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.

Assignment 23 - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Public Speaking experience 
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to communicate my idea effectively to potential customers.
R: This resource is not rare because many people are able to succeed when it comes to talking to a large audience.
I: This resource is not very inimitable because other people can copy methods from each other on how to effectively speak publicly.
N: I would say this resource is non-substitutable because at one point every individual is going to have to communicate their idea live in front of an audience.

2. Personal relationships with experts in the market
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to spread my general idea to a large amount of individuals who have respect in the field and could further spread my idea.
R: This resource is rare because not many people have these close relationships with respected individuals in various fields.
I: This resource is pretty inimitable because it is difficult and time consuming to build these types of relationships.
N: This resource is substitutable, although without it the idea would be a lot harder to implement.

3. Publicity in our culture
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to attract a large amount of customers.
R: This resource is not rare because a lot of popular culture is related to this field and others as well.
I: This resource is not inimitable because other cultures can copy ours as well. Other fields can copy it additionally.
N: This resource is substitutable, although without it the idea would be a lot harder to implement.

4. Social Capital from UF Greek Life
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to connect to a large amount of people in one large community.
R: This resource is relatively rare because only a small percentage of the student body has this resource.
I: This resource is not very inimitable because other clubs and organizations may be able to have this connection.
N: This resource is substitutable, although without it the idea would be a lot harder to implement.

5. Social Capital from contact with potential customers
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to talk to potential customers in my daily activities.
R: This resource is rare because not a lot of ideas enables the entrepreneur to have daily contact with potential customers.
I: This resource is inimitable because it is difficult to create other ideas that allow you to have this connection.
N: This resource is substitutable, although without it the idea would be a lot harder to implement.

6. Fundraising experience 
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to be able to effectively market and sell my idea.
R: This resource is relatively rare because not a lot of people have the experience of fundraising a large amount.
I: This resource is inimitable because the experience of it is unique and only seen from selling items.
N: This resource is substitutable, but having the resource gives the individual an advantage.

7. Lack of multiple competitors 
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to have a big share of the market.
R: This resource is rare, because in most markets there are multiple competitors.
I: This resource is inimitable because not many markets have this quality.
N: This resource is substitutable, but having the resource gives the individual an advantage.

8. Personal experience with aspects of the business idea
V: This resource is valuable because it allows me to have insight on the business idea.
R: This resource is not rare because most entrepreneurs are experienced with their idea before they sell it.
I: This resource is not inimitable because similar to how I have experience with my idea, others can have experience as well with it and other ideas.
N: This resource is non-substitutable because it is necessary to have this personal experience with the business idea.

9. Large amount of time able to be dedicated to the idea
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to be able to focus large amounts of time on creating this best business idea.
R: This resource is rare because not many people can dedicate a lot of time to the idea. Most people work long hours.
I: This resource is inimitable because not many people have this characteristic.
N: This resource is substitutable, but having the resource gives the individual an advantage that is unique.

10. Personal relationships across the country
V: This resource is valuable because it will allow me to spread my business idea to a larger scale that markets the entire country.
R: This resource is rare because not many people can start their ideas off on a national scale.
I: This resource is pretty inimitable because it is difficult to have the connections across the country.
N: This resource is substitutable, but having the resource gives the individual an advantage that not many others have.

After completing my VRIN analysis, I found it to still be very challenging to pick a resource that fits well in all of the areas. After selecting one, I think it would be the resource of having large amount of time able to be dedicated to the idea. I think it is very rare and valuable, and would allow me to create the most polished idea that is very customer friendly. I would say that it is a capability that I possess, and it could possibly create even more social capital and ideas/opportunities.  

Assignment 22 - Elevator Pitch No. 3

Link to Elevator Pitch No. 3



A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch:

From my previous elevator pitch, I received a great positive feedback that I thought was very important. I tried to incorporate this feedback into this third attempt at my elevator pitch. What stood out as the most important feedback I received was to remain confident in my approach and convey this confidence to the audience. On top of this, I tried to fix the camera angle from the previous attempt. Although the angle was still not perfect, I believe it improved since the last time. I also kept my hook to better get the audience's attention. This was feedback I got previously as well. Last but not least, I tried to maintain a good talking pace. Previously I talked too fast, and I focused on slowing it down. That is a habit I find myself doing, and I tried to improve on it, but definitely can improve even more. I found the feedback that I received to be very useful and insightful. All of the comments allowed me to further improve my pitch, and help improve the chance for success for my idea and opportunity.


What did you change, based on the feedback?

Based on the feedback, I tried to change a few minor details in my elevator pitch. First and foremost, I tried to improve my confidence for my business idea and convey this confidence to the audience. Initially, I may have been looking around trying to figure out how to convey the message, and now I tried to reduce that negative quality.  This time around, I tried to focus more on the camera and show my confidence in my business idea in a stronger manner. Additionally, I tried to improve the camera angle. Although I think I can improve more, I believe that I made the angle for the audience better and easier to focus on the pitch. Other than that, I worked more on my hook, problem, and solution aspects of my pitch to get a better picture of my idea for the audience.

Assignment 21 - Reading Reflection No. 2

For this reading reflection, I selected to read and reflect on Scott Adams' book: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.

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

The general theme of the book was all about patience and determination. The book discusses that failure is just part of the path towards success, and that the individual should not be intimidated by the possibility of failure. Adams explains that the method of achieving success includes failures. Additionally, the term 'goals' is misguided. Rather the term 'systems' is more appropriate. Last but not least, the theme of the book includes taking risks that are comfortable in order to find one's energy.

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 what I am learning throughout the course. I have learned from the course that starting up a business that is successful is no easy task, and that it is not a straightforward process. Rather, there are bends and curves throughout the process. This includes networking, adapting one's ideas, etc. More often than not, one's initial idea is not the exact same as the final idea, and this is ok. This book furthers my knowledge on the fact that failure is part of the process, and that it should not prevent me from continuing my ideas and opportunities. The book has enhanced my learning of the value of patience and determination when it comes to being a successful entrepreneur.

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 the book I read, the exercise would involve interviewing three to five people who would most likely not be part of your customer base. Finding and talking to people who would not use your product or service can be valuable as well. This will show the individual that not everyone will like the idea, and that is completely normal. This initial failure will show them that not all failures are bad. The exercise will allow them to build their senses of patience and determination to help them develop and evolve their business idea into a stronger product/service that will enhance their chance for success.

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?

The biggest surprise moment for me when reading the book was the fact that Adams is against the phrase "finding one's passion". Instead of finding your passion, Adams argues to find your energy. He argues that with a positive energy and good sense of determination,   failure will not matter, and neither will the amount of failures you encounter. This is because the individual will be enjoying the process, rather than having a large amount of stress. This goes further into the idea of patience. Time will allow the individual to succeed, and this is much easier when the individual is enjoying life with positive energy. This differed the most from my initial expectations. Instead of "coming clutch" after failures, Adams argues to appreciate those experiences and remain dedicated and patient. 

Assignment 20 - Growing Your Social Capital

First person:

This individual is a personal trainer at the local Youfit gym back in my hometown. He has been working as a certified personal trainer for the past seven years and has helped several clients not only reach their health and fitness goals, but also maintain their fitness. He studied at the University of Central Florida, majoring in health science.

With this individual, I am filling the domain expert slot. In my opinion, this individual fits every characteristic of someone in the domain expert slot. He is engaged in the same type of business as I would be in: helping people reach their health and fitness goals via working out at the gym. Additionally, this individual can be considered a technical expert who knows a lot about the field that I would be a part of with my business idea.

It was not difficult for me to find this individual and contact him. During breaks from school I often workout at the gym that he works at. With these encounters over the years, I have formed a friendship with him. Contacting him was not difficult either. I texted him asking if I could call and ask some questions regarding his career. Through this phone interview I was able to learn a lot more about the field of personal health and fitness.

The exchange I had with this individual was very casual and friendly. This interviewee answered several questions and allowed me to get a better idea of customer relations when it comes to working out. Regarding return expectations, I would say there aren't any. We both saw this as a friendly conversation and a way to catch up with each other.

Including this individual in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by gaining more valuable information on the field. This individual provided knowledge not only on various health and fitness plans, but also on methods to improve and maintain customer relations. From this interview I will have a better opportunity to both strengthen my fitness plans through the app, and improve customer relations to maintain a positive experience.


Second Person:

This individual is a professional dietician at the local WeightWatchers back in my hometown. She has had this position for the past sixteen years and has helped numerous customers reach their ideal weight and maintain it. She credits her years of work experience for her success and ability to work with all kinds of customers and their goals.

With this individual, I am filling the market expert slot. In my opinion, this individual fits every characteristic of someone in the market expert slot. She is targeting the same type of market as I would be in: helping people reach their health and fitness goals via improving their diets. Additionally, this individual is very experienced with conducting customer research in the area. Last but not least, she represents a major piece of the market.

Similar to the first individual, It was not difficult for me to find this individual and contact her. I have family members and friends who have been customers of WeightWatchers, and they put me in contact with her. I have also met and talked to her a few times over the years. With these encounters, I have formed a friendly relationship with her. Contacting her was not difficult either. I emailed her asking if I could call and ask some questions regarding her career and experiences. Through this phone interview I was able to learn a lot more about the field of personal health, fitness, and dieting.

The exchange I had with this individual was light and friendly. This interviewee answered several questions and allowed me to get a better idea of customer relations and dieting when it comes to eating healthy. Regarding return expectations, I would say there aren't any that were serious. She jokingly told me to find her more clients, and we both shared a laugh. We both saw this as a friendly conversation and a way to inform me more on the topic of health.

Including this individual in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by gaining more valuable information on the field. This individual provided knowledge not only on various health and diet plans, but also on methods to improve and maintain close customer relations. From this interview I will have a better opportunity to both strengthen my dietary plans through the app, and improve customer relations to maintain a positive experience.


Third Person:

This individual is the head manager at the local Youfit gym back in my hometown. He has had this position for five years at this Youfit location. Prior to becoming manager, he was a certified personal trainer for nine years and helped several clients reach their health and fitness goals. Now, he overlooks all of the operations that goes on at the gym. He studied at the University of Florida, majoring in health services.

With this individual, I am filling the supplier slot. In my opinion, this individual fits every characteristic of someone in the supplier slot. He is engaged in the same type of business as I would be in: helping people reach their health and fitness goals via working out at the gym. Additionally, this individual is selling the service of a gym membership to customers. His daily activities at work include selling memberships and recruiting potential customers to the gym. This quality of selling services is why he fills the supplier slot.

It was not as easy as the other two interviews, but overall not too difficult for me to find this individual and contact him. Through my friendship with the first interviewee, I was able to come into contact with this individual. Contacting him was dependent on the first individual providing me with his email address and work phone number. I initially emailed him asking if I could call and ask some questions regarding his career. Through this phone interview I was able to learn a lot more about the field of personal health and fitness along with how to provide positive experiences for all customers.

The exchange I had with this individual was friendly and very informative. This interviewee answered several questions and allowed me to get a better idea of customer relations when it comes to overlooking an entire gym. Regarding return expectations, I would say there aren't any. We both saw this as a friendly and educational conversation. He recognized me from numerous encounters over the years at his gym.

Including this individual in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by gaining more valuable information on the field. This individual provided additional knowledge not only on various health and fitness plans, but also on methods to improve and maintain customer relations. This is different than the first interview by focusing more on a general outlook instead of personal customer relations. From this interview I will have a better opportunity to both strengthen my fitness plans through the app, and improve general customer relations to maintain an overall positive experience.


Reflection:

This experience will definitely shape how I participate in future networking events. From this experience, I know to network with individuals who have years of experience and success in their fields. Learning from these individuals will provide me with opportunity to improve my business idea and plan. This experience differed significantly from my networking experiences in the past. In the past, I interviewed regular people and gained insight from their point of view. From this activity, I was able to learn more about the point of view of professionals. Now, I have knowledge on both sides and plan on using this to my advantage for my idea. I know what customers look for and how to ensure positive experiences now.

Assignment 19 - Idea Napkin No. 2

The feedback I received from my first idea napkin was to make sure to reach my specific segments at the right time. Reaching these specific groups of individuals at the right time will enable me to have more success when it comes to this opportunity.



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

My name is Dylan Shaffer. I am a senior at the University of Florida, majoring in criminology and on the pre-law track. I plan on graduating in the spring semester. I believe that I am talented in public speaking and have a strong sense of dedication. My experiences with public speaking include being a nominee for the annual public speaking forum here at the University of Florida. My aspirations include going to law school and becoming a practicing attorney. I see this business and opportunity playing a major role in my life, if I continue to go through with it and start it. If this business was started, I would be the primary handler of all business related aspects, and would dedicate a lot of time to ensure that it is successful.

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

I am offering individuals an app that provides the service towards their unmet needs of healthy lifestyles. I am helping these individuals by implementing an app that combines and calculates one's diet and workouts to get a better picture of one's health goals and plan. Using my product in their lives will help them reach their goals and maintain that lifestyle. I would attempt to show proof of the app's success to better draw potential customers to the app. Using this data, I would target the customers at the right time to better increase the odds that they use the product/service.

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

I am offering it to a wide range of types of people. This range includes first time gym-goers, college aged individuals, and recently retired people. The characteristics that these groups of people share are that they all have the goal to either reach a certain health goal, or to maintain their healthy lifestyles. Each person that is attracted to this idea is ultimately searching for a better method to obtaining a healthy lifestyle.

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

My solution will be successful depending on how valuable the customers view it. Customers will actually pay money to use this app due to the simplicity that the app offers. By using this app, the customer has a much simpler and more effective method to reach their desired health goals. Instead of creating a diet in one setting and personally comparing it to their workouts in another setting, this app combines both aspects into one complete setting, making it less stressful on the individual.

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

What separates my app from everyone else is the all-inclusive manner to it. Instead of focusing on one aspect of living a healthy lifestyle, this app focuses on every aspect, thus making it more manageable to actually reach one's goals. What makes this app unique and one of a kind is this simplicity factor. Other apps focus on one aspect, whether that is diet or workouts, this app utilizes and compares both.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe these elements fit together neatly in the aspects of my business concept. I think each element builds off of each other in order to increase the opportunity for success. If there is one weaker element, I would say it is "why do they care?" This element is also dependent on the motivation of each customer. Although this may be one weakness, I believe that the other elements are strong and impactful. Overall, I feel that I can be successful in offering this app to people trying to reach their health goals and to reaching the targeted audience. If I reach these individuals at the right time, I believe my core competencies and general idea of the app will convince them to give it a try.


Feedback memo

Two main points I took away from the feedback I received was to make sure to reach the customers at the right point, and to stay organized and true to one's core competencies. Making sure to reach the segment at the right point will help improve the odds of those individuals trying the product and seeing positive results. This pivotal moment will allow the customer to be attracted to the business idea. Additionally, by staying organized and true to one's core competencies, I will be able to separate myself from competing business plans. These qualities will highlight the genuine nature of the opportunity and attract individuals.

I incorporated this feedback throughout this idea napkin. Although the feedback was not major, I tried to include it in every aspect. The feedback that mentioned to reach the customers at the right time was incorporated in several aspects including what I am offering and why they should care. Additionally, the feedback that mentioned to stay true to one's core competencies was expressed in the core competencies part. Overall, although the feedback was minor, I believe incorporating it into the idea napkin allowed it to grow stronger and more inclusive. This feedback positively affected not only my idea napkin, but also my business idea.

Assignment 18 - Create a Customer Avatar

The prototypical customer within the segment I have selected would most likely be a male in his early to mid twenties. This individual would have more free time, since he is in college, and not working for at least eight hours a day. The customer would preferably be in his early to mid twenties, so that stages of puberty would be over and the workouts would not depend on developmental phases.  This individual would have certain goals, whether that be to bulk and gain muscle, or to cut and lose body fat. He would also be a regular at the local gym and workout at least two or three times a week. The individual would not be a serious powerlifter, but he would be an average individual one might find at the gym. A few years of experience with working out would be preferred.

An example of a prototypical customer. The male is most likely in his twenties, not a serious powerlifter, but is working out to stay fit and reach and maintain his personal fitness goals.

The prototypical customer would have a few hobbies as well. Along with working out, other hobbies would be to watch and play various sports. Being entertained by activities that are active would be a huge advantage. Additionally, another hobby would be to stay social with friends and competitive. This will help the customer stay on top of their fitness goals, and push his friends to reach their goals as well. For television, the prototypical customer would enjoy watching sports games and sports talk shows like ESPN.

I believe that I have a lot in common with the prototypical customer detailed above. I am in my early twenties, and have more free time than average due to being a college student, and not working a 9 to 5 job. Additionally, I have specific fitness goals, currently I intend on building more muscle and then cutting down on body fat in the near future. Likewise, I go to the gym on a regular basis, and try to workout five times a week. I also have similar hobbies such as enjoying sports and active activities. I also enjoy pushing my friends to reaching their fitness goals as well. I do not think these similarities between me and the prototypical customer are a coincidence. I think these similarities are due to a similar mindset and personality traits. Not everyone will be interested in sports or fitness, but for those who are, many will share certain qualities.