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

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#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.