Assignment 30 - Final Reflection

Throughout the semester, there were definitely high and low moments. I enjoyed the assignments that allowed us to think critically about developing our business opportunities. Additionally, I liked the peer review assignments that allowed for feedback. This feedback had definitely allowed me to improve my business idea. What I did not enjoy as much was interviewing people about my idea. Although these assignments were not my favorite, I understand the importance of them and agree that my idea has significantly improved as a result of having these interviews.


What sticks out to me as the most formative experience is definitely creating a venture concept. For me, this assignment was the most challenging and thought provoking. I had to really think about my business opportunity and apply it to the real world. Creating the venture concept allowed me to think about numerous factors, and it created a more holistic approach to guiding my opportunity towards success. In the beginning, I felt lost and confused, but after thinking about each section for some time I believe I created a very well thought out plan. This was definitely a major learning experience, and provided me with the ground work for future plans of my business opportunity. This assignment was challenging, but after completing it, I was proud and joyful about my opportunity.


At the end of the semester, I now see myself more as an entrepreneur. I have definitely moved closer to adopting a entrepreneurial mindset. I have found my self thinking more about opportunities and the steps toward success in other daily activities and tasks as well. This course has allowed me to think critically about outside events, which will benefit me in the long run.


My one recommendation to future students of this course would be to stick to the assignments and go in with a positive mindset. These assignments will strengthen one's business idea and allow the student to create a path towards success. The assignments may be time consuming, but are all important in improving the opportunity. To perform best in this course, I recommend creating a clear schedule to allow oneself to not get behind. To foster this mindset, think professionally and actually act like this is your job - you want to handle your business idea like it is a legitimate plan that you need to sell to others.

Assignment 29 - Venture Concept No. 2 "Fitness Ease" app

This revised venture concept added information on ways to ensure everyone can succeed with this healthy lifestyle regardless of where they are from, and a plan to guarantee some level of success for all customers who follow the app.

Opportunity:

People who are attempting to reach their fitness goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle have the under-met needs that my business idea targets. This need is due to a lack of an app that both combines one's diet and their workout routines. Both of these factors attribute to living a healthy lifestyle and by combining them in one app, this will allow for a calculated plan that is unique to the individual's body and ultimate fitness goal. The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the fact that competitors focus on one factor without incorporating the other factor into the plan. Additionally, it is difficult to be knowledgable on both workouts and healthy diet plans, but if one possesses that knowledge their fitness goal will be achieved easier, and they will be able to maintain it. Geographically, this market relates to everyone on the globe, but more specifically, I would target Gainesville, Florida and then move to the rest of Florida. Eventually, I would attempt to broaden it to the rest of the nation. Demographically, this market is primarily college aged individuals, but other people can be a part of it as well, including middle aged adults and retired individuals. Currently, I would say that customers are not completely satisfying the need, and if they are it is only short term. I do not think most customers would be opposed to a new method of reaching their fitness goals. I believe this opportunity is very large. People always want to get healthier and in shape, especially for events such as a pool party, or the beach, or general life activities. Furthermore, I believe this window of opportunity will only be open for a few more years. After this, other people will realize the need and begin developing their business ideas and opportunities.


Innovation:

I plan on creating an app that combines and calculates one's diet and workout routines to generate a unique plan to assist the individual with reaching their fitness goals and maintaining their healthy lifestyle. This app would specifically calculate the best diet one should have regarding their goals and calculate the amount of carbs, proteins, fats, etc. that the person should be having on the daily. Additionally, by coordinating that with the person's goal, the app would create a specific workout plan that best targets what the individual wants to achieve, whether that be losing fat or gaining muscle. I am selling an app for smart phones that would initially cost ten dollars, and then every month would cost two dollars to continue the membership. The rate that is being charged is also dependent on my guarantee claim.


Venture Concept:

My innovation will address the opportunity by incorporating both factors together in order to allow the customer to actually reach their goals and manage them. Instead of getting confused, stressed, and skeptical, the customer will have an easier time with their workout routine. Customers will buy this innovation because it will be marketed in a manner that explains the concept in simple terms. The customers will realize that instead of being left without a clue of how to reach their goals, the app will serve as a personal trainer that is much cheaper. Customers would switch to this product because of how personalized the app is. I do not think it will be very hard to get them to switch. Currently, there are no competitors that incorporate diet and workout into one app, the competitors focus on one aspect and disregard the other, leaving it up to the customer to figure it out. In defining the business concept the only roles that factor in are price points, customer support, and the customer experience. These roles are large, because I plan on focusing on the customer and ensuring that they have positive experiences with the app. Organizing the business would not be very difficult due to the service being electronically, on one's phone. I would hire a lot of employees though, in order to ensure that the customers do not have any issues or complaints. I would tailor the app to be unique to each customer based on external factors like their home environment. Rural, suburban, and urban lifestyles differ drastically, and the app would play these factors into the equation of how to achieve their health and fitness goals. Additionally, I would guarantee that after 5 weeks of following the routine implemented by the app, if the customer sees no sign of improvement, they would get the next three months of membership free of charge.


Minor Elements:

My most important resource will be the time dedicated to creating the business idea and ensuring that the customers do not have any negative experiences with the app. This would be the venture's "secret sauce". This will make it hard for competitors to copy my success.

What's next for the venture is complicated. I would intend on creating a new service that is aimed at the existing customers. This service would be to organize specific meals and recipes to ensure that the customers are following their fitness plans. This service would ultimately describe what the customer should buy at the grocery store and how to prepare and cook the given meals. A factor this would depend on is the living environment of the customer. The meals would be tailored to their setting, culture, and personal dietary restrictions.

In five years with this venture, I would like to have it open up to the national scale and help people from all over the country reach their fitness goals. In the next decade, I am hoping that this venture takes off and gains popularity from various segments.


Summary of Feedback:
I received tons of feedback that allowed me to create a stronger venture concept for my business idea. A good portion of the feedback explained how my dedication, time commitment, and experience would allow for my business idea to be popular and successful. On top of this, I also received feedback on ways to change and improve the opportunity. In this venture concept, I included methods of attracting all types of people regardless of where they come from. Now it does not matter if the customer is from a major city or a rural town. Wherever the customer is from, the app will create a routine that is tailored to their setting. Additionally, I now have created a personal guarantee for customers. For customers who have been following the plan strictly, if they have not seen any signs of improvement, they will be able to continue their membership for three months free of charge.


Change in Venture Concept:
In this venture concept, I included methods of attracting all types of people regardless of where they come from. Now it does not matter if the customer is from a major city or a rural town. Wherever the customer is from, the app will create a routine that is tailored to their setting. Additionally, I now have created a personal guarantee for customers. For customers who have been following the plan strictly, if they have not seen any signs of improvement, they will be able to continue their membership for three months free of charge. My opportunity and innovation sections have stayed relatively the same, but my venture concept and minor elements section has improved and strengthened due to the feedback I received.

Assignment 28 - Your Exit Strategy

Throughout the semester, I have thought about the exit strategy that I would make after having my business idea be successful. In the next few years I would stay organized and continue to run the operations of the business. I would grow my market until it is on the national scale. After a few years of having customers all over the country, I would try to sell the business for a large monetary return. I believe financially, this may be my best move regarding the future of personal trainers and science relating to health and fitness.

I have selected this particular exit strategy for legitimate reasons. First, as I get older I might not have as much time to dedicate to the business, and rather than having the quality decrease, I would rather sell the business to an individual who has the time. I see this as a win for both parties. I would get a large monetary return, and the new owner would have a business that is already earning money. Second, I do not know what the future holds regarding technology. In the future, better technology may allow new apps to start which would be competition in the same market. Rather than competing with these new apps and having a large source of stress, I would simply walk away successful and allow someone younger and fresher to take over.

I do not think my exit strategy has really influenced other decisions I have made for this business concept. While running the business, I would work the hardest I can to ensure that it is successful. Regarding my exit plan, that is simply after I sell the business. While I am involved with the business, my exit strategy would not influence decisions vital to the survival of the venture. The exit strategy has not influenced how I have identified the opportunity. Additionally, the growth intentions and the plans for resources are independent of my exit strategy.

Assignment 27 - Reading Reflection No. 3

For this reading reflection, I selected to read and reflect on Guy Kawasaki's book: The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of this book was how to successfully run social media accounts for a business. Kawasaki presents various tips and advice on how he recommends building credibility and marketing one's business to grow customer bases and ensure the likelihood of the business's success. Throughout the book the quality of patience is highlighted. Kawasaki uses personal experience to emphasize using the social media platform with professionalism, desired content, and strong communication. Promoting one's business is a major step, and social media can assist with this.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

The book connected with and enhanced my learning from the course. It emphasized the major role of effective marketing and social capital. These two resources are extremely important for the success of one's business. I think Kawasaki does a great job with his recommendations on how to grow one's social capital via social media, especially in today's age of technology. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an exercise for this class, based on this book and its theme, I would incorporate students making a professional social media account about the business ideas. This would allow them to gain experience regarding how to effectively market their idea. Additionally, this exercise would teach students how to act in a professional manner on a social media platform. As a result, this exercise would help students grow their social capital and marketing experience.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

When reading the book, my biggest surprise moment was how impactful and important social media marketing truly is. I was aware of the daily exposure to popular culture and media platforms, but this book showed me to a greater extent how major of a role social media can play. I learned that without an effective professional social media page for a business, the social capital can really be limited. Social media really is an art, and when used effectively, the business can reach a much larger amount of potential customers.

Assignment 26 - Celebrating Failure

One goal that I failed this semester was to get more involved in the organizations that I currently am a part of on the University of Florida's campus. I had the initial goal of becoming an officer of each of these organizations in the beginning of this semester. Throughout the past few months though, I found myself very busy with classes and applications for law schools. This got in the way of me getting more involved, and I often times had to miss club meetings. Overall, I am ok with the outcome, because I still have my friends in the organizations and so far I am doing very well in my classes and I was able to successfully finish all of my applications by the deadlines.


From this experience, I learned that this failure was not the end of the world. Although I was initially upset, I came to the realization that life goes on and that there are bigger more important things to worry about. I learned that certain things have to be priorities and that I can not spread myself too thin. This failure was a great learning experience for me regarding extracurricular activities and time management.


Overall, I think failure is part of life. Everyone fails at certain activities, and it is completely ok. I think failure is a learning experience on how to improve for the future. It definitely is hard, but failure allows us to recognize a problem and work on it. I like to think that I handle failure in a mature manner. Emotionally, I am upset at first. After that, I see it as a great way to improve myself and it allows me to get stronger. Failure is just one section of the route towards success. This class has definitely changed my perspective on failure. I have learned that especially when it comes to entrepreneurship, failure is part of the process, and it allows us to improve ourselves. I am more likely to take a risk now due to my awareness that failure will not be the end result, rather a building block for me to get better.

Assignment 25 - What's Next?

Existing Market

        What is next for my venture and product/service is complicated and could take a few different routes. What I intend on doing would be to successfully grow the geographic range of my idea. First from Gainesville, Florida I would then target the rest of Florida. After this, I would grow regionally, and finally target customers on the national level. With regards to the specific idea, my next idea stemming off of the fitness app would be to help inform customers on specific meals and recipes that benefit them and their healthy lifestyle. This would tell the customer what to purchase at the grocery store and how to prepare the meal.

1.        The first individual I interviewed was a college aged male who was an upperclassmen. I asked him what he believed was to be the next step in a venture like this one. He described that he would work on developing the app so that there are no weak spots and try to grow and reach a large amount of potential customers. After describing the business, I asked him what I should further do that I have not already planned. This individual highlighted that he would suggest finding people to use as examples that prove that this app actually works and that customers benefit from it. Last but not least, I asked him about what he thought about my ideas of what customers may want next. Initially, this question puzzled him, he could not think of an answer. But after a minute or two, he explained that this would be a holistic approach to ensure that the customers reach their goals, and he supported the idea.

2.        The second individual I interviewed was a college aged female who seemed to be in graduate school. I asked her what she believed was to be the next step in a venture like this one. She explained that she would hire professional trainers to ensure that the app has information that is correct and accurate. After describing the business, I asked this individual what I should further do that I have not already planned. She expressed that she would do research on people to see that the app would actually be successful and that customers would have an easier time reaching their goals. Last but not least, I asked her about what she thought about my ideas of what customers may want next. At first, this interviewee respectfully disagreed, but then she explained that with the proper work, this would be a great approach to help the customers reach their goals even further.

3.        The third individual I interviewed was another college aged male who was a freshman. I asked him what he believed was to be the next step in a venture like this one. He highlighted that he would strategically advertise and market the app in order to successfully gain new customers. After describing the business, I asked him what I should further do that I have not already planned. This individual revealed that he would talk to other entrepreneurs and investors and try to acquire a loan in order to have the money to work on the technology behind the app. Last but not least, I asked him about what he thought about my ideas of what customers may want next. He expressed that this would be hard to manage, but if successful, it would benefit the customers even more.

        Based on my expectations, and the feedback I received from these three individuals, setting a path for the future seems more applicable and able to be completed. Regarding my venture, in order to grow in the market I believe it makes the most sense to effectively advertise and market along with focusing on customer experience. These two qualities would separate me from any potential competition and allow for the idea to be successful. Effectively advertising and marketing the venture will allow me to attract a larger amount of customers. I would efficiently start with Florida and attempt to branch out regionally, and then nationally.
       Focusing on customer experience is another path for the future that is important. I would hire employees with experience in fitness and communication skills in order to maximize the customers and their experiences. This will allow the customer to not lose sight of their goals, and feel welcomed to asking for help and further guidance. Good communication skills is an important quality to have, especially for a business idea that is electronically controlled. This would also further separate my venture idea from competitors.



New Market

        The radically different market that is the topic of this section would be individuals who have recently retired. I believe my venture concept will be able to create value for people in this market as well. Individuals who are retired tend to have a lot of free time that is new to them. In this stage of one's life, this new daily routine is very different and can lead to a decrease in physical health. I believe my venture concept addresses this problem. By having the app, the individual will be able to have a diet and workout routine that is specifically tailored to their own needs. This will ensure that the individual remains active throughout the day.

1. The first individual I interviewed was a recently retired male in his late sixties. After describing my venture concept to this individual, I asked him how he thought my business idea might help customers like him. He explained that the biggest factor would be how user friendly the app is. This individual further described that he is not great with technology and would prefer that the app be easy to access and manage. In order to be successful in this market, he explained that adapting the technology would be the biggest factor. He emphasized that if the customers his age can figure out how to work the app, I would be very successful with the idea.

2. The second individual I interviewed was a female in her mid sixties who has been retired for a few months. She explained that this was a huge milestone and now her daily life looks very different. After describing my venture concept to her, I asked her how she thought my business idea might help similar customers. She explained that now without a solid income, her financial situation is extremely different than what it was when working. She argued that if the app was very expensive, many elders would not purchase it. Her biggest advice was to think about the cost and price factors when thinking about customers. In order to be successful in this market, she explained further that focusing on the customers would be a major role. This individual highlighted that if the customers are happy, I will be too.

        I learned a great deal about this new market that I previously did not know. From interviewing these two individuals, I gained valuable insight on methods of ensuring that my business idea is successful. Overall, I was not surprised with the answers. I realized that they had a point of view that I was not aware of and I welcomed this knowledge and advice. This market definitely is attractive, and I believe I can target both successfully with my venture concept.
        I learned that the technology behind the app needs to be user friendly and easily accessible. This will allow customers to feel motivated to reach their goals. Additionally, this user friendly technology will prevent any confusion and minimize negative customer experiences. Furthermore, by focusing on cost and price factors of my app, I will be able to target more individuals and have a larger market. This will generate more revenue, along with minimizing the amount of people that are intimidated by the financial risks that come with the business idea. From these interviews, I believe that I have more knowledge on methods to strengthen my idea even more.

Assignment 24 - Venture Concept No. 1 "Fitness Ease" app

Opportunity:

People who are attempting to reach their fitness goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle have the under-met needs that my business idea targets. This need is due to a lack of an app that both combines one's diet and their workout routines. Both of these factors attribute to living a healthy lifestyle and by combining them in one app, this will allow for a calculated plan that is unique to the individual's body and ultimate fitness goal. The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the fact that competitors focus on one factor without incorporating the other factor into the plan. Additionally, it is difficult to be knowledgable on both workouts and healthy diet plans, but if one possesses that knowledge their fitness goal will be achieved easier, and they will be able to maintain it. Geographically, this market relates to everyone on the globe, but more specifically, I would target Gainesville, Florida and then move to the rest of Florida. Eventually, I would attempt to broaden it to the rest of the nation. Demographically, this market is primarily college aged individuals, but other people can be a part of it as well, including middle aged adults and retired individuals. Currently, I would say that customers are not completely satisfying the need, and if they are it is only short term. I do not think most customers would be opposed to a new method of reaching their fitness goals. I believe this opportunity is very large. People always want to get healthier and in shape, especially for events such as a pool party, or the beach, or general life activities. Furthermore, I believe this window of opportunity will only be open for a few more years. After this, other people will realize the need and begin developing their business ideas and opportunities.


Innovation:

I plan on creating an app that combines and calculates one's diet and workout routines to generate a unique plan to assist the individual with reaching their fitness goals and maintaining their healthy lifestyle. This app would specifically calculate the best diet one should have regarding their goals and calculate the amount of carbs, proteins, fats, etc. that the person should be having on the daily. Additionally, by coordinating that with the person's goal, the app would create a specific workout plan that best targets what the individual wants to achieve, whether that be losing fat or gaining muscle. I am selling an app for smart phones that would initially cost ten dollars, and then every month would cost two dollars to continue the membership.


Venture Concept:

My innovation will address the opportunity by incorporating both factors together in order to allow the customer to actually reach their goals and manage them. Instead of getting confused, stressed, and skeptical, the customer will have an easier time with their workout routine. Customers will buy this innovation because it will be marketed in a manner that explains the concept in simple terms. The customers will realize that instead of being left without a clue of how to reach their goals, the app will serve as a personal trainer that is much cheaper. Customers would switch to this product because of how personalized the app is. I do not think it will be very hard to get them to switch. Currently, there are no competitors that incorporate diet and workout into one app, the competitors focus on one aspect and disregard the other, leaving it up to the customer to figure it out. In defining the business concept the only roles that factor in are price points, customer support, and the customer experience. These roles are large, because I plan on focusing on the customer and ensuring that they have positive experiences with the app. Organizing the business would not be very difficult due to the service being electronically, on one's phone. I would hire a lot of employees though, in order to ensure that the customers do not have any issues or complaints.


Minor Elements:

My most important resource will be the time dedicated to creating the business idea and ensuring that the customers do not have any negative experiences with the app. This would be the venture's "secret sauce". This will make it hard for competitors to copy my success.

What's next for the venture is complicated. I would intend on creating a new service that is aimed at the existing customers. This service would be to organize specific meals and recipes to ensure that the customers are following their fitness plans. This service would ultimately describe what the customer should buy at the grocery store and how to prepare and cook the given meals.

In five years with this venture, I would like to have it open up to the national scale and help people from all over the country reach their fitness goals. In the next decade, I am hoping that this venture takes off and gains popularity from various segments.