Final Reflection

The most formative experience is also the one that I will remember for years to come. It definitely has to be the customer interviews for me. That was the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had to deal with. I experienced so much rejection and weird looks. It was one that I will remember forever because of how uncomfortable it made me. It was also the most formative because of how many times I had to do it. I learned to get more comfortable with it. I learned different ways to approach people and talk to them. It was something I had to step out of my comfort zone for for sure. With that, it became my most joyous experience as well. Finally getting comfortable with it and being able to approach and talk to people with confidence. It was an accomplishing feeling. It made me happy to overcome that fear of talking to strangers.

I suppose I have developed more of entrepreneurs mind set. I'm more willing to take risks and do it with confidence. I accept failure a lot better than I had in the beginning of the semester. But, after taking the course, I know I will never be an entrepreneur. It is definitely not the life track for me.

For students in the future, I would tell them not to overthink the assignments. Do your best. All you have to do is try. No one is going to be perfect. The point is to push yourself as much as you can. The point is to learn from your experiences and no one can learn with out failure. Failure is going to happen but it isn't going to kill your grade. I would tell them not to think about the grade so much, but rather live in the moment and learn from each experience.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

My business idea is reaching out to those customers with an overwhelmingly busy schedule and extra disposable income. I think the target demographic would be new families, families with both parents working, senior citizens (especially those with a hefty retirement), and bachelors. Our world is moving at faster speeds everyday and people are challenging to keep up with this fast paced lifestyle. People have less time for leisure and are spending more time worrying about making that final sale to put food on the table. We tend to feel overwhelmed when we have a lot of obligations, and grocery shopping is just another item on the days’ to-do list. By making the grocery shopping process a much quicker and easier process, people will have more time to focus on themselves and their families. 50 years ago it was very normal for the woman of the house to do the shopping, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. But, today, women are getting more and more involved in the workforce and have less time for house duties. Typically, families are having both adults working, and this poses a problem for who will take care of the house and do the shopping. It will always be an argument if it’s not a simple process. My business idea will help alleviate some of the stress and pressures of our fast paced lifestyles.

Innovation

            There are already services available for customers to pay someone to do their grocery shopping for them and have it delivered to them as well. With that being said, my business idea is only incrementally innovative. Most of these grocery delivery services allow you to submit a list and someone will go pick up everything for you. My idea tweaks this by having an application for this service. Apps on smartphones are all the craze these days. They simplify life and are extremely user friendly, making the process quick and easy. The app will be organized so customers will not be stressed and feel like it’s more of a hassle than a help. The organization of the app will also allow customers to be able to browse the entire inventory of the grocery store, as well as have all of the sales and deals laid out right in front of them. There will also be a section on the app that holds coupons. If you find a coupon online, you can just click a button and it will automatically be added to the app and then the customer can apply it at checkout.

            The app will generate revenue whenever someone downloads it to begin with. It will start with just a small download fee of $2.99. Then, customers will be charged based on their final checkout price. It will be a percentage of the final price that will be owed to our company. If you want your groceries delivered straight to you, it will be a little more expensive. But there will also be a cheaper option allowing the customer to pick up their groceries from the store, already together and bagged.

Venture Concept

            This venture concept was thought up to alleviate the stress due to people’s busy schedules. Some people don’t realize how much time they actually spend grocery shopping, which is why it may be difficult to have customers download this app. But I believe that once they see how much simpler this app makes the grocery shopping experience, they won’t be able to stop using it. This is why I also feel like first time users will have a large discount in order to attract the customers and get them hooked.

            Some people are very aware of how much time they spend at the grocery store. These are customers are anxious and busy and will do anything to get a couple of hours back into their week. These people are the customers that will download this app in a heartbeat. They will see how beneficial it will be to their time and leisure.

            There are already lots of different grocery delivery services so that is a huge competition that I have to be aware of. This is why I tried to be more innovative and create an app for this service. It doesn’t seem like any company has an actual app.

            My business would partner with different grocery store who would also benefit from this app. I feel like people would spend more money and buy more food with the app. Especially since it’s so easy, the customer base for grocery stores could expand.

Secret Sauce

            I feel that my secret sauce for this venture concept would be my youthful creativity and organization. I think that with these characteristics I will be able to make a killer app that will reach out to a large demographic. My youthful creativity would be greatly reflected in the app that will also be very organized. I feel I could create an app that would truly satisfy the customers’ needs and appeal to a large audience. It will be user friendly, organized, and beneficial to the customer.

What’s next?

            What would be next for this service is to start talking to grocery stores about partnerships, and also to begin a startup for the creation of the application. The app may need to be created before we reach out to grocery stores so they can see how beneficial and great it will be. Or we need to just create a rough draft/prototype application just so the store owners get an idea, then they can provide more funds to launch the app.

            As far as my true involvement in this business idea, I do not plan on pursuing this idea in any way, shape, or form. I do not like the idea of being an entrepreneur, it’s just not for me. I’m also not very passionate about this idea and don’t think I can put my full heart into it like an entrepreneur should.

The feedback

Honestly, I obtained no feedback that I could use to alter my business idea. On my last venture post, all I got was comments on how they themselves love the idea. People said that they felt the app clears communication between the company and the customer, which is great. Also they liked the organization and accessibility of the app. The only thing I was told was that college students probably wouldn't use this service, so I simply tweaked the demographic that I was reaching out to. I didn't do the "whats next" assignment, so I wasn't able to get any feedback from other people either. I didn't change anything with my venture concept other than taking out college students as a target group and adding in senior citizens. 

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

I thought chapter 3 was extremely interesting because it wasn't just focused on an entrepreneurs ideas and goals and what they need to do to succeed. It was actually combining the entrepreneurial mindset into an organization, which, after reading this chapter, is clearly very important. I knew that innovation was important in a company, but I didn't realize how helpful adopting that entrepreneurial mindset is in succeeding in innovation and growing a company. I found it interesting that everyone in the company needs to have this mindset. I almost felt like it was mainly the managers job to adopt this mindset to grow the company, but the manager must encourage and lead employees into the same mindset to encourage innovation and growth. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

If I had to pick a confusing part of the reading, it would be the section "ethical responsibility" in chapter 4. The fact that a strategy has to be created for an entrepreneur to be ethical was a bit confusing to me. But as the author explained it, I accepted the concepts and wasn't too confused by it.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

1. How often do you think an ethical dilemma gets in the way of an entrepreneur pursing his goal? As humans it's interesting that we go through these ethical dilemmas day in and day out and we must make major decisions that could affect many around us. So i'm interested to know how often an entrepreneur may put ethics before his dream, or his dream before ethics.

2. Do you feel that in order for an organization to grow and succeed they must adopt the entrepreneurial mindset? In my opinion, I'd say yes. But the author may say no and that all organizations are different and it's based on the culture of the organization. Which is why I wonder his opinion.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I don’t disagree with anything the author said. This is my first time learning anything about business of entrepreneurship so it is very difficult for me to refute a textbook. Especially because this author is so convincing and seems to use hard facts and sources to back himself up.

Google Gold

1.) I'm going to be completely honest and say that I had no approach for a strategy to search engine optimize. Mainly because I had no desire to get my name and business all over the internet. I knew from the beginning of this class that entrepreneurship wasn't something I wanted to pursue, which is why I think I took it so lightly. I did all of the assignments to the extent that I was asked to complete them; I didn't slack off. But I didn't do them with a future in mind. So for search engine optimization, I simply did as I was told and linked my blog on every comment I posted.

2.) Like I said in number 1, I didn't have a strategy. Consequently, I didn't have keywords.

3.) I also did not use social media. There was no way I was going to post my blog on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I keep all of my social media on private anyways, and none of my friends would've interested in reading an amateur business idea. I don't think posting my blog to social media would've helped for search engine optimization.

4.) The post that got the most views was "My Entrepreneurship Story". I don't think there's a good reason this post got so many views other than the fact that it was in the beginning of the semester when students were interested in the class and seeing other peoples posts and what not. As the semester goes on, students seem to lose interest and just get done what they need to get done to get the points and move on. Especially because they have more important things to do like study for exams, not read a random entrepreneurship post.

5.) Again, no key words, no google for me!

(Here's a cute picture to brighten your day of the puppy I might be getting!)

Very Short Interview, Part 2

I want to start by stating my biggest take away from this class; risk. I learned that entrepreneurship is all about taking risks and putting yourself out of your comfort zone. When I look back at my interview with the entrepreneur, he stated risk multiple times. When I first interviewed him, I didn't think much of it, but now I have a lot better of an understanding about how important taking risks are in entrepreneurship. He also discussed a lot about leadership, which is very important as an entrepreneur I've learned. It was smart of him to state leadership rather than management in my opinion. At the end of the interview my reflection was the importance of relationship and communication. As much as I still agree with that being important, I've learned taking risks is even more important as an entrepreneur.

The Interview

1.     What is the key to sustaining a competitive advantage through your entrepreneurial journey?

In my experience the key to sustaining a competitive advantage is to focus on your core competencies that make your company unique and continually improve them.  With that in mind, I recommend pursuing cost reduction, improving quality, and most importantly adding value and to better meet the consumer’s needs providing a more rewarding experience.

2.     What advice do you have about hiring quality employees that perpetuate your company’s vision?

When it comes to hiring you should always cover your basics. I always start with a background check to ensure no criminal record.  The next thing to do is ensure the potential employee has the correct education for the job description and has a stable work history. Checking social media platforms have is a new technique we have been utilizing to get a more accurate representation of the person’s character. I recommend hiring employees that seem to fit in with your company’s culture, what ever that may be, and provide proper training to show what is and is not acceptable behavior.

3.     Looking back over your time as entrepreneur, what is one thing you wish you had done differently?

I would have to say to take the time and enjoy the journey you are about to embark on.  Many people, myself included, tend to focus on the end goal and don’t take the time to appreciate everything along the way that makes the entrepreneurial journey so special.  Take any opportunity you have to network, focus on people and conveying your purpose to them, not profits, and be optimistic for your plight as an entrepreneur.

My Reflection

I would say I was more comfortable in discussing entrepreneurship, but I am not as passionate about it as some other students in this class so I still am on edge a little with the idea of entrepreneurship. I'm not sure if the entrepreneur I interviewed thought I had progressed. This interview was done over the phone, and I didn't ask him about my progress or anything of that sort. 

Celebrating Failure

This past semester I found myself failing to plan well enough for my assignments, causing me to miss some assignments. This was in my systems management class more than this class. I had a tentative schedule in my head about when I was supposed to turn in assignments, but some days I would get so caught up in doing other things, my assignments would slip my mind. Then the next day I would find myself in a sorrow of self hate because I had just let another assignment slip my mind.

Because this happened a few times, I knew I had to do something different. I started to write all my assignments in an agenda and put them on my phone as well. Ultimately, I had to adapt a different way to remember my assignments. As soon as I changed my organization ways, my grades sky rocketed and all of my assignments got done ahead of time.

Failure helps one understand that what their doing needs to be changed. Without failure, we wouldn’t have improvement. We must first fail before we can improve. We must break before we can glow. This class has taught me risks must be made in order to grow and get anywhere. When taking risks, you have to open your mind to accept and embrace failure because those failures will push you to greatness.