Week 15 Reading Reflection

Good Afternoon folks,

Back at it again with the reading reflection. This week our reading was "Business Basics at the Base of a Pyramid" on the Harvard Business Review. With that, let's get started!

What Surprised You?

I was amazed that SKS Microfinance was profitable. When you explain the original business idea, it sounds like a charity or a non-profit, but to believe it is extremely profitable is amazing.

What Was Confusing?

I was confused with to how he was able to start the company all by himself. He did not mention bringing any workers or friends a long when he started. Typically Micro-financing companies need a good amount of manpower, so I was curious to know how he handled the beginning of his business. The article kind of skipped the beginning.

Questions for the Author?

1. Will you ever expand your company to other poor companies, or just remain throughout India?

2. Do you think your next generation of Microfinance will catch on to other companies?

Disagreements?

There is nothing I disagree with, the company has an excellent business model and the article is well written and clear

Final Reflection

Good Afternoon folks,

This is one of the last posts for Entrepreneur Weekly for the semester. This week we are going to go through all of the memories throughout the semester and really recollect with with good, the bad, and the ugly. Then I am going to leave some advice for those taking this class next semester. With that, let's get started!

1. There were so many experiences throughout the semester so it is really tough to pick just a couple to mention but my some of the best experiences were the interviewing customers and free money. I love meeting new people and it was really fun to talk to random people about my company and hear their feedback. Interviewing and recording is definitely something I will remember forever since I often go back through old photos and memories to recollect.  In addition, completing my venture concept was surprisingly fun. It was really cool to see my idea come together. It was tough to consistently keep up with the reading reflections and some of the other assignments.

2. After taking this class, I really do feel as if I have developed the entrepreneurial mindset. At work I often find myself identifying problems and developing solutions to make my company a better place. Whenever I deal with anything annoying I constantly think of new ideas of how it could be better. This class has made me realize that I am entrepreneur and it has convinced me to explore starting my own company sometime down the road.

3. For those taking this course in the future, I recommend giving it your all for every assignment. You get out of this class what you put into it, and although at times it may be tough, giving it your all will make it much more enjoyable. I also recommend getting your assignments done early. It is a lot more enjoyable to spend time on these assignments instead of doing them last minute before they are due.  In order to foster the mindset, make sure to be open minded during every assignment. Some things may seem silly or dumb but they help you become a better person in the end. You may not realize it while you are doing it but you will in retrospect. You should also try and practice things outside of the required work. Whether you are complaining about something you find annoying or talking new ideas with your buddies, creativity and a mindset take practice, and if you really want to foster it you need to adopt it outside of the classroom.

I hope this helps for those of you taking this class next semester and I wish you all the best on your journey's!

Elevator Pitch 4

Good Afternoon folks,

This is our fourth and final elevator pitch. I made sure to work on making it smoother and really going into detail about my company. The video is below, let me know what you think.

Venture Concept Number 2

Good Afternoon folks,

This week we are going to discuss my venture concept in depth for the second time. I know that I have mentioned it before, but now I am actually going to put it all together and see what happens. This time I really tried to go more in depth and see what was not clear. I think this time around it is more put together and easier to understand. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Summary:

My venture concept is a company where you can rent out watches for a monthly service fee. My target customers would be young adults living in the suburbs or near large cities. Customers can order watches online or utilize our mobile app.

Opportunity:

There are millions of college students and young adults across the United States that are unprepared to dress up for nice occasions such as job interviews and weddings. This reason is not because of ignorance of proper dress code but because of lack of money. Many people are just trying to scrape by the first few years into their career. Many young adults are not really worried about luxury items like watches and earrings. As we move on accessories like watches are beginning to make a comeback in the fashion industry. Adding a nice watch to an outfit can really be the cherry on top in winning over somebodies first opinion. Many of my potential customers will be young adults in there 20s to mid 30s and living near larger cities where dressing up is more prevalent. Any sort of city or suburb to a city are where a majority of my customers will live as many people try and begin their career in a city. Currently, customers are taking on debt, borrowing watches from friends, or not wearing watches at all to deal with this unmet need for watches. Many people do not feel the need to pay hundreds of dollars for a watch when they are barely putting food on the table. Cost seems to be a large issue for customers looking to fulfill this unmet need. I believe this opportunity is larger than people believe it to be. Many people admit they would wear a watch if it was more affordable, but the cost is the driving issue. The opportunity for customers are endless, it is just whether or not somebody can lower the price without cutting profits. This large opportunity will not be here forever, as it will quickly close if nobody takes advantage and finds a way to offer affordable watches to these potential customers. In conclusion, millions of young adults would love to wear watches if they were more affordable.

Innovation:

My innovation is radically innovative, as it has never before been seen within the watch industry. I want to be able to make watches more affordable to these potential customers by creating a company that allows consumers to rent out watches for a monthly service fee. Customers can select and order different watches to rent through our website or through our app. Customers will come in whenever they would like and rent out watches for different occasions. If customers really enjoy the watch they rent, they then have the ability to purchase that watch. There will be three different levels of membership: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bronze members will pay $10 a month to be able to rent out watches up to $150 in store value. Silver members will pay $20 a month to be able to rent out watches up to $350 in store value. Gold Members will pay $40 a month to be able to rent out watches up to $1,000 in store value. Included with a monthly subscription, is free access to our mobile app, which allows you to browse through different watches and order a watch to your house on your phone. Members will be required to purchase our watch insurance for an additional $3 per month. Customers can rent up to two watches at a time. Customers cannot request a new watch until the previous one has been received. Customers can only hold onto a watch for up to one month before having to exchange it out of a new one.

Venture Concept:

My company will allow customers to customize their accessories without having to pay thousands of dollars to do so. I believe customers will easily adopt my service because it allows them to wear any watch that they like for an affordable monthly price. Because it is a brand new service within the watch industry, I would not have any immediate competitors. The only competitors I would have are the watchmakers themselves, and they are not able to compete with my variety and low price because they have to set up stores. Being able to operate solely online reduces my costs enough to lower the prices of my watches below my competitors. I would actually let me customers take advantage of brick and mortar stores to showroom the watch they would like and then rent it through my company. My pricing, packaging, and distribution of my product play a huge role in my business concept. Since my business is totally operated online, it would lower my total costs. However, consistently having to safely package and distribute the watches will play a huge role in my companies success. I would try to negotiate a deal with Amazon, FedEx, or UPS so that I will promise to utilize only that shipping company if they offer me a lower price on shipping. I would also negotiate a deal with multiple watch suppliers to receive a portion of the sales. For example, if Rolex were one of my suppliers, then Rolex would only receive additional money from me if a Rolex watch sold, not if a watch were just rented out. Watch suppliers would jump at this as a promotional method to put more watches on the market. If people see more people wearing a specific companies watch, it will influence them to buy that watch. Customers of my company will help determine the current style of watches, which could in turn benefit certain suppliers. Suppliers could also test out brand new watches through my company before actually placing them for sale.

Three Elements:

1.My company’s unfair advantage is its adaptability. Because I am not actually producing any of these watches, I can determine which ones I want to purchase for rent. If a certain watch goes out of style, I do not have to deal with that sunk cost making the watch.

2.  My next opportunity is taking advantage of other accessories. I want to add other accessories such as earrings or necklaces, and I can easily incorporate that into my companies’ strategy. Once I get a foothold on watches, I plan to expand to other popular accessories.

3. I believe in five years, I want to be able to create a demand for watches that once was not there. I want people who did not wear watches, to begin wearing watches because of my company. In ten years, I want to think about expanding my company worldwide. Targeting people all across the world. After beginning expansion, I plan to sell my first company to begin another. I want to always stay ahead of the game, and I do not want to stay in the watch game for too long before it gets too competitive to make profits.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

Good Afternoon Folks,

Back at it again with the reading reflection. This week our reading was "Business Basics at the Base of a Pyramid" on the Harvard Business Review. With that, let's get started!

What Surprised You?

I was amazed that SKS Microfinance was profitable. When you explain the original business idea, it sounds like a charity or a non-profit, but to believe it is extremely profitable is amazing.

What Was Confusing?

I was confused with to how he was able to start the company all by himself. He did not mention bringing any workers or friends a long when he started. Typically Micro-financing companies need a good amount of manpower, so I was curious to know how he handled the beginning of his business. The article kind of skipped the beginning.

Questions for the Author?

1. Will you ever expand your company to other poor companies, or just remain throughout India?

2. Do you think your next generation of Microfinance will catch on to other companies?

Disagreements?

There is nothing I disagree with, the company has an excellent business model and the article is well written and clear.

Google Gold

Good Afternoon Folks,

This week we are going to discuss the promotion of my blog and the search-ability on Google.

1. My general strategy and approach for search engine optimization for each blog post was pretty simple. I used screaming frog to help audit to optimize my site’s navigation, internal link structure and PageRank flow. Besides that, all of my content is original so it was easier to increase my search rankings.

2. I always tried to use words entrepreneur, re-dial (company name), innovative, venture concept, and others as my key words. I tried using words related to entrepreneurship for those interested or my company name for those who have heard of my company. I would change my words a little bit throughout the semester but I tried to remain consistent or else the use of key words would be pointless.

3. I mainly used Facebook to promote my blog. I was really good about posting it early on in the semester but as time went on it became more difficult to stay on top of it. At first, people were pretty receptive to my blog because it was new but as I began posting it more often less and less people tended to look at it. My most viral video was my "Interviewing Customers Number 1".

4. If you type in "tgbentrenpreneurship" you will find my blog on the first page of google, but if you type in my other key words you will not find my blog until very far down google searches. 

Very Short Interview Part 2

Good Afternoon Folks,

This week we are going to visit our old friend Tom Burgeson for our second very short interview. Unfortunately I was unable to see him in person so I had to do it over the phone. With that, lets get started!

My first interview gave me a good mindset coming into this class. I really took Tom's advice and I think it helped me get the most out of this class. I have tried to take what I can from this class and I cannot believe how far I have come. I went from an idea to something I actually want to pursue. After this class, I now understand what it takes to run your own company. I have thought of my company from all aspects and I feel like I am ready to get started.

Question 1:  In our class, we just recently talked about our exit strategy for our venture concept. What is your exit strategy for your company?

Answer 1: "Well, I have dedicated nearly my whole life to this business so there is definitely no price I can sell it for. I love my business and there is no way I can get rid of it. I plan on passing the business down to my son when I believe he is ready. I want to keep Hallmark Emblems in the family for generations to come."

Question 2: Is there any advice you can give me as I continue forward with my venture concept?

Answer 2: "Keep working and don't get discouraged. There are going to be times that you want to give up, but don't. If you keep your head up and keep working the results are eventually going to come. Believe in yourself."

Question 3: How do you manage a work life balance as an entrepreneur?

Answer: "You don't. I can be on vacation or out to dinner, and I have to constantly be ready to work. It is one of the down sides of being an entrepreneur. You just have to learn to live with it. Sometimes I get some alone time to relax but it is very rare."

Week 13 Reading Reflection

Good Afternoon folks!

This week we are going to talk about our week 13 reading.

What Surprised Me?

I was really surprised with the number of ways you can value a company. I figured there was more than one, but I was not expecting so many options. That was really interesting to me.

What was confusing?

Since there are so many methods of evaluating a company, it is confusing to understand which method or methods to combine when trying to value a company.

Questions for the Author:

1. How do you value a company that is not publicly traded?

2. Which methods are most important for your company to meet?

Disagreements:

I did not disagree with anything the author said. Really well written

Celebrating Failure

Good Afternoon Folks,

This week we are going to discuss some of my failures from this semester!

To start out, I was denied from an accelerated masters program that I had been working towards since my Freshman year. I definitely took a hit from it emotionally, as it had been apart of my college plan since arriving here at UF. I never had failed at anything major before so I did not really think about a backup plan if I did not get in. Initially, I lost a bit of purpose for being here and worried I would not be able to get a job after graduation.

Now I am planning on doing an alternate program that is a much better fit for me. I believe everything happens for a reason, and not getting accepted was probably a blessing in disguise. The career path that program offered probably would not be as enjoyable as the one I plan on doing. I learned that when one door closes another one opens. There are a plethora of opportunities throughout your life and many ways to get to the same place. I realized that it is better to try and fail then to never try at all because you become a better person because of it.

Failure tends to have a negative connotation, which is totally understandable. But people do not understand that you can make positive out of anything. Whenever you fail, you learn something about yourself and how you can make yourself a better person. I handle failure by initially being upset for a little bit. Then I go on a run and reflect on what happened and what I did. Finally, I make a plan to better myself so it doesn't happen again. This class has made me realize that I can take more risk. There are so many opportunities and all it takes is to get lucky once to strike gold. This class has taught me that calculated risk taking is an effective way to accomplish goals.

My Exit Strategy

Good Morning Folks,

Unfortunately all good things come to an end, like my company. Today I am going to tell you about my exit strategy for my venture concept.

1. For my company, I plan to sell it for a large sum of money five to ten years down the road. As much as I would love my first business, I do not know large a company selling watches can really grow. I think my best bet is to sell of the company and use some of that money to invest in a new startup.

2. I selected this particular exit strategy because I am afraid that my venture concept has a relatively low ceiling. My target audience is already relatively small and I think that once other companies begin entering my market, the competition for profits will be too much. So selling off my company five years down the road to invest in something else would be my best exit strategy.

3. When I first come up with the idea for this concept, I knew coming in that I could not stay with this company for the long run. So when making decisions about my concept, I tried to utilize other companies as much as possible so I was not stuck with a lot of sunk costs when trying to get rid of my company. I always tried to keep costs as low as possible and minimize the land I have to pay for so that I can easily exit my company without any issues.