Reading Reflection No. 1
I choose to read Shoe Dog, an autobiography of Phil Knight.
1. After reading about Phil Knight, what surprised me the most was the fact that he started his career in the industry by selling shoes that were imported from Japan, not manufactured by himself. I was not aware that Nike started off this way. The thing that I admire the most about Phil Night was the fact he started Nike with just $8,000 in sales in the first year and $25 million in fines but still was able to overcome adversity and create a billion dollar corporation. The thing that I admire least about Phil Knight is the same as what I was surprised about, the fact that he imported his first shoes from Japan. The adversity and failures that Phil Knight encountered only made him want to work harder. As mentioned above, they faced adversity from a $25 million customs fee and also faced lawsuits from Onitsuka and had constant problems with manufacturing and finances as well as failed new shoes.
2. The main competency that noticed Phil Knight exhibits is the characteristic of perseverance. He was able to take a small amount of money and a lot of hard work and dedication and create a billion dollar company.
3. The part of the book that was confusing to me was the part about the lawsuits with Onitsuka. I do not understand why they have a right to sue just because they worked together before.
4. If I were to ask two questions, I would ask when he realized there was an issue that needed to be solved in the shoe industry and I would also ask how he was able to take $8,000 in sales after the first year and turn it into billions years later.
5. I think the entrepreneur has the same opinion as me about hard work, that it is necessary in order to guarantee success. Nothing can be achieved without hard work, as Phil Knight would agree.
Reed,
ReplyDeleteI will be honest with you, I did not know who Phil Knight was until I read your “Reading Reflection” post. That is crazy that he just started Nike with $8,000, but I think it’s crazier that the company had $25 million in fines. I would also like to know how he did a total 180-degree flip with his business. I think it’s crazy how big his business got with how much turmoil he was in.
This is interesting and i did not know who Phill Knight was too until other reading your Reading Reflection! Very interesting facts as well and crazy to think that the company is worth billions now and it only started from 8K. I love hearing stories like this because it brings so much inspiration in entrepreneurship. It sounds like you have done a paper or some kind of school assignment on this before. Great job!
ReplyDeleteReed,
ReplyDeletePhil Knight is a very interesting person to read about! It makes sense that he would rely off of a foreign country for initial product development, as it is usually cheaper to import goods from Asia than it is to create them yourself in the United States. Japan is also known for having excellent designers and quality-attentive workers, so that may be the reason Knight decided to have his shoes produced there. The fact that he was able to create a multi-billion dollar business from just $8,000 proves that anyone has the potential to create a successful business of their own!