13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

 Reading Reflection: Shoe Dog, Phil Knight

1)      My family doesn’t have much money. The main reason I can afford college is because of scholarships. Knight surprised me by his story by showing similarities that I see in myself when he started his rode to be an entrepreneur. In the beginning, he faced adversity with financial struggles. He took an entrepreneurship class, just like I am now and paved his way with brute determination. I love trading in the markets. I’ll trade anything. I lose a lot too and I fail as well. I admired his tenacity. His will to move past his failures. I didn’t even know why stocks moved at first, but there I was trading. Just like Knight’s knowledge about shoes at first, he didn’t know too much at first, but he went into a market with little to know about it and made something his own. During Knight’s transition from his accountant job to Blue Ribbon Sports, I loved how he finally went on his own. There are few things to not admire about Phil Knight, although, I think he should have held his job until he was making more money than his monthly salary. I remember when I was trading, and I quit my job too early because early success in the market. In the end, it all worked out for Phil, but what if he would have had several months with no sales.

2)      One of Phil’s competencies is his resilience, which is one of the main reasons why his early sales reach greater heights when he started Blue Ribbon Sports. Nike would not have been a company if it wasn’t for his multi-tasking skills either. Knight was juggling accountant jobs as he was selling shoes for track runners. And lastly, his awareness to consumer struggles. He was so passionate about shoes, that became determined to make a shoe for certain athletes.

3)      Like all stories, there’s mixed information. There’s different information found in his book then other articles online. I tried finding other sources about US customs targeting Knight and Nike, however, it made it more confusing for myself. Overall, great read, and I really enjoyed learning more about the entrepreneur that I’m a customer for.

4)      2 Questions and Why?

-          Do you think you can create a company from the ground up in this era that competes with Nike? Sometime in the future

I would love to ask this question because I feel like everything is established to us. We have everything we need. We already have our top five apps. Can Phil Knight recreate Nike in this era?

-          What is your biggest fear looking back at your past?

Everyone has their current fear to this day. I want to know what his biggest fear was after he already accomplished so much. His fear in the beginning may have been providing stable income for his family. Maybe his fear was bigger as he accomplished more.

5)      I think Phil’s opinion of hard work is simple. So simple that you need to just do it. Don’t think and just do it. Afterall, that’s a slogan that made millions. I love simplicity and I share that opinion.