The Twenty Percent Week #8

1) Find a business owner and talk to them about their customers. The business owner that I found was Michael Thibodeau. Mike thought his 20 percent would have been retired vets and police officers. Mike owns a gun holster company that makes custom gun holster from scratch to order. Who is real 20 percent was the average population. Almost all of his sales are from people that just like to conceal carry for safety. After realizing who his 20 percent is now he knows how to reach out and make that continue and grow. He does this by marketing on the web such as facebook, instagram, twitter, and his official website. The customer's unmet need is having a great quality gun holster that is also comfortable and affordable. The type of media the customers consume is the facebook page Brothers In Arms. The name of Mike's company. He does not only post his product but current events that are relationable with what he has to offer and sell.

2) Next go and talk to 3 "target customers" -- using the demographics/psychographics the entrepreneur described.

3) Reflect. To my understanding the Entrepreneur does adequately understand their customer's problem. He has worked countless hours doing research asking people for feedback and what their day to day problem is with their gun holsters before buying his product. There are a few differences because not every customer is going to be the same. One of the customers I asked was what about a gun holster is an issue for you. His response was that it gets to be too expensive for something that is a must have if you want to carry.

* the entrepreneur did not want to be recorded. Countless hours of me walking around and trying to find the target customers. Almost everyone I had asked either did not carry or did not have any guns for them to carry. I found one customer to interview. Her name is Ashley Dridi. She agreed upon being voice recorded but she did not want to be videotaped and her image to be shown because of her job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMhhoMFsB9A&feature=youtu.be



  

Week # 8 Reading Reflection

1) The biggest surprise to me in the readings was all of the different ways an entrepreneur's business could be funded. I knew of a few but not as much as the book informed me on. Also another big surprise to me was how to keep and maintain the capital for the business and the ventures.

2) There was not really a part of the readings that confused me. There was just more parts that I had to do more digging into. I am not the best when it comes to financing and terms. So all of the different terms of the way entrepreneurs can get funding overwhelmed me.

3) How easy it to make your own company go public? and also what is the easiest and best way to raise capital for ones business.

4) In my opinion I do not think there was anything wrong with what the author wrote about or said. Like I said I am not the best when it comes to the understanding of the ways of funding. So it can get hard for me to grasp all of the knowledge the book is trying to feed me. Other than that it was great.

Halfway Reflection Week # 8

                                                   Future ENT 3003 Students

1) what are the behaviors that you have used to keep up with the requirements of this course? I have learned to stay focused and determined because I knew this would help me out in the long run. I learned to stay ahead because you can easily slip behind in this class because their gets to be a lot of assignments. One behavior I have developed was to stop procrastinating. There is no time for procrastination when it comes to being an entrepreneur so why do it in this class?

2) A moment I felt like giving up was when I had so much work to do in all of my other classes as well and I had to continue to go out and interview customers every week and make videos and try to submit responses and everything on time started to get to me. What pulled me through was that I knew I needed this class for my future endeavours. I would say I definitely developed a tenacious attitude within the past two months because I refuse to give up in this class, I like and live for the challenge. The experience that did it to me was my own business I tried to create. When I tried to create a clothing line it took so long and I just felt like giving up, but I did not and it worked out in the long run.

3) three of the most important tips you should know before taking this class is: 1- stay on top of your work. DO NOT wait till the last minute to do your assignments. 2- always keep a positive mindset because this class will help you within your life no matter what path you decide to go down. And 3- Always have the tenacious mindset it will get you through this class easily. Never give up and you will always succeed. One quote that keeps getting me through this class is, " tears will get you sympathy sweat will get you results." I add that quote into all aspects of my life no matter what it is.

Free Money Week 7

• Where will you go? The local park
• What kind of people will you approach? anyone walking a dog or a parent with a child.
• What will you say to get the conversation started? Hey I think you dropped something !
• What is your plan for the conversation? I plan on showing them the dollar bill and then when they will most likely say, oh that is not mine I am going to say yea I know I just wanted to give you this, if they ask why I am going to say; Because I want to give back! live simply so others can simply live.... 
• Out of five attempts, how many dollar bills do you think you will be able to give away? I think I will be able to give away all five.

 My video recorder will be here wednesday so I will be able to do more on wednesday and get some recording with another five people. As for this round all five went pretty smoothly. I had encountered all friendly people. After the conversation started and I said what I planned on saying they said thank you and that it made their day a lot better. I believe from what I did will bring those people to do the same to others. It is a never ending cycle if you do good things most of the time the people will do good back. 

I really liked this assignment because it reminds me of a time I was at taco bell with my friends and I had to go to the bathroom and there was an envelope sitting there saying enjoy! So when I opened it, it had five dollars inside with a note saying, "I hope this can help you out as it did for me, god bless." Ever since that day I have always helped others that are in need. 

Giving away the dollar was easy and I knew this before hand because I have done it hundreds of times. But it was a little different because this time it was not always to the less fortunate. My predictions were correct all five encounters where nice and friendly. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2 Week 7

Here Is the Link to my Pitch-  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyWpCC5LT3E&feature=youtu.be

What stood out to me me as important was all of the positive feedback I got from my last 
elevator pitch. I was extremely nervous to make the first video even though it was just me 
and the camera. The feedback that surprised me the most was that people actually liked my idea and saw that it was a great idea and product. After doing the first elevator pitch and the interviews this one seemed to be a lot easier than before. Even after taking public speaking it was still kind of hard to make videos of myself. Now I seem comfortable while doing it. 

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1. What was the biggest surprise to you in the reading? The biggest surprise to me in the readings would have to be the shallow, middle, and deep spectrum work with a business.

2. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you?  One part of the reading that was a little bit confusing for me would have to be that the author believes that good advertising does not boost sales if the marketing segmentation is lacking.

3. If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask?  I would ask the author why it is believed that the marketing segmentation has to be perfectly there for the sales to go off even after a memorable ad. The second question I would ask is ; does the spectrum change with different scenarios or with time?

4. Was there anything you think the author was wrong about?  I do not think the author was wrong about anything in this chapter just things I wish was made more clear.

Customer Interviews No. 3

1. Describe your interviewing strategy. The questions I attend on asking is what do you think about a dollar flat rate per semester shuttle rides from where you park to your class doors? Second question would be, would this be something that you would be interested in, and as it convenient, or relative?

2. Conduct the interviews. *Sorry that I have to write these out again for some reason when I use my phone to conduct the interviews they send through email or even youtube and are blurry and all muffled. I plan on buying a camera for this kind of assignments!*

Liz- After Liz read the business concept she than told me that she thinks it is a really good idea and that it would convient a lot of students. First question - She answered that a dollar flat rate per semester is really cheap and that she would have no problem adding that to tuition. Second question- Liz answered that it is extremely interesting and that it would be extremely convenient for almost all students.

Steve- Steve read my business concept and was still kind of skeptical about the whole business approach. So I asked him the questions and he answered that a dollar is cheap and that he does not see how I would be able to stay in business. Then I asked him if he would be interested and if it were to be convenient? He said forsure! If I were to ever start it he would ride it.

Lindsey- After lindsey read the business concept she really became interested and I told her to be completely honest with me when answering the questions. She answered extremely fast saying that she would do it right now because she goes to USF and she can never find parking close enough to her building. And that it would be extremely convenient for her as long as she did not have to wait at her car for the shuttle for over 10 minutes.

Devin- He read the business concept and still had a few questions on how it would work. So after I described it to him and gave him a more informal explanation he understood. Devin answered my questions quickly by saying it is just so cheap who would not want to ride it as long as it is convenient.

Brittany- Brittany was by far one of my best interviews she was so interactive with the interview and after reading my business motto and concept she was all for it. She answered my questions by saying it is great! Get it started so I can ride it! I asked her if it is convenient and relative? She said of course parking is terrible at the university.

3. Reflect on what you learned. What I learned is that people actually think that my business could work and become profitable. At the beginning I was skeptical about doing this topic because I did not know how or where I was going to go with it. What surprised me the most was that every single person I interviewed liked the concept and even said that they would ride it tomorrow if it were available. What I expect to change is just a few details and fine prints of the company and then it could be something serious.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1. What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? The biggest surprise to me in the readings would have to be all of the talk about the industry analysis and the industry structure. It has so much information and it takes a lot to understand.


2.  Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing for you? Nothing about the reading was really confusing but it took sometime to understand the dimensions and the boundaries of the industry.


3. If you were able to ask two questions to author, what would you ask? I think I really only have one question and that is why the author believes that when a new product comes into action that it has to be better than an old product. Do you think every new product has to be better than the last one?


4. Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? No I do not think the author was wrong about anything in the readings. I just think some of the opinions should be more lenient on the other side of the equation of the industry talk.

Idea Napkin No. 1 Week #6

I am Keith Adam, and I have a few talents such as keeping people happy at all times, being a kickboxing champion, and starting multiple business quite easily. Some skills I have is starting and running past businesses and keep them afloat. My experience besides running the business is I have worked at the same company since I was 15 years old and have kept the job and have moved up. I could see this company if I were to start it play a role in my life because I still have at least four more years of school that I have to achieve and parking will be an everyday issue. The service I am offering customers is a faster and easier way to get around the campus other than school busses. The wait is horrible and they can only take you so close. Every on campus student one time or another feels the pain of parking at school. Most Universities are spread all over the place and if you do not walk you could be waiting over a half hour just for the bus to pick you up and drop you off somewhere near your actual class building. With my business the wait will virtually be nothing and will drop you right off at the front door of your designated building. I am offering this service to every student at college. The customers care because the majority of students do not or can not be late to class and walking for miles could potentially make them late. The weather is not always walk or bike friendly either. What sets me apart from everyone else is that so far no one else offers the service I am willing to offer. No other company or school can compete with my service. The rates are inexpensive and will be of convenience to everyone. The way it would work is when students are able to pay for their tuition there will be an option for them to pay just 1 dollar which will be the service fee and they will get a card and will be able to get my service and cut their time from the parking lot to class in half. Financially it will be just fine for the business and all of the expenses because if every student pays a dollar that would be thousands and thousands of dollars because university's hold such an massive amount of student body. 

I believe these elements fit together for my business concept because there is a strong point on every aspect. Before this assignment I did not know where I was going to go with this business but after the five elements I realized that my business concept is not as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Interviewing Customers No. 2 Week # 5

My idea is if major Universities had a service that shuttles could pick students up from their cars and drop them off at their right destination, free of charge.

My questions where:

1. How do you feel about parking at school?
2. Would a free service such as shuttling from your car to the door of your classes be convenient for you?

* the other two interviews where extremely blurry and muffled sound so I will write what they said.*


Jeannie-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMb0EvgYhmg&feature=youtu.be

Chelsea-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjpqwzSwkLY&feature=youtu.be

Nicco-   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeUv_HWIYH8&feature=youtu.be

Carlos-  How do you feel about parking at school? I don't like parking at school because you have to be there either and hour early or you will not get a spot. If there were free transportation such as a shuttle to your class doors would that be convenient? Yea! I think that would be perfect because most of the time I have to walk at least 15 minutes to even get close to my classes.

Colton- How do you feel about parking at school? It is ok at times. But most of the time it becomes a hastle. Would free transportation provided from the university help? I would like to think so because I hate having to walk so far.

What I have learned from interviewing my customers is that the majority of the college population does not like how far they have to park just to get to class. They would love to have a more convenient approach that is provided from the school. Three tips I would give is one, make sure the questions are not confusing. Two make sure you do some of the talking so they are not always put on the spot. And three Be specific and kind, I joked around with them for a little before the interview so it was not so awkward first meeting them.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

WEEK #5

1. What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading?  The biggest surprise to me in the readings would have to be how much work is actually involved in the start-up, pre-start up, and the legal issues when becoming a new entrepreneur. You always have to have to worry about funding, research, profit time limits, and a continuing business plan. 

2. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you?  I think the most confusing part of the reading to me would of had to be the infringement budget. I wish there was more examples and more to be explained on it because I am still a little blurry on the subject.

3. If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? why?  The first question I would ask is what more comes with the new ventures? and the second question would have to be how much research would someone say is enough for it? is there ever enough?

4. Was there anything you think the author was wrong about?  Personally I did not think the author was wrong about anything she wrote about. I just feel that there could have been more examples and explanations for some of the parts of the reading. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1 Week #5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzLgJ6yhYpI&feature=youtu.be

My oppertunity  with this product is to get it out on the market and make sure that people understand that we are selling something that no one else has to offer. The solution would be that not only does my company do better the overall population could become safer. 

Here is the trigger card that is offered by pushing just the first button of the holster and keeping this safety feature on.

And here is the holster that we have with the buttons on the other side and the trigger guard intact within the holster!