Final(e) reflection

Oh gosh. Looking through my blog, I get embarrassed thinking about the strangers I had to approach. Initially, it was awkward. There were times people walked away from me, which wasn’t something that was entirely new to me, but rejection never gets easier. But now, I could stomach asking a stranger for their opinion on things, especially if I’m looking to make them a customer of a business.

The most influential experience was writing my venture capital. That’s how I saw all the work I’ve been doing and putting together flow into a longer form. I’ll definitely remember the “free money” assignment for a while. It’s not every day that you’re forced to give people free money for a grade. Most joyous must be the elevator pitches. Those were kind of fun! I enjoyed having to explain and sell my product in under a minute. I also feel like it’s a skill I can use to grow and use in the future. I’m most proud of just the overall blog, and managing to keep up with it.

I do see myself as an entrepreneur. It was initially hard to consider, but now I know that it is just a set of mind. And even as a journalist, it’s something I can implement as I write, or in ways that I approach stories. I even now have an advantage on writing business stories.

I would recommend that future students print out the list of assignments (because there are a lot) and keep up with the work. A lot of the assignments are long but fun. And consider it more as a way to get to your future than an assignment. Taking this class gives you a reason and excuse to talk to strangers – which isn’t always a terrible thing.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

What surprised me was Vikram Akula’s approach to his business and how he was able to walk away from all of it to protect his customers. It’s also surprising that microfinance exists. It’s not typically the type of business you see portrayed in the media.

What was a little confusing to me personally was how Akula’s entrepreneurial strategy was based off of big business strategies, like that of McDonald’s and Starbucks. It’s crazy to think he was able to do some good using a type of model that other business use to make big bucks.

I’d ask Akula: “What made you want to help people in poverty in small villages? How did you keep yourself from being discouraged or being swindled?”

I don’t think Akula was really wrong about anything. I really commend Akula on building SKS to what it is, and using his power for something good. 

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Using feedback, I did my best to keep eye contact and keep the nervous jitters from being distracting. I also tried to keep it kind of vague, yet simple. I wanted to use buzzwords, while also giving people an idea, without too much information at them. 

Venture Concept No. 2

Building on feedback

From my first Venture Concept, I got a lot of feedback. One person told me about the limit of parking garage floors in Florida. Because the garage will not be publicly owned, there are no regulations, from what I understand with research. One thing I can also say is that it will be required to add a handicap parking area in the parking garage. It is something I didn’t originally consider, but because of comments, I’ve been able to build my idea.

Another student suggested that building upward is a good idea, which is really encouraging. I think it was helpful to see other students support my idea.

Venture Concept No. 2

It’s finals week.

It’s finals week, and every second that you spend studying determines your future. At least, that’s what your professor said. And your professor is a godly person, whose letter or recommendation you need. But in order to get that letter, you need to ace that final.

Simple, right? You’ve studied. You’ve put in the time. You’ve paid your dues.

You’re ready. You get to campus 30 minutes early. You know UF parking; you know it’ll take you 15 minutes to walk, 5 if you get a good parking spot. So you go, and you drive. And you spot a parking spot! Until you realize, you don’t have the decal for it. Is it worth getting a ticket? That $35 could be better spent getting Ben & Jerry’s… you skip the spot, because you have some time to spare.

Until you don’t. You end up circling the parking lot, waiting for someone to leave, but no one does. You miss your exam, you fail the class, and you miss your chance at med school.

It’s an unlikely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.

Opportunity.

Your Next Destination is here to help you ace that exam, and the rest of your tests. We’re here to make it easier for you to get to class. When we come upon a large population that congregates at a central location, we help them meet their needs. Whether it be creating a sustainable parking lot or a sustainable metro system, we find opportunity when the needs of transportation for the population is unmet.

This opportunity is fueled by UF’s own parking rules. UF restricts parking lots through color-coded decals, which are given out depending on the status of the driver, or owner of the car. UF also sells more decals than they have parking spaces; because of this, a lot of the times the need is greater than the

The forces and the changes in environment that would apply to creating a low-impact parking lot would include having a large enough space and having the space to begin construction. UF is already under heavy construction. The environment, in terms of the atmosphere, is most likely suffering due to the heavy pollution from construction and the number of cars on the road. But the parking lot will be aims at decreasing the number of cars on the road by using a metro system to connect to campus.  

The market depends heavily on the geography and demographic of the area. The demographic, specifically, would have to be young and able to drive. Specifically, when aiming at a population like UF, I would need driven, busy people to fuel the market of the parking lot. The purpose of the lot is to decrease the amount of travel time, but not sacrificing safety.

Currently, at the University of Florida, people are meeting their parking and transportation needs by seeking alternative resources, or planning their schedule around the timing of parking. Is this satisfying? According to feedback from UF students across campus, not really. The price of UF decals continues to go up, but the number of parking spaces stays the same. One has to wonder about the ratio of decals to parking spaces that UF has. They’re in the process of building a parking lot on campus, but it will be limited to orange-decal parking.

This opportunity is big, according to the feedback that I’ve received from students. There has been overwhelming positive feedback for the idea.

The window of opportunity will exist as long as UF continues to raise the prices of decals, sell a high number of decals and not increase the number of parking spaces accordingly.

Innovation.

So how does it work? The parking lot will be built skyward versus out. Gainesville is an expanding community, so we need to find creative ways in figuring out how to tackle the issue. The idea? Build a sustainable parking lot that’ll have a metro system to bring students on campus. The plan is to make it close enough so that walking is an option, but also providing a safe place for your car during the day, and having a way to get to and fro without having to walk in the heat, cold or rain. Because in the heart of the Gator Nation, we know that we’re not immune to the changing seasons of Florida. Our plan is to only sell as many decals as we have spots, or figure out a way only sell as many as we can provide during a busy time. I know what it’s like to circle the parking lot for several minutes. I don’t want other students to have to go through that again.

The way the lot will make money is through selling allotted spaces. But the plan is to make it so that we’re not selling more than we can provide, but selling the maximum amount of decals using an algorithm.

Venture Concept.

I don’t think it will be too difficult to make the customers switch. From the students I’ve talked to, they would pick another parking space if it’s cheap and easier. But the RTS bus system is already busy, and they’re looking to increase the number of bus stops, but if they don’t increase the number of buses, it will only make the commute longer.

The competitors are other parking lots and UF itself. But as explained earlier, I’ve already exposed their weakness; their prices and their lack of space, coupled with their poor planning, will be the downfall of the decals of UF. Other competitors are other parking lots. But the plan will be to create something different, new and useful by implementing a metro system.

Pricing points will have to be set and discussed because sustainability will be key to not only attracting students but providing an environmentally-safe product. The price will have to be negotiated once I speak to a sustainability expert, who will be able to give me price ranges of sustainable material, like recycled cement. The price of cement falls between $3-5. The plan would be to use dumped cement, find a way to either melt it down and reuse it, or fit it back together.

The customer experience will have to be unique. It will have to be more than a parking lot; more than just a metro system. More than just transportation.

The number of employees will include security guards and a 24-hour parking lot keeper, to avoid someone who isn’t allowed to park in the lot from getting in, and to avoid having to give people tickets. It will also help provide an economic boost through the construction and implementation of the lot.

Updates: after reading feedback and considering my options, I’ve decided to adjust my plan to style the parking garage after an airport metro station. For airports in big cities, like Madrid, Spain, metro stations are used to transport flyers from one side of the building to the other if they have connecting flights. Having been on the metro in Madrid, I can wholeheartedly say that it works.

Week 14 reading reflection

What I found surprising was the chicken-and-egg relationship between individual behavior and organizational strategy. In that idea, you wonder what comes first, and how the order of that affects strategic change.

What confused me was the presence of the Innovation, or I-team. I’ve never heard of one, or even seen one in a company. I mean, wouldn’t the entrepreneur have to be creative and innovative?

If I could ask the author some questions, I would ask: “What are some numbers of how many companies have I-Teams?” And, “What qualifications do I-Teams need to have? What do companies look for?”

I don’t really think there was anything I disagreed with the author on. What I really liked was how in Chapter 3, page 84, the author talks about how preparing for failure, and bouncing back from a failure, can help build a resilient and strong entrepreneur.  

Diggin for Google Gold

Using strong words and phrases are an important part of creating SEO posts. My strategy was to write a lot, and use common phrases. I think it’s also important to pose questions to yourself. Something I didn’t do, but I think would’ve helped, is adding tags. Adding multiple tags will definitely drive traffic to blogs; people do it on Youtube all the time.

Keywords were definitely: entrepreneur, innovation, product and UF. UF is a major key word, because that is the aim of demographic for my product. I didn’t really change or refine any keywords of mine.

I used social media to enhance my efforts by posting on Twitter and Facebook. I did those in the beginning, but I haven’t recently. Honestly, I don’t think it really helped, when I did post on Facebook.

The post that received the most page views, which was 28, was my second elevator pitch. It also received 5 comments. I think it got the most traffic because I included a picture that I took of Mexico’s national soccer team. One commenter mentioned it, and I think it can draw attention because there’s something to look at.

Even without checking, I didn’t think I made it to the front page. I think it proves that I need more training in SEO writing, as well as understanding my audience. 

Week 13 Reading Reflection

What I found surprising and interesting, was how entrepreneurs must be objective to avoid emotional bias. I like this, but it surprised me. As a journalist, my job is to be objective. It was surprising to realize entrepreneurs need to be, as well. You would think that entrepreneurs would need to be passionate and head-over-heels for their product, but this is not the case. It’s a nice surprise.

Something that confused me was the discounted earnings method, which the author writes ca help determine a firm’s true value. Just because, a method like this seems completely dependent on the future, and in the end, is only a hypothesis. It also looks at the estimated cash flow, which I feel like can be very dependent on a lot of things.

If I could ask the author two questions, I would ask: what is a reasonable life expectancy of a business? And how dependable is the discounted earnings method?

I wouldn’t argue against the points of the author in Ch. 14. The information is thoroughly backed up through numbers and examples. 

Celebrating Failure

I have failed so many times this semester, my hands are sweating as I type this, recalling all the times my face reddens in embarrassment from an error. When I fail, I never let myself live it down. For instance, I misspelled a student’s last name in the paper. Oh yes, I was one letter off, but it changed my entire life. Not only did I lie in bed and contemplate my career in journalism, I cried a bit. A fact error, can in some cases, be life ruining, especially if it morphs the entire meaning of a story or fact. That was probably the worst one. 

What I learned was, I have to be so careful when it comes to spelling names. I misspelled the student’s last name because I did a phone interview off of my friend’s phone. I was also exhausted, and it was near deadline. I learned that I have to TRIPLE check. That means finding the student in the UF Directory (and making sure they exist), and even checking Facebook to see if there’s a profile that matches a person.

I think failure sucks. Truly and honestly, it makes life a lot harder when you have a big red X that follows you wherever you go. But if you keep that big red X in check, if you keep it close and keep it as a reminder, you can make sure it’s only one. Once I got over the initial embarrassment, I contacted the student and apologized. It helped, a bit. But my pride was still wounded. And to ensure I don’t fail like that again, I’ve learned to find ways to fact check myself. This class has helped me put failure in a different perspective. In class, when coming up with a business product, I’ve learned that failure is the criticism and feedback that helps you create a better product. 

What's Next

The Existing Market
I spoke to three UF students, who are the "existing market." I explained to them my business concept, and I asked them about where I can take it next. But none of them was comfortable being on camera.

  So after speaking to students, I thought about ways to improve my product and service. The students that I spoke to offered ways to improve the product, like having multiple stops along the way, and building skyward. One of the students also suggested creating multiple lots, like bus stops, for students who live further out. 

  Looking back, because I'm creating a product for students, listening to them is the most important process of creating a sustainable parking lot that will suit their needs. I personally don't think it would make sense to build multiple lots, but I like how other students have offered ways to improve the product. 

The New Market 

I spoke to commuters. This came to me when I was walking to my dorm, and someone in a car stopped and asked me for directions for parking. I had to direct them to the commuters lot. And I realized, people who are visiting or coming to UF are a perfect second demographic. 

What I really enjoyed about interviewing the demographic of commuters is looking at a specific need. Also, hearing from their perspective about the difficulties of parking in Gainesville, specifically UF. Tickets are not uncommon at UF, because they're not really understanding. From what I understand, it's very difficult to appeal a ticket. A lot of friends of mine don't bother, because they know they won't win. They lot will offer a cheap, easy place to park. And after parking, students or drivers will be able to get back on campus using the metro system. 

Week 12 reading reflection

1. What surprised me was reading about the one-person band syndrome, and how it can actually be detrimental to the growth of a business. I considered this to be similar to when a person in a group works the most to get a group project done, and in my experience, the person doing all the work has been the reason anything gets done. But the book states that further along, the owner alone cannot continue to grow the business if they’re stuck in the daily routine.

2. What kind of confused me was the strategic management process. I read the paragraph that explains how strategic intent and strategic mission influence strategy formulation, but I can’t seem to follow the graph with the arrows and the information.

3. If I could ask the author two questions, I’d ask: how often have informal and unsystematic businesses succeeded? Despite being unorthodox, can they continue to flourish?

4. There wasn’t anything that the author said I would disagree about. I think I just need to reread some portions of the book to make sure I understand them. 

Venture Concept No. 1

Imagine this: You’re a stressed-out college student at UF chasing the dreams of going to medical school. The only thing standing in your way is that 9 a.m. organic chemistry exam. You’ve been studying for days straight. You’re prepared, you’re well-versed on the material, you’re ready.

You’re so ready, you get to campus 30 minutes early. You know UF parking; you know it’ll take you 15 minutes to walk, 5 if you get a good parking spot. So you go, and you drive. And you spot a parking spot! Until you realize, you don’t have the decal for it. Is it worth getting a ticket? That $35 could be better spent getting Ben & Jerry’s… you skip the spot, because you have some time to spare.

Until you don’t. You end up circling the parking lot, waiting for someone to leave, but no one does. You miss your exam, you fail the class, and you miss your chance at med school.

It’s an unlikely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.

Opportunity.

This is where the opportunity for Your Next Destination comes in.  When we come upon a large population that congregates at a central location, we help them meet their needs. Whether it be creating a sustainable parking lot or a sustainable metro system, we find opportunity when the needs of transportation for the population is unmet.

This opportunity is fueled by UF’s own parking rules. UF restricts parking lots through color-coded decals, which are given out depending on the status of the driver, or owner of the car. UF also sells more decals than they have parking spaces; because of this, a lot of the times the need is greater than the

The forces and the changes in environment that would apply to creating a low-impact parking lot would include having a large enough space and having the space to begin construction. UF is already under heavy construction. The environment, in terms of the atmosphere, is most likely suffering due to the heavy pollution from construction and the number of cars on the road. But the parking lot will be aims at decreasing the number of cars on the road by using a metro system to connect to campus.  

The market depends heavily on the geography and demographic of the area. The demographic, specifically, would have to be young and able to drive. Specifically, when aiming at a population like UF, I would need driven, busy people to fuel the market of the parking lot. The purpose of the lot is to decrease the amount of travel time, but not sacrificing safety.

Currently, at the University of Florida, people are meeting their parking and transportation needs by seeking alternative resources, or planning their schedule around the timing of parking. Is this satisfying? According to feedback from UF students across campus, not really. The price of UF decals continues to go up, but the number of parking spaces stays the same. One has to wonder about the ratio of decals to parking spaces that UF has. They’re in the process of building a parking lot on campus, but it will be limited to orange-decal parking.

This opportunity is big, according to the feedback that I’ve received from students. There has been overwhelming positive feedback for the idea.

The window of opportunity will exist as long as UF continues to raise the prices of decals, sell a high number of decals and not increase the number of parking spaces accordingly.

Innovation.

So how does it work? The parking lot will be built skyward versus out. Gainesville is an expanding community, so we need to find creative ways in figuring out how to tackle the issue. The idea? Build a sustainable parking lot that’ll have a metro system to bring students on campus. The plan is to make it close enough so that walking is an option, but also providing a safe place for your car during the day, and having a way to get to and fro without having to walk in the heat, cold or rain. Because in the heart of the Gator Nation, we know that we’re not immune to the changing seasons of Florida. Our plan is to only sell as many decals as we have spots, or figure out a way only sell as many as we can provide during a busy time. I know what it’s like to circle the parking lot for several minutes. I don’t want other students to have to go through that again.

The way the lot will make money is through selling allotted spaces. But the plan is to make it so that we’re not selling more than we can provide, but selling the maximum amount of decals using an algorithm.

Venture Concept.

I don’t think it will be too difficult to make the customers switch. From the students I’ve talked to, they would pick another parking space if it’s cheap and easier. But the RTS bus system is already busy, and they’re looking to increase the number of bus stops, but if they don’t increase the number of buses, it will only make the commute longer.

The competitors are other parking lots and UF itself. But as explained earlier, I’ve already exposed their weakness; their prices and their lack of space, coupled with their poor planning, will be the downfall of the decals of UF. Other competitors are other parking lots. But the plan will be to create something different, new and useful by implementing a metro system.

Pricing points will have to be set and discussed because sustainability will be key to not only attracting students but providing an environmentally-safe product. The price will have to be negotiated once I speak to a sustainability expert, who will be able to give me price ranges of sustainable material, like recycled cement. The price of cement falls between $3-5. The plan would be to use dumped cement, find a way to either melt it down and reuse it, or fit it back together.

The customer experience will have to be unique. It will have to be more than a parking lot; more than just a metro system. More than just transportation.

The number of employees will include security guards and a 24-hour parking lot keeper, to avoid someone who isn’t allowed to park in the lot from getting in, and to avoid having to give people tickets. It will also help provide an economic boost through the construction and implementation of the lot. 

Week 11 Reading reflection

What surprised me the most was probably the idea of an innovative strategy and how you can’t really do a one-fit-all method to every type of innovation. At the same, it’s not surprising to think that the method Apple uses won’t work for everyone.

What kind of confused me were the different types of innovation. Again, the world of entrepreneurship gets complicated and detailed. The author writes that the best way to think of all the innovation methods as “The Innovation Landscape Map.”

If I could ask the author two questions, they would be: Why is routine innovation the most used method? And how should an entrepreneur go about picking a type of innovation? Should they try each one?

I don’t think the author was wrong about anything. I think the different methods of innovation are interesting, and it's going to be interesting to watch the companies continue to grow and expand and how the internet is going to change those methods. 

Amazon Whisperer

·        Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 

Revenue drivers for Your Next Destination, which will offer a sustainable parking lot to a large population, i.e. students, and big cities, will include VIP parking and different types of decals for parking. People can purchase either six-month decals or year-long decals. They’ll get a discount if they even buy the four-year decal, because we’re students, and it isn’t as big as a commitment as college. Plus, it doesn’t have to be paid all at once.

·        Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?

I’m not sure if I can add on to this. I guess what students will want is a way to get to campus directly. Initially, I had planned to include a metro system that connected from the lot to campus, or the main destination. That, however, can be an upgrade. In that sense, they’ll have to buy a decal to park their car in a safe environment (the lot), and then a ticket for the metro. Ideally, we’d want to give it to them for “free,” with the price of the metro ticket already in the decal.

·        Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?

It’ll enhance the customer experience because then they won’t have to worry about getting to campus directly, or being late, or being dependent on buses. All in the north, you see metro systems. Here in Florida, not so much. I think there’s a need for it, especially in bigger cities. It’ll help create trust between customers and Your Next Destination, because the plan is to offer them a one-package deal for all their parking needs.

·        Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.

I don’t believe that my product can be found on Amazon. When I searched, I only found books with the words “parking lot” in the title and a giant stencil for a handicap parking spot.

·        What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?

Again, I was not able to find my product on Amazon. 

Mu Unfair Advantage

My resources:

1. A large body of people

For this project, I will need a targeted demographic. I will need a large body of people, or else the sustainable parking lot will be pointless. It’s valuable, because it what drives the product. You cannot replicate any large body of people; everywhere you go, the needs will be different. That’s why I believe the UF population is unique because the population has a need for parking.

2. Sustainability experts

Sustainability experts will be necessary to help me figure put to what extent I can make the parking lot sustainable. They’ll also be necessary because I don’t understand the pros and cons of sustainable products. I’ll need their help in figuring out how to get sustainable products for low prices.

3. Architects

Architects will play an extremely important role in the presentation of the product and building of it. The architects will be in charge of creating a parking lot that will be efficient in space, but also something that people will want to be a part of and be in. a part of it will be to try and make it art. We don’t want to create something that will cause sore eyes; we want to create something that people won’t be embarrassed or obligated to be a part of.

4. Social media expert

The social media expert will be the person heading the marketing of the product. We want to create an online presence before the parking lot launches. In order to begin revenue, we’ll want to make it so that students are buying decals before the lot opens.

5. Lawyer

A lawyer is important to protect my company from any liability, as well as any partners of the project. Although I do want to be efficient with time and money, I want to make sure I’m safe from liability, in terms of land use, permits and the law.

6. A student representative

A student will be important because they’ll represent the population we want to serve. They will act as a liaison between the students and our company. What do the students need most? Do they have problems with current parking lots? How many problems? They’ll be the person to ask.

7. A contractor

A contractor will be important to go through the building process. They’ll be an important part as well, because they’ll be representing the business. For instance, the same way Skanska USA has become associated with doing most of UF’s on-campus construction, I will want a contractor that will responsibly represent my product.

8. Recycled cement

This is a tangible resource I’ll be looking to get from the sustainability experts. 

9. Transportation expert

The transportation expert will be vital in helping creating a metro system between the parking lot and the campus. They’ll also be responsible for understanding traffic and any transportation-related issues regarding the lot.

10. A business partner

Until students buy decals for the parking lot, I will be in some serious debt. I'll need a business partner, someone who believes in the success of the plan, to financially back the plan. 

Out of all the resources, I do think the architect will be the most important resource. They'll be the most important part of creating a unique product, because they'll be responsible for the final product. 

Week 10 Reading reflection

Week 10 reading reflection

The biggest surprise to me was the break-even analysis, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly surprising. It makes sense that there’s a decision-making tool that tells how many units need to be sold in order to figure out when a company is in the clear.

What kind of confused me was how the ratio analysis could be measured with a vertical or horizontal analysis. How does one analysis tell you the strength and weaknesses, while the horizontal analysis only shows you whether it’s decreasing or increasing? 

I guess if I had two questions, it would be like the ones I would ask about the ratio analysis. How does one analysis tell you the strength and weaknesses, while the horizontal analysis only shows you whether it’s decreasing or increasing? 

I don’t think there was anything the author was wrong about. The budgeting process makes a lot of sense. The balance, income and cash-flow statements make sense to me. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

Hey there!
Below, you'll find my Elevator pitch.

So? What I found was, a lot of students care about this issue. I mean, as Gainesville's population continues to grow, as a direct result of UF's population growing, urban sprawl is going to be an issue. We need to find ways to implement UF's mission of sustainability in everything we do. That is why my company, Your Next Destination, is the way to go. Maybe I'm bias, but I think my idea is a good way to follow through with UF's mission of sustainability and accommodating the needs of students.

I changed my concept of building outwards. The plan was to create a lot horizontally, to have a metro system running through it, but I found that it isn't possible. Gainesville is facing an issue of growth. In order to avoid creating more problems, we'll need to build skyward.

Thanks for reading!

Week 9 Reading Reflection

Week 9's reading reflection:

What surprised me was realizing that the market has evolved and changed throughout the years. I always thought the customers had more control, and while that does ring in accordance to the reading, I find that if the entrepreneur knows the right moves and how to grow a business, the entrepreneur will have more power.

What confused me were the five revenue models, freemium, affiliate, subscription, virtual goods and advertising, and how a company or business can benefit from one and not the other.

If I could ask the author two questions, I would ask: how has social media’s rise and presence affect advertising? How it increased the amount as well as the business?

I don’t think the author was wrong about anything. All the information seemed like it was thoroughly researched and supported. 

My Secret Sauce

1. Five ways that I think I stand out are: being aware, being interested in news, being a minority, being open-minded and being raised by a single mother. By being aware, I'm always alert and reading the news. As a journalist, knowing what's on the news is important to me. Being interested in news makes me a valuable asset, because it doesn't bore me to read a newspaper. I do that already every morning! Being a minority has given me a unique perspective in life. Being open-minded has allowed me to see other possibilities, and to consider opinions different than my own. And being raised by a single mother has allowed me to grow up independent, but also led by strong women. It's allowed me to become my own person. 

 

After listening to Andres, my friend, I realized that being a minority is definitely an advantage. I realized that it allows me to bring a diverse presence in the newsroom. 

 

There was more to Caitlin's interview, but I had to cut it. The take away was, she said I worked very hard at what I do, which I didn't realize. 

 

After talking to Ethan, I realized that my strengths also lie in writing. Being a journalist has allowed me to develop my skills. 

After talking to Luis, I remembered that I played soccer! Being athletic means I'm healthy. Being healthy gives me an advantage and keeps me in shape. 

 

After talking to Aron, who did not wish to be video recorded, I realized that I do work hard at what I do. 

A lot of the things my friends said, I wouldn't have used to say about myself. There are some differences. For instance, I would consider myself diligent at what I do, but not hard working. I think my interviewees are correct, because they are honest people. If I had to make a correction to my list, I would say to add hardworking. 

The Twenty Percent

I spoke to Lester, who helps run Mexisoccer, a local business that hosts soccer games.

After speaking with Lester, I found 3 players who participated in the Sunday games. Sunday nights are a popular time for players!

None of the players were comfortable being on video (they had just played games and were all sweaty, so I don't blame them), but I was able to talk to them. I had to cut the audio tapes a lot because we ended up going off about soccer, so I had to cut those parts out.

I think what Lester spoke about was reflected in the players. Some of the players were a little upset with the outcome of the games, and on some occasions, the league, but they keep coming back. Whatever Mexisoccer is doing, they're doing it right.

Week 8 reading reflection

Week 8 reading reflection!

1. What surprised me the most about the reading were the myths about venture capital firms. For instance, the fact that they’re concerned with return on investment the most. With this, they’re able to put a lot of time into looking at potential risk and return.

2. What was a little confusing for me was the idea of “business angels” or “informal risk capitalists.” It’s crazy to think there are people out there that don’t ened to worry about where they’re investing their money because they’re so rich. To make it worse, the business angels can be corporate, entrepreneurial, enthusiast, micromanagement and professional. It is a crazy world out there. And then, there’s a list of cons from angel investors.

3. If I could ask the author two questions, one would be: Are angel investors worth the risk? Are they more beneficial or detrimental to entrepreneurs?

4. There wasn’t anything that I think the author was wrong about. I did find it interesting, however, that in the book, “angel investors” are referred to as “angels” in the book, making them equivalent to heavenly beings. I found that to be intriguing. 

Half-way reflection

Here's my half-way reflection!

Tenaciousness is a skill. In order to keep with this course and its many assignments, I’ve had to find quite a bit of strength and perseverance. Not only did I set multiple reminders on my cellphone calendar, I’ve left sticky notes on my favorite snacks and desk with ‘ENT homework?’ on the notes to remind myself. There have been times where I did the assignments, but forgot to declare. Trust me, after missing 3 points that way, I haven’t forgotten yet.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. There was one time where I had an essay, a project and 2 stories to write in one day. More than anything, I wanted to crawl into bed and forget it all. I felt like “giving up.” Instead, I took a deep breath and though about what an A on my transcript would look like, versus a B or a C. talk about motivation. I also waited to reward myself with coffee after finishing two assignments.

3) Three tips. If I could offer three tips to future students they would be 1) Don’t procrastinate. Don’t do it. It’s really hard to bounce back from behind, so you’re better off staying on track. 2) PLAN AHEAD. In fact, forget stay on track, plan ahead! Know who you’re going to talk to and when. Call an entrepreneur and tell them you’re going to talk to them at a certain time. 3)  Reward yourself for completing assignments. That doesn’t mean go partying or pig out, but a candy or two makes success tangible. It also quells the ache of having to do an essay and makes them a little easier to bear. 

Always remember: people before you have done it. So can you. 

1. 

Free Money

So today, I spent some time trying to give away free money. As a college student, I never thought I'd say that, but I did. And it wasn't as weird as I expected it to be.

I decided to go to Turlington Plaza, because there are always people there. I decided I would try and get strangers to take my money by offering it with  good luck for midterms. I was surprised by the number of people who said no. I expected everyone to say yes, but 3 out of the 5 people I talked to said yes. Two people said no.

Week 7 reading reflection

 This week's reading was on Daniel Yankelovich and David Meer's "Rediscovering Market Segmentation."

1. So the marketing segmentation technique, if successful, helps companies tailor their products. But the technique is now mostly used by advertising agencies. That to me, was kind of a surprise. Because if you think about it, advertising is a business.
2. What confused me was the graph, which looked at two sets of characteristics versus a segmentation to develop advertising and a segmentation to develop new products.  While the graph clearly laid out what it was looking at in terms of data, I don’t understand how all of these variables play into the technique. Why is the customer’s attitude surveyed for advertising, but it’s the purchase and usage data on customers when it comes to developing new products. As I’m typing it out, it makes more sense, but I’m not sure what the graph’s use is.
3. If I could ask the author a question, I would ask: “What types of patterns of looking at what consumers buy have proven to be successful?” The author gives a good example about how a company, in this case Miller Lite, used an ad technique that wasn’t successful. Their commercial of mud-wrestling supermodels didn’t increase sales. So what could Miller Lite have done better, other than sexualize women?
4. There wasn’t really anything I disagreed with the author about. It’s just a concept I have to study a bit more to understand. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Your Next Destination is here to help you, the tired, stressed-out college student, find your place on campus. With your car! Believe it or not, there is one. The idea? Build a sustainable parking lot that’ll have a metro system to bring students on campus. The plan is to make it close enough so that walking is an option, but also providing a safe place for your car during the day, and having a way to get to and fro without having to walk in the heat, cold or rain. Because in the heart of the Gator Nation, we know that we’re not immune to the changing seasons of Florida. Our plan is to only sell as many decals as we have spots, or figure out a way only sell as many as we can provide during a busy time. I know what it’s like to circle the parking lot for several minutes. I don’t want other students to have to go through that again.

Looking back, I realized that my pitch is a lot cleaner and has a lot more information. Using feedback from the people I’ve interviewed, I’ve been able to get a clearer idea of what I want to create and build. It’s also a lot easier to talk about what I envision my project being because I’ve been building up the idea. 

Customer Interviews No. 3

For the third series, I aimed for students in the parking lot.
I had them read the business concept that I wrote, and asked them a few follow-up questions. For instance, I asked: "Do you feel like there's a need for on-campus parking?" and "Would this idea/concept help?"

   

Looking back, I think this is something that I think students really want and need. I wasn't really surprised to hear that this is something they'd like to see. It seems like any type of parking that would make the lives' of students easier would help.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

Michael Porter's "The Five Forces that Shape Competitive Strategy" was an interesting read. I also watched his video on Youtube about his article to better understand his message and how he wanted to convey that through his article. 

1. The part that surprised me the most was learning that there are more than just the competition out there that strategists face. The five powers, which are: bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes and rivalry among competitors seems to break it down into clean sectors of the whole issue.

2. What confused me was how he said the framework of the five powers can help a strategist, or an entrepreneur, keep from getting trapped in a trend, or keep from losing a lot of profit, but can the framework really help you plan for that? I just think the market is always changing, so can you really plan for it?

3. How did you decide on the powers? How would you apply the framework of the business of journalism?

4. I don’t know if he’s right about competition always being the biggest barrier to making a profit or running a successful business. I’m not sure Mr. Porter can identify that in every field, because in the field of newspapers, the biggest barrier is the customer. How do we get them to buy the paper and fund storytelling? Unless of course, we look at the internet as being the biggest competitor… 

Idea Napkin No. 1

Based off of comments and feedback, here are my "napkin" ideas. 

1)    You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am a journalist. My skills involve learning the truth by gathering the facts, and making it readable. My skills are also people-skills, because I’m able to ease a conversation in a direction that I need. My aspirations include shining light on the truth, but also making the lives of people easier. My business concept involves creating a sustainable parking lot for students at UF. Sustainability and construction don’t really go hand-in-hand, but I’m determined to create something new and modern that combines them. This business could help improve my life and the lives of others.

2)    What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I’m offering stress-free parking. The service is still being developed, but basically, it would allow off-campus students the chance to park in a local place, close enough for them to go grab their cars, but they’d ride a kind of tram system that would bring them to campus from the parking lot and vice versa.

3)    Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I’m offering a way to get to campus. My product will be aimed at college students who don’t want to pay $80 for a one-semester long decal that doesn’t even guarantee them parking. This lot would guarantee parking at a cheaper price. It would only sell the number of decals equivalent to the number of parking spots. If the need is great, algorithms and math would be involved to ensure that anyone who wanted to park there would be able to. I think my customers will all have in common a need to find a haven for their cars, their babies, to go to school.

4)    Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

It’s valuable because we care. Here at Your Next Destination, we care about the needs of students... Because we are students too! We care about your needs, because they’re our needs too. We want you to use our service so we can incorporate them in other places. We want to combine sustainability for growing populations, but also the world. Creating eco-friendly parking spaces would not only be popular, but good.  

5)    What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

We want sustainable parking. Some people would consider that sentence an oxymoron. But that’s our mission, because we care about our futures and yours. We want you to get your education in a timely manner, which means avoiding circling the parking lots for 20 minutes and aggressively stalking people pulling out of spots. We’ve all been there. There’s no shame. But now, if we make this possible, we can all create a less-stressed campus and happier students. 

Interviewing Customers No. 2

Opportunity: Building a parking space on campus.

This time, I found strangers near parking lots and parking garages.

I asked whether they would recommend incoming students to bring their cars, whether they have a need to park on-campus, and if they think a parking garage would help.

What I learned was a lot of students are peeved by parking. Many students found that parking on campus is a hassle to be avoided. As to whether a parking garage would be the prime solution, I’m not sure anymore, after speaking to some students. It wouldn’t be sustainable, and would it make a difference? UF would just charge more for decals.

I learned that students are a tough crowd to please. On one hand, we feel like we deserve many opportunities more than what UF has to offer. But we have to consider the finances as well. Would fees go up to cover construction? Where is UF putting the money? Questions still linger than I need to ask.

Three tips I'd offer to students: PLAN AHEAD. Don't wait for the last day!!!
Plan to talk to more than 5 people! Some people will say no and that's okay. Move on to the next person. 
Take the time to be friendly to them so that they trust you. After all, they're helping you get the grade!

 

  

Weekly Reading 5

Here is week 5's reflection reading!

1.      What kind of surprised me was how many sources of innovative ideas entrepreneurs look at for ideas. For instance, “incongruities” was super interesting, because it’s defined as the gap between expectations and reality. What kind of strikes me is that a person has to be insanely creative, like, a box of thoughts doesn’t even exist to think outside of because they’re just in another world.

2.      Nothing was really confusing other than why people would think innovation is planned. Maybe it’s because I grew up in an era where the wildly successful people made it big after coming up with a wildly successful idea, but it seems like innovation is the cross between opportunity and hard work.

3.      If I had to ask the author a question, it would be: out of the principles of innovation, which one do you consider to be the most necessary one to set up for innovation? Like if they had to choose.

4.      I don’t think there was anything in particular that I disagreed with. It was very straightforward, and presented information in a very factual sense. I really like how the author actually listed things and mindsets that hinder growth as an entrepreneur. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Opportunity: Parking spaces at UF

Solution: create a parking lot unlike any other. Bring in top architects from across the world and make do with the space we have.

Name: Your Next Destination

Here at Your Next Destination, we work together to help anyone and everyone solve a problem about a lack of space. As a company, we’re aware of increasing populations, which become dense in desired places like big cities and college towns. We work together with some world-class architects to bring you not only a beautiful end result, but one that works. 

Week 4 Reading Reflection

Weekly reflection! Here we go:

1  What kind of surprised me was how many sources of innovative ideas entrepreneurs look at for ideas. For instance, “incongruities” was super interesting, because it’s defined as the gap between expectations and reality. What kind of strikes me is that a person has to be insanely creative, like, a box of thoughts doesn’t even exist to think outside of because they’re just in another world.

2.      Nothing was really confusing other than why people would think innovation is planned. Maybe it’s because I grew up in an era where the wildly successful people made it big after coming up with a wildly successful idea, but it seems like innovation is the cross between opportunity and hard work.

3.      If I had to ask the author a question, it would be: out of the principles of innovation, which one do you consider to be the most necessary one to set up for innovation? Like if they had to choose.

4.      I don’t think there was anything in particular that I disagreed with. It was very straightforward, and presented information in a very factual sense. I really like how the author actually listed things and mindsets that hinder growth as an entrepreneur.