Miami University Entrepreneurs Embrace 'Figure It Out' Mentality

BY SARA MEURER
Miami University journalism student

Miami University senior Drew Griffing has had a passion for videography since high school, and was inspired to start his own commercial media production company his sophomore year of college.

He founded Fresh Force Media two years ago, and has since made roughly 70 promotional videos for organizations and events. Griffing’s clients include campus sororities, Miami Activities and Programming, as well as Miami’s Goggin Ice Center.

Griffing found that a crucial part to entrepreneurship is figuring things out for yourself.

“I’ve learned an unbelievable amount running this business, and it’s just constant problem-solving,” Griffing said. “And when you have to problem solve, I feel like that’s when you learn the most.”

Figure it out

According to Mary Dieglio, assistant director of the Page Center for Entrepreneurship at Miami, a large part of successfully starting your own business as a student is having a “figure it out” mentality.

“When you don’t necessarily have all the experience, expertise, or know-how that you need, you develop that simply by figuring things out on your own,” Dieglio said. “Utilizing the resources that are available to you to and a -figure-it-out' mentality is handy in pretty much any situation for any company no matter the stage that they’re at.”

Dieglio noted that aside from this mentality, a major component to beginning a business is relying on feedback.

“Finding good mentors and people who will give you honest feedback about your idea or business is key to figuring out what you don’t know,” Dieglio said. “They say, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’ Relying on mentors who will give you honest feedback is going to help you hopefully avoid some huge mistakes later on down the road.”

Learning via YouTube

Senior finance major Liam Sorenson started his Fix That iPhone business in 2014, after a friend broke his phone screen on accident. After Sorenson’s sophomore year at Miami, he returned to his home in Chicago and spent the summer learning how to repair iPhone screens.

“I figured out by watching YouTube channels and looking online how to repair an iPhone, and from there it kind of grew,” Sorenson said. “I was like, 'I can make some money off this and help my fellow classmates.' ”

To date, Sorenson has serviced more than 160 iPhones for clients in Oxford, and spends anywhere from five to 20 hours per week on his business. While he mostly repairs iPhone screens, Sorenson has also helped his peers with watches, computers and iPads. He markets his business through its website, fixthatiphonemiami.com, as well as Facebook ads. But his main marketing tool is word of mouth.

After graduating in May, both Sorenson and Griffing hope to continue their businesses. Passion and drive are essential to entrepreneurship, they agreed.

“Even putting three hours to five hours a week into your own business is better than putting no hours,” Sorenson said. “Don’t be afraid to get out there and just do it."

Photo: Drew Griffing plans to continue his videography business after May graduation. -- Photo by Sara Meurer.

This story was produced for a broadcast journalism class at Miami University.