Week 15 Reading Reflection

Something that surprised me was that the business was attacked for trying to convert people to Christianity. I could see attacking a business for not following religious law (taxing the poor, for example) but not converting people to Christianity.

Something that confused me was what exactly the attackers thought this business was doing to think they were trying to convert people to Christianity.

Two questions I have are 1. Did the owner think about leaving after this attack or 2. Did he consider changing his practice of what was considered conversion to alleviate misunderstandings?

There is nothing I disagreed with the author about.

Final Reflection

1. It was a real struggle coming up with my human capital. I'm not good at bragging about myself. It was also difficult thinking about my next move and exit strategies, because I never thought my idea was going to need to be as fleshed out as it was. It was very frustrating to have so many assignments that required interviews. Being in a place I knew nothing about, I felt it more a risk to try to interview random people. But I was honest in not completing the assignments, then I go to comment on posts and see people with "interviews" that did not seem legitimate. I could have easily faked interviews with people and gotten points. I just chose to have integrity about it. 

2. The actual blogging aspect. I used to have a sports blog a few years back and all the blogging here inspired me to start it back up. The fact that the blogs served not only as a place for assignments, but also a place for commentary, showed me my potential in blogging about things I was actually passionate about: sports.

3. No. I don't see myself as an entrepreneur. I have maybe developed a more business savvy mindset, but I never intended to become an entrepreneur after this class and that hasn't changed.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

4. Make sure they know that they're going to have to interview strangers. I can't stress this enough. If I had known I was going to have to interview people, I would have taken the class while I was in Gainesville where I was in a more comfortable environment and my hours were more flexible so I wasn't having to go interview people after work at 6 at night. I would recommend to keep pushing themselves to be successful. There are a lot of assignments, but if you sit down for an hour or two, you can knock out a lot of them and be worry free for a week or so.

My face once I complete this semester.

Venture Concept No. 2

Part 1
Opportunity

The group of people with an unmet need is those who are looking for a quick, cheap bite to eat, but also want to feel healthy in their choices. Many students, families, or working people tend to forego a meal because they don’t have time, it is too expensive, or they are worried about what they are putting into their bodies. The nature of this need is one out of convenience. No one needs fast food restaurants in general, they want them. The forces for changes in this environment that are creating this opportunity are an increase in health consciousness. There have been many campaigns to fight childhood obesity, which translates to other parts of the family. Many documentaries and ad campaigns have come out to show where fast food is coming from, and now many businesses want to show that they have the best quality food. The market, demographically, is defined from teenagers to parents ages 16-39. Geographically, the market would start in the United States in larger cities that would spread to smaller cities.

Currently, customers are satisfying this need by either ignoring the health concern, or avoiding fast food all together. There is no happy medium currently. I feel they might be slightly more loyal to their current fast food restaurant if they are ignoring the health aspect. However, those who are ignoring fast food all together would be more willing to try a quick, healthy option. I think this opportunity is huge. It really meets two demands of a larger market. I think this window of opportunity will be open for at least 5-7 years. As long as people are still busy and still health conscience, the opportunity will exist.

Innovation

              My idea is incrementally innovative. There is already fast food restaurants in the world, this one would be a modification of that. My idea is a fast food restaurant that offers healthy alternatives to classic establishments. It would use actual food (not substitutes that are used by competitors), and the same cooking methods used at home on a larger scale. It would serve more healthy alternatives at similar prices to busy people with little time and little money. I would be selling an individual saved time, saved money, and less concern over what they were putting in their body.

Venture Concept

              My innovation would perfectly fit into the opportunity mentioned. I feel customers will buy my innovation because it is eliminating the opportunity cost of health concerns. I think customers would switch to my product because 1. The food will taste good and 2. They will know that they are eating healthier food at similar prices. I think initially it will be hard for the customer to switch to my company, but once the word gets out, more customers will start to use the company. My competitors will be the already established fast food restaurants. They have high customer loyalty and have nearly perfected their model. However, they give up health for cost. Many restaurants use food substitutes to keep prices low (using horse meat instead of beef in burgers, for example.) My ingredients would be what my customers expect. If they want a burger, it will be a certified beef burger. This is one of the competitor’s weaknesses. Another weakness is a lot of these restaurants have to follow corporate standards that they can’t really stray from. These standards have been established for years and have no change in sight. My company would start with the healthy standards from the start. We would start out small to where we had more control over our standards and policies that could grow with us if we were to grow to a corporate level.

              My price points are a huge point of my business concept. I want to keep my prices low. I know using higher quality foods would drive costs up, but the benefits would outweigh the costs. The customer experience would also be huge. I would want employees that are also health conscience. They could advise the customers in making food choice decisions (for example, a light meal before/after a workout.)

              The organization would probably start with two cooks, two cashiers, a manager, and a CEO. The CEO and the manager would work together to fill the other needs in employment. The manager would also help in advising for budgeting and expenses for the CEO to consider.

Three Minor Elements

              My most important resource will be my knowledge of normal people wanting to eat healthy. I am not a nutritionist, nor do I want to be. I took Man’s Food for the credit. I don’t like documentaries like Super Size me or Food, Inc. I enjoy a quick meal every now and then. But I know I am getting older, and my metabolism is not what it used to be, and I need to start taking care of my body. So providing customers with little things they can do to work towards a healthier lifestyle would be great is something I value and something my customers are going to see.

              I think the next step for my venture would be to expand my business and exit. I am not interested in going into the food service industry. I thought this would be a good idea so I pursued it, but it’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life. I think what would happen is one of the huge fast food chains would want to buy the business and incorporate a healthier menu into their model. That would be fine with me, so long as they kept to the standards and policies I implemented. It would be cool to see frozen meals in the grocery store from my business (like how taco bell does their taco mix line.) Just seeing the business expand to more people in different capacities would be what I want.

              If we launched tomorrow, in 5 years I would want to be a staunch competitor of the traditional fast food chains. I would be taking buyout offers, but not considering them for another year or two. After this venture, I don’t see myself as an entrepreneur. Maybe I could make enough to buy ownership into an NFL or NBA team. This venture would simply provide me the capital to do so.

Part 2

Some of the feedback I received was mostly from my what's next assignment. I wanted to add a strictly vegetarian menu. It was suggested to me that I integrate it into the normal menu and just differentiate it as vegetarian, or even vegan, with a label. The other feedback I got was concern that I wasn't passionate about my venture. A suggestion I got was to change my idea to something sports related, but I couldn't think of an unmet need in that industry, and I didn't want to change my idea halfway through the class.

Part 3

I didn't really change my venture concept. None of my feedback was revolutionary, and there wasn't a space to include the "What's Next" of the venture.

             

Google Gold

1. I've been adding tags to my post. I always use the Week label, but I also include UFENT and ENT3003. I also used consistent language in assignments that were about my venture.

2. I think my keywords were probably healthy and fast food. I used these in almost every blog post about my venture. My theory was if I used them enough, the consistency would increase mt viewership.

3. I did not use my social media at all. I wasn't trying to use this blog to get exposure, so I didn't want my social media followers to think I was really trying to pursue something.

4. My post with the most views was my Venture Concept No. 1. Honestly I think it's because we were assigned 4 reviews for this assignment. Normally we have 2 or 3 assignments. 

5. No. The results I got were reviews of existing fast food restaurants that are healthier than others. 

Very Short Interview with an Entrepreneur No. 2

This time around, I had a better idea of what the answers would really mean. I know that sounds weird, but before they were just questions. This time I just have a better understanding of everything that goes on.

These are the questions and answers in my interview:

1. What is your best networking/marketing tactic? How do you get your name out?

Word of mouth. I stage houses for realtors. I make sure that the houses are listing ready. Clients are so impressed with the work that when they are ready to sell their next house, they call me back to stage it again.

2. Do you have a social media presence? Why or why not?

No. It's too time consuming.

3. Did you ever or have you considered an exit strategy? Are there other ventures you would like to pursue.

I haven't thought of an exit strategy. I would want to expand my current business instead of trying something new. I've wanted to open a store front, but that hasn't materialized yet. My ultimate dream would be to have a show on HGTV.

We didn't really talk about my progression. He knows that I don't want to pursue entrepreneurship so we talked mostly about him and his ventures. I'm fine talking about entrepreneurship, and I have a better sense of what it is if I were to go into that field, but I didn't ask him for advice. 

Week 14 Reading Reflection

What surprised me about these chapters was that there is such an exodus of bright minds to pursue small business entrepreneurship. One would think a large corporation that facilitates corporate entrepreneurship would be able to pay a bright mind more than he/she would make being a small business entrepreneur.

What confused me was the distrust of  traditional corporate management methods. If companies today aren't using them, why are we learning them?

The two questions I would ask are as follows:
1. If corporations are distrusting traditional management methods, what are they using now? Corporate entrepreneurship isn't a method in itself.
2. How would a company like Southwest Airlines use entrepreneurship? Wouldn't it be more new ideas to help the company run smoother, as opposed to totally new innovations?

Week 13 Reading Reflection

I was surprised there were so many methods to valuing a business. I figured there would be maybe 1 or 2 preferable ways to valuating. I thought valuating would be standard by an accounting standard.

The price/earnings ratio was a little confusing. I'm just a little confused at how it is calculated.

My first question would be how is the price/earning ratio calculated? And my second question would be is the multiple given or is it calculated by a different method?

Celebrating Failure

A time that I failed was outside of this class. I was working at my internship and found out I had been booking some hotels wrong. Basically I was giving the wrong rate to the wrong people and that rate was supposed to be hidden and I wasn't hiding it. When I found out, I was embarrassed, and worried about what would happen going forward (I had only been working there for a few weeks).

Basically, my supervisor took me and the other intern and walked us through making the reservation correctly. She showed us what was going wrong and we learned from it. It showed me to pay more attention to what I was doing. But it also showed me that I was in an environment that facilitated learning from mistakes.

I've always seen failure as a way to make things better. Even when my supervisors have told me I didn't fail, I ask them how I could have handled it better. If I really think I did something right, and I find out I've done it wrong, I'll usually be embarrassed. I try to handle it privately and just think about how I'm going to do it better. I'll usually keep my head down for a little bit just thinking and then I shake it off. If I'm being perfectly honest, my perspective hasn't changed in regards to failure. I won't look at risks more or less than I did previously. 

My Exit Strategy

My exit strategy would be to sell my business in the next 5-7 years for a large return. I would want to make sure that the business had grown into a worthy competitor of fast food chains before selling. I would sell it to a competitor under the terms that 1. They are trying to expand their menu to include healthier options and 2. That they kept my policies and procedures for providing healthier food. 

I chose this exit strategy because I am not passionate about my venture. I see an unmet need, and I thought of a way to fill it, but I don't want my life's work to be starting a healthy fast food restaurant. 

It definitely affected how I made decisions. I didn't think too much into the future with expansion and new ideas because I knew I would not want to do this forever. I didn't put my all into this idea as far as looking for potential funding or thinking of ways to be extremely competitive. 

Venture Concept 1

Opportunity

The group of people with an unmet need is those who are looking for a quick, cheap bite to eat, but also want to feel healthy in their choices. Many students, families, or working people tend to forego a meal because they don’t have time, it is too expensive, or they are worried about what they are putting into their bodies. The nature of this need is one out of convenience. No one needs fast food restaurants in general, they want them. The forces for changes in this environment that are creating this opportunity are an increase in health consciousness. There have been many campaigns to fight childhood obesity, which translates to other parts of the family. Many documentaries and ad campaigns have come out to show where fast food is coming from, and now many businesses want to show that they have the best quality food. The market, demographically, is defined from teenagers to parents ages 16-39. Geographically, the market would start in the United States in larger cities that would spread to smaller cities.

Currently, customers are satisfying this need by either ignoring the health concern, or avoiding fast food all together. There is no happy medium currently. I feel they might be slightly more loyal to their current fast food restaurant if they are ignoring the health aspect. However, those who are ignoring fast food all together would be more willing to try a quick, healthy option. I think this opportunity is huge. It really meets two demands of a larger market. I think this window of opportunity will be open for at least 5-7 years. As long as people are still busy and still health conscience, the opportunity will exist.

Innovation

              My idea is incrementally innovative. There is already fast food restaurants in the world, this one would be a modification of that. My idea is a fast food restaurant that offers healthy alternatives to classic establishments. It would use actual food (not substitutes that are used by competitors), and the same cooking methods used at home on a larger scale. It would serve more healthy alternatives at similar prices to busy people with little time and little money. I would be selling an individual saved time, saved money, and less concern over what they were putting in their body.

Venture Concept

              My innovation would perfectly fit into the opportunity mentioned. I feel customers will buy my innovation because it is eliminating the opportunity cost of health concerns. I think customers would switch to my product because 1. The food will taste good and 2. They will know that they are eating healthier food at similar prices. I think initially it will be hard for the customer to switch to my company, but once the word gets out, more customers will start to use the company. My competitors will be the already established fast food restaurants. They have high customer loyalty and have nearly perfected their model. However, they give up health for cost. Many restaurants use food substitutes to keep prices low (using horse meat instead of beef in burgers, for example.) My ingredients would be what my customers expect. If they want a burger, it will be a certified beef burger. This is one of the competitor’s weaknesses. Another weakness is a lot of these restaurants have to follow corporate standards that they can’t really stray from. These standards have been established for years and have no change in sight. My company would start with the healthy standards from the start. We would start out small to where we had more control over our standards and policies that could grow with us if we were to grow to a corporate level.

              My price points are a huge point of my business concept. I want to keep my prices low. I know using higher quality foods would drive costs up, but the benefits would outweigh the costs. The customer experience would also be huge. I would want employees that are also health conscience. They could advise the customers in making food choice decisions (for example, a light meal before/after a workout.)

              The organization would probably start with two cooks, two cashiers, a manager, and a CEO. The CEO and the manager would work together to fill the other needs in employment. The manager would also help in advising for budgeting and expenses for the CEO to consider.

Three Minor Elements

              My most important resource will be my knowledge of normal people wanting to eat healthy. I am not a nutritionist, nor do I want to be. I took Man’s Food for the credit. I don’t like documentaries like Super Size me or Food, Inc. I enjoy a quick meal every now and then. But I know I am getting older, and my metabolism is not what it used to be, and I need to start taking care of my body. So providing customers with little things they can do to work towards a healthier lifestyle would be great is something I value and something my customers are going to see.

              I think the next step for my venture would be to expand my business and exit. I am not interested in going into the food service industry. I thought this would be a good idea so I pursued it, but it’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life. I think what would happen is one of the huge fast food chains would want to buy the business and incorporate a healthier menu into their model. That would be fine with me, so long as they kept to the standards and policies I implemented. It would be cool to see frozen meals in the grocery store from my business (like how taco bell does their taco mix line.) Just seeing the business expand to more people in different capacities would be what I want.

              If we launched tomorrow, in 5 years I would want to be a staunch competitor of the traditional fast food chains. I would be taking buyout offers, but not considering them for another year or two. After this venture, I don’t see myself as an entrepreneur. Maybe I could make enough to buy ownership into an NFL or NBA team. This venture would simply provide me the capital to do so.

              

The Amazon Whisperer

My revenue drivers will be my customers that come to my restaurant in search of quick, healthy food. It will also be the real food I use. Although it will not be organic, it will be healthy and keep costs down.

I think the next thing customers will want will be a vegetarian menu. Right now, I haven't focused on that. I've focused more on healthier alternatives to what is already offered at classic fast food restaurants.

I think it will bring in another market niche. It won't increase switching costs. In fact, I think it will decrease them. It will improve the customer experience by offering more variety to the existing menu. It would foster customer loyalty by having none-vegetarians bringing their vegetarian friends and having a place for the group to eat.

Amazon doesn't offer restaurants yet. The best thing I know of would be the Amazon pantry option. It's used to deliver food to people in certain areas, but the customer still has to wait for the delivery and cook the food, which is besides the point of my business.

Because there is not a product similar to mine, there were not customer reviews to look at or modifications to suggest.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

I was confused by how the author said "don't use someone else's system, but don't be afraid to learn from their system, but know it won't work for you." Of course no one's system for any operation will work across the board, but businesses still take that system and modify it. So I think it would have been better for the author to say that no system works for everyone, but take an existing system and make it work for you.

Two questions I would have for the author would be "Doesn't having a strategy facilitate execution?" and if companies struggle so much with innovation systems, why do we have so many innovating companies?"

I disagree that the author thinks there is a difference between a failure to execute and not having an innovation strategy. I think without a strategy, it is difficult to execute, but I think having a strategy helps facilitate execution.

My Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Responsibility-This is a very valuable resource. People like knowing they can trust someone. While it might not be the most rare, there are only a certain number of people that have this. It can not be imitated. You have the attribute or you don't, which makes it impossible to substitute as well.
2. Loyalty-Again, very valuable, as people like to know someone is on their side. It can be rare, not imitated, and cannot be substituted
3. Honest-Always valuable, not as rare as the others. Cannot be imitated, and cannot be substituted.
4. Use of non-organic food-People might see this as a weakness, but it is actually my secret weapon. There are not many differences in organic and non-organic food as far as health,  just price. This is rare knowledge, as many people think organic food is the new frontier. However, it will be what keeps my prices low. I think this is very valuable and rare. It can be imitated, however the only way to substitute it is to spend more.
5. Work ethic-I am very determined to find the best options possible. This very valuable, can be rare, cannot be imitated or substituted.
6. Contacts-I know people in the food service industry that can help me with starting a food business. This is very valuable, not really rare, but it cannot be imitated. However it can be substituted. 
7. Leadership-This is very valuable and rare. In theory it can be imitated, but not substituted
8. Sociable-I'll always have a smile on my face. This is very valuable, but it is not rare, can be imitated, and can be substituted
9. Market-I have a huge market for my product. This is extremely valuable, rare, cannot be imitated, and cannot be substituted.
10. Support-This is hugely valuable, cannot be imitated, is rare, and cannot be substituded

I think my most valuable resource is that I'm not going to use organic food and keep my prices down. Organic is not the definition of healthy and I will show that in my business.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

I was surprised how much I knew in this chapter! I've taken a few accounting classes and macro/micro, so this made so much sense! It really tied in the math part of business, which I really enjoy.

This isn't so much confusion as much as curiosity. Would an entrepreneur be more likely to have his/her own accounting background or would they partner with an accountant or accounting firm? Which statement would be the best to give to potential investors?

I don't know how many investments an entrepreneur would be making for a capital budget. I understand the initial investments, but if an entrepreneur is only there to start the company and exit, why are they making significant investments?

Elevator Pitch #3

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

The feedback I got was to expand my audience, as my company could be attractive to people other than mothers with busy children.

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

I focused less on the health aspect and more on the quickness. I wanted to shift my target from concerned mothers to people with time constraints. I also explained how I would keep prices low by ignoring the organic label. Food is not automatically healthy because it has an organic label, and it is not automatically unhealthy if it lacks an organic label. I explained that in my pitch

Week 9 Reading Reflection

I was surprised that secondary information needed to be gathered before primary information. That's usually against the grain.

Something that was confusing to me was what is the definition of "current." The reading indicated that to be successful, a company needed current information. Is this information gathered in the past year? Past 6 months?

Two questions I would ask would be does collecting secondary information allow for the collection of more precise primary information? The second question would be is it possible to have to-the-day market research. As in updating the market research every day to make sure the information is as current as possible?

My Secret Sauce

1. The five ways I have human capital is as follows:

• I'm responsible. It bothers me if I go to bed with something undone. I try to go above and beyond to accomplish tasks.
• I have a strong work ethic. I've always wanted to earn what I have. If I wanted to play volleyball, I had to work hard to make the team, even if I wasn't the most athletic
• I'm compassionate. I try to make sure everyone feels cared about and taken care of. I make myself available to my friends in what they like to call "Sarah-py"
• I have really good interpersonal skills. I want the other people in the room to know that I am listening to them and that their thoughts and concerns are heard.
• I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong or seek the help of others. I know my limits. Although I push myself, I want to make sure I'm pushing right.

2. I just need to post a disclaimer before I talk about my interviews. First, I had to record my phone calls, as I am in Miami and the 5 people that know me best are in Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Pensacola. Second, I'm not used to asking for praise. I don't call my family and ask them what makes me great. Yes they tell me when I need to hear it, but they keep me humble. Third, because I'm not used to asking for praise, it was very interesting hearing what they had to say. We are not a family of lists. We don't list qualities about each other, so these interviews were very out of character, which is why you see me holding back laughter often. 

I did prep my interviewees before I actually started recording. I told them the premise of the interview and gave some examples of human capital. 

I'm not sure which video corresponds to which interview so I will summarize them here.

Dad: The points my dad raised that stuck with me were that I was insecure, but I acted like I knew more than anyone. I agree with half of that statement. I do find myself insecure at some times, but I am able to hide it well.

Mama: The biggest attribute I got from my interview with my mom was that I take responsibility for my mistakes and I try to correct them. I find myself doing this. I think it goes along with my general responsibility. 

Tia: Tia's perspective was interesting. She is the only interviewee that isn't related to me. She is my sorority little. She talked about my humor and my communication skills. These are things I pride myself on and it was nice to hear that others agreed.

Tiff: Tiff is my older sister. We don't usually talk about "serious" topics. So to hear her say I was a leader meant a lot to me. 

Allan: Allan is my younger brother. I wanted to interview him to get a perspective of someone who didn't necessarily know what a business environment was. He wanted a little prep time. I loved how he presented what he thought made me different. They were similar attributes that all the others had said, but he felt the need to add examples of times I exemplified these attributes. What I found funny was the examples he gave were very loosely related to the attributes. But I appreciated the effort he gave to make sure I got my assignment done. 

3. Everything my friends and family said I agree with. They just said more. I've found it very difficult to find positive attributes about my self. I like to say I'm a modest person. But the 5 people that know me best were able to show me things about myself that I knew were true, I had just never thought about them.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. I am Sarah. My talents include athletic ability, and I like to think I'm funny. I use my humor to enhance my interpersonal skills. I want to work in the professional sports industry. I'd love to be in the back office of the New England Patriots. My business concept would definitely be something I started and walked away from. I don't want to work in the food service industry, or restaurant business. 

2. I am offering customers a healthy alternative to fast foods. Many people find themselves short for time and have to settle for unhealthy fast food. 

3. I want to offer this product to a range of customers. Primarily, I want to offer this product to busy mothers with active children and college students that look for quick bites between classes or studying. Both groups have very serious time constraints, and both will get hungry eventually. 

4. I think my customers and target demographic will be concerned with their health and what they put in their bodies. They will also be aware of the time they have available and the effect on them financially. In my experience, when college students have exams and they're studying for hours on end, they elect to eat something fast, cheap, and usually unhealthy. Same for parents with busy children.

5. I have healthy cheap food. Studies show that organic food and non organic food are essentially the same in health benefits, which is unfortunate because food labelled "organic" tends to cost twice as much in the grocery store. My plan would be to use normal food, not processed like fast food. We would also use better cooking techniques, such as actual grilling of food. 

I think all of my elements can work together. My biggest issue will be keeping costs down to provide price-comparable products to customers. 

There was only one real point in my comments that was to explain how I would keep costs down. I addressed that in the why do they care section. In previous assignments, I had also been advised to expand my demographic as well to include college students, so I did that.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

I was surprised by how much money can come from an owner and their friends or family. The thought of myself coming up with $10,000-$100,000 is surreal. It's an operation to make sure I budget well enough for groceries and rent. Then $20,000-$250,000 from friends and family is also mind boggling. I don't think I know enough people to contribute that amount of money to me. 

The angel aspect is confusing to me. Are angels just really rich people that want to give back to businesses. The first points of the angel section really confused me. Is it giving "available" stats of angel contributions. 

Two questions I would ask would be are the stats in the angel section accurate? How much financing actually comes from "angels? The second question would be are angels the same as philanthropists? If there is a difference, what differentiates them?

I don't think the author was wrong in the chapter. I didn't disagree with any points. 

Half Way Reflection

1. A skill I have worked on since being in this class is recording myself and talking to people I don't know. I don't like to record myself unless I've "put myself together" and sometimes that's a little difficult to do. I am very uncomfortable walking up to people and talking to them. That is definitely something a student needs to know they will have to do up front.

2. I don't know if we're supposed to talk about giving up in the class or giving up in our day to day lives. I'm not really one to quit, and I'm really not one to quit in my classes. I guess a time in my day to day life would have been my senior year of high school when I was playing volleyball. My coach rarely played me, but she never told me why or told me in advance that I would not be playing. When I asked her what I could do, I tried to work on her advice. I still went to practice and ran every lap the team had earned by mistakes in the game prior. And even though I thought about how I hadn't done anything to have to run the laps or there was no reason why I should be yelled at by my coach, I still kept coming back. I went back and forth with my parents about the emotional stress this was putting on me. But I pushed through it because I had made great friends on the team and I always wanted my coach to remember that I stayed. I want her to remember that I persevered. And I wanted to remember that I fought through it.  

3. Make sure you're ready to step out of your comfort zone. This class will push you to do things you didn't know you were uncomfortable with until you were assigned them . However, the activities will make you think of yourself differently and give you a confidence you didn't know you had. Just believe in yourself and you will do just fine. 

Week 7 Reading Reflection

There were a few surprises for me in this article. First, I wasn't aware that market segmentation had begun so "long" ago. I think it is amazing that we are still innovating a concept developed in the 1960s. Most concepts from 50 years ago have been about as refined as they can. The second surprising aspect was how basic market segmentation was in the beginning. To advertise to a particular market then involved putting a person that looked like people in the market. To see the advancement of advertising techniques alone is pretty spectacular. 

Something that was confusing to me was the laboratory simulation. How does the company doing the simulation take the individual responses and make it into one generalized product. The dog food example targets a specific group, but if there was a product aimed at attracting men and women or people of different race, how would the results be generalized? That would be my first question. My second question would be what was the research that indicated putting a model of the target market segment would work? How did the company know to do this in a world of changing buying behaviors?

I don't think the author was wrong about anything. I don't know enough about marketing and market segments to disagree with him. 

Elevator Pitch #2

I got a lot of positive feedback from my last pitch, which was unexpected. I don't see myself as confident, and I really didn't know what I was doing so I was waiting for constructive feedback to have a better take 2. One comment did tell me to focus more on HealthKick, like what kind of experience the customers would have, and less on the hook and the problem. I also had feedback asking for how I would cut costs and compete with fast food chains. Personally, I thought those questions were more for follow up from investors, so I didn't include it in my pitch.

I did shorten my hook and blended it in the problem more smoothly. I focused on what experience the customer would have at HealthKick, including the staff being as passionate about health as they were. I think this adds a motivation factor. The same kind of motivation from a gym or sports team, where you are surrounded by people who are as passionate about the activity as you are. I think I was able to be more concise with my pitch, leaving room for follow up questions and peeking interest. 

Week 6 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise to me in this article was that even though there were 5 competitive forces, 4 of them revolved around one; rivalry with other competitors. It seems to me the author is trying to say that rivalry is the focal point of all competition, which in a way makes sense, but at the same time does not sit right with me. This is probably something I would disagree with the author about. but purely on phrasing. The phrase "rivalry among existing competitors" sounds brutal, I guess. I know it is synonymous with competitive advantage, but Porter is making companies look like the last man standing. In a sense, I understand that, but one would like to believe that companies' number 1 priority would be to serve their customers with the best product or service in the industry. That would be a question I would ask: Is there a better way to phrase or define "rivalry among existing competitors." A part that was confusing to me was when Porter wrote that different forces might carry more weight among different industries, as in the photographic film example. So my second question to Porter would be: why depict rivalry as the center force, when in some instances, it isn't. Why not make a chart that showed the factors carrying equal weight and then explain that different forces are more or less influential in different industries.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You-I'm Sarah Tucker. I like to think I'm funny. I throw a nice spiral. Once I get over the initial anxiety of talking to someone, I am very approachable and easy to talk to. I'm a good listener and I think I give good advice. I take pride in knowing when I don't know something. I've been told I have an old soul, which is my biggest ally at some points, and my worst enemies at  others.

2. What are you offering to customers-I am offering a "fast food" restaurant that serve healthy entrees at similar prices.

3. Who are you offering it to-Basically anyone who eats fast food. Specifically mothers of children heavily involved with extracurricular activities that don't have much time to sit down for a healthy meal.

4. Why do they care-In this day and age, many people, especially parents, are obsessed with their health. The news is always covering the latest disease outbreak. There's always a new weight loss plan or supplement on the market. Parents want the best for their children, but understand that in life there have to be compromises. But if there was a way to eliminate the compromise, I think parents would take it.

5. What are your core competencies-There hasn't been a healthy fast food restaurant on the market. I grew up knowing I had to eat fast between school and band and swim practice. I also didn't grow up eating healthy food when I had the opportunity. I think that sets me apart from other people. I didn't know what healthy foods were growing up, so I have the same eating habits now. It is not uncommon for me to go to Taco Bell or McDonald's for a quick bite. I know the schedule and habits of busy families, so I know how to fit my product into their lives.


I truly believe that these elements mesh together fairly well. The only weakness would be with myself. I'm not good at asking people for things or help, so it would be difficult for me to pitch to investors. However, I have used my humor in the past and it has been successful. I'm pretty good at seeing the flaws in an idea, and I don't see a flaw in these aspects.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

What surprised me most in this chapter was the complexity of diving into a new venture. I obviously knew that new ventures were difficult, but I didn't expect them to be so complex. Recently, so many new and unique ventures have come out that, if one is dedicated enough, make start ups seem simple. One of the questions I would ask the author is are all of the new start ups a testament to the intelligence and perseverance of the founder, or is it an ignorance that will later cause the venture to fail. Something that was confusing to me was how exactly do entrepreneurs determine how much capital is needed? I'm sure there isn't a end-all be-all formula, but my second question to the author would be is there a guide to help the entrepreneur get on the right path? Seeing as I have no knowledge of venture failures, I can't say I disagree with the author in this chapter.

Elevator Pitch #1

The opportunity I chose was one I came up with in my World's Biggest Problems assignment. I decided to attack the correlation between fast food and obesity. The solution I went with was the one I suggested in the same assignment. I decided to go with a restaurant that served healthy alternatives to fast food chains, with the same price and speed that attracts customers. I decided to call it Health Kick. I'm not quite sure why, I just thought it sounded like a good name for a good business.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this chapter were the processes and models in put place to ensure that corporate entrepreneurship is successful. With that said, the explanation of the models were a little confusing to me. The steps were clear, but how the corporations implement them were confusing to me. If I could ask the author two questions, they would be: 1. What are some examples of corporations that successfully transformed from the old paradigms of classic corporations to entrepreneurial corporations and 2. Do those corporations follow a specific model or did they take a different course, and if they did what was that course? I didn't disagree with the author on specific items, I just wondered if a majority of corporations are switching to an entrepreneurship model. From the outside, it seems like only a few corporations are switching to the entrepreneurial model.

Top 5 World Problems

Most Serious Problems

1. Access to clean water

2. Housing

3. Access to education

4. Access to technology

5. Access to information (news)

Reasoning: The problems I chose seem to have domino effects that can help solve other problems. For example, once a population has access to clean water and housing, they can have a healthy, safe foundation to start earning an education. After the gain their education, they can apply the education to technology and start absorbing information to change the world around them.

Most Implementable Solutions

1. A restaurant chain that offered healthy, cost effective alternatives to fast food.

2. A travel agency that offered student/young adults discounts

3. Drivers education courses that teach students to drive with distractions

4. A news company that presented only the facts from a story

5. Private rehabilitation centers accepting wider varieties of health insurance

Reasoning: All of the solutions required capital and other resources. I chose my order of solutions based on the barriers each solution would face (capital, resources, policies, etc.) I chose my top solution because I felt it was very easy to enter the restaurant industry over creating relationships with airlines, changing curriculum, creating the reputation for a news company, or changing government policy to have rehabilitation centers accepting more health insurance.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this reading was how honest the author was with describing some of the downsides of trying to be an entrepreneur. He went past the basic possibility of failure, and described some of the psychological tolls failure can have. He went on to describe how those psychological tolls could present themselves in entrepreneurs. A source of confusion for me were some of the descriptions of the sources of research on entrepreneurs. I didn't understand how proceedings of conferences and some other sources were actually sources of research. They seemed like records of activities entrepreneurs engage in. Some of the activities are ones that other business people could engage it, not strictly entrepreneurs. Two questions I would ask the author would be 1. Did he personally experience any psychological tolls in his experience of entrepreneurship and 2. What source of research has he found most helpful in writing the textbook. For this particular chapter, I don't know enough about the topic to agree or disagree with the author. I would only question the validity of some of the sources of research the author provided.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. 1.4M to calm Portofino traffic woes
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/beaches/2016/01/21/14m-calm-traffic-portofino/79001504/

This story was about Escambia county planning on spending money to slow down traffic in front of a popular beach resort. There isn't much around the resort, so people tend to speed past the resort. However, the tourists that stay at the resort are subject to the dangers of fast drivers. The problem described is that drivers are speeding past the resort and putting guests at risk. The person who has the problem are the guests of Portofino Resort, and the management of Portofino themselves.

2. Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) looking for a new home
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/downtown/2016/01/23/dib-looking-new-home/79000154/

This story is about a board that plans activities in downtown Pensacola looking for a new office space. However, city officials don't want to have the board work in City Hall. The problem here is that DIB needs a new office space and wants to be located in City Hall. The DIB is the organization that has the problem.

3. Inmate housing to cost $1.7M in 2016
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2016/01/21/sr-inmate-housing-cost-escambia-17m/79107098/

This story was about how housing costs in prisons are going to rise. Right now, Santa Rosa County prisons are housing Escambia County inmates. The costs are attributed to more inmates, not additional costs. The problem here is that there are more Escambia County inmates in Santa Rosa County jails. This is the tax payers of both counties' problems. Escambia country residents because it is pertaining to prisoners of their county. Santa Rosa county residents because the prisoners are residing in their prisons.

4. Turnpike will pursue Sikes toll violators
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/beaches/2016/01/21/should-turnpike-manage-bob-sikes-toll/79004662/

This story is about a local toll bridge making a deal with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise to pursue toll violators. It is part of a plan to start integrating the SunPass system on this bridge. The problem here is that many people are violating the toll bridge policies and need a larger organization to help pursue violators. The management of the Bob Sikes bridge is the organization that has this problem.

5. 90 minute bus rides for local students?
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/santa-rosa/2016/01/21/90-minute-bus-ride-local-students/79119966/

This story is about the overcrowding of schools causing transportation issues. Some children are having to ride on the bus for an hour and a half to get home. The problem here is that distance between two parts of the district and overcrowding of schools are causing extremely long commutes. The people affected by this problem are primarily the students that have to ride these 90 minute rides.

Very Short Interview No. 1

The entrepreneur I decided to interview was my parents' friend, Scott Hill. He runs his own interior design business. He's done a lot of work at my house, and re designed my brother's room as a gift. Scott is what one could call a "self made" entrepreneur. He did not go to school trying to learn how to be an entrepreneur, it just sort of happened to him. He also knows what it's like to have success and failure, and his perseverance is a true testament to his own "entrepreneurial mindset." 

I asked Scott the following three questions and these are his answers:

1. Did you ever take a class in or about entrepreneurship?

No. I took classes on business, networking, and business development but nothing specifically about entrepreneurship.

2. What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

Making sure to get foundation and tools needed to be successful before going out.

Make sure you learn to have a good foundation and the tools to be successful before going out and starting on your own venture.

3. Is there anything you know now or you wish you had learned before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 

Nothing. I don't wish anyone had taught me anything before I started out.

I learned that it is possible to be successful in entrepreneurship even if you don't see it in the future for yourself in college. I found it almost comforting that Scott hadn't gone to school to be an entrepreneur, yet he found success regardless. 

The World's Biggest Problems

These are 10 of what I think are the world's biggest problems:

1. Access to education
In many countries, children do not have access to education. This is primarily because of gender, social class, and intelligence. In some countries, if a child is not deemed smart enough, they are kicked out of school. When a girl starts her menstrual cycle, she cannot go to school for one week out of the month and falls behind. There are some organizations that don't believe girls should have access to education. A simple way to solve this problem, which has started to be implemented, is to build more secure schools. However, the schools need to stay open. Some are built and opened and then not sustained. In some third world countries, schools are too far away. If the schools were closer to villages and safer for children, there could be more accessible education.
2. Access to technology
Another issue that goes hand in hand with the prior is access to technology. Technology provides a singular person access to almost the entire world. One child in the third world could see something on the internet that could change the course of his life forever. To make this happen, infrastructure would need to be implemented first. If one cable company or philanthropist was willing to donate internet cafes throughout the third world, access to the internet and other technology would become a reality.
3. Access to clean water
Water access is a huge issue. Unclean water can contain pathogens that kill people within days. There are already some solutions to this problem, including the filter straw that allows people to drink from almost any source of water. Another solution would be to put filters on water outputs, so instead of having to filter the water through a  straw, the water would already be clean.
4. Gender Equality
In many places, men and women are not seen equally. In the workplace, women on average earn less then men. A simple solution would be to offer incentives to companies who pay equally. Another solution that reaches outside of the workplace would be to have companies with a reputation for treating the sexes equally to start programs in which the gender inequality gap is larger.
5. Access to information (news)
There are countries that restrict the news their citizens can see or hear or read. In other countries, where the press laws are more liberal, stories can be skewed to present a certain point a view. A simple solution would be a news company that presented only the facts. No back story, no filler words; short, simple sentences that presented all the facts from a story. This would allow more people to be informed and make their own conclusions on their opinions.
6. Cost of travel
In a world that is globalizing so quickly, it is very expensive to get from point A to point B. Young people who want to travel can't afford it because airfare and lodging is so expensive. A solution would be a travel agency that offered student/young adult discounts so students could see the world before they had to settle down.
7. Fast Food
There are two reasons fast food is so desirable. First is convenience. Many people like the aspect of having a meal in 15 minutes, especially in this face paced world. The second is affordability. Nothing pleases a poor college student more than a dollar menu. These appeals lead to and have led to a very unhealthy generation. A solution would be a restaurant chain that offered healthy, cost effective alternatives to fast food. If the prices and wait times are the same, maybe people would choose a healthier sandwich over a burger.
8. Road Safety
So many young people are dying on the roads due to distractions. I think our generation feels they need distractions to focus. For example, listening to music while reading a textbook. However, a textbook isn't going 80 miles an hour on the interstate. I think there are two solutions. 1. Drivers education courses teach students how to drive with distractions. The car is never going to be silent, and drivers are never going to be confined to a drivers course, So, a driving simulation with music and people talking would allow drivers to be used to distractions and not let them effect their driving. 2. Cars with systems that cut down on distractions. Ones that block text messages from coming through to the phone, or allowing the driver to only accept calls if they are connected to a Bluetooth device.
9. Housing
In many developed parts of the world, housing is hard to come by. Business hubs that house many jobs are often very expensive places to live (New York, for example.) Even in college towns where students don't have very much discretionary income to spend on convenient apartments, rent is high. If there was a company that offered low rent nationally only to people under a certain age, they could do very well. It would be similar to a rent controlled model.
10. Addiction
Addiction is a gateway disease. It leads to a spiral of more and more destructive behavior. One could make the argument that if there was more access to addiction cures, it could take a domino effect to cure other problems. Public rehabilitation centers often having waiting lists for months and few private centers accept insurance. If more private rehabilitation accepted wider varieties of health insurance, more people could get the help they need instead of continuing down the dangerous path they are on.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this reading was that entrepreneurship had been accepted as a term dealing with business since the 18th century. I knew entrepreneurship was a word, but I thought the concept of entrepreneurship was fairly new to the business world. I had no idea it went back to the 1950s. I was also surprised that the book made such an effort to distinguish small businesses from entrepreneurs.
I was confused by the gazelle concept. Is it a concept similar to a "bull market?" Do entrepreneurs say to themselves "I'm going to start a gazelle business" as opposed to something else? Is "gazelle" an an accepted term? Do investors look at businesses and say "this has been a very successful gazelle business?"
My first question to the author would be is he an entrepreneur himself. I would ask this because I would want to know if he was going to include information from his own experiences. To me, entrepreneurship seems like a career without a model, so how can he write on a particular model of entrepreneurship if he wasn't one.
My second question to the author would be if he had stories of students using his teachings to be successful, and if he did, did they use his model of entrepreneurship or did they modify it to fit their own needs?
I don't know enough about entrepreneurship to be able to think the author was wrong about something. I would disagree with the tone of how he described managers. It seemed as though he saw managers as lower than entrepreneurs on a totem pole of business. Personally, I think they are different. I think managers take on different roles and responsibilities than entrepreneurs. They might work together on projects, but I wouldn't see an entrepreneur being above a manager.

Bug List

Below is a list of 20 things that bug me
1. I do not like that to stream content, or even watch old content, you have to have a cable provider log in.
I know this is to make sure those that are paying for cable receive cable, but wasn't the point of streaming to eliminate the need for cable?
2. It bugs me that even if you do have cable, you have to go through endless amounts of hoops just to find out your log in information.
I don't know any reason for this. It can be solved as simply as putting the information on a card after you subscribe to the service
3. It bugs me that even if you have cable, and you have a cable log in, you still cannot access all the content you want.
I know this has to do with licensing issues and what channels one would get normally, but if I get NFL Network at home, I should be able to get it on my computer.
4. It bugs me that to print from a new computer or printer, you have to go through the installation process.
I know this is to make sure information gets sent correctly, but why can't the installation process be as easy as plugging in the USB cord? Flashdrives have automatic installation.
5. It bugs me that Lifeproof cases make it hard for people to hear me on the phone,
I know that the overall protection may require some sacrifices in the phone, but I'm sure people would rather not have to repeat themselves on the phone then be able to have their phone in the shower.
6. It bothers me that you have to wait in a cold shower to let it heat up, or wait outside the shower and waste water.
I know all water heaters are different, but there should be a way to set a "preset temperature" and then the water is heated right when the shower is turned on.
7. It bothers me that I don't know exactly how much data I'm using on my phone.
I know that the wireless companies want it that way, but if I knew Twitter used more data than Facebook, I wouldn't tweet anymore.
8. It bugs me that connecting to wifi kills your battery faster than not being connected at all.
I know the phone is always searching and working to keep the connection, but is a dead phone my reward for trying to stay under my data limit?
9. It bugs me that I can't go into Verizon when I have a problem with my iPhone.
I know Apple wants to be exclusive, but there is no Apple store in Gainesville.
10. It bugs me that I have to have so many different skin products for healthy skin.
I know this is the beauty industry and sometimes the chemicals don't mix, but how hard is it to have a body wash that also moisturizes?
11. It bugs me that I have so many knee and joint pains but don't know what brace to get.
I know the packages have labels, but it would be helpful to have a machine or guide tell me the right brace.
12. It bugs me that wifi goes slower when more people are on it.
I know there are bandwidth issues involved, but the US has some of the smallest amount of bandwidth, yet charges almost the highest price,
13. It bothers me that humidity makes my hair wave up.
I know it's the chemistry of my hair, but there should be a straightener or curling iron that fights humidity.
14. It bothers me that cities that aren't near the interstate are harder to get to because the highways are clogged up.
I know the interstate is a national project that tries to connect to major cities, but it is that idea that kills growing cities that weren't considered "major" enough.
15. It bugs me that bacon grease is so difficult to dispose of.
I know that the grease solidifies and can block the drain, but it would be helpful to have a grease disposal, like a garbage disposal.
16. It bugs me that lines get so long at grocery stores at night.
I know that the night shift is understaffed, but it would help to be able to reserve a number before you got to the register so you wouldn't have to wait.
17. It bugs me that many stores have apps but you have to download them beforehand.
I know this is a marketing tool, but it would be easier for the webpage to automatically pop up upon walking in.
18. It bugs me that there is no way of knowing if lines will be long or if there will be a cover charge downtown or at midtown,
I know there can be guesses made based on the day of the week, or social media can be used, but neither gives solid results.
19. It bugs me that cooking instruction times are only estimates.
I know that all appliances are different, but I wish there could be signs on the appliance: "bakes pizza in 20 minutes," etc.
20. It bugs me that iPhone cases don't fit all iPhone accessories, like having a charger fit in a case,
I know there are restrictions on sizes and trademarks and what not, but it would be helpful for the case and/or charger to say "fits this case/charger" on the packaging.



Reflection:
I found this to be slightly difficult. Once I started, it got easier. It was hard coming up with problems that had no solution. Some of my problems have solutions, but I wanted better ones. For some of the problems, it was harder for me to know why the problem existed.