30A Final Reflection

Throughout this semester I've had the joy of learning a lot, typing a lot and reading a lot. All of these were both painful and pleasurable. From interviewing people on my project to reading books it was definitely some work but well worth it. I did not look forward to reading honestly but since it was interesting it wasn't that bad and I'm glad I did. Everything that was hard in tis class I learned the most from. 

I found the experience of going out and interviewing people for the first time as most memorable. It was a really odd and awkward thing to do but the feedback I got was very amiable in shaping my vision. The best memory of the class were watching the video lecture and all the times Dr. Pryor would rag on the grog house. Im pretty proud of myself as being a very shy person doing the elevator pitches and interviewing people and by the end I got pretty good at doing so. 

I think I have definitely grown my entrepreneurial mindset, I see things differently in the world now and look at problems as opportunity to create something to meet that unmet need now. Every day it seems I'm having another idea that could potentially solve an unmet need. I definitely do not see myself as a real entrepreneur but my mindset is in fact growing. 

One recommendation I would have is start out with something you are passionate about and it makes the whole thing much easier. the assignments don't suck if you like what you are learning about.  Get as many points as possible in the beginning so you have them just in case and embrace the mindsets mentioned in the beginning as the whole class is then made easier.  Slowly ease into an entrepreneurial mindset and the assignments will start to click and really make sense. 

http://sportstao.com/the-trouble-with-finish-line-guys/

29A Venture Concept #2

Venture Concept #2 

My venture is based largely off the opportunity of people in need ad their willingness to pay for help. People are either too lazy, too far away or unable to secure the products I am providing and therefore are willing to hire me to help or deliver those services. Geographically my market is low lying and casual areas that are prone to flooding and being hit by hurricanes. My service relies on hurricanes coming through areas and helping afterwards.  Currently customers are satisfying their need by either doing without the materials or risking their life and property to go and retrieve them for theirselves.  This opportunity is very big and shows promise all across the southeastern united states and even around the world as they are affected by natural disasters as well. Looking into the future there is a chance to expand from just hurricanes to natural disasters across the board. This window of opportunity will also well into the future. I haven't seen any similar all in one services in my research as far as storm preparations and post storm delivery/ resource services so I think I have something pretty unique here. There is room for others to come in and use the same idea but I strive to be the biggest and the best. I would sell my pre storm home preparation services for an hourly rate anywhere from 50-75 dollars an hour and then sell resources or services post storm at a 50% markup rate and similar hourly rates. Customers will hire me because they are unable to reach their property in time or just need help in general. People are willing to pay for convenience and that is where I come in. There is great room for competitors but if I get in fast enough and strong enough I can build a customer base and name for my business. Looking into the future I would constantly be observing how I do business and what kind of returns and areas that are lacking or those that areas need expansion in. order to make the most of the times in which my services are needed. That is one downfall of my plan as some years I may be packed and some years I may have minimal business so I need to be aware of that and make the most when I can.  My most important resource will be building relationships and providing a personal customer base so that i am the best couch for my customers. I want to expand into all natural disasters not only hurricanes. This venture could be the base in order of rme to provide resources for many people post natural disasters and could turn into a worldwide thing. 

I learned alot from the feedback the feedback I received my venture could be seen as capitalizing on the weak and needy which I can seee how one would think that at first glance but my business is much more than that. I am capitalizing on the people willing to pay and have those services done for them rather than do it themselves. So once they learn more they are willing to listen. Another point that came up was what do I do if I miss out on a storm or it is a year where not many storms hit the southeastern US. I would brace for this by capitalizing as much. as possible when possible and preparing adequately for these slow times in providing other services as well. 

I tweaked my venture concept to be more open with my customers and the community on exactly what I'm doing and how I'm doing so. Also I looked into off season activities and ways to produce income in years when there are less storms or not in my area. 

http://www.tuvie.com/bmw-venture-concept-car-by-chris-hammersley/

28A Your Exit Strategy

The exit plan that I plan to make would be to look into my potential venture further and plan on possibly making it into something. I have a real passion for my venture and feel that there is definite need for it in the real world. I think I would stay with the business and run it for a good while and retire off of it. Being local and able to be helped by the service would make me want to stay involved and not sell it off and lose touch. If my kids were willing they could in fact take over the business and provide for their kids with it. This exit strategy feels like the best option and has certain potential for expansion and real execution into the future. The exit strategy has allowed me to better mold my decisions and who I have reached out to learn more about my potential venture. I see things in both the long and short run points of view rather than just the short term for the class. This mindset has allowed me to better plan for the future.

Reading Reflection No. 3

For the third reading reflection I looked at "How to fail at almost everything and still win big" by Scott Adams.  Throughout this book one thing sticks out to me, he is always telling you to be observant and look at the things around you. This makes alot of sense to me because that is a great way to learn. You truly can learn lots by slowing down and seeing whats going on without you. This class teaches you to keep persevering and learning from around which is the entire theme of this book. To design an assignment off of this book I would have students look around in their life and identify things where slowing down and looking would teach them things.  I was surprised in this book by just how much you can learn, and the improvements you can make to yourself by just being observant.

26A Celebrating Failure

One time this past semester I failed was on my first big test of my UF career. While I did not exactly fail my first intermediate economics test of the semester I definitely did not do as well as I thought. I felt comfortable with the material and ready for the test but boy was I wrong. I did all the preparation materials and practice problems but it wasn't enough. Being the first of my tests for the semester didn't help the fact either. I learned from this experience that even if you think you are ready you are probably not, going into future tests I made sure I could do the problems forwards, backwards and with my eyes closed. The more comfortable you are with the material the better the end result is. Failure is inevitable in life and especially in ventures where the future is unknown. But on the bright side the way you learn the best and the most is when you go and do it, whether the outcome is good or bad. This class has made me realize that failure is inevitable in life and especially when starting a business, to make the best of it you learn as much as possible and learn from those failures so that moving forward you are able to minimize the number of failures.

23A Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resources in my venture:
-knowledge of hurricanes and effects
-familiarity of customer base in area
-knowledge and tools to prepare for storms
-contacts in the area
-actual storm aid and resources
-contacts I have made through past assignments
-personal contact and trust of customers
-ability to save peoples houses
-financial backing of previous work
-workers and family to help

For the knowledge and hurricanes and effects there isnt much exclusive to my venture however this information will play a huge role in to what preparations to make and possible effects levels on my customers. The familiarity of customer base in my area is pretty exclusive and special as I was born around here and know the type of people that love around here. As my venture possibly expands I will need to do more research into customers of other areas. The knowledge and tools to prepare for the storm is by no means rare but is very valuable as far as my venture plans go, it is a main part of the services that I provide. The contacts in my area are probably one of the most valuable and inimitable resources I have available to me and my venture. This is the whole basis or my venture and pretty exclusive to me and my venture itself. I have intel into the are that is not available to many others and that is what sets me apart. Before storms I have stockpiles of relief which help me in my plan to execute as quickly and thoroughly as possible. The contacts I have made are very valuable as the allow me to get better deals and learn more specifics about the individuals I am marketing to. The knowledge and ability to save peoples houses is a great and  valuable ability tome and my business. Through the work I have previously done I am able to bankroll that into new ventures and further build and snowball my business. My employees and family are willing to lend a hand whenever necessary so that is another resource that sets my venture apart from my competitors.

The most important resource to my venture is my knowledge of local resident sand their housing situation. This is vital to my business because it allows me to cater specifically to their income and residence levels to provide the most amount of help while maximizing profits.

21A Reading Reflection No. 2

The main theme of the book was really what the title says, it talks about your mindset and how you can change your mindset in order to better yourself as a person and business owner. The ideal mindset noted by the author would be the growth mindset. It is a mindset in which sets you up best for growing in life and your business.

This book connects with what we are learning in this class by talking about how if we were to take our business ideas in to the real world what type of mental preparation we would need in order to be successful. So it really builds on the ideas of the class.

My assignment I would create would be to identify the mindset you currently have and then to compare it to the ideal growth mindset and then the last part of it would be to plan out your business and the future with both your and the ideal mindsets in order to see the differences the mindsets can have on a business.

The biggest shocker or surprise to me was what in fact the growth mindset does. It allows you to appreciate and be positive in what you are doing no matter how it turns out. So it helps get rid of the negativity in order rot allow you to be more successful.