Final Reflection

ENT3003 Final Reflection

There were so many things that this class taught me. One of the biggest would be getting my head outside of the box. I was very nervous to interview people about my idea. I wanted them to only say good things and make me feel good about my project. However, I learned that criticism is the best way to make something better. If I only use my own ideas and don’t seek input from others, my business is likely to fail.

I think that these lessons from ENT3003 have helped me to develop my entrepreneurial mindset. While I have not completely grasped it, I went from not really knowing what an entrepreneur was to having a grasp on the concept.

To students taking this course in the future, I would give two pieces of advice. First, work ahead. It will give you flexibility with your projects, make them less stressful, and allow you to play with them creatively. Second, don’t be afraid to talk to strangers. UF students are usually really friendly and interested in what you have to say.

I am thankful for the experiences and skills that I have acquired by working hard at this class. 

Week 15 Reading Reflection

Week 15 Reading Reflection 

Business Basics at the Base of the Pyramid

1.       Interesting – I find it so interesting that Akula works so hard for multiple reasons. Not only does he want to dominate the bottom of the economic pyramid for his own success, but he also wants to genuinely help the lower class survive with a better life.

2.       Confusing – If anything, I am just very impressed by Akula’s ability to see beyond a typical business plan. Many businesses want to target people with money because they know that they will be able to make money. His plan, though not conventional, somehow works perfectly. I am perplexed by it.

3.       2 questions – If I could ask Akula some questions, I would first want to know how he came up with this idea. I would also be very interested to know the interworkings of how he grew the company so large and also how he can trust people to be honest working beneath him.

4.       Incorrect – I didn’t see anything in this article that I thought was incorrect. I am; however, very intrigued by the fact that this company is gaining over 160,000 new customers every month. It would be very exciting to follow these company and see how it grows over the next few years. 

Venture Concept No. 2

Venture Concept No. 2

Chomp N' Run - A drug store on campus! 

Opportunity.

Here on the University of Florida’s campus, I have found a large unmet need. Students do not have access to purchase the daily products they need. UF’s campus is unique in the sense that there are stores within a close vicinity to some stores, there are few places to purchase daily needs. It is also a unique opportunity because there are over 8100 students who live on UF’s campus, and many of those do not have cars to travel to off-campus stores for daily needs. This market is a unique group people because they are willing to spend more money on convenience than the average consumer. This 18-25 year old group is known for doing thing last minute and needing things on the go. What happens when someone drops their toothbrush on the ground and needs a replacement? How about when one comes down with a cold and pulls the last tissue out of the box? Customers are currently satisfying their needs in multiple ways. Some are leaving campus to shop by taking long bus rides or losing their coveted parking spots. Others are finding substitutes for what they need at POD markets, but they do not have a lot of options. Some desperate students order items through amazon prime and would rather wait two days for the item to ship than take the time to find it off campus. This opportunity could be huge. The only downfall is that the project would need to get started fast. In the time that I started formulating this proposal, a CVS was opened on 13^th street at the Social 28 apartment complex. However, if UF acts fast and opens a drug store soon, they could use effective product promotion and advertising to make loyal customers.

Innovation.  

The drug store would be called Chomp N’ Run. The connection to the Gators would make students interested and want to come in. The store could advertise in UF libraries and on busses that travel through campus. It would be located behind the HUB and Marston science library, where many students congregate on campus on a daily basis. The biggest and most obvious perk to Chomp n’ Run is its level of convenience. Due to the restrictions of UF campus, it will be the closest drug store possible. Competitors will always have a lower level of convenience. It will have a larger and wider inventory than places such as POD Market or the Reitz Bookstore. By simply offering products that these places do not, competition will be lessened. The prices of this store would be reasonable. Prices would be cheaper than those of the convenient POD markets located only steps away from where students live; however, the prices would be slightly higher of those than a regular drug store because people are paying for the convenience of being able to grab a new toothbrush, nail clipper, or printed personal photos in between or after class.  

Venture Concept.

My newest venture concept concerning this project is the creation of a mobile rewards app for Chomp N’ Run. This app would offer rewards points on purchases that could be traded in for discounts and provide coupons and promotional items to anyone who actively uses the app. I believe that these features would create customer loyalty, improve user experience, and connect with the target market of young people through technology. My app would have three “sections.” One for coupons and general promotions, one for rewards, and one for general item search! This would solve that problem and make it easy for people to search if their desired item is available at our store! I believe that the combination of convenience, large inventory, and perks for returning customers will not only make UF students interested in Chomp N’ Run, but I think that they will really love it and use it as a regular stop for their needs. A loyal customer base will continue on as new students are continually funneled through the system. 

The Three Minor Elements. 

1. Most important resource - Convenience! UF students will love and take advantage of Chomp N' Run's convenient location. 

2. What's Next? - Chomp N' Run will use a promotional rewards app with coupons and rewards points to get students excited about shopping there! 

3. What's Next for You? - I hope to come back to UF in 5 years to see on campus students living with less of a struggle than I did! 

Feedback.

1. I got really positive feedback from my first venture concept! People loved my business venture as a whole. They felt that Chomp N' Run would do a good job meeting its target market. The only constructive criticism I received is that UF would not want to start Chomp N' Run for fear of cannibalizing the POD markets. I agree that this could happen; however, Chomp N' Run is going to have different inventory than the POD market. It will have a wide variety of inventory and meet different needs than POD. I also believe that students who live in residence halls on campus will still go to POD markets because of how close they are to where the students live. People who live in Beaty, Rawlings, or Graham will want to still have the convenience of walking downstairs in their pajamas as opposed to walking a few blocks to Chomp N' Run. Instead, it will target daytime students needs when people are on their way to class and need things that POD does not sell. 

2. Based on this feedback, I don't have much to change. With the right prices, hours, and inventory, I think that Chomp N' Run will thrive on UF's campus. 

Going for Google Gold

Going for Google Gold

1.       My general approach or strategy to SEO (search engine optimization) was to use repeated key words. I repeated a lot of key terms throughout the course of the semester. I also made sure that what I wrote was relevant to the title of the specific article and relevant to my blog (or project) as a whole.

2.       The main keywords that I used from the beginning are as follows: drug store, store, chomp, gator, convenience, and on-campus. I chose these specific words because I felt that they were relevant to my project and are commonly used words. My posts would probably have a chance of being relevant to people who search those key words. During the semester, I added more keywords: app, promotion, and advertising. As my venture became more specific, I added in these new keywords.

3.       I don’t use social media regularly. I determined that my friends/followers seemed very uninterested in my project, so I did not share it often. Though social media did not work as a method of advertising for me, it could definitely work for others!

4.       My most “Viral” post was the Idea Napkin No. 2. This was the first post where I expanded to talk about my potential mobile savings app. I think that people were interested in it because it was a short and sweet overview of what I’ve done.

5.       If you type “Chomp N’ Run, drug store” into google, my blog comes up as the number one post. However, without using the name of my drug store, I was unable to find it with the other key search words. People would have to know the name of my business in order to find it on google.

Celebrating Failure

Celebrating Failure

1.       During this semester, I have been failing at meeting my academic goals for ACG2021. At the beginning, I told myself that I was going to finish out the semester with a B in the class; however, it is looking more like I may receive a C in the class even after a lot of hard work. It is something that I really struggle to understand and have had to work at every day.

2.       I have learned from this challenge that I am not always going to be great at everything. Though accounting might be hard for me, I am really good at other things. I have to look at it knowing that doing my best sometimes just has to be enough. Otherwise, I’ll continually drive myself crazy trying to be the best at everything.

3.       Failure is really hard. It’s embarrassing. I have never been good at accepting failure because I am very determined and do not like to give up. I also don’t ever like to admit that I need to change something. At times, I would rather change the subject and avoid acting like I did anything wrong to begin with. Failure usually makes me shut down emotionally, but I have been working on trying to be angry instead of emotional and then use that anger to make a change. This class has taught me that it is necessary to be able to move on from failures and start working on the next thing!

My Exit Strategy

Your Exit Strategy

1.       Chomp N’ Run is a unique business. Because I think that it would do best in a market if it were UF affiliated, I would plan on selling the idea to the university right away. Without UF ownership, there is no way that Chomp N’ Run could be built on campus and run the way I have planned it to be run. I don’t plan on staying in Gainesville for the foreseeable future and don’t plan on making the venture a family business.

2.       I have selected this “sell of my idea” strategy because it makes the most sense based on location and target market. I really think that this idea would only be successful on campus, and therefore it needs to be a UF affiliated venture. Without being conveniently located and associated with the Gators, students would not be willing to shop at Chomp N’ Run and go to the competition, CVS, instead.

3.       My exit strategy has made me more focused on broad ideas such as themes, promotional applications, and general advertising. I haven’t spent as much time focusing on the details such as specific pricing or a particular inventory because these are specifics that may need to be tested out after the opening of the store. Chomp N’ Run was never a venture that I planned on sticking with for an extended period of time, so I did not plan on acquiring resources or using them myself. This approach made me much more focused on location, advertising, and creating overall initial awareness.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

Week 14 Reading Reflection

The Entrepreneurial Mindset in Organizations

Social Entrepreneurship and the Ethical Challenges of Entrepreneurs

1.       Surprise – I found Kuratko’s comments on intrapreneurship to be very interesting. He describes it as the infusion of entrepreneurial thinking into large bureaucratic structures. It surprises me that this concept has become popular. Most people that I know who dream of entrepreneurship and innovation want to work for themselves or be their own boss. The idea of taking innovative ideas and bringing them into big corporate business is obviously a smart move though. It combines the best of the small and big business.

2.       Confusing – In any business setting, it becomes difficult to talk about ethics. I think that the world often makes ethics in business look like shades of gray; however, Kuratko did a good job of laying out the topic of ethics in chapter four. The figure on page 88 lays out a good system for classifying ethical decisions.

3.       Questions – I would be very interested in asking Kuratko, “How long have big companies been seeing the need for corporate entrepreneuring?” It is a concept that I have only recently heard about directly, but it makes sense as a concept. I would also be interested to know how Kuratko would predict the future for intrapreneuring. Would he see it expanding, shrinking, or changing in any way, shape, or form?

4.       Incorrect – I agreed with pretty much everything that Kuratko said in this reading. Companies are going to do well if they are able to create an atmosphere of intrapreneurship and good ethics together.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

Week 13 Reading Reflection

Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures

1.       Surprising – I was very surprised by the length of the checklist for analyzing a business. There are so many details that go into finding out how much a venture is worth. It seems to be such a more extensive system than I would have ever guessed before reading this week’s chapter.

2.       Confusing – I found the adjusted tangible book value to be somewhat confusing. I can understand that a company would want to adjust its book value to accurately depict what something is truly worth, but the book is not very specific on how or what is subtracted from the gross book value to find the adjustment.

3.       Questions – I would be very interested in asking Kuratko how the due diligence evaluation was put together and assembled. It seems like such an intricate and time consuming process. I would also be very interested in asking Kuratko about the specifics of calculating the actual value of a venture. The reading leaves out the details and makes the process seem vague. I’m interested in knowing how it works.

4.       Incorrect – As I was very unfamiliar with this topic, I did not see anything in this chapter that I could see as incorrect. On the contrary, I appreciated the global perspective cut out. I found the evaluation of Dubai’s innovative views to be very interesting.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

Week 12 Reading Reflection

Strategic Entrepreneurial Growth

1.       Surprising – I found it very interesting that businesses use SWOT analysis on a regular basis. It is a theory that I have heard of before outside of a business setting. I like how this glorified version of a pro/con list can help companies make huge but logical decisions.

2.       Confusing – Kuratko mentions that many new business ventures lack adequate planning. I found this odd because I am an extreme planner. I would never invest in an idea that had not covered all the bases and been checked out by mentors or advisors of mine. However, he says that a lot of ventures fail due to time scarcity, lack of knowledge, lack of skills, lack of trust, and perception of high planning cost.

3.       Questions – I would ask Kuratko, “Why is it hard for businesses to implement the strategy once they have taken the time to plan it out?” I would also be interested to know, “How does a business successfully establish strategic positionings in the real world?”

4.       Incorrect – As I previously did not know very much about Entrepreneurial growth or the strategy behind it, I did not see anything in this reading that came across as incorrect. However, if there was one thing that I would seek more information on, it would be about life cycle stages. I’m curious to know what they look like when they don’t fit the typical, traditional cycle.

Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept No. 1

Chomp N' Run - A drug store on campus! 

Opportunity.

Here on the University of Florida’s campus, I have found a large unmet need. Students do not have access to purchase the daily products they need. UF’s campus is unique in the sense that there are stores within a close vicinity to some stores, there are few places to purchase daily needs. It is also a unique opportunity because there are over 8100 students who live on UF’s campus, and many of those do not have cars to travel to off-campus stores for daily needs. This market is a unique group people because they are willing to spend more money on convenience than the average consumer. This 18-25 year old group is known for doing thing last minute and needing things on the go. What happens when someone drops their toothbrush on the ground and needs a replacement? How about when one comes down with a cold and pulls the last tissue out of the box? Customers are currently satisfying their needs in multiple ways. Some are leaving campus to shop by taking long bus rides or losing their coveted parking spots. Others are finding substitutes for what they need at POD markets, but they do not have a lot of options. Some desperate students order items through amazon prime and would rather wait two days for the item to ship than take the time to find it off campus. This opportunity could be huge. The only downfall is that the project would need to get started fast. In the time that I started formulating this proposal, a CVS was opened on 13^th street at the Social 28 apartment complex. However, if UF acts fast and opens a drug store soon, they could use effective product promotion and advertising to make loyal customers.

Innovation.  

The drug store would be called Chomp N’ Run. The connection to the Gators would make students interested and want to come in. The store could advertise in UF libraries and on busses that travel through campus. It would be located behind the HUB and Marston science library, where many students congregate on campus on a daily basis. The biggest and most obvious perk to Chomp n’ Run is its level of convenience. Due to the restrictions of UF campus, it will be the closest drug store possible. Competitors will always have a lower level of convenience. It will have a larger and wider inventory than places such as POD Market or the Reitz Bookstore. By simply offering products that these places do not, competition will be lessened. The prices of this store would be reasonable. Prices would be cheaper than those of the convenient POD markets located only steps away from where students live; however, the prices would be slightly higher of those than a regular drug store because people are paying for the convenience of being able to grab a new toothbrush, nail clipper, or printed personal photos in between or after class.  

Venture Concept.

My newest venture concept concerning this project is the creation of a mobile rewards app for Chomp N’ Run. This app would offer rewards points on purchases that could be traded in for discounts and provide coupons and promotional items to anyone who actively uses the app. I believe that these features would create customer loyalty, improve user experience, and connect with the target market of young people through technology. My app would have three “sections.” One for coupons and general promotions, one for rewards, and one for general item search! This would solve that problem and make it easy for people to search if their desired item is available at our store! I believe that the combination of convenience, large inventory, and perks for returning customers will not only make UF students interested in Chomp N’ Run, but I think that they will really love it and use it as a regular stop for their needs. A loyal customer base will continue on as new students are continually funneled through the system.