13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

What surprised you the most?

Before Ray Kroc started McDonald, he was a salesman and owned another small business before McDonald was discovered. Also, I was surprised how he lied about his age to become an ambulance driver at the age of 15 years old. He also, was a real estate agent in Florida. Which was a surprise to me. He has variety of jobs before owning a multi-million-dollar company.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admire how Ray Kroc was like many of us individuals, he worked regular jobs. In fact, he worked many jobs and figured with his skills of making good hamburgers and French can earn him a fortune. He took the risked and didn’t give up on his idea.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

He only wanted to established McDonald in suburban areas not necessarily in poor areas. When it come to generating revenue, there shouldn’t be a issue with building a fast food restaurant in a poor area.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, when negotiating and buying more restaurants his partners were in a disagreement and Kroc suddenly became annoyed and frustrated. He also, made policies strict and not to be broken and the brothers did not agree. When doing business with others it becomes very difficult to get things resolved and that was Kroc’s problem when facing adversity, he couldn’t also get what he needed to continue with being successful.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Exceptional customer service skills, knowing what the customers wanted and needed. He also, was able to showcase his sale skills.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The McDonald brother did not work as a group and made it very difficult for Kroc to resolve his ideas and innovate the necessary tools for all of them to be very successful.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

·         What would you have done differently starting from the beginning of your business vs what you did when you started your business years ago?

·         How do you feel about going into business with relative, partners etc.? Would you recommend or just use investors and hire strangers to help with your business planning?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Kroc worked hard to become successful. He had to work regular jobs and then take the risk and initiative to start his own business. With the failures and adversity, he didn’t give up on his plan/idea and executed with his best ability to become wealthy and successful.