Week 15 Reading Reflection

I think the most interesting or surprising bit of information I took from this article related to customer loyalty. Attributing focusing on the customer and customer loyalty as the main reason for growth seems like a given, but I feel like many companies ice over that fact and give credit to the advertising or the marketing department of the business for keeping customers. Truly focusing on the customer and their needs is something a lot of companies should do more of and worry less about the financial bottom line.

I think this article was well written and clear. However some of the topics within the article were a little difficult to follow. For example, microfinance as a concept is a very deep subject matter to get into in such a small article but the author did a good job making it as clear as possible.

I think one question I would want to ask the author is what was the beginning of this startup like? Growing a company that has thin margins seems like a difficult task and I wonder if there were a lot of times of doubt or worry that he would go under?

The other question I would ask the author of this article is about the vision of his company. Did you see it growing to what it is today? Or did it surpass your expectations? Setting goals is an important aspect of business and I wonder if this was the game plan the entire time.

I don't think that there was anything within this article that the author was wrong about. The author presented his information in a way where it was clear what the author intended to say through his word choice and he used details to back up his statements.

Final Reflection - "Reflection"

Looking at my blog from the beginning of the semester seemed like a bittersweet adventure. I remember when I read that would we would be keeping a blog this semester and feeling a sense of excitement because I have always wanted to have a blog. Little did I know my blog and I would be attached at the hip for the duration of the semester. I am actually sad that this class is over and reflecting on the experiences brought back a sense of all sorts of emotions. Overcoming the awkwardness that was customer interviews and the free money exercise, to creating a new venture in my company Stud-ease I have come a long way since the beginning of the semester. Watching my first elevator pitch and seeing my comfortability and confidence grow in front of the camera is awesome to witness from beginning to end. Realizing that failure is a part of life and even the most successful people today have been through it and come out on the other side. There are so many takeaways from this course that I can't simply narrow it down to one. 

Creating an entrepreneurial mindset seemed like just an idea at the beginning of the semester, almost like one of the course objectives every professor lays out in the syllabus and never really revisits at any point in the semester. But starting with a clear objective and almost doing a check up on that objective really made me think and process what that objective means to me now. When I first recorded the video saying the mantra it was nothing but words, now I can say that it makes sense and has more meaning. Being an entrepreneur doesn't have to be owning your own business but how you function and how you think about things in any job you are in. I can definitively say I am an entrepreneur.

The best advice I can give to a new student taking this course is just to try everything! This course will take you out of your comfort zone and I encourage you to let it. This course isn't about future oriented concepts that you hope to put in your back pocket and hopefully use someday, but it provides information and gives you experiences in four months that you will take with you far beyond your time at UF. You can only grow when you step out of your comfort zone, try things and if you fail try some more, your dreams are always obtainable with the proper mindset, and I encourage you to redefine failure. View it as an opportunity to learn as opposed to a let down and try again! 

I thought it only fitting as it is the final reflection to include a quote from the ultimate dreamer Walt Disney himself. "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney 

Elevator Pitch No. 4

In the last elevator pitch I did the main piece of criticism I received was that the audio clips I used in my pitch were distracting. It did seem to be a little bit of a distraction for me as I tried to remember the pitch and play the audio at precisely the right time. I can understand how the audience may be distracted by it too. Other than that general consensus of feedback the majority of the feedback was positive. People said I seemed confident in my pitch and really seemed to deliver the information well. 

Based upon the feedback I received I decided to make this pitch straightforward. Even though many people enjoyed the props I had used in previous pitches, I felt as though I knew the information like the back of my hand and just went for it. I personally enjoyed the uniqueness of my other pitches, but seeing that it was my last pitch I decided to make  it as straightforward and professional as possible. I felt so much more comfortable than I did the first time I attempted this exercise and am thankful for all of the feedback I received throughout the semester. :)  

Venture Concept No. 2

Stud-Ease 

The opportunity I have identified is found within the college age students demographic. The learning curve leap students take from high school to college is a big one and can be especially large when it comes to exams. Often in high school, students are almost hand held through what an exam will be like and the content that will be covered. But when it comes to college, receiving a study guide can seem like finding the golden ticket in a Willy Wonka chocolate bar. Exams at the college level are much more difficult and can seem daunting to new students and even more experienced students if studying is difficult for them. There isn’t necessarily a cookie cutter way or an easy how to guide when it comes to studying. It can be discouraging to many college age students when they can’t find a way to study that works for them and exam after exam they are not scoring up to their potential. Not to mention some college courses are more difficult than others to understand and trying to find a way to study on top of that is a lot of stress for anyone to handle. With the amount of college campuses across the country, and the number of students enrolled each semester, the opportunity to assist in this problem seems promising.

The business idea I have developed is called Stud-ease. This is a studying service and aid that takes into account the concept that people learn and retain information differently. It sets itself apart because of the way it differentiates learning style through my proprietary Learning Style Assessment Quiz. This quiz which is offered free through the website identifies the learning style that best suits you and can group you into one of three categories: visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner. You will receive your results and then will be offered a monthly subscription to gain access to thousands of new resources at your fingertips designed specifically for your style of learning. The monthly subscription would be around $14.99 and would be the sole way the company gains revenue. The students would gain access to online tutors for specific courses that are especially difficult on the college level, alongside studying tips and video tutorials that would cater to the way they are able to best retain information. I would do a soft launch to begin with based on two campus locations, The University of Florida located in Gainesville and the University of South Florida in Tampa. As a student at UF I know courses and have quick access to student feedback, the reasoning behind selecting USF as a second location is my background with the campus. I attended classes there for a few years as an undergrad before transferring to UF and am still located in Tampa, FL. Selecting just two campuses to begin with would allow me to get product feedback before expanding to campuses throughout the country.

My company will help the opportunity I identified because of the personalization it offers and the uniqueness of the concept. Researching top competitors in the market I have found many companies that offer tutors but not a single one is based off of the learning style of the student. Identifying learning styles in students has become an interesting topic of research and using this to my advantage will help to differentiate my product from my competitors. The online convenience will be an asset as well since it will enable students to study and use resources in their time and whenever they find the need.  I believe a monthly subscription base for my venture is the best way to make revenue since it isn’t a long term commitment and offers an out for the consumer at any time. As a college student I can identify with the uneasiness of pledging money months in advance to a product and how difficult it is to commit to that in the consumer's mind. As college students balancing tuition and living expenses is enough to worry about each semester without having to commit to a long term subscription to a service that might not be viewed as a necessity. Setting the subscription as a smaller number would be less intimidating to the customer base I am looking to capture. In terms of employment I would need a few employees to troubleshoot and run some aspects of the day to day operations, but my most employed would be online tutors. Being online will allow them to be located anywhere across the country and offering part time hours could be a good income supplication for educators.

The most important resource to my company is the Learning Style Assessment Quiz. This quiz is what sets my company apart from competitors in the market and is the basis for the resources that are personalized for each student. The next product I would classify as “in the works” would be based on the major exams college students take. For example the CPA exam accountants take, the entrance exam for Law School, Medical school exams etc. Utilizing learning styles into studying for these tests can be big money makers and would be structured a little differently. Instead of a monthly subscription I would charge a one-time flat fee and offer it as a course with modules instead, still personalized based upon their learning style. These exams are very important to the career path these students wish to take and can be a great addition to my company. I would hope to have this product up and running at least five years into my company’s hard launch. I hope that in the same time span that expansion has taken place and the company structure is solid. I would like to always be a part of the company in some realm even though my true desire is to open my own music store and teach lessons, hopefully within the next ten years.

Feedback: I received quite the assortment of feedback for my venture concept and other assignments related to my venture idea. One of the most common pieces of critique I got was about the competitiveness of the market. I agree that the education market is a highly competitive market and has big players like Pearson, ACT/SAT etc. But our unfair advantage of the Learning Assessment Quiz is something that will set us apart in this market. Another piece of feedback that I have taken away from this concept is the verbal proof of concept. Many people have told me that they can relate to this problem and would consider getting a subscription, this helps to confirm that I have found the target audience after narrowing it down from the beginning of the semester. 

Based upon the comments on my first venture concept I gathered that the $19.99 price point could be a little on the higher end for a college student's budget on a monthly subscription basis. Due to this feedback I decided to set the price at $14.99 per month in order to engage a wider audience. As a college student myself I can understand how $20 a month can be steep when considering the other costs of college as well. 

Google Gold

In order to increase the search engine optimization for my blog I really tried to use the tools this class provided to generate more views. For starters on each blog comment I did this semester I tried to relate to the person's blog post I was reviewing and then encourage them to read my blog by sharing the URL. I also tried to utilize, when I was able, modern phrases or words that people would google regularly. For example, for my halfway reflection I quoted lyrics to a Bon Jovi song that people might google.

The main key word that I tried to use was the company name that I came up with which was Stud-ease. In a majority of my posts I included it, in my YouTube video titles I tried to include as well as the blog titles I was able to. I stuck with this word throughout the semester and tried to use it often. "Learning Assessment Quiz" was another phrase I tried to use often since people are always trying to find out more about themselves, maybe this was something that people could google or be curious about from time to time.

When it came to sharing my blog with others I told my parents, grandparents and friends about my blog and showed them some of the content I have on my blog. I also was able to share the URL with several of them which they were able to look at on their own free time. Every single person who viewed it and told me about it gave me positive reviews. They especially liked how professional it looked and the elevator pitch videos I have embedded within it.

The post that gained the most traffic this semester was "Customer Interview No.1" with all of my elevator pitch posts running a close second. When looking at all of these post I did notice that all of the post had the phrase "Stud-ease" in the title which lends me to believe that a search engine could have helped in the traffic these posts obtained. I also think part of this traffic was due to the fact that other students might have viewed them for commenting purposes.

When I googled "Stud-ease" my blog did appear on the top of the search engine! It actually linked right to one of the elevator pitches in my blog. The other key phrase I tried to incorporate towards the end of the semester didn't yield any results when googling it.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

One thing I found really interesting was in chapter 4 of the assigned reading. The triple bottom line section was extremely well structured and gave great examples in terms of each aspect of the triple bottom line. Many companies would just assume when it comes down to that the financial bottom line is the most important to a company but seeing it laid out next to the environmental and social bottom lines as well really puts it in perspective.

The only term in these chapters that was a little confusing was the term "intracapital" The context it is used in chapter 3 isn't very detailed and it is just sort of mentioned briefly, not really defining the definition of the term and how it relates to the entrepreneurial mindset.

My first question pertains to the I-Team which is mentioned in chapter 3 of the text. It is defined as two or more people who formally create and share ownership of a new organization. This concept seems a little confusing because it seems as if it can get confused with a leadership team or ownership. How do you distinguish this group within a business? Is it necessary to distinguish them, or can they hold other jobs focused in different areas of the company?

Diaspora networks are a concept that I have never heard of before reading in this chapter. The author did a good job explaining how they are relevant today but also noted that they have been important for a long time to companies. My question is how were they measured in an age that didn't have social media and the internet? What are some resources other companies used in order to measure the strength and the relationship with these networks?

In both of these chapters I think the author presented the information in a way that was clear. He also provided a variety of resources that helped reiterate the points he made in both chapters. Due to his thoroughness I do not believe there is anything within these chapters that the author is incorrect about.

Very Short Interview - Part 2

When reviewing the interview that I conducted in the first part of the semester, it was a good reminder of what great advice I had received. Being able to have written this information down and look back on it is something I am glad to have done. The advice I received about entrepreneurship still stands true if not more true because of the insight and wisdom I have gained in this course. If someone is able to talk you out of pursuing starting your own business then that is a definite red flag and is something you should really think about. I think that the characteristics that Mr. Hudson mentioned also ring more true because of the knowledge I have gained throughout the semester in the lessons of perseverance and humility. 

What is a typical day like for you?

     Most days for me start at 6:00 AM, but fortunately I work from home so I don’t have to commute to work. My companies are based on a mobile design since it is a service entity so there is not a brick and mortar location. I spend a majority of my day talking on the phone or working on the computer, but some days I am traveling all over the state of Florida and doing inspections. The day typically ends around 7:00 or 8:00 at night but I am able to do personal things throughout the day because of my flexible schedule. 

 What types of tasks do you spend most of your time doing?

     If I were to break it down into percentages then I would say I spend about 50% of time looking at and dealing with various government compliances. This includes licenses and permits, building codes and so much more. I probably spend about 20% of my time doing accounting tasks, primarily payables and receivables. Another 10% I spend on managing my staff and employees. Another 10% of my time I spend on business growth, this is mostly sales and marketing stuff. And then the last 10% is mostly miscellaneous tasks that differ day to day. 

What aspect of your job has been most satisfying?

     The most satisfying thing about owning my own businesses would have to be the freedom I have. Being able to be there for my children is the most important. I can honestly say I have never missed a first (word/baseball game/award etc.) for either of my kids. The freedom also allows me to volunteer in my church easily as well. The most unsatisfying thing would have to be the fact that I can never escape it. I have to be present all the time. I don’t get to clock out like a normal 8-5er. Even when I am on vacation I have to be available for anything. The other hard aspect has to be the responsibility. I have a responsibility to my family and to the families of my employees and if I fail then many other things will fail too. My family could lose their house, my kids college funds could disappear and lots of other things.

Again I would have to say the answers that I received were very insightful and there was clearly a lot of thought put into them which I greatly appreciate. Knowing how a normal day goes for an entrepreneur and hearing some of the pros and cons of the job are great tips I can utilize as I look towards the future of owning my own business. The answers I received three months ago were helpful in beginning the course and these answers are also helpful as we look to end the course. Interviewing in this class was difficult in the beginning but has become much easier as the class has progressed and for that I am grateful. 

Week 13 Reading Reflection

The most surprising aspect of this chapter for me was the checklist for analyzing a business and the due diligence process. I didn't realize the amount of questions and sections of a business that must really be taken into a business before deciding to purchase or pursue that venture. It went for several pages in the text and was rather extensive which honestly shocked me.

The only real vocabulary word of the chapter that was a tad bit confusing was the term undercapitalization. I think the definition is a little unclear and doesn't really help to define what the terms means in how it relates to analyzing a business.

One question I have pertaining to the text is in regards to due diligence. It seems to be a very formatted formula with step by step categories and questions that help evaluate a business. The question I have pertaining to this concept is about the formula. Is the one provided in the text one that is used by most people in order to evaluate a company or does it vary based on the company and business being evaluated? Obviously financials are important to all aspects of the business but the intangibles differ based upon the service or product the business offers.

The second question I have relates to the avoiding start-up costs excerpt of the chapter. The section states that some buyers will pay more for a business than the value it truly is because they are trying to avoid the start up costs of a new business. My question is how does this make sense? How can you put a price on the amount of exposure and the reviews a business has already garnered in comparison to the cost it would be to start this fresh? That seems like a difficult cost to estimate and I would like to know the method they would use to estimate these costs.

This chapter on valuing entrepreneurial ventures was very detailed and provided a lot of good information. After reading the chapter I don't think there was anything that author was incorrect about due to the explanations that were utilized throughout the chapter.

Celebrating Failure

One of the most defining moments in this class for me was the "Free Money" exercise. Even though it was several weeks ago I still remember it as if it was yesterday. Walking around the Dollar Tree trying to determine who I was going to offer the dollar bill to was one of the most awkward experiences I have had. I must have walked around for 5-10 minutes just trying to find a person to approach with the task. I finally mustered up the courage to walk up to this nice looking older lady and offered her the dollar for free and she gave me one of the strangest looks. You could read the confusion and suspicion on her face and she simply looked at me and said no and just walked away. I remember just feeling my confidence level tank and I questioned trying to complete the exercise. Luckily I didn't give up regardless of the cold responses I received because the last two people I approached were worth the embarrassment and self esteem blows I had taken earlier. I was able to give away $2 to two young kids who were able to use that money in the toy section and buy something they really wanted.

Through this experience I definitely had a lesson in perseverance. Regardless of the previous failures I experienced being able to make two little kids day was well worth it to me. Adapting and changing my game plan during the exercise allowed me to become successful in terms of giving the dollar away and not giving up. It would have been easy to just not even try the exercise or give up after the first no but I kept it at. Not everything we do becomes an instant success the first time sometimes the lessons we learn through failure are far greater than the success in and of itself.

People can look at failure from one of two lenses, the first lens being defeat. Defeat can seem to be the end of the world to some people and defines who they are as a person. This would be the negative way to look at failure, instead the other lens looks at failure as a learning experience. Seeing failure as a tool to learn from and better oneself for the future is a productive way to view failure. I think one moment I will always remember is sitting in my seventh grade history class and a poster next the board said "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky. As a basketball player I sat there and really thought about that for a moment. If you don't try then you will never know if you will make or miss your shot, therefore by default you will miss it. At least by trying you give yourself a chance and regardless of whether you make it or not you had better odds than when you didn't shoot at all and you can take something away from the experience.

This class has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one and I am grateful for the skills I have gained along the way. This class really proved my theory that if you don't at least give an effort than you will for sure fail. If you try than you still might fail but the risk of succeeding is worth the risk in and of itself.

My Exit Strategy

My venture Stud-ease has received a lot of feedback throughout the semester, a majority of which stated this idea has never been heard of before. Due to the uniqueness of the business my ultimate end game would be to sell to a larger corporation or license my proprietary Learning Style Assessment Quiz  to an education company. My hope would be to grow the company and increase the value of Stud-ease for several years before moving into this phase.

Although I truly believe this company could be quite successful throughout college campuses it isn't my desire to run this company forever. My passion lies in music and I hope to open my own music store and studio one day and running the day to day of both of these companies would be unrealistic. I think this company, Stud-ease, would provide a lot of tools and experience that would help my music venture to be successful along with financial support as well.

My exit strategy hasn't really affected the plans I made for my company. The only way I can think of that Stud-ease was impacted by my exit strategy is the intense focus on the short term as opposed to the long term. For example I consider expansion to be something that would happen in the short term as opposed to too many years down the line. This is because capturing a larger audience and market would put me on the big name education companies radar and would perhaps expedite the process of licensing or selling in the long term. Having those companies attention and perhaps seeing me as a threat would allow me to bargain and receive an offer for purchase that I wouldn't be able to refuse.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

One part of this chapter that I really enjoyed reading about was the excerpt that included the innovation growth of the "Fab Four" which included Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon. It was interesting and somewhat surprising to me to hear how each of these companies started. I didn't realize Facebook was originally created to rate the attractiveness of the female classmates of college guys at Harvard. I also thought it was surprising to see how some of the beginnings of these companies were rocky and yet they are widely known and successful today.

This chapter covered some of the very same material I covered last semester in my marketing and management courses. Due to this overlap in material I don't think that there was a concept in particular that was confusing to me.

One of the sections discussed the key factors during the growth stage a startup or business. Within this section is discussed the importance to tolerate failure as an entrepreneur. I understand failure is part of the gig but I also think that the desire to succeed is an extremely motivating factor to many entrepreneurs. So although willing to accept failure, is it acceptable to have the fear of failing simultaneously?

My second question is based off of stabilization stage in managing entrepreneurial growth. It states that this stage is a result of both market conditions and entrepreneurial effort, but how do you know when you have entered this stage? I would think it looks different for every company and is unpredictable for many markets, so how can entrepreneurs anticipate or focus on reaching this stage?

The author of this chapter provided the information in a clear and concise way with a lot of detail in order to support his statements. For that reason I don't think there is anything the author is wrong about within this chapter of the textbook.