30A - Final Reflection

1. While going back through my posts from the semester, I remembered thinking how much work and how stressful I thought this class would be. But now, looking back on all of it, I realize that it was extremely helpful and has taught me many life lessons that I will continue to use. Even though I was very uncomfortable interviewing people in the beginning, by the end I was much more comfortable and the questions and conversations came much more naturally than they initially did. I think the assignment that was the most fun was creating the customer avatar because I loved creating a whole story for my customer. I think that the elevator pitches were my least favorite because there was so many things going on all at once. You had to write the pitch, memorize it, dress up, and then record yourself and make sure it looked good enough to post before your peers.
2. Although the elevator pitches were my least favorite assignment, I do believe that they are the assignment that will stay with me the longest. By doing it over and over again and constantly modifying it to be better and better based on the comments I received, I was able to see what an elevator pitch truly entailed and how to do one even better in the future. I think that the elevator pitches would be my answer to all 4 of the questions for this sections. By doing them multiple times and rewatching them now, I can see my confidence in front of the camera improve a little more each time and the pitch become more dynamic.
3. I do not know if I see myself as an entrepreneur, but I do have more of an entrepreneurial mindset for sure.
4. My one recommendation for incoming students of this class would be to work ahead, work ahead, work ahead! Even though there are no tests and you do not need to study, 3 assignments a week quickly piles up! I did most of the assignments within the first month of the class and had the assignments drafted on my blog. In doing so, each Monday all I had to do was click post and check one more assignment off my list for the week. 

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

My idea is tailored to fit the needs of UF students and could later be adopted by other universities for their students as well. The market is defined demographically as students ages 17-24 who pay tuition. Gender, ethnicity, and marital status are not determining factors in the demographics of my target market.

The nature of the need has to do with convenience, entertainment, and money. The forces in the environment that are creating this opportunity are the high tuition costs, high living expenses, food expenses, and accumulation of monthly subscription fees for other streaming services. Currently, customers are satisfying their need of entertainment with Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and many more. I believe that customers are very loyal to Netflix, but the other platforms are easier to sway people away from. 

I believe there is a big opportunity for this. I have never heard of a streaming service like this that the university itself would be in charge of or offer through the college, and I think it would be extremely successful and bring in extra money for the school as well as new opportunities for the students to interact with the university. I believe the window of opportunity will be open for a long time because new students come in each year to subscribe which will offset the seniors that have graduated and unsubscribe. It would be a cyclical flow of money.

Innovation

My idea is to create a streaming platform that partners with the University of Florida for their students. This platform would include movies and tv shows as well as Gator sports. This new platform would allow students to save money on entertainment by combining all of their subscriptions into just one monthly subscription. The ultimate goal is that students will change their current subscriptions to my new platform and will save money that they can turn around and use for other things they need as a college student. 

So, what I am selling is subscriptions to a new streaming service. Right now, I am thinking that the subscription fee could be around $12 a month. If customers cancelled their other services and switched to this one only, this should save them at least $5 a month. I do not know how much my fixed or variable costs will be yet, so this is only an estimate of what the price could be.

Venture Concept

The reasons I think customers will switch to this new service is money savings, variety, and UF sports. The price of just one streaming service compared to the 4 that the average American has, will greatly reduce the monthly cost that customers are paying each month for television entertainment. This new service will also provide a large variety of tv shows and movies and will have monthly surveys to see what movies people want added each month. And lastly, UF sports will be a large influencer because no other service provides access to all of the Gator sports for this low of a price. I think it might be a little hard for customers to switch in the beginning, but if the service is successful its reputation should speak for itself and convince people to switch over.

The competitors would be other streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Showtime, etc. Their possible weaknesses would be their high prices and inability to satisfy the need for variety of tv shows and movies for their customers. 

Customer experience and price points play a large role in this business concept because customers need to be satisfied to create positive word of mouth about the service. If the price point is too high, nobody will give the service a chance in the first place. Packaging, distribution, and customer support do not need to be defined at this point.

To support the ongoing production of this new service, I would have multiple employees who can be reachable 24/7, for customers to show how much we care about each individual. These employees would be able to answer any and all questions that are asked about the platform and would be able to recommend things to watch to indecisive customers.

The Three Minor Elements

The most important resource will be our monthly surveys that take each of our customer's opinions into account. By conducting these surveys, our customers are given a voice and they can help us choose which new movies and tv shows will be added to the platform each month.

Next for the venture would be expanding into other universities in Florida and ultimately throughout the country.

Next for me would be to become financially stable from this venture, sell the company to the individual universities or another company, and be able to invest money into other opportunities that I believe will be successful in the future.

Summary of Feedback

The feedback I received on my first post was all very positive. Many of the people who commented said that this is a great and affordable alternative to the streaming services that they have now. They also were very surprised that this opportunity had not already been exploited at the university level. 

How I Changed My Venture Concept

I did not have any suggestions for changes to my overall venture concept, so I made some changes myself as I read through it. In the beginning I originally had that my service would be offered directly through the university, and I modified it to now say "partners with" the university in order to allow my company to make some money while running this new venture. I also fixed a lot of grammatical errors because it was like a word vomit the first time I wrote this venture concept.

This is the logo that I created for my new company!

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1. For my own exit strategy, I plan to sell my business in 5 years, hopefully to the university itself, for a large return.
2. I selected this strategy because I do not think this is the business I would want to be in forever and I think the stress would ultimately take a toll on my happiness and well-being. I would rather have the money so that I can invest in other ideas (mine or other peoples) and keep taking advantage of opportunities in the market. I think there are so many different opportunities that have not been taking advantage of and I want to be a part of more than just one thing.
3. I do not believe that my exit strategy has influenced the decisions that I have made regarding the creation of my business. If anything, I believe that it has driven me to be more successful and profitable because I would want the company to look good on paper in order for investors to want to come in and purchase it. 

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

I read "Miracles Happen" by Mary Kay Ash

1. The thing that surprised me the most was how hard it was for a woman to be taken seriously in a professional setting. The amount of time and effort that a woman had to put into her look to be garnered as respectable and approachable in a position was very overwhelming for me since I do not wear makeup and basically live in nike shorts and t-shirts right now. The thing I admired most about Mary Kay Ash was that she put her faith above everything else. I loved her philosophy of "God first, family second, and career third." I really didn't have anything that I don't admire about her. She was a very reputable person in her profession and I admire her as a role model for never giving up on her dream and working hard each and everyday. Mary Kay faced adversity daily in the workplace simply for being a woman. This was seen as a disadvantage in the business world and was something that she had to fight to disprove everyday. She also faced much failure before starting her company, but she was a firm believer in failing forward. This was a philosophy that meant that the failure you encounter will only bring you closer to your goal.
   
   
2. Mary Kay was a very competitive woman. She never let anyone tell her that she couldn't do something and she strived each and everyday to be better. Not better than the people around her, but better than she was the day before. She was her own best competition. She was also a very hard worker. She used to get up at 5am each day because those 3 extra hours she had before her family woke up times 6 days a week amounted to an extra 18 hours a week, which was about 2 extra work days. And when she woke up this early, she would create a list of the top 6 things she needed to get done each day. By doing this, it allowed her to focus on the most necessary things and not stray too far from the course of action that she needed to take to be successful. 
   
   
3. I thought that the set up of the book was quite confusing since it was not written chronologically. The book was written more like specific things that she wanted to teach the audience and while doing so she told stories about her personal encounters. So, it was kind of hard to figure out where she was talking about in the timeline of her life when she told specific stories. Other than that, it was a very entertaining and enjoyable book with a lot of great advice.
   
   
4. I would ask Mary Kay:
1. What is one thing you wish that your husband could have been alive to see in the growth of the company?
2. Do you regret any of the early decisions that you made for the company?
   
   
5. Mary Kay's opinion of hard work is that it is absolutely necessary and will allow you to compete with yourself on a daily basis. She was a single mother of three children and she also had to work. She was constantly working hard at her job and in her home. I agree that hard work is extremely important. I think you need to apply yourself each day to reach the goals that you have set for yourself.

26A - Celebrating Failure

1. During this past semester, I feel as though I failed at giving 100% in the things that I was doing. Since I am taking classes this summer, working 20-25 hours a week, and trying to get ready to move into my new apartment, I feel as though I did not give any of these my full attention. In doing so, did not perform to the best of my abilities.  
2. As a perfectionist, I know I am really hard on myself to do the best I can do in every circumstance that presents itself to me. Whenever I got a grade that was not an A, I felt defeated and like I failed because I knew I could have done better.  I learned that I can't stretch myself too thin and that there needs to be a time where I say "no." Another good lesson I learned is that even if I don't do as well as I hoped, there is another assignment coming up which means another opportunity to prove myself.
3. Failure is extremely crushing for me. I am the oldest of four kids in my family and failure is not an option because all of my siblings look up to me as a role model. I do not like when others see me fail because I see it as a sign of weakness and I like to be viewed as strong at all times. I shut down and separate myself from everything that is going on. However, I am working hard to be better at accepting and learning from my failure to make me stronger in the future. This class has taught me that failure is just another step in the creative process and can ultimately lead to greater success.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1: With the plan that I have currently, the next step would be building my streaming service and marketing it to the students on campus. If it is as successful as I hope it will be, I am hoping to expand it to other schools in Florida and hopefully throughout the country later on.

Step 2: I interviewed three potential customers that I have already talked to earlier in the summer and they had the same idea that I had. They believe that creating the streaming service is definitely the next step because without it, the company is nothing and that advertising in the beginning will be very very important to get the word out. They also all agreed that it could be expanded way further than just UF and Gainesville.

Step 3: Based on my own expectations and the feedback I received from customers, this opportunity seems to be much larger than just the University of Florida and it's students. I see my venture to be one that will continue to grow and expand as time goes on and more people hear about it. By this, I mean that it could expand from Gainesville to the entire country and potentially even further. 

My interviewees all talked about how important advertising would be and the many different ways I could do so. One of the customers talked about setting up social media pages on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even TikTok. With these, the customer base would be able to see the new service from the very beginning and would be able to direct message questions to us that we can answer and hopefully convince them to switch to the new service.

New Market

Step 1: A radically different market that I could target is the professors at the University of Florida. This would be a whole different segment of people and would have to be advertised to in a completely different manner.

Step 2: Professors are usually older and have more life experience than students do, so they would be more financially smart. Part of being financially smart is choosing things that are cheaper in order to stretch the value of a dollar. I think that because of this, the professors would get use out of my product as well.

Step 3: I interviewed two people from this new market. One was an older professor around the age of 60 who said that there would have to be classic movies and tv shows as well as documentaries. The other was a newer professor who said that it would have to be ad-free because they do not have time to waste on watching advertisements.

Step 4: From interviewing people in this new market, I learned that if I made a few modifications to the original platform, it could be applied to another market. I think it would be beneficial and would allow there to be different levels of this platform that could encapsulate different markets.

After interviewing this new market, I still believe that my original market of college students is more attractive and that my service would be more attractive to them as well. The need for college students to save money is higher on their priority list than that of professors because they have a steady income.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

My idea is tailored to fit the needs of UF students and could later be adopted by other universities for their students as well. The market is defined demographically as students ages 17-24 and who pay tuition. Gender, ethnicity, and marital status are not determining factors in the demographics of my target market.

The nature of the need has to do with convenience, entertainment, and money. The forces in the environment that are creating this opportunity are the high tuition costs, high living expenses, food expenses, and accumulation of monthly subscription prices to other streaming services. Currently, customers are satisfying their need of entertainment with Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and many more. I believe that customers are very loyal to Netflix but the other platforms are easier to sway people away from. 

I believe there is a big opportunity for this. I have never heard of a streaming service like this that the university itself would be in charge of, and I think it would be extremely successful and bring in extra money for the school. I believe the window of opportunity will be open for a long time because new students come in each year to subscribe which will offset the seniors that have graduated and unsubscribe. It would be a cyclic flow of money.

Innovation

My idea is to create a streaming platform that is offered directly through the University of Florida for their students. This platform would includes movies and tv shows as well as Gator sports. This new platform would allow students to save money on entertainment by combining all of their subscriptions into just one monthly subscription. The ultimate goal is that students will change their current subscriptions to my new platform and will save money that they can turn around and use for other things they need as a college student. 

So, what I am selling is subscriptions to a new streaming service. Right now, I am thinking that the subscription fee could be around $12 a month. If customers cancelled their other services and switched to this one only, this should save them at least $5 a month. I do not know how much my fixed or variable costs will be yet, so this is only an estimate of what the price could be.

Venture Concept

The reasons I think customers will switch to this new service is money savings, variety, and UF sports. The price of just one streaming service compared to the 4 that the average American has, will greatly reduce the monthly cost that customers are paying each month for television entertainment. This new service will also provide a great variety of tv shows and movies and will have monthly surveys to see what movies people want added and which ones they do not need on the service. And lastly, UF sports will be a large influencer because no other service provides access to all of the Gator sports for this low of a price. I think it might be a little hard for customers to switch in the beginning, but if the service is successful its reputation should speak for it and convince people to switch over.

The competitors would be other streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Showtime, etc. Their possible weaknesses would be their high prices and inability to satisfy the need for variety of tv shows and movies for their customers. 

Customer experience and price points play a large role in this business concept because customers need to be satisfied to tell other people about the service and if the price point is too high, they will not give the service a chance in the first place. Packaging, distribution, and customer support do not need to be defined at this point.

To support the ongoing production of this new service, I would have multiple employees who can be reachable 24/7 for customers to show how much we care about each individual. These employees would be able to answer any and all questions that are asked about the platform and would be able to recommend things to watch to indecisive customers.

The Three Minor Elements

The most important resource will be our monthly surveys that take each of our customer's opinions into account. By conducting these surveys, our customers are given a voice and they can help us choose which new movies and tv shows will be added to the platform each month.

Next for the venture would be expanding into other universities in Florida and ultimately throughout the country.

Next for me would be to become financially stable from this venture and be able to invest money into other opportunities that I believe will be successful in the future.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Innovative thinking
• V - This is extremely valuable because it keeps the company going and constantly up to date with the changing market and their changing needs.
• R - This is rare because it can be easy to come up with ideas, but not ideas that can change the product as we know it for the betterment of the market.
• I - This is pretty easy to imitate if you have the right people in the room.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
2. Understanding the significance of a social media presence
• V - This is very valuable because it allows the company to communicate with their target market in a fast and efficient way that is also short and concise.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - This skill is not a hard one to copy.
• N - There are some things that could provide the same benefit such as networking in person and over the phone, but neither of these are as fast or cover a wide variety of people at the same time.
3. Strategic planning
• V - This is very valuable because you are planning for the future and not just to get through the day. By planning for the future, I am able to set goals for each day/week/month in order to get to the overall goal.
• R - This is not rare, because everyone is capable of doing it. But, some people do not like to plan too far in advance.
• I - This can definitely be imitated and can be learned as well.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
4. Taking classes that expand my knowledge of business
• V - This is extremely valuable because it has enabled me to learn many of the things that go into creating and maintaining a successful business including the management, marketing, and accounting sides of the operation.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - This skill can not be imitated.
• N - The only other thing that could give you the same benefits is job experience.
5. Being a part of the target segment
• V - This is valuable because I have insight into what the target market needs and wants because I am a part of that segment.
• R - This is not rare for entrepreneurs.
• I - This skill is not a hard one to copy.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
6. My attention to detail
• V - This is valuable because it allows me to focus on the little things and see the small thing that go into creating the big picture.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - This skill is a hard one to copy because it comes naturally.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
7. Experience as an accounting assistant
• V - This is valuable because it has given me experience on the money-side of an operation and has taught me many skills that I can bring into the work place such as filing and scanning checks.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - Yes, this can be imitated with education and work experience.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit as being in the work field.
8. My determination
• V - This is valuable because I will not give up until the job is done that we set out to do. I do not take no for an answer and I do not rest until the completed project is perfect.
• R - This is not rare because there are other hard working and ambitious people in the work place as well.
• I - Yes this can be imitated with effort.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
9. Time management skills
• V - This is valuable because it allows me to get more things done in the same amount of time than other people around me. In doing so, I am more efficient than other people around me.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - This skill is a hard one to copy because it is usually just how the person thinks.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.
10. My willingness to learn new things
• V - This is valuable because it shows how flexible I am and that I a utility player. I will do anything and everything to ensure the success of my business and will learn new things to get the job done to the best of my ability.
• R - This is not rare.
• I - Yes, this can be imitated with effort and an open mind.
• N - No, there is not another resource that can provide the same benefit.

Reflection: I would say that my most valuable resource is being a part of the target market. I think by being in the segment, I am able to see the product through the eyes of the customer and can make necessary changes to the product as well as the business plan to better suit the needs of the customer.

22A - Elevator Pitch No. 3

1.  
2. Overall, the feedback I received was very positive. The three things that stood out to me the most were to move my statistic to the front of my pitch, to change the wording of the statistic to be more clear, and to add a call to action at the end of my pitch. I had multiple comments that said that they liked my energy and enthusiasm for my product which I found very surprising because I tried to be energetic but I am very glad that it came through on the screen. Overall, all of the feedback I received was extremely helpful and posed great suggestions that I had not thought of before.
3. Based on the feedback, I did move the statistic to the front of my speech so that it caught the attention of my audience right from the beginning. I also did change the wording of my statistic from "the average American spends $8 on 4 different streaming services a month" to "the average American spends around $32 a month for their streaming services. I also did add a call to action at the end of my speech by adding a phone number they could call to receive more information or subscribe to the service. In this pitch, I did have it all memorized, felt much more comfortable in front of the camera, and have a much stronger pitch than the one I started with.

21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

I read "Makers: The New Industrial Revolution" by Chris Anderson.

1. The general theme or argument of the book was that we are all makers. With the technology that we have available to us at the touch of a button now, we are able to do so much more ourselves which has transformed the way new ideas are turned into reality. This technology is what has changed the inventor into the entrepreneur.
2. This book connected with what we are learning in class because it harped on how it is unnecessary to get a patent before creating a product and that when people copy you, it is a form of competition not piracy. These are two things that we have talked about in class and I found it very interesting to read about them and hear the same things from someone else as well.
3. I think based on this book, a good exercise for the class would be to go onto a crowdsourcing website such as Kickstarter, and have the students find ideas like theirs and see how much money they have raised as well as the comments that are posted about the product. Then they could do a write-up to talk about how closely related this product is to their own product and how seeing the other products and the amount of money that it raised helped them to modify their idea or if it solidified their idea more.
4. The biggest thing that surprised me was when it said that the best price for a new product is "2.3 times its cost to allow for at least one 50 percent margin for them and another 50 percent margin for their retailers." (106) This concept totally caught me off guard because I though most companies would try and price low to cover their costs. It seems as though this strategy would make the products cost astronomical amounts and would make it much harder for the companies to make money to cover their costs. However, the many companies that it talked about later had adopted this strategy and were doing very well. I think as the consumer, we are sometimes unaware of how cheap it is to manufacture a product so when it says 2.3x that amount, it is not that much because it started out way lower than we thought.

20A - Growing Your Social Capital

While I was thinking about doing this assignment, I realized that my new endeavor had a lot in common with the movie portion of GatorNights that UF holds on Friday nights. Both are catered to students, have to obtain the movies that they show, and have to find unique ways to advertise to reach the young audience. This being said, I used contacts from the GatorNights for each of the experts. 

Domain Expert: When I called UF to speak to someone about who puts on the movies during GatorNights, they put me on the phone with one of the people on the Reitz Union Audio Visual Team. I believe he would be the domain expert because he is trying to put on movies for college age students that will keep them engaged as I will be trying to find an array of movies and tv shows to add to my platform that will make students want to pay for it. I found this person by going to the GatorNights website and contacting them at the number provided. I asked if they thought my idea would be beneficial to the students and he said it would be with the right advertising and the right content, he thought it would be a big hit around campus. He did not expect anything in return from me. Hearing the opinion of someone else in a similar field to the one I hoped to be in, helped to validate my thought process about turning this idea into a reality. 

Market Expert: I talked to someone from the GatorNights Planning Committee, because they plan events and advertise these events to the students. I believe she would be the Market Expert because she has advertised many other events around campus and knows a lot about the college community and how to market to the student audience. I also found this person by going to the GatorNights website and using the number that was on the page and calling to speak to someone who advertises the event. I asked how successful she thought that the advertising was in bringing people to the event versus word of mouth from students who went to previous events and told their friends about it, and she stands by her advertising. She also said that the fun and colorful signs they use stick in the student's head and when Friday comes around with no plans, the students remember seeing the sign. She did not expect anything in return from me. After speaking with her, I now know more about how I should be advertising to my target audience.

Supplier Expert: Since my entrepreneurship venture is an app/streaming service, I could not complete this part because there is no supply.

Reflection: Talking to these people was a little out of my comfort zone, but overall very helpful in the process of fleshing out my idea and seeing what I needed to work on if I was going to make it a reality. I have never networked like this before, so I have nothing to compare it to.

19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

You - This one does not need to change much from my last post. My name is Ashley Andrews and I am a second year Business Administration major and Event Management minor. Throughout my time at UF, I have acquired many new assets to bring to the table in a business. By taking Principles of Marketing, Financial Accounting, and Information Systems, I now have a foundation for each of these areas of study and have acquired my Excel certification. Marketing and accounting have taught me the basics of the financial structure of a business and marketing has enabled me to learn how to segment the market and target the audience that is right for me. This business would be extremely strenuous and would require much of my time, so having these skills will greatly help me to start this business and give it a fighting chance at succeeding.

What are you offering to customers? - I am offering a movie/tv show/UF sports streaming service to students. Students will pay a small monthly subscription fee to the university to get access to hundreds of movies and tv shows as well as Gator athletics. This will greatly reduce their monthly costs for streaming platforms and will consolidate all of their previous subscriptions into one subscription. My streaming service is meant to make students entertainment more affordable and entertaining.

Who are you offering it to? - The target market for my new service is UF students between the ages of 17-24 living both on and off-campus. The things that my customers all have in common are that they are all UF students (meaning they would have a student ID number), they pay tuition, and they have some sort of need for a streaming service (whether they are looking for a new one or are unhappy with the ones they are currently paying for). Another thing I expect my customers to have in common is that they all want to save money.

Why do they care? - Customers will actually make the switch to this service because it will save them money in the future and will provide a vast array of tv shows and movies, as well as access to UF sports. It is valuable because the benefit of saving money will outweigh the costs of switching.

What are your core competencies? - What sets me apart from everyone else is my determination. When I want something to be done, I don't rest until it is complete. No university in Florida is in the streaming business yet and I want to make UF the catalyst for this change. Although there are other streaming services worldwide (such as Hulu and Netflix), many students I talked to complained about the costs that accumulated each month and the disappointment they had in the shows and movies that each offers. The things that set this service apart from others is that we would have the UF sports on our streaming service, we would have monthly surveys that record our customers feedback about the movies and tv shows we should add, and that it would be exclusive to the University of Florida. This along with the variety and lower prices would greatly set us apart from the competition and would create a benefit that greatly outweighs the cost of switching.

I believe these five elements listed above fit together to make a strong business plan in theory. This seems to be the same things that many other streaming services have in common and they are doing very well in the market. The only part I am worried about in this business venture is getting the rights to movies that the customers want to see. I feel that it could be a challenge to please everyone and could result in losing some business. However, I will be having monthly surveys of what the subscribers want to see so that they can have input into what movies and tv shows are on the platform at any given time. 

My feedback was positive for the most part, with many people expressing their support of the idea and that it would be a great addition to the campus life of the average UF student. One of the comments left on my original post talked about how I should talk about that the customer has to live on campus, but as stated in previous posts, they can live on or off campus and utilize this service. So, I clarified this in the "who" section above. Another comment talked about how people who share services will not have a need for this new service, so again, I edited my "who" to include only those who are looking for a streaming service or are unhappy with the ones they are currently paying for.

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

My ideal customer is a student going into their first year at the University of Florida. She is only 18 years old and is currently living in a dorm to get the most out of her first year in college. She is pursuing a degree in journalism. One day she hopes to become college baseball commentator/reporter. 

Until she is able to pursue this career, she still has to pay many expenses such as tuition, housing, and her meal plan. She does have the top Bright Futures scholarship, but this is not enough to cover the housing or the food. She got a job working in the UF Athletics department on campus and this is allowing her to begin to save money to pay off her student loans. By working in the athletics department, she is making money and working in a field that she hopes to work in during the future.

After a long day, her favorite thing to do is go home and cuddle up under a nice soft blanket and watch a show on Netflix or Hulu. Although she gets a lot of use out of these accounts, she feels guilty every time she pays the monthly fee because the money could be going towards her loans.

What do I have in common with her? I have a lot in common with my ideal customer. I am also a student at the Univeristy of Florida and lived in a dorm my first year on campus. I also have the Bright Futures Scholarship helping me pay for college and am looking to find a job in the UF Athletics department next semester. And the most important thing we have in common, is watching shows and movies on Netflix/Hulu after a long day of school or work. All in all, I do not think it is a coincidence that I have a lot in common with my ideal customer, because I see myself as a prototypical customer for the product.

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

The feedback that I got on my original post was mostly all positive. The only thing that I was encouraged to work on was slowing down my talking. So, I used the exact same elevator pitch, and was able to make it 12 seconds longer just by slowing down my talking.

I also thought it would be more appealing to my cliental if I dressed like them. So, I attempted to dress like the typical UF student on a chill day in leggings, a sweatshirt, and a messy bun. 

16A - What's Your Secret Sauce?

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. Determination - When I am given a task, I will not rest until it is completed to the best of my ability.
2. Time Management - I have always been really good about scheduling things into my days and making sure I have enough time to do everything that needs to be done.
3. Passion - If it is something I am very passionate about, I will give my all from beginning to end.
4. Listening - I am very good at listening to others and being someone that they can feel comfortable talking to even in hard situations.
5. Focused - Even in a crowded room with lots of noise, I am able to get things done.

Interview the five people who know you the best.

https://soundcloud.com/ashley-andrews-395736708/sets/16a-what-is-your-secret-sauce/s-HNLYC12xs9h 

Interview 1: My mom, Robin. My mom talks about how organized I am and how strict the schedule is that I make for myself and how I do not allow myself to deviate from the schedule. She also talks about how I am self-motivated and determined in my own way and do not need anyone to tell me what to do because I probably have already done it. 

Interview 2: My best friend, Jailen. Jai talked about how I am very determined and will do anything and everything to be the best at what I am trying to accomplish. She also talked about how if she wants something done right, she will always come to me to help her. 

Interview 3: My roommate, Taeja. Taeja talked about how determined I am and how much knowledge I have about the world around me. She expanded on the amount of things I have been through in my life and how they could help me see things from different perspectives in the future. 

Interview 4: My roommate, Hallie. Hallie talked about how determined I am and that I am both logically and creatively minded. By having both skill sets, she said I would be able to excel at anything I put my mind to.

Interview 5: My roommate, Caroline. Caroline talked about my perfectionism and how I am really good at hiding it but when given a task I will not rest until it is done to the best of my abilities. She also talked about my willingness to learn new things and how if given the opportunity I will jump at the chance to try new things.

Reflect on the Differences

Based on what my friends and family said, I think we see me in very much the same way. All 5 of my friends and family discussed my determination which is the very first thing I listed about myself, which I thought was super cool to know that I exude the determination I believe I have. Going back to what I think about myself, I would add organized because as soon as I heard my mom say it, I realized how much of a neat freak I am and how organized everything in my life is. 

15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

1. Interviews: For this assignment, I interviewed three more students who attend the University of Florida and live in on-campus housing.
   
   
2. Begin with alternative evaluation: While talking with these students, they told me that the most important factor to them was the quality. They wanted to have the tv shows and movies that they would actually like to watch, because they would not pay for something that they did not get use out of. The second most important thing to them was cost. Even if a service had what they were looking for, they were not willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money.
   
   
3. How/where do they buy?: In this segment, they are most likely to buy online because of convenience and the ability to compare prices on the spot. Since they usually make purchases online, they also usually use credit cards to make purchases.
   
   
4. Post-purchase evaluation: What matters most to these students is if the thing they purchased was worth the money they had to fork over to get it. The things that help them determine if the purchase is a good idea is if they got a lot of use out of it and if their friends approve of the purchase. They think a purchase is bad if it doesn’t work like it was intended to, they don’t get as much use out of it as they thought, or if it simply just doesn’t meet the expectations that they think the it should.
   
   
5. Report the findings: All three students seemed very interested in the product when I presented the idea to them, but asked many questions about how it would work, the cost, and the types of movies/tv shows it would offer. They all said that the most important thing to them was the entertainment offered through the service and the cost was a close second. One student said they would be more inclined to purchase the service after other students had reviewed it. 
   
   
6. Conclusion: Based on these interviews, I would describe this segment as quality driven and money saving. They like to purchase things online with their credit cards, and would be even more inclined if the service billed them monthly so they didn’t have to remember to keep up with payments. They also care very much about if the service is worth the money and would not like to have something that they regret or feel as though it does not meet their standards. 

14A - Halfway Reflection

1. The behaviors I have used to keep up with the requirements of this course are time management and working ahead. By writing things down on my calendar and specifying days when I wanted to have things done, I was able to properly manage my time for this class. Working ahead was also very helpful because I was very overwhelmed with the amount of assignments in the beginning.
   
   
2. There have definitely been times in my college career where I’ve felt like giving up, like hour 20 of studying for a financial accounting exam. The thing that pulled me through was my friends; they were my accountability partners. When life gets hard we all band together and work to get through it together, sometimes even through healthy competition on what grades we get on the tests. I am tenacious and very hard working and yes, I do believe that these past two month have developed me even more. I think that having three assignments due each week really caused me to power through a lot and get them all done for the due date.
   
   
3. Tip #1: I would order your reading books as soon as you see the list, because the sooner you start the less stressed you will feel that something is hanging over your head. Tip #2: Listen to the constructive criticism that your classmates provide so that you can do better in the future. Tip #3: Always have your eyes open to opportunities around you. This will greatly help you throughout this class.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

1. The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that Phil Knight was originally the distributor of other shoes called Tigers from Japan before he came up with the groundbreaking idea for Nike. The thing that I admired the most about Phil Knight was that he stuck to his morals no matter how hard the times got. He did not want to take the company public and no matter how hard it got, he came up with other options until he was convinced that it would be the right thing for his company. The thing I least admired about Phil Knight was his ease of lying about things to get what he needed done. Although he usually fixed the lies before people figured out he had lied, I still did not find it admirable that he did that more than once. Yes, Phil Knight encountered much adversity and failure. His partnership with Tigers was dissolved, some of his shoes had to be recalled, he was in a lawsuit, he was fined by the government for importing, and he had an employee quit and go and work at the competitor’s firm, Adidas. Through all of this, he constantly continued on and leaned on his family as well as his employees for support.
   
   
2. Phil Knight was a hard worker and extremely competitive. He did not accept losing, he worked as hard as he could to always be the winner. He never let people tell him what he could and could not accomplish. His own father did not initially believe in him or his idea; he found this line of work to not be respectable. He was also extremely gifted in seeing past people’s physical appearance and hiring them for what they could do for the company.
   
   
3. One part of the book that confused me was that it never talked about his daughter. When I looked him up on Google after reading the novel to find more information, I found out that he has a daughter named Christina.
   
   
4. I would ask Phil Knight if he ever imagined having his own brand of shoes when he started importing Tigers. I think it would be interesting to hear if this was ever a plan for him, or if it was just something he did when times got tough. Another question I would ask would be what his best memory of starting up the company was. I think sometimes it's easy to just talk about the hard things that we have to get through, but there are good things too and I’d love to hear them.
   
   
5. I think Phil Knight’s opinion of hard work was that it was absolutely necessary. I think he’s say that without hard work, he probably wouldn’t even have his empire anymore. I definitely share this opinion because of my dad. He is a college dropout, and is now a Senior Vice President of ClubCorp Inc. He worked his way up from the bottom and he has always instilled in me that hard work is what gets you places.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1. Segment: The segment I chose is “students who live in dorms.” I wanted to interview those students who lived on campus.
   
   
2. Interviews: The people I interviewed were all UF students who live in on-campus housing. The first talked about how hard it has been for him to find a job in Gainesville that worked with his schedule, and as a result he did not yet have a steady income. When I explained my new service, he said this would greatly help him because he'd be able to drop their current services (Hulu and Netflix) and be able to just pay for one service. The second person I talked to described how expensive it was to pay for tuition and their dorm, which has put a strain on her disposable income. This strain has caused her to rethink if she needs the streaming services that she is currently paying for. She was interested in the product due to its affordability. The last person I interviewed talked about how she has watched almost everything on Netflix and Hulu. This new service showed the promise of new shows and movies to watch. This possibility was enough for her to show interest in the service.
   
   
3. Conclusion: Based on my interviews, it seems as though this segment has a need for my product. However, I would have to make sure that the service was relatively cheap to run so that it was cheap for students. If it was unaffordable for students, it would be a great failure. Each of the interviews displayed a different reason for why my service could greatly benefit this segment.

11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

You - My name is Ashley Andrews and I am a second year Business Administration major and Event Management minor. In the one year that I’ve completed at the university, I have learned many skills from my classes regarding marketing and accounting. I have learned the basics of how to keep the books in a business and how to market products to specific target audiences. This business, if I were to start it, would play an integral part in my life because new businesses are very hard to start up. However, I would probably have to have another job at the same time to have a steady income in order to invest into my business.

What are you offering to customers? - I am offering a service to students that will reduce their monthly costs for streaming platforms and will consolidate all of their previous subscriptions into one subscription. My streaming service is meant to make students entertainment more affordable and entertaining.

Who are you offering it to? - The target market for my new service is UF students between the ages of 17-24. The things that my customers all have in common are that they are students at the University of Florida, they pay tuition, and they have some sort of need for a streaming service or are unhappy with the ones they currently have.

Why do they care? - Customers will actually pay money for the service because it will save them money and will provide a greater variety of tv shows and movies, as well as access to UF sports, than the streaming services they already had. By replacing all of the services that they previously had with the new one, they will be saving money each month.

What are your core competencies? - UF is not yet in the streaming business, so no service like this exists on campus. Although there are other streaming services, many students I talked to complained about the costs that accumulated each month. The things that set this service apart from others is that we would have the UF sports on our streaming service. This along with the variety and lower prices would greatly set us apart from the competition. 

I believe these five elements listed above fit together to make a strong business plan in theory. The more I think about this new service, the more ideas keep popping up into my head. I think that my skills of marketing and accounting will be a big help once the company is up and running. Like I have stated before, there are no services like this on any college campus, so this is an entirely new concept that will hopefully take off at UF. I think this is a very well thought out idea that will require a lot of skilled people, a good amount of money, and many years to allow it all to come together.  

10A - Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: The first person I interviewed thought this was a good idea for the students on campus, but she did not think it would work for her because she is happy with the shows and movies that Netflix and Hulu offers and would not want to go through the trouble of canceling the services that she already pays for. The second student I talked to did not have any streaming services. Since they do not have any these services now, they will not benefit from the new service that will be provided because they see no point in paying for a new service. The third student I talked to had brand loyalty with Netflix and was willing to pay extra for the guarantee of the service provided by the Netflix streaming platform. The fourth person I interviewed was simply uninterested because they did not want to be locked into a monthly payment agreement. The last student I interviewed did not see the appeal of another streaming service and did not think the new service would be appealing enough to make the subscription fee worth it.

What: The need I identified is the need for a cheaper movie/tv show streaming service for students to save them money. This need differs from the need of a cheaper music streaming service or a new rental service for students.

Why: Those outside of the boundaries of my need either need a cheaper music streaming service, movie rental service, or do not have any need for electronic entertainment. 

	Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who	Students who are looking for a cheaper movie/tv show streaming service	Students who are not looking (either happy with the services they have, are loyal to another streaming service, are not currently looking to have a streaming service, do not want to pay a monthly fee, or do not find the idea of a new service appealing)
What	Need for a way to lessen the amount of money students spend on movie/tv streaming services.	Do not have the need because they do not need a new service or do not find the service they have as a large financial burden.
Why	Need exists because college students are known to have a very low amount of spending money and the streaming services they are currently paying for take up a large chunk of that money.	The students could have alternative needs for things such as music streaming services and movie rental services.

8A - Solving the Problem

As stated in the previous exercise, many UF students spend a good chunk of money on multiple streaming platforms to watch shows and movies. However, this money could be used for other things or saved for the future. To help students in reducing their monthly costs, my proposed solution is that UF creates their own streaming service. The average amount that the students I interviewed spent on streaming services a month was around $20. So, as long as the new service was less than $20 and had a good variety of shows/movies and included UF sports, I believe it would be very appealing to the target market of UF students. I also think that for the students living in dorms, this could be an add-on option that would be very eye-catching because they are already spending so much on the dorm, it would seem like a very cheap added bonus.

7A - Testing the Hypothesis

1. Opportunity: I believe there is an opportunity for an online streaming service at UF. It would allow students to stream a variety of movies/tv shows as well as Gator sports and save them money by having the service through one provider instead of multiple outside vendors. Students would pay a fee every month for access to the streaming platform. 
2. The Who: UF students The What: Students currently pay money to multiple outside vendors to have movies and TV shows at the touch of their fingers, but this hinders them from spending their money on other things. The Why: Students have high living expenses with payments such as food, tuition, and rent.
3. Testing The Who: I believe most UF students currently have this need and would benefit from the capitalization on this opportunity. I believe many other schools could take advantage of this opportunity and create their own streaming services as well. Testing The What: The boundaries of this are the needs of the UF students. I am assuming that many students deal with the same problem that I do, which is paying for multiple streaming services (which adds up very quickly) and still not having access to all of the shows/movies I want to see. However, if this does not hold true for many UF students, this opportunity is not as good as I originally thought. Testing The Why: I think as a college student myself, it is easy to spend all of your income on living expenses such as food, rent, tuition, car insurance, gas, phone/internet bills, etc. However, it is nice to be able to spend money on fun things sometimes, and if there is one streaming service that offers the vast majority of things you want to watch instead of paying for more than one, I think it would be very popular among students and would allow them to have more money in their pockets. 
4. Interview #1: The first person I interviewed has the Bright Futures scholarship as well as the National Merit scholarship. These scholarships together give her enough money that she does not have to pay for tuition, rent, or groceries out of money from her own pocket. When asked about the streaming services she currently has, she said she pays for Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. The cost of these  three streaming services amounts to $22 a month. Although all of her living costs are covered by scholarships, she is trying to save money for her future. So, an opportunity like this one would benefit her greatly. Interview #2: The second person I interviewed is from Virginia (pays out-of-state tuition) and came to UF with no scholarships. Her parents are currently loaning her the money to pay for school. When asked about the streaming services she currently has, she said she pays for Netflix and Hulu. The cost of these two streaming services amounts to $15 a month. This is a steep cost for her since she is already indebted to her parents for school and rent. She indicated that this was a lot of money for her to be paying each month, and if there was one service that was cheaper and could provide a better variety of shows, it would benefit her greatly. Interview #3: The third person I interviewed has the highest level of the Bright Futures scholarship. Although she does not pay for her classes, she will be paying for rent on an apartment starting this year with a cost of $695 a month, as well as having to buy groceries. This is a large sum of money to have to be paying each month. When asked what streaming services she has, she said she pays for Netflix, Disney+, and PureFlix. The cost of these three streaming services adds up to $23 a month. She said this is a lot of extra money to be tacked on to her already high monthly costs and a streaming service that would be more affordable and have a better variety would be better for her needs. Interview #4: The fourth person I interviewed was someone who currently pays for no streaming services and just uses her friends accounts to watch shows and movies. She said that although this would be a great idea for other students, it would actually cause her to lose money, because she would be paying for something that she would not normally be paying for. Interview #5: The fifth and final person I interviewed was a student whose parents pay for their streaming services. In doing so, the student is getting the services for free to them. Like the fourth person I interviewed, they indicated that this was a good idea, but would cause them to lose money. 
5. Reflection: My interviews were very interesting and showed the different monetary situations as well as the streaming services of each individual I talked to. I went into the interviews thinking that this opportunity would apply to every UF student and they would find it very helpful in reducing their monthly payments. Although not every student I talked to pays for their streaming services, all five of them had access to a streaming service one way or another. I still believe that my opportunity could be capitalized on, but not every student on campus would get significant use out of it like I originally anticipated.

6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

(Economic Trends) The first opportunity I found is that about 14.7% of American people are out of jobs because of the Coronavirus. I found this in the Wall Street Journal (https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2020/05/08/newsletter-special-report-historic-job-losses/) while reading an article that talked about the historic job losses that this virus has caused. I believe this information suggests an opportunity exists because people being out of work is harming the current state of the economy and getting these people back into work is a very important task that needs to be done in order to save the economy from anymore downfall. The customer with the opportunity would be people who have lost their jobs due to closures and other effects of the virus. I think with the given economy, it might be hard to exploit because there are not many jobs available for these people, therefore not really a way to solve the problem. I saw this opportunity because some of my friends and their parents have lost their jobs because of this unfortunate epidemic and seeing them struggle has opened my eyes to the other people that are struggling as well. 

(Economic Trends) The second opportunity I found is that almost 4 million U.S. homeowners are unable to pay their bills and are facing foreclosure. I found this on Fox News (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6155393648001#sp=show-clips) while watching a video about the economic downturn from the virus as well as the projected growth that is predicted to come from businesses being able to reopen soon. I believe this is an opportunity because it is a problem that is facing so many people and if someone is able to act now with a donation or jobs that allow the people to make money to pay their bills, this would greatly change the economic trend. The customer with the opportunity would be U.S. homeowners who are unable to pay their bills. Again, in this current economic position, I think this would be a difficult opportunity to exploit, but if it was able to be accomplished, it would greatly change the current trends for the better. I saw this opportunity because I have so much sympathy for people that this virus is affecting, thankfully it has not affected my family too greatly. But, it has really allowed me to see how it affects other people.

(Regulatory Changes) The third opportunity I found is that many independent-contractors in California will no longer be classified as such and will have to pay more in taxes because of it. While reading an article on Paychex.com (https://www.paychex.com/articles/compliance/top-regulatory-issues) I found that in California, there is going to be a new regulation that stipulates who is considered an independent-contractor and who isn’t. I believe this is an opportunity because this change may not seem like too big of a deal, but to the contractors it is affecting, it means a large difference in the amount of taxes they pay. The customer with the opportunity would be people who are no longer classified as independent-contractors due to this new regulation. I think this opportunity is relatively hard to exploit because the contractors would be out a lot of money for taxes, and because of the new regulation this sounds like a pretty permanent change that will affect them for a long time. I saw this opportunity because my friend is a contractor and while reading the article I was thinking about him and how this would greatly affect him.

(Regulatory Changes) The fourth opportunity I found is that many states, such as Oregon are banning plastic bags from stores, and requiring customers to bring reusable bags or buy paper ones at the store. I found this on CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/us/new-laws-coming-in-2020-trnd/index.html) while reading an article about the new regulations that have been put into place for 2020. I believe this is an opportunity because people are going to be searching for reusable bags to purchase so they do not have to pay for paper bags every time they go into the store, and this is something that can be capitalized on. The customer with the opportunity is people who live in states that have banned plastic bags. I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because selling reusable bags to customers could generate profit for the company in charge and prevent the customer from having to pay a fee for paper bags when they go shopping. I saw this opportunity because my whole family lives in Delaware, where there is already a plastic bag ban and with each new state that adopts this law, there is a new opportunity. 

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Jobless claims reach 33M
2. Link: https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/
3. Description of the Story: Since the Coronavirus pandemic, more and more people are claiming unemployment. It has recently reached an all time high with 1 out of every 5 workers having to apply for unemployment. This is true throughout Florida and could even be higher in big cities like Tampa and Orlando.
4. Description of the Problem: U.S. companies are unable to pay their workers with this pandemic closing many of their stores/restaurants, so many workers are being laid off.
5. Who has the Problem: People who were working for companies that had to close their stores and were laid off as a result.

1. No face cover, no service?
2. Link: https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/
3. Description of the Story: With the Coronavirus pandemic, many stores have had to close that are non-essential. Stores that were able to remain open, such as Fresh Market, started policies that required not only their workers to wear masks, but their shoppers as well. Many stores are able to start opening this weekend, and will follow the example that Fresh Market has set, but in Tampa it is not required to wear a face mask yet.
4. Description of the Problem: Since there are no mask laws yet, customers cannot be penalized for not wearing one, other than being asked to leave the store.
5. Who has the Problem: People who are unable to get their hands on masks because there is a shortage and they can’t stay on the shelves.

1. Teens juggle jobs, virtual education
2. Link: https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/
3. Description of the Story: Because of the epidemic, schools have shifted online and many stores that are open (such as Target) have been asking their workers to work longer hours, including teenagers. With these added work hours, teenagers have less time to focus on school, and their grades have been slipping as a result. Teachers in Hillsborough county are noticing a downward trend in the grades of their students.
4. Description of the Problem: Teenagers grades are getting worse as a result of virtual school and longer work hours.
5. Who has the Problem: Teenage students who have jobs.

1. Unlocking floodgates - slowly
2. Link: https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/
3. Description of the Story: With the pandemic closing theme parks and places of large gatherings, naturally the Florida Aquarium and ZooTampa had to close as well. Since many business are starting to reopen in Florida, the CEO’s of the attractions are trying to figure out safe ways to start opening that will keep the visitors and the animals safe.
4. Description of the Problem: Finding a safe way to reopen the attractions that will protect the animals and the visitors.
5. Who has the Problem: The CEO’s and the people in higher management that have to come up with the solution.

1. Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy
2. Link: https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/
3. Description of the Story: With the pandemic, many stores have been forced to close. Because of these closures, some stores have gone bankrupt because they have had to continue to pay rent when they have no revenue coming in. Before Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy, J. Crew had as well. There are expected to be many more companies filing for bankruptcy in the future. Many small businesses throughout Tampa have had to close their doors for good, but these two are some of the first large companies to have to do the same.
4. Description of the Problem: Stores have to continue to pay their rent when they have no cash inflow because their stores are closed.
5. Who has the Problem: All businesses that have been shut down because of the virus, such as J. Crew and Neiman Marcus.

4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

1. I believe that it is very unsafe to turn into my neighborhood off of Dale Mabry Highway.
2. The unmet need is a safe way to get into the neighborhood. The people who have the need are the people who live in my neighborhood that drive. The need came from the development of the neighborhood, which has been here for 3 years now. To meet this need now, people are putting their turn signal on and trying to turn into the neighborhood off of a 55mph road. I believe there is a 70% chance this opportunity exists.
3. The prototypical customer refers to the people who live in my neighborhood who drive.
4. Neighbor #1: The exact nature of the need is safety. They become aware of the need all the time, but especially during times when many people are on the roads. They have had the need since they moved into the neighborhood about 1.5 years ago. They first became aware of the need on the way home from picking up their children from school one day and trying to turn into the neighborhood. As they were turning into the neighborhood, the person driving behind them did not brake and almost rear-ended them. They are currently addressing the need by putting their turn signal on almost 100ft before the turn. They are not very satisfied with this solution because it does not prevent them from being in a car accident.
   Neighbor #2: The exact nature of the need is prevention of accidents from occurring. They become aware of the need all the time, but especially during rush hour. They have had the need since they moved into the neighborhood about 2 years ago. They first became aware of the need on their way home from work when they had to quickly turn into the neighborhood when they realized the person behind them was not braking. They are currently addressing the issue by quickly turning into the neighborhood instead of safely turning in like they should, to try and prevent rear-ending. They are not very satisfied with this solution because even though it is lowering the risk of getting rear-ended, they could lose control as they're turning in because they're trying to get off the highway so fast.
   Neighbor #3: The exact nature of the need is their fear for the safety of their children driving. They become aware of the need all the time. They have had the need since their oldest child started driving 6 months ago. They first became aware of the need when they were teaching their child how to drive on the highway and noticed that the car behind them was not slowing down when they went to turn in to the neighborhood. This immediately started a sense of panic in the mother as she was sitting in the passenger seat. They are currently addressing the problem by praying and constantly reminding their child to be safe while turning into the neighborhood. They are not very satisfied with this solution because it does not fix the problem at hand. 
5. I learned that people feel the same about the issue that I originally though they would and they think about the issue all the time, not just at a specific time. All 3 of the people I interviewed had very strong opinions that it is unsafe the way it is now, and the things they are doing to try and help the situation are temporary and there should be a more permanent fix to the problem. The most surprising thing I learned about the opportunity is that 2/3 neighbors that I interviewed have sent emails to the county to try and get a turn lane or a light put in where the turn is for my neighborhood.
6. All of my original opportunity is still there, this was a very large problem to people and they had very strong opinions that there needs to be a change. Since talking to the people, I have realized that a traffic light would work as well as the turn lane I previously talked about, so I think there is a more diverse way of fixing the problem than I had originally anticipated. I believe that having this added information from the people I interviewed allows me to have a more accurate opportunity than what I had in the beginning. I believe entrepreneurs should take feedback very seriously and should adapt their opportunities accordingly. If people in the target market do not see the problem as important as the entrepreneur, then it might not do as well as they think it will. I think the more they adapt to the feedback, the better their solution to the problem will do in the market.

3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story

When I was 16, I decided I was going to learn calligraphy. I taught myself and bought special pens and paper to start the projects. After about 3 months, I created an Instagram to share and sell my work with people. Since then, I have done many projects such as bible lettering, kitchen and laundry signs, cork boards, wedding place cards, baby shower chalkboards, wall art, wedding signs, and more. What started as a small idea to try a new hobby, morphed into something that I love to do and am able to make extra money by doing. Even though I have been able to do all of these fun projects, I am still trying to grow and become more prevalent in the minds of people who like custom art.

I took ENT3003 this semester because I needed to take a business elective but also would like to further pursue some type of entrepreneurship in my future. Whether it be my calligraphy or an entirely different idea, I want to be able to say that I came up with something that helped people and changed how they interpreted something in everyday life. I would really like to learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how to pursue the target market without trying to pursue the whole population. 

This is a calligraphy series that I created to hang in apartments or dorms. This is the first one I have done, but I have 3 orders so far!