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.

22A Elevator Pitch No. 3

Here is my Link:
https://youtu.be/CFTJmntLAkE

Going back to the feedback on my last elevator pitch, people commented on my dress and knowledge of my topic. Some critiques I received would be to speak up and with a little more passion as my voice was a little monotone. I can see both the critics and compliments in my past elevator pitch and where the commenters were coming from. So for this pitch I kept my dress and knowledge the same while practicing and trying a little more inflection and enthusiasm into my voice. It definitely did get easier every time and can see a huge improvement over my first elevator pitch.

19A Idea Napkin No. 2

1)My name is Emory Allnutt and I am a junior here at the University of Florida. Talents of mine I would have to say would be my ability to talk to people and perseverance or determination. My aspirations are to be in a healthy relationship and stable job by the time I am in my late 20s. Looking at my business idea I could easily see this playing a huge role in my life if it were to come to real life. I am passionate about the subject and think it is a promising enterprise.
2) I am offering a pre storm preparation service as well as post storm aid to my customers. Customers in my area struggle in preparation for storms leading to more costly damage in the following weeks and once the storm has come through they struggle in order to get the relief they need. I serve as a preparation service and transport service.
3)I am offering my services to potential storm victims in the small coastal towns along the big bend. Both before and after the storm I am able to help them with storm damage prevention and cleanup. All my customers have in common the want and need to be impacted by storms as little as possible and the need to recover quickly.
4)Customers in my enterprise will be encouraged to purchase my services because there is a potential to spare their valuables from storm damage if they are properly secured before the storm hits. I am able to tie down and properly secure these items before the storm for a small fee. I am able to spare them from the potential grief of losing valuables so I think they would be willing to pay. And after the storm they are in need and willing to pay for convenience just like anyone, so I will make money of the transportation of post storm goods.
5)I am set apart from competitors by the fact I am local and fast, may times being local can earn you a sense of trust with the customer and makes them more likely to do business. the fact that the money is earned here and put back into the community here is a great trait. I like to think my people skills are another thing I have a leg up on the competition with.

I think that all these elements do in fat fit together and all build a nice promising business opportunity. I think I can improve on how to provide post storm aid without coming across as a price gouger that rides the coat tails of storms but rather a community friend here to help. I took away from my feedback that I need to be more specific in my ideas and to do a better job of planning on how to execute my ideas, so I tired to better outline what it is I'm doing and how to do that better.

20A Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert in My Industry.
-Bob Pearce, Regional Disaster Officer, Red Cross
-Bob has been with the Red Cross for 14 years holding multiple positions as executive directors of multiple chapters and areas. He has proven himself in many many areas such as staff development and community disaster preparedness.
-He is a domain expert in my proposed business as he and his organization do the same disaster relief and supply distribution I plan on doing.
-I found bob through a little research on the Red Cross' website and narrowed him down to be the ma in charge of my area and the area of my potential clients. I reached out to him via email regarding my questions fro this assignment.
-While not exactly telling him I had a proposed business to compete with his I asked questions regarding to what they do and how they are able to the scale of it. I learned of the warehouses and special steps they take in regards to storm preparation.
-I have learned lots through my communication with him and will be able to apply the knowledge towards my proposed business and future plans.

Expert on your market
-John MacDonald, Director, Levy County Emergency Management
-John MacDonald was previously in the Air Force then served as Fire Chief with the Inglis Fire Department. He has alot of experience in public safety showing this through his many years as a local firefighter and previous years as a emergency manager.
-He is a market expert in my proposed business area as he works for the county  providing relief and managing those resources as well as he is specific to my area in the fact that he is stationed in my county.
-I found John trough a little research on local disasters relief and traced him back to the Levy County Emergency Management website. On that site I dug around and found him as the director.
-I asked him questions pertaining to any specific things the Emergency management center does in the area specifically of rthis area in able to better cater to the residents after a natural disaster. I was able to specialize to the residents in my area after learning these specific details.
I have gained very valuable knowledge pertaining to the residents in my area and how they handle the situations when they arise.

Important Supplier to my industry.
-Tom Smith, President, Customer Development and Sales Operations, Nestle Waters
-Tom Smith has more than 30 years of sales experience as well as having multiple positions within the nestle waters company. He began his career with nestle in 1985.
-Tom fills the supplier role in my business as one of the most important things after a natural disaster is clean bottle water for drinking and other tasks.
-I found Tom after some research on what is essential after a storm and then for various brands that would fit these roles.
-I learned about potential deals in bulk of bottled water through my contact and he seemed interested in the business I was pursuing.
-Having a contact with a bottled water supply company will greatly allow me to cut costs and increase profits passing a lower cost onto he consumer who is in fact the ones in need after a natural disaster.


Going into the future this networking will allow me to be more confident in networking seeing how willing to help these much more knowledgeable and successful people were. Entrepreneurs respect other entrepreneurs in the fact that they all had to start somewhere. This helped and varied from the past in the fact that I was forced to reach out and make new contacts.

18A Create a Customer Avatar

The prototypical customers I have identified so far and have done the most observing/interviewing of were my neighbors and people in the town of Suwannee. This is a small weekender fishing town on the gulf coast where the Suwannee river meets the Gulf of Mexico. The main hobbies of my potential customers would be fishing, hanging out and golf. Most tend to drive trucks or large sums used to pull their boats or other toys around. Their hobbies directly relate into why I appeal to them as I can provide a service to potentially save their river house from disaster and in the event they are affected I can provide relief to them. Most of the time they watch fishing, football or other sports channels on the tv. Some of the have later teen kids while others have kids who have graduated college and starting families of their own. That being said potential clients range from 30 to 70 years of age and they are all fairly active as they enjoy to be out and about. The places where I provide the service to them are where they go to get away and relax on the weekends.

With my customers I share the love for fishing and the outdoors along with the fact that I have a residence in the town of Suwannee. Our similarities are not a coincidence as that is what brought us together, without the common interest we never would have met up in this small town in pursuit of fish and a good time.

Attached are some pictures of what my neighbors and I faced in both the beginning and aftermath of some of the hurricanes to move through the area.

17A Elevator Pitch No.2

Here is my link:
https://youtu.be/uCG-MX4wVxI


Feedback:
The most helpful and useful was relating to my word choice and the way I talk. Often times I don't catch my slang or mumbles but when talking in a professional and important situation like an elevator pitch I should talk that way it should be proper and correct. All the feedback I received I tried to implement into my new one, from the area and lighting change to trying to talk clearer and louder with better enunciation and proper grammar. All in all just doing it again helped me greatly by becoming more comfortable in front of the camera and recording myself.

15A Figuring out Buyer Behavior No. 2

For this section in interviewed three more people who were directly affected by storms in the past, two middle aged and one older gentleman. I explained my idea and business to them and then took their feedback and advice. In their times of need they set out themselves to fix their problems much like why my service would be providing. They were faced with the tasks of storm preparation and recovery all by themselves and said if a service like this had existed they would have definitely been interested.

The alternative of my idea is basically what they all did themselves. They set out with groups of friends and neighbors in order to clean their properties up after the storm came through and took turns running to get supplies from the outside world. Closer neighbors came down in the final days before the storm hit and checked on houses and everything both for themselves and the neighbors who were farther away and unable to make it to their houses in time.

Price definitely plays a role in alternatives to my business, family or friends may work for free or a simple thank you but that doesn't keep the lights on as they say. People may be drawn to the family and friend approach but not everyone has that option. The quality of work executed by family an fiends and yourself being there to oversee it may be different but my quality is certainly high and aim to provide services higher than family or friends can offer. Some people are certainly the I want to be there and do it myself kind of people, and in that case I would not be selling my service to those people. All of these factors together weigh in to a consumers choice on whether or not to enlist my services. Local availability and distance from their main residence to the storm affected residence plays the largest role in my customer basis.

My customers are reached through local advertisement or even online but the services are performed in person. My segment is in cash or check payments no need to finance my services. My service isnt sold in stores as it is a local and seasonal type of business.

My customers are most worried about saving their homes and valuable belongings from terrible storms and I am a way they can increase their chances of doing so. I also remove some stress from the post storm processes as well. They think the purchase was worth it when it is shown of how my service aided them in damage prevention and post storm recovery.

As I learned from my interviews my business definitely has promise but they brought up some valid points, it is a very seasonal and dependent business and could easily face rough patches and it is hard to build up a good customer base because no one really wants my help because that means there is something bad on the horizon. My services have a negative connotation due to the fact that  when I come around there is a storm coming as well. These interviews greatly helped me see the possible problems I could face if this was put into reality.

There is a definite tough choice for my customers in terms of whether or not they should enlist my services as some times they may not be needed if the storm turns or such, it is a tough choice but it is better to be safe than sorry. After the purchase they will either be really happy that I was able to present potential losses to their property or potentially mad as they bought my services and the storm changed track or decreased in strength.

14A Halfway Reflection

1) In order to keep up in this class I have set aside time every week in order to do these assignments so I am not rushing at the last minute to do them. This class isn't hard per say you just have to take on the work with an open mind and positive attitude.

2)Many Fridays for this class I feel like skipping assignments in this class but I remember I need to do them in order to do well and it won't hurt to save up those points for later in the semester so I can use that time to study for other exams or just take it easy. The assignments are never that hard they just take time and I often find myself getting distracted while doing them. Sometimes I have to put my phone in another room in order to focus on the assignments and get them done. Past experiences and the stress free end of the semesters in the past tell me that it is better to have those points stockpiled away so you don't have to count every point at the end of the semester an beg for extra credit.

3)To a future student I would say to set aside a solid time each week so its a habit to do the work, watch the lectures as soon as they are released and build up all the points you can in the beginning of the semester.

13A Reading Reflection No.1

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc

The most surprising thing from the reading to me was that Ray Kroc was in his fifties when he started the McDonalds empire. To me always think of entrepreneurs as younger folk so to see a 50 plus year old man start an empire like he has is pretty surprising to me.

I really admired the fact that he never sold anything they didn't need or take advantage of them. He sold what he had and did it in an honest way. Everything he sold he saw as a tool to help other business owners grow and prosper as well much just like what he did with his water cups. The water cups are what taught him how to do business and provided the foundation for everything.

There isnt much I don't admire about him he made a whole lot of something form nothing. One thing I would say is, its not really a lack of admiration but a critique on what he did. He gave up on his paper cup sales for a while to pursue illegal liquor and and a few other business opportunities which at the time I'm sure seemed promising but looking back they weren't the smartest. If he had stuck with the paper cups and the multi mixerfrom the start he could have enjoyed more of his spoils.

While getting involved with the multi mixer corporation he struggled very much. He had to devote close to 60% of his income to put towards capital in order to get that business up and going. He was forced to live off of just 40% of his already small income. Many times his motto was to just grind through it and that is exactly what he did, he made do with what he had and went on with life. He never had major failure in his businesses but came close many many times.

The biggest competency that I saw while reading was his lack of giving up, perseverance played a huge role in him being able to made McDonalds what it is today. Just like the title is named, grinding it out is wha the really became known for. He sacrificed sleep along with many other things just to get his dreams off the ground.

I never found anything really confusing in the story as far as reading it goes but looking back I question why he made some decisions when he did. But he was a smart man so I'm sure there was some underlying reasons.

If I were able to ask him two questions they would be; "Did you ever think that it would grow to this?" and "What made keep grinding so much?". I was very impressed at his ability tokeep pushing forward and want to know how he was able to keep on.

I think his opinion of hard work was that in order to work hard you have to persevere and not give up. Thats what he did as he ran his businesses and was major part as to why he was so successful.

9A Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

The people I interviewed in terms of their need for hurricane relief lives in the same area as many others that were affected by the storm but didn't need the aid. Upon further questioning some of them were not interested in my middle man aid relief due to the fact that they were prepared for the storms and had no need for further resources.  Three of the five lived within two hours of the affected storm areas and were able to go out to their houses in order to prepare them for the impending storms. The other two lived father away but their properties were not of concern to them as far as preparation for the storm. In the specific area I have seen first hand some residents use this as their second house and live local while others live hours away and struggled to get their properties ready for  the storm.  The basic need for my services would be the people unable to reach the outside relief or are too far away to get it.

Another idea I have come across while conducting the interviews would be remote services for the people who are too far away from their homes to make the trip to prepare for a storm. Simple tasks as moving chair and such to shelter and tying up boat lifts are easy tasks to be done that can save a person thousands in damages post hurricane. Another could be a boat pickup and haul away service such as pulling them to higher ground or a different location in the canals.

The big definer in my customer base would be the distance from their main residence to the area affected by the storms. People farther away are more likely to contract me for services as they are unable to reach their homes in times of chaos. But the closer residents can still be served by my ideas by bringing supplies and relief to those while working on storm cleanup and repairs.

So I have learned through my interviews that there is a boundary to my original ideas. The storm aid and information relations is really only valuable to people close to and directly affected by any storms. The people that live further away with secondary houses that are affected by the storms can be reached by my other ideas such as the house prep or boat services.

Inside the boundary.                                                      Outside the boundary.

Local and peoples whose main houses are affected.     People who live further from the storm.

Delivery of aid and resources.                                       Not as much the aids but supplies could still be                                                                                                           .                                                                                       useful.

In times of post storm chaos every bit of help and        They can bring aid from the outside and wouldn't    .                                                                                       need me.
relief does in fact make a difference, it is a rough
time for everyone.

8A Solving the Problem

My opportunity would be pre staging and pre planning aid for residents in areas potentially affected by hurricanes much like the Red Cross but my service would be quicker. The main grief about the previous systems in place is that they are slow and it takes a while after the storm has past in order to get relief to those that need it. Granted there are safety constraints in mind but if you plan ahead enough these can be easily accounted for.  I plan to sell the vital supplies to customers in hurricane affected areas with speed and coverage better than any other. People both before and after hurricanes are willing to pay for safety so if we can provide that and still keep our morals without  being price gouging or terrible humans there is opportunity to cash in. Before the storm bringing in wood and sand bags for prep and generators and such all before the storm even hits from outside areas for re sale and after the storm bottle dealer and warm food would be good sellers to those affected by the storm.

7A Testing the Hypothesis
 Providing Hurricane aid to the victims and awareness in the communities potentially affected by hurricanes are great problems and opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Who: People potentially affected by hurricanes and the people that are affected afterwards
What: Distribution of aid to hurricane victims and knowledge of storms to residents
Why: Natural Disasters create times of panic in everyone and are very stressful and difficult to get ahold of people.

In a post hurricane situation there are in fact different levels of need by the residents, in general some have lost it all and some may have only some debris in their yard but are all looking for help. A way to speed up the distribution of both aid and knowledge to residents in an affected area would be a great help. Many people become frustrated in these situations purely out of lack of communication and planning in these terrible situations.

Due to me doing some previous research on this topic and just growing up in Florida I am pretty familiar with the all too common topic of hurricanes.  I chose to speak to three different types of people for my interviews and found very similar results from each type of group. Group one was younger, college age maybe a little older students, group two was middle age people with families and group three was older retired people. The youngest of the groups hadn't lived through any hurricanes as adults and don't really know all that goes into preparing a family to ride out a natural disaster. they were supportive of my ideas of rapid aid and planning ahead but didn't have the real world knowledge of who exactly needed it and how to go about it. The middle age people were much more help in terms or learning about the situations as they had lived through multiple storms as adults, both with and without kids. They said that it was a very stressful time in their lives and one of the hardest things they had to go through. One person I talked to had actually lost his shed in a hurricane and knows the headache of dealing with the iAd and relief programs.They really liked the idea of better communication from government to the people in a community and that having aid pre staged in relief areas would lessen the burden of bringing all of the aid in after the fact rather than preparing a little more ahead of time. And the older people were a bit more skeptical of my ideas, they liked to shoot holes through my plans much as if "back in their day" they didn't need it then why do we need it now. I tired to explain to them that things are much different now and that people as a whole are nowhere near as resourceful as they were and a frankly don't stand a chance. By the ned of my talk with them they came around and were in fact in support of my ideas saying that they were solutions to complaints that they could see having.


I now know that my opportunity is still ij fact there and that I can even branch off of my opportunity depending on the age group and relief that I depend on targeting. Based on a persons age I can narrow in The Who to find out what they are really looking for.

6A Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

One economic opportunity I found was the opportunity to increase the activity of transactions between independent business markets.i found this opportunity on prnewswire.com and with their given data and a little further research the opportunity is most certainly there if you can create a business or service to help in the independent business markets. To cater to the independent firms would allow you to gain the market and customer to allow them to sell their firm or gain help from other firms in the industry. With a simple way to bridge the gap between customers you could capitalize on the fact that "67 percent of the business transactions occur within only 16 percent of the market". (PR Newswire 2018) To me that sounds like good margins for expansion in the industry. I found this opportunity through a little research in  economic expansions, while it wasn't difficult to find I think others wouldn't like this idea because it sounds almost too easy. With some work and the right idea this is easily doable and a lucrative business venture.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/report-identifies-industries-ripe-for-small-business-succession-to-support-job-retention-economic-opportunities-for-women-and-communities-of-color-300710742.html

Another opportunity I found was on the New York times website in the article entitled "Even in Better Times, Some Americans Seem Farther Behind. Here's Why." Studies listed in this article show gaps in the incomes and net worths of college students based on race. There is a serious gap between the income of a white college graduate and the income of a hispanic or black graduate and over the last few years the gap has began to grow. A good opportunity would be to find a way to bridge this gap, form a program to help blacks and hispanics get those higher paying jobs in order to keep up with the income and net worths of their white co workers. Blacks and Hispanics are in great need of something to help equal the score in the wage difference game and anything would help. This opportunity is easy to exploit because their isn't much out there right now. I saw the need after some research and with my previous research with differences in the workplace and economy I had seen the need before when looking at the statistics. Not everyone has seen it because many more are focused on the male vs female indifference not the one between races.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/business/economy/income-inequality.html

 One more regulatory change that I found was inside of Tesla. I learned about the changes inside of Tesla through the New York Times Article entitled, "Tesla needs to Build Investor Trust. The Exit of its Accountant Wont Help."  Tesla is definitely a very large and popular company and with the way the market is suggesting the move towards electric cars and sustainability it would be a smart decision to invest or get involved in a company that is leading the way. Anyone with the will power or financial means can get involved in order to boost the Tesla stocks and the business as a whole. The company may be a little difficult to exploit as some serious connections or capital are needed to make. big dent but if you were able the invest anything the returns are almost guaranteed. I saw the opportunity through the fact that when a company is down with a promise to return, that is the time to invest or get involved. The shares would be cheaper in the hard times and if you have the patience and confidence at the time you can win big. Most people don't have the confidence in a business so they are scared to invest that money or help that company but the brave ones get the rewards.  I see the possibility for opportunity  that is at hadn't that others may not electric is the future and now is the time to et involved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/business/dealbook/tesla-investors.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFinancial%20Legal%2FRegulatory&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection



Another regulatory change I found was the government cracking down on spoofing in the stock market. It is a common problem thee days in the stock market I learned about through reading an article in the New York Times entitled "The Governments New Strategy to Crack Down on Spoofing". If a way is found to alter the marketbut within the current regulations there is great opportunity to do well in the stock market. As spoofing is a way to bid on something with every intention of not going through with the deal. The futures market is often impacted by the spoofing so a way to get ahead can make your enterprise very promising.  Anyone currently in the stock market is always interested in a way to get ahead. it would indeed be difficult to find a way as many others are always login for the same niche or hot idea you are. This idea may be hard to exploit the more I think about it but if you were able to figure something out you would have it made. I saw the opportunity as a way to capitalize on a negative, if someone says you cant do this, you gotta find another way around it, something that has both helped me and hurt me in life. Sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. I guess others could come in on my idea but not many have the drive and patience to keep working to find a solution.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/business/dealbook/government-strategy-crack-down-on-spoofing.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFinancial%20Legal%2FRegulatory&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection

5A Identifying Local Opportunites

Opportunity #1

1. Cedar Key holds coastal cleanup event Saturday
2. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AGSGB%21Gainesville%2BSun%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E6DD381DB83EF0
3. In this article it briefly talks about a trash cleanup up event being held in Cedar Key in order to remove trash from the local shorelines both by foot and by kayak/boat. It gives details of what volunteers should expect and wear in order to help in the volunteer trans pickup. 
4. In this story we are made aware of the trash problem and how difficult it is in order to remove the trash from the environment. Also they talk about the expanse of  the area to be cleaned up, the only reward the volunteers receive is exploring the museum and St. Clair  Whitman house free of charge. 
5. In order to get a better turn out and do more good for the environment, I think that if you made the trash clean up event into a family friendly fun day in the town of Cedar Key with local businesses and vendors involved would not only benefit the environment but the local economy  as well. The entire town and the environment has the problem of the trash in the water and shorelines, drawing the economy down and harming wildlife. 

Opportunity #2

1. Gators in-progress OL to start same five
2. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AGSGB%21Gainesville%2BSun%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E6DD37D606E2B0
3. In this story, they talk about the current plans for the UF football team moving forward from the loss at home against Kentucky. It is mentioned that many people are questioning the choice of leaving the same starters but the players need to learn it, live it and do it in order to be the best that they can be. 
4. The problem within the story is that the football team is young and inexperienced without many players returning from last year and a lack of leadership. The article also mentions that Coach Dan Mullens says that consistent work ethic appears the be a struggle as well. 
5. The problem exists within the Football team offensive line and the coaching staff. Without a properly functioning offensive line it makes it hard for everyone else on the football team t do their job and makes the look bad. 

Opportunity #3

1. Bob's River Place applying for permits in dispute with water district
2. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AGSGB%21Gainesville%2BSun%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0911%21September%2B11&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E6896423AC4360
3. In this article, they talk about what Bobs River Place is about and what they do, it is a local hangout spot on the Suwannee river where they have rope swings and water slides. It is a very popular spot on the river and has run into a little trouble with the water management district in regards to their structures in the water and their permits to operate commercially.
4. The problem in the story is that Bobs river place has submitted all of the necessary paper work according to the own er to be able to run his business on the river but not everything had been documented properly and the time for all the permits to clear is taking longer than expected. 
5. The problem exists for Bob the owner of Bob river place as he lacks the necessary permits to operate his river place legally in the sate of Florida. He doesn't have the proper permits to charge people money to park and also doesn't have the proper permits on his floatings docks and structure in the water. The structures in the water have to be cleared through the water management district in order to ensure that they are not obstructing the flow of the river an its animals. 

Opportunity #4

1. City to explore open-container law for UF game days.
2. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AGSGB%21Gainesville%2BSun%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0908%21September%2B08&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E59E110BCB4980
3. This article talks about the City of Gainesville and the University of Florida looking into altering the open container laws around the university to eliminate some of the gray areas as to where university and city property meet. Also there was talk of soft closing times of the bars around the campus. A soft closing idea would lessen the great mass of people pouring out of the bars at 2am and lead to less altercations and strain on police officials. With these changes there are other changes around the community that ned to be looked into as well like transportation and police presence. 
4. The problem in the story is the current open container laws around campus on game days and the fact that you can't have your drink out when passing from tailgate to tailgate without potentially getting in trouble. Additionally there is another question of whether or not the bars should implement a soft closing time to allow a greater time for people to leave the bars rather that a Great Wall of drunk people leaving at once. 
5. The problem lies within multiple places, the police might further burdened by all the extra alcohol that will be consumed on game day if you can have it out and about wherever. The potential for more arrests and altercations on game day is definitely there. The bar owners also have problem as they could make more money if the bars were allowed to be open a little later and the drunker people are probably willing to spend more money. The problems arise for both parties in the potential new changes. 

Opportunity #5

1. Remembering Irma: A year ago Tuesday, the hurricane hit
2. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AOSBB%21Ocala%2BStar-Banner%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0910%21September%2B10&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E637418CC19830
3. This story re caps the tragic event that evoked havoc on our state, hurricane irma. We were lucky enough not to receive the full but of the storm but we did experience power outages and lots of standing water. It goes on to say that if the storm were to have come on shore at cedar key or yankee town the damage in Marion and Alachua counties would have been like the destruction similar to that of Hurricane Charley.
4. The problem presented in the story is how to deal with hurricane aftermath and the problems presented afterwards, hurricanes are a huge event for an area and leads to times of high stress levels.
5. The problem is evident to everyone in an area affected by a great storm, everyone becomes equal when you have nothing. The key to doing well in a storm is preparation and safety, yeah the situation sucks but if you are prepared and safe and dry it sucks a whole lot less.

4A Forming an Oppurtunity Belief

1)  I think that there is an opportunity to help bring college kids together. The first semester for many kids is rough and a lot of changes happen at once. Whether is be the first time living and cooking on your own, or moving away from friends or family it is altogether a rough and stressful time in a persons life. Now I know there are counseling and clubs and such to help with this but I don't think those always work.  My idea was a sort of social event to help bring students together to converse and not have to worry about class or anything else just for that little bit of time just to help take their mind off of things.

2) The unmet need is a social group for college kids, there is only so much social media and your phone can do to keep you occupied and happy but when you turn the screen off there is something missing from you. Many college kids face struggles in their first few semesters and a social group would help combat these negative feelings. This need has always been around in college students but these days we are better able to see it. There are some clubs and counseling sessions to combat these problems but they are awkward and often ineffective.  I am 100% sure that this problem does exist in college students today.

3) The prototypical customer would be the average college student just beginning his or her collegiate career. First few semesters away from home and they just need that extra bit of social time to get them out and about and away from their apartment.

4)Customer 1,  He is a college  kid in his  first semester away from home. He said that he wasn't aware of his need at first but once I brought up the topic he realized the need. He often felt homesick or just the need to talk to someone a few times a week and really liked the idea of my social group. He was interested in a meeting or event once or twice a week to get out of the house. At the moment he wasn't addressing the need very much just a few phone calls home and he felt alright but it wasn't quite the same as good person to person interaction.

5)This opportunity does have the possibility to positively impact life around campus and help not only the student themselves but their grades as well.
 
Customer #2
Parent of a college student just beginning their career at the University of Florida.  When asking this parent she saw that her son was a little different both on the phone and when he came home to see them on the weekends. She would ask what was wrong but got no response from the student as it was hard for them to reach out.  She liked the idea of a low pressure social group for like minded and situational college students and thought that it would really help her son. She said that if something didn't change with her son that it might negatively affect his performance in school this semester. When she was in school she saw how rough it was and wishes that there was something back then.
This interview showed me that the older generation that has lived through it all sees the end for something like this and that is is indeed a good and realistic idea.


Customer #3
Another college student in his second semester at the University of Florida. When asking him about my idea of a social group on paper he initially liked the idea but brought to my attention that it might not be the cool thing to do and would be hard to get students to actually show up. I see that as a valid point but thought of ways to get around it. He said he thinks his friends would go to an event if you made it cool and a  very low pressure environment to mingle and talk to other students having the same issues. IF it were to work he thought that it would greatly help students who were feeling said or homesick.
I agree with him after some more thought the idea sounds really good on paper but many kids would feel too cool to go to the event or if the vent was lame. IF you could get over that fact the students would greatly help themselves and many others.

7)There is still a good bit of my original opportunity available to be had but  as my customer 3 made me aware of the lack of cool factor of such event a d opportunity that I had. With a way to make the event cool great help and joy could be spread across the campus. My new opportunity will bette cater to the real and normal college student now that I have more points of view and experience. Entrepreneurs should always take into consideration what the consumers and customers have to say because at the end of the day they are who the entrepreneur is trying to please or gain business from. Without s happy customer you have no business. Entrepreneurs should be semi-flexible in their opportunities in order to account for customer desires.

3A My Entrepreneurship Story

For me my entrepreneurship story started a few years ago when my passion for modifying my truck began. I wanted all the cool modifications to be done to my truck but since I was a teen with no real job I couldn't afford it all to be done by a shop or others. So I learned how to do it all myself and my friends caught on. They saw that I could do the cool stuff they wanted like speaker installs, paintwork or custom enclosures and soon I had a little side gig. I realized what I had here and soon turned it into a little business, id do some work for my friends and they would tell their friends, the money I made doing that I would roll back into my truck for cool stuff to further promote my business and keep one-upping everyone.  I used what little business skills I had to pay for my modifications to my truck but also to make new friends and help out buddies too. 

I enrolled in ENT3003 to just sample the official and textual side of entrepreneurship, everyone has their own idea of what entrepreneurship is and I just want to learn more about it as a whole. I hope to learn about different ways of entrepreneurship and how I can apply it to my life. 

Below is one of the custom speaker boxes I built for a buddy.

2A Bug List

1. People in Gainesville drive like idiots.

    Why: Gainesville is a very busy and congested area filled with impatient people and lots of college students who are usually distracted or not paying attention.

2. My wifi likes to cut out at random times in the day requiring me to restart it. 

    Why: Only reason I can think of is that there is either a loose connection somewhere or that the bandwidth of the internet is used up during the day and causes me to be kicked off.

3. My phone doesn't work around campus on game days.

    Why: So many people come to such a small area that the cell towers get overloaded and the cellular connection simply can't keep up. 

4.People don't use their turn signals in traffic.

   Why: People either forget or think they don't need to tell anyone what they are doing and that they own the road. 

5. When amazon says your package is supposed to be delivered today but it takes an extra day. 

    Why: A simple miscommunication or deny in the sipping process can easily make a package miss its stop. 

6.When people hound you for not answering your phone when they call but never answer when you call them.

   Why: Sometimes people may be genuinely busy but they don't realize that you may be busy as well.

7.People that don't hold the door for others or pick something up for people.

   Why: People sometimes truly don't see a person needing help but some people are just rude and don't feel its necessary to help others. 

8. People being hung up on little stuff in the past.

   Why: People are scared to move on and live life to the fullest, life is in. fact what you make it. 

9.The chik fila in the Hub not having lemonade. 

   Why: UF is a Pepsi school and I guess lemonade is something that has to be made that can't just be trucked in.

10. The amount of time it takes for a pub sub to be made.

     Why: They use a single station preparation system rather than a pass it down assembly line style like subway. 

11. When people walk three wide on the sidewalk then act inconvenienced when I pass them.

    Why: Some people are inconsiderate and think they are entitled to everything.

12. The battery life on my iPhone greatly bugs me.

    Why: My phone will just sit and think and just burn battery, also over time the batteries degrade forcing you to get a new phone. 

13. When you are in a grocery store and 75% of the lanes are closed and there are long lines. 

     Why: This bug exists because grocery stores are often understaffed or the employees are working in other areas of the store and don't realize the backup. 

14. It bugs me when people order food at a restaurant while on the phone. 

    Why: Some people  are just not as considerate as others and feel the idea that they are better than others.

15.The poor wifi and spotty service on campus really bugs me.

    Why: Dated servers and lots of devices connected at once cause the internet to be poor. 

16.  People failing to tip those that provide a service or are in a generally understood tip industry.

    Why: Some people are just stingy with their money and don't like to share, others are just uneducated or ignorant to the problem. 

17. The idea that if you do something for someone you must receive something in return. 

   Why: Some people are raised with different or without morals and they feel that they must be rewarded for any actions. 

18. When people just throw an item back on the shelf wherever they please, not putting it back properly or giving it to the cashier.

   Why: People are just lazy and don't care about the person that has to make sure the shelves are tidy at the end of the day. 

19. Another thing that bugs me is people that ride in the left lane when there is no traffic in the other lanes and clog up traffic.

  Why: People aren't aware of the rules of the road or simply don't care.

20. When your coworkers do the same tasks at work as you do but are paid more an hour than you.

   Why: Not as qualified on paper or are officially listed as another title in the company. 

To me it was a little difficult to type out 20 things that bug me, a few of them sounded like greatly personal problems that were no where near as hard as what other people are facing on a daily basis in other parts of the world. For the most part any problems that I face are minuscule compares to the things that others suffer on a daily basis.  To me finding true difficult things to deal with that bugged was actually hard.

Test of the Blog

This passage is a test of my new blog account.