Sunday, February 28, 2016
half way reflection
1. The behaviors I have learned so far to to stay determined and confident. With the many assignments throughout the weeks. The confidence stems from the individual assingments which require you to extend your boundaries, and put yourself out there to interview strangers. As the weeks have gone by, i can honesty say that it has definitely become easier to ask people for an interview.
2. There have been on many occasions where I forgot about an assignment or didn't want to do it. One assignment in particular I was on the fence about doing was the interviewing customers no 1. This assignment scared me cause I didn't want to go up to random people to interview them about my product. Also, I didn't really know what product I really wanted to do yet. However, I realized that its not worth not getting the experience and fully devoting your time towards the class. This helped me push through, find the questions I wanted to ask, and put myself out there to find potential customer.
3. The three tips I would give another student would definitely be to stay on top of the assignments and make your own calendar. Working ahead in this class helps as sometimes the day an assignment is due, you have other class obligations that take away time to finish this assignment. I also advise to take the assignments seriously and actually follow all the directions. The interviewing customers was scary at first but looking back at it, it was a cool experience that I am glad I did. And finally, I would say to accept advice and constructive criticism. This class is built to help improve your entrepreneurship skills. Not everyone is perfect and we all have something we could improve on. With constructive criticism, we can pinpoint our weaknesses and try our best to improve them.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Week 7 Reading Reflection
1. This weeks reading was really interesting. The main focus was on segmentation and this is what interests me. I never really knew how deep segmentation really goes in products. I have only really known the basic definition of segmentation-grouping similar items or target into segments. I never really thought of all of the tangibles that go into deciding what how many segments and why.
2/3.This chapter really didn't have anything very confusing to me. Everything was described thoroughly and enjoyed the reading. I would like ask the author about his experiences in his own entrepreneurship on segmentation, or his observations of segmentation. Is there a specific system to get the basics segmentation, and how do different business do different things to create different segments than their competition?
4, I had nothing wrong with this chapter. It was a good read and I probably learned the most and enjoyed this weeks reading the most
2/3.This chapter really didn't have anything very confusing to me. Everything was described thoroughly and enjoyed the reading. I would like ask the author about his experiences in his own entrepreneurship on segmentation, or his observations of segmentation. Is there a specific system to get the basics segmentation, and how do different business do different things to create different segments than their competition?
4, I had nothing wrong with this chapter. It was a good read and I probably learned the most and enjoyed this weeks reading the most
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Week 6 Reading reflection
1. The most surprising and interesting thing i saw during this weeks reading was the profitability chart. I was surprised to see that soft drinks are second in profitability behind security brokers and dealers. I was specifically surprised soft drinks had higher profitability than pharmaceuticals. I just imagined with the need of pharmaceuticals and the prices that it would be higher than soft drinks.
2. I wouldn't say that anything was necessarily confusing, but I would've liked more explanation on the 5 forces that shape competition industry chart as well as the return on investment chart. I just did not know exactly what company they were talking about and what the 5 forces chart meant.
3. I would ask the author to go over the charts again and just explain them in more detail especially the 5 forces chart.
4. Nothing i disagreed with just wanted more explanation on the charts. Was interesting the view of competition and substitutes and how much prices are affected by the competitors compliments and substitutes in the economy.
2. I wouldn't say that anything was necessarily confusing, but I would've liked more explanation on the 5 forces that shape competition industry chart as well as the return on investment chart. I just did not know exactly what company they were talking about and what the 5 forces chart meant.
3. I would ask the author to go over the charts again and just explain them in more detail especially the 5 forces chart.
4. Nothing i disagreed with just wanted more explanation on the charts. Was interesting the view of competition and substitutes and how much prices are affected by the competitors compliments and substitutes in the economy.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Idea Napkin No. 1
1. I am Brandon Smiley from Tallahassee, Florida. Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved math. was always the weird one who would actually get excited in elementary school when we had to solve word problems. I have had experience in the business world working as an intern at Capital City Bank's Trust in Tallahassee, Florida. There I was able to oversee loan applications and meet with clients and potential clients to learn the ins and outs of not just how a bank operates, but a business as well. I see this business idea shaping into an extension to what Gainesville2Go offers but is missing. Instead of focusing on food deliveries, I want to focus on merchandise deliveries. This strategy allows the business to have numerous opportunities with little competition as we would be the only company to provide this service in Gainesville.
2. We are offering a delivery service to customers just like Gainesville2Go, Doorstop delivery, and 2 Dollar Delivery. However, our company will focus the deliveries on merchandise instead of food. All the competition in this field delivers food, and merchandise has slipped through he cracks. It is time for merchandise deliveries to catch up with the times.
3. In Gainesville, there is a large student population with the University of Florida and Sante Fe Colleges in the area. With this a large part of our targets will be students, as students often have busy schedules and can not always make trips to department stores to buy merchandise for their apartments, cars, etc. Also, many students have come to college without vehicles. This causes students to be unable to make the trip to department stores without asking a friend or paying for a cab. This service will allow students to skip this step and not have to always annoy their friends. Even with the large student population, we would also use our second target market to target the working class individuals. These are the ones that can really afford to buy merchandise frequently. These individuals are just as busy as students, as they have job obligations, family obligations, and household obligations to take care of on a daily basis. With all of these obligations, this service will allow these individuals to continue working on one obligation while getting the supplies to help another obligation.
4. Customers will pay for this service for the convenience luxury it supplies to the customer. From my interviews, the main benefit customers receive from delivery services like Gainesville2Go and Doorstop Deliver is the convenience. When people have busy days or lazy days, they do not have the time or do not feel like making a trip to go shopping for their needed supplies. Sometimes, people have way of getting to these stores to get these supplies. This service allows people to get more done with their day, focus on what they want to focus on, avoid shopping crows, and avoid traffic. All of these benefits stem from convenience which leads to less stress for customers.
5. Although their are other companies that use a similar service and create the same benefit to customers, these companies focus solely food delivery services. As of now, there are not delivery services for merchandise stores that will get to you within an hour. This particular service sets us apart from the other delivery services as we deliver an entirely different product line.
2. We are offering a delivery service to customers just like Gainesville2Go, Doorstop delivery, and 2 Dollar Delivery. However, our company will focus the deliveries on merchandise instead of food. All the competition in this field delivers food, and merchandise has slipped through he cracks. It is time for merchandise deliveries to catch up with the times.
3. In Gainesville, there is a large student population with the University of Florida and Sante Fe Colleges in the area. With this a large part of our targets will be students, as students often have busy schedules and can not always make trips to department stores to buy merchandise for their apartments, cars, etc. Also, many students have come to college without vehicles. This causes students to be unable to make the trip to department stores without asking a friend or paying for a cab. This service will allow students to skip this step and not have to always annoy their friends. Even with the large student population, we would also use our second target market to target the working class individuals. These are the ones that can really afford to buy merchandise frequently. These individuals are just as busy as students, as they have job obligations, family obligations, and household obligations to take care of on a daily basis. With all of these obligations, this service will allow these individuals to continue working on one obligation while getting the supplies to help another obligation.
4. Customers will pay for this service for the convenience luxury it supplies to the customer. From my interviews, the main benefit customers receive from delivery services like Gainesville2Go and Doorstop Deliver is the convenience. When people have busy days or lazy days, they do not have the time or do not feel like making a trip to go shopping for their needed supplies. Sometimes, people have way of getting to these stores to get these supplies. This service allows people to get more done with their day, focus on what they want to focus on, avoid shopping crows, and avoid traffic. All of these benefits stem from convenience which leads to less stress for customers.
5. Although their are other companies that use a similar service and create the same benefit to customers, these companies focus solely food delivery services. As of now, there are not delivery services for merchandise stores that will get to you within an hour. This particular service sets us apart from the other delivery services as we deliver an entirely different product line.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Week 5 Reading Reflection
1.Nothing necessarily surprised me in this chapter, however, I was interested on the the facing fears section of the chapter. This section makes you think about your own fears about leading anything in life, from a business to a sports team, and finding ways to overcome those fears to reach your ultimate goals.
2. The most confusing thing for me in this chapter would be the tables again this chapter. Each chapter there isnt much explanation of the tables which causes more confusion than convenience.
3. One of the most interesting parts of the chapter was when it discussed the views of eBay and Entrepreneurship. I would love to discuss the authors views himself of eBay. EBay is a site every kid grows up knowing about because they know they can sell some of their items on it and make money. It is definitely like a start up Entrepreneur marketplace, as you are basically running your own tiny business with each transaction.
4. Nothing i disagree about but would like to definitely see more explanation about tables.
2. The most confusing thing for me in this chapter would be the tables again this chapter. Each chapter there isnt much explanation of the tables which causes more confusion than convenience.
3. One of the most interesting parts of the chapter was when it discussed the views of eBay and Entrepreneurship. I would love to discuss the authors views himself of eBay. EBay is a site every kid grows up knowing about because they know they can sell some of their items on it and make money. It is definitely like a start up Entrepreneur marketplace, as you are basically running your own tiny business with each transaction.
4. Nothing i disagree about but would like to definitely see more explanation about tables.
Interviewing Customers No 2
1. Last week I went around town and interviewed potential customers about the opportunity about stress related to traffic. What learned from these interviews and research is that although there is a problem with traffic and the stress that comes from traffic, the business opportunities that stem from this problem are slim and require a lot of research and development cost. This week, I decided to go off a completely new opportunity. This opportunity stems from delivery services for department stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.
2. Last time, I only interviewed students. Now this can be effective because Gainesville's population is dominated by students, but this time, I am interviewing both students and working individuals to figure out what demographic this opportunity should target.
3. Even though changed my opportunity and the question's content were different, I also changed the style of questions I asked. The first set of interviews, all my questions were yes or no questions and I did not get a full understanding of how the customers felt about the opportunity. This time, I asked a mixture of yes and no questions and more in depth questions. This allowed me to understand more about the customers instead of assuming.
5. I learned that there is definitely an opportunity for this problem. People think of services like Gainesville2Go and Doorstop Delivery as a convenience luxury. This luxury helps when people are busy and have other jobs they need to get done beforehand. Extending this service to department stores allows people to conveniently get their jobs done as well as get the merchandise they need for the day.
6. The advice i would give future students for interviewing customers is to practice your questions, be confident in yourself, and relax. It is scary to put yourself out their and interview random people, but once you start, it gets a lot easier, and people are not as mean and scary as you think.
2. Last time, I only interviewed students. Now this can be effective because Gainesville's population is dominated by students, but this time, I am interviewing both students and working individuals to figure out what demographic this opportunity should target.
3. Even though changed my opportunity and the question's content were different, I also changed the style of questions I asked. The first set of interviews, all my questions were yes or no questions and I did not get a full understanding of how the customers felt about the opportunity. This time, I asked a mixture of yes and no questions and more in depth questions. This allowed me to understand more about the customers instead of assuming.
5. I learned that there is definitely an opportunity for this problem. People think of services like Gainesville2Go and Doorstop Delivery as a convenience luxury. This luxury helps when people are busy and have other jobs they need to get done beforehand. Extending this service to department stores allows people to conveniently get their jobs done as well as get the merchandise they need for the day.
6. The advice i would give future students for interviewing customers is to practice your questions, be confident in yourself, and relax. It is scary to put yourself out their and interview random people, but once you start, it gets a lot easier, and people are not as mean and scary as you think.
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