Know Yourself:
Values, Strengths &
Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Before building anything, you build self-awareness. Entrepreneurs who understand their own values and challenges make more intentional decisions and build ventures that align with who they are.
💬 Let's Start Here
Turn to someone next to you and introduce yourself
What's one thing you've noticed — about the world, your community, or your daily life — that you thought
"someone should fix that?"
This Class Will Help You Prepare…
Mission
To think entrepreneurially and practice skills in experiential projects, empowering yourself to pursue your entrepreneurial journey.
This course is built for you to take ownership in not only your own learning, but also your own entrepreneurial path!
Entrepreneurial Effort
Everyone starts with an A.
You can keep that A. This is how:
Want to experience entrepreneurship? Stay and have fun!
📅 Block Time in Your Schedule
Plan for 3–6 hours of outside work each week. Entrepreneurship is built in the gaps between class — block the time now.
How This Class Works
Do you know which one you are?
We Are a Hybrid Class
In Person · 1× per week
75 minutes in class — do the weekly work before you arrive or you'll feel lost
Online · Blackboard · Rest of the Week
- 3–6 hours of independent work per week
- Discussion posts
- Activities and assignments
We Are an Online Only Class with No Meetings
Online Only · Blackboard · All Week
- 6–9 hours of independent work per week
- Discussion posts
- Activities and assignments
Connect · After or Before Class
Now let's get after it! 🚀
What We're Covering & Why It Matters
Topics
- What entrepreneurship actually means — and what it doesn't
- The entrepreneurial mindset: 6 core traits
- Your personal values — what you won't compromise on
- Your strengths — what you naturally do well
- How self-knowledge shapes better ventures
Guiding Questions
- What do I value most in my work and life?
- What are my top strengths — and what drains me?
- What entrepreneurial traits do I naturally have?
- How do I handle risk, failure, and ambiguity?
Why start here? Most new entrepreneurs jump straight to "my idea." The ones who succeed long-term know who they are and why they're building. Week 1 is about building that foundation — you'll use it every week for the rest of the semester.
📚 Readings Are Expected Before Class
College is about reading.
Every week's readings are assigned so you come to class already thinking. The activities, discussions, and worksheets build on what you read — not the other way around.
Complete all readings by Monday night — before Tuesday class.
Come in ready to discuss, not ready to catch up.
What to Read — and in What Order
-
1
📚 Intro to EntrepreneurshipStart here — course reading, sets up the whole semester
-
2
📖 What Is an Entrepreneur? — InvestopediaQuick read, good foundational definitions
-
3
📖 1.1 Entrepreneurship Today — OpenStaxBroader context: types of entrepreneurs, historical perspective
-
4
📖 1.3 The Entrepreneurial Mindset — OpenStaxRead after 1.1 — directly connects to the in-class activity
-
5
📖 Personal Values Assessment — MindToolsRead before completing the VIA survey
-
6
🔗 VIA Character Strengths SurveyDo last — takes ~15 min, bring results to class
-
7
📊 Week 1 Class SlidesFollow along during class — review after if you need to
What Is Entrepreneurship — Really?
The common myth
Entrepreneurship = starting a business, raising money, and becoming a CEO. Most students think they need a big idea, technical skills, or startup capital to "count."
The reality
Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking and acting — identifying a problem, creating something to solve it, and taking ownership of making it happen. No business license required.
Who is it for?
Founders, business owners, managers, teachers, community organizers, healthcare workers, artists, and advocates use entrepreneurial thinking every day. The goal doesn't have to be profit — it can be impact.
What this course builds
A real venture concept — grounded in research, tested with real people, with a model for how it creates value and sustains itself. You leave with something you actually built.
Think of something in your community or daily life that
someone should fix.
That's the starting point.
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: 6 Core Traits
-
1
Tolerance for ambiguity — comfort working with incomplete information and uncertain outcomes, without needing everything figured out before starting
-
2
Bias to action — a preference for trying, testing, and learning over analyzing indefinitely before making a move
-
3
Resilience — the ability to recover from setbacks without giving up on the goal; separating the failure of an idea from the failure of the person
-
4
Opportunity recognition — the habit of noticing problems, gaps, and needs that others walk past; asking "what if this were different?"
-
5
Resourcefulness — making the most of what you have right now, rather than waiting for ideal conditions or resources
-
6
Empathy — genuine curiosity about other people's experiences; the ability to understand a problem from the perspective of the person who has it
Values & Strengths: Your Entrepreneurial Foundation
Why values matter in entrepreneurship
Your values are what you will and won't compromise on. A venture that conflicts with your values will drain you — even if it succeeds financially. Entrepreneurs who know their values make faster decisions and build more honest ventures.
Why strengths matter
Successful entrepreneurs don't have every skill — they know what they're great at and build teams or systems around the rest. Knowing your strengths also reveals where your entrepreneurial edge naturally lives.
What the VIA Survey shows you
24 character strengths, ranked by how naturally you express them. Your top 5 are your "signature strengths" — the ones that feel effortless and energizing to use. Bring your results to class today.
⚡ Feel Entrepreneurial
In Class
Puzzle and Draw
~30 minutes
Online
Head to Jigsaw Planet.
Pick a puzzle.
Puzzle vs. Drawing: Two Ways of Thinking
🧩 Managerial Mindset
- Goal is well defined; you know the resources needed
- Created a plan, then executed — very linear
- Measured progress along the way
- Goal achieved — picture looks like the box!
🎨 Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Start with what you have — not a goal
- When unsure what to do, the only response is to act
- The story emerges over time — no planning allowed
- Not always sure when it's finished
- Creating something new requires iteration, not linearity
Peter Drucker
"The best way to predict the future
is to create it."
✅ What's Due & What's Next
-
📋
Know Yourself Worksheet20 pts · Activity
Complete in class and submit to Blackboard -
🔗
VIA Character Strengths SurveyBefore Week 2
Complete before next class — bring your top 5 results -
📓
Week 1 Journal PromptNot Graded
"What 3 words describe how you approach uncertainty, risk, and new ideas? Did writing them down reveal something about yourself?" — Blackboard -
📖
Week 2 Readings — complete by Monday before classBefore Week 2
Voyage LA — Ikigai Concept · Japan.go.jp — Ikigai · JHU Framework · Jay Bailey TED Talk · Ikigai Tool
Coming up in Week 2: Ikigai mapping — the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what someone will pay for. Bring your VIA results and think about 5 defining moments from your life so far.
Not sure how to say it? How to pronounce Ikigai →