Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
"Consider the plight of Saryamma: She and her husband were landless laborers who earned about $1 a day." You always hear sad stories about how poor those around us can, but after reading this I really questioned myself and try to put myself in their shoes.
2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
Reading through the article I did not find anything confusing. Using smathers library to find the article although was confusing. I ended up just googling it and found it much easier.
3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur?
Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur and why?
I selected these questions maybe not based so much on the details of the article but on the course and how it relates.
4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
No I agree with all the author said.

Final Reflection

1) Read through your blog from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.
2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? I think the last experience was the most formative as it solidified everything I learned this year and how it compares to my other experiences on my resume.
The experience that you'll remember years later?
I will remember interviewing everyone and pulling teeth to give away a dollar bill.
What was your most joyous experience?
Most joyous experience was writing the actual posts and coming up with new ideas.
What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?
I proud of making it through this class and not crying.
3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?
I believe I have learned what real entrepreneurs go through on a day to day basis. I now can saw I have an entrepreneurial mindset, but will leave declaring myself as an entrepreneur until I actual go through with a business concept.
4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future?
Do not wait until last minute to do assignments as I did because it is not as rewarding and is very stressful at times. So develop good Time management skills earlier on in the course. Please take the class, but know there is work involved and try to expand your network while completing assignments.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Reflection: I appreciate all the positive feedback! It encouraged me to further develop my pitch!
What I changed? I changed the tactic a little bit. Instead of making it seem like I was selling them something I brought them into the conversation and made sure my audience understood I took their comments and feedback to heart and hope to be able to implement them.

Venture Concept No. 2

1)
College students around the world spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they only use for a semester. Many of those textbooks sit around and go unused. I want to change this and hopefully reduce the amount spent on textbooks with a give a book get a book program. The Gator Book Exchange program would occur at the end of each semester when students are registering for new classes and finishing up old ones. Each participant will donate old books and receive books for their next semester in exchange. Let's work together to cut down the cost of college!

So far the potential consumers I interviewed seemed to be intrigued by Gator Book Exchange. Although I can see a few flaws that I would need to attack early on. One major problem is the rise in reliance on online textbooks and rental textbooks which would result in a less engaged backing.  I also learned that I am going to be challenged by people not participating due to the need to have access codes still. Although I plan to make my program successful through organization and engaging advertisements.

As I college student I understand the cost of textbooks and how loans are not fun to take out. I also understand that majority of college students no longer are focusing more on supplements instead of textbooks and I want to change that mentality. I am specifically targeting returning University of Florida students across all majors and minors. In order to ensure success I might start on smaller scale and with college I know best. Therefore I would start out with a business student Gator Book Exchange and then learn from my mistakes there and bring it to a larger target being the entire campus.

The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the increase in the cost of textbooks. My venture will be specifically targeting the University of Florida students. I plan on starting with the Business College in order to start on a smaller scale and use it as a trial basis. Demographically I am targeting students who range from 18-22. Customers are currently renting textbooks to save money or not buying textbooks and buying cheaper supplements instead. I would say customers are loyal, but as college students we are always looking for a cheaper option. This opportunity is huge as it is changing how we interact with one another and giving college students an opportunity to save money. The window of opportunity should be open for a long time unless we transition completely to e-texts and get rid of physical textbooks. Which would be really sad! I think the reason people would switch is due to trend to get away from paper and being more environmentally friendly. I think once the majority switched over to etext there will be no coming back as it will be a generational change. There are no concepts that are the same as mine. But competitors range from UF bookstores, smoking notes, Amazon, and other textbook services. Some possible weaknesses is they all have costs. They have their strengths though as they have access codes I can not provide and it is more of a guaranteed product. Pricing or packaging does not play a role as my organization is a nonprofit. I would continue to add new volunteers that would help foster a creative space to come up with new ideas. 15 employees would be helpful and easily attained. There would be a variety of committees to join from set up, marketing, organizing, and site leaders, and volunteers the time of the event.

2) I love how encouraging everyone is and how great the feedback I got was. I enjoyed reading that people are excited to participate in the program and offer there pieces of advice. Many agreed that having an exit plan is important and in order to be successful I have to understand that technology is a force that could possibly squash my business venture. So looking to make sure that it is organized, progressive, and well promoted is very important!
3) I would just add that organization is integral and put a better detailed plan, so others can see my thought process on the logistics behind the venture. I also would add a more progressive component. And also a detailed marketing strategy including advertisements and possible ways to attract participants.

 

Google Gold

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimiation (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 

• If I am completely honest my general approach was not well thought out and if I were to redo this course. This would be the first thing I would change. I subconsciously promoted my blog through talking to my network about the class and what I do. It promoted my blog as many checked out my posts and were intrigued by the concept of me having my own blog.

2) What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?

• My keywords consisted of entrepreneurship, venture, Gators, college students, and textbooks. I changed the keywords throughout the semester to fit the type of post. Although the main keywords stayed the same as you use those words to bring attention to your business venture and potential customers.

3) How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?

• I personally did not use social media very often, but I used one of my organizations Facebook groups to ask for advice on the blog and a link to check my blog out. I feel it was more receptive because I knew everyone in the group very well and they are a supportive group of people. Although I feel I needed to develop my blog more with more posts to successively gain their attention and loyalty.

4) What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?

• Customers Interviews Number 3 obtained the most traffic. I feel any post that had videos or visual aids obtained a larger amount of traffic because it was able to better obtain peoples attention. To add I think a lot of people enjoyed laughing at either themselves or me in the videos. As it can be strange to see yourself or close friends on camera.

5) Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?

• No I did not because it is such a wide range of words. Although I feel it also had to do with my business venture and how it focused on a popular phenomenon that a lot of people use the internet to complain about it and I feel a lot of the time searching textbooks big companies like Amazon pop up.

 

Very Short Interview, Part 2

Background: 
Donna Belanger first opened up her restaurant, All American Hero, with her husband in 1984. Always having a passion for cooking and people, Donna decided to open her own restaurant. She enjoyed coming up with new recipes and ways of bringing in new costumers. Her bestselling dish was chili, a secret recipe of hers. Donna shares that her entrepreneurship journey had its ups and downs; but was an experience like no other. 

Reflection:  looking back on this interview it goes to show how much I have learned and grown throughout this class. The questions I asked gave me insight on how I might succeed, but what I have learned is experience is necessary and you sometimes just have learn from mistakes and be in the moment. I enjoyed rereading the responses and going over the interview. 


Interview: 

Interviewer: What was your greatest struggle and why? 

Entrepreneur Donna: “Trying to make sure every dish came out perfect was difficult feat. Although my greatest struggle would be coming out of my shell and being more outgoing. When I started I was very shy, but by the time I closed my restaurant I was more outgoing.” 

Interviewer: What does it feel like to be an entrepreneur? 

Entrepreneur Donna: “My husband was a large part of the restaurant’s success as he understood the business part. But being an entrepreneur was very rewarding. I was able to hire people that eventually became my friends and some I even considered family.” 

Interviewer: Where there any classes that helped you succeed as entrepreneur or classes that you wish you would’ve taken? 

Entrepreneur Donna:  “I feel culinary class had a large impact on me as I was able to experiment on my recipes. Although I wish I would have taken businesses courses to have a better understanding of the finances and how to set up a company.” 

Reflection 2: discuss your comfort level in talking about entrepreneurship in this interview now, compared to three months ago. Did the entrepreneur convey a sense that they thought you had progressed in your journey?

Interviews do not seem to get easier for me as each are different and tackle different concepts. But I do see that I have a better idea on what to ask and better ways to explain how my concept. My entrepreneur did mention that she liked my concept and thought out my idea was. But she reminded me that in life nothing goes as planned so be prepared to think on your toes. 

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The biggest surprise is charging a premium for a sale of large controlling block of closely held businesses. 

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

No part was particularly confusing. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask?

What is your best advice for acquiring a business? 

What business would currently want to acquire? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I'm not really versed on this section of the textbook so I can not say I disagree with the author. 

Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed 

I was the head chair for the decoration committee for potluck which hosted over 100 people. I failed to motivate my team to work hard and did not dedicate enough work to the position. Sadly the decorations were lacking. Although I was challenged by a small budget and a lack of a motivated team. 

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I learned that as a leader you can not always be nice. It's crazy to think that people do not always want to be apart of team and do not contribute their share. But that is how life works sadly. 

3) Reflect

I want to do better in the future and I have learned I can be a strong leader if I just let my passion shine. 

Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.
Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return?
My business is a non profit so I do not plan on selling it but rather passing it down to future generations of gators.
Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire?
I intend to stick with this venture until I graduate, so for another 3 years.
Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
I intend to run it much like an organization on campus, so elections would be held once a year. I might even try to attach it to Enactus to ensure its sustainable success.
2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
I selected this strategy because it beneficial to the organization and to myself.
3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept?
I think it has influenced me in how I set up the structure of employees and who I would go about hiring. It also effects my strategy for development.

Whats Next

Existing Market. 
Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next.

• I think the next phase of the Gator Book Exchange is an APP to assist with book exchanges on campus through out the semester.

Step 2: Interview three customers

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

• I think I really need to focus on marketing because this concept relies on people interaction. Without people dropping off books we wont have enough of a supply of books to exchange. To be a competitive company I want to hire volunteers that can build the companies network and expand the creative flow of ideas. Marketing on social media will be an integral part of the campaign as it is free and instant.
• Looking past the initial stages, I want to develop an App for campus students that can exchange books on their own and on their own time. I would also need to hire a team to tackle this and help me design the App and ideas on ensuring its success. Creating the app may take away from the event that occurs semesterly. But if we are not innovative and change with the times we may not be able sustain and will go into decline and not continuous growth.

New Market.
Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target.

• A different market for me could be students at other campuses around the country.

Step 2:

• This would expand my market because it would allow the students to have a greater appreciation for the exchange as it becomes global and not just a campus outreach. Another reason is it expands networks and reaches a whole new set of students.

Step 3: Interview three people from this new market.

Step 4:  

I think I really need to focus on marketing because this concept relies on people interaction. Without people dropping off books we wont have enough of a supply of books to exchange. To be a competitive company I want to hire volunteers that can build the companies network and expand the creative flow of ideas. Marketing on social media will be an integral part of the campaign as it is free and instant.

Looking past the initial stages, I want to develop an App for campus students that can exchange books on their own and on their own time. I would also need to hire a team to tackle this and help me design the App and ideas on ensuring its success. Creating the app may take away from the event that occurs semesterly. But if we are not innovative and change with the times we may not be able sustain and will go into decline and not continuous growth

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

• The biggest surprise was on figure 13.7 it shows that Thailand has the largest amount of individuals engaged in entrepreneurship ventures despite being a developing nation.

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

• A confusing part of the reading was figure 13.3 as it does not seem to be a great way to display the information.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• What do the ventures in Thailand look like? What is successful and what is not successful over there?
• Amazon and apple are large companies that are constantly growing. What advice would you give to them on continuing to sustain their growth and not go into the decline stage?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I did not find anything that stood out to be wrong or a point of disagreement in this chapter.

Venture Concept No. 1

College students around the world spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they only use for a semester. Many of those textbooks sit around and go unused. I want to change this and hopefully reduce the amount spent on textbooks with a give a book get a book program. The Gator Book Exchange program would occur at the end of each semester when students are registering for new classes and finishing up old ones. Each participant will donate old books and receive books for their next semester in exchange. Let's work together to cut down the cost of college!

So far the potential consumers I interviewed seemed to be intrigued by Gator Book Exchange. Although I can see a few flaws that I would need to attack early on. One major problem is the rise in reliance on online textbooks and rental textbooks which would result in a less engaged backing.  I also learned that I am going to be challenged by people not participating due to the need to have access codes still. Although I plan to make my program successful through organization and engaging advertisements.

As I college student I understand the cost of textbooks and how loans are not fun to take out. I also understand that majority of college students no longer are focusing more on supplements instead of textbooks and I want to change that mentality. I am specifically targeting returning University of Florida students across all majors and minors. In order to ensure success I might start on smaller scale and with college I know best. Therefore I would start out with a business student Gator Book Exchange and then learn from my mistakes there and bring it to a larger target being the entire campus.

The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the increase in the cost of textbooks. My venture will be specifically targeting the University of Florida students. I plan on starting with the Business College in order to start on a smaller scale and use it as a trial basis. Demographically I am targeting students who range from 18-22. Customers are currently renting textbooks to save money or not buying textbooks and buying cheaper supplements instead. I would say customers are loyal, but as college students we are always looking for a cheaper option. This opportunity is huge as it is changing how we interact with one another and giving college students an opportunity to save money. The window of opportunity should be open for a long time unless we transition completely to e-texts and get rid of physical textbooks. Which would be really sad! I think the reason people would switch is due to trend to get away from paper and being more environmentally friendly. I think once the majority switched over to etext there will be no coming back as it will be a generational change. There are no concepts that are the same as mine. But competitors range from UF bookstores, smoking notes, Amazon, and other textbook services. Some possible weaknesses is they all have costs. They have their strengths though as they have access codes I can not provide and it is more of a guaranteed product. Pricing or packaging does not play a role as my organization is a nonprofit. I would continue to add new volunteers that would help foster a creative space to come up with new ideas. 15 employees would be helpful and easily attained. There would be a variety of committees to join from set up, marketing, organizing, and site leaders, and volunteers the time of the event.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
I think the question on who to start the change in innovation stood out to me the most. Senior leaders should initiate the change. This stands out because it shows that they can install the change, but I think it should go deeper then that as well and someone she be hired to oversee the changes. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
Nothing really confused everything was well explained and thought out. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
How would you train senior leaders?
What suggestions do you have on my own business concept and how I can ensure it succeeds throughout the decades? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
I think the researcher is correct we have to be more innovative and think what this generation is looking for and how to dynamically change the business to suit the needs of your consumer is very important even at management level. 

Amazon Whisperer

• Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 
• My business concept does not have a revenue driver as my concept is more of a non profit organization working to better the UF campus. 
• Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?
• The next thing my consumers want is a cheaper and a more efficient experience when getting textbooks. Students are tired of spending hundreds of dollars on textbooks that most of the times student do not even use. 
• Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?
• It improves the user experience by lowing textbooks costs and bringing textbook sales closer to them. It fosters customer loyalty as you can continuously bring textbooks back and return them fora new set of books at he end of th semester. 
• Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.
• The closer service that is like my textbook exchange is Amazon offering rentals at a cheaper rate than buying books. 
• What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?
• Many customers love this service as it is quick, easy, and fairly cheap. 
• Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product. 
• I've made the experience better by having students interact with one another and network as they exchange books on campus at no fee. 
• Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.
• I think I could utilize the online formatting that Amazon has and market online and possibly exchange books online for a small delivery fee. 

My Unfair Advantage

Business Concept:
I plan on opening Gator Book Exchange which is a program that will offer students an alternative to spending an exorbitant amount of money on books. My program will host students exchange of textbook with no middle man fee. Students will simply drop off their textbooks and be able to receive coupons in exchange to select other books students have donated.

Top Resources:
1.) Ability to foresee possible weaknesses in my plan and overcome them before they negatively impact business.

• Valuable: Gives the company a competitive edge against competition
• Rare:  A lot of companies fail to evaluate and recognize their weaknesses or fail because they spot them too late
• Inimitable: Other companies can possess this skill, but it is a notable edge
• Non-substitutable: Yes there are not other qualities that can substitute for this ability.

2.) Top Notch Customer Service as I too am a college student that can relate to my market.

• Valuable: Gives the company a great start as high customer satisfaction can lead to free advertisements through word of mouth and social media buzz.
• Rare: Many companies are more concerned with their cost and focus on providing the product not how they are providing the service.
• Inimitable: Yes there are other companies such as Publix that have outstanding customer service and is what my company hopes to mimic.
• Non-substitutable: Yes there is not another quality that can substitute this.

3.) Minimal start up costs allows for me to focus more on the logistics and organization than the cost aspect

• Valuable: This allows the company to speed ahead other start ups and look past cost bumps
• Rare: This is extremely rare.
• Inimitable: Due to its rare nature not many companies can imitate this.
• Non-substitutable: It is not substitutable

4.) From previous involvement and taking marketing courses, I have developed a marketing expertise 

• Valuable: This is very valuable as it grants me the ability to understand the importance of knowing your market and how to reach that audience.
• Rare: Nearly every company has a marketing department, but it is a necessary apart of every business start up
• Inimitable: Yes, but I tend to go above and beyond and look closely at detail compared to others who have a nature to only see the larger picture
• Non-substitutable: Yes this is a unreplaceable part of the company

5.) Background in entrepreneurship through this class and through growing up around family that owned their own businesses

• Valuable: This is undoubtable a great quality to have
• Rare: No, but gives me edge against the percent that does not have this quality
• Inimitable: Yes, but it is apart of my learning and growing process that I can apply to my business
• Non-substitutable: Yes it is, but it has taught me skills such as flexibility and dedication

6.) I have a large network on campus that I can market my business venture to and utilize when in need of volunteers

• Valuable: Allows me to tap into free marketing and secures a reliable source of workers and participants
• Rare: I think it is rare to find a reliable and dedicated network that I possess
• Inimitable: No because my diverse network is unique to me
• Non-substitutable: Yes because it will ensure I prosper
• Most important

7.) I am flexible, diplomatic, and try to adapt to a variety situations and enjoy thinking on my toes.

• Valuable: As a businesswomen it is a definite benefit when working with finicky people
• Rare: Yes because not many people can think out of the box and be able to complete impromptu tasks with confidence and quickly mitigate problems.
• Inimitable: Yes, but it is a necessary tool to be successful.
• Non-substitutable: Yes because if you cant be flexible when working with people, you will not survive.

8.) I am an ambitious individual and perseveres past failures and learns from them 

•  Valuable: Yes because it allows me to succeed.
• Rare: Yes not many people have the same ambitious spirit that I do.
• Inimitable: Yes, but I still view it as an edge over those that do not.
• Non-substitutable: It can not be substituted.

9.) I have a passion for giving back to others which works well with my business concept as it allows me to further explore this passion.

• Valuable: Yes because it will give me the motivation to continue with my plan pass any bumps in the road
• Rare: Not many people can identify their passion and put it to use
• Inimitable: No my passion is unique to me because it is derived from my own experiences
• Non-substitutable: No because it will help me persevere

10.) I also have leadership experience that will assist me in training volunteers, organizing events, and has helped me develop strong interpersonal skills.

• Valuable: Yes because it gives me the unique ability to ensure smooth communication and teamwork skills
• Rare: No because everyone can be a leader, but they don't have the unique combination of experience I have.
• Inimitable: No my experience is unique to myself.
• Non-substitutable: No because it is necessary to have some experience in order succeed as a CEO.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1) The pitch. 

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

I really appreciate all the positive feedback from both of my previous pitches. I try to be intriguing and have a good command of my audience. It helps that I'm so passionate about my cause and business venture. I also appreciate the that a lot of comments say students would be willing to participate and all the pieces of advice they have to make my program even more effective at reaching at larger audience. 

3) What did you change, based on the feedback? 

I didn't change much. I continued with what was successful such as my positive upbeat attitude and tried to relate to the audience. I did change my location so it wasn't as distracting of a background. I also spoke a little slower and tried to drag less and was more prepared. 

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

•  The 10.5 chart stood out the most because it is interesting to see how many stereotypes we can have just based on age and how many of them actually fit.

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

• Chart 10.4 on Consumer Characteristics was confusing to me and I did not understand how to decipher it. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• What is your best tip on marketing online? 
• Is there a company that shouldn't move more advertising to online sources?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

•  Irrelevancy seems so broad to be an inhibitor of marketing research. This could be broken down to more specific categories so the reader has a better understanding. 

What's Your Secret Sauce?

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list.

I feel I have a heightened ability to sympathize with others and I do my very best to make sure to help others around me. That makes me different because most business owners are after the profit and success, but my plan is to leave a lasting impact on my community. I also believe my dedication and my organizational skills will allow me to take my concept to the next level and ensure it is a success. Finally my ability to not only see the bigger picture, but also the the smaller problems that could arise and making sure that I do not let anything cause my concept to fail.

2) Interview the five people who know you the best.

 One of the three words my Dad said best describe me is outgoing. This is not something I would have said. I am more sheltered and shy at times, but it was interesting to see a different view on myself I also agreed that one of my weaknesses is being afraid to fail, so I do not take enough chances.

 

My grandmother focused more on me being caring and my people loving nature. This was an interesting interview because afterwords she asked me the same questions and it goes to show how hard it can be to describe others and make sure you  are constructive. I learned from this assignment I need to be more open to failing and not being perfect.  

Next Melanie described me as a caring person and had a hard time describing my weaknesses. Going off what I said before it is hard to be constructive and not come off as being rude. Melanie also described me as a caring individual based off our friendship. 

Chelsea described me as collected which I wish I was more of. My view of a collected person is someone who has their life together and is more organized. I strive to be collected,but I am still trying to figure life out. As for working on myself I have to put myself out there more she said which I agree with.

Vincent said I was a great public speaker which I found very amusing. I do not view myself as a great speaker at all. It is something I strive to work on more. I also learned that I need to grow more through involving myself elsewhere on campus and taking on more leadership roles.

3) Reflect on the differences

I feel my friends were being very nice and trying to boost my confidence. Although I agree that I need to work on putting myself out there more and stop worrying about failing. I really appreciated this assignment as it allowed me to see what my friends think of me and how I can grow.

Idea Napkin No. 2

You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am a first year management. I like to think of myself as an individual that puts their heart and soul into everything they do. I am the kind of person that reaches for perfection and wants to ensure that everyone is reaching their full potential. Therefore when looking into my own business plan I made sure that my concept surrounds helping others and works on bettering my community.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

I am offering an opportunity for students to save money on books and network with their peers. My program is the gator book exchange in which I will set up an organized event that students drop off old books and in return get books for their next semester. This will be a free service and will focus on uniting gators under a common goal of making college cheaper.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I am offering the product to students at the University of Florida ranging from freshman to graduate students. It is important to note that I will start offering the program on a smaller level (business school exclusive) to see the possible successes and failures and then apply it to doing the program across all majors and colleges at University of Florida and then hopefully to other campuses around the world.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

My customers care because they are college students that are on a strict budget and will participate in anything to save money. Especially on textbooks in which multiple students resort to just using supplements instead of actually reading the textbook. Therefore students are not learning the material, but just memorizing simply for exams and this is not the point of college especially when you pay for it.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

My core competencies are passion, dedication, and responsibility. I set myself apart as a leader that works with others and ensures their strengths are being put to use.

5.) Evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.

I feel my values align well with ensuring that my concept is successful and knowing that I can learn from my failures set me apart from others. A weakness in my concept is the possibility of people not wanting to participate due to the need of online access codes which can only work once. Although students still need books and I want to help as much as possible even if that means saving a little amount of money here and there. My strength of dedication ensure that I will stick through with this idea and ensure it is successful and help improve my community.

6.) "feedback memo"

I've learned that life is meant to learn from and I can rally my strengths to ensure I'm successful as possible. I also learned that people can benefit from my services and my love to help others.

Week 8 Reading

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? 

• I was surprised to see an influx of new IPOS from 2006 to 2007. I would think taking a company public would not be something many companies would want to pursue. 

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

• Figure 8-2 was confusing as I do not understand the system used to read the chart. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• What would you do if you could not find investors as a new entrepreneur?
• What  is your greatest piece of advice on investing in new companies?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I am not very versed on finances and the author seems to be credible on the topic. Therefore I did not find anything that I disagreed with. 

Half Way Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 
I have been able to develop organizational and time management skills to ensure I keep up  with assignments and due dates. I also believe I have learned to be more courageous and expanded people skills.
2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?
I almost gave up giving out free money, because it was a hard concept for me to grasp and going up to random people. I was worried that people would think I thought of them as a charity case giving them free money and think I was crazy. Although I decided to go ahead and do the assignment. I brought a friend to help record and they helped me approach strangers. 
3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?
I would say do not be afraid to put yourself out there. Find friends in the class and discuss what strategies they may have and talk about your experiences. I was surprised to see I was not the only one struggling to do certain assignments and I found better ways to do others through their advice. My last tip is keep up with assignments and keep going even if the motivation in the beginning is just for the grade.  Do not let this be the class you fail or slack on.

The Twenty Percent

1) Find a business owner and talk to them about their customers. 
The business owner I talked to was a restaurant owner and they asked that I did not record them. 
Who do they think their target customers are?  
They believed their target customers to be local shoppers as they are located in a mall's food court. The business owner went as specific to say teenagers that regularly hang out at the mall and older adults looking for quality food as one part of their market. 
What are their customers' unmet needs? 
Their customers unmet needs are quality fast food in the mall food court. 
Where do they find their customers? 
They do not have to do much marketing as their location does the selling for them. 
What are their customer's demographics? 
Customer demographics range, but typically focus around females with the young children.  
2) Next, go and talk to 3 'target customers' -- using the demographics/psychographics the entrepreneur described. 
The questions I asked are as follows. 
What is your name?
How frequently do you go to the mall? 
What are you looking for in food court options? 
What is your age, if you do not mind me asking?  
What is your favorite type of food? 
Since my business owner seemed to have a very diverse group of customers. I decided to interview a variety of potential customers ranging from 3-40. 
I recorded their interviews as audio, but I was having a hard time uploading the sound. If someone has a suggestion on how to upload that would be greatly appreciated.
Here a transcript of what their answers looked like?

Interview 1:
What is your name?Leah
How frequently do you go to the mall? 2-3 a week
What are you looking for in food court options? Healthy and clean options
What is your age, if you do not mind me asking?  40
What is your favorite type of food? Italian 

Interview 2: 
What is your name?Kaitlyn
How frequently do you go to the mall? 2 days ( I believe she meant two times a month after talking to her mom)
What are you looking for in food court options? Yummy food
What is your age, if you do not mind me asking?  3
What is your favorite type of food? Pizza

Interview 3: 
What is your name?Payton
How frequently do you go to the mall? 4 times a month
What are you looking for in food court options? healthy and unique options
What is your age, if you do not mind me asking?  13
What is your favorite type of food? Italian/ Pizza

3) Reflect. 
Does the entrepreneur adequately understand their customers' problems? 
I do not think my entrepreneur understood their market as it was very diverse. But they do have a great understanding of what their customers wanted and how they could best target customers with the quality of food they offer. I feel the customers wanted healthier and faster options then the business owner expected.

Free Money

 

• Where will you go?
• I went in front of Rawling's Subway/ Pod Market for my recordings.
• What kind of people will you approach?
• I ended up approaching all girls that were not listening to music and seemed to be happy or smiling.
• What will you say to get the conversation started?
• Would you like a free dollar?
• What is your plan for the conversation?
•  I expected the individuals I approached to ask me why I would be giving out free
• money in which they did. My plan was to tell them I was giving back and trying to
• make others have a better day. Although I ran into an issue when recording. Many told
• told me to delete the recording or did not give me permission to use the recording.
• Therefore for the last two I told them it was for a class, so they would be more
• sympathetic and allow me to use the recording.
• Out of five attempts, how many dollar bills do you think you will be able to give away. 
• I was able to give away three dollar bills. A few of the individuals I went up to gave them back because they didn't want me using the recording and felt bad taking the dollar. Others just ignored me and acted like I was a flyer in Turlington.
• Reflection: Giving away dollars was easier than I thought. I believe this to be because college students love the word free. Although I ran into issues when approaching people, I always was cautious in who to approach because I didn't want to offend anyone or waste their time. Despite being nervous and having someone with me to record I feel it went smoothly compared to my expectations. I wish I didn't have to record the interactions as they were more forced and robotic interactions. It was also hard for people to allow me to record them. If I have the opportunity to do this assignment again I might position myself somewhere where people typically wouldn't be rushing off to class or studying or meetings, etc. to ensure a better reaction. I also would ask them if they would allow me to record them as one of my first questions. instead of last.

 

 

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The biggest surprise for me was that even if you successfully catch the attention of its market such as the Miller Lite Ad, there was not an increase in sales.

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

The stake holding chart is confusing to me as it is very overwhelming with the amplitude of information it possesses.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

What is the greatest risk you have taken? Did it pay off?

What is your leadership philosophy and why?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

The part about customized cat food was intriguing. But have to disagree in different situation customization does raise cost, but many would be more than willing to pay the upcharge in order to customize.

Elevator Pitch 2

1) The pitch. 

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

I appreciated hearing that my pitch was enthusiastic and intriguing. I also loved hearing people say they would actually participate in my program and were excited to save money. I also liked seeing others pitches to see how i can improve my own and get to see their business ventures. 

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

I changed my approach and attempted to focus more on my concept instead of just the numbers I used in my first one. I wanted to make sure the audience was engaged so I put them in the situation more and pulled them into my situations. 

Customer Interviews No. 3

1) Describe your interviewing strategy. 

Strategy: 

Target college age students and understand if this opportunity can be successful. 

Questions:

• What is your year and major/college?

• Have you ever been tempted to not buy a recommended book and just use supplements like Smokin Notes due to price of textbooks? 

• How much do you spend on textbooks each semester? 

• Would you rather use e-texts or physical textbooks? 

• Would you be willing to participate in a give a book get a book program

2) Conduct the interviews. 

3) Reflect on what you learned. 

I will admit it felt very unnatural and almost infomercial like to film my interviews. During some interviews I ended up having to rerecord the interview due to laughter between myself and the interviewee. Although at the end of the five interviews I was excited to see a positive response to my give a book get a book program. I was scared many of the students were going to say no they do not use physical textbooks anymore and just prefer to use e-texts or supplements like Smokin Notes, but I was pleasantly surprised that a majority of the interviewees would rather use a physical textbook which would make my program a success. Students are spending thousands to get an education and all seem to have a similar interest in saving as much money as possible. The average student spends anywhere from $300 to $500 on textbooks and supplements each semester and with my program I hope to drastically change that number.  I also learned that I am going to be challenged by competition such as rental textbook companies and people not participating due to the need to have access codes still. Although I plan to make my program successful through organization and engaging advertisements. 

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
The most surprising fact was that a  fast-growing industry is not always a profitable one.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The most confusing part wasn't the reading, but how to access to the article. I wish I had a better and faster way to get to the article.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
What is your personal philosophy for life?
How do you deal with failure?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
No I agree with the author.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. My name is Domenica DeYoung. I am first year management major. I tend to be a very passionate, driven, and dedicated individual. Whenever I participate in an organization, event, etc I put my whole heart and soul into everything I do and never miss an opportunity to help others out. I have experience with many different leadership positions. Most of my positions have revolved around ensuring there is constructive communication within the organization and outside of the organization such as communicating with Alumni. I aspire to be successful and learn as much as I can through all my experiences. I can see Gator Book Exchange consuming a large portion of my life, but it aligns with my values of service and passion.
2) What are you offering to customers? College students around the world spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they only use for a semester. Many of those textbooks sit around and go unused. I want to change this and hopefully reduce the amount spent on textbooks with a give a book get a book program. The Gator Book Exchange program would occur at the end of each semester when students are registering for new classes and finishing up old ones. Each participant will donate old books and receive books for their next semester in exchange. Let's work together to cut down the cost of college!
3) Who are you offering it to? I am specifically targeting returning University of Florida students across all majors and minors. In order to ensure success I might start on smaller scale and with college I know best. Therefore I would start out with a business student Gator Book Exchange and then learn from my mistakes there and bring it to a larger target being the entire campus.
4) Why do they care? As I college student I understand the cost of textbooks and how loans are not fun to take out. I also understand that majority of college students no longer are focusing more on supplements instead of textbooks and I want to change that mentality.
5) What are your core competencies? My passion and drive sets me a part from others. I am not one to quit when times get hard, I persevere. Being a college student myself I am able to connect with my peers and know how to bring their attention to my program through social media and word of mouth.
I believe that a great leader is someone that knows when to ask for help and knows how to utilize a diverse set of strengths. I love to organizing events, but there are still logistics and kinks that others may have creative solutions for. For that reason I believe it important to find others that have a similar passion with different perspectives that could ensure a stable program.With that being said I feel like my core competencies and my passion for this program with make sure my business opportunity is successful and has an impact on UFs campus.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading?

• I was surprised to see a pitfall being ignorance of legal issues as I figured legal issues to be on every persons mind when going into business ventures.

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

•  Implementation of the formulas on page 269 were confusing to me as they just seem to be jarring all on one page and sort of random facts.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• One of the pitfalls in selecting new ventures is poor financial understanding, What is the best way to combat this downfall?
• What ideas would you import from USA to countries or continents lacking the idea? (Example: Moonlights from Importing Good Ideas)

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I did not find anything particularly wrong with the authors stances this chapter. Although I think it is important to add Uniqueness to pitfalls because sometimes things are trendy and not versatile and die with the trends. It is important to have a uniqueness factor, but also some traditional long standing trends to supplement ones business when a trend such as cupcakes dies down such as having a cake business along side the cupcakes specialties.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1) Fine tune your opportunity. 

College students around the world spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they only use for a semester. Many of those textbooks sit around and go unused. I want to change this and hopefully reduce the amount spent on textbooks with a give a book get a book program. The program would occur at the end of each semester when students are registering for new classes and finishing up old ones. Each participant will donate old books and receive books for their next semester in exchange.

2) Fine tune the "who." Last time I did talk to the right customers as they were all UF students, but I wanted to expand my market by talking to diverse years the second time around. I also wanted to interview an even amount of men and women to see if based on gender there would be a change in preference.

3) Tweaking your interview questions. I asked the same questions as they seemed to be effective and get the point across. The  only question I did not use in every interview this time around was my question on whether they were tempted to buy supplements instead of textbook due to textbook's high expense. Because it seemed to wordy and would lose the customers attention.

4) Go talk to customers! 

 

 

5) Tell us what you learned about the opportunity. So far 9/10 potential consumers I interviewed seemed to be intrigued by Gator Book Exchange. Although I can see a few flaws that I would need to attack early on. One major problem is the rise in reliance on online textbooks and rental textbooks which would result in a less engaged backing.  

6) Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers. 

1.) How to respectfully interact with a potential customer after they say they wouldn't want to participate in my program.  

2.) It might be important to interview a variety of majors to ensure the entire campus would participate.

3.) The book exchange can be a success, but I need participation and it may be hard to rally and ensure widespread support.