Rebekah Watson

My name is Rebekah Watson, and I would like to state my educational and career goals, as well as my reason for choosing my major.
I started two businesses during high school to save money for my college education. Having always enjoyed livestock, I sought a self-employment option that would offer not just money but also experience. The idea I came up with was the business of training, breeding, and selling registered A2/A2 Jersey milk cows. This business offers small investment with a quick yield and suits my schedule and resources. Having already received my Artificial Insemination (AI) Certificate when I was 15, I breed them myself, which both provides convenience, gives access to superior genetics, and lowers costs. Before purchasing the animals, I laid out a detailed model in Excel to estimate the cost of food and supplies. This business is successful and continues to teach me countless lessons about running a business, but most of all it improved my business management and finance abilities.
My other business, run by myself and my sisters, is hand crafting rings from coins. Though only started January of 2020, we are currently making a steady income by selling our products at local shops, an online Etsy shop, and nearby festivals. Successful enough to acquire modest financial support, this business is remaining small enough to maintain college, household responsibilities, and my other business. My main job is bookkeeping and business management, which I have come to love. My father - an engineer and Texas Tech graduate - is our mentor in starting this business. We extensively apply everything he teaches us - keeping the profit margin high, spending low, and labor reasonable – and are always aware of why such things matter. I discovered that management consists of realizing what does not sell, finding out why, and proposing a solution, as well as promoting items that sell easily or have higher profit margins. Every decision – whether it be price increase, new product introduction, or supply sourcing – is properly calculated and evaluated to ensure that it is worthwhile. Because we are selling primarily in an Etsy shop, photography plays an important role in our success, which is how we discovered that our biggest impact on marketing is excellent photography. This is when we began to model our products in an accurate way that best catches the customers’ attention. We have periodic business meetings to ensure maximum efficiency, and when it seems necessary, we redistribute tasks to maintain balance as well as correlate personal qualities and skill level with the available positions.
Both businesses have taught me tremendous amounts about bookkeeping as well as both time and business management; however, the deeper I dig into the business world, the more I realize how little I know and how much more I must learn. My goal is to pursue a business degree and after graduation, put my whole efforts into growing my small business ideas into large, full-time jobs.