Assignment 29A-Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

• The opportunity that I see is related to large colleges across the country. It is specific to college campuses because they are a place filled with thousands of students in a somewhat confined area. I would have to look at certain colleges to see which is the best for the opportunity based on school size and location of students in respect to campus. The reason that I chose to conduct my opportunity here at UF because it has a large amount of students in a very refined area, being one of the largest public schools in the country. 
• The specific opportunity that I conducted is a Hybrid Laundry Service on the campus at UF. College students struggle to do their laundry for many reasons depending on the way they live their life. For example, underclassmen students at their dorms find it hard to get to the laundry room in the basement. Also, upperclassmen with packed schedules might not be able to find time to complete such a tedious task. 
• Targeting college students allows me to identify a specific market within a certain area, for this example, Gainesville. Students have a lot to do within their days whether it is studying or doing extracurriculars so their time is limited, not to mention many of them had never done their own laundry before college, it is a recipe for profit for a small business like mine. 
• There is currently no other competition like mine that provides full laundry services for their customers, meaning that I would be able to target the certain market unopposed. 
• This opportunity does not have any time constraint since new students come to campus every year, creating a new market for my company to target and profit off of. 

Innovation:

• I used alot of innovation to make this company the way that it is. I will be adapting to the market and the new technology that has come out to run my company similar to Uber, where drivers that pick up and drop off the laundry can work based on their free time, making the company not only targeting college students but also giving them a change to get involved in the company and make some money on their free time. Doing this will bring a great image around campus, hiring students will give my company a great word of mouth because they will be willing to market our company for them because they want to make money themselves. 
• I will also be using my resources around campus to make bulk deals in order to expand my companies potential. For example, making an agreement with a fraternity or sorority where they either pay a price upfront or get a discount for only using my service can expand my company tremendously. 
• The way that people pay is also different from a normal company. I will be giving customers the option to choose which services they would like, these services would all be of different value therefore making them different prices. For example, customers can choose how and when they want their laundry to be done, their options are as follows
• Customer drops off laundry and picks it up
• Customer drops off laundry and picks it up plus folded 
• Customer drops off laundry and gets it dropped off 
• Customer drops off and gets it dropped off plus folded 
• Customer gets laundry picked up and picks it up 
• Customer gets laundry picked up and picks it up plus folded 
• Customer gets laundry picked up and dropped off 
• Customer gets laundry picked up and dropped off plus folded 
• All of these options have different prices due to the different values that they hold based on the amount of time and money it will take to get their services done for them.

Venture Concept:

• I dont think it will be that difficult to get customers to start using my service. On top of having no competition, i will be utilizing a rewards system for people who agree to use my service often. The only other service that could be considered competition for my company would be a laundromat located outside of campus. It is a very small place that only has one option for service and does not pick up or deliver, my company is better and more appealing in every aspect of business. My price points play a key role to my company, having prices that appeal to my customers will be very important because college students have low disposable income. 
• The company experience is crucial to the success of my company. The way my business is run creates a large amount of interaction between employees and customers, so giving customers a great experience to remember make customers come back for our business. 
• The amount of employees that i hire will start small and expand as the company grows. At first I would only need 2 to 3 people to work on washing, drying and folding the clothes with one delivery driver. However, as the company grows and gains a bigger customer base I will need more people to keep the business running, therefore hiring both more in-store employees as well as drivers. 

• My companies biggest advantage is how connected it will be to the campus itself. For example, hiring students to work as well as volunteer to drive for the company will market the company itself and create a connection with the college and its students instead of just being a business located on campus. 
• Whats next for the venture is finding other campuses to expand my company to. I would have to visit many large campuses across the country to see which fits best, but I believe this concept can be successful in many different settings.
• Whats next for me is using everything that ive learned from this experience to better me as a person and help me eventually move on to bigger and better ventures. Whether it is hiring a manager to run my company or selling it to make a profit, there are many exit strategies that I can use to help me move on and develop even greater ventures. 

Feedback

I got a lot of great feedback that helped me both develop my company and better complete this assignment the second time around. I got good feedback that confirmed my belief in using college students as employees, so im glad other people agreed with me as well. I tried to go more in depth this time around in the options and services that are available, I felt that last time i just briefly touched on it instead of explaining it.

30A- Final Reflection

After looking through all of my posts its really interesting to see myself and my ideas develop over time. I noticed that a lot of my early posts are very dry and don't have much detail, but over time i was able to go more in depth when explaining all of my ideas. Also, it was cool to see my idea itself develop over time as well. My early posts explain my ideas with little too it, but as the class went along I was able to think of more ideas to expand the company. I liked how the class tested my ability to time manage, this is something that I will definitely take with me past this class. That being said, it was the times i forgot about assignments and had to rush to get them done that taught me the most. Thats what i thought was cool about this class, you develop the ability to learn from your mistakes and failures and make yourself better because of them.

I definitely see myself as having an entrepreneur mindset after taking this class. I thought of myself as possessing the potential before the class, but after taking it I can for sure see myself as evolving. If i could recommend something to a future student I would defiantly tell them to perfect their time management. I would recommend getting a planner and writing out all of the assignments due on certain days. Its really easy to forget about certain assignments when you have to log onto Canvas to see them, having them written down in something you will check regularly can help tremendously. I would also tell them to pay attention to the times they find themselves struggling. Learning from the tough times can help you develop a better mindset over time.

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No. 3

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki

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

• The theme of the book is sort of explained in the title, "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users". I say that because the book is all about valuable tools and tricks that help people find success within their social media. The book provides value for anyone looking to learn about Social Media, whether you are a normal individual or someone that owns a business. That is something i really liked about the book, that people and businesses on every scale can benefit from it not just "Power Users". The book goes into great detail about everything from starting a profile that will stand out to creating content to attract viewers. He also speaks about individual platforms to use which I found really helpful. Being able to know which type of posts are the best for certain Social Media platforms is very important, and something that this book taught me alot about. 

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

• I think the book did a great job in enhancing what I learned in ENT 3003. Starting a venture has so many aspects that need to be in place before it is ready to open, and one of the most important is marketing. There are multiple different types of marketing, but with the increase in technology over the years Social Media has become one of the best ways to market your company, as I learned through ENT. That being said, this book broadened my knowledge on how to market using Social Media tremendously, helping me excel in both this class and other ventures I am currently working on. 

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

• If i were to design an exercise for this class it would be a little different than what the usual assignments are. I would have students take their venture they created and create a couple social media accounts, multiple so they can learn different platforms. They would have to create an account, first making an appealing profile that also explains their message. After that, I would ask them to make 2-3 posts on the account, figuring out which posts are the best for their company on certain platforms. Having people create an account and make posts forces them to get accustomed to how certain Social Media platforms work. 

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 for me when reading the book is how much the author talked about using humor in social media. He explains the importance of using humor to grab a readers attention and cause them to gain interest in your company. It surprised me, especially when talking about businesses, that humor would be an important aspect of your account. I always thought that being semi serious when talking about your company, but he showed ways that using humor could go even farther. 

Assignment 28A-Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

• I believe there are a couple different ways to exit this venture.  When leaving college after creating a client base, I might hold on to the company while trying to create bigger ventures. I would have to hire a manager to watch over the store since I would not be there, but visit from time to time to make sure everything is running smoothly. I don't think it is something I will have for much longer than 5 years, that is enough time for me to make profit off of the venture while further learning how to manage a business, both equally as beneficial to me in my future ventures.  I definitely would not make this venture something to protect for decades or become a family business, I see myself as doing something much bigger than that. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

•  Since new students enter UF every year creating a new market for my company I can see this venture as something with potential for many years. That being said, while in college I imagine my company becoming almost a monopoly for laundry since there are no other services nearby. That being said, the flexibility and potential for profit as a small business is too valuable to give up right away. Also, the business itself is relatively simple so I do not think it would be a problem trusting a manager to oversee the business when im not there. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

• I dont think my exit strategy has influenced much about how i have went about my venture so far. The most important aspects of creating a client base for my venture are marketing and word of mouth since it is on a college campus, and both of those things can be set up and continued whether I am in the area or not. Having great service is vital, and making sure it stays the way i created it after I leave will ensure the companies success for years after. This is why I chose this exit strategy, because I see my company as one that can find a sense of flow that can still be achieved being run by a manager. 

Assignment 26A- Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

• At the beginning of the semester I decided to change my majors. Doing so, I was unsure which classes would be the best fit for me within the courses, taking one that I really had no idea/interest in. I took this class to try and fulfill a requirement early and get ahead on the track but later found myself having to drop the class. An accumulation of other work, extracurriculars and my lack of interest/comprehension in the class forced me to drop so the sub-par grade that I had did factor into my GPA. Dropping a class means losing money and having to take another class, but I was willing to sacrifice that to make sure my GPA stays high. 

2) Tell us what you learned from it. 

• I learned that I really need to take my time when picking classes and thinking about my educational future, it is not something that can be figured out overnight. I should have taken a look at all of the possible classes and what they entail before choosing one thats fulfills a certain requirement. That being said, I was able to do this when making my schedule for the Spring semester. I started researching the requirements and the classes early so I could fully understand all of them and chose the ones that were the best fit for me. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

• I believe that failure, although hard to overcome, is one of the most important aspects of life. It is difficult, but I like to think of failure as a good thing, one to motivate me to be better the next time around. I say "the next time around" because I will always try again. I have always been taught that it matters more what you do after failure than after success and thats something I definitely live by. This class has taught me how to analyze my failures, how to determine what went wrong and what I can do to fix it. Theres a saying that my father has always said to me to help me put failure into perspective with my emotions, "Failure is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional." 

Assignment 25A- Whats Next?

Existing Market
Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

Whats next for me in my venture is eventually expanding to other schools, but i think there are things that could be implemented to expand the venture here at UF as well. That is making an agreement with different offices and businesses around the school to wash any uniforms they have at a bulk price. For example, if Shands Hospital is in need of people to clean their scrubs and such, I can make a deal with them. 

Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next. 

Interviewee 1: This interviewee stated that he agreed with my plan to look for businesses around uf. He stated that although Uf has a large population, there is always room for growth. I asked him about possibly expanding to businesses and he liked the idea a lot, he stated that business are good for my venture because they are a large group of people in the small area. 

Interviewee 2: This interviewee didn't agree with my idea to expand my venture. He stated that any businesses that have required uniforms probably have someone handle their laundry, but gave me good ideas how to market the venture. 

Interviewee 3: This interviewee gave me a different perspective on the situation. When I told her about my idea, she stated that I should market at these companies instead of looking to use them for their service. 

Based on my feedback from the people I interviewed, I decided I would not try to use businesses for their services directly, but I would use them to market my product and try to expand my customers. 

New Market 

Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.

A new market that I would be looking to target is other schools across the us with large a large population of students. Targeting college students means that I am targeting a group of people with limited disposable income, so no matter what school it will be targeting low income people. 

Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!

I think that my venture can create value for people all over using the same concept. If students at schools live in a type of confined area, i think it will be easy to transfer our ideas between places. 

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? 

The interviews that I conducted gave me great insight to how my venture would do at different schools. I talked to people at other students with connections but also struggle with this problem. They agreed that as long as alot of students are confined in a small area the concept would be effective. They brought up that I should really seek out everything in the areas that I am looking to invade to make sure my venture is worth it.

After identifying both the present market and the new market, i realized that my venture would be a good idea to expand. In terms of the present market, my idea was changed a little because I would not be directly invading businesses. 

24A- Venture Concept No. 1

My name is Brian Maloney, I am a sophomore here at UF majoring in Marketing with a minor in Entrepreneurship.
Opportunity 
College students across the country struggle to manage their time correctly, leaving what they believe to be the "least important", but also the most tedious to do last, laundry. This is a problem that can stem from a number of things, mostly being the inconvenience of their current laundry system or the lack of time in ones schedule. The potential customers within this business are college students that live on or near a large college campus, for this concept I am using The University of Florida. Using a large college campus gives a large market for customers. Also, being on a college campus, most of my potential customers fall within very similar demographics.
Nowadays college students are flat out lazy. Whether they have never done their own laundry before or they simply hate the task, it is a problem that most, if not all college students face including myself. Students at UF struggle to get their laundry done, being that there is no other service currently running on campus. That being said, the window of opportunity for this business could be infinite if everything runs the way it should. I say that because new students are entering the university every year giving a whole new individual market for my business to infiltrate.

Innovation 
I like to call the business that I am creating a hybrid laundry service. I use that term because there are multiple different options you can choose on how to get your laundry done. The different options have different prices based on the amount of work necessary, so I believe that I will make money on the more time consuming orders. Customers are allowed to drop their laundry off and pick it up, drop it off and have it delivered, have it picked up and come in to pick it up, or have it both picked up and delivered...all different options with different prices based on the service, a small fee of $2 per load if they want it to be folded for them. The cost of the business would be expensive at the beginning with all of the initial costs, but they are majority one time investments so I would be making money over time. This is innovative because there are no other services near by with these kind of options and conveniency, meaning the power is in the customers hand.

Venture Concept
I will have to make large initial investments such as the space and laundry machines, but after that costs will be low with nothing really to buy but detergent and fabric softer, things of that type. I will have 2 people working in the store taking in the clothes putting them in washing machines and changing them to the dryer when it is time, also folding when it is done. To deliver i will have 1-2 drivers on any given day based on how busy we are. I will be employing fellow college students to keep costs low. Also, giving students jobs helps market the company because employees will be able to refer their friends and provide a good word of mouth. Customers will be switching to my company because of the conveniency and efficiency, all clothes will be done and delivered within 24 hours guaranteed. It will not be very hard to get them to switch over because there is no large competition in the area. Customer service is one of the most important aspects of the company, if not the most important. That is because word of mouth will be the best way this company is marketed, so a good experience is crucial to make sure customers have a good word about our company.

My most important resource I believe is being affiliated with Greek Life. Although this does nothing to essentiality help the company run, it provides a huge market of people that I can target for the company. Putting customers first while also being connected with them is going to make it extremely hard for competitors to copy. Also, invading a market that does not have this type of business already in it gives my company an extreme advantage in targeting customers.
Whats next for my venture is expanding to other larger schools across the company. Any school that has a very large population that has a center of living for students like UF will have the potential for this business.
Whats next for me is moving on to bigger concepts, while using while I learned in this venture to help in the process.

Assignment 22A- Elevator Pitch No. 3

The feedback that i received played a lot into how i went about this pitch. I tried to be more persuasive almost and try and make the viewer feel like they really needed the service.

23A-Your Ventures Unfair Advantage

1. Marketing Experience: I have experience doing marketing, such as social media for multiple companies

• Valuable: Marketing is extremely vital for a businesses growth, this is extremely vital 
• Rare: This skill isn't really that rare, but i like to think i kind of have my own style or approach to things 
• Inimitable: Although the usage of marketing is surely imitable, I believe the style that I use is somewhat inimitable 
• Non-substitutable: I could easily pay someone to cover the marketing aspect of the company, but that would waste money on something i actually enjoy doing 

2.  Everlasting Market 

• Valuable: with thousands of new students coming to campus each year, the market will likely never die out as long as there are students on campus
• Rare: this is relatively rare, most companies have to create a new market for them to reach every year, being located on campus basically does that for us
• Inimitable: No other company in my segment has the benefit of new students coming to campus each year 
• Non-substitutable: Most companies die out due to the lack of people in their market

3. Greek Life Affiliation 

• Valuable: This gives me instant connection to thousands of students across campus 
• Rare: Greek Life Affiliation is definitely not rare, but that it for sure helps the business
• Inimitable: It would be very hard for someone to find a better way to connect with so many students as a whole
• Non-substitutable: I find this to be non-substitutable, i think having access to thousands of similar students across campus and knowing what appeals to them is invaluable

4. Entrepreneurship Experience 

• Valuable: This is extremely valuable because i have previous knowledge on what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur 
• Rare: This experience is not rare, but something that is very valuable 
• Inimitable: This could be easy to imitate, but I think the hardest part about this is going out and doing things that gives you experience as an entrepreneur 
• Non-substitutable: This resource is not substitutable

5. Financial Capital 

• Valuable: You would not be able to start up a company like mine without having the capital 
• Rare: This may be rare, not everyone has the capital they need to start up a business 
• Inimitable: This could be imitated, a lot of people either have or know ways they can get enough capital to start a business 
• Non-substitutable: You could go to investors or take out a loan to get the capital you need

6. Interpersonal Skills

• Valuable: Being able to create good connections with people, especially customers is extremely important 
• Rare: This resource is not rare, many people have good people skills 
• Inimitable: Its hard to imitate someone who is good with people, for some it just comes naturally 
• Non-substitutable: There is no substitute for good connections with people, especially in business 

7. Education 

• Valuable: The education I am currently receiving in Business is vital to my future as a businessman
• Rare: This resource is not rare, many people go to college and receive a degree in business 
• Inimitable; Although education can be obtained anywhere, I think what UF offers is very hard to imitate in terms of education
• Non-substitutable: This resource is substitutable, I think people could be well educated without going to school nowadays 

8. Customer-First Mentality 

• Valuable: This mentality is important to have in business, this will allow me to receive great feedback and create a beneficial word of mouth 
• Rare: This may be rare, alot of companies to not care about their customers let alone put them first 
• Inimitable: In my line of business this would be very hard to imitate because there is no other competition that offers the same options as me
• Non-substitutable: This resource is not substitutable 

9. Genderless Demographic 

• Valuable: Not having to appeal to any gender is very valuable 
• Rare: This is not rare 
• Inimitable: This is easy to imitate, a lot of companies appeal to more than just one gender 
• Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable 

10. Maximum Conveniency 

• Valuable: Being able to adhere to any students needs and provide them with the most convenient experience will be vital
• Rare: There are no other companies with this resource so it is rare 
• Inimitable: It could be imitated, but that would take hiring people to be willing to drive places for your customers
• Non-substitutable: I could hire people to drive for me but that is only something I would do if the businesses grows to that point 

My top resource is #1. I think that the service plan and idea will be able to sell itself, I think it is a good enough service as to where people will want to use it if they are exposed to it. Since I am experienced in Marketing, it will be easier for me to reach my market and the people that I am targeting; that is extremely valuable. 

 

Reading Reflection No. 2

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

• What was the general theme or argument of the book? 

The theme of this book was very different from any other that ive ever read. Instead of a made up story that an author uses his imagination to create, this story tells true events in Adams' life that he hopes people can find value through. He hopes that people will be able to learn from his failures, and identifies things that are valueable to sucess that are often overlooked, such as smart friends. He stresses the importance of pushing yourself to your limit, going above and beyond what you think you are capable of. The main theme i interpreted in this book is that life is full of failures and with every failure comes something valuable, it is our job to find the value in each failure 

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

I thought the book connected very well with ENT 3003. For example, the time consuming and tedious assignments that we have every week eventually become alot to handle, in this book i was able to find ways to boost my mental ability and help me work harder when the times get tough. Also, it taught me alot about time management and the importance of being consistant, which are two very important qualities to suceeed im this class 

• 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 exersize for this class, it would have to do with evaluating what you think is the niggest failure of your life so far. I would design it so the person has to talk about everything, what made them fail, what the outcome was, what they think they could have done better. Although some people may think of things well in the past, evaluating failure are extremely important and having a exersize for that in this class would be perfect 

• 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 'aha' moment was when Adams was talking about Passion. I had always thought of passion as the driving force behind sucessful businesspeople, especially entrepreneurs. However, Adams provides reasons and examples statung that people should look alot less for passion on their Search for sucess. An example he gave was that passionate people are more likely to take unrealistic chances because of their immense passion, leading them to have a higher possibility of failure. He goes on to give alternative things to boost energy and moral, but I was diffinetly surprised when he basically told the readers to forget about passion 

Assignment 20A- Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert

• Who are they, what their background is:

Emmanuel, Owner of A-Best Coin Laundry and Dry

• How this person is a "domain expert":

As the owner of a laundry service that is located around campus, he deals with the same audience that i would potentially be targeting. He has years of experience with all of the machines and things necessary to run the business smoothly

• How I found and contacted this person: 

Since this is the service that one of my friends uses, he was not very hard to contact. My friend had his number so I gave him a call and he agreed to meet with me.

• Nature of Exchange: 

We met at his store so I could see everything that went on and evaluate all of the aspects of the service. I asked him questions about the cost of everything to get some knowledge on that side of the business.

• How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

Talking to him about the company as a whole gave me a lot of insight as to how the company runs, including the cost of things. This helps because i can now try and evaluate the potential for profit based on how much everything would cost.

Market Expert

• Who are they, what their background is: 

Stephen, Owner of S & S Cleaners 

• How is this person a "market expert":

He graduated from UF, so he knows the area just as well as anyone. He has been in the business for over 50 years, so therefore has a tremendous amount of experience in the market.

• How I found and contacted this person: 

Stephen was a lot harder to get in contact with, I went to the store and was not able to see him. However when i was there I was given his phone number and when I gave him a call he gave me his email for any questions that I had.

• Nature of Exchange: 

Through many emails, I was able to have a lengthy conversation with him on a lot of topics. First about how he started and what it was like in the beginning. Next he told me what kind of system he uses to be the most efficient. Finally, he told me about how he reaches out to his market, what kind of marketing he likes to use and things of that nature.

• How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity: 

I think he could help tremendously. Not only did he give me a ton of great info on how the company works and what to look out for in the potential business, but having him as someone I can contact can be a huge connection for both knowledge and business relations.

Industry Supplier 

• Who are they, what their background is:

Rani Mahmoudi

• How is this person is a "industry supplier":

He works for a place called Discount Appliances that is located in Gainsville.   

• How I found and contacted this person: 

He is a mutual friend of mine, I was able to get his number and talk to him about the company and everything they provide.

• Nature of Exchange: 

I was able to ask about the different appliances that would be necessary to run the business. All aspects including make/model, durability and price were discussed to get a grip on what the initial investments might come out to cost.

• How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

Having a good relation with some who is familiar with the specific appliances necessary as well as work for a company that sells them in bulk gives me a good connection in terms of executing the business idea. 

Reflection 

This was a really good assignment for me and my business idea. I got to learn alot about running the company and how companies market their business to the people locally. I also got a chance to evaluate alot about how much the business might cost, this is important in figuring out if the business can generate a substantial profit or not. As well as good information, I made connections that could help alot with starting the business and making it run efficiently.

Assignment 19A- Idea Napkin No. 2

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?

I am a college student at UF and I am very ambitious in terms of entrepreneurship. Although I keep myself busy I enjoy relaxing and hanging out with my friends. I am in a fraternity as well, the connections it has brought me is something I see as invaluable. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, most of my family owns their own businesses. Since I have been around it my whole life I appreciate the lifestyle that you have to live in order to be successful. I recognize that life has its ups and downs, so I like to take my failures as learning experiences to try and constantly make myself better. I think my idea could be the best thing for my college experience since I would be able to do it while I'm at UF. As for the future, I like to let my opportunities open up by doing different things, so I see this idea as something that help me think of and execute a much bigger business concept. 

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 customers an alternative way to get your laundry done. Laundry is a widespread problem not only for college students, but placing a business at a university like UF makes it possible to target a large amount of people that all live in the same area. A mindset that I adopted due to my family is that the customer is the most important part of your business, so I will allow them to choose what options they want based on their price range. To start, I would pick up and deliver peoples clothes for them, but over time I would have to hire people to do that for me as the business progresses. 

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 college students at large universities. I believe it would work at a lot of schools, but I use UF because it has a large population in a very small area. The ideal customer would likely be an underclassmen at school, someone who is not used to living on their own and taking care of all of their responsibilities. 

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.

College students tend to struggle managing their time, especially when they do not want to do a tedious task like laundry. Customers will be treated as a priority in this business. Since the best way this business will be marketing is word of mouth, I think customer service is one of the most important part. It is by far the most convenient way for people to get their laundry done simply because they can choose not to even do it themselves.

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

I think my attitude is something that definitely sets me apart from everyone else. I find myself basically becoming obsessed with something when I find an interest in it. I have a lot of passion for certain things, specifically entrepreneurship. I like to think of mentality and drive as something most people don't have, so I find that as one of my biggest advantages. 

6) Evaluate 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 think these elements fit together, but of course there are things that can always be improved. Something that I would like to implement is possible is the Uber-like services that attract drivers. For example, I am confident that I could reach enough people to have people be able to drive when they get some free time and want to make some extra cash. 

7) For the "feedback memo" -- please summarize at least two main points that you took away from the feedback you received. Also, please describe how you incorporated the feedback into this idea napkin. 

The best things that I got out of my feedback is their agreement on how important the customer is to this business concept. They agreed that customer service is extremely vital, while also stating that I should keep my target market as broad as possible. 

Assignment 18A- Create a Customer Avatar

My customer avatar is a female student at large school, the University of Florida. She have a job while also managing a full school schedule. She's on a pre-med track and volunteers her time at the hospital to get some experience. She lives in a dorm, but has a single room to herself. Although she has such a packed schedule she likes going out with her friends, normally on the weekends. She lives in South Florida with her parents and usually waits until she drives home to have them do her laundry for her. Since that takes away from her time at school she doesn't go home that often and her laundry piles up in her room. 

She's has extreme political awareness and is very concerned about women rights in particular. She attended the Women's March in Washington DC after Donald Trump was inaugurated to express her views. Due to her liberal ideology she has a strong affection towards small business as she believes that they are essential to Americas economy.  

After you have created this customer avatar, I'd like you to answer this final set of questions: What do you have in common with the customer avatar? If you have anything in common with the avatar, do you think that is a coincidence? Why?

I think something we have in common is that we both support local businesses. I also keep myself busy, I like to volunteer my time. I dont think that is a coincidence actually. I think the environment at Uf makes it easier to stay involved or volunteer. 

Elevator Pitch No 2

Assignment 16A- Whats Your Secret Sauce?

Five Ways I Have Human Capital

1. Creativity- I like to think as myself and a very creative person, someone who is constantly thinking outside the box. I have always thought of myself as thinking from a different perspective from others and I think that is something that puts me ahead of competition. 
2. Planning Ahead-Ever since I was young, I have kept a journal with business ideas and potential opportunities that can arise in the future. Working in the present but preparing for the future is something I find crucial to the success of my future. By staying aware and always thinking ahead it helps me prepare for certain situations that could arise in the future. 
3. Perseverance-I find that dealing with failure is one of the most important aspects of life, especially with entrepreneurship. That being said, I like to take failure and turn it into motivation in order to persevere in times of struggle. 
4. Connection- Being able to communicate well with others is definitely a strong suite of mine.  I feel that in business first impressions are very important so I try to improve my communication skills regularly. In the future having good connections will be extremely important so meeting new people and making those connections now sets myself up for success in the future. 
5. Confidence-My confidence level is something I feel helps me a lot. I do however know the difference between confidence and cockiness. I see confidence as being able to try new things without fear and being proud of your work whether you succeed or not. Having confidence allows me to think and act outside of my comfort zone to do things some people may not be able to. 

Interviews

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

1. The first person that I interviewed was my mother, since she knows me better than anyone else. She stated that my passion is what separates me from the rest. She explained times as a kid where I would find and interest in something and wouldn't stop working at it until I perfected it. We agreed that is crucial for an entrepreneur, that if you do not become “obsessed” with what you are trying to achieve you will never be the best that you can be at it.
2. My best friend stated that one thing that makes me different is that I am very open-minded. He explained that when a situation occurs I am always the one who takes both sides into consideration before making a decision. Being open minded is important because it helps you analyze situations to recognize the truth instead of being biased in my decisions. 
3. Another friend that I interviewed said that he thought my self motivation is what makes me different. He explained that he himself struggles to find motivation and the fact that I am able to create my own motivation for things is something that will make a huge impact on my life, not only in the business world. 
4. During another interview, I was told that my competitiveness is something that also sets me aside from everyone else. She stated that my hatred for losing is something that drives me to work harder than everyone and is what is the main fuel behind my motivation. 
5. The last interview I had opened my eyes a little bit because my friend pointed out that my level of discipline is what he thinks sets me aside from others. This is something that I had not previously thought about, but something that I developed over time. He explained that my ability to stay level and make the right choices in hard times will be crucial to my success in the future. 

Reflection

After both self-reflecting and asking others what my biggest assets are that make me different, I saw some similarities and differences. Both myself and my interviewees both touched upon the same concepts, but the people I Interviewed were able to point out the things that basically have just come as a habit of mine over time and are not things that I had previously thought about myself. For example, I never really thought of discipline as something to make me different. However after my friend was able to point out ways I was more disciplined than everyone else, I realized it truly is one of the best ways in which I have human capital that makes me unique. 

Assignment 13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

I read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough 

• What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most is how old the Wright brothers were when they found their most fame and success. I had always imagined that entrepreneurs would be in their prime both in life and in their business in their early 30’s, but the Wright Brothers were well older when they were in the prime of their lives in all aspects. Also, the fact that the Wright Brothers came from humble beginnings. I had always viewed them as rich, powerful men who became pioneers in the world when they really came from a small town in Ohio. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? The thing that I most admired about the Wright Brothers is their purity. After learning about their personal lives as well as their business lives, I realized that they were just normal people who fell in love with their craft. The reason I admire their “purity” is because it gives me hope for my future and shows me that regular people just like me can make a huge difference in the world. They also were extremely close-knit, doing almost everything together and spending their free time helping their family. I guess the thing that stood out to me the most that was admirable was their decency as genuine human beings, thats hard to come around nowadays when talking about people who make an impact on the world. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? The thing that I least admire about the entrepreneurs is something most people do not know about the Wright Brothers. This is that due to all of the use that airplanes had in the future within wars, they are known to regret their invention. Their inventions changed the world forever, not only what they were used for in the war. I think they should have appreciated all that they were to do to change the world and appreciated it more, I do not admire people who have ultimate regrets in their lives, especially one that they cannot control. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? The adversity that the Wright Brothers faced that spoke to me the most was a little different. The adversity was when Orville, one of the brothers, got extremely sick. This spoke to me the most because his family was there for him to every extent In this time showing that they were one unit in not only business but real life too. The brothers were known to be extremely close and they worked together, especially in times of need im order to overcome adversity. 
• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? The competencies that stood out to me about the Wright Brothers are their discipline and dedication to their craft. The Wright Brothers were very intelligent men, who often used their intelligence to analyze things from different perspectives than everyone which helped them be so successful. They were so naturally gifted yet worked so hard to go above and beyond with everything, paying such attention to every detail. 
• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. The part in the story thats was confusing to me is when the author was using birds to explain how the Wright Brothers were thinking about flight. I saw the connection that they were making, but the way the author explained everything was confusing to me. Also, all of the specific mechanical talk about airplanes was confusing, Im not the best with that. 
• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, whats  would you ask? Why? The question that I would ask to the Wright Brothers is how they were able to stay so persistent with their work with such a little idea of how the airplane was to work. When the Wright Brothers were working on things such as engines without having any prior experience, they used hard work and their creativity to make it work and I would like to know how they were able to do such a thing. I think their natural ability to make things work was incredible, and I would like to learn how they are so creative and efficient. 
• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I think the entrepreneurs option of hard work was staying persistent and never giving up no matter what. The Wright Brothers were so persistent despite so much adversity, the thing that I took out the most about their work ethic was their ability to face so many road blocks and mental barriers trying to perfect their craft but finding ways to push through and somehow find a way. 

Assignment 15A- Figuring Our Buyer Behavior No. 2

After interviewing these three people, I've learned that there are only a couple of other companies that I would have to compete with. What I found is that to college students, price is often the most important part of the evaluation process. Students are known to struggle with finances so offering a lower price than the competition is going to be important. That being said, the conveniency of the service is also important in customers evaluation. In terms of laundry services, having a delivery driver is what is going to put your company above the rest, it also allows you to charge more money. The interviewees talked a lot about how appealing it is to have your laundry delivered to your door, having that aspect in my business is going to help me get ahead of the competition. 

The interview that gave me the most insight is definitely be the last one, which gave me a perspective in how well my idea would go with offering the subscriptions. After talking for over a half-hour, I found that offering subscriptions would help tremendously. That is because I found that students often do not have a lot of cash on them when they are in college. That being said, most resort to credit or debit cards to make their purchases, which is why offering subscriptions is a good idea. I say that because if people were allowed to set up a payment plan where they can choose how often they are to have their laundry done and pay a monthly fee, they would have the cards available to pay for said subscription, making cash a secondary payment option. 

Finally, the most important part of the business within this segment is the customers experience with the company. Whether the customer enjoys the service that is being provided is what is going to attract the customer base to make the business successful. Word of mouth is the best form of marketing for a company, especially in a college town such as Gainesville. Giving customers a great experience where they are both happy with the results and the service will put us ahead of the competition. 

Assignment 14A- Halfway Reflection

1. Tenaciousness is a competency: One of the key behaviors that has helped me through this class is productivity. This class has helped me develop my entrepreneurship skills and has helped me think of ideas in and out of the class. Having to keep up with a class with this style keeps me constantly thinking and forces me to be more productive throughout my day.
2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude: Moments where I feel blocked or stuck is when I feel like giving up. Sitting there not being able to think of things is very frustrating, but my desire to develop myself both as an adult and a entrepreneur pushes me though. I understand that I am not always going to be as quick and efficient as I want, but I am going to have to push myself to get to where I want to go. I feel like I really have developed a tenacious attitude within the past few months and that is due to my grueling schedule. Constantly doing different things throughout my day forces me to try new things and develop new behaviors without realizing in the moment. 
3. Three Tips: 

• Learn to appreciate the tough times; to the times when you find yourself wanting to give up are the most important times. This is when you are going to find out things you didnt know about yourself and your potential. 
• Become extremely organized; being organized will help you be efficient throughout your days. Having your day planned out beforehand and establishing a schedule to get everything done will really help you become much more productive. 
• Perfect. Time Management; knowing how to make full use of your time will help you find the results that you desire. 

Assignment 12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Assignment 12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 

• Findings: I was really happy with how the interviews went, I was able to talk to a bunch of people to gain awareness and find out specific needs. What I observed is that people become aware of their needs very early in the year when coming to college, a lot of freshman realize the inconvenience and any returning students realize they still don't like doing laundry. That being said, it is important to market before school starts to establish a market early. After the interviews I realized social media will play a big role in getting customers so that is something that can be established before students get to school. What I found is that the first thing they do is google a solution or ask a friend, which means that having a good ratings and advertisements  on the internet is important as well as establishing a good word of mouth, which I believe will come with excellent service. Also, I found that targeting students living on campus makes it crucial to have things such as signs and posters around campus for students to see as they move throughout campus. Most search terms when googled fall under categories both specific such as “laundry services near me” or less specific such as “best way to do laundry in college.”
• Conclusions: This segment is a really crucial part to the success of the business. After interviewing a bunch of people about specifics, I realized that I'm going to have to dig deeper into the marketing of the company. I am going to have to be really specific with how I market to people because the majority of the way this type of business gets around is through word of mouth. I feel that the best way to get a good reputation and word of mouth is to offer exceptional service and create the best experience possible for the customers. 

Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A-Idea Napkin Number 1

1. I am a sophomore here at the University of Florida. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, most of which own their own companies or have done so at some point in their life. I personally started gaining an interest in high school; I am from New York and I started a little snow removal business using plows and snowblowers with my friends in the winter. Also, during the summer I started making marketing videos for companies to use for their social media, so marketing is something i see as one of my talents. As for my business concept, I aspire to solve the problem that college students having doing laundry. This business if i were to start would be easily marketable across campus coming from someone who lives on campus. It would also give me tremendous experience in entrepreneurship and benefit my future.
2. I am offering a hybrid-like laundry service for everyone at the University of Florida. With the potential to be located on campus, students may chose if they want to come do their own laundry, drop off their laundry or have it picked up for them. Having many options to offer students allows you to target all different types of people with different types of needs. 
3. I am offering it to everyone here at the University of Florida. After interviewing multiple types of people and hearing about all different needs that people here, as well as myself have.  The target market is students at UF, regardless of age. The age of students that I decide to specifically target I believe will show itself as the businesses goes where I will then readjust, but to start I will be targeting everyone. I am using this approach so I do not underestimate the potential and miss out on certain people because i decided to chose an group right away. 
4. Students like myself value something such as a laundry service because it is something that is convenient while also saving them a lot of time on something they all realistically do not want to do. Laundry, especially for college students, is a time consuming errand in which can almost consume your day. 
5. What sets my concept apart is the fact that we put the customers before ourselves, as they are the most important part of the business. There is no other service here at UF that has multiple options with multiple prices ranges, which really sets our company apart from the competition. Giving students the ability to choose what price they are able to pay based on the conveniency is extremely appealing and would make our company much more marketable than the rest. 

I think all the aspects of my business really fit together. Being a student at the school while also being in a fraternity gives me a head start on marketing my idea because I am marketing it to all of my peers and fellow students. After both living here and gaining experience after opening the business, I will become much more accustomed with the ins and outs of the business and my approach to the market. The only aspect I may see being a problem is the competition. I plan on making my company the only one one recognized here at UF by marketing well, but if other companies start gaining a customer base before hand there will have to be some changes. 

Assignment 9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: 

• After going through a new set of interviews with all different types of people, I realized that not everyone here in Gainesville is inside of my market. The main group of people that are outside of my market are students that have been doing their own laundry their whole life. These students have had experience being independent and taking care of things by themselves, making laundry not a burden but simply just another part of their day. Although those people agreed that laundry was not something that they enjoyed doing, they still did not have a problem doing it alone. Also, after interviewing another resident from Gainesville, I was able tom realize that expanding the market to outside of UF students is not a good idea. I say that due to something that one of my interviewees said, he explained “I might be interested in a service, but I think if you start offering it to everyone in Gainesville, you might start to see higher costs for your business”. This was something that really opened my eyes, especially because I did not even ask any questions to create a response like that. I think the responses that I received when asking about broadening my market to all of Gainesville made me realize that students are the true target market, and the general public in Gainesville is outside of my market. 
• Also, after interviewing a new set of people and asking all of them their thoughts on possibly using subscriptions, I realized it opened up a market for people that I anticipated to be outside the market. The interviewees really liked the idea of using subscriptions, especially interviewee number 2. When asked if he would buy a subscription if available he responded saying “100%, if I were able to pay monthly to have my laundry done for me two times a week it would change my life”. 

What: 

• With the addition of subscriptions added to the options given by my hybrid laundry service, I am able to appeal to every type of customer that is within my market. Throughout the process, the only thing that did not change was peoples opinions on doing laundry. After conducting multiple interviews with all different types of people, the common theme between everyone was that no one liked doing laundry, and quite frankly most people absolutely hate it. 

Why: 

• After multiple rounds of interviews, the reasoning behind the opportunity stayed the same too. The inconvenience, time consuming and sometimes expensive act of doing laundry by yourself are the main reasons why college students struggle so much with laundry and why this opportunity has tremendous potential. 

	Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who:	College students who have never done their own laundry	Residents of Gainesville that do not attend UF
	Students looking for their laundry to be done for them	Students who have always done their own laundry
What:	Providing multiple options for students to get their laundry done	Providing services for the general public in Gainesville
	Offering subscriptions for students to get their laundry done consistently
Why:	College students struggle with doing their own laundry. Whether its problems with convenience, time commitment or financial reasons, laundry is a burden to college students everywhere and the opportunity to help them holds huge potential for profits.