Introduction: Dusting off our strategy on progress, reflection and insight

What is your business strategy?  The root word of strategy- ag, means ‘draw out or forth, move'… The purpose of this blog is to draw out the gifts and tools we already have while inspiring to create new gift sets so that we can all move forward into our entrepreneur, academic, or professional-economic lives. This pandemic has brought forth great ideas and innovation that also maybe was not thought of without us all being under pressure.

Let’s take a local family here in Tarija, Bolivia for example. Many households utilize gas stoves that do not have electric sparks to fire them up. This poverty-stricken family created a way to make small toy motorcycles out of empty thrown away lighters. Click here to read the article  MOTOS juguetes de Encendedores Can you imagine? Pressure usually should bring out the best in us all.

Being fiscally more responsible and learning about business will always be helpful for my family and my future. Lenore?  What is she doing lately? Why on Earth is she in Bolivia?  Where is Bolivia? What is Tarija? (or rather: How do you say Tarija?) What is it like to go back to the university after about 16 years off and while rasing a family? I always thought of myself as a writer of sorts and I don't mean 'good' writer when I say that; however, forget that I like to write, don't you? I just logged in to this very blogger sight, only to find I had a family blog going on a long time ago. I imagine it a little like walking into an ancient library and now, creating something new as a sort of big dusting off for myself, rather refreshing and enlightening. I see the world differently after writing it all down. Jeff Sandefer said, "being able to see your progress, reflect on it, and, when necessary, synthesize key lessons into a new insight are critical traits for entrepreneurial success."

Did you know that virtual learning can be high quality nowadays?  I learned this week something that I didn’t know existed which are proctored tests.  This software will record the test taker in live time while you are taking a test, and it will also record your computer screen at the same time. Hallelujah my webcam has repaired itself before the semester started. I must apologize because I am taking longer writing this post than I have spent calling my mom this week. I consider the latter to be more important. I have a hand written journal of my own but I was put to an assignment to begin a professional blog as part of BYU Idaho. Lenore's Business shall include topics of progress, reflection and insight for the purpose of inspiring others perhaps. When I say 'business' I mean just that... a real business that I have started up since last year, which helps pay my way through a business major Bachelor's of Science, and business as in life in general. Tips and interesting tidbits of information learned will all be included.

Here is a little more about me. I have 4 kids, and was married in La Paz, and Cochabamba 2004. I was born in South Carolina, USA and mostly raised in Texas. As a married family with 4 kids we lived 12 years all over the USA but mostly in Knoxville, TN. We moved back here 2 years ago. I am a little intimidated with the thought of studying with the kids still small but I have been dreaming and waiting for this for a long while, so hey, why not during a pandemic? I am the first group from our city who graduated PathwayConnect. I have a small business of my own where I help people with translations and English and US visa filing.

It's my turn now. I am a businesswoman. husband has a PhD in Spanish Literature so we have a lot of books; however, admittedly I have not been able to read as much as I would wish to. I will start with some ELL books at the moment since that will be my first certificate. My favorite food from Bolivia is charquecan hands down. I hope to do anything in the future that my  heart sets out to desire.  Mostly I want to be a better mom, wife and person. I hope to never stop learning.

I wish you all well. Our picture is last year's silver and gold Christmas picture in La Casa Dorada. Apparently, you can tell that the boy's gold tie fell off but it doesn't matter, nothing is perfect in life. Tarija is a beautiful city. Please come! People come here all the time. I even met a 'famous' musician from California who had a pad here to retire in. Yes, it's in the middle of nowhere but it's great that way!

Lenore Rivera