The general consensus is that an entrepreneur is someone that is creative and comes up with innovative ideas and then applies those ideas to make them a reality. Though part of this may be true, a big part of being an entrepreneur is having the entrepreneurial mindset. What is this you may ask? An entrepreneurial mindset is a set of skills that allow people to succeed, overcome issues and setbacks and attack their best opportunities. This mindset is essential for all entrepreneurs but also can be applied to anyone’s life to help them be successful.

From my four days in the Haller program, I have been able to develop some of these attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset. Beginning with the responsibility me and my teammates hold in this consulting project. Our plan is actually going to be applied so we are held accountable to present ideas that are innovative but feasible. In this instance I had to be confident and self-reliant of my team members and myself that we can present a great plan to our client. In addition to trusting my teammates, I had to listen to their ideas and collaborate to create the absolute best presentation possible. Communication was huge with my group when deciding what concepts are best to show the client. 

Critical thinking is something I believe was essential to be successful in this program and it was something that my group and I struggled with those first few days. We were presented with a problem, and had to debate and evaluate effective ways to solve this problem. This and communication were probably the hardest parts of the whole project but my team was able to strategically pick out the best practices for our client. Additionally, I learned to be receptive and flexible to feedback from not only our client but also professors reviewing our plan.

The first four days have proved to be very jam-packed but very informational for me. I have stepped into numerous entrepreneurial mindset domains and I have grown from these experiences. I had the opportunity to develop skills like communication and critical thinking that will set me up for a successful college career.