good physical and emotional health. For physical exercise, exercising regularly and sticking to that schedule will improve our physical health. For our mental well-being, it's good to give to others, eat healthily, and get enough sleep.
"Stress Management" continued the conversation on mental health and gave tips on what to do if we ever feel depressed or stressed. It is important to keep in mind that happiness is a choice, we shouldn't let others control us, we shouldn't have over-the-top expectations of life, and we should set goals so we could keep improving ourselves.
"Identifying positive role models and mentors" talks about the difference between a role model and a mentor and highlighted the importance of each one. A role model is someone we look up to. They are inspirational and have positive ethics. A mentor can be a role model, but they're specifically people who offer to teach or give help.
"Earning income by living a jet setter lifestyle" talks about how to earn income by traveling to different places and doing various fun activities by providing the different ways we can do that. Some ways are to be a social influencer, be a travel vlogger, travel photography and literature, and digital nomadism.
Financial awareness & financial management is something that we should learn about, especially during a time of economical uncertainty. This section talks about organizing our expenses and knowing what to spend our money on.
The sections "Net Income" and "Cost of living" provided resources to help evaluate your expenses. "Net Income" provided websites with calculators to help estimate your true-net salary, as well as the cost of transportation, and what you need to spend at work (ex: attire). "Cost of Living" estimates your cost of living determined by factors such as where you live and income.
"Budgeting" provided resources on how to improve your financial management skills. Budgeting helps you keep track of what you spend and what you need to spend. It is important to know what are necessities and what are luxuries when creating your budget.
In the future, if you want to resell items to gain your money back, it's important to know the resale value of that item. Smart purchases-- camera lenses, authentic high-end watches, luxury cars, most real estate-- hold value well and you might be able to gain back all the money that you've spent if you choose to sell them. Wasteful purchases-- furniture, clothing, electronic devices, smartphones-- have low-value sales and you probably would lose money if you choose to sell them. Consumables-- food, medication, utilities, fees, etc-- are extreme forms of low resale value.
Overall, it is important to know what you're spending and what not to spend.
Today, I finished up the remainder of the introduction unit "Intro to Make Money Online" (#6 to #13).
For the section, "Prerequisites to getting employed", I was introduced to LinkedIn and the benefits that came with using that platform. LinkedIn is a great resource to look for a job that fits you, as it is primarily focused on professional career development. Users post their work and education information, as well as network. In this section, I also learned how to create a good resume and cover letter. It is important to highlight your strengths and achievements.
The section "Your public image" highlights the importance of how you portray yourself online. Your employers will look up your public profiles, so it is important to not post and delete anything that will be considered controversial and would negatively impact your image. It is important to have a positive image online to prevent any consequences when it comes to your career.
The section "Social Media" continued the conversation of having a positive online image by having us create social media accounts and establishing an image that we wish to portray publically.
The section "Searching for remote employee opportunities" provided resources that specializes in remote roles, such as employment and gig websites, mainstream job sites that have options to look for remote jobs, and companies that have remote opportunities.
The section "Mastering the job interview & getting hired" gave many tips on how to properly prepare for a job interview. Before obtaining that interview, you need to first submit your resume + cover letter. If you have successfully scheduled an interview with the company, do research on the company, as well as practice answering potential questions. During the interview, speak clearly and confidently and show that you are a great asset to the company.
The section "Successfully working a remote job" gave us tips on, well, successfully working a remote job. The section tackled a wide range of aspects when working in a remote job, such as productivity, communication, scheduling, virtual meetings, conflict avoidance, etc.
Unfortunately, in our job search, we might potentially run into scams, which is what the section "Beware of scams" covers. There are many red flags to look out for to determine if this new opportunity is a scam or not. For example, if it's too good to be true, provides a greater salary, or if it takes just about anybody. Another scam you might probably come across or be targeted for is identity theft. It is important t not to distribute your financial information publically.
The last section "Networking with other people", gives tips on how to network with others in different situations. Conferences and meetups are convenient ways to chat with others and network. Virtual conferences will be slightly less convenient but it's easier to see all attendees, like some meetups and conferences that are not open to everyone. Other online resources such as LinkedIn and Quora are great tools to use when wanting to connect with others as well.
Overall, I learned about many different resources and tools to use to help with my job search and what to do after.
Today, I learned about the different methods of getting paid for a job.
After getting a job, it's best to open a bank account, more specifically, a checking account. A checking account will help you deposit money into the bank. Not all bank accounts are the same-- they all have different fees-- so it's important to know which bank account works for you. Zelle and PayPal are platforms that help you transfer money by using an email address or phone number. Some other checking accounts are Charles Schwab, Capital One No-Fee 360, Discover Cashback Debit Account, Varo Online Checking Account, etc.
Another method of getting paid is Cryptocurrency. Getting paid in bitcoin is very easy, as people make payments by sending them to your virtual wallet. It is important to chose a wallet that is safe and established, as there are many scams floating around surrounding this type of transaction.
The last method is getting paid in cash. Though it is not the method professional career roles would prefer, many short-term jobs offer it. Many people prefer getting paid in cash because there is no need to go to the bank and verify if they're getting paid. Getting paid in cash also doesn't mean that the other party might potentially dispute the payment. However, being paid in cash means that you are a target for theft.
Overall, there are many ways to get paid. It all depends on the type of job you have and your preference.
Today, I learned about entrepreneurship and business leadership by reading that section and watching the video there.
An entrepreneur is someone who makes money independently through their own company that they started or created. There are two different types of entrepreneurship. SME (Small Media Enterprise) entrepreneurship are small and local businesses that aren't interested in going global. Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship looks for global markets to serve. Unlike SME enterprises, IDE enterprises are much broader.
In order to launch a new start-up business, you need to first plan by coming up with a business model, and profit models, forming partnerships, and coming up with a business strategy. After your business is planned out, deploy it by setting up the property you wish to represent your company and brand it. Afterward, create your product and start selling. Do this by getting clients and buyers. For your company, you will also need employees. First, find out what management style suits you, and then hire people who suit that. Get paid by having clients and buyers send their payment to you when the sale is successful.