1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was simply learning that firms like this exist, especially in other nations. I would have never thought that a firm whose margins are so small could be so successful. However, this success is due to their increasing number of customers. Approximately 160,000 new customers join the firm every month.
2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the story of Saryamma, because the author never states if her story or situation is what happens to all their customers, or if she is a rare case. It is difficult to tell what the case is in the context of the article whether of not this is the norm in microfinance.
3. If I could ask the author two questions I would ask "If Saryamma's story typical of most SKS clients, or is her story more of an inspirational tale for the business and microfinance industry?" and "Would SKS be completely closed off to expanding their target market and loaning money to men? Or is that something the firm would never even consider?"
4. There was not anything in particular that I disagree with the author on. This was the first time I had ever heard or read about microfinance, therefore I do not have enough knowledge on the subject to make a clear judgement.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
Final Reflection
Throughout the journey of this course, I have had many successes and many failures. However, none of them came without struggle and determination. Learning entrepreneurial skills was definitely one of the highs of this class, while putting yourself in uncomfortable situations with strangers was one of the lows.
The most formative experience thus far was probably the Venture Concept exercise(s). This taught me to think outside the box with my own idea, and learn how to expand something simple into something extravagant and great. The experience I will remember years down the road will be the Celebrating Failure exercise. This exercise just so happen to come during a point where I was experiencing a small failure in another course. I learned that you just cannot be good at everything, and that is ok and normal. Everyone is going to eventually find something they are bad at in life. Celebrating Failure was also my most joyous assignment I completed. I am most proud of myself for completing the Elevator Pitch assignments. This is because putting your full idea into words in under one minute is very challenging, and I often find it difficult to describe something complex in a simple way. This assignment taught me to express my thoughts in a more concise way and it learn to speak in a way that is best in entrepreneurship.
I see myself as an entrepreneur now after taking this course. My mindset is definitely more entrepreneurial now than it was at the beginning of the semester. My idea are now thought of more for their long-term effects and benefits. I also try to make my ideas as unique yet practical as possible.
For any student who is going to be taking ENT3003, the single, most important piece of advice I can give is to start early! I often found that when I started assignments ahead of time, my quality of work was higher and I felt more at ease. If I messed up, I had time to go and correct my mistakes. If I waited to complete the assignment on its due date, I always felt my work could be better and I focused more on just turning it in on time than I did on if I did the best I could. For the past month and a half, I have completed all assignments about 4 or 5 days before its due date in order to provide my best content. I also noticed that many other students had this same problem and stated it on their blogs. Many of my peers considered not completing assignments due to time constraints their biggest weakness in the class. In order to foster an entrepreneurial mindset, I suggest that future students make decisions regarding their venture as if it were real. They should ask themselves "will this make my venture better in the future?" or "is this the path I want my business to go down?". This will get anyone into the right mindset to be successful not only in the class, but as an entrepreneur.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 4
The Pitch
Reflection on Feedback
On my last elevator pitch, many people commented that they personally could relate to my product/service and that parking on campus has always been a problem for them as well. It is reassuring to know that my target customers feel that it is also a huge issue for the University of Florida that can easily be resolved. Everyone who commented agreed and stated they loved my idea, and hope it will actually be implemented one day.
What Did I Change?
Based on the feedback I received on my last elevator pitch I did not change much. Many people liked it and agreed with my idea and reasoning for it. On this pitch, however, I included more details on the project and stated reasons why people already would prefer driving than walking to campus (primarily safety).
Reflection on Feedback
On my last elevator pitch, many people commented that they personally could relate to my product/service and that parking on campus has always been a problem for them as well. It is reassuring to know that my target customers feel that it is also a huge issue for the University of Florida that can easily be resolved. Everyone who commented agreed and stated they loved my idea, and hope it will actually be implemented one day.
What Did I Change?
Based on the feedback I received on my last elevator pitch I did not change much. Many people liked it and agreed with my idea and reasoning for it. On this pitch, however, I included more details on the project and stated reasons why people already would prefer driving than walking to campus (primarily safety).
Week 14 Reading Reflection
1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was the high need for corporate entrepreneurship in today's market. Having creative and well educated entreprenuers in your business can give you a great edge/advantage over a competitor. This is also a reason why employees are a business' best asset.
2. One part of the reading which was confusing in my opinion was the part where the author describes what an "I-Team" or "innovation team" is. It is a tad unclear what their definite purpose is and how they are able to interact or work with those not on the team, but necessary to projects or work.
3. If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him "Can all businesses balance social value and wealth creation in the same way, or is that something that varies from business to business?" and "Should ecopreneurship be a priority for startup businesses if they are tight on funds, or is that something that comes once a business has the flexible funds for such actions?"
4. There was nothing in particular in Chapters 3 and 4 that I thought the author was wrong about.
2. One part of the reading which was confusing in my opinion was the part where the author describes what an "I-Team" or "innovation team" is. It is a tad unclear what their definite purpose is and how they are able to interact or work with those not on the team, but necessary to projects or work.
3. If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him "Can all businesses balance social value and wealth creation in the same way, or is that something that varies from business to business?" and "Should ecopreneurship be a priority for startup businesses if they are tight on funds, or is that something that comes once a business has the flexible funds for such actions?"
4. There was nothing in particular in Chapters 3 and 4 that I thought the author was wrong about.
Venture Concept No. 2
Opportunity
The opportunity for my venture would be the customers who I am targeting and have an unmet need I can satisfy. This unmet need is the lack of parking on the University of Florida Campus. There is not nearly enough parking for all the students who would like to drive to school. Reasons for wanting to drive (based on customer interviews) include:
- Campus is too far of a walk from where students are living
- Walking is inconvenient for some
- Walking is takes longer than driving and many student are busy
- Students find the bus system inaccurate as far as timing is concerned
- Some students feel uncomfortable taking the bus
- Many female students feel unsafe walking to campus (especially at night)
When conducting interviews with UF students, many female students expressed their concern for their safety when walking on campus at night. "I don't feel safe walking 20 minutes across campus to get to my club meeting, it is not worth my safety to me so I just tend to not join clubs" said Alyssa, student here on campus. It is unfortunate that students feel discouraged to participate in campus life due to this problem. My expansion of parking garages will help students to feel safe and become more involved to due their centrality.
This need can apply to any and everyone who can relate to one of the reasons to add parking listed above, or their own personal reason. The forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity is the growing UF student population. The market is defined geographically by those strictly in the city of Gainesville; the market is defined demographically by college students, usually between the ages of 18-25.Customers are currently satisfying this need by either attempting to find scarce parking, walking, or taking the bus. This opportunity is very big due to the high demand for additional parking that there. Most students which I have spoken to about the concept have a hard time justifying paying $160 for a parking decal that barely ensures they can actually park on campus. The "window of opportunity" will be open for a long time in my opinion. Unless the bus system improves or students suddenly become overwhelmingly ok with walking, regardless of the distance, this will continue to be a problem for all Gators.
Innovation
My innovation includes building upon already existing parking garages on campus (i.e. the garages in front of the Reitz Union and Sorority Row). The price of a parking decal currently is $160 for one entire academic year. I would like to raise the price only by $10 to cover some of the cost of construction, however most of it would be covered by the increase in students purchasing the decals.
Students will buy my innovation because:
- It will make commuting faster and easier
- It is a safer alternative to walking
- During the hot Florida seasons, driving is more practical than walking long distances
Venture Concept
My innovation will address the opportunity of creating more parking on the University of Florida's campus for students who would like to drive. Customers will buy my innovation because it is both safer and faster than walking. I do not think that getting customers to switch will be difficult considering the convenience of the service I am offering. My competitor's would be other businesses who would like to construct this infrastructure for the university, however I am a student here and have worked for UF's Student Government which I think gives me an edge over my competition.
As far as the product/service itself, packaging is not a concern due to the fact that a garage cannot be packaged. My price point would be fair considering the amount of revenue it would bring the school. Customer support would be available at all stages of the construction process, allowing the customers to be involved. My business would include about 100 employees, 70 of which would be involved in the actual construction part, and 30 in administrative business.
Three Major Elements
- My most important resource will be my background in Business Administration.
- This helps the overall business to succeed and be run as effectively and efficiently as possible.
- What is next for my venture would be the "light system" described in my assignment of "Amazon Whisperer."
- This technology is a great expansion upon parking garages to make the process as easy as possible for the end user.
- What is next for me and my venture?
- In the next five years, I would like for my venture to be incorporated with today's technology. I would love for the University to implement the "light system" used in the above bullet point. As an entrepreneur, in the next decade I would like to expand to building other types of infrastructures for the school aside from parking garages. This first venture helps me to achieve this vision because the firm would have already worked with the university and they would have seen our great work.
Feedback
Most of the feedback I received on Venture Concept No.1 was very positive and many people liked my venture and agreed that it is something that is needed on UF campus. Some of the other feedback I received revolved around city permits on building, a topic on which I am not informed enough to make a judgement or offer a solution for.
Change
Based on the feedback I received, I mostly just elaborated on my venture concept and made it easier to read and understand. Based on the feedback I received, I did not include information about city building permits because, like I said previously, I do not have access to enough information on that topic to offer a proper solution to that concern.
Google Gold
My keywords were:
- Entrepreneur
- Entrepreneurship
- Business
- Innovation
- Venture
I selected these key words based off of the overall theme of my blog and its content. Most of my posts' topics had to do with one of these keywords.
I used my social media to enhance my search engine optimization efforts by linking my blog's web address on Twitter. I selected Twitter because it is a social media based off of reading content primarily, not really graphic/picture based. The same goes for blogs; most of the content is words as opposed to pictures of video. Therefore, I thought that the same type of people that would be interested in Twitter would also be interested in a blog. Twitter was not as responsive as I would have liked to my blog. However, I contribute that to the fact that my Twitter audience is not the type of audience I target with my blog.
My most viral post was Venture Concept No. 1. It received 5 comments and 40 views in a week. I think that this blog post in particular received the most traffic because I linked it in many of my comments and on Twitter as well. This post illustrated my full venture, how I saw an opportunity for it, and how I plan on proceeding. I am happy that this post specifically generated the most traffic because I received great feedback and constructive criticism on my ideas.
I did not make it to the first page of Google. I also did not expect to, being that entrepreneurship is a broad topic and there are many blogs, articles, and online journals that are world-renown on the web. I am still proud of my blog nonetheless, I worked very hard on not only my content but its layout.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Very Short Interview, Part 2
For the first portion of this exercise, I cannot resist my first interview with an entrepreneur because I did not complete that assignment. Instead, I will tell you about the entreprenuers I will be interviewing. His name is Orlando, and he is the owner of an insurance agency in Miami, FL. He has had over 30 years experience in the field, but has owned his own agency for about 15 years. He is a licensed in auto, home, life, health, and annuities, however, he mostly practices life insurance.
*A recording was not possible due to the fact that the interview took place over the phone; I typed his responses as he answered my questions*
Q1: When did you realize that working for someone else was not something you wanted for the rest of your career?
A1: I left Prudential after working there for many years because I felt they did share the same passion I had for helping people. I figured I could do what I was doing there in a business of my own, so thats exactly what I did and why I did it.
Q2: As a business owner, do you find yourself running operations of the business and managing more than you predicted you would?
A2:I do have to do stuff now that I didn't have to do at Prudential back then. But I think it is so worth the trade-off. I get to own my own business, be my own boss, and be as flexible as I want. I make the decisions and decide what I think is best for my clients. Nothing is better than that.
Q3: What is some advice you would give to someone looking to be an entreprenuers and start their own business?
A3: There is never a "right time" to quit your job and start working for yourself, so just do it already! In life, there is always going to be something that comes up, so I don't think its about waiting for the "right time" because there won't even be one. But I do think that if that is something you want, you should have at least some money saved up. I am in insurance, so I am all about being prepared for disaster. You have to be ready in the case that things don't work out as planned.
This class has really helped me come a long way, not only in being comfortable in interviewing, but in finding out what it is I really want to do in my life and career. I cannot compare how comfortable I am discussing entrepreneurship now as to three months ago, because I did not complete the initial assignment; however, compared to my other interviews, I would definitely say I have improved. I have a better sense of what questions would be most beneficial to my knowledge and for my blog.
*A recording was not possible due to the fact that the interview took place over the phone; I typed his responses as he answered my questions*
Q1: When did you realize that working for someone else was not something you wanted for the rest of your career?
A1: I left Prudential after working there for many years because I felt they did share the same passion I had for helping people. I figured I could do what I was doing there in a business of my own, so thats exactly what I did and why I did it.
Q2: As a business owner, do you find yourself running operations of the business and managing more than you predicted you would?
A2:I do have to do stuff now that I didn't have to do at Prudential back then. But I think it is so worth the trade-off. I get to own my own business, be my own boss, and be as flexible as I want. I make the decisions and decide what I think is best for my clients. Nothing is better than that.
Q3: What is some advice you would give to someone looking to be an entreprenuers and start their own business?
A3: There is never a "right time" to quit your job and start working for yourself, so just do it already! In life, there is always going to be something that comes up, so I don't think its about waiting for the "right time" because there won't even be one. But I do think that if that is something you want, you should have at least some money saved up. I am in insurance, so I am all about being prepared for disaster. You have to be ready in the case that things don't work out as planned.
This class has really helped me come a long way, not only in being comfortable in interviewing, but in finding out what it is I really want to do in my life and career. I cannot compare how comfortable I am discussing entrepreneurship now as to three months ago, because I did not complete the initial assignment; however, compared to my other interviews, I would definitely say I have improved. I have a better sense of what questions would be most beneficial to my knowledge and for my blog.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Week 13 Reading Reflection
1. The biggest surprise for me in the reading was early on in the chapter, when the author explains emotional bias. I had never really thought about the idea that the creator of a product or service may be more inclined to think its great, when in reality, it might not be. I think it is natural for us, as humans, to think our work is the best; however, we must find neutral and objective opinions in order to actually put a product/service out on the market that will sell and be successful.
2. One part of the reading which I found slightly confusing was the part where adjusted tangible book value is illustrated. I felt that the author, in the example, did not explain where those numbers for each part of the table are from. Also, I knew that a number in parentheses means that number is being subtracted (i.e. "(50,000)") however, for those who did not know that, the author does not explain its meaning either.
3. If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him (1) "Are there any industries in which the price/earnings ratio is not an accurate representation of the publicly held corporation's value?" and (2) "At what point does a business need to hire help to manage their finances? Is it once they reach X units sold, once they have X employees, etc. ?"
4. In the Chapter 14 reading, there was nothing in particular that I thought the author was wrong about.
2. One part of the reading which I found slightly confusing was the part where adjusted tangible book value is illustrated. I felt that the author, in the example, did not explain where those numbers for each part of the table are from. Also, I knew that a number in parentheses means that number is being subtracted (i.e. "(50,000)") however, for those who did not know that, the author does not explain its meaning either.
3. If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him (1) "Are there any industries in which the price/earnings ratio is not an accurate representation of the publicly held corporation's value?" and (2) "At what point does a business need to hire help to manage their finances? Is it once they reach X units sold, once they have X employees, etc. ?"
4. In the Chapter 14 reading, there was nothing in particular that I thought the author was wrong about.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Celebrating Failure
What I learned from that failure was that I need more time to prepare myself for this course's exams. I decided that from that point on, I would begin studying approximately two weeks ahead of the test. This will give me time to full grasp every concept, and practice, practice, practice. I learned that if I want to succeed in this class, I am going to have to put in much more effort than I ever have for any other course I have taken thus far. The course itself is infamous for being difficult, therefore I am not surprised by my struggle or the struggle of my peers.
What I have learned from this experience is that I cannot be good at everything. Everyone has things that they are bad at and for me, it is clearly Business Finance. I have realized that not being great at everything it perfectly ok and even normal. Failure is difficult to overcome, but not impossible. I have handled this failure by just preparing better for the next exam and trying not to get discouraged so easily. This class has changed my perspective on failure due to this assignment actually. Writing this all out made me realize that my failure on one exam is not the end of the world, and I am sure that will be even more confirmed when I read the failure stories during my peer reviews. I am more likely to take risk than I was four months ago because I am more confident in my abilities now, and have realized that even if I fail, things will be fine.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
My Exit Strategy
1. Identify the exit strategy
The exit strategy I plan to take in the case of my venture is to make it a family business for my children one day. I think this is a good idea because even if they are not interested in the construction field, the venture of a parking garage is simple and low maintenance. Therefore, it could act as a property they own and an additional source of profit. Of course, they would have to have management still running the day-to-day activities, and they themselves would also have to be involved to an extent. However, in the case that that is not something they would be interested in, I plan to keep the business until they are old enough to make such a decision. If they decide against it, I would sell to someone who has good intentions for the business I would have created.
2. I have selected this particular strategy because it is versatile in case that things do not go as planned. I would love my family to take the business, but if they do not, I need to have a "plan B" such as selling it.
3. My exit strategy has influenced decisions I have made in my concept such as the quality of my work. I want my business' name to be recognized for its reliability in products, services, and experience. I want my family to inherit a business that they are proud of because it helps people in their own businesses as well. This makes me strive toward perfecting our customer service and management teams within the firm.
The exit strategy I plan to take in the case of my venture is to make it a family business for my children one day. I think this is a good idea because even if they are not interested in the construction field, the venture of a parking garage is simple and low maintenance. Therefore, it could act as a property they own and an additional source of profit. Of course, they would have to have management still running the day-to-day activities, and they themselves would also have to be involved to an extent. However, in the case that that is not something they would be interested in, I plan to keep the business until they are old enough to make such a decision. If they decide against it, I would sell to someone who has good intentions for the business I would have created.
2. I have selected this particular strategy because it is versatile in case that things do not go as planned. I would love my family to take the business, but if they do not, I need to have a "plan B" such as selling it.
3. My exit strategy has influenced decisions I have made in my concept such as the quality of my work. I want my business' name to be recognized for its reliability in products, services, and experience. I want my family to inherit a business that they are proud of because it helps people in their own businesses as well. This makes me strive toward perfecting our customer service and management teams within the firm.
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