Week 15 reading reflection

SKS's success stood out to me the most. I thought they had a really cool business plan and were doing amazing things in India. You can tell they really care for their consumers.
What confused me the most was the part about microfinance. I'm just in general not good at economics so these sections always take me longer to understand.
The two questions I have are:
Why do they only lend money to only women through SKS?
How do you successfully microfinance?
I did not disagree with anything the author wrote.

Elevator pitch no. 4

People kept encouraging me to be more enthusiastic and so I really wanted to make it interesting for our customers and investors! I thought about incorportating our refillable cups into my video so that investors want to fund them.

Final Reflection

Reading through my blog was really fun. This semester flew by and I really enjoyed this class. It stretched me a lot as a person and challenged my way of thinking. I'll never forget the first time interviewing customers. A friend and I went to Starbucks on 13th street and approached random people and asked to interview them and we were so uncomfortable. We just kept laughing out of insecurity. It's crazy to think how much i've grown just in that manner over the last semester. I hated every moment of being on camera. The elevator pitches were my worst nightmare. Hearing my voice on camera makes me cringe and I always had to take like 20 takes to get just the right one. I think a lot of the class was a low for me because I was always worried about missing assignment deadlines. I would of loved to see all 6 of the weeks assignments all due on Sunday.
The most informative assignment was the very short interviews. I will always be a firm believer in mentors because they are so much older and wiser than you. Learning from someone who has already done it and knows the hard parts, the fun parts, and the tricks to it all, was an incredible experience. I left both my meetings with Morgan so inspired. The experience i'll remember years later will be the free money experiment because it was so uncomfortable to do and the guy eating a donut in my video was so funny. I think he was trying to be super funny but I loved him. My most joyous experience was when we got to research the world's biggest problems and find solutions to them because this is where my passion lyes. I love serving in third world countries and it was so fun to write about what i've learned in Haiti. My most proud moment was when I finished recording a video, I would always feel so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone.
I'm not quite sure I see myself as an entrepreneur yet. I think I understand entrepreneurship way more, but i'm not sure i'll ever have the passion to be one myself. I have definitely learned about and moved toward an entrepreneurial mindset through all of the assignments. They challenged the way I thought about the world around me, business opportunities, my frustrations, and money.
The best recommendation I could make to next semester's students would be to make a list of things they are passionate about and create a venture based on something on that list. If you don't love your venture and don't believe in it than the course work will feel more like a chore. To be more successful in this class, students should plan far in advance and not wait until the day of to do the assignments because sometimes they will be longer and more tedious than you expect and you don't want to lose simple points. Do ones with recordings a couple days before the deadline so you have ample time to find people to do it. I think the best thing they can do to foster that mindset is to put on this facade that THEY ARE an entrepreneur and really try to believe it for their duration in this course.

Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity for my smoothie and healthy food cafe emerges from the change in society that is happening where people want healthier, more organic, gluten free, and vegan food readily available. This opportunity is also due to the fact that there are very few healthy food options in midtown, especially that are open late at night. Geographically this location is convenient to the students at the University of Florida and to young adults who live near or drive by on their way to work. Demographically we are trying to reach 18-26 year olds who are passionate about eating clean food. I think customers are having a hard time satisfying this need due to lack of healthy options, but Grill Fresh just opened so they do have a new healthy option available now. I think this opportunity is fairly large because I know many people would jump at the opportunity to have a smoothie that isn't filled with added sugars and syrup soaked fruit. I think the trend toward eating healthy is only just beginning so this window of opportunity will be around for a long time.
My product is a healthy food and smoothie cafe that uses only organic ingredients. We will serve sandwiches, pizza, salads, smoothies, and juice. Our sandwiches, salads, and pizza are $5.50 a piece, and our smoothies are $4.99. We will also have a gluten free bread and pizza crust for a $1.00 up charge.
Customers will value our product because we are selling healthy food at a really low price. I think college students avoid healthy options because they are often too expensive for them, but we will become their first choice food because they will feel great after eating it and it won't cost them much. People will also come in because we will be one of few healthy options in midtown and the only healthy option open late night. We will attract people coming from the library and coming back from the bars. Our biggest competitor is Grill Fresh but they will be serving a different kind of food than us and they are way more expensive. Our location defines our venture plan because our business is built for the students of UF. I would hire on 3-4 employees as we started out and do a lot of the work myself to save money until we began turning a profit. My employees would prepare the food and smoothies and clean the cafe.
Our secret sauce will be our only organic food. No one is doing this in Gainesville so it will draw a lot of people to us. We will also have an app that will allow you to order ahead and pick up your food already prepared for you. Customers love convenience.
The next step for the cafe would be to offer baked goods and coffee and create a great study environment for students to come study at.
The goal is to be working minimum hours at the midtown store and be opening a new location in downtown Gainesville.

My peers gave me wonderful feedback about my venture idea. They thought my cafe fit really well in Gainesville because of how much Gainesville prefers local eating. Some great ideas they gave me were to offer gluten free and vegan options at my store because those people would probably already be drawn to my cafe. I also loved the piece of advice to create an app that allows people to order ahead so that my customers could just drop in and pick it up. I love when things are convenient to me so I thought this would be a great addition to my business plan. I incorporated all the feedback I received into my venture concept because I agreed with every criticism and idea I got back.

Week 14 Reading reflection

The thing that surprised me the most was the part about innovation and how much has to go into making it happen. I thought it was really interesting.
The thing that confused me the most was the part about exit strategy because I don't really understand how you know when to exit and when you decide to not continue fighting for your business.
What is the prime time to exit a business and how do you know you are there? What's the key difference between middle managers and first line managers?
I do not disagree with anything the author said.

google gold

 
1) My strategy was to use a lot of phrases that were particular to my post and that way whenever anyone was looking for it they could find it. By making longer posts I was able to draw more traffic and by keeping my content fresh and relevant I could draw more attention.
2)  A lot of my key words were specific to the post. There weren't many that I was using repetitively to really drive something home. I don't think one buzz word will keep your blog popping up, but I drove traffic by putting links to my blog in a lot of places.
3) I should have utilized Facebook more to drive traffic. Most people come from Facebook instead of other blogs, while I attempted to drive most of my traffic from other blogs. None of these blogs had much traffic though, so I should have exposed it to a bigger market.
4) My most viral post was the free money one. People really enjoyed it because it was so bizarre and because videos tend to draw more people than text.
5) I thought the word ENT would be a keyword and would bring people to my blog but it turns out so many people are ear nose and throats that I couldn't find my blog anywhere in google results! That's unfortunate.

Very short interview part 2

Looking back on my interview with Morgan, I see that I knew nothing about being an entrepreneur. I remember being so nervous talking to him because I didn't even know what the word entrepreneur really even meant. He taught me so much. I was so inspired to "dive in" like he said and creature a venture out of something I am good at.

How did you have the money to start your own business?
"I did it much differently than most people. I don't do loans. I saved up enough from my previous job and quit when I finally had enough. I took a risk because that was all the money I had. I don't believe in loans."

What characteristic is most important in an entrepreneur?
"Perseverance. Hands down. You will fail many, many, many times. You will have to get back up and keep fighting. If you fight hard enough you will succeed."

What is your last piece of advice for me as I wrap up my entrepreneur class?
"Keep your feet on the ground. Be ready to admit failure quickly so you can move on. Also, don't do it if you don't love it."

I can't believe it's been a whole semester already. I learned so much in this class and it all started with this interview. Morgan shaped the way I looked at this course. I knew I had to do something with coffee because I love it and I'm passionate about it. My ideas never measured up to much but at least I can continue to develop them. Going back to Morgan for the second time and telling him about my venture idea he seemed proud of me. He knew I still had a lot to learn and a lot of school to finish but I think he believed in me.

Celebrating Failure

The most epic fail I made in this class was the first assignment we had due. I did not realize the assignments were due at 9 and so I completed the whole thing only to turn it in and realize it was past due. This was heart breaking.
I learned that I needed to be more observant when I look at canvas and that I need to not procrastinate.
This failure was embarrassing because it was the first assignment in class and I felt like I was starting off at a disantvatage in the class. I had to make a decision to keep moving forward and stop procrastining on my assignments. It changed the way I approached the whole class.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

What surprised me the most was how you can value your business and how most entrepreneurs don't take advantage of this and know their value.

What confused me the most was all of the math and accounting sections. I had to read it multiple times to get a grasp.

How do you get your adjusted tangible book value? And what are the most effective ways to improve the value of your company?

I did not disagree with anything the author said. 

My Exit Strategy

My exit strategy is to keep updating and innovating my coffee delivery food truck so that it will be able to stay along and become a family business I can pass down to my children. I have selected this exit strategy because I am passionate about my venture and coffee not just the money my venture will make me. I would love to stay invested in my venture until the day I die and be able to pass the venture I put so much hard work into to someone in my family. My exit strategy has changed the way I have made decisions because I have to be intentional about growing and updating my product so I can assure my venture sticks around. It has helped me better decide on resources to use and helped me to pick great human resources who will help the longevity of my venture.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) Although I knew there was a lot of thought and planning into a venture, the venture life cycle really surprised me because it reminded me how much planning is put into a venture. I thought it was really cool how they assess creativity in the new venture development stage because that will probably determine how successful and different your product will be.
2) Something that confuses me about the entrepreneurial strategy matrix and how they value and or measure risk adequately. I feel like it is difficult to successfully and accurately measure risk.
3) What resource is most valuable when leveraging yourself above competitors? What are the best ways to keep your venture from declining without starting a whole new venture?
4) I did not disagree with anything the author said.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: My opportunity is late night healthy food near campus and the students of UF have the need. There is a need for a healthy food option in midtown because the only things open late night are not great for you and could be considered "drunk food."
There is definitely a trend to eat healthy currently happening and so this has led way for the opportunity to open a late night healthy food cafe.
My target market is UF students so anyone who lives close to UF campus. We will mostly have young college aged students in but definitely a diverse crowd.
I think people are having to satisfying their need for healthy food by eating at home. Although it is cheaper to eat at home, it is way less convenient than grabbing something already made.
The opportunity to bring healthy food near UF campus is pretty big because there are so few options available, but I do think that people are already starting to catch onto that and offer healthy food, for example Grill Fresh just opened in Midtown.
My product is a smoothie and salad cafe made with only organic ingredients. We will make money by selling our smoothies and salads at an affordable price of $4.99.
My cafe will solve the problems of my consumers because they will be able to pick up healthy food at an affordable price and not have to go far off campus to do it. We will also be open until 3 am in hopes of offering an alternative to pizza and burgers for the people leaving the library or bars late at night.
I think people will switch to the cafe because it will be so convenient to campus, affordable, and high quality food. I don't think it will be hard for customers to switch because people generally prefer a smoothie with no added sugar because they are usually drinking a smoothie as a healthy alternative.
My competitors would be Planet Smoothie, Designer Greens, and Grill Fresh. Our price makes our product stand out because typically healthy food is expensive so college students will not eat it, but we are going to offer high quality healthy food for an extremely low price. Our location is the best part of my venture because it will be so convenient to the students at UF and will bring a lot of late night customers in.
I would only hire about 3 employees as we started off the business and do a lot of the work myself to save money for a while. We will have me operating as the manager, and 3 food prepping employees.

Competitors cannot compete with us because we use all organic products and do not add any sweetener to our smoothies.
The next step in our venture is adding more items to our menu like sandwiches and soups.
In five years I want to be further removed from the project, as in have hired a manager and be opening other locations.

Amazon whisperer

My revenue drivers are selling coffee and a delivery surcharge. I believe my next product offering is going to be pastries or light snacks to go with coffee. This will allow me to both meet thirst and caffeine needs as well as hunger needs, both of which affect people's purchasing decisions. My product is a service therefore there are no comparable items on Amazon. There are no applicable customer reviews.
I reviewed a portable speaker with Bluetooth capability. It may add value to my product to add a fun environment. It needed better batteries, so I would make a better battery.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1) I was surprised by how necessary it was to keep the company going even after the innovative process was finished. How innovative are these companies if they can't sustain themselves?
2) I was confused by what innovation items the amazon whisperer would change? Would it only take a couple of comments with modifications for them to decide what to change?
3) I would ask them what their company has going for them that keeps other companies from jumping in there too? Do they think there is an infinite amount of innovation, so entering the market will never be an issue?
4) There was nothing I disagreed with

My Unfair Advantage

Ethical:

V-  In my opinion, Ethics are the most valuable aspect of a business because people want to do business with ethical people. 

R- It makes me sad at how rare ethical businesses are these days. Our society has become so corrupt and so many businesses are only worried about the money aspect of it. My venture would always put ethics first. 

I-  Our venture will be unique in that we will post our code of ethics on the wall so that our customers can hold us accountable to our promise to be ethical always. We will not just be financially ethical but socially and environmentally as well. 

N- There are no other resources that can substitute for ethics.

Health centered: 

V: My whole venture is centered around the opportunity of healthy food options near campus. I genuinely care about the health of the students at UF and their health is of great value to themselves. 

R: It is very rare around midtown area for their to be a healthy option for food and smoothies, especially that is open late night. 

I: Although other ventures may claim this resource, we will actually follow up with our advertising. Our smoothies will have no added sugars, our salad dressings will be fresh and low calorie, and all our ingredients will be organic. 

N:  There is a potential for other substitute resources but I think health centered is pretty distinguishable. 

Loyal Investors: 

V:  Loyal investors is of great value because they will keep our business around and will be the key part in starting up our juice bar and cafe.

R: It is rare to have loyal investors because most investors will pull out the second they think the business is going to go under, but we will be backed by people who believe in our mission and support us until the very end. 

I: This is something other companies will strive to copy but it will be very hard for them to succeed in. 

N: There is no other substitute resource. We need loyal investors because they are the main thing pushing us towards success. 

Word of Mouth: 

V:  Word of Mouth is the most valuable form of marketing there is, so if we can get loyal customers to talk about how amazing our juice bar and cafe is that could be one of the most beneficial resources we have. 

R: It is rare for word of mouth to be the strongest resource behind your company, but word of mouth will be a factor in every business. The key is to ensure people are talking positively and not poorly of your company.

I:  People will be able to copy this only if they are good enough for people to rave about. It is all about how great our customer service, food, and smoothies are. 

N: Social media could do the same type of marketing for our company, but word of mouth is actually often more trusted than social media so it would be a little less effective. 

Loyalty rewards: 

V: A great loyalty rewards program is valuable because it will bring people back because they want to get the free smoothie or food item. 

R: It is not rare to find companies with great loyalty rewards programs in fact I would model it after the Hyppo, Starbucks, and Pascals reward programs. 

I: People can copy our rewards program formatting but people have to like their product enough to return back to get it.

N: I think loyalty reward programs do something very specific that is hard to do with any other resource because they create loyalty in customers using reward power.

Great Hours of Operation: 

V: For me, this is what makes our company the most valuable. In a college town you need a late night food option that offers healthy food and that is exactly what we do. 

R: There is no healthy food options open late into the night in midtown so our company would be rare. 

I: People probably would not copy this because it would cost them money to stay open later and because there isn't a lot of healthy stores that could stay open to copy us. 

N:  This is the only resource that can produce the same outcome. 

Affordable: 

V: This is valuable because we will be selling to college students who don't have a lot of money to spend. 

R: It is very rare to find well priced organic and healthy food and smoothies especially near campus. 

I: People cannot follow in our footsteps in making their healthy food affordable because their aren't many competing places and because we will grow a lot of our stuff making it easy to price things low. 

N: Pricing the food low is the only way to make it affordable for students. 

Accessible: 

V:  Geographic location of our store is valuable because it is easy for students to access and for them to get a snack when they are at the library. It also is accessible for anyone on University street so not just for students. 

R: It is not rare to find food in midtown but it is rare to find healthy food in midtown. 

I: People can copy this resource by buying a shop in midtown. 

N: There are not other resources to accomplish good geographical location for our target market. 

Target market: 

V:It is valuable to know who your target market is so that you can effectively market to them.

R: It is rare to market healthy food to college students so we will definitely be different than other people. 

I:  People can copy who we target our marketing to. 

N: There may be other ways to market our product but it will be done most effectively by targeting to the college students who we are expecting to be our loyal customers. 

Passion: 

V:  There are few things more valuable then having the passion to make your product and to succeed in it. 

R: It is rare to find someone who is passionately doing what they love these days.

I: Passion cannot be created or copied.

N:   There are other ways to succeed in our venture but not if you want to enjoy it everyday.

 I think loyal investors is our most valuable resource because they have the ability to keep us in business forever. There is nothing more valuable then someone who financially backs your company and believes in what you are doing. 

Week 10 reading reflection

1) What surprised me most about the reading was that they referred to taxes as a liability. After taking numerous accounting classes you would think I would of heard that by now but this was the first time I had ever heard them be classified as that.
2) The thing that confused me the most is the break even point section. I have always struggled in my classes to find the break even point using calculations but am hopeful that I will master it.
3) What budget strategy would you use when beginning a venture? I did not really have many questions since I am very familiar with the subject.
4) I did not disagree with anything the author talked about but would love to hear more about why Taxes are liabilities to him.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)

2) I received a lot of great feedback from my elevator pitch like asking people to invest directly and telling them exactly what it will do for them. I got a better idea of how to get investors and how to make people believe in what I am doing. I also got a lot of feedback about  beating the competition and it surprised me that people were already thinking about this because I have never heard of it before.

3) I changed the way I filmed the video to be more stable and professional looking and I changed the way I addressed potential investors so that they knew exactly what I needed from them and what was in it for them.

Idea Napkin No. 2

Hi my name is Katie Austin and I am a junior at the University of Florida. I am a smoothie and health food enthusiast and am seeking to start my own juice bar. I am so sick of drinking sugar filled smoothies from the places here in Gainesville so I am going to start my own. I will run the store for the first year or two almost on my own to save money. Once we are an established store I will hire on a couple of employees to help me out. My juice bar will be open all day and through the night to give college students a healthy alternative at all hours. Our smoothies and food will be 100% organic but priced well and delicious. My biggest target are UF students because my juice bar will be located in midtown across from the library, although I think we will attract other people as well. Late night we will target students leaving the library so they no longer have to settle for a hamburger and can eat alternative. I am opening my juice bar because I care about the students of UF and their health. As a UF student I know how little healthy options there are for us nearby campus and I know how much of a demand there is for some. I am doing this for the people so that we can be a healthier campus. What we have that no one else has is well priced healthy food and smoothies. Forget about the $6 sugar filled smoothie and come try our all organic $4.50 smoothie. We provide quality food at a reasonable price.

My idea is starting to come together better but a lot of it seems a little unfeasible. I really want to provide well priced organic food but I also know how expensive it is to buy organic so I have a feeling it may end up being more expensive than I would like. I also think I may need to hire on at least one person to help me out so that I can get the sleep I need to function well.

The feedback I received didn't really help me that much because a lot of people just liked my ideas. I think had I gotten more constructive criticism, I could have continued to grow my product into what I hope it becomes. This has helped me understand how important criticism is, and how we really need it.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

1) Something that surprised me from the reading was the idea of social lending. I have never heard of this before but it is a brilliant idea. I love this because I feel like the people on these websites might really believe in what you are doing and that's why the lend you the money. The fact that they have given over $500 million in loans and I have never heard about it is crazy.
2) The SCOR exemption rules confused me a lot because I didn't quite understand what they were being exempt from. Stocks in general kind of confuse me but all the rules along with them made it even more confusing for me.
3) How do the sophisticated investors know the risk involved with brand new companies that people don't know much about?
What specific kind of ventures were started with under $500?
4) I don't know that the author was wrong but I am definitely skeptical of the idea of starting a venture with just $500. It seems unrealistic to me and would of loved some specific examples.

Half-Way Reflection

1) I have developed a new level of responsibility due to this course because of the frequency of the assignments. I feel like I have to be super on top of my canvas to make sure I am keeping up with the deadlines. I also think I have become more creative and imaginative through the class assignments.
2) Honestly, I have felt like giving up a couple times due to the deadlines in this course. I have definitely had a Sunday where interviewing people sounded so miserable that just I didn't do the assignment. I am beginning to develop a tenacious attitude because I am beginning to enjoy the course work and want to put a lot into the ventures and ideas I come up with.
3) Get really into your work.
Try to notice things that bother you in your daily life and create opportunities out of those.
Don't be lazy.

Week 7 reading reflection

1) What surprised me the most in the reading was that demographics play little part in marketing. I would think that age, race, and sex would be a huge indicator of preference, but the reading suggested that it has to be more personal and more in line with values.
2) I was confused by the concept of segmentation. I wish the author would have elaborated a little bit more on the levels of segmentation.
3) How do you best appeal to different demographic groups who have very different preferences?
What is the best way to reach the largest target group?
4) I did not disagree with anything he author said. I think this article was well written and very informative. 

Free Money

1) I will try to give away the money after one of my classes.
2) I will just approach the people who are lingering and packing up their stuff still. I think students will know I am not super weird and may need an extra dollar.
3) I'm just going to ask them if they want a dollar.
4) I really want to see if people will take the money without a reason at all to take it so I am not going to have much conversation with them. I will tell them it's a free dollar without any obligations but nothing more.
5) Out of five attempts, I predict I will be able to successfully give away about 2 dollar bills.

Giving away the dollar was exactly as hard as I thought it would be. I knew that people would think I was weird or wanted something in return for the dollar. I thought the one where the interviewee offered me the doughnut in return for the dollar was an accurate representation of how most people would react. After asking 5 people, only one person agreed to take my free dollar. I thought that students would be a little more willing to accept the dollar than they were.

Week 6 reading reflection

1) I learned that multiple parties have bargaining power. Who knew that both suppliers and buyers could bargain? I learned that under the right conditions, if demand is great enough, then suppliers can with hold desperately needed supplies thus driving up their profit.
2) I was confused by what the difference between substitutes and new entrants was. Aren't people new to the market also, pretty much, a threat to substitute your product for another?
3) I would ask the author what his biggest examples for these principles are. I think I need a few more to really grasp some of the concepts.
4) I didn't disagree with the author on anything, though once I look more into it I might find some confusion in the fine print.

Idea Napkin No. 1

Hi my name is Katie Austin. I am a marketing major and my talents are social media, marketing, and cooking. My aspiration is to open up a cafe and juice bar in midtown that is open late night. The cafe would play a huge role in my life, especially until it turns enough revenue for me not to work there full time. The cafe will serve healthy food and organic smoothies and will be open until 2am. My customers are students and UF employees who are looking for a healthy alternative. I know that it will attract drunk people who are leaving the bars, but more so students who are up late studying. The thing my customers will have in common is that they value their health and may be up late into the night for some reason.  I want to open the cafe and juice bar for the students who leave the library late and can only get a greasy bag of fries to satisfy their hunger. Healthy food is so important and we need a late night healthy option near campus. Our food, juice, and smoothies will be high quality food that people will want to buy, not even just at late hours. The cafe and juice bar is set apart from everything else in midtown because of the quality of the food. There is nothing in midtown as healthy and there is a demand for healthy food.

My idea is great for the most part. The only part that doesn't really go with the rest is the drunk people who want food when leaving the bar. I don't actually suspect that drunk people will want to eat that healthy of food, so they will probably not be a potential customer to market to.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1) After my first round of interviews I realized that my opportunity was there, but I also found a more specific opportunity. I discovered that people did want more late night food options in Gainesville, but specifically, they wanted more healthy food options available.

2) I think I talked to the right people last time. College students are my target group for late night food, so I stuck with interviewing college students. 

3) This time around, I tweaked my interview questions to gauge whether or not the person I was interviewing ate healthily normally. I also asked them to identify how many restaurants open late offered healthy food. 

4) 

5) I learned that I was correct in assuming people wanted a healthy option when they are going out to eat late at night. I think there could be a huge opportunity here. 

6) 

1)Use your resources. I asked people at large group meetings in organizations if I could interview them.  It's less scary this way.

2) Be confident and act like you know what you are doing. 

3) Engage with the customers before you interview them to make them more comfortable.

Week 5 reading reflection

1) The thing that surprised me the most in the reading was how important international relationships are. I thought it was so cool how in the story about Dieter Kondek, he became a successful entrepreneur just through bringing something to America that wasn't here before. It made me realize that being an entrepreneur doesn't always involve a complex new idea.
2) The concept of assuming debt too soon confuses me. Does this just mean they took too much debt on without any hope of the business taking off? Isn't there always a risk of taking on debt to start a venture?
3) what are some specific kickbacks that caused customer loss?
Shouldn't agreements between entrepreneurs and venture capitalist be legally binding?
4) I didn't disagree with the author in this chapter.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My opportunity arose from all the days I walked into Library West on my way to class to find too long of a line. We all have had time where all we want in class is a nice cup of coffee or soy latte.
My solution to this problem would be to start up a coffee delivery company called JUST JAVA. We would have a fully equipped food truck that we can make the drinks in as we drive to the delivery location.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

1) Incongruity seems like a surprising way to identify opportunity. I imagine it's very true though, that if you want to to find a new way of doing things look at the way everyone else is doing something and then find a difference. If you can clearly see the status quo, looking for a new way to tackle an issue will provide incredible leverage for you in any environment.
2) I'm confused as to some of the practical differences between an adaptor and innovator. On paper they appear to be two very different individuals, but in practice I imagine there is often one entrepreneur who does both of those depending on the situation. Is there one general stereotype that each tend to follow in reality or something?
3) How can I develop my creativity? How does developing general creativity tie into developing creative thinking? Do they go hand in hand? If I use the tools to develop my creativity, does my thinking change along with it?
4) I don't know if I necessarily believe that there is a brain boom coming about. I don't think that the push is to be mentally younger as much as it is to be physically younger. It's a bold statement to say that mentally, people will want to and work just as hard to stay young mentally as they will physically.

Interviewing Customers No. 1

The opportunity I found was late night food options in Gainesville. Anytime I am hungry at night, I always am disappointed by the options of food I have, and I wanted to see if my peers felt the same way. I think the need for late night food is mostly found in college aged students, so I tried to interview only college aged people.

I asked each potential customer the following questions:
1) What time do you think most food establishments in Gainesville close?
2) Tell me about your last late night eating experience.
3) Name between 1 and 3 food places close to campus that are open late?
4) Would you say you are satisfied, moderate, or dissatisfied with the amount of food establishments open late in Gainesville?

I think after talking to potential customers I saw that people wanted more options as well. I think there is definitely a need for late night food options closer to UF campus. I also had some people say that it wasn't that there wasn't food open, rather there wasn't any healthy options open.

I found it super uncomfortable to approach strangers and ask them to participate. My strategy was to talk to them for a little bit before actually beginning the filming so that we would both be more comfortable around each other. No one turned me down to be interviewed though, so I think people are less inconvenienced by being interviewed than I thought.

Top 5 World Problems

1) Access to clean water
2) Access to education
3) Terrorism 
4) Income inequality
5) Social Justice

1)  The biggest solution to the wage gap is to offer better improved education, social welfare programs, improved tax policy, and job opportunities.  
2) The solution to education in developing nations is mostly funding. We would also need to rise up teachers and school supplies. 
3)  One solution to the clean water problem is affordable water sanitation systems in third world countries. 

4)The solution to terrorism goes back to corrupt leaders, and we can aide in this by no longer supporting dictators who fund terrorism. 

5) The solution to our social justice problem is a bit more complicated because it takes a change of heart, but it also starts with the people in charge of hiring,  acceptance offices at our universities, etc.

I selected access to clean water as my top problem because water is such an essential part of life and according to the UN "783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation." These numbers are unacceptable because people need water to live. 
It was hard for me to rank the rest because they all have a great impact on peoples lives, but I decided education is the second largest problem because it could be the solution to a lot of the other problems. 

I chose the wage gap as the most feasible problem to fix because there are smaller implementable steps countries can follow to work on it. I feel like it can be a more step by step solution, rather than just one big solution. I also think America is leading the way with our social welfare programs, and teaching other nations how to start working toward a smaller wage gap. 
It was difficult to decide which solutions I thought were feasible because all of them seem like huge obstacles, but with education and clean water I feel like the biggest thing is funding. 

Week 3 Reading Reflection

       1) I learned that there are several views on risk in the mind of the entrepreneur. I assumed the mentality was to always minimize risk and maximize profit. I’m understanding some will actually take on ventures that offer little profit but lots of risk, because the task is meaningful. Some will take on medium profit tasks with low risk, because they are risk averse. Every investor has a different approach to risk and profit motive. 

       2) I don’ t understand why running is related to all the positive results measured, but weightlifting is only related to two. I think the results would be the same across many exercise areas. It’s an interesting theory that it would be different for one exercise than another.

            3) I would ask the author how the overriding need for success mixes with entrepreneurs who are low risk and low profit oriented. What does that coexistence look like?

            4)  I don’t think that unrealistic optimism is a bad trait. I think that unrealistic optimism can be a good trait, because often it inspires people to reach a big vision and that will move people to hit other goals, even if they are smaller. So I would say unrealistic optimism isn’t a bad thing.

Very Short Interview No. 1

Morgan Mills is an entrepreneur because after working for a roofing company and hating the way it was run, he stepped out and created his own roofing company.

What should my expectations be in this course?
-You should expect to challenge your mind to begin thinking like an entrepreneur, so that you can begin to see the things you want to change. You should also expect to modify the way you have viewed the field of entrepreneurship. 

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
"Being an entrepreneur simply means you run the business yourself and you put a whole lot of money into doing that. To me it means getting to operate my business exactly the way I want it to."  

What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?
"I think you should learn the in's and outs of being an entrepreneur, the financial side of it, how to market your services, how to be an effective manager, but mostly that you just need to dive in- you will learn the most from the experience itself."

What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 
"You don't always have to be the most innovate in your field, you just have to be the best at what you are good at. You also need to be willing to ask for help because you will need it." 

Through my interview with Morgan I realized that the best way to become an entrepreneur is to find the holes in the field you are in. Morgan saw holes in the company he was working for and created a better roofing company. I think he just reinforced what we have been learning through our "Bug List" assignment, that we need to learn to see the problems and find solutions to them. I also found it really honest that he said, "you will learn the most from the experience itself." Since I am a very hands on learner, I think that I will absolutely learn the most when I am thrown into the work force. 

The World's Biggest Problems

1) Access to clean water is one of the worlds largest problems because many people around the world have no access to clean water due to scarcity, pollution, etc. This problem is either caused by finance or resource restraints but regardless this problem is unacceptable. People around the globe have to walk days to get clean water, boil the water before they can use it, or die from water borne diseases. One solution to this problem could be affordable water sanitation systems in third world countries. 

2) Income inequality is one of the world's largest problems in developed and developing countries alike.      The world's poorest often have no way out of poverty due to lack of opportunity, support, and aide. The biggest solution is to offer better improved education, social welfare programs, improved tax policy, and job opportunities. 

3) Health care is a major world problem because many developing countries do not have the resources and the people do not have the finances to have adequate health care. Third world countries are constantly battling infectious diseases and don't have the resources to contain the problem. Typically the  better the economy the better the healthcare, but in a world where about half the world lives in poverty this trend is unacceptable. The solution to this problem is far beyond the scope of most peoples control. It begins with poverty issues. Health care problems are often aided by medical missions and hospitals being built in developing nations, but the problem is still there with funding and availability to all people. 

4) Access to Education is a huge problem people in America often overlook. After going to Haiti and seeing how many children do not have the opportunity to go to school, I realized how stuck there society is because of their lack of education. Less than half of Haitian kids have the opportunity to go to school, and of those only 30% of Haitian kids will make it past the 3rd grade. We often forget how important education is because every single child is required to go to school in the United States. Kids who don't go to school are stuck in the life they live. Solutions to education in developing nations is mostly funding. Kids in Haiti dream of going to school they just don't have access to education, so we need to rise up teachers and school supplies. 

5) Religious freedom restrictions are among one of the world's biggest problems because around 5.3 billion people suffer harsh treatment for their religion of choice. In America we often take for granted that we can worship God, multiple gods, or no god at all. I can't imagine living in a place where I cannot worship my God freely, better yet be punished for it. The fact is 76% of people live in places with high restrictions on religion. The solution to this problem starts with better people in leadership. 

6) Terrorism is probably the world's biggest problem people associate most with right now. People are currently living in fear of ISIS. Wether they are canceling study abroad plans, avoiding airplanes, or just acting a fool, people are terrified to live their lives. The solution to this problem goes back to corrupt leaders, and we can aide in this by no longer supporting dictators who fund terrorism. 

7) The widespread use and manufacturing of bombs has become a major issue because they have become a much more normal weapon used in war and terrorist attacks. Bombs are a weapon of mass destruction and have the ability to kill so many people at once. The solution to this problem starts with great leaders, and could possibly entail a ban of the production of anything used in lethal weapons. 

8) The lack of social justice is a problem we see often in America and in other places around the world as well. Although many would like to think racism is a thing of the past, it is something we still see in the work force, in police interactions, and politics. The solution to this problem is a bit more complicated because it takes a change of heart, but it also starts with the people in charge of hiring,  acceptance offices at our universities, etc. 

9) Corrupt government employees around the world is a huge problem. Change typically starts with the government because they have the funding, the leadership, and the resources to make things happen. We are so lucky to live in a place where our government is working to make our lives better because in so many other countries the government is the main cause of their oppression. The solution to this is the emergence of democracies world wide. 

10) Decline in international adoption rates is a big problem because children in other countries often do not get placed into a foster care system like we have in the US. People have jumped on the "adopt only from America" train, but don't realize that orphanages in third world countries are funded purely by donations most of the time and don't have the space or resources to properly care for all the babies there. Having first hand seen what an Orphanage in a developing nation looks like, I was able to understand desperate need of good homes for these babies. They are properly nourished, bathed, and cared for at the orphanage because they don't have enough adults, resources, etc. The only solution is to encourage adoption in general, to go overseas to educate women about birth control, and to help implement better care for orphans in developing nations. 

My Week 2 Reading Relfections

The thing that surprised me the most was how many of the myths about entrepreneurship I believed to be true. I think I to some extent believed every single myth they addressed. I think the myth I was most stunned by is that entrepreneurs aren't always inventors, in fact a lot of them just have innovative ideas. I think this myth is what makes people separate themselves from the field of entrepreneurship the most because we often associate inventors with geniuses and prodigies. We often believe the lie that you cannot learn to be an entrepreneur, but are born an inventor, genius, prodigy, etc.

Another thing that took me by surprise was that the risk associated with entrepreneurship is actually pretty moderate. The texts described the research and excessive planning that went into new ventures and how much that minimizes the risk for entrepreneurs.

The concept of fair trade as opposed to free trade confused me because the text did not really address the movement towards fair trade. The text mostly described the problems people see with free trade, but did not give much insight in to how fair trade would resolve these problems, or even really what fair trade was. I would love to read more about fair trade because global issues really interest me.

I would love to ask the author more about social entrepreneurship. How it works? what kind of profit is there in that sector of entrepreneurship? How much of the entrepreneurship field is made up of social entrepreneurs? I would love to learn everything there is to know about social entrepreneurship because it is a trend in the twenty first century and because helping people is my passion. I want to hear stories of social entrepreneurs experiences, so that I may learn and be inspired by their ventures.

I don't think I disagreed with the author but rather a statement in the text that in no way reflected the authors thoughts. I disagreed with us moving toward a different trade system because small factories in America were shutting down due to work  being outsourced to neighboring countries. As American's we tend to think nationally, not globally, and that affects the way we care for other people. We have the opportunity to provide jobs to people in other countries who often need it more than us, yet we jump at the opportunity to take that away and help ourselves.

My Bug List

1) When my Snap chat glitches and wont let me open the application. I usually have to delete the whole application and re-download it to fix the problem.
2) When there is no parking at Starbucks on 13th street because the other stores that have no customers reserve too many spots. This bothers me because I have to park way behind and walk when there is 20 spots right in front of Starbucks that are never used by the other companies customers.
3) Plastic water bottles bug me because they are so inefficient and wasteful. Everyone could just carry their own reusable water bottle around and refill it.
4) Most of the stores at midtown bother me because they are unaccessible by car or scooter during the day because there is no parking lots for them and street parking is not lifted.
5) Products that are created to filter water but are unaccessible to the people who really need it. Water filters are such a dire need in third world countries yet so unaffordable to them.
6) A product that bugged me was my Shark Clip Watch that claimed to be able to go 200ft under water but is broken due to water damage. Their false claim really bugged me.
7) Nike Free Run shoes bother me because the name makes you believe they are great running shoes, when in reality they are unsupportive and more for style.
8) It bothers me when my Lu Lu Lemon leggings peel or the seams come undone because they are supposed to be so "well made" and I feel like I overpaid for the quality. Although they do have great customer service and usually trade in anything that is a product malfunction, the poor quality in the first place really bugs me.
9) Shatter proof glass screen covers that don't actually work are the worst. I have had two phones with the screen covers that claim only the glass on the screen cover will break, but when removed my phone was also shattered.
10) I'm often frustrated by doctors who don't have the latest technology- I feel as if I am receiving worse medical care than others.
11) Bathrooms with automatic sinks that are only triggered when your hand is right in front of the sensor. How are you supposed to wash your hands while keeping one in front on the faucet at all times? It makes no sense at all.
12) Restrooms that have automatic soap but not automatic sinks bother me because it defeats the whole purpose of having automatic soap. If you are going to pick one wouldn't you pick the sink? Another bizarre concept to me.
13) Paper towel dispensers in public restrooms that you have to manually operate. There is nothing worse than having clean hands and then touching something a million strangers have used.
14) Expensive children clothing bothers me because you are investing money into products that are only going to be used for a couple months to maybe a year before it becomes too small.
15) Animal conservationist who spend so much money saving the animals bother me because we have so many people who need food, shelter, clothing, etc. It sometimes seems as if we overlook problems in our own species and move onto others.
16) It bothers me when sustainable products such as reusable diapers are super expensive because it makes them almost inaccessible to orphanages who need them. Throw away diapers are much cheaper in the short run but super unsustainable in the long run. Orphanages need more washable diapers because it is more affordable once they have them.
17) Cheaper off brand alternatives to products that are doing huge things for people aggravate me. For example, people jumped at the opportunity to buy cheaper "Tom's" called "Bob's." Bob's took the exact shoe and business tactics as Tom's but with a more cynical approach. Bob's shoes are not driven by an experience like Tom's, but rather by money and the proven success of philanthropic products.
18) It bugs me how people who do so much for people get paid nothing. Social workers, youth leaders, non-profits employees could have some of the hardest jobs yet are getting no fiscal benefits. It makes me feel as if we put little emphasis on what really matters, people. Our society is so money driven that we don't even do what we love anymore in fear of being poor or not socially respected.
19) When people compare the needs of the poor people in America to the needs of people in third world countries. They are not the same. People try to keep our attention within our own country when in reality the poorest of the poor are usually way better off in America then society as a whole in a third world country.
20) The lack of stimulation of third world countries economies. Why are we so against helping people? Why is it so bad to outsource some of our work to people who need work more than us? Why are we so selfish?

It was really difficult to come up with "bugs" that were about products or tangible things. I found it interesting that most of the things that bug me have more to do with humanity and less with tangible things like the "McDonald's drive thru." I could of easily written you a list of things that are wrong with people, you know, the stuff we can't really fix.

My Entrepreneurship Story

The only real experience I have had with entrepreneurship is through one of my family friends who started his own bottled alkaline water company. Kolton and his partner actually thought up the idea while in an entrepreneurial class at Baylor. They were both student athletes and wanted to create a health drink and donate some of the profits to a local charity, A Glimmer of Hope. It was so cool to hear about a friend of mine who created something out of his two passions, sports and service. I think Kolton's success with Whol-E Water taught me that if I want to be successful as an entrepreneur, I have to create something out of my passions rather than just something that will make me money!

I took ENT because I have always been interested in the idea of creating something of my own, but I never really knew how in the world I would go about it. Like Kolton, I have always had a passion for serving people and my dream is to create a water filter or sanitation system that would be affordable and accessible for people in third world countries. I hope to learn about realistic ways to approach my huge dreams throughout this course.

Katie's Introduction

Hi class! My name is Katie Austin and I'm from Austin, TX (yes, I own the city lol). I enjoy traveling, being with people, laughing, and YoungLife. My family is really awesome. My little brother, Hudson, is my best friend in the whole entire world. He is the coolest, cutest, most athletic and handsome 8 year old you will ever meet. I am a marketing major but I don't quite know if i'll ever pursue a career in that field. My dream job is to be a youth minister but there are a lot of hurdles to jump over before I can do that. I have travelled to a lot of different countries in my life, but my favorite place to travel is Haiti. I actually lead a short term mission trip there every May through YoungLife. Haiti has truly stolen my heart. I love the people, their faith, the culture, and building international relationships.

Katie Austin - Week 2- Entrepreneur's Mantra

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