30A Final Reflection

1.)I truly enjoyed being able to expand on all my thoughts through the blog. I also enjoyed reading through other blog posts and seeing different perspectives.

2.) The elevator pitches fall under all the questions asked here. I used the feedback given to me and I was able to improve with each elevator pitch.

3.) I do see myself as an entrepreneur since I was really able to visit several different aspects associated with running a business. I'm aware of the time commitment that successful entrepreneurs need to make.

4.) In order to perform best in this class, getting work done ahead of time is a key part. The due dates for blogposts are also 12pm so that's something students need to pay attention to. Also, being passionate about the product or service they choose to take on since you'll be working with it all semester.

 

29A Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

The people who have the need are middle-aged working class people who shop online as their preferred method of obtaining goods. There's also a market for college students out there because they often use the internet to order their textbooks or apartment essentials. College students don't have much time and money on their hands so it's important that those things are well accounted for. In terms of the nature of the need, people want their packages to be delivered safely on-time. Often times, that's not the case since the package can be reported as missing or it could've been stolen. I've spoken to several people about this topic and it's evident that this is an issue they experience as well. Having to endure long wait times on the phone about a missing package is not what people would prefer doing. Also, sometimes a police report is required if the package is believed to be stolen and that requires even more time and effort. The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the increasing use of online shopping, especially in times like this where traditional shops are limited due to the virus. Aside from that, some people live in apartments where the package is just sitting in front of the door waiting to be claimed and often times, it isn't the right people claiming it. The market can vary based on geographical locations. For example, an apartment complex with college students would probably bring about more customers for this product in comparison to a gated community. Now just because a community is gated doesn't mean any crime can't take place so there's also that to consider as well. I see the opportunity being pretty bug because I have't heard something like this in the field before and the benefits that come along with it are tough to pass up. I say the window of opportunity will be open as long as online shopping continues to be a prominent component of shopping. There will also be promotions aimed to help people purchase the product. These promotions will be targeted towards mainly college students.

Innovation

To give an overview, this product helps facilitate the safe delivery of products to consumers front door. The product would be a hard plastic box that is installed outside the front door/porch of people's residence. This box will be secured with a unique pin that allows access to the box. The box will also be available in different sizes and the price would vary based on the size of the box. The original style sized box would be sold for $29.99 with free installation and a lifetime guarantee. By doing this, we show our confidence and value in our product. Manufacturing the box shouldn't take much money so the margins will be beneficial to the company.

Venture Concept 

In terms of switching to this product; there isn't a true competitor in this field so it's mainly just selling the customer on this new product and it's effectiveness. It'll take elaborate marketing strategies along with tutorials on how to use the product just to ensure there isn't any confusion. We don't want our customers to be mislead so being transparent is also another large part of what we stand for. Customer support is something that the company really wants to focus on because the purpose of this product is to reduce any hassle involved with the delivery of packages ordered online and we want to ensure that is taking place. We will receive customer support and feedback through surveys and reviews. When thinking about creating a whole business instead of one product, that is something that I definitely have in mind because I want to create multiple products of this nature. That would require hiring more employees and assigning managers to work with these employees. We don't want to get to a point where we hire too many people.

Three Minor elements 

The most important resources would be satisfying our customers to a level where they are doing the advertising for us, in a sense. That is by them taking part in word of mouth to their peers and family members. What we have will make it tough for competitors to match since I'm establishing this to be more than just a product, I want the customers experience to be unmatched. Next for the venture, I want to expand the product line where a need for safe delivery is present. In 5 years, I want to have fully established my product in the domestic market and then integrate it internationally. This first venture will give me experience as to what will and won't work in terms of the product and customer service. Actually, instead of 5 years, I was thinking to keep the company for at least 10 years and then sell it for a large return.

Feedback: The feedback I received was mainly centered around being more elaborate and descriptive towards my product. I did this by including more examples and details about not only the product but the service thats associated with it.

28A Your Exit Strategy

1.) In terms of exit strategy, I plan on holding onto my company for at least 10 years before selling it for a large return. I say 10 years because I want to establish my company and ensure it's sustainable. 

2.) I selected this particular exit strategy because I want to expand my diversity in the types of business I deal with. I don't plan on working within the same industry my whole life. I'm someone who enjoys change and takes it as a challenge to enhance my work. I also wouldn't consider making it a family business for generations to come because what if that particular trade isn't something they're interested in. Growing up, kids develop different interests and I would want my kids to exploit those interests by pursuing careers that they value. 

3.) One thing my exit strategy may affect in my concepts were my plans of expanding overseas once my product is domestically established. There's a 10-year window for that to take place so it may still be a possibility. Other than that, I don't think it influences any of my concepts as I had this exit strategy in mind initially. 

27A Reading Reflection No. 3

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

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

- The general theme of the book was pretty much advice and tips on ways to perfect your social media in a sense. This aim at perfection will be used to build a professional platform which will help drive one's business.  It ranges from giving you examples of using things to do all the way to telling you exactly what not to do as that won't help you achieve your purpose. 

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

- It connects with what we're learning in this class because we're taught to carry ourselves professionally and brand ourselves as how we want to be perceived. This book gives enhances what we're learning by giving specific examples of things to partake in on our social media which is now a large part of our generation.  

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

- That exercise would involve the class to make a list of their own in terms of what activities and posts they believe are appropriate for their social media. Afterwards, we would discuss the list and evaluate the impact of every decision. 

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?

- Honestly, my biggest surprise was the specificity of the examples that were being used. Often times, we're given advice that can't be applied to every situation but in this book, there was literally no room for interpretation. I expected it to be very baseline and sort of things that we were already aware of.  

26A Celebrating Failure

A time this past semester where I failed was my idea of going to the gym consistently. I've played sports my whole life but ever since college started, my schedule started becoming very hectic providing little room for extracurricular activities. One of those activities being, going to the gym. I would often tell myself, tomorrow is the day I'll start going to the gym. Tomorrow would come and I would make up some excuse not to go. This happened for at least a month; I would constantly try to go to the gym but something would prevent me from going. I took this as a failure because I wasn't getting this one thing that's constantly on my mind done. I learned that it was my motivation that was lacking so I did a few things to help improve that. In terms of how I handle failure, it's primarily behaviorally. If I fail at something, I need to learn why that outcome happened and a change in behavior must be put into place to prevent the same outcome as before. This class did impact my perspective on failure, I realized the value in every opportunity and how it doesn't make sense not to chase an opportunity because the worst case scenario will be failure and at the least, you're learning something about why you failed.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

The people who have the need are middle-aged working class people who shop online as their preferred method of obtaining goods. There's also a market for college students out there because they often use the internet to order their textbooks or apartment essentials. College students don't have much time and money on their hands so it's important that those things are well accounted for. In terms of the nature of the need, people want their packages to be delivered safely on-time. Often times, that's not the case since the package can be reported as missing or it could've been stolen. I've spoken to several people about this topic and it's evident that this is an issue they experience as well. Having to endure long wait times on the phone about a missing package is not what people would prefer doing. Also, sometimes a police report is required if the package is believed to be stolen and that requires even more time and effort. The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the increasing use of online shopping, especially in times like this where traditional shops are limited due to the virus. Aside from that, some people live in apartments where the package is just sitting in front of the door waiting to be claimed and often times, it isn't the right people claiming it. The market can vary based on geographical locations. For example, an apartment complex with college students would probably bring about more customers for this product in comparison to a gated community. Now just because a community is gated doesn't mean any crime can't take place so there's also that to consider as well. I see the opportunity being pretty bug because I have't heard something like this in the field before and the benefits that come along with it are tough to pass up. I say the window of opportunity will be open as long as online shopping continues to be a prominent component of shopping.

Innovation

To give an overview, this product helps facilitate the safe delivery of products to consumers front door. The product would be a hard plastic box that is installed outside the front door/porch of people's residence. This box will be secured with a unique pin that allows access to the box. The box will alos be available in different sizes and the price would vary based on the size of the box. The original style sized box would be sold for $29.99 with free installation and a lifetime guarantee. By doing this, we show our confidence and value in our product. Manufacturing the box shouldn't take much money so the margins will be beneficial to the company.

Venture Concept 

In terms of switching to this product; there isn't a true competitor in this field so it's mainly just selling the customer on this new product and it's effectiveness. It'll take elaborate marketing strategies along with tutorials on how to use the product just to ensure there isn't any confusion. We don't want our customers to be mislead so being transparent is also another large part of what we stand for. Customer support is something that the company really wants to focus on because the purpose of this product is to reduce any hassle involved with the delivery of packages ordered online and we want to ensure that is taking place. We will receive customer support and feedback through surveys and reviews. When thinking about creating a whole business instead of one product, that is something that I definitely have in mind because I want to create multiple products of this nature. That would require hiring more employees and assigning managers to work with these employees.

Three Minor elements 

The most important resources would be satisfying our customers to a level where they are doing the advertising for us, in a sense. That is by them taking part in word of mouth to their peers and family members. What we have will make it tough for competitors to match since I'm establishing this to be more than just a product, I want the customers experience to be unmatched. Next for the venture, I want to expand the product line where a need for safe delivery is present. In 5 years, I want to have fully established my product in the domestic market and then integrate it internationally. This first venture will give me experience as to what will and won't work in terms of the product and customer service.

25A- What's Next?

Existing Market

In terms of what is next, I want establish the domestic market to ensure my product is sustainable. After that, I want to expand it internationally because I feel like the need exists there as well. After speaking with a few people, it's evident that a need for effective marketing needs to be put into action to advertise to different age groups. In terms of what customers want next, if they see the value in the initial product, they're most likely going to look for other products the company offers. I would want to either make an extension of the product or create a new product for a different line.

New Market

A market that I'm planning to target is the college student market. College students are often ordering products online so that results in a higher number of packages being put out. College students are always on the move so it's important that they're not wasting their time trying to deal with the hassle of a missing package. Aside from the time, most college students are living on a budget so having their package being stolen or misplaced wouldn't turn out too well for them. After interviewing a couple people, they again spoke about how the marketing of the product is essential especially to different age groups because nowadays, people are drawn in by creative marketing strategies.

Reflection

What I learned about the new market is that there is definitely opportunities there because I'm a college student and I feel like this product would be useful. That was later confirmed by other college students which actually made it believable. I'm not sure if it's attractive as my initial market because college students don't have the luxury of disposable income so it may be tougher for some students to buy products that they don't use on a regular basis.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Social capital

• Valuable- People working with me will have ample experience in the field.
• Rare- To an extent, there are certain people who have credibility in the field, they just have to be found. 
• Inimitable- To have the exact type of team as me including all the different perspectives people bring to the table.
• Non-substitutable- Wouldn't exchange the people on my team. 

2. Simplicity

• Valuable- Won't be a hassle for the customer to figure out how to use product
• Rare- With all the technology today, use of products can be tricky for different age groups
• Inimitable- A patent could be put into play 
• Non-substitutable- Only product of its kind in the market 

3. Convenient Product

• Valuable- It'll make the lives of people easier
• Rare- Many products are tough to use/handle 
• Inimitable- Hard to replicate 
• Non-substitutable- Essential for those who work long hours

4. Maintenance Product

• Valuable- Not much maintenance required 
• Rare- Easy to sustain
• Inimitable- Tough to replicate 
• Non-substitutable- Serves the right purpose 

5. Experience

• Valuable- Expertise in the field
• Rare- Great team of workers who have credible experience 
• Inimitable- Tough to match skills on team
• Non-substitutable- Takes a whole team effort to successfully carry out protocol

6. Affordability

• Valuable- Helpful for our target market
• Rare- Tough to match price 
• Inimitable- Sustainable in comparison to competitors
• Non-substitutable- Quality isn't degraded because of convenient price

7. Customer experience

• Valuable- Retention and word of mouth to acquire new customers
• Rare- Truly care about giving the customer the best experience possible
• Inimitable- Connect with customers on a personal level
• Non-substitutable- Leave a great impression of our company with each and every customer 

8. Insurance guarantee

• Valuable- Shows our confidence in the product
• Rare- Not many companies match this
• Inimitable- Ensuring our product lives up to the standards of the customer
• Non-substitutable- Giving the customer peace in mind if anything happens to the product

9. Friendly Atmosphere

• Valuable- Make customers comfortable to reach out and address any concerns or questions
• Rare- Making an effort to truly interact with customer
• Inimitable- Being authentic helps strengthen relationships
• Non-substitutable- Making the customer feel welcome and appreciative of their business

10. Technology 

• Valuable- Makes it simpler for people to control
• Rare- New method that's being introduced into field
• Inimitable- Making our product unique to our customers
• Non-substitutable- Making it evident that our product lives up to expectations through effectively marketing

22A Elevator Pitch No. 3

1.https://www.youtube.com/watchv=jJfZb8rAUGQhp4t

2&3. The feedback I received was primarily about bringing up the energy from past videos. To do that, I altered my script a bit to include some parts that I can be more enthusiastic. Another thing was to include a few more details about the product which I also revised and included in the script. All the feedback I received made a lot of sense so I carried out the necessary actions. 

21A Reading Reflection No. 2

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

1. In this book, Scott Adams discusses his many failures that he encountered throughout his career but that didn't stop him. The key was that he learned from all these failures little by little which eventually led him to get it right. 

2. This book connects with ENT 3003 because it's similar in the sense that the important part is learning from mistakes and improving your work based on feedback. It's about the progression since it's essential to take everything in. 

3. If I had to design an exercise for the class, I would ask them to tell me of a time where they learned a valuable lesson from a mistake that occurred. I wouldn't ask for too much info, I just want the theme or lesson that was taken into account. 

4. My biggest surprise was a bit of 2 things. First one, I didn't know he struggled that much but I see now that it all played a part. Also, he was very involved in the community with donating money to charity and providing funding for startups.