The Armchair Economist’s Apprenticeship is a weekly series documenting my progress throughout my journey in the apprenticeship module of the Praxis program. I’m currently a market research analyst apprentice for Economics for Business (E4B). My position is subject to change depending on the needs of my employer. At the request of my boss, I’ll still keep mostly quiet about the details of my employer for the time being.
Week 20: September 14, 2020 – September 18, 2020
What I’m Learning:
One cool thing I learned at work last week:
People want to be led and guided instead of being left to their own devices. They would rather have strict directions of what is expected of them, this is what I learned when interviewing contributors for E4B.
The desire for directions was a common response from the contributors and I think I can safely say this is a common view of the general population; people are afraid of freedom, which is actually just a form of personal responsibility, and are less likely to take full reign or ownership of their roles (perhaps out of fear of overstepping boundaries).
However, this response also signals to me that I need to also be assertive and take on a leadership role to provide specific writing formats for my contributors.
One cool thing I learned outside of work last week:
I don’t know if I would call this “cool” but it’s certainly hilarious.
Hollywood, FL received a new sign welcoming visitors into their city but there was one big, hard to miss, problem. The sign was in the wrong city!
The sign was intended for Dania Beach, FL and now the two cities are debating who it belongs to. You can read more about this head-scratching mistake here.
Welcome to Florida, this is actually tame in comparison to Florida Man.
What I’m Creating:
One example of how I created value at work last week:
I interviewed the rest of my assigned contributors and then scheduled three more interviews with my personal contacts. All of these people will be contributors for E4B and if you’re interested in becoming one, please fill out this form. We’re looking for people who can create courses, write articles, create videos or graphics for social media, etc and relate it to a practical application of Austrian economics.
What project I’m currently working on at my BP:
I’m currently working on the marketing plan which should be finished by end of next month, and I’m gathering content contributors before the Mises Supporters’ Summit so that we have something to show for when we present.
What I’m doing to become a better version of myself overall:
I’m listening to podcasts again like The Tom Woods Show and Lions of Liberty, and cleaning and organizing my living spaces everyday. Doing these things helps create a routine, of which is easy to lose when working remotely.
Weekly Monday Workshop:
What Praxis Monday session did you attend last week (ie. what was the topic & who was the guest)?
How to Build a Business Without a Degree with Mark Devin Bush
What was your favorite highlight from the session?
I really appreciated hearing Mark’s success story and how he started rock bottom, a classic rags-to-riches story.
What was your biggest takeaway from that session?
1. Believe in yourself
2. Help people and give back – the purpose of networking is to serve others and provide value for them.
3. Understand the art of following – great leaders learn followership, e.g. Jesus, show how hard you fight for your own people/employees, and show loyalty, trust, and faith in your employees.
4. Find problems and solve them – write instruction manuals and find out what each person does in their roles, and figure out which processes can be made efficiently by automating it.