18A – Create a Customer Avatar

Create a customer

My customer is a college aged student that goes to the university of Florida. They could or could not have a car but they do not own a scooter. They walk to class every day. They spend their weekends going to football games and spend their weeks studying, going to class, and enjoying all the fun that Gainesville has to offer. My customer is from Florida or out of state, it doesn’t matter. My customer’s race, gender, and orientation do not factor into anything. They could have children. They watch Netflix and have an apple music or Spotify subscription. They use social media like Instagram, facebook, snapchat, and twitter. Their hobbies could range from surfing to hiking to reading to vlogging.

I think I have a lot in common with this customer avatar. I think that most college students are probably similar to this and I think that they could all benefit from my idea. I don’t think that this is a coincidence because a lot of college students are similar.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/QVoczyIbgmk

After reviewing the feedback from my previous video I decided I needed to be more dynamic and dress myself better. So for this video I put on a jacket and made sure to be more dynamic. I also thought that my last elevator speech ran a little long so I trimmed this one down a bit. I think this elevator pitch is very good and I hope I can continue to improve on it.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

https://soundcloud.com/glaashouse/recording/s-2a9Myhttps://soundcloud.com/glaashouse/recording-4/s-jDpOvhttps://soundcloud.com/glaashouse/recording-3/s-d8uUphttps://soundcloud.com/glaashouse/recording-2/s-oZK1Hhttps://soundcloud.com/glaashouse/new-recording/s-Xb8W1

1.    Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. 

1. I am a very rational person who does not let emotion factor into my decision making.

2. I am a very creative person who can think outside of the box. This allows me to problem solve in unique ways.

3. I am a natural leader. People respect me and listen to what I have to say.

4. I am an excellent team player. I have great communication and team work skills and get along well with others.

5. I am also very resilient. I can take criticism well and do not let it affect my ability to do my job.

2.    Interview the five people who know you the best. 

Hudson: I have known Hudson for almost all of my life. I would venture to say that he knows me the best out of all my friends. He seemed to agree with my list and highlighted my leadership and rationality specifically.

Hayden: Hayden is a friend that I have known since I got to college. He seemed to think that my resilience was the most prominent feature. He knows how much I have struggled in school so it makes sense.

Bennett: Bennett became one of my best friends in high school. In my search for a college he truly saw my creativity. This helped me stand out on my applications from other candidates and thankfully got me into the University of Florida.

Austin: Austin is another friend of mine from college. He is a relatively new friend that I am currently working on a group project with. He noticed my team work and ability to communicate the second he met me.

Chris: Chris is a friend of mine that I played lacrosse with throughout high school. He is aware of my leadership and teamwork abilities. He has also seen my creativity on the field as I was a very good lacrosse player.

3.    Reflect on the differences. 

It turns out that my friends pretty much saw the same things in me as I saw in myself. I thought the interviews I did were correct about me. I don’t think I’d make any corrections to the list.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

3) Begin with alternative evaluation. 

Jordan: I would say in the case of your business style would not matter but quality and price certainly do. The most important factor to me is just that the umbrellas are there whenever I need it.

Sean: Style is certainly a factor that I consider. It would be cool if there was a gator or some kind of Orange and Blue design on it. Quality is not that important to me as long as it works and Price certainly matters but if I really needed the umbrella I would be willing to pay a high price.

Michelle: Quality is the most important factor to me personally. I really need something that is going to protect me from the elements. Price and style do not matter because I would be willing to pay whatever is necessary in the moment.

4) How/where do they buy?

Jordan: In store I guess? Its really not a store bought good. I would be more likely to use my Gator One because that is how the system would work.

Sean: I feel like this question is not very relevant but I would say in store, finance the purchase, and this is not a B2B purchase.

Michelle: I buy most things online but in this scenario I am buying from a vending machine type of thing. I would use my gator one to buy the temporary umbrella so I guess that would be financing it.

5) Post-purchase evaluation. 

Jordan: If the umbrella works and I stay dry then the purchase is right. If I stay dry then I the purchase of a good idea. If it doesn’t keep me dry then the purchase was a bad idea.

Sean: I would say that functionality, the ease of and timeliness of purchase would all be factors when considering the rightness of purchase. If any of these things are not met then it was a bad purchase.

Michelle: I think that if it works well then it was a good purchase. That’s the motto I always live by anyway. A bad purchase is any purchase that I later regret but I don’t see that happening here.

6) Report the findings. 

I have found that in my specific business that a lot of these questions do not pertain to me. However I did learn that many of the individuals in my interview do care about quality, style, and price. In my scenario however most people would be willing to pay a higher price because they are in need of the service very badly.

7) Draw conclusions. 

If my service came to fruition then there would be no alternative. Therefore the customers would no doubt purchase it.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

I have had to make time to do the assignments every week. It is easy to put them off until the last minute because the assignments are all due at the same time. You must develop good time management skills in order to do well in this class. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

There was one Friday where there were many assignments due at midnight and all of my friends were going to a concert. I thought about not doing some of them but I decided that I want to be successful and do well in school so I stayed in and did the assignment. This shows the tenacious attitude that I have developed over the course of this class.

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1. Do every assignment early.

2. Take your time with them

3. Read the readings provided even if you aren’t assigned them.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

What surprised you the most?

Berry Gordy owned Motown records and was for decades the most successful African American business in the country.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

He was a visionary and was responsible for creating the modern music industry in America. He is the reason Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross have careers.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

Berry Gordy was known for giving young artists unfair recording deals and taking advantage of them for his own monetary gain.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Berry Gordy was very successful in his business but his personal life was somewhat controversial. He was married 3 times but he channeled his family troubles into hard work in business.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

He was a ferocious businessman who would not settle for anything less than he thought he deserved. He would not give up in the pursuit of an artist he wanted to sign.

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

I could not understand why Berry sold Motown to Universal records. He lost Majority of the control of the company and is no longer in charge.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

How did you identify talent? The fact that Berry Gordy is responsible for the careers of many of the greatest music artists ever is unbelievable.

How does it feel to be that successful? I don’t think I will ever be as successful as Berry Gordy so I would just want to know how he feels about being who he is.

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think his opinion is was probably that hard work is the most important part of being successful.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: Students who walk to class

Interviewees: Ryan, Sarah, Chase

Ryan

I have the need to stay dry at all times. When I leave my dorm I always pack an umbrella because you never know whether or not its going to rain in Gainesville. So I guess you could say I have the need to stay dry always. In terms of when and where I guess it would just be wherever I am when it begins to rain and then when would be the same, whenever it rains.

The first thing I do when it starts raining is pull out my umbrella. I guess when I need to buy an umbrella I just search on google “umbrella.” I usually just order one off of amazon. I don’t really discuss with anyone when I buy one. I usually just get the cheapest.

Sarah

So I do not live on campus, I live at the standard so my walk to and from home is already excruciating. I hate when it rains. I always feel as if I am never prepared. It is just not realistic for me to carry around an umbrella or rain jacket every single day because my need is so sporadic. I don’t really have a solution to fix my problems. I just walk in the rain or stay where I am. I don’t think that the information search portion is relevant is relevant to me personally.

Chase

I live on campus and walk everywhere I go. I would say my need to stay out of the rain is constant. It does not rain everyday but when it does it can completely throw off my entire day. The worst part is that when I come prepared and it doesn’t rain I have had to carry around an umbrella all day. Not only do I look silly doing this but it causes a lot more trouble than you’d think.

When I want to solve this problem I usually do not consult anyone and I don’t really use an information search tool. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Report

People who share this need could all be helped out by my idea. I also have found out that it would take a lot of my vending machines to be on campus to render them effective. I also have realized that it does not rain as much in Gainesville during some parts of the year as it does others. The need for my business would be very seasonal.

Conclusion

This segment definitely has a need for my business. Although this need is sporadic and may be seasonal, I still believe that my business would thrive on a campus like Gainesville.

Idea Napkin 1

1.       I am James Davis. I am a third year finance major and am an excellent leader, communicator, and team player. My aspiration is to own my own business. I see my life revolving around my business and it giving me financial freedom to live my life as I see fit.

2.       I am offering a solution for the unpredictable weather patterns in Gainesville. It is a service that would allow students to take an umbrella from one location to the next. It would charge the users a small fee for the service.

3.       Students at the University of Florida who walk from place to place. If students take transportation from place to place then they would not use my business.

4.       No one wants to walk in the rain. Students will pay to stay dry on their way to their next location.

5.       What sets my business apart is that I have done research and my business does not exist yet anywhere else.

All of these points fit well together in my eyes. I know I would pay for this service. Just last week I was stuck in the rain and it ruined all of the belongings in my backpack. I genuinely believe that this business idea would work and make money.