The Last Hoorah! 30A

Assignment 30A

I would say that the most formative experience happened to be the buyer behavior assignments. Why, because when you try to understand your target market personally, you truly understand the type of customers you will be serving as well as learning how to persuade them to buy your product. My most joyous experience was probably the first assignment which was the bug list. The bug list was not the easiest assignment even though at first glance it seemed like it. My most proudful experience happened to be the elevator pitches. Usually I don’t like talking into a camera and honestly would rather talk to a live audience instead! This class combined with somewhat of an entrepreneurial mindset I already had helped me gain a new perspective on how I want to approach my own business I currently have outside of school along with other business perspectives in the future. My recommendation to students is that when you think you have figured out your target market and what they want, you still need to keep looking even further! In this course specifically, (not during a pandemic) you need to really make an effort to go out and talk to possible consumers for your product and figure out everything about them you need to know. In order to foster this mindset, you need to have a broad and communicative understanding of yourself, your business, and your customers.

Exit Strategy 28A

Assignment 28A

1.     In the next 5 years I plan on taking my business to the next level rather than selling it. Being that I am currently only 20 years old, I still have a ton of room to grow as an entrepreneur and that this is only the beginning. Possibly I have a large and loyal workforce behind me that I won’t have to pay attention as much but still be the man in charge. If this business blows up in the right direction, then I plan to stick with it for a couple decades before I hand it down to a long-term employee or family member for half a share in it. I could be half retired or possibly working on another project that may be involved with Smart Park.

2.     I have selected this particular strategy because I think there is more, I could add to my product or make similar, smaller products that can go along with the story and goal of Smart Park. You can’t grow a tree overnight and you definitely can’t complete this business over night. I believe it will take a few years to grow a reliable target market and let everyone know about what Smart Park has to offer to the world of navigation.

3.     My exit strategy has helped me make a list and schedule of how I plan to run and expand the business. I now have a timeline that I will try my best to follow and conquer every obstacle set in place. I would definitely say that the exit strategy but more so the venture concept has helped me plan the acquired resources I will need to become successful.

Reading Reflection 3 - 27A

Assignment 27A

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

1.     The general theme of the book was not ways to set up and run a business’s social media account, rather it dealt with how your motivation and drive for successes towards your business should be taken care of.

2.     Many times, in ENT3003 we have spoken about have done assignments on how we need to promote our business opportunity. In fact, while the elevator pitch is not necessarily a social media presence, it can be turned into one and is already a form of advertisement.  In 2020, we live in a growing world of social media platforms and it is nearly impossible to get out of it unless you live under a rock.

3.     My exercise would contain not merely how you are going to use social media to advertise, but rather what you think you will learn from it as well additional questions to add into the assignment.

4.     One “aha” moment was the lesson to cross motivate and interact 2-3 social media platforms for your business. Kawasaki mentions that instead of reposting the same thing on three different accounts we should actually make the accounts have a conversation with each other.

Failure at its finest 26A

Assignment 26A

1.     This semester I had a goal of being more proactive, procrastinating less and getting more involved. While I didn’t fully fail at it, I did not do as best as I could and ultimately let myself down. I wanted to become more a part of the clubs I’ve joined being here at UF. Last semester I procrastinated a lot and then left school work to the last minute. While I had the opportunities to get more involved, sometimes I felt too lazy or just didn’t have the motivation.

2.     What I’ve learned is that I need to set up a daily schedule for myself and need to learn to better prepare myself for the future fall semester as long as we are back on campus. I need to get more active physically and mentally.

       3. We all have failed many times in our lives in almost ever aspect. Failure is not fun but it’s a learning process and sometimes I am thankful for it because it has brought me closer with my teammates, friends, coworkers, and family. Depending on the situation at hand depends on how I handle failure. I do not take the larger failures with a grain of salt even though sometimes I should. This class and through the business opportunity, I have thought through many ways one could fail and how to dodge that failure curve. I would say I am the same way to taking risks than I was a few months ago.

Existing or New 25A

Assignment 25A

Existing Market:

Step 1: Next, after gaining a strong customer base nationwide, I hope I can expand my services into other countries. Within the company I will add new options and services involved within the navigation system.

Step 2: I texted three individuals that I have interviewed in a previous assignment

Jenny: I think that you should add more features that can make it more hands free. It should also be available for scooters and motorcycles but installed in them.

Raeza: It would be beneficial to have a notification setting for if someone is driving for too long. It should notify them when to take a break

Ray: The app should be available for sporting events and tell you a live feed of which dirt/pavement lots are full when searching for stadium parking.

Step 3. In order to grow my market I need to expand the locations and services to places outside of the United States. I plan on going the extra mile to create more business partners as well as growing my social and human capital. It will be important to learn better negotiation skills as well as communication skills in order for this to happen.

New Market:

Step 1: Currently Smart Park is a B2C market. In order to become a B2B I will need to come into contact with local small business up to large chains to promote my services to them so they may promote it to their customers.

Step 2: I would be giving money to these companies in order for them to promote my product or vice versa a promotion for a promotion. Each business gets promoted and the large chains where customers will be navigating to will have easy access to parking services and may shop swiftly.

Step 3:

Chloe: I think that this would be beneficial to commercial workers who are constantly on the road. They would have easier navigation sponsored by the company logo on the side of their truck.

Max: I think that working with businesses instead of directly to customers is an easier way to get the products name out there.

Step 4: I learned that in this new market that I will need to step up my communication and marketing skills in order to be a B2B. Like Max and Chole mentioned, working with businesses directly will come at a price, but will also be a great marketing tactic in the long run. Now that I have thought about my business this way, I actually am rethinking how I would like to incorporate it into both a B2C and B2B.

Venture Concept 24A

Assignment 24A:

Opportunity:

A daily struggle that people around the world have is finding a parking space in rather crowded areas. Here at Smart Park you are able to know where an open parking space might be and if its legal to park in that space. Customers will no longer be strolling around looking for a parking space. In addition, smart park will eventually be installed in most modern vehicles as well as scooters! My target audience would be those who live in overpopulated areas, college campuses, and businesses with limited space. The reason I came up with this idea in the first place was because I noticed the lack of parking and constantly heard complaints about students on UF’s campus not knowing where they should park. One thing that every customer will have in common is the unmet need of quality parking for their car or scooter.

-       The forces in this environment that create this opportunity are my customers as well as their surroundings. College campuses and living on one helped me quickly realize the opportunity at hand and really brought together the overall plan for this unmet need.

-       This market is defined based upon college campuses as well as rural cities that have limited or seem to have limited parking space.

-       Currently, customers are satisfying this need by finding parking spaces on their own which takes longer and can sometimes be stressful. Being that this is the only method of parking, customers are loyal to this current method.

-       This opportunity would be huge to implement into society as it would help people move swiftly onto their destination.

-       No one yet has created this version of a navigation app, but I am sure someone else out there is also closing in on making this come to life.

Innovation:

Smart Park is a newly activated navigation device that has the option to bring users directly to a legal parking space instead in front of the destination. As you would with any other navigation device, simply put the address to where you would like to go, and Smart Park will show you how to get there AND will bring you directly to the easiest parking spot available. Never worry again about being in a crowded lot looking for a spot. With Smart Park you will be given various open spots to choose from and then once chosen, the spot will be taken off the map so other users do not drive to the same area. This app will also let you know about hazards, faster routes, police detections, etc. on the way to your destination. The app can be installed at a low cost of $10 per month and can be eligible for your first two months totally free! In addition, Smart park will also be able to be installed in newer vehicles to make the hands-free process easier.

Venture Concept:

-       I believe that customers will switch to this product because of its low cost as well as other small features involved. For those who purchase new vehicles, an easy installation package will help them more than likely to switch over.

-       My competitors are those who already have well known navigation apps like Apple Maps, Google maps, and Waze.

-       A 24/7 customer service hotline will always be available, and this can be found on our website as well as on the app itself. A technological information guide will also be helpful for common mistakes the product or the operator may come into.

-       As of now this business will not need a flurry of employees besides those on the hotline, building the product and maintenance on the product.

Three minor elements:

-       My secret sauce will be coming out with this type of navigation system before everyone else. No other navigation app or installation kit has the ability to tell you an exact open parking space.

-       Next, I want to make this involved with scooters, motorcycles, and also expand this to other countries.

-       In the next 5 to 10 years I hope on being the role model for all navigation systems. While current ones today share the same qualities but different displays, I would rather be known for different qualities that everyone is trying to combat.

Resources 23A

Assignment 23A

1.     Experience in half owning a business (commercial and charter fishing)

V: Valuable for having an idea and background on what it takes to manage a business’s finances and operations.

R: I would not say it is rare as millions of people have experience in owning small businesses

I: It is somewhat difficult to run and start up your own business

N: No other resources than physically managing a business

2.     Experience in social media marketing

V: Very valuable to have experience in marketing your product to the growing world of social media

R: Many businesses market their products through social media pages

I: It is not difficult to run a social media account

N: There are other ways to market your product besides social media

3.     Having a narrowed understanding of my target market

V: This is valuable to know who exactly we want to market our product too and how to market it

R: It is not entirely rare, but some people have an issue finding their specific market

I: If you put in the extra effort it is not hard to copy

N: Not many resources besides yourself can help you understand what and where you need to be selling to

4.     Broad usage of many current navigation applications

V: It is valuable because I can determine what these apps need to improve on and what they excelled with

R: It is not rare for someone to use different navigation applications, but most people use one they prefer

I: It is not hard to copy at all

N: There are a few highly regarded resources when it comes to checking out different navigation apps.

5.     Social Capital

V: It is very valuable to know different types of business owners, managers and customers

R: It is not rare but also not easy to build up social capital

I: This can be copied but it takes time and effort to complete

N: Not really many resources to take replace what you benefit in social capital

6.     Adaptable in technology

V: very valuable especially when your business revolves solely on updating technology

R: It is not rare as many people are adapting to the ever-growing world of technology

I: Not hard to copy at all

N: In this business specifically, it is difficult to use other resources that are not brand-new technology

7.     Lack of upscale competitors

V: This is valuable as you have a smaller market to compete against

R: It is rare as many new businesses mimic one another and this one mimics only a few

I: Difficult to copy because you can only go so far into the market

N: Not many replaceable resources

8.     Offering a product similar to others but with key additions

V: This is valuable for others to understand why they should buy into it

R: What I am offering to customers is rare with knowing exactly where to park

I: It is difficult to copy

N: There are no replaceable resources that can tell you exactly where an open parking spot is

9.     Knowing similar customers who share the same needs and opportunities

V: It is valuable to having a starting market within a similar society

R: It is difficult to find one group all at once

I: It can be copied most likely at another college campus

N: No new resources besides a close customer

10.  Being able to incorporate the product in different ways

V: This is valuable to give customers different ways to experience the product

R: This is rare as many products have one-way presentation

I: This can be copied but this is also the first of it

N: Other navigation apps can be used but no app tells you exactly where to park.

I believe the most important resource is being able to incorporate the product in different ways. Some people cannot afford a new car but would still like to use Smart Park’s services so they can download the app. In other ways this can be installed into fairly new vehicles.

        

Elevator Pitch 3 - 22A

ASSIGNMENT 22A


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WFRuL6sYrk

2-3. The feedback on elevator pitch 2 was very useful compared to pitch 1. While I was given many compliments on the presentation, I also was given ways to improve my idea for the customers. One way I did this was by using advice given by a classmate to offer a promo of your first 2 months while using Smart Park. I also put on more professional attire as well as turned off my ceiling fan which I did not do in elevator pitch 2.

Reading Reflection 2- 21A

Assignment 21

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

Author: Scott Adams

1.    The general theme of the book was to simply treat life as trial and error. Scott mentions many laws and arguments that we try to do as well as want to have surrounding the “perfect” life. Simply the general idea here is to follow his main lessons and reasons on how we should try to meet our goals. Learning and understanding that everything won’t be handed to you on a silver platter is a very important argument that Adams uses to surround the book.

2.    In many exercises in ENT3003, we discuss our failures as well as our victories when it comes to our business idea. We have feedback through blog posts and learn what we need to critique. In a similar way, this is what the book surrounds by learning to make mistakes through overcoming them in the end.

3.    The exercise I would design for this class would be to compare struggles early in your life or academic career and compare it to your business ideas struggles. I would then ask students to share how they overcame these obstacles and what lessons they learned from their experiences.

4.    One thing that caught my eye was the system vs. goals model. I usually thought everyone’s mentality was based on and criticized on goals they set and if they reached their goals. Now I understand that maintaining a system further helps you reach your goal instead of relying solely on competing with that goal.