1. The exit strategy I plan to take is none. I do not intend to sell my bar. Instead, I will own it until I wish to retire, and then I will pass it down to my kids.
2. I chose this strategy because why work so hard to get this going, only to sell it. Instead, I want to expand and open up even more bars. I have no intentions of selling.
3. My exit strategy has influenced my other decisions heavily. Knowing that I have no intention of selling, I must make sure I make every correct step along the way, to not mess anything up. I am looking forward to this process.
Monday, November 26, 2018
27A
I read Elon Musk's biography, by Ashlee Vance. The thing that surprised me
the most is that in its first year, Tesla only had 8,000 dollars in
sales. From there, it has emerged as one of the most global companies in
the world. This just goes to show that good things do not
happen overnight in the business world. You must market your product in
order to expand. The thing about Elon Musk that I most admired is the
perseverance that he and his team showed. Tesla and SpaceX throughout the years ran
into numerous lawsuits, many fines, failed designs, etc., but none
of this ever slowed him down. The world can thank him for that, or else
many of us would not have many of the great innovations of this time. Throughout the book, it is expressed that Musk was sometimes very secluded with his work. It was mentioned that he was
not one to give much positive feedback, and was often indecisive with
his decisions. I would have to say these are the things that I least
admire about Musk. As previously mentioned, Tesla ran into much
adversity through the years. But to overcome it, they kept churning out
new designs, offering better products, and making sure consumer
satisfaction was at the top of their interests. Some of the competencies
that I noticed Musk exhibited well were innovation and the ability to
change concepts. It is tough to switch from failed products, and then
all of a sudden design a concept that works. So, for that I must applaud
him. The part of the book that most confused me was how Musk started
this whole thing off with selling failed products, all the way
to becoming the giant it is today. One question I would ask Elon would be how the idea of Tesla originally started. I would like to know
if it started as wanting to create a comfortable car, or if the idea
was to create a car giant. Another question I would ask Elon is if the
first time he created a product or design that failed, what did he say to himself to
get past this failure. I think Elon was a very hard worker. You cannot
slack off and create one of the biggest companies in the world.
26A
1. This semester I have failed to get an A on my Sports Economic tests. No matter how much I studied, how many problem sets I redid, or how many times I took the practice test, I just cannot crack the A mark. It is not like I am far off, I got a B+ both times, but I just cannot get into that A threshold.
2. From this, I have learned to not let my mood down when I fail. Yeah, maybe I did not get the A I was looking for. But I still have to look at the positives. I beat the average for my class, and still received a good score. Failing to achieve something does not define who you are.
3. I think in order to get past failing, it is good to admit failure. Move on from it and start to look at the future. Every single person on this Earth fails at something almost every day. So you cannot let it get you down, and you must move on from it. This class has taught me a great deal about that. I am definitely more likely to go out and take a risk than I would have been four months ago.
2. From this, I have learned to not let my mood down when I fail. Yeah, maybe I did not get the A I was looking for. But I still have to look at the positives. I beat the average for my class, and still received a good score. Failing to achieve something does not define who you are.
3. I think in order to get past failing, it is good to admit failure. Move on from it and start to look at the future. Every single person on this Earth fails at something almost every day. So you cannot let it get you down, and you must move on from it. This class has taught me a great deal about that. I am definitely more likely to go out and take a risk than I would have been four months ago.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
25A
Based off of the advice I got from the people I interviewed who are a part of my current market, I believe the thing I most need to focus on is creating demand for my bar. I need to be promoting it around college, to make sure enough people hear about it. Another idea is to hand away free coupons and such, to initially get people to come to my bar. They all thought the hardest part about this for me would be initially getting people into my bar.
Another thing I learned from my interviewees is that taking away loyal customers from other bars may be harder than I thought. Two of the three people said they only go to the one same bar every time they go out. For this reason alone, they both said I would really need to be innovative in order to create demand for my bar.
To radically change the dynamics of the market I came up with, I flipped the switch and decided to interview three people over the age of fifty. The goal for this was to see if there could still be a demand for my bar outside of the college-aged kids. The first man I interviewed was strongly against the idea. He said he likes his classic bar, and wouldn't really be interested in deviating from this. The second man I interviewed said essentially the same thing. However, he also included that with cheaper prices he may be inclined to give my bar a go. The third man I interviewed said he would be fully behind my idea. He said that he would love to have a place where he could go to drink, but also play bar games and arcade games while doing it. He called it an Adult version of Chuck E Cheese.
Interviewing this other side of the market made me realize that my demand really does primarily lie in the college-aged kids. While some adults would get behind the idea, most of them would like to stick to the types of bars that they have been going to for decades. For this reason, I really must come up with some really innovative ideas for my bar if I want it to be successful.
Another thing I learned from my interviewees is that taking away loyal customers from other bars may be harder than I thought. Two of the three people said they only go to the one same bar every time they go out. For this reason alone, they both said I would really need to be innovative in order to create demand for my bar.
To radically change the dynamics of the market I came up with, I flipped the switch and decided to interview three people over the age of fifty. The goal for this was to see if there could still be a demand for my bar outside of the college-aged kids. The first man I interviewed was strongly against the idea. He said he likes his classic bar, and wouldn't really be interested in deviating from this. The second man I interviewed said essentially the same thing. However, he also included that with cheaper prices he may be inclined to give my bar a go. The third man I interviewed said he would be fully behind my idea. He said that he would love to have a place where he could go to drink, but also play bar games and arcade games while doing it. He called it an Adult version of Chuck E Cheese.
Interviewing this other side of the market made me realize that my demand really does primarily lie in the college-aged kids. While some adults would get behind the idea, most of them would like to stick to the types of bars that they have been going to for decades. For this reason, I really must come up with some really innovative ideas for my bar if I want it to be successful.
24A
Opportunity:
I have an unmet consumer need regarding having a go-to place
for college-aged kids to both drink and get away from the typical bar scene at
the same time. All too often in college, I hear all of my buddies complaining, “I’m
so sick of Midtown, all of the bars there suck.” “The beer is too expensive,
and there’s nothing to do besides stand in a small cramped space with one
hundred other people.” I’m sure that this demand is also met nationally, and
not just here in Gainesville. Demographics do not matter here either, boy or
girl, black or white, it does not matter. Everyone seems to run into this same
problem. (Maybe unless you live in one of the massive metropolitan cities of the
world like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago) Customers are responding to
this need by forcing themselves to the same old places weekend after weekend.
This makes this opportunity huge. If I could reinvent the college American bar
scene, who knows how much money this could make me. With that being said, this opportunity
is not going anywhere either. There will always be a plethora of college kids
in America, and they will always be a high demand for drinking and night life,
especially in college towns.
Innovation:
I must get very creative in order to come up with an idea
that will get people to try out a new place. I must come up with ideas that
most other places do not have. For my bar, I will employ a variety of different
night life aspects. For example, in order to attract people to come to my bar,
I will hire five drivers every night to cab people back and forth from my bar.
(As long as they are going somewhere on campus) This will be free of charge. I
will also incorporate many bar games into my bar, so it is not just a regular
old bar with the bar and maybe a pool table. Instead I will bring in classic
arcade machines such as pinball, Ms. Pac Man, Super Smash Bros, etc. On top of
this I will add air hockey, foosball, dart boards, and of course a room
dedicated for beer pong. I will make my money primarily from alcohol sales, but
also from these arcade games. The arcade games are a fixed cost, in other words
I pay for them one time, and then I don’t incur any more costs on them. I will
also devise a plan to offer alcohol at a cheaper price to attempt to attract
more people to my bar. Who doesn’t like cheap beer and liquor? On top of lower
prices, I will offer deals for all people, not just deals for women. How does
Masculine Monday, half off all drinks sound for guys? The ideas I have
discussed I realize are not conventional for bars, but I believe I can attract
enough people to achieve a healthy profit.
Venture Concept:
My innovation would solve the opportunity I previously
mentioned by giving college kids a reliable place to go week after week, and
not feel like a boring old bar is a hassle anymore. Customers will buy into my
innovation for a few reasons: I will offer cheaper alcohol, I will provide many
bar games to keep you occupied for hours, and I will provide a free ride home
as well. All of these I believe will contribute to this bar being a huge hit.
With all of that being said, I do not foresee it being extremely hard to get
people to switch over to my bar. If someone offered me a cheaper place to
drink, including a multitude of games to stay occupied with, I would say “Send
me the addy.” The competitors will be the preexisting bars that already have an
established reputation and loyal customers. However, as previously stated I firmly
believe my cheaper alcohol prices will be able to drive these customers to me.
Customer support, customer experience, and pricing points will be the biggest facets
of whether or not my bar can be profitable as well if I can get enough people
inside every night. I would realistically need only 10-15 employees total for
this business venture of mine. I will need the five drivers, seven or eight
bartenders, and a couple cooks for food. With this many employees, my payroll
will not be high month to month.
My secret Sauce:
Taking four years of economics courses have taught me all
sorts of things that will prove useful for this business venture. From simple
economics like supply and demand, from pricing decisions in a competitive
market versus a monopolistic market, or inelastic versus elastic products, I
have an abundance of knowledge in this field. I feel extremely confident that
it will come in handy along this journey for me. Competitors of mine without
this same knowledge, I believe I can blow them out of the water.
The next step:
My next step in this process will be coming up with the
capital to actually get this venture started up. On top of that, I will need to
find a business partner to cut costs, and also seek out investors to further
cut costs. From there, I will have the knowledge and then the capital to
actually get this bar started up. The final step in the process would be
picking out the right location to maximize my profits.
Future:
I would love to open up a multitude of bars in the future.
Assuming this idea worked out, I would keep expanding to new locations to
accumulate even more profit.
23A
My Resources
1) My human capital:
Valuable: 20+ years of schooling
Rare: Many people do not graduate high school, yet alone college
Imitable: You cannot imitate knowledge
Nonsubstitutable: You can substitute my knowledge with someone who possesses at least the same amount
2) My wealth
Valuable: Being young and in college, my wealth at this point in my life is not too valuable
Rare: Not very rare, since I do not have too much money up to this point
Imitable: Cannot imitate wealth, either you have it or you do not
Nonsubstitutable: Can substitute my wealth for someone with more wealth
3) Partnership
Valuable: It will be very valuable to have someone committed to this project with me, which I have
Rare: Not very rare to have a business partner
Imitable: I cannot pretend to have a business partner, either I do or I don't
Nonsubstitutable: I can substitute one partner for another, as long as the former is compensated or bought out
4) Investors
Valuable: Extremely valuable to have investors, that way I am not burdening all of the costs
Rare: Not rare to have investors when starting up a business
Imitable: Cannot pretend to have investors if you do not in reality
Nonsubstitutable: I can always have more and more investors, but I can never have less than zero
5) R&D
Valuable: Good R&D is integral to get a good cost-benefit analysis compared to your competitors
Rare: I hope R&D in starting a company up is not rare..... Otherwise you won't be very successful
Imitable: You cannot fake R&D, the things you are researching will be facts only
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute R&D with anything else, something that must be done
6) Attention to detail
Valuable: I think this is extremely valuable. Attention to detail will lead to more profit in the long run
Rare: I do not think enough people put enough attention to detail as they should
Imitable: You can imitate detail in the short run, but not if you want to be profitable in the long run
Nonsubstitutable: You cannot substitute detail for something else
7) Drive for success
Valuable: Very valuable for small business owners
Rare: I would put this in the not very rare category. Most people that had the drive to start a business also have the drive to sustain it
Imitable: Cannot imitate success with anything. Either you are doing well or you are not
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute for anything else
8) Ability to adapt
Valuable: Very valuable, have to be able to move with what is working for you and the industry as a whole
Rare: Very rare, not everyone is able to be able to see these changes that must be made
Imitable: Can imitate other trends, but will not necessarily lead to success
Nonsubsititutable: Can substitute for other things, but will not always be profitable
9) Understanding of economic principles
Valuable: Very valuable for owning a business
Rare: Very rare, economics is a degree that is on the downturn
Imitable: Cannot imitate knowledge if you do not have it
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute this knowledge with history knowledge
10) Understanding of business concepts
Valuable: Valuable for owning a business
Rare: Not too rare, many people have learned this at some point in their lives
Imitable: Can imitate knowing business ideas, but they may be flawed
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot subsititute
I think my most valuable asset is my extensive knowledge in the field of economics. It is more important than all of my others due to its value to me, the rarity of it nowadays, and the fact that you cannot imitate it or substitute it.
1) My human capital:
Valuable: 20+ years of schooling
Rare: Many people do not graduate high school, yet alone college
Imitable: You cannot imitate knowledge
Nonsubstitutable: You can substitute my knowledge with someone who possesses at least the same amount
2) My wealth
Valuable: Being young and in college, my wealth at this point in my life is not too valuable
Rare: Not very rare, since I do not have too much money up to this point
Imitable: Cannot imitate wealth, either you have it or you do not
Nonsubstitutable: Can substitute my wealth for someone with more wealth
3) Partnership
Valuable: It will be very valuable to have someone committed to this project with me, which I have
Rare: Not very rare to have a business partner
Imitable: I cannot pretend to have a business partner, either I do or I don't
Nonsubstitutable: I can substitute one partner for another, as long as the former is compensated or bought out
4) Investors
Valuable: Extremely valuable to have investors, that way I am not burdening all of the costs
Rare: Not rare to have investors when starting up a business
Imitable: Cannot pretend to have investors if you do not in reality
Nonsubstitutable: I can always have more and more investors, but I can never have less than zero
5) R&D
Valuable: Good R&D is integral to get a good cost-benefit analysis compared to your competitors
Rare: I hope R&D in starting a company up is not rare..... Otherwise you won't be very successful
Imitable: You cannot fake R&D, the things you are researching will be facts only
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute R&D with anything else, something that must be done
6) Attention to detail
Valuable: I think this is extremely valuable. Attention to detail will lead to more profit in the long run
Rare: I do not think enough people put enough attention to detail as they should
Imitable: You can imitate detail in the short run, but not if you want to be profitable in the long run
Nonsubstitutable: You cannot substitute detail for something else
7) Drive for success
Valuable: Very valuable for small business owners
Rare: I would put this in the not very rare category. Most people that had the drive to start a business also have the drive to sustain it
Imitable: Cannot imitate success with anything. Either you are doing well or you are not
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute for anything else
8) Ability to adapt
Valuable: Very valuable, have to be able to move with what is working for you and the industry as a whole
Rare: Very rare, not everyone is able to be able to see these changes that must be made
Imitable: Can imitate other trends, but will not necessarily lead to success
Nonsubsititutable: Can substitute for other things, but will not always be profitable
9) Understanding of economic principles
Valuable: Very valuable for owning a business
Rare: Very rare, economics is a degree that is on the downturn
Imitable: Cannot imitate knowledge if you do not have it
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot substitute this knowledge with history knowledge
10) Understanding of business concepts
Valuable: Valuable for owning a business
Rare: Not too rare, many people have learned this at some point in their lives
Imitable: Can imitate knowing business ideas, but they may be flawed
Nonsubstitutable: Cannot subsititute
I think my most valuable asset is my extensive knowledge in the field of economics. It is more important than all of my others due to its value to me, the rarity of it nowadays, and the fact that you cannot imitate it or substitute it.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
22A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQEdLcrx9Q
The feedback I received was very constructive. The best I got from it was to show more enthusiasm in my pitch. Really sell my product, which will be better for my audience. Another good piece of advice I got was to give a better description of my product, along with my goals for it and how I will achieve these goals.
By now my pitch is almost memorized, I feel much more comfortable with it. This assignment has really helped my confidence.
The feedback I received was very constructive. The best I got from it was to show more enthusiasm in my pitch. Really sell my product, which will be better for my audience. Another good piece of advice I got was to give a better description of my product, along with my goals for it and how I will achieve these goals.
By now my pitch is almost memorized, I feel much more comfortable with it. This assignment has really helped my confidence.
Monday, November 5, 2018
21A
The book I chose was Thinking Fast, and Slow.
1. The general theme or argument of the book was that when it comes to considering judgements and choices, a human goes through two systems of thought. The first is a sudden, and automatic response by the brain. The second system is slower and more deliberate.
2. This book connected with our class in many ways. For starters, the whole book is predicated on making the right decisions based off of what you are given. You must strategically decide on things throughout your life, especially in the business world. In order to be a good entrepreneur, you must be good at System number two, something Kahneman hits on throughout the book.
3. If I were design an exercise for this class based off this book, I would create ten situations and ask the students to do two things: Provide an initial response for each situation. And then after that, deeply think about each situation for ten minutes, and develop a new response for each situation. Then, compare how different each of your answers were.
4. The biggest "aha" moment for me was regarding doubts. I was surprised to find out that System 1 cannot really experience doubts. However, System 2 is when you start to get into some problems with doubting yourself.
1. The general theme or argument of the book was that when it comes to considering judgements and choices, a human goes through two systems of thought. The first is a sudden, and automatic response by the brain. The second system is slower and more deliberate.
2. This book connected with our class in many ways. For starters, the whole book is predicated on making the right decisions based off of what you are given. You must strategically decide on things throughout your life, especially in the business world. In order to be a good entrepreneur, you must be good at System number two, something Kahneman hits on throughout the book.
3. If I were design an exercise for this class based off this book, I would create ten situations and ask the students to do two things: Provide an initial response for each situation. And then after that, deeply think about each situation for ten minutes, and develop a new response for each situation. Then, compare how different each of your answers were.
4. The biggest "aha" moment for me was regarding doubts. I was surprised to find out that System 1 cannot really experience doubts. However, System 2 is when you start to get into some problems with doubting yourself.
Monday, October 29, 2018
20A
Person number 1:
1. The first person I met is Randy. Randy is the owner of the arcade bar in Downtown Gainesville.
2. I am fitting the domain expert for this person. He owns something that I wish to open up for myself.
3. I found this person by walking down to the bar and asking to speak to the owner. Was not very hard.
4. Randy was very helpful to me. He told me what it takes to run a successful bar. He also gave me an estimate of how much capital it took him to start his bar up.
5. Having Randy in my network will be useful for me down the road. If I ever have any questions with the business side of my bar, I can always give Randy a call, and hopefully he can help me.
Person number 2:
1. The next person I came in contact with is Ricky. Ricky works for a company that audits bars around Alachua County.
2. Ricky fits the market expert domain. He fits this spot by providing expert experience about how to maintain a successful bar.
3. I found Ricky by searching for a company online that audits bars. From there, they forwarded me to Ricky.
4. The favor Ricky did for me was telling me the number one cause for bars to be shut down. I learned that most bars get shut down because of health reasons, and not for lack of sales.
5. Having Ricky in my network would be good for me to learn of ways to avoid having my bar shut down. This is definitely someone I wish to stay in contact with.
Person number 3:
1. The last person that I met was Julian. Julian is a beer distributor for bars in Gainesville.
2. Julian fulfills the supplier role. He distributes beer to the market domain I am interested in starting up.
3. I found Julian by looking up companies that supply beer to UF bars. Then I was directed to Julian.
4. Julian helped with the pricing that most bars pay to get their supply of beers. This gives me a better estimate when I do my cost analysis for my bar.
5. Julian will stay in my network because through him I can compare prices I am paying compared to other places. This will be very helpful.
This assignment showed me that networking is an integral process in life. It never hurts to know more people. With that being said, this assignment definitely changed how I will network in the future.
1. The first person I met is Randy. Randy is the owner of the arcade bar in Downtown Gainesville.
2. I am fitting the domain expert for this person. He owns something that I wish to open up for myself.
3. I found this person by walking down to the bar and asking to speak to the owner. Was not very hard.
4. Randy was very helpful to me. He told me what it takes to run a successful bar. He also gave me an estimate of how much capital it took him to start his bar up.
5. Having Randy in my network will be useful for me down the road. If I ever have any questions with the business side of my bar, I can always give Randy a call, and hopefully he can help me.
Person number 2:
1. The next person I came in contact with is Ricky. Ricky works for a company that audits bars around Alachua County.
2. Ricky fits the market expert domain. He fits this spot by providing expert experience about how to maintain a successful bar.
3. I found Ricky by searching for a company online that audits bars. From there, they forwarded me to Ricky.
4. The favor Ricky did for me was telling me the number one cause for bars to be shut down. I learned that most bars get shut down because of health reasons, and not for lack of sales.
5. Having Ricky in my network would be good for me to learn of ways to avoid having my bar shut down. This is definitely someone I wish to stay in contact with.
Person number 3:
1. The last person that I met was Julian. Julian is a beer distributor for bars in Gainesville.
2. Julian fulfills the supplier role. He distributes beer to the market domain I am interested in starting up.
3. I found Julian by looking up companies that supply beer to UF bars. Then I was directed to Julian.
4. Julian helped with the pricing that most bars pay to get their supply of beers. This gives me a better estimate when I do my cost analysis for my bar.
5. Julian will stay in my network because through him I can compare prices I am paying compared to other places. This will be very helpful.
This assignment showed me that networking is an integral process in life. It never hurts to know more people. With that being said, this assignment definitely changed how I will network in the future.
19A
1. I am a person who is always striving to come up with the best option
for myself. That is probably just the economist coming out in me. Some
of my skills include knowing how to conduct activities efficiently, I am
a very personable person, I am an extremely hard worker, and I am very
persistent with my work. My aspiration is to start up an Arcade Bar,
that excels over the surrounding bars in the area I decide to open up. I
see this business being successful if I set it up in a Tech College
town, because this is where I believe I will receive the highest demand.
2. I am offering to consumers a chance to be a kid again. Going to the Arcade Bar in Gainesville was life changing for me. I never imagined being able to play all kinds of arcade games while also making rounds for beer. I think if more people found out about this, that it really has the chance to take off. I would also offer other innovative bar ideas, that would be different than any other bars in the area.
3. My ideal customers will be college town kids. Specifically, I want to operate in a affluent area, that contains one or two technical colleges. I think this demographic would have the most unmet need for this bar. I think it also helps being in a college town, because most college students spending money goes towards nights out. I think this could be very profitable.
4. Why will people pay me money? I will be able to offer cheaper alcohol than competitors, because I will be able to make up revenue from people paying to play the arcade games. These two together should make a killing.
5. The thing that sets me apart from all the other bars is customer experience. This will not be your run in the mill bar where you go in, sit down, order a drink, and repeat for hours. Instead, it will give all customers an interactive experience, in which they will hopefully enjoy enough to make it their regular spot on the weekends!
With all this being said, I think all of these elements tie up pretty nicely for me. The most difficult part out of this whole process is coming up with the capital to get this going. However, when I get that capital, with my drive I think I can really get this place booming.
I actually received some very helpful feedback from the first go round of my idea napkin. One of the best pieces of advice I was given was that in order for my bar to succeed, I need to have elements that really make me stand out from other bars. Because otherwise, people are a creature of habit, and will therefore continue to keep going to the same bar in which they are used to. In addition to this piece of advice, I was also advised to come up with a detailed costs chart, to see how profitable I can really make this. It is possible I could be running negative costs here, so that is something I must do detailed research into. I appreciate everyone's feedback.
2. I am offering to consumers a chance to be a kid again. Going to the Arcade Bar in Gainesville was life changing for me. I never imagined being able to play all kinds of arcade games while also making rounds for beer. I think if more people found out about this, that it really has the chance to take off. I would also offer other innovative bar ideas, that would be different than any other bars in the area.
3. My ideal customers will be college town kids. Specifically, I want to operate in a affluent area, that contains one or two technical colleges. I think this demographic would have the most unmet need for this bar. I think it also helps being in a college town, because most college students spending money goes towards nights out. I think this could be very profitable.
4. Why will people pay me money? I will be able to offer cheaper alcohol than competitors, because I will be able to make up revenue from people paying to play the arcade games. These two together should make a killing.
5. The thing that sets me apart from all the other bars is customer experience. This will not be your run in the mill bar where you go in, sit down, order a drink, and repeat for hours. Instead, it will give all customers an interactive experience, in which they will hopefully enjoy enough to make it their regular spot on the weekends!
With all this being said, I think all of these elements tie up pretty nicely for me. The most difficult part out of this whole process is coming up with the capital to get this going. However, when I get that capital, with my drive I think I can really get this place booming.
I actually received some very helpful feedback from the first go round of my idea napkin. One of the best pieces of advice I was given was that in order for my bar to succeed, I need to have elements that really make me stand out from other bars. Because otherwise, people are a creature of habit, and will therefore continue to keep going to the same bar in which they are used to. In addition to this piece of advice, I was also advised to come up with a detailed costs chart, to see how profitable I can really make this. It is possible I could be running negative costs here, so that is something I must do detailed research into. I appreciate everyone's feedback.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
17A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQEdLcrx9Q
The best feedback from last time was to try and streamline who my target customer would be. Do not make it so broad, rather really narrow it down to exactly who you are looking to target. The silliest feedback was to not go through with this idea, because it was stupid. And to that I say, everything is stupid until you succeed, and then it becomes brilliant.
Based off of these suggestions, I changed my target customer to only college kids. In particular, college kids who go to an affluent school. (Thus not community colleges, sorry Sante Fe) Finally, I would look to target tech colleges, because I think they have the type of people who would most want to use my product.
The best feedback from last time was to try and streamline who my target customer would be. Do not make it so broad, rather really narrow it down to exactly who you are looking to target. The silliest feedback was to not go through with this idea, because it was stupid. And to that I say, everything is stupid until you succeed, and then it becomes brilliant.
Based off of these suggestions, I changed my target customer to only college kids. In particular, college kids who go to an affluent school. (Thus not community colleges, sorry Sante Fe) Finally, I would look to target tech colleges, because I think they have the type of people who would most want to use my product.
18 A
My prototypical customer is a college kid, namely the juniors and seniors. Thus, my avatars age is between 21 and 22 years old. Their hobbies include going to the gym, going out with friends, playing sports, and drinking lots of alcohol. I can vividly see my avatar driving around in a White Jeep, I swear I see at least 10-15 of them on campus alone every day. My avatar likes to binge watch the office and Friends when he/she has free time. Based on the age, most of my avatars will not have kids, maybe pretty soon though! My avatar is not adopted, and their parents love them very much. Because of this love, they usually send them a lot of financial help to get through college. My avatar likes to read magazines not books, they read enough textbooks to make them weary of that. All of my avatars have different political views, and I do not care to know them because that isn't my business. Even though they are only 21 or 22, most of them like to think they are a little older than they really are.
I think I have a lot in common with my customer avatar, in fact I am the customer avatar! I am a 21 year old college student. I do not think this is a coincidence, because I chose this segment because I wanted to choose one in which I could relate to the most.
I think I have a lot in common with my customer avatar, in fact I am the customer avatar! I am a 21 year old college student. I do not think this is a coincidence, because I chose this segment because I wanted to choose one in which I could relate to the most.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
16A
1. I think the five most unique things that describe my human capital is as follows:
Interview 2: Dad: My dad thought my best human capital traits were my drive and ambition. He said that since I was a kid, I always strive to achieve my best results, no matter how much work it took. He also said I was always extremely motivated throughout my life.
Interview 3: Nana: My Nana thought that my best human capital trait was how smart I am. She believes throughout my entire college and high school life, that I have gained sufficient knowledge to do whatever I set my mind to.
Interview 4: Alex (Close Friend): Alex believes that my best notion of human capital is my ability to solve problems. He said that ever since I was young, whenever I ran into a problem, I was always able to find a remedy to fix it.
Interview 5: Frank (Close Friend): Frank thought my best human capital quality was my ability to assess situations. He said that I tend to make the right decisions when under stress or duress.
3. From these interviews, I was mostly correct about assessing myself. The people who know me best recognize my hard-working attitude, my ability to adapt to my situations, and the competitiveness and rigor that I attack life with. I do no think I need to switch any of my self-assessments, as the people who know me best seemed to come up with the same things that I did. Know yourself.
- Determination: When I set my mind to something, I make sure it gets done. You will never see me give up on something if it is not completed. I am always focused on my end goal.
- Diversity: I have taken a numerous set of classes throughout my life, so I believe I have a diverse knowledge base. I think that I am proficient in a lot of different areas.
- Realist: I try to set goals that I realistically think I can accomplish. There is no reason to waste my time on things that I cannot realistically do, no matter how much I want them. For years, I wanted to be a professional sports player. However, I now know that this is impossible, so I have changed my limits on that.
- Motivated: I always try to do the best job that I can. I do not like to settle for less than what I know I can achieve.
- Level-headed: I make decisions based off of their efficiencies and their cost-effectiveness. I do not let emotions get in the way of this. For this reason, I tend to make the decisions that are best for me.
Interview 2: Dad: My dad thought my best human capital traits were my drive and ambition. He said that since I was a kid, I always strive to achieve my best results, no matter how much work it took. He also said I was always extremely motivated throughout my life.
Interview 3: Nana: My Nana thought that my best human capital trait was how smart I am. She believes throughout my entire college and high school life, that I have gained sufficient knowledge to do whatever I set my mind to.
Interview 4: Alex (Close Friend): Alex believes that my best notion of human capital is my ability to solve problems. He said that ever since I was young, whenever I ran into a problem, I was always able to find a remedy to fix it.
Interview 5: Frank (Close Friend): Frank thought my best human capital quality was my ability to assess situations. He said that I tend to make the right decisions when under stress or duress.
3. From these interviews, I was mostly correct about assessing myself. The people who know me best recognize my hard-working attitude, my ability to adapt to my situations, and the competitiveness and rigor that I attack life with. I do no think I need to switch any of my self-assessments, as the people who know me best seemed to come up with the same things that I did. Know yourself.
15A
1. The segment I have targeted for my Arcade Bar concept is based off of demographics. I am targeting college aged kids, who most likely come from affluent families. I was able to find three of these types of people in a bar in mid-town Gainesville. These are the results I found.
2. In terms of college kids choosing bars, all three of them agreed the thing that matters most to them is price. They do not want to go to a bar with $7 beers, $10 liquor shots, etc. Instead, they will substitute cheaper items for higher quality. This allows them the opportunity to purchase more items throughout the night as well. The same thing goes for a cover fee as well. They would rather go to a less popular bar if it means they do not have to pay just to walk in the door. In terms of the style mattering for picking which bar to go to, the only consistent answer I received is that they prefer not to go to the bars that are filthy. The actual style or setup of the bar does not matter as much to them. Price is definitely the most important factor with my segment that I have chosen.
3. In terms of where my segment is most likely to purchase, this one is obvious. This age group is not likely to be purchasing alcohol online, and they surely cannot attend any online bars, unless for some reason you are still on Club Penguin? One of my interviewees said you only carries cash to a bar, to make sure he puts a limit on how much he could spend. The other two said they have no preferences as to whether they will use cash or a card inside the bar. Thus, this is not really an example of a B2B purchase, it is more of an impulse buy. The consumer is solely up to his/her own purchasing decisions in this case as well.
4. The post-purchase decisions of going to a bar are usually all over the place. One of the people I interviewed said she usually regrets making all of the purchases from the night before, especially if she had too much to drink. Another of them said that he looks back on his purchases, and judges their merit on how enjoyable his night was. If he had a good night, he said the purchases were worth it, and vice versa. The third person said he viewed his purchases as sunk costs. He gained use from the purchases for a set time, and then they no longer served him any purpose.
5. From my findings, it is easy to assess that my segment is mostly worried about pricing when influencing what bar they wish to go to. On top of that, this good is a type of service where you will only purchase it in person, you have no need for an online version. All three of these people gave me similar answers in terms of the basic things they search for in a bar: cheap prices, not grimy, decent music, and bars that have some things to do inside of them (games, pool, darts, etc.).
6. After conducting these interviews, I would describe this segment in terms of alternative evaluation as follows: If they can find a decent, cheaper bar to go to, they will definitely go there. In terms of purchase decisions: most people will purchase the best deals that the bar has to offer, most do not go for the more expensive, or "luxury items". Post-purchase evaluations are the most variable element of this segment. Each person I interviewed placed a different value system on their nights out at bars.
2. In terms of college kids choosing bars, all three of them agreed the thing that matters most to them is price. They do not want to go to a bar with $7 beers, $10 liquor shots, etc. Instead, they will substitute cheaper items for higher quality. This allows them the opportunity to purchase more items throughout the night as well. The same thing goes for a cover fee as well. They would rather go to a less popular bar if it means they do not have to pay just to walk in the door. In terms of the style mattering for picking which bar to go to, the only consistent answer I received is that they prefer not to go to the bars that are filthy. The actual style or setup of the bar does not matter as much to them. Price is definitely the most important factor with my segment that I have chosen.
3. In terms of where my segment is most likely to purchase, this one is obvious. This age group is not likely to be purchasing alcohol online, and they surely cannot attend any online bars, unless for some reason you are still on Club Penguin? One of my interviewees said you only carries cash to a bar, to make sure he puts a limit on how much he could spend. The other two said they have no preferences as to whether they will use cash or a card inside the bar. Thus, this is not really an example of a B2B purchase, it is more of an impulse buy. The consumer is solely up to his/her own purchasing decisions in this case as well.
4. The post-purchase decisions of going to a bar are usually all over the place. One of the people I interviewed said she usually regrets making all of the purchases from the night before, especially if she had too much to drink. Another of them said that he looks back on his purchases, and judges their merit on how enjoyable his night was. If he had a good night, he said the purchases were worth it, and vice versa. The third person said he viewed his purchases as sunk costs. He gained use from the purchases for a set time, and then they no longer served him any purpose.
5. From my findings, it is easy to assess that my segment is mostly worried about pricing when influencing what bar they wish to go to. On top of that, this good is a type of service where you will only purchase it in person, you have no need for an online version. All three of these people gave me similar answers in terms of the basic things they search for in a bar: cheap prices, not grimy, decent music, and bars that have some things to do inside of them (games, pool, darts, etc.).
6. After conducting these interviews, I would describe this segment in terms of alternative evaluation as follows: If they can find a decent, cheaper bar to go to, they will definitely go there. In terms of purchase decisions: most people will purchase the best deals that the bar has to offer, most do not go for the more expensive, or "luxury items". Post-purchase evaluations are the most variable element of this segment. Each person I interviewed placed a different value system on their nights out at bars.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
14A
To keep up with this course has not taken much. My mindset is to get each post done early in the week so I do not get behind. It is helpful to watch the lecture videos as well. I definitely felt like "giving up", or more like dropping the class after the first six assignments I did will all be zero's just because myself, along as countless others posted the wrong URLS. I pretty much wasted 10+ hours of my time. To get through this, I did the very generous three extra credit points to make up for the 12 points that got taken away from me!! Boy oh boy I would definitely say I have developed a tenacious attitude! To get you this tenacious mindset, I offer you three pieces of advice: 1.Post the right URL's, 2. Post the right URL's, and 3. Post the right URL's. Otherwise you will be miserable and struggling to work your way back to the grade you had for doing all of the work on time. To develop this tenacious mindset, again I advise you to post the right URL's, and lastly I advise you to watch the video on how to post the proper URL's for your blogs. Good luck, and have fun!
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
13A
I read Phil Knight's biography, Shoe Dog. The thing that surprised me the most is that in its first year, Nike only had 8,000 dollars in sales. From there, it has emerged as one of the most global companies in the world. Almost anywhere you could travel to, you will see someone wearing a pair of Nike's. This just goes to show that good things do not happen overnight in the business world. You must market your product in order to expand. The thing about Phil Knight that I most admired is the perseverance that he and his team showed. Nike throughout the years ran into numerous lawsuits, many fines, failed shoe designs, etc., but none of this ever slowed him down. The world can thank him for that, or else many of us would not have many of the shoes that are probably sitting in our closet today. Throughout the book, it is expressed that Knight was sometimes very secluded with his work. It was mentioned that he was not one to give much positive feedback, and was often indecisive with his decisions. I would have to say these are the things that I least admire about Knight.As previously mentioned, Nike ran into much adversity through the years. But to overcome it, they kept churning out new designs, offering better products, and making sure consumer satisfaction was at the top of their interests. Some of the competencies that I noticed Knight exhibited well were innovation and the ability to change concepts. It is tough to switch from failed products, and then all of a sudden design a concept that works. So, for that I must applaud him. The part of the book that most confused me was how Knight started this whole thing off with selling imported Japanese shoes, all the way to becoming the shoe giant it is today. One question I would ask Phil would be how the idea of Nike originally started. I would like to know if it started as wanting to create a comfortable shoe, or if the idea was to create a shoe giant. Another question I would ask Phil is if the first time he created a shoe that failed, what did he say to himself to get past this failure. I think Phil was a very hard worker. You cannot slack off and create the biggest shoe company in the world.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
12A
The need awareness from the three interviews I conducted were all consistent with one another. The unmet need all came from college students who get sick of going to the same bar time after time, with no difference in their routine. Instead, they want to have a place where they can go that is not just you run in the mill place with loud music and alcohol. The need is heightened mostly on weekends, when all three of them say they go out to the bars.
When these three people become aware of this need, they do not have anywhere to turn. They cannot make a place magically appear to suit their desires. So, they must live with what they have. The only thing that they can do is talk to friends to see if they have any suggestions for a new, fun place to check out.
I learned from these three interviews that college students really do get sick of the monotonous routine of going out to the same places every weekend. The only reason they do it they said is because everyone else is doing it. I also learned that in order for this need to be realized, people must talk about it more.
I think that this segment did a good job in communicating the need awareness. If it did not, then I would not have been able to get good answers from the people I interviewed. With that being said, I think I am definitely on the right track.
When these three people become aware of this need, they do not have anywhere to turn. They cannot make a place magically appear to suit their desires. So, they must live with what they have. The only thing that they can do is talk to friends to see if they have any suggestions for a new, fun place to check out.
I learned from these three interviews that college students really do get sick of the monotonous routine of going out to the same places every weekend. The only reason they do it they said is because everyone else is doing it. I also learned that in order for this need to be realized, people must talk about it more.
I think that this segment did a good job in communicating the need awareness. If it did not, then I would not have been able to get good answers from the people I interviewed. With that being said, I think I am definitely on the right track.
11A
1. I am a person who is always striving to come up with the best option for myself. That is probably just the economist coming out in me. Some of my skills include knowing how to conduct activities efficiently, I am a very personable person, I am an extremely hard worker, and I am very persistent with my work. My aspiration is to start up an Arcade Bar, that excels over the surrounding bars in the area I decide to open up. I see this business being successful if I set it up in a Tech College town, because this is where I believe I will receive the highest demand.
2. I am offering to consumers a chance to be a kid again. Going to the Arcade Bar in Gainesville was life changing for me. I never imagined being able to play all kinds of arcade games while also making rounds for beer. I think if more people found out about this, that it really has the chance to take off. I would also offer other innovative bar ideas, that would be different than any other bars in the area.
3. My ideal customers will be college town kids. Specifically, I want to operate in a affluent area, that contains one or two technical colleges. I think this demographic would have the most unmet need for this bar. I think it also helps being in a college town, because most college students spending money goes towards nights out. I think this could be very profitable.
4. Why will people pay me money? I will be able to offer cheaper alcohol than competitors, because I will be able to make up revenue from people paying to play the arcade games. These two together should make a killing.
5. The thing that sets me apart from all the other bars is customer experience. This will not be your run in the mill bar where you go in, sit down, order a drink, and repeat for hours. Instead, it will give all customers an interactive experience, in which they will hopefully enjoy enough to make it their regular spot on the weekends!
With all this being said, I think all of these elements tie up pretty nicely for me. The most difficult part out of this whole process is coming up with the capital to get this going. However, when I get that capital, with my drive I think I can really get this place booming.
2. I am offering to consumers a chance to be a kid again. Going to the Arcade Bar in Gainesville was life changing for me. I never imagined being able to play all kinds of arcade games while also making rounds for beer. I think if more people found out about this, that it really has the chance to take off. I would also offer other innovative bar ideas, that would be different than any other bars in the area.
3. My ideal customers will be college town kids. Specifically, I want to operate in a affluent area, that contains one or two technical colleges. I think this demographic would have the most unmet need for this bar. I think it also helps being in a college town, because most college students spending money goes towards nights out. I think this could be very profitable.
4. Why will people pay me money? I will be able to offer cheaper alcohol than competitors, because I will be able to make up revenue from people paying to play the arcade games. These two together should make a killing.
5. The thing that sets me apart from all the other bars is customer experience. This will not be your run in the mill bar where you go in, sit down, order a drink, and repeat for hours. Instead, it will give all customers an interactive experience, in which they will hopefully enjoy enough to make it their regular spot on the weekends!
With all this being said, I think all of these elements tie up pretty nicely for me. The most difficult part out of this whole process is coming up with the capital to get this going. However, when I get that capital, with my drive I think I can really get this place booming.
Friday, September 28, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
9A
From interviewing a different set of five people, I learned there is actually a lot of variability in my unmet consumer need. When I first thought of this opportunity, I naively believed that everyone who smoked would have an unmet consumer need to quit this behavior. However, this is very far from the truth. From my new interviews, I learned that certain people who share a lot in common with other people from this opportunity don't actually have this unmet need. For example, two of the people I interviewed are heavy cigar smokers, but do not smoke cigarettes. Both of these people told me that they have no desire to give up tobacco products. They say smoking a cigar every day is part of their routine, and they have no desire to give it up. Another one of the people I interviewed works at a tobacco shop down the street from me. He told me that most tobacco shops do not like selling Electronic Cigarettes at their shops, because they believe that it will eventually ruin the demand for smoke shops. From these new interviews it is very apparent to me that even though people share the same characteristics as others that have this unmet need, that not everyone will lie in this boundary.
At a certain point, it seems like the need to quit smoking differs from the need to quit smoking cigarettes. One of the new people I interviewed says that he only smokes vapes, cigars, or marijuana. Thus, even though people would consider him a heavy smoker, he does not smoke any cigarettes whatsoever. Because of this he told me that he does not support the E-cig market whatsoever. Instead, he thinks people who want to quit smoking should find a way to quit themselves. He further went on to say that he does not think it fair to the tobacco industry to have someone practically come in and undercut them in such a way. With all of this being said, it seems that the need I have come up with is actually very conflicting.
The underlying cause for the people who lay outside of this boundary rests in the disruption of the market. Almost all of the people I interviewed stated this as their main reason for not supporting the E-cig market. They believe that it will interfere with all of the people in the tobacco industry. Not only will it directly hurt the tobacco industry, but they also claim that it will hurt our economy as a whole. They claim that so much revenue is brought in from tobacco, that if the sector were to disappear, they fear that we may be taxed may more to compensate for this loss.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
-People who are smokers, and have a desire -People who are smokers, but either wish to
to quit, especially by switching to E-cigs continue smoking or not switch to E-cigs
-The need is to save peoples lives from - The need is not to get rid of tobacco, but to
tobacco, by switching to a healthier mode have people quit smoking by themselves
of smoking, E-cigs -An alternative explanation is that smokers
-The need exists because every day lives are so invested in this that they cannot stop
are lost due to people smoking tobacco
At a certain point, it seems like the need to quit smoking differs from the need to quit smoking cigarettes. One of the new people I interviewed says that he only smokes vapes, cigars, or marijuana. Thus, even though people would consider him a heavy smoker, he does not smoke any cigarettes whatsoever. Because of this he told me that he does not support the E-cig market whatsoever. Instead, he thinks people who want to quit smoking should find a way to quit themselves. He further went on to say that he does not think it fair to the tobacco industry to have someone practically come in and undercut them in such a way. With all of this being said, it seems that the need I have come up with is actually very conflicting.
The underlying cause for the people who lay outside of this boundary rests in the disruption of the market. Almost all of the people I interviewed stated this as their main reason for not supporting the E-cig market. They believe that it will interfere with all of the people in the tobacco industry. Not only will it directly hurt the tobacco industry, but they also claim that it will hurt our economy as a whole. They claim that so much revenue is brought in from tobacco, that if the sector were to disappear, they fear that we may be taxed may more to compensate for this loss.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
-People who are smokers, and have a desire -People who are smokers, but either wish to
to quit, especially by switching to E-cigs continue smoking or not switch to E-cigs
-The need is to save peoples lives from - The need is not to get rid of tobacco, but to
tobacco, by switching to a healthier mode have people quit smoking by themselves
of smoking, E-cigs -An alternative explanation is that smokers
-The need exists because every day lives are so invested in this that they cannot stop
are lost due to people smoking tobacco
Thursday, September 20, 2018
8A
My selected opportunity involves the usage of Electronic Cigarettes. However, as I learned from my interviews with people, it is not as easy as it sounds to make the switch from tobacco to E-Cigarettes. However, with so much health damage being done by tobacco every day, there is still a substantial amount of unmet consumer need for this product. However, as an entrepreneur I must find a way to make people more willing to make the switch from tobacco to E-Cigs. A product I thought that could solve this issue is a system that phases out the tobacco from cigarettes. Week by week I would introduce a version of an E-Cig that contains less and less tobacco in it, which should help ease the difficulty of moving away from tobacco. Another option is to introduce marijuana and or cannabis in states where it is recreationally legal. Pretty much anything that can get people away from using tobacco would be welcomed in this market. I believe that by using this phasing out system, many more tobacco consumers would be willing to try the E-Cig market, which would boost its demand by a long shot.
Monday, September 17, 2018
7A
1.
The opportunity I have decided to pursue is the
emergence of E-Cigarettes, and their opportunity to take over the tobacco
industry.
a.
The Who: The Electronic Cigarette industry
versus the Tobacco industry
b.
The What: With so many cancer-related deaths
every year, more and more citizens are switching to electronic cigarettes,
because it is perceived as a healthier option
c.
The why: A change in consumer demand is paving
the way for electronic cigarette companies to make some money
2.
I believe that with the change in demand that
has come on so prominently with E-Cigarettes, I believe there is a huge unmet
consumer need for them.
a.
Testing the who: Other than the two industries
competing for consumer demand, people who currently smoke tobacco have a huge
unmet need for E-Cigarettes. It could prolong their lives by drastically
improving their health.
b.
Testing the what: Would this demand also apply
to people who smoke non-tobacco products like marijuana and hookah? Would this
be mainly for older citizens, or a conglomerate of ages?
c.
Testing the why: I believe the why I have
identified should hold for most of the people who smoke tobacco products. Tobacco
has been proven to harm people’s lives, while greatly increasing the risk of
cancer. Assuming that most humans are rational beings, the why should thus hold
for most of these people?
3.
For my five interviews, I tried to get a mixture
of people to ensure that I got the most out of my time. For example, I interviewed
three smokers, and two nonsmokers. Among the three smokers, I asked a college
smoker, a middle-aged smoker, and an older smoker. This way I could get the
most out of my results. From the answers I received in my interviews, it seems
that even though tobacco has been proven to negatively affect your life, the
people who smoked that I interviewed were not so easy to give it up for
E-Cigarettes. Some of the reasons I received is that it helped them relieve
stress at work, it was something they have been doing for so long it would be
hard to stop, societal pressure, etc. This wasn’t what I expected to hear from
the smoking group. However, both of the nonsmokers agreed heavily that the
emergence of the E-Cigarette market is a huge gain for society. This will give
people the chance to improve their health and their lives, they both stated.
So, these interviews really changed what I know about this opportunity. It
seems that many smokers may not actually support the emergence of electronic
cigarettes because it goes against everything they know. This is an opportunity
I would have to do much more research on to get a true conclusion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)