Final Reflection

The experience I'll remember the most and am most proud of accomplishing would be interviewing random customers. I never thought I would have the courage to go up to random people and offer them a dollar or ask them questions about the opportunity I saw. At the end of this class I do see myself as an entrepreneur, now more than ever. I always wanted to start my own business and now I am more confident in being an entrepreneur and wanting to start my own business because of this class. I recommend to future students to try their hardest and try to think of the best idea. Doing every step correctly in this course could possibly be a stepping stone to starting your own business!

Elevator Pitch No. 4

The feedback from my third elevator pitch was not very helpful, all they said was that I did a good job and offered no criticism. So, I just decided to make my pitch sound more like the pitch that was given in class and hopefully I did a good job in doing so.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity
The opportunity I found is that students who pay for the meal plan are extremely dissatisfied with the quality and variety of the food served, as well as the people serving the food. Even just today I was dissatisfied because of the mood the server was in. We live in a society with an increasing standard of living, everyone always wants the best thing. In this case, students want better food and better service without having to go out to eat at a nice restaurant every night. This market is defined geographically by the University of Florida and demographically by students who live on campus. Customers are currently satisfying this need by their current meal plan, but many students have cancelled their meal plan coming into the second semester because they were not satisfied. Most students are loyal to the meal plan because not all students know how to cook, making it a necessity for some. This opportunity is huge because of the many dissatisfied customers that I have interviewed, and also by the feedback in my posts promoting my idea. This opportunity will be available until someone else fills in the need that students currently have.

Innovation
Currently the unlimited all access meal plan at the University of Florida is $2235. This price is ridiculous given the feedback from customers. Parents and students shouldn't be paying this much for food that lacks quality and variety. With my service, I do not plan on changing the price. I would much rather change the quality and variety of the food, along with hiring a new friendlier staff. Instead of making it cheaper, I plan on making it fairer for those paying for it. The need for a meal plan will always be there, so it is only a matter of time before someone steps in and updates the quality of the meal plan. If successful, I plan on moving off campus and creating my own buffet style restaurant mimicking the food served on campus. Many people love a good buffet, and if I can offer the food at the same price to adults as students, I'm positive it will be successful.

Venture Concept
Students would definitely be ready to switch to better food and service. Since the meal plan is paid through to the University of Florida, my only difficult task would to propose my idea to the university and hope they accept it. My competitors are people currently in the industry such as fresh foods who currently runs the dining hall. Along with fresh foods, other who may be trying to enter this industry would also be competing with me. Distribution is very key to my business. I want to locate local producers to purchase good quality and variety of food, that way my prices for the meal plan will remain the same price. Using local producers will help keep costs low. My business organization would include around 100 employees, with jobs such as: managers, servers, chefs, distributors and janitors.

Three Minor Elements
1) My most important resource are my connections in the food industry. Knowing local producers will definitely help make my opportunity come to life.

2) I plan on moving to different campuses all over the country who's students are also dissatisfied with their meal plan. After this, maybe even creating a buffet style restaurant if my meal plan idea become successful.

3) In 5 years I plan on being close to selling my venture concept, after reaching out to many different universities all over the United States. As an entrepreneur in a decade, I want to be involved in other businesses and hope to create multiple successful businesses.

Summary

I learned from my feedback that everyone is supportive of my idea. A lot of students are dissatisfied with the meal plan and some even shared stories of bad times they have had from the food in the dining hall. I changed my venture concept only slightly, including the needed change in service from what some students have said, and from my experience today in the dining hall. 

Going for Google Gold

1) The best way to increase search engine optimization is to make your blog look nice and also use good labels that will increase the chance of someone stumbling upon the post on a search engine. I tried to post my blog on many different websites so that way my blog will get more attention, along with this posting it with every comment helped increase traffic for my blog.

2) I used the key word entrepreneurship for some of my posts. I did not really think of using other keywords to help out my posts

3) I used social media to share my blog posts. This method helps because I am basically promoting my own blog to my current followers or audience. This is probably the best method because they are able to see what I am doing and be more involved in my life.

4) My post titled bug list received the most interaction. I'm not really sure why because I did not really use SEO for this post. Maybe the title interested people more than other posts.

5) I did not make the first page of google results with my key words and unfortunately I couldn't find it on any pages.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1) What was surprising to me in the reading was table 3.2 about the Sources of and Solutions to Obstacles in Corporate Innovation. I thought this table was very interesting and definitely helpful in solving certain problems in businesses.

2) The different types of innovation in the reading were confusing to me. Kuratko could have done a better job explaining them by giving examples of the types of innovation, like radical and incremental innovation.

3) What is the most important topic for management to master when running a business?
    What makes an I-Team more effective?

4) I did not find anything in this reading that I disagreed with Kuratko on.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

1) My impression of this interview definitely surprised me as I forgot what questions I asked. Looking at it reminded me of all of the things I have learned over the course of the semester.

2) Questions for Gary Brashear:

Q: How did you start your business?
A: I started my business back in 1970 when I noticed the need for a middle man in large machinery parts. I first bought in bulk many different parts and offered to sell them to larger companies like Caterpillar.

Q: Was there ever a time where you felt like quitting?
A: Yes there has always been times where I felt like quitting, when I wasn't making enough money and sometimes even losing money. I always just kept being persistent and hoping for a better tomorrow.

Q: Do you ever wish your business outcome was different?
A: No, I believe my business has been successful, and I am happy that I can give work for my family as well.

3) I am definitely more comfortable interviewing people and talking about entrepreneurship after this course. Gary did think I was more knowledgable and asked more important questions about entrepreneurship than before.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1) What really surprised me from this reading were the many different checklists, steps, and methods used for analyzing and valuing a business. I assumed there would need to be a lot of things to look over but I did not know how in depth these things are. The tables provided in this chapter are definitely useful for future entrepreneurs and anyone in the business industry.

2) I thought the chapter in Antidilution Protection was confusing. Kuratko never really explained what it is and only talked about forms of it which never really tied into the subject.

3) What is the most important in giving business a value?
     What is the most important when buying a venture?

4) I disagree with the global perspective on page 525, I think that the valuation of Africa and Brazil are not rising at the rate that Kuratko discusses in this section. The 3rd world countries are just not performing that well to say that in my opinion.

Celebrating Failure

1) This semester I failed at getting involved more on campus. Leaving high school I was involved in anything you could think of: NHS, Science NHS, even the competitive weightlifting club. Coming into the University of Florida I had no idea what challenges I would face. Even with a strong 3.92 GPA and all of my extra-curricular activities from high school, it has been a challenge to get involved in clubs/organizations other than my Fraternity. I tried to become involved in the entrepreneurship club and that didn't work out, along with the gators of tomorrow leadership organization.

2) I learned that I am going to have to work harder at what I really want. While I don't believe I have slacked that much, I still have room to improve and become more involved.

3) Emotionally last semester I handled failure terribly; I wanted to drop out and go home or transfer to a different school. But I couldn't be blamed because leaving my high school seen as such a success, and then coming to a massive university like UF portrayed me as a failure because of my lack of involvement. From the readings in this class I have learned that most entrepreneurs deal with failure, and not all businesses are successful. This is a very useful tool in life because instead of handling failure badly, we should learn from them so in the future we do not make the same mistakes.

 

My Exit Strategy

I plan on spreading my business idea throughout the country onto every university possible. Once I feel that this has been done, I believe the value of my company will be significant enough for me to sell and enjoy and rest of my life with the money from the company. I chose this strategy because selling once I have reached maximum expansion, the company value will eventually start to either plateau or fall unless more expansion to other countries occurs. I believe running a company through multiple countries would be too much effort and not enough return, so if an investor is interested in doing so they still could with my business. My exit strategy influence my decisions of not expanding to out of the country and doing more than I can handle. There is no point in working ridiculously hard on my business since I am not passing it on to a family member or anything like that.

Whats Next?

1) After interviewing these three customers, I found that in the existing market there is still a need that my venture concept hasn't met. Some customers wanted fresher food, and also complained about the variety of the food as well. Along with this, some complained about the way the food is prepared.

The complaints of the existing market have been met with my current venture concept. Interviewing this existing market is definitely helpful in growing and planning for what is next for my business.

2) The new market I targeted was students who currently do not have a meal plan. When asking those customers what they want out of a meal plan, I gained a lot of ideas that could help my business. Some wanted delivery and also wanted to be able to order their food.

These students who do not have a meal plan were asking for things that were not exactly feasible. The idea of ordering food beforehand might be an option we can adjust to. I feel that if more people were requesting this type of service then it might be a good way to get this new market of people interested more in my business.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) What stood out to me the most in this reading was the lack of strategic planning section. This section really helped me learn about the different ways entrepreneurs think and how that type of thinking limits their ability to strategically plan. Strategically planning is a key factor in starting up a business and business owners must plan for the future in order to keep their business afloat.

2) The Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix Model was confusing to me from the reading. The concept of low-innovation and high-risk to me makes sense but I do not see why anyone would attempt to have low innovation or would want to invest in that.

3) What is the number 1 cause for lack of strategic planning?

    What can business owners do to successfully strategic plan?

    How can an owner or investors know if a business is growing?

4) The only thing confusing from the reading that I disagree with would be the matrix that I discussed earlier in this post.

Venture Concept No. 1

The opportunity I have found is in regards to the meal plans not only here at the University of Florida, but at all universities, colleges or even high schools who's students are unhappy with the food they are being served. Changes in our society and environment include an increasing standard of living. Many students at prestigious universities are very used to their parents' homemade cooking or eating out at a restaurant. Students want better food and especially for the price they are currently paying. This market is focused mainly on students aged 18-24 who live on college campuses or near college campuses. The need is food and these students want better food than they are being served in the dining halls. The price they pay and the amount of students who pay it show that there will always be students who need or want dining hall food. Along with this, not all students know how to cook for themselves, and might not be able to afford going out to eat everyday. This opportunity is very big because it can be expanded to other universities across the country. This window of opportunity will be available until someone, like myself, recognizes this opportunity and the complaints of students and takes action into creating a better meal plan for students to enjoy.

Currently, the meal plan provided at the University of Florida for 7-day unlimited access is $2235. This is overpriced and definitely not fair for students and parent's of students to be paying because of the many complaints of quality and variety that I have received from interviewing. However, I do not plan on changing this price. The need for a meal plan will always be there, but the quality and variety of the food can be changed. Therefore, I want to make the quality and variety of the food better by gaining strong connections with local producers who can provide the food at a cheaper cost. I plan on expanding this to other universities and schools in order to expand my business idea and possibly may create a buffet style restaurant for non-students to eat at if it is a success. Along with changing the variety and quality of the food, I plan on hiring new staff members in order to fix the complaints that students have had with the service.

Students would be very enticed when offered better quality and variety of food at the same price they are already paying. Given the complaints of the students when interviewing, I have no problem in saying and believing this. Getting the students to switch would not be that hard because it is something that many students need, but getting the university to switch over to my company and idea might be a challenge. The competitors are current food companies who are running the dining halls now, such as fresh food company. Their weakness is that the students they are serving are not satisfied with the quality and variety of the food, and especially for the price they are paying. Distribution of food plays a big part in my business concept, the food would need to be taken care of with refrigeration when transported from farm to dining hall. Customer service will play a part to answer the questions of students or parents and also respond to any complaints or ideas to make my opportunity better. For my product, I will need to employ managers, chefs, servers, distributors and customer service representatives. Managers will be in charge of running the dining hall and checking the food quality, every other job is self explanatory. Only about 150 employees will be needed for all of the jobs offered.

My most important resource would be connections for this venture. Without the connections to farmers and distributors, there is no way possible that my venture will make money and become successful. Having good connections in the food industry will make my business more successful than others'. What's next for my venture is to expand to other schools. This is the easiest way to expand my company if I am successful at stage 1 here at UF. In the next decade I hope to learn from the mistakes I made, provide better quality and variety of food to millions of students across the country and hope to have created a successful business.

Amazon Whisperer

Revenue Drivers: Since my audience is targeting only college students who use a meal plan, the different types of meal plans my company will offer is the only revenue driver I have.

Whats Next: The next product that customers would want that I could think of would be a buffet style restaurant that could have the same food as my on campus locations. Doing this will expand my companies consumer base by reaching out to people of all ages, not just college students.

Amazon: There is no such product as to a buffet restaurant that can be found on Amazon.

I think this product will be good because it allows me to expand to new customers that aren't college students. These customers might enjoy the food and help make the business grow by telling their friends and family about it as well.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) The thing that surprised me the most about Akula's article is the story of Saryamma and how she went from being in poverty to a lower middle class citizen by just taking out a $200 loan. With the loan she was able to start her own business of selling milk because she bought a buffalo. This story really illustrates the importance of microfinance companies.

2) The only thing confusing to me was if most people payed back their loans. I know in very poor countries, some people may not have made any money, or just used the money on other things and couldn't repay. I still wonder what happens if that occurs, because Akula never really went in to depth about that.

3) What happens if a person can't repay their loan?
    How much does your company make on one of these cheap loans?

4) I did not find anything I disagreed with in this article.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1) What surprised me most about the reading is when Pisano talks about how new innovations have had little to do with new technology. He emphasized companies like Netflix, Amazon and Uber who have all been very innovative without the need or use of new technology. I never thought about how these companies actually keep growing, and they do that by using innovation rather than having new technology.

2) I was confused on the part where Pisano talks about how innovation doesn't create value. I believe that it does create value because as he talked about the companies I listed above, they all gained value and profit from their respective innovations.

3) What is more effective in creating a business: New technology or new innovations?
    Which company in the past decade has had the most successful innovation?

4) I have to disagree with what Pisano said about innovation not creating value.

My Unfair Advantage

1) Education - having education is valuable in order to understand the business aspects and also have common sense in life. Education today isn't that rare, but having a college education sets me apart from those who do not have one. This resource is inimitable, as some people may not have the drive or money to gain a college education. No other resource can provide the same benefits as an education.
2) Liquid Capital - Having money is always valuable in starting a business. It's not rare to have money to start up a business, but it is rare to have a lot of money. Some people might not have enough money to start up a business so having money makes it inimitable. No other resource can provide the same benefit as money can.
3) Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity networking - networking in any way is useful in order to keep a business going. Having this type of networking is rare, not everyone is involved in it and it gives me an advantage and connections that may be useful. This is very inimitable, only those who are a brother of Pi Kappa Alpha have this networking. This networking can be substitutable sort of.
4) University of Florida networking - This resource is very valuable, many alumni of UF are open to helping other alumni as well. This resource is rare, not everyone has graduated from UF. It is inimitable because UF is a tough school to get into. It is substitutable for other institutions, but not many have the same connections as UF students do.
5) Good credit score - Having a good credit score is valuable because I will be able to take out loans for my business if needed. It is rare to have good credit, some people mess up their credit. It isn't hard to keep good credit so it is not very inimitable. Only having a lot of money can substitute having good credit.
6) Efficient in Microsoft office software - Being able to use programs such as word, powerpoint and excel are very useful in the business world. It is not very rare to be efficient in these things, as many people are. It is not very inimitable and the only thing I can think of that can substitute this is being efficient in a different program that does the same thing.
7) Industry connections - Having connections in the industry is very valuable because I can ask for help if needed. It is very rare to have connections in an industry, not everyone can say that. It is very inimitable to have connections in an industry and it is non-substitutable.
8) Motivation - Having motivation is key to running a successful business. If a person does not have motivation, they will not do well. I'm not quite sure if it is rare or inimitable to have motivation, but it is definitely non-substitutable.
9) Planning ahead skills - Being able to plan ahead for the future is valuable in order to keep a business running. It is rare to be able to see and think ahead about the possibilities of a business, I usually overthink everything that way I know all outcomes possible. It is inimitable to have planning ahead skills and is non-substitutable.
10) Experience - It is extremely valuable to have experience, as it gives a person a starting path into the business world. It is not that rare to have experience and is no inimitable. But nothing can substitute experience.

From this list, I have determined that having an education is the most important resource when starting a business. It is more important because having an education can help lead to other important resources, such as connections and gaining money.

Growing My Social Capital

Domain Expert:
1) Andres Gutierrez is currently an area manager at Chipotle in West Palm Beach and has worked in the food industry as a manager for almost a decade.

2) He fills the domain expert spot because Gutierrez understands how to manage the food industry with his experience. He also knows who to contact in regards to getting local food.

3) I found Gutierrez on LinkedIn and was able to contact him over the social media website.

4) I asked Gutierrez on his role in being a manager and tips on how to be successful in the food industry. He was very helpful in explaining how to properly contact food sources and keep good relations with them. In return, I told him I would keep in contact and try to give him any tips that I have learned.

5) Adding Gutierrez to my network helps me exploit my opportunity because I now have someone to ask question to that is in the same industry as my idea.

Market Expert:
1) Ron Umpleby is a store manager for Publix in Gainesville, Florida

2) I'm not really sure about this spot but I feel Umpleby fills this spot because he is the one managing the food for the store and making sure everything is operating smoothly.

3) I found Umplyby on LinkedIn and contacted him over the social media website.

4) Umpleby gave me tips on purchasing food and how to get the best prices for purchasing food. This will really help in my opportunity, that way I will be able to go through with offering good quality food at the same price. In return, I told him that in the future if my opportunity goes through I will share anything I have learned.

5) Adding Umpleby to my network gives me connection to someone who is well experienced with food at the larger retail level. He is great to connect with in order to gain a better understanding of how purchasing produce works.

Supplier:
1) Jordan Brown is a farmer and the owner of the Family Garden in Gainesville. Brown emphasized in my contact with him in how he believes organic food is much better and is better to prevent cancer.

2) Brown fills the supplier spot because he is an example of someone I could be buying my food from for my opportunity.

3) I found the Brown's company on the Alachua County Farmer's Market website and then sent him an email after finding out his email information.

4) Brown and I talked about the supply market here in Gainesville. He said that the best way to do well in the food industry is buy food in bulk, but make sure you buy the right amount every time so you do not waste any. In return I told him that if my venture goes through, how it goes and the successes and failures of purchasing local food.

5) Having Brown in my contact is very helpful because he is a supplier in my industry. Having a connection and gaining insight on someone from the supplier side of the industry is always helpful in order to have a successful business.

Reflection:
I am not really a big fan of "forced" networking but this exercise really helped me gain a better insight of whether or not this industry is right for me. After networking with three people I now understand the difficulties of the food industry and trying to provide good quality food at the price given. More or less, this activity helped me become stronger in networking by far, which is a good thing to take from this class.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1) What was most surprising and I guess interesting to me from this weeks reading were the balance sheets. I never really understood a balance sheet and was shocked about the amount of different things on them that need to be recorded. It was cool learning and understanding more specifically about them.

2) Everything was very explanatory in this reading but if I were to name one thing confusing to me it would be the capital budgeting. The whole process of capital budgeting just seemed really complicated but if I were to carefully review it I believe I could understand it.

3) 1) What do you think is the most difficult type of budgeting?
    2) What is the preferred payback method?

4) I disagree with Kuratko in his "When Currency Loses Its Global Value" section. He states that "a nations currency is the bedrock on which its wealth is built." I do not think this is the case because I believe a nations government and strength of government is how a nation can continue to grow and become better. While currency may play a role, I disagree with what he has to say.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)

2) Most people agreed with me in saying that the quality of food and variety of food is bad, so I kept that as my target focus. Some gave me comments saying that I should work on focusing on detail in how I am going to change up the food and variety.

3) Because of the feedback, I have decided to change and go more into detail about how I will change the meal plans. Along with this, I decided to question customers about the food and service they are currently receiving to strengthen my pitch.

My Secret Sauce

1. 1) I believe that I am more motivated than the average person

    2) I always strive for perfection and try to make everything the best as it can be

    3) I am usually always on time

    4) I am outgoing and have good social skills

    5) I am smart

2. 1) My friend Charlie agreed with me in how I am smart. He also said that I am a hard worker and work hard in the gym

     

     2) My friend Nick said that I am a hard worker. He also agreed with my in how I am on time on things.

      3) My friend Gary told me how I am a leader and that I carry myself in a way that people look up to me. He also said I know what I want to get done, which is basically me saying I am motivated.

      4) My friend Trevor agreed with me that I am smart. He also said that I speak well in front of others, similar to what Gary had to say.

     5) My friend Ike said I am motivated, just like I did. He also said I am good looking which was also a plus and helps me be outgoing.

3. Me and my friends seem to have the same idea of each other. Some of my friends gave me an idea of being a leader, and others agreed with me being motivated and smart. One of the people I interviewed said I wasn't on time, but I don't necessarily agree with that. I think the people I interviewed were really on point with what they had to say and I agree with what was said. If I could change anything, I would add leadership to my list.

    

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1) The inhibitors to marketing research and the marketing research questions stood out to me the most in this section of reading. The pages stood out to me more because they seemed very useful in trying to gain research in a market and showed different ways like cost and complexity.

2) I found the 10.3 chart on traditional versus entrepreneurial marketing a little confusing. The chart didn't really explain how the two were different, but instead just had descriptions of each base on orientation, context, etc..

3) What is the difference between conventional marketing and entrepreneurial marketing?

    Which is more effective?

4) I did not find anything that I really disagreed with in this chapter.