Reading Reflection - Week 15

1) There were a number of surprises that came to me throughout this article. The biggest was probably how this giant multi-million dollar company lost so much money and went through so many terrible trials and tribulations. 

2) The section about "loyal gangs" was confusing to me. I didn't quite understand its purpose and why it was created. 

3) How did recruiting women who wanted loans make entrepreneurs successful?

Why are loyal gangs necessary?

4) There's nothing that I disagree on in this article, it was largely based on reflection of past actions. 

Final Reflection - Week 15

What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

The most formative experience was writing my venture concept. I put a lot of time and energy into creating that post and I'm very proud of it. In the future if I ever decide to pursue my idea I know I'll be able to reference that post. I have confidence in what I described and now I presented my idea. My most joyous experience was going out to interview costumers live. It was very fun and spur of the moment and I enjoyed interacting in person with others. Even though it was hard at times I found it to be very rewarding. I'm most proud of myself for actually doing every single post. There's a lot of times I thought about just skipping an assignment because I could make up the points. But I wanted to get the most out of this class so I stuck it out and did all of them. 

At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset? 

I don't consider myself an entrepreneur. I'm not confident in what my knowledge is in its entirety. I do however feel comfortable in my ability to talk about the subject of entrepreneurship and what goes into the process. I think that my mindset is aligned with entrepreneurship. I think about things differently now when it comes to business, and to be honest I didn't think I would. 

What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend that students truly give this class a chance. I understand the assignment are tedious and sometimes abstract - but it's more interesting than a normal teaching style. Make sure you do your assignments on time and actually try! 

Elevator Pitch No. 4 - Week 15

Wow, of course the video preview makes me look crazy. 

Anyway, since my last pitch I've tried to make it more cut to the chase. I can't be wordy at times when it comes to explaining my product, but I think this time I got it just right. 

Venture Concept No. 2 - Week 15

My product Wheel Watch, was created for one purpose, protection. Protection from theft, which is an unfortunate occurrence in this day and age. What my company aims so sell goes beyond the system that includes our bike lock, GPS tracking device, and corresponding app. We are giving people back their peace of mind, and allowing them to let go off the fear of having their personal property stolen from them. Bikes can be taken from anyone, you don't have to be a professional athlete with a bike over $5,000 for someone to decide they want to take it from you. Bike theft can happen on college campuses with bikes that range from $50, to even $5,000 like the high end athletes, there's no discrimination. Which, unfortunately, puts many of us at risk. 

Therefore, I engineered the idea for Wheel Watch, a problem solver for people in need of protection and confidence that their items are safe and secure. Our system is easy to operate, but that doesn't mean that the technology is of any less quality. Our locks are made of the same materials as seen in common Kryptonite locks, our GPS tracking devices are weather proof, and our IOS/Andriod App is up and running, ready for those who interested in buying our system. The use of our products is easy enough for a toddler to operate, but offers the security that you know you can trust. In addition, we offer excellent costumer service and offer a warranty for all of our products in case you run into any issues. I am working to keep the costumer happy, and whatever we can do to improve their experience with our product, we will try to incorporate. 

Many people have asked, "What is it, that makes Wheel Watch different from any other lock system on the market?" Well, I have many answers for you. First of all, as I have perviously mentioned this system includes three parts: the lock, the GPS tracking device, and a code for a person to download our app from their respective app marketplace. Wheel Watch is offering this system at an incredible price of $75. I think that because we are able to keep the price low, while offering so many products at once really allows the costumer to feel as though they are getting the most for their money. I aim to make my product as affordable as I can possibly make it, while also incorporating the highest grade materials for it's market. As a college student myself, I want to be able to buy a product that offers me security without robbing my bank account. Aside from the price, there are multiple other bonuses that will make prospective buyers choose our product. Our bike locks have trip wires and heat sensors inside of them, meaning, once you have indicated from your app that you are "away" from you bike and someone tries to tamper with the lock, a silent alarm will be sent off sending you a notification on your phone by the app. Additionally, I have brain stormed the idea of even having a sound alarm in the future to further deter the thief. In the event that the thief has made it away with your bike, there is still the GPS tracking device which is securely mounted to the frame of your bike allowing you to see where it is headed in real time. From this point, the bike owner can make the necessary arrangements to alert the authorities and retrieve their property back. 

For these reasons, I think costumers will be willing to try our systems and see how their experience is with it. At it's beginning I hope to travel and give demonstrations of our products, allowing costumers to interact and try the product for themselves before committing. I have even considered the idea of allowing some people to use Wheel Watch for a "trial period," and coupling with them to hear their reviews and how we can improve on our design, function, and overall experience. We want the costumer to feel at ease knowing they have Wheel Watch. I don't doubt that there will be a lot of skepticism with people who are first introduced to my concept, but I hope that by allowing them to see our device "in action" they will consider it a purchase worth investing in. There's no secret that a standard bike lock would be less expensive, but it can't offer the added bonuses that come with the Wheel Watch system. We hope by being very interactive with our costumers that we will be able to close any gaps of weakness of vulnerability that are seen with our concept. There may be products that exist with a GPS tracking device, or even an app, but there is not once that bundles all that Wheel Watch has to offer, especially for it's affordable price of $75. Other systems of this nature can run into the hundreds, my business is about protection, not running costumer's bank accounts dry. 

Hopefully, in time Wheel Watch will reach the point where we would need to relocate into a larger space. Therefore, I would hope to hire an entire team of workers who share the idea of providing protection for the personal items of people who own bikes. We might even need a space similar to a warehouse, to store materials, manage them, and package them ourselves. I don't feel as though we need to take the direction of our sourcing our products and production. I want there to be as much as a connection as there can possibly be between our products in the "warehouse" and the products in the hands of the costumer. Cutting out the middle man, and not having a big factory handling all of this can be one way in which we do so, even if we expand beyond the size of a small scale warehouse I would want to preserve the feel and attention to detail that a personal touch can give. 

2. 

"Hey Kristiana,

I think you have a great idea going and I love how you know what your business holds. I think there's a lot of potential and the alarm system would really make your product stand out. Keep up with the great work and hope your business succeeds."

"Your venture concept was rather interesting, Kristiana! I really like your product of the Wheel Watch. You hit all the points of the product’s materials and any questions a potential consumer may have. I really like that how you explained the different materials that went into the product like the waterproof tracking device."

3) Describe how you changed your venture concept, based on what you learned from the feedback.

All of my posts were positive - there was nothing that I could change. I'm being honest! They all told me my post was well thought out and showed the vision for my business. (AKA I'm not trying to get out of writing a new venture concept idea.) I did take a fair amount of time writing it out, and I'm glad that people liked it. 

Going for Google Gold - Week 14

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimiation (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 
I tried to search for posts and reviews relevant to my object. I wanted to view other people's opinions to see where I could be improve my product and us their criticism to help my business grow. 

2) What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?
"Lock reviews" "gps technology" "bike owner complaints" "rate of theft in Gainesville" 
These searches were used multiple times to obtain results that could be used to help the success of my business. Using search engines for these keys words allowed me to quickly answer the questions I had in mind. 

3) How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?
Truthfully I don't feel like I used social media at all to enhance my SEO efforts. There wasn't a need for me to do so. If I wanted to I could have used something like Twitter to generate a poll about questions I had unanswered but I preferred to used google. 

4) What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?
My most viral post most likely was my venture concept. I think this was the one with the most traffic because it was the one which thoroughly explained my concept. It allowed me to put everything on the table for people to see all at once and allowed for outsiders to understand my whole concept at once. This post could be used as a point of reference for everything else. 

5) Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?
Yes. I am always very impressed with Google and other search engines. They always seem to find what I'm looking for within the first two or three links. I never really have to ever go beyond the first page. 

Reading Reflection - Week 14

1. The biggest surprise I found from this week's reading was the section in Ch. 3 about a timeless lesson. I'm always skeptical about these little tidbits of knowledge. I did however, find it quite insightful for the section. It was interesting to see how many new teams were longed by Signodes I-Teams and how they were all successful. 

2. The part I was confused by was the social entrepreneurs topic. A lot of this language was a foreign concept to me, it could have been that I wasn't really interested in this section. I found the part about agents confusing. 

3. One question i would ask is which of the many topics of social enterprise do they find the most important?  Another question i would ask is what about ecosystem service make sit so appealing?

4.  I do not agree with the section concerning ethical issues. There are numerous ways to incorporate ethical issues into business without jeopardizing any party involved

Very Short Interview No. 2 - Week 14

From where you stand now, what is your impression of that initial interview?

My impression of the initial interview, is the same as I reflected in my response for my post. I think the information she provided is still relevant, important, and things that a person who desires to run their own business should know. If anything, I've actually learned some of the things she expected me to learn in this class. I've learned about making a business model, what goes into the first steps of creating a business - how to make a budget and have realistic expectations. 

My entrepreneur for this interview is the owner of "Yomii Frozen Yogurt," Michelle Wang. Michelle, and her husband own two frozen yogurt chains: one located in Orange City, Fl, and the other in Palm Coast, Fl. Combined they have been running their business for over 10 years. The qualities that make them entrepreneur's are that they started and created their own business, they manage all of the companies finances on their own, and they are continually working to grow and expand their company.

Here's there website: http://www.yomiifrozenyogurt.com

**Fun Fact: her Orange City location was where I had my first job, I was one of the first people she hired when I was 16**

1. What have you learned from your biggest failure?
Another failure will probably happen in the future.
But, truly, what I have learned is that it's okay to ask for help. I take a lot of pride in the ability to do a lot of the things for my business myself, and even asking for the help of my husband can be hard. I've learned that I can't be the best at everything despite the fact that I think I can. Also, no one expected me to be someone who knows it all. I guess thats just an idea I put in my own head. There is always going to be someone willing to help you, if you ask for help. 
2. What is your favorite part about owning your business?
I get to have as much frozen yogurt as I want, within reason. I also feel an incredible amount of pride, especially when I see families come in again and again with their friends and children. I am proud of the fact that we has grown within the community and that there are people who are excited to come back to us, and who are also able to remember us. Developing relationships with costumers is something that I really value. I remember the people who come in all the time, and sometimes I even give them my discount!
3. What do you hope will come in the future for your business? What are the dreams you have? 
I hope to expand to another location, I'm unsure yet of where I'd like to go. We have one location in Palm Coast, and one in Orange City. It's hard to commute back here everyday from Palm Coast so maybe I will see if there a medium between the two, where there's a need for a store like ours. Aside from expansions, I just hope to continue to thrive in the areas where we are already established. I want our store to continue to be popular among middle school, teenage, and college students, as well as families. We want to appeal to as many people as well can, with the hopes that they will recommend us to their friends and family!

How far have I come? 
I think I've come quite a way. I didn't really know much about business development and strategy before I took this course, and although I don't consider myself a master of either of these topics by far - I've learned a lot that I didn't expect about entrepreneurship. I am unsure of some of the things that I talk about when speaking about entrepreneurship, most of it is still pretty foreign, but I guess I speak with a high level of command that makes people believe that what I'm saying is correct. I don't know if my interview thought that I have advanced at all, I know the direction of my questions had changed but she might have still thought they were "standard" interview questions. I think that she was happier to answer these questions because they were diverse and allowed her to show more of herself and her passion for her business. 

Reading Reflection - Week 13

1) The biggest surprise to come from this weeks reading was the very long checklist for analyzing a business. I was surprised to see that it was quite long, and rather intricate. I understand that there is a lot that goes into "analyzing" a business, but the specified instructions from this list were much more detailed than I expected them to be. 

2) The section I found that was confusing was the part about section addressing adjusted values. I didn't quite understand the benefit of this and why only assets where listed in these values. I was in need of further clarification. 

3) What are the benefits of addressing adjusted values?

Why is the price/earning approach seen not seen as a benefit to entrepreneurs?

4) I disagree with the part of the chapter that talked about start up costs. I don't think that people should try and avoid costs during the beginning of their business. When you initially begin a business, I understand not wanting to spend money on things that don't benefit the business- but you definitely need to spend money when you first start up. What you invest in the beginning could make or break the success of your business. 

Celebrating Failure - Week 13

Hmmm. A time in this past semester in which I failed. Let's see. Where to begin. Academically, I've been very diligent on myself so I don't have anything to report on that regard. But, I guess in terms of my personal life there have been quite a few things I have failed at. One in particular that I have been trying to work on despite numerous attempts of trying to change, would be making myself and my interests a priority. I am the kind of person who puts the needs, wants, and desires of other people before myself. I'm not saying to sound like a saint (or for some cry of attention aka angel halo emoji), or even trying to sound the worlds best person. I'm saying it because I see that its a failure in myself, and I have tried to get away from this behavior but I always end up circling back. 

I enjoy making other people feel happy, important, special... all the warm and fuzzy feelings. But, it's also important to recognize and celebrate these things in myself, and to be honest, I almost never do. I don't think it's because I want myself to be unhappy, I'm not trying to take all the sunshine out of my life. But for whatever reason, in my brain, it's more important for me to make sure other people are happy before I make sure I am. Or I guess, I find it more rewarding than doing thing to make myself happy. (Which sounds super dark and twisty, which I guess it is.. But I'm not a rain cloud. I promise.) I think of it like one of those "cost-benefit analysis" type scenarios, there are more benefits for doing things for other people than doing them for myself, because there is a bigger long-term benefit.

I've learned so many things from this "personality trait" I'm unsure of what else to call it. It's not bad or selfish to do special things for yourself that make you happy. It's nice to do them in actuality. I've tried to live the whole "treat yourself" lifestyle but eventually that mentality fades out, and I resort to my original ways. 

I think the ability to recognize failure in yourself is something everyone has the ability to do. Even the rare amount of people who say "I'm perfect" are lying, and know in their hearts that they've failed at something at least once in their life. Failure is as common as success. I don't think you can have one without the other. They're building blocks, and help you to become a better person. Of course the feeling of failure, isn't as wonderful as the feeling of success. But, I've always been a believer of needing to feel your lows, to truly know the value of your highs. (How inspirational...)

But honestly, failure sucks. It's embarrassing/hurtful/all the bad feelings. But if you don't fail, you'll never grow. I think I handle failure like most people my age.. which would consist of masking it to most of the world and maybe sharing my failures with one or two people. Who wants all the things they've done wrong put out on display, for everyone to criticize? Not me. I deal with it internally, typically I'll journal or write on a blog that I have. I don't like talking about it with other people, it brings back that uncomfortable feeling. Also, often times everyone says the same thing "oh, it'll be okay." That's kind of hollow in my opinion, and it doesn't do much to help me. 

I don't know if this class has helped me with my perspective of failure, it's helped me in other ways. I don't think I'm any more or less willing to take a risk than I was before I took this class, I have always for the most part been a pretty talkative and outgoing person. I think that this class have made me more willing to talk to strangers than I was before, especially after all the costumer interviews we have had to do. I don't quite consider that taking a risk though. 

My Exit Strategy - Week 13

(The chow chow is sad because he doesn't want to leave his business idea. He knows he can't handle the demands of a full time job, and the responsibilities of overseeing an entire business - but he doesn't want to separate himself completely from the venture concept.)

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

Truthfully, I intend to keep my business a hobby on the side. I don't think I would ever completely walk away from it, unless it became a financial burden. But it wouldn't be the center of my life. My aspirations for my career are not related to my venture concept, but I am still passionate about its purpose and ability to help people. If anything, I would maybe just hire people "to do the work for me," while still keeping the rights/patent/license to the product. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I suppose I already answered this question, with my previous response. But, to further elaborate, I want this exit strategy to keep a link to the business. I don't really have the emotional, "this idea is my baby" attachment to my product, but I do think that over time it will still serve a purpose, and also have a costumer basis that still requires this product. Also, having a manager for my business allows me to not have to deal with a lot of the paperwork/responsibilities while still having some control over the concept. I'm not letting go of my rights or connections, but I would definitely need someone with more expertise than I have to oversee all of the business/financial concerns. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

My exit strategy hasn't really influenced my other decision for my concept. I plan on keeping the premise the same as its always been, but I'm not going to be able to oversee all the logistics while also juggling my full time career. The opportunity created from my product will be useful for as long as there are bikes on college campuses, or in big cities- which I hope is a very long time. 

What's Next - Week 12

Target Market:

In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

To grow my existing market I need to talk about how I'm able to keep costs down. This was a concern shared among two people I interviewed. I also need to add some sort of visual graphic to my concept so that it's no so plain looking. Another concern, was how I'm going to retail my item - whether I'm my own company or website, or if I'd partner with other bike companies. 

To be quite honest, I'm not sure how I'm able to keep the costs down at the moment. I would probably start off my saying that my business isn't trying to make a 300% profit off of something, when the materials aren't very expensive. A lot of companies hike up their prices, but I'm trying to keep the prices as reasonable as I can. I have photos of prototypes that I've made before, so  I could easily insert those photos, as long as some charts that compare my products to its competition based on price/size/efficiency. Last, I could easily add another section to my venture idea talking about how/where I will have my product and where it will be available for costumers to purchase. 

Alternative Market: 

 What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? 

What surprised me the most, was the ability for this "idea" to be implemented is so many other markets. It seems as though the possibilities are endless. I didn't have any expectations of assumptions honestly, I was actually quite interested to see what other people could come up with in terms of an alternative market. All of the markets mentioned: cars, laptops, purses/backpacks are attractive markets - but for my product bikes are the best application. With modification to some components to my product I feel as though these other markets could generate a lot of money for my company. Although I would definitely need a larger source of resources. 

Reading Reflection - Week 12

1. The biggest surprise for my was the nature of the special intricate planning and pattern that a person needs to follow. It's very strategic, there are certain ways things have to be presented and accomplished by. I thought seeing these processes was very interesting, and I also enjoyed the diagram and its illustrations of these processes. 

2. The part that confused me the most was the section about fatal visions in the section that death with strategic planning. The author was a bit vague in my opinion about the importance of strategy, and didn't list any true disadvantages to not using strategic planning. As a whole this topic was unclear for me. 

3. How do strategic approaches benefit companies universally?

How does intricate planning eliminate the potential risk factor of an entrepreneur?

4. The topic I disagreed upon dealt with figure 13.4 which presented the "move quickly statement." My opinion is that if a business takes a risk, it should be calculated and done in an efficient manner. This way, you minimize the amount of potential damage that you can cause the business as a whole.