13a- Reading Reflection #1

1.)    I read Shoe Dog. A memoir by Phil Knight the founder of Nike.

What surprised you the most? The shoe business was so much different back then. Shoe Dog takes place from the early 1960’s the 1980. Today shoes are highly engineered and are designed for very specific wear. Shoe prices were also a lot different and more expensive today. When Phil Knight first started his company, it was very small. His shoe business was not called Nike. The original name of hist first business was Blue Ribbon Sports. He started his business in 1964. I wasn’t until 1971 when he rebranded and started Nike. I was also surprised that Phil Knight got his shoe idea from a spontaneous trip to Japan.

What about the entrepreneur inspired you the most? I was most inspired by his dedication and work ethic. There were so many stressful times in his work where most people would have stopped. Phil loved his work. Running was his passion and selling running shoes was like a dream to him. It didn’t matter about the money. In the beginning of his shoe business he was making nothing. While he was making very little, he saw so much potential in his idea. Knight was a track runner at Oregon University and used his track connections to his advantage. He showed the importance of networking and how good communication pays off.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? Was not a fan of his love life. To me it seemed kind of creepy, but it is not my business. When he was starting his shoe business, he was a professor at Accounting professor at University in Portland. He ended up getting married to one of his students.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Yes, he did many times. He was always short on money. For the most part sales were not an issue for Knight. His main problem was finding money. A lot of people around him did not believe and have good trust in Knight. They did not see success and ended their support early. People saw big competitors such as Adidas, and didn’t see how Knight could compete. However, Knight was determined and eventually got his brand in professional races. He had Prefontaine, one of Americas greatest athletes, sign a shoe deal with him.

2.)    What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? Knight was good a have good strong connections. He might not have had a lot of connections but the ones he did were very good. Knight was able to have connections overseas, which in the 1960’s was extremely hard. Communication was different back then.

3.)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. The part I found most confusing was the big lawsuit Nike was involved in with a big shoe manufacture in Japan. It was confusing because Phil Knight was the author of the book so it was obviously bias towards Nike. I am not sure how innocent Nike was in the law suit. I know Knight did some shady things with Japan and did some small lies. For example, Knight told the Japanese company that he had a shoes business before he actual had one, just so he could purchase shoes and stock up.

4.)    If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I would ask him if he thinks it is possible to start a business-like Nike today? I would ask him this because I would like to know what opportunities entrepreneurs have today. I would also ask him, when did he first see his Business as a success? I would ask him this because I would like to know if he always saw it as a success from the beginning, or it wasn’t until he started seeing lots of revenue and profit.

5.)    For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I believe Knights opinion of hard work is similar to mine. Hard work pays off if you are doing what you enjoy. Working hard at something that you love is great, even if you are bad. Knight loved sports and running. He put all his work into what he loved. He was good at writing and accounting but did not put all of his work into those skills. He used those skills to help his dream.