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.