30A - Final Reflection

1) I definitely had both some highs and lows. I was able to effectively talk about some of my real world experiences in this class and was even able to gain constructive feedback during the course of the conversations following discussion post dialogue and analysis from my fellow classmates and UF students.

2) The most formative experience would definitely be when we had our first reading assignment. I was able to chose a book that I was most interested in and gained a personalized experience and chance to gain business acumen from that opportunity. My most joyous moment was doing the extra credit assignment where i was able to talk about my business opportunity in class! I am also most proud of myself for sticking to the schedule I created which ultimately allowed for me to stay on top of the assignments in this class.

3) I definitely still feel that I need to grow as an entrepreneur. Still, I formed a newfound business mindset throughout my time in this class that I hope to take with me forward as I prepare to graduate soon. Thus, I do indeed feel as if I have moved closer to developing the entrepreneurial mindset.

4) I would recommend students write down a list of five things that they find most important in their lives. these things can keep you grounded and function as a group of goals for them to properly work towards. In this class, definitely be proactive and set aside the time to complete your homework properly. The only way to foster this mindset is to adhere to the list of goals you have laid out.

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

1) My initial venture concept reflected a plan to promote a business idea that was essentially based on a UF backed ride service system that would mirror the same general principles of the Uber and Lyft business plan. Differences from these principles would be that my business would operate on routes that would primarily ferry students, faculty, and campus workers to and from campus in a reliable way that fixed some of the common public transportation issues we face on campus such as tardiness and questionable services. That being said, in this case I would also open up my service to future and current alumni as well as students on campus in the summer months so as to maximize the experience and the outreach for the ever-growing potential customer base.

2) The essential feedback that I received was more or less to have a better target direction for my marketing efforts to undergo. That being said, although the overall business idea seemed to have a clear objective and audience to target, the critical components of the prospective customer profile did not seem to have a consistent approach.

3) I changed my venture concept to better reflect the direction of the consumer habits at hand. Thus, I was able to position myself better before the sale in order to include groups such as alumni and summer students so that I could guarantee that I will ultimately bring in the right customer base in the long run moving forward.

4)

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1) In terms of an exit strategy, I would intend to build my business up in order to sell it in 5 years for a profitable margin over what I invested at first. That being said, this would allow me to then have startup investment capital for my next entrepreneurial endeavor.

2) I have selected this particular exit strategy given the fact that I know I intend to move a lot for my career in the next coming years. Thus, it would make sense for me to sell the business in order for me to have mobility and flexibility going forward.

3) I think my exit strategy has influenced my decisions in this course given the fact that I have thought ahead for the most part when given the chance to exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit. Throughout this proactivity, I have indeed learned how to identify opportunities more quickly now. It has allowed for me to better understand how resources are crucial to a business operation.

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

1) I went with the book Miracles Happen by Mary Kay Ash as the main focus I had within this post.  I was intrigued by this book given the fact that I heard of the Mary Kay story before and wanted to know more about it going forward!

2) The main entrepreneur in this book referenced core competencies in two key areas: luck and family. Through an interesting balance between the two, Mary Kay Ash managed to keep her core values in check while also finding time for the important stuff in life.

3) The most confusing part of the novel was trying to make sense of the personal examples referenced in the text and trying to relate to them personally. Different experiences means different perspectives and I did not fully understand the concept behind some of the details in the novel.

4) What challenges have they faced at the beginning of their career?
What is the most valuable business advice they have ever received?

5) I believe the entrepreneur at the center of this book deeply valued the concept of "luck" in a business environment. That being said, I also have come to understand how luck can impact the outcomes of most business decisions.

26A - Celebrating Failure

1) A time this past semester where I failed, was when I tried to find a sublease for my apartment this summer. I kind of left everything to the last minute unfortunately, which resulted in me losing out on potential opportunities. These serve as my opportunity costs. I had diligently tried to go on the UF Housing groups as of recent, but to no avail!

2) I learned that in order to succeed, you have to be proactive. Going forward I will indeed keep myself accountable to the process of being timely with my responsibilities.

3) Failure is hard. I like to balance my priorities with my workload. In this case I let myself down a little by not being on top of my stuff, this allowed for my wellbeing to slip through the cracks a little. This class has allowed me to view failure as an opportunity to instead grow from our mistakes. I am more likely to take business risks going forward in order to captivate the opportunities ahead.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity
The opportunity in my local community that I have identified has been a need for a more reliable method of transportation to and from campus. Now, growing up in New York City for a time period, I became accustomed to the convenience provided by the Taxi and Uber/Lyft services that are highly prevalent in the Big Apple. That being said, I realized that the suffering public transportation system here in Gainesville could do with some TLC itself and should be subjected to an improvement or at least an alternative service that could reliably and conveniently transport students, staff, and faculty to campus in a timely fashion. This led me to theorize about a business concept which would essentially rival the SNAP services here at the University of Florida. I figured I would bring a University of Florida backed ride sharing service to the school in an effort to bolster the timeliness of the transportation service options available to all students on campus. Thus, hopefully the disconnect in the public transportation already here in the city of Gainesville can be quelled. This opportunity is additionally, moderately big with a sizable market. Customers unfortunately are being let down by the various services related to this cause that are already in place here in Gainesville. Customer loyalty can always shift with the right marketing and advertising shifts in place.

Innovation
This innovation is somewhat centered on innovations currently already present in the general population. That being said I believe that this innovation allows for a centered approach to the whole concept of the transportation issue prevalent in our general community. A fair enough amount of college students here seemingly struggle with the topic of reliable transportation services and its availability in a timely manner. I aim to use the ride-sharing software and develop it in to a pattern that can subsidize University of Florida funds in a way to give back to the student population. In doing so, the money pumped into this idea by the college financial committee will allow for students to download an app that can be then used to call the service. Ride-sharing limits costs and in doing so also limits time between rides given the fact that most students live in community clusters centered on the various apartment communities surrounding the university.

Venture Concept
I believe that the customers, who in this case will most likely be the University of Florida students, faculty, and campus workers, will critically benefit from a service like this. In theory, it will add a sense of convenience to the transportation experience. Say your bus that takes you to class in the morning is either late or filled to the brim with other students. Now a service will be available that can attempt to ameliorate said concerns. I know given the fact that I have experienced both of these aforementioned unfortunate circumstances. Competitors are slim to none, outside of Lyft and Uber which are already planted in the community. Packaging is less of an important hot topic issue in this scenario. The ongoing production of the product will be supported through advertising outreach and social media marketing that is designed to provide attention to the product at hand.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market
In terms of growing within the existing market, there has to be a shift in the direction for me at this given time. I primarily marketed my product to the youth population here, meaning the college students I am surrounded with. The actual market is not representative of just college students.

This means that I will try and shift the business around to incorporating more business customers outside the norm. For example, this means customers over 65 and single moms. These serve as examples to illustrate the untapped customer base available for me here in the existing market that I plan to utilize going forward.

New Market
By tapping into this new market with certain questioning and product assumptions I was able to open up my eyes as to the untapped potential available for business pursuits. Indeed, the target market I had before was underutilizing a select group of 65 and up that have savings and expendable money to give out.

College students are for the most part, struggling financially. This means that in terms of trying to be economically profitable, this customer group might not be the most feasible. In doing so, I limited myself to a limited perception of the existing market before. This new market approach will hopefully yield more positive outcomes moving forward.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Excel skills
V - Allows for technological prowess
R - Can be pretty common actually
I - Can be imitated easily
N - Yes, other resources can be in place of this

2. Communication skills
V - Allows for relationship building
R - Can be pretty prevalent
I - Can be imitated
N - Can be learned by anyone

3. A valid driver's license
4. Microsoft office skills
V - Allows for transportation
R - Is very common
I - Can be imitated is you pass a driving test
N - No other equivalency to a valid license that lets you drive

5. Data Analytics
V - Allows for technological abilities
R - Can be pretty common actually
I - Can be imitated easily due to schooling
N - Yes, other resources can be in place of this

6. Public Speaking
V - Allows for critical relationship building
R - Can be pretty prevalent in college
I - Can be imitated with practice
N - Can be learned by anyone thankfully

7. Investment money
V - Allows for a business to get off the ground
R - Can be hard to come by
I - Can't be legally imitated, only earned or gifted
N - Non-substitutable

8. Community reach
V - Allows for some levels of relationship building
R - Decently common due to community service
I - Can be imitated by most
N - Can be learned by all people

9. Organizational skills
V - Allows for effective relationship building
R - Can be pretty prevalent due to schooling
I - Can be imitated easily by most people
N - Can be learned by any one with the right effort

10. Social Media
V - Allows for relationship building
R - Can be pretty prevalent
I - Can be imitated by anyone with internet access
N - Can be learned by anyone

The top resource is Communication skills because it is the backbone for everything else to be able to be applied effectively in a business sense. Without proper communication skills, no critical business exploits can get off the ground or be executed. Hence, they are at the core of the entrepreneurial experience.

22A - Elevator Pitch No. 3

The feedback I received from the last post was to develop my script beforehand. This would allow me to keep my main points in check going forward to the filming stage. This meant that I would then have a more comprehensive and straightforward rhythm to my speech pattern.

I changed my speech style to reflect my personality more. This meant some more smiling and even a bit of joking around to truly feel comfortable when I went in to film the final stage of the video. That being said, I truly felt in my element in this recording thankfully. 

21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams

1) The general theme and/or argument of the book was to invite failure in to your life and to pick its pocket in order to embrace the challenges it presents.

2) The book allowed for me to adjust my business perceptions in accordance with the coursework at hand. This means, that the course balances out with the required reading to make for a streamlined narrative.

3) The exercise would involve writing down your top 10 failures and then comparing them to lessons you have learned in the present day. That would allow for the growth to be visualized.

4) The biggest "aha" moment was when I realized how the potential for failure meant that opportunity could be found in every corner of your life.