Customer Interviews No. 1

One day, in the building I live in, I heard a student taking about a day that she dropped her toothbrush on the ground and had to drive all the way to CVS to get a new one. This sparked an interest for me. I thought, "what if there was a drug store on campus that was not ridiculously priced and met everyone's needs?"
I came up with a list of questions and sat down in my building's study area where i asked five on campus students for their thoughts. Here are videos showing their responses:

This experience taught me that it is a lot harder to interview people and get the answers you want to get than I thought. It was definitely interesting to see what they had to say. I'm glad that their needs seemed to line up with what I expected, but I have a good idea of how to tailor my questions to get better responses in the future. 

Megan

Top 5 Problems: Ranked

From a previous post, Solving the World’s Biggest Problems, I have ranked what I find to be the top 5 problems that are most serious. Of those 5, I also ranked the problems that I would say are most attainable. I also explained why I decided to rank these problems in these ways.

Top 5 World Problems from Most Serious to Least Serious

1.       Famine or lack of food resources.

Eating is a part of daily life for the majority of people I know. It is incredibly sad that people around the world die because of their lack of resources.

2.       Laziness.

Being lazy creates a domino effect in life. When one doesn’t try take the opportunities in front of them simply because they are too lazy to, society loses as a whole.

3.       Cancer and other deadly diseases.

People all over the world are dying because of diseases that could be prevented.

4.       Corruption in Politics and Government.

There is so much corruption in powerful roles in this world. When people have power and misuse it, there are too many repercussions to count.

5.       Lack of Education.

In certain places around the world, there are kids who do not have access to education. Everyone should have the opportunity to be literate.

Top 5 World Problems from Most Possible to Implement to Least Possible to Implement

1.       Lack of Education.

It would be extremely difficult to make it possible for everyone on this earth to receive education because this problem is linked to so many others. Some kids cannot go to school because they have to work for their families or gather food.

2.       Famine or lack of food resources.

It would be hard to not only find the wealth to feed everyone in the world, but it would also be nearly impossible to transport all of the food to the remote places it would need to travel to.

3.       Cancer and other deadly diseases.

While many doctors and geneticists have been working towards this goal, it has not yet happened. I believe that someday it will be solved, but I don’t see that day happening in the near future.

4.       Corruption in Politics and Government.

It is extremely difficult to change the human heart. I think the only way that this could be done successfully is by getting rid of corrupt people with roles of power and replace them with “good people.” However, there are problems with this as well. First, people would do not want to be removed from office will not go down without a fight. It could get rather ugly. Second, who would have the role of making a standard of what leaders are considered “good” or who is not? Lastly, how would we guarantee that someone who is “good” won’t make a corrupt decision at some point?

5.       Laziness.

There is always a possibility to motivate people, but rarely in the long term. One can typically be bribed or encouraged to work hard, but it typically doesn’t last long. Even the best, most hard working people are guilty of having lazy moments.

Megan 

Week 4 Reading Reflection

Week 4 Reading Reflection

“Innovation: The Creative Pursuit of Ideas” by Kuratko

It was incredibly interesting to read about Kuratko’s perspective on entrepreneurial imagination and the nature of the creative process. He says that “entrepreneurs blend imaginative and creative thinking with a systematic, logical process ability.” This is the kind of thinking that leads to the ability to find opportunities in the world. I also found it very interesting that Kuratko sees creativity as a process that can be developed and improved. Some people who are more creative than others may have just grown up in an environment that was encouraging and open to the flow of creativity or was just born with a greater aptitude for creativity.

I found myself confused about the topic of incongruities during this reading. An incongruity is defined as something that occurs when a gap or difference exists between expectations and reality. I am assuming that Kuratko includes this term because he is saying that there is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to fill that gap between expectations and reality.

 

If I could ask Kuratko a question, I would ask him, “what is the best way for one to become aware of perceptual changes in the environment?” While certain opportunities are relatively easy to spot, it seems very hard to foresee perceptual changes. Is there a way to train your eye to spot them before others do? Another question that I would ask Kuratko is “what is the timeline on developing one’s creativity?” He wrote several pages giving tips to enhance one’s creativity, but I am curious to know how much work must be put in to see even a small amount of change.

I did not find anything in this chapter that I disagreed with. Instead, I found a section that I agree with completely. Phase 2 of the creative process, called the incubation process, is very relevant to my own creative process. Like Kuratko suggests, my best ideas come to me when I sleep on it, engage in routine and mindless activities, exercise regularly and sit back and relax on a regular basis. Whenever I am feeling stressed about needing to come up with an idea, I follow these tips rather closely.

Megan

Identifying Local Opportunities

Here are 5 articles I found that portray potential business opportunities. 

    1.    Fast but not furious: starting with a quick-drying underpainting and working with medium allow an alla prima painter to make "at once" last longer

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sort=DA-SORT&docType=Article&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&contentSegment=&currentPosition=5&searchResultsType=SingleTab&inPS=true&userGroupName=gain40375&docId=GALE%7CA438690753&contentSet=GALE%7CA438690753

The author of this article talks about his painting habits. While he loves to paint very quickly and get everything done in one sitting, he has a problem with his oil paints. They don’t dry fast enough for him to keep moving on and painting other coats. He speaks about all of the methods that he has used to try to solve this issue. He has tried priming his canvas with other paints, but he has to do two coats for large canvases. I believe that his problem could be more easily resolved by getting material engineers to work with the chemical makeup of oil paints and see if they can alter it slightly so that it will dry quicker. This would help oil painters all around.

2.      Weather alert: 40s in South Florida, with a warming trend this week

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A938407819E0A0?p=AWNB

This article is describing the current cold weather that we have been having across the country and specifically in Florida. This Sunday morning, the temperature in Gainesville. FL was twenty eight degrees. This article is also informing the public that it is forecasted to rain later in the week. Specifically in Gainesville, this is bad news for students who are from father south and not prepared for this weather. They are going to need warm drinks to keep them warmed up. If someone tried to sell warm beverages in areas on campus where there are currently no Starbucks locations, they could fill a need.

3.      High winds knock out power for thousands in Miami-Dade, Broward

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A9383197E67820?p=AWNB

This article describes an issue that was happening yesterday, Jan 23 in Miami-Dade. Over five thousand South Floridians were left without power due to high winds. At this point, it has not yet been reported that the power has been restored. These south Floridians are probably in need of generators and space heaters to keep them warm. Anyone willing to start selling generators to retailers there would have a great opportunity to make money.

4.      Single-family home prices soar in Broward County

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E3CB121D96A8?p=AWNB

This article describes the single-family home prices in Broward County and their rising prices. People are willing to pay a lot of money for these homes because the supply is low. Any contractors who are looking for places to start developing homes should look into Broward County as they could have a chance to sell their homes for a lot of money. Also, home renovators could make a good business by renovating older homes in the area to sell to people who want the new home feel.

5.      Hoverboards with fake batteries seized at PortMiami

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E6B4E66F4390?p=AWNB

This article describes a confiscation of hundreds of hoverboards due to the fact that many of them have been using cheap batteries that are likely to explode and have been illegally mislabeled as name brand products. These hoverboards have been extrememely popular in the past few months. However, I believe that there is a need for a brand of hoverboards that can be trusted. Someone need to make a hoverboard product that the consumer can know will not blow up, spontaneously combust or break. A marketing campaign based on safety hazards could promote this product to parents who would be less afraid to buy them for their children. 

Week 3 Reading Reflection

I was very surprised by the fact that the second major source of information about the entrepreneurial mind-set is direct observation of practicing entrepreneurs. I guess when you think about the fact that we often learn from our mistakes, this fact becomes more obvious. If one is able to watch interviews, observe surveys, and read case studies that other entrepreneurs have written, he or she is going to be able to have a pretty good idea about what to do and what not to do. It’s also a good way for one to theoretically put on the entrepreneurial thinking cap. One can observe others’ mindsets. I also found it extremely interesting when he talked about creativity. Though it was initially thought to be a genetic characteristic, many people now believe that creativity can be learned.

There wasn’t any material in this chapter that I felt I was confused. In fact, I highly agreed with and liked reading the section on stress and how jobs that include a lot of risk require one to step back from their stress at times and take breaks or find things to invest time in outside of the company. I hope to follow this path and create solid time away from work to relieve stress in my future career.

I would want to ask Kuratko about opportunity orientation. While I understand that it is the constant awareness of opportunities around me, I would want to ask how he recommends building an opportunity oriented mindset. How does he recommend that one should drill that mindset into their head? Another thing that I would like to ask Kuratko about pertains to failure. He recommends building up a tolerance for failure. This too, is a concept that I understand, but the road to getting there seems impossible. Is the only way for one to become tolerant to failure to fail regularly? I want to know how else one can learn to take failures lightly.

I would disagree with Kuratko when he says that “entrepreneurs are not intimidated by difficult situations.” I personally believe that entrepreneurs may be afraid to take a risk or put themselves in a difficult spot; however, the difference is that they choose to take calculated risks despite fear.

Megan    

Entrepreneur Interview

As an assignment for my entrepreneurship class, I interviewed David Krafft from VMware, Inc. He is currently the Regional Account Executive, working at the software company and managing sales business in South Florida. One of his most vital roles is to work with teams of engineers, sales managers, and executive managers to help customers realize the power of Cloud computing. On a daily basis, he acts as a consultant and business owner of his specific territory. He makes sales calls in order to educate customer's on VMware's technology. Though David has learned a lot through this job, he has been an entrepreneur at heart since a young age. At the age of ten, he started a lawn mowing business that grew exponentially. By his college years, he and his brothers were making over $100,000 a year to fund their educations. Since then, he has been a part of three startup companies in the technology field.

I asked him a few questions about entrepreneurship to see how entrepreneurs see their work and what I should expect to learn in this class. Here is the information he gave me:

·         What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?

o   It means taking responsibility for everything – your employees, your customers, your good name and your reputation.

o   It means never letting anything get in your way and not blaming others when there’s a problem.

o   It means always giving your best, even when you think you are giving all you can.

o   And it means making sure your word is your bond and that others will only respect you if you lead with pride and compassion.

·         Would you consider any or all of your daily work tasks to be entrepreneurial?

o   Of course… At the end of the day I am a “one person” company. I can make or break myself and my accomplishments. No one is there to make me do the “right thing” other than myself. I certainly can hide under a rock and do mediocre work. But then I only have myself to blame when my business fails.

o   As I have always said (and you know I have gray hair)…. “I am very hard on myself for it is ‘me’ who has given me gray hair.”

o   People talk about “going gray” because of stressful situations. I am my own best motivator and I drive myself to perfection. Hence… the gray hair.

·         What would you expect from a course teaching the principles of entrepreneurship?

o   Integrity, compassion, leadership, how to work well with others, marketing, financial skills, general laws of business…. But mostly ethics.

o   Simply said, there are great ideas from bad people. So just because you have something unique and valuable does not mean you will be a good entrepreneur.

o   You must always be held to a higher standard than the one that society dictates. This is most especially true for a business owner.

·         What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?

o   To have the ability to see myself as others see me. In business and as a business owner our internal vision of ourselves is always more pristine than those around us. I wish I was taught more humility and self-awareness. For it is when we see ourselves as others see us that will help us to become better individuals.

o   Leadership is an important skill that should be taught in school – regardless of career path. I am fortunate enough to take classes and even speak on the subject. But it is this area that most great people fail in their ability to rally and drive others to greatness. As I told a good friend of mine from High School (yes, many of us still keep in touch) that “I can truly find the greatness of my accomplishments through the successes of others.”

o   Public Speaking and the ability to stand proudly and passionately about your work is very important. Once again, I am happy to say that I got these skills through school but I wish I had taken more as I use these skills every day – I must defend and position my company at every chance I get. And therefore I am representing myself. To not do this with confidence will only lead me to be a great person with no way of communicating my strengths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had an excellent experience learning from David. He not only has a passion for what he does, but he even cares about the small details that are detrimental to his job. He is willing to work extremely hard to achieve his goals. Another fantastic quality he possesses is his positive, encouraging attitude. It not only helps him to succeed personally, but it also radiates to people around him. In the face of failure, I'm sure that his positive attitude helps him pick up and start again. I look forward to learning how to work as hard as he does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 Megan

Solving the World's Biggest Problems (and Solutions!)

World’s Biggest Problems (and solutions!)

Here is a list of ten things that I consider to be universal problems that should be solved.

1.       Laziness. I think that a lot of people don’t want to grab opportunities that are right in front of them simply because it requires some work. I’m guilty of this. Every once in a while, I have that “Why should I go the extra mile?” mindset. I think that the world would be a better place if people instead asked “Why shouldn’t I go the extra mile?” I believe that solving this problem would be like a falling domino to knock down other problems in our world today.

2.       Water Resources. The world has such a small percentage of fresh water. It is hard to recognize that water is limited. Side issues such as pollution and littering have led to the contamination of fresh water supplies. Companies like The Coca-Cola Company have noted this and started initiatives to restore water supplies. I think that more companies should take responsibility for their own water usage and renew the resources they use.

3.       Corruption in politics and government. I am not the person who likes to argue about politics or how our country should be run. However, I hate corruption, and it is particularly damaging in political systems. Countries would be way better off if the leaders wanted to be leaders for the sole purpose of making the country a better place for his/her people to live.

4.       Face to Face Conversation. I think this problem mostly exists within the US, but I believe that such an aggressive increase in accessibility to the internet and social media has lead the American people to struggle with face to face conversation. I think that people should be made aware of how much they are losing through a campaign that encourages building relationships.

5.       Famine or lack of food resources. Every so often, I go to bed without having time to have eaten and wake up with an awful nauseous feeling. I cannot even imagine having that be a regular feeling in life. It is so wrong that some people throw away food on a regular basis and other people are lucky if they are able to find anything. A website should be made that compiles list of trustworthy nonprofit organizations people can donate to in order to bring food to people that don’t have access to it.

6.       Unemployment. While there are plenty of people who do have jobs, there are still many who do not. I recognize that there is only so much that can be done to eliminate unemployment if some people are lazy and do not want to work to get a job, but I still think that more could be done to resolve the issue. I think that more corporations should have their products made in the United States. Though it might be more expensive in the short term, in the long term, more people would be employed and pushing money back into the economy.

7.       Obesity. I think that obesity is a hard issue to address seeing as though it can become a disease. I think that the most important step that would could take towards beating obesity is making people aware and informed. It is important for people to be educated on what is considered healthy eating, how often they should work-out or even just move around and be active. If the general population doesn’t know much, they won’t be able to help solve anything.

8.       Cancer and other deadly diseases. Having personally lost loved ones to cancer, I think that everything imaginable should be done to get rid of it. I believe that government money should be given to research groups and universities to look for solutions and end cancer.

9.       Education. In some countries around the world, children are unable to go to school to learn how to read and write. I think it is extremely important that everyone has the chance to learn and be literate. I think that a campaign should be started to raise donated money to start more free schools around the world.

10.   Child abuse and neglect. I believe that no child should ever have to go through traumatic situations that haunt them through adulthood. I think that schools should all have counselors who are trained to sense that kind of thing among children. I also think that the adoption process should be shortened. I know many people personally who have wanted to adopt and simply love children who have been hurt, but they struggle to get through the court system in order to do so. It should be made easier to connect children with loving homes.

 

Megan

 

 

Week 2 Reading Reflection

One thing that really surprised me in this reading is the way that entrepreneurship is considered separate from business. Before starting this class, I assumed that every businessperson was an entrepreneur. The book says that entrepreneurship “consists in doing things that are not generally done in the ordinary course of business routine.” Entrepreneurs are the people who are willing to take on risks in business while others play it safe. They come up with new and creative ideas while others follow the norm. After reading this text, I realized that there is a huge distinction.

In this reading, I was confused by the Macro and Micro views of entrepreneurship. Once being taught the definition of the word, it is hard to break the concept down into two parts. I found out that both of these methods are used to cover all the bases when it comes to entrepreneurship. I struggled to understand why a person would prefer one method over another and wasn’t sure why one could not follow both schools of thought.

If I could ask the author a question, I would want to know, what are the benefits of having two different approaches to entrepreneurship? I personally feel that every person has their own individual method to coming up with ideas, not just simply through the integrative approach and dynamic states approach. Why are these two methods the only ones highlighted?

Another question I would want to ask is, how are Gazelles so popular? How do they possess the ability to create more product innovation than large firms? And what determines how long they are able to stay afloat before they reach their supposed inevitable death? If they could last longer than they do, they would easily be able to dominate markets.

The books says that “entrepreneurs will continue to be the answer to any economic downturn, and they will continue to lead economic growth” in many ways. While I believe it is true that entrepreneurs can help economic downturn, I also believe that there are other methods of turning things around as well. They may be a big part of the picture, but everyday people who do not consider themselves to be entrepreneurs can also play a role is economic recovery.

 

Megan

 

Bug List

Bug List

A list of products, services, and problems that bug me!

1.       I hate when it rains in Gainesville and I am not prepared with an umbrella. I get soaked, ruin my shoes, and risk getting a cold.

2.       It seems that every time I am studying and craving coffee, the Marston Starbucks line is out the door. When I finally am able to order, it takes even longer for the drink to make its way to my hand.

3.       It irks me when I am early to my accounting class, but I still have to sit on the floor because there are so many students in the class and not enough seating. It makes concentration difficult.  

4.       I hate when I want to get a quick meal at the reitz (UF student Union) but there is no place to sit because it’s so busy and there is a lack of seating.

5.       I hate when I am shopping for clothes at the mall, find something I love, and realize that they do not have it in my size. I am usually told to order it online, but that gives away the retail therapy I love.

6.       I hate it when conditioner bottles are slippery and fall out of your hand in the shower. Then you have to attempt to pick it up while it’s still slippery.

7.       It bothers me that Starbucks makes their premade drinks in glass bottles. I get afraid to put them in my bag or backpack with the fear they may break.

8.       I hate that electrical outlets are dangerous when kids are around. The outlets should be live when something is plugged in and go into an off mode when not being used. Parents would not have to spend so much time worrying or “baby-proofing” their homes.

9.       It drives me crazy that there are very few effective methods of hanging decorations on dorm walls. My command hooks always give out, and my things frequently end up falling on the floor.

10.   I hate when shower curtains move in towards you due to air pressure in the hot and humid bathroom environment. It makes showering uncomfortable and inconvenient.

11.   I can’t stand when my flip flops break in between the toes. It often happens to me when I’m running around because they are cheap shoes. Once broken, they are completely impossible to walk in.

12.   It bothers me when athletic leggings are cheap and thin because the thin material requires you to wear specific undergarments that do not show.

13.   I hate that there is always a long wait time when you want to go to Outback Steakhouse during prime dinner time because I have to stand outside and smell the food while not being able to eat it.

14.   It is terrible when I am looking for a specific movie at a Redbox and the disk is repeatedly already rented out. I make a trip to a store for that specific reason and don’t leave with what I wanted.

15.   I hate when I own a marker for only a short time and the tip gets dried out and frayed. It makes it incredibly difficult to write in nice handwriting.

16.   I hate when people leave their carts in the middle of grocery store parking lots. They get incredibly close to scratching my car and make me nervous.

17.   It bothers me when retailers like Kohl’s consistently have a thirty-fifty percent off sale. It would be much less misleading if they simply marked down the clothing prices from the start instead of trying to trick people into thinking they are getting a good deal.

18.   I hate that a lot of shoe companies do not manufacture half size shoes. Sometimes, the best fit for me would be between two sizes I try on, but the size does not exist.

19.   I hate when I try to put a headband on my head to work out, but the moment I start running, it slips off my silky hair. I then have hair in my face when I am trying to work out.

20.   I hate it when I try to microwave popcorn, and it burns even when I follow the instructions. It is a waste of delicious popcorn.

I found this exercise incredibly challenging. I could come up with a couple pretty easily, but it got even more challenging as I went along. One of my issues was that my biggest pet peeves all have to do with people doing annoying things as opposed to products or services that are inconvenient. It is crazy to think that a lot of these issues could be solved by entrepreneurs in the near future.

 

Megan

My Entrepreneurship Story

At a young age, I would constantly be trying to find ways to make money. One of my favorite memories took place when I was in elementary school in Iowa. My favorite season was always summer because to me, that meant garage sale season. Every summer, my grandmother, mother, and I would have a huge garage sale to make a few extra dollars. Not only would I have my own section of the driveway where I would sell my own things, but on occasion, I would purchase things from other people's sales hoping to resell them for a higher price on my own driveway. Along with these tactics, I would also set up the typical lemonade stand of an eight year old. Though I never did make significant amounts of money, the stories and sales that I did make will stay in my memories forever.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I felt that it would be beneficial for me to gain a new perspective on business. So far, I have found that the class offers the creative aspect that I love in business and I am considering applying for the minor.

Megan

Image Credit: http://www.southernminn.com/owatonna_peoples_press/news/article_22a689d0-1cad-5ba3-a662-36b95d0beb9e.html

My Introduction

Hey everyone,
My name is Megan Vande Pol. I am a Florida native who did live in Iowa and California at different times in my childhood, but I ended up settling back in my hometown of Bradenton, Florida. I have two wonderful parents, three younger siblings, and a miniature Australian shepherd. I am currently in Gainesville to study marketing at the University of Florida. My goal is to one day have a great job in marketing or human resources. My involvement on campus includes being a resident assistant, being a member of Theta Alpha Christian Sorority, and attending every possible Florida football game. I have never left the United States, but I one day hope to travel to Europe.

Megan

Entrepreneur's Mantra

The goal of this mantra is to embrace an entrepreneur's mindset. If you believe it, you can achieve it.

Megan

Test Post

Excited to start this new blog for Principles of Entrepreneurship at UF. Go Gators!