Self-Employment Fun!

    Today was very enjoyable for me. We went over the self-employment workshop, which is similar to the Career Workshop but with a different focus. This supplemental workshop has not been revised to perfection but is still in it's developmental phase.
    For the self-employment workshop we each thought of a small business that we would like to start or that someone in the country we are going to might want to start. There were some really good ideas. I, of course, chose a chiropractic clinic since that is what I am studying to do.
    We began by deciding why we would have that business, what type of work we would be doing day to day, and who the targeted customers would be. We then developed some questions to use for market research. We also developed value statements to use in "elevator pitches", or short, concise descriptions of our business plan that would attract attention. Here are my items:

What is the business you want to start?
    A chiropractic clinic.

Why would you start this business?
    To help people and provide a better form of chiropractic care.

Describe the nature of the work.
    Provide traditional chiropractic care such as spinal adjustments. Instruct the patients in principles of nutrition, exercise, and ergonomic techniques to prevent injury and improve quality of life.

Who would your customers be?
    Families and individuals who want to improve their quality of life.

Elevator Pitch
    My name is Nathan Cashion. I provide integrated chiropractic healthcare. Chiropractic has improved upon traditional medicine by treating the causes of pain rather than just treating the symptoms. I believe that by incorporating proven chiropractic techniques, exercise activities, good nutrition principles, and other natural treatments I can help patients to prevent the causes of pain. Families and individuals can therefore enjoy a much higher quality of life. Why don't you come into the clinic for a free consultation?

    What was so fun about the self-employment workshop was that it helped me to see how many possibilities there are for each idea. In groups we would discuss ideas and brainstorm how they could become reality. One member of the group had a great idea for a electronic translation device that would connect you to a live translator whenever you needed help. As we shared some ideas it was amazing to me how quickly new ideas would develop.
    I think I was the only member of our group who actually enjoyed the self-employment workshop better than the Career Workshop. One reason for this may be that the Career Workshop is much more personal; it deals with an individual's skills and abilities rather than the possibilities of marketing a product or service. I still have yet to come up with more than one Power Statement from the second part of the Career Workshop.

(These business ideas should be considered intellectual property of the participants of the Internship. Please do not use them for your own benefit.)

    I have been impressed by the techniques employed in the workshops. We try to provide numerous activities that help the participants to interact with others and practice the skills they are learning. I think any teacher would agree that active participation is key to learning. One motto of the trainers is H3 which refers to teaching to the Heart, Head, and Hand. Doing so involves three key learning centers of the human being.
Here is an example of some of the activities and the boredom experienced momentarily on the second to last day of training.