Monday, August 1, 2016

Reading Reflection No. 3

Inbound Marketing, Brian Halligan


1.) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general purpose of this book is to serve as a guide and advice book on how to get your company found by users online through outlets such as google. As a product or service, you can only reach success if consumers know about you. This book is to help a business increase its presence on the web.

2.) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book actually specifically enhanced my learning for my current internship. It is an internship based around social media so I have already used some of the information in this book as I was reading it. My company also talks a lot about improving our SEO, which is what this book is essentially trying to teach someone. 

3.) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

As an exercise in class, I would have the students teach for different companies online and observe how they improve their presence and brand recognition to consumers. They could then write a paragraph or two on how that business could improve its marketing tactics.
4.) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest moment when reading the book was when I realized how these business tactics could not only be used for companies and the promotion of products, but also for your everyday life. Furthermore, it gave me more insight than I expected when using the information for my current internship. I even shared some of my learnings with my boss - she was impressed. 

Venture Concept No. 2



Opportunity

When thinking about my venture concept, I first had to decide what group or groups of people have an unmet need. My first thought was in regards to pet owners. Therefore, my potential customers are pet owners, or more specifically, new pet owners of usually dogs but sometimes cats or other animals may apply too. The forces that created this opportunity is honestly the ongoing evolution of the "lazy human" or the human that looks for more efficient ways to complete a task. Many customers that apply to this category of human are younger adults in Generation Z, aka people around the ages of 23-35. However, my customer base can actually be universally wide spread to any demographic, because many people want to become pet owners at different stages in their life. My focus though is on the younger generation because they are more prone to using new technologies and they are also known for being lazier. Currently people are satisfying this need through manual labor and ineffective cleaning habits that don't need to be completed by the human race. I would say that they aren't very attached to their current method of combating this opportunity. Therefore, this opportunity is big and has a large window for attracting customers. The only limits would be other companies trying to replicate my idea and then creating too much competition in my new market.

Innovation

My idea is radically innovative as I am creating a robot to perform tasks that are usually performed by a human. My big innovative idea is to essential have a "puppy clean up" robot. As in it's name, it will clean up puppy, or other types of pets, messes and make the lives of pet owners easier and more efficient. It will have different aspects to its design that allow it to be flexible and adaptable to its environment. Users will be able to choose their own cleaning supplies that the robot will use - in case a consumer is loyal to their current brands. However, the robot will do all of the cleaning and can be utilized for different surfaces and types of messes. This product will begin to sell at a higher price before it becomes popular and can start making a return profit. Then, hopefully after a couple of months the price will be lowered so that your everyday consumer has the ability to purchase this product. I would say around $50-$60. However, it will last the lifetime of the pet and is very durable.

Venture Concept

My innovative idea will address the opportunity I have previously presented in a way that it will make the everyday person, consumer, and pet lover's life better, easier, cleaner and more efficient. So much time and stress is put into cleaning up after your pet in the early stages of their life. Instead, that time and energy should be put into bonding with and loving your pet. Training it to sit and lay down, that sort of thing. Customers will want to by my product simply because no one likes to clean up pet messes. It will be affordable enough that the supply and demand ratio will be easily fulfilled for the people in todays world. The only worries I would have when presenting my product to consumers is the threat of already present cleaning machines that don't limit themselves to pet messes. Furthermore, I may have trouble conforming older people that don't like using new technologies. Another type of person that may be harder to sell to is a pet owner that has had a pet previously and already went through the difficulties of having a new pet with messes, didn't think it was that big of a deal, and then decides that if they did it once, they can do it again. However, this can also have the opposite effect in that if someone has had a pet previously and said never again because of the messes, my innovation would encourage them to get another pet.

As stated in a previous post, my best resource for making my product a success would be my entrepreneur attitude and people skills to get my idea across to consumers and make them excited to buy my product. I will also be focusing on doing a partnership with a pet store such as petco in order to sell my product through their already credible establishment. When answering the "what's next" for my product, I would say that it can always be improved and new features could always be added to it as the consumers need developed.

Feedback/Change

Most of my feedback was positive. People said that they loved my idea and would definitely use it if my product was a success in the future. One comment that did stand out to me thought was that someone said my price point would probably have to be higher than I originally thought. This is after comparing my product with the price of other cleaning robots. This is what I would change about my idea. I would have to increase the price a little bit to make a profit and to make it competitive. 


Final Reflection



1. After looking back on my blog posts from this semester,  think my favorite part was the elevator pitch. This is because I enjoy public speaking and also being able to get creative during the speech. If you recall, I put my dog in my elevator pitch to use him as an example. My lease favorite part of these assignments was sometimes having to feel like I was bothering people by asking to interview and video record them. The was probably the most drudgery part.

2. Some of my more memorable moments was getting to reflect on the activities after completing them. Sometimes we forget to stop and think about the things we have done and said and that was nice for me to be able to do and be reminded to do. I also liked reflecting on what my peers had to say from their comments.

3. I think I have definitely gotten closer to having an entrepreneur mindset. Will I become a confident entrepreneur tomorrow? Probably not. But I believe this class helped me get closer to the ideas and passions that may lead me to becoming an entrepreneur one day.

4. For future students, I would recommend that they have fun with the class and the assignments. Get creative and take the extra time to include the details and pictures that make your ideas come alive for others reading your blog.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Making It Real

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5HF9-3YZ6CQTFdjM3BRZ2puUHM/view?usp=sharing

My Exit Strategy

1. For my exit strategy, I will ideally sell my business in the efforts of getting a greater return on profit.

2. I feel like I will be good at starting up a company and setting the ground for success - but may become bored once the product levels out to a consistent return form the market. I will want to move on to a new environment, business and consumer base because I love to be around new things and change.

3. I think this exit strategy has influenced my opportunity because I have always had this thought in my head that my product will become successful and enticing once it is new and in stores. However, I also feel like with time, it will become a "normal" product to purchase which would leave me at a level of repetition that I probably wouldn't want to stay in forever. There are only so many additions and improvements that can be made. I would rather start a whole new opportunity at that point.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Celebrating Failure

1. I am going to tell you about my recent adventurous failures in cooking chicken. This summer I have been living on my own without a meal plan and therefore ran into the problem of having to feed myself. My mom makes great chicken, my dad makes great chicken, but I for the life of me cannot make enjoyably edible chicken.

I have tried on numerous accounts to make chicken in a pan on top of the oven and in the oven itself. However, each time it either comes out raw, too dry, too chewy, or burnt. I am also not so great at knowing what flavors to include when marinating my chicken. Chicken just does not appear to be my type of cooking food anymore.

2. It's from their failures and experiences with cooking that I have learned to just stick to ramen. Bring left over chicken home from my parents house. Buy pre-made chicken at the grocery store. It has also taught me that living on my own and trying to make myself real, healthy meals is harder and more challenging than I ever thought it would be.

3. In general, I too, like Thomas Edison believe that there is no failure, but discovering a way not to do something. However, I do think that some failures are not overcomable (such as my ability to make chicken). But I will keep trying and I will find new ways to fail because that is how you learn so that is what must be done.

- Thanks for reading.

p.s. I did make a decent chicken eventually (picture below)


What's Next

EXISTING MARKET

Step 1: The kind of product offering I believe should be next is a way for owners to look after their pets when they aren't home. This could be via interactive video, or an even more advanced robot that you can control from miles away.

Step 2: What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do? What do you think of my ideas of what customers might want next?

I had to speak with these people on the phone due to my full time job and lack of accessibility and time to find consumers in person, so I could not audio record them.

Interviewee 1: You should create pet specific robots for different types of pets, not just dogs or even just cats. You could have a dynamic hamster cage cleaning robot. I think your ideas are good though and will add to the product. - College pet owner with a dog and a lizard (a friend)

Interviewee 2: I think something you should think about doing next is have different levels of the product that cost different amounts for the different needs of the consumer. Such as a basic cleaning up robot and one with a lot more fancy features. In regards to your current ideas, I think you have began to think about way to include more customers, but this could be the way to doing that. - My mom

Interviewee 3: A great idea would be to plan to make your product available online or online through amazon since so many people are online shopping these days. Good idea about selling it with a partnership through PetCo though. -  my techy boyfriend

Step 3: What makes the most sense for my venture in terms of growing in my existing market is really listening to the demands of the consumer. Because my product is very new and innovative, I have no real idea of how consumers will respond. I think that after seeing my product put into play in the first few months of sales, I will be able to tell how to improve the product based on the needs of the consumer. 

NEW MARKET

Step 1: I think my main focus has been on making a profit from consumers in a B2C sense. Even though I have talked briefly about forming a partnership with a current pet store, I never say the pet store as a source of profit. After doing this exercise, I have realized that my product could be more focused in a B2B sense by selling the product completely to another store such as just selling my idea kind. I could also focus on selling my product at dog shows and to vets, animal shelters, pet day cares, and other businesses that take care of animals. 

Step 2: My venture product would create value for this new market by giving them a new product that they previously haven't been offered or had available. It would also make their lives a lot easier, businesses a lot cleaner, and some places could maybe even save money on hiring people to do the job of what my product will be doing. 

Step 3: How might my product help you? Do you have any new ideas for adaptations of my product?

I had to speak with these people on the phone due to my full time job and lack of accessibility and time to find consumers in person, so I could not audio record them.

Interviewee 1: You could give a discount if a certain business buys more than one. as an adaptation, you can size them to cover more space when they are cleaning larger areas.  - someone that works at a vet office

Interviewee 2: You could have a charity program where you donate a certain number of robots each year to animal shelters that can't afford to buy them.  - my friend that volunteers at an animal shelter

Interviewee 3: You idea will help keep my business efficient and keep my profit positive because I think people will want to buy your product.  - petco employ I talked to previously about my idea

Step 4: Reflect. I feel like a learned so much from this new market because it was a concept I hadn't thought about previously when imagining the success and evolution of my venture. I think I learned a lot about the advantages of selling to different types of markets and the different advantages that each consumer can have. I also REALLY liked the idea about donating my product to animal shelters in need. I think starting up a program like this will help out a lot and I would love to be a part of something that doesn't only make lives of regular people easier, but betters the greater good of the pet community. 


Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

When thinking about my venture concept, I first had to decide what group or groups of people have an unmet need. My first thought was in regards to pet owners. Therefore, my potential customers are pet owners, or more specifically, new pet owners of usually dogs but sometimes cats or other animals may apply too. The forces that created this opportunity is honestly the ongoing evolution of the "lazy human" or the human that looks for more efficient ways to complete a task. Many customers that apply to this category of human are younger adults in Generation Z, aka people around the ages of 23-35. However, my customer base can actually be universally wide spread to any demographic, because many people want to become pet owners at different stages in their life. My focus though is on the younger generation because they are more prone to using new technologies and they are also known for being lazier. Currently people are satisfying this need through manual labor and ineffective cleaning habits that don't need to be completed by the human race. I would say that they aren't very attached to their current method of combating this opportunity. Therefore, this opportunity is big and has a large window for attracting customers. The only limits would be other companies trying to replicate my idea and then creating too much competition in my new market.

Innovation

My idea is radically innovative as I am creating a robot to perform tasks that are usually performed by a human. My big innovative idea is to essential have a "puppy clean up" robot. As in it's name, it will clean up puppy, or other types of pets, messes and make the lives of pet owners easier and more efficient. It will have different aspects to its design that allow it to be flexible and adaptable to its environment. Users will be able to choose their own cleaning supplies that the robot will use - in case a consumer is loyal to their current brands. However, the robot will do all of the cleaning and can be utilized for different surfaces and types of messes. This product will begin to sell at a higher price before it becomes popular and can start making a return profit. Then, hopefully after a couple of months the price will be lowered so that your everyday consumer has the ability to purchase this product. I would say around $50-$60. However, it will last the lifetime of the pet and is very durable.

Venture Concept

My innovative idea will address the opportunity I have previously presented in a way that it will make the everyday person, consumer, and pet lover's life better, easier, cleaner and more efficient. So much time and stress is put into cleaning up after your pet in the early stages of their life. Instead, that time and energy should be put into bonding with and loving your pet. Training it to sit and lay down, that sort of thing. Customers will want to by my product simply because no one likes to clean up pet messes. It will be affordable enough that the supply and demand ratio will be easily fulfilled for the people in todays world. The only worries I would have when presenting my product to consumers is the threat of already present cleaning machines that don't limit themselves to pet messes. Furthermore, I may have trouble conforming older people that don't like using new technologies. Another type of person that may be harder to sell to is a pet owner that has had a pet previously and already went through the difficulties of having a new pet with messes, didn't think it was that big of a deal, and then decides that if they did it once, they can do it again. However, this can also have the opposite effect in that if someone has had a pet previously and said never again because of the messes, my innovation would encourage them to get another pet.

As stated in a previous post, my best resource for making my product a success would be my entrepreneur attitude and people skills to get my idea across to consumers and make them excited to buy my product. I will also be focusing on doing a partnership with a pet store such as petco in order to sell my product through their already credible establishment. When answering the "what's next" for my product, I would say that it can always be improved and new features could always be added to it as the consumers need developed.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1. The Pitch:


2. A Reflection:

Most of my feedback was positive and encouraging. They pointed out that I should have less noise in the background that was distracting. However, they really loved that I used my own dog as an example. I think the presence of my dog made my idea more realistic.

3. What did you change:

In this pitch tried to remove the distracts that were present in the previous pitch. I transformed the way I spoke to a bit more eloquently and less causal. Previously, I was attempting to come on as approachable and social, but I think I have now found a better balance in between professional and conversational.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Amazon Whisperer




Revenue Drivers: My revenue drivers include the partnership I plan to make with a pet store that will sell my product, and the profit I make from selling the products individually and online.

Next Product: The kind of product offering I believe should be next is a way for owners to look after their pets when they aren't home. This could be via interactive video, or an even more advanced robot that you can control from miles away.

Enhancement: This next thing will enhance my product because it won't only clean up after your pet, but also take care of it and make sure it is socially healthy and happen when you can't be home to directly give attention to your pet.

Amazon: The only product I could find on amazon that was close to the product I would like to venture is cleaning supplies specifically for pet messes. However, there is not a product out there that will clean the mess up for you.

Customer Views: customers seem to like this product because it is one of the best cleaning supplies out there. They safe it's safe to use because it has natural ingredients and it is also successful in removing stains and odors.

Design/Usability: I would find a way to make the product less directly hands on - that way the consumer would still have a clean house but wouldn't have to do all of the scrubbing with their own hands where they could potentially get dirty in the process.

Addition: For my product, I will need cleaning supplies within the robot for when the robot does its cleaning. I think that this amazon product would be a perfect formula for my cleaning supplies and I would definitely add it in and possibly partner with the cleaning product company.

My Unfair Advantage

Resources & "VRIN" Analysis:

1. A creative and motivated mindset - something within me that others don't always have
2. An open market in need of my venture - my idea is in demand
3. A communicative and approachable work environment - employees will be happy
4. The passion to help people - my venture is good for the public
5. Experts willing to help - refer to previous exercise
6. Ability to take out loans for initial financing - people don't always qualify for this
7. Influencing reputation to my peers - credibility
8. Experimental subject - I can test my venture on my puppy
9. Current supplier willing to sell my venture if successful - PetSmart
10. An organized and encouraging work environment to employees - bring your dog to work!



My top resource is my ability to influence people and create a positive work environment. This is because it is easy for someone to come up with a venture and try to make it successful - but people don't always have the social skills to make it a positive place to work or company to work with. I think these personal skills that add to my human capital give me the greatest advantage for my venture.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Reading Reflection No. 2

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

1.) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of the book was based around social media, and an individuals use of it. It did not only give helpful life hacks and tips of the usage, but also how to make it mean different things and utilize the most successfully and appropriately. 

2.) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book actually specifically enhanced my learning for my current internship. It is an internship based around social media so I have already used some of the information in this book as I was reading it. A lot of the information I hadn't even heard before. However, it was interesting when I came across a paragraph or so that I was already familiar with from working in the field. 

3.) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

As an exercise for this class, I would have all of the students do a social media clean up and go back to their middle school Facebook posts and delete inappropriate or unreadable material that they wouldn't want people today to find. I would also advise them to delete bad pictures and materials that would effect their personal brand in a negative way.

4.) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest moment when reading the book was when I realized how these business tactics could not only be used for companies and the promotion of products, but also for your everyday life. Furthermore, it gave me more insight than I expected when using the information for my current internship. I even shared some of my learnings with my boss - she was impressed. 

Growing My Social Capital

Mr. Roberts
1) My expert is an engineer. Although he currently works at the company I am during my internship at, he has had interest in the past in building recreational robots. Therefore, he is the perfect expert to go to when I have questions about the reality of creating my product and the cost and feasibility of it. 
2) He is a domain expert who will advise me on the construction of my product...a robot. 
3) As stated above, this person works at the company I am interning with and I stopped by his office for a chat about robotic engineering. 
4) He gave me some of his time out of his day and informed me on the feasibility of my product. 
5) In order for my product to become a reality, it needs to be built and created. Therefore I need someone to do the engineering work.

Tracy
1) She is a sales associate at a local pet store that sells puppy pads and pooper scoopers.
2) Market expert; she is in the same business as I want to be in - the assistance of cleaning up puppy messes. 
3) I actually went to the local puppy store that I bought my own puppy's puppy pads from and spoke with her while she was working.
4) She gave me some time out of her day and assisted me with providing information on the puppy clean up market. I then bought more puppy pads from her.  
5) In order to make my product successful, I need to know what other products are out there that could be my competitors. She provided me with this information. 
Petsmart Manager
1) She is a manager at petsmart and has been working in the pet industry for 6 years
2) She is a supplier and is a head manager at the store that I would be ideally selling my product to so that they can then sell it to customers.
3) I called the petsmart closest to my house and asked to speak with the manager. She gave me a call back at a time that was convenient for her and then we spoke about the pet supplies supply market.
4) She took time out of her day to call me back which was a very kind gesture in return I gave her a promise that if my product became a reality I would good petsmart top selling rights. 
5) My product will be have to be sold by a pet store that has already established credibility. Petsmart is a very credible pet store that many people trust. 

Refection: I think this exercise showed me that many people are willing to share with you information that find them selves an expert at knowing. Therefore, I will not be as timid to approach people to ask them questions. This experienced differed because I was talking to professionals that were already successful in their fields so it gave me a lot of insight. 


Idea Napkin No. 2

1. You. I am someone that wants to make things in life easier and more efficient for others. I have had experience working with people and hearing about their frustrations with different products and processes and I think I am good at listening and solving problems. I think this business will help make life easier and more successful for myself and for others. (My feedback said that my product would make their lives easier)
2. What are you offering to customers? I am offering the customers an easier way to clean up puppy messes so that they can spend time with their puppy instead of always cleaning up after them. I think that if people don't have to clean the messes, they will get less mad at their puppies too and then have a better bond with their owners. (My feedback said that customers would buy my product.)
3. Who are you offering it to? I am offering this product to younger pet owners that like to find new technology to help make easier but also have a love for animals. This person will probably have a busies social/work life and will need to puppy clean up robot to help raise the puppy.
4. Why do they care? People will pay for my product because it will prevent them from having to touch yucky puppy messes and will save time because the robot will be more efficient in clean up than a human. 
5. What are your core competencies? My product is unique because is new and modern and up and coming and no one has done anything like it before. It's a need that a lot of people have and that hasn't been looked at to solve yet. 
ANALYSIS: I think that these elements fit together perfectly because they hit everyone point that a product needs to have to be successful and sell in a market. I think the only weak aspect will actually be the creation on the product and to make sure it doesn't have too many defects. I also think I will need to figure out a way to make the product useful after a puppy is potty trained and no longer makes messes. (A new piece of information I received is that my product mostly applies to dog owners only, and not cat owners. This is because cats clean up after themselves. It could cause me to not be as profitable.)
Feedback memo:  
My feedback said that my product would make their lives easier.
My feedback said that customers would buy my product.
A new piece of information I received is that my product mostly applies to dog owners only, and not cat owners. This is because cats clean up after themselves. It could cause me to not be as profitable.
My feedback said that this product could apply to my customers lives.
My feedback proved that my product was targeted at the right audience. 

Sunday, July 3, 2016

My Customer's Avatar

My ideal customer prototype is  a young family or couple who are looking to add a furry baby to their family. They are excited to get a new pet but at also very naive and uninformed on how to take care of the animal properly and efficiently. That's why they would need the puppy clean up robot in their house. This customer could have children and are now ready to give their kids a pet. They could also be a young couple that isn't ready for kids but wants a puppy to start their new lives together. They are middle class people with decent jobs and environmentally efficient cars. They like to make quick and easy decisions that save them time and resources in the long run.


Personally, I have a lot in common with my customers because my needs were the reason I came up with this idea. My boyfriend and I got a puppy and didn't realize how hard of work it was to take care of the puppy....especially clean up after it. If my puppy clean up robot existed, my boyfriend and I would definitely be the ideal customers to buy it. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch.



2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch.

Something important that stood out to me from my feedback for my last pitch was that they liked my tone and persona when giving the pitch. However, I feel like it would've been helpful to get my point across if I had used better examples of my product and applying it to everyday life.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

After reflecting on my last pitch and reading the feedback from it, for the my second pitch I decided to include a brief example of my product. This way viewers could get a better idea of how my product could be directly used and applied to their average lives. 

My Secret Sauce

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.


  1. I always try to find the good in people, and pull the positives about any situation.
  2. I moved around a bit so I know what it's like to be the new kid - taught me how to make friends and be a friend for someone else. 
  3. I'd like to think I'm a good friend who's always there for people when then need me.
  4. I try to be friendly and kind to everyone around me because I like to get to know people and the lives they are living.
  5. People have told me that I'm a good public speaker and writer - which is a good skill to have I guess. 
2) Interview the five people who know you the best.

Interview 1: My first interview was with my mom. She said that some things that make me different are my ability to speak in front of large groups. As stated above, she is one of the people that has always told me I am a good writer and speaker and has encouraged me to pursue these skills. 

Interview 2: My second interview was with my dad. He said that my human capital that makes me different from others is my ability to know when to speak and when to listen. He said I am a very good listener to him, and the others that I have a relations with and to always make people feel important.

Interview 3: My third interview was with my sister. She said my human capital is my work ethic. She said that I always try to be great instead of good, and am always trying to get ahead for the next step in life. She said that I am really driven to achieve success in my life, which is an important characteristic to have. 

Interview 4: My fourth interview was with my best friend, Olivia. Olivia said that something that makes me different is that I always try to find the positive outlook in the situation. She also said that I also try to find new solutions to problems and conflicts with people to make sure each side of the story is heard and thought about. 

Interview 5: My last interview was with my boyfriend. He said that my human capital includes my perseverance and my healthy competitiveness. He said that whenever a challenge or adversity is set in front of me, I always find a way to overcome it and prove people wrong. 

To interview people that knew me best, my interviews took place over the phone because I'm living in a new city this summer where I don't really know anyone. Therefore, I was not able to record them. 

3) Reflect on the differences.

When reflecting on how I see myself and how others see me in return, I feel like the views are very similar. I think I am an open book and let people get to know me as a person and thats why people know me like I know myself in some ways. It was nice to hear about some of the characteristics that the most important people in my life said about me. I'm glad that people see me the way I see me. 

Friday, June 17, 2016

Portmanwho? - PUPSIE

Portmanteau.

WORD: pupsie

DEFINITION: combination of "puppy" and "bestie". It's what you call your puppy that is ultimately your best friend because you hate people or are bad at making human friends so all you have is your dog which becomes your pupsie.

USE:
My pupsie's name is Max.
Snap chat post - me and my pupsie just chillin' this weekend.
Do you have a pupsie?
I don't like people so I'm so glad I have a pupsie.
Puppies over human bestie for life!

REACTION: At first people started looking at me funny and were like "what are you saying?" My boyfriend made fun of me for being so obsessed with my dog that I made up a word for our relationship. Once I told people the definition and that it originated from my lack of human friends and interaction, they found it quite humorous. A couple of friends snap chatted me back with pictures of their dogs calling them pupsies, so I guess it caught on in a comedic manner.

I like my word. & my pupsie.






Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2 - Alternative & Post-Purchase Evaluation

Interview 1: When speaking with Brett and analyzing his thought process when it comes to considering other options for this opportunity, a few key elements were taken into consideration. This included cost and effectiveness. He said that he would be willing to pay for the extra experience or learning materials that he needed in order to prepare himself for the professional world. However, he said this depended not eh quality of the outside resources, and if cost of these resources were in his budget.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/brett-gramacy?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

Interview 2: Michelle spoke a lot about outside opportunity, not associated with the university, that could help her as an alternative to this program. Many businesses offer tutoring to learn more in-depth about the skill that they are studying. These resources have also proven to be very effective when it comes to having a successful testing experience or class grade.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/michelle-thompson?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

Interview 3: After hearing from Noah, I realized that what matters most to my customers is the easy access to the product balanced with the cost and quality of the service they are purchasing. He spoke about how any purchase is worth while if it is improving your ability to learn, perform or be prepared for your professional life after college.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/noah-mcnally?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: After my interviews, I've realized that there are alternative to my opportunity, however they can be expensive and not all of them are the highest level of quality necessary to reach success. I think that in the end, my customers will find a way, no matter what the cost, to make sure they are prepared and successful when it comes to entering the "real world" after college. They aren't going to let the broad classes and minimal resources of UF's online classes stop them from being as successful as they can be in life.

Halfway Reflection

The past two month have been interesting, fun and a class I will probably be looking back on in the near future for reference and reflection. I look forward to the second half of this course, and the many insights I will gain for the different assignments.

Another main thing that has gotten me through this class so successfully is the support of my adorable puppy. He cheers me on.




1. Tenaciousness is competency.

To keep up with the course, you have to stay on track and really learn to manage your time accordingly. One of the tactics I use is looking ahead at the beginning of each week and seeing what assignments I have due and what resources I am going to need to complete each assignment. I also have written down every assignment on my calendar so that I don't forget one or miss a simple due date.

2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 

Some of the assignments (like the ones where you have to interview multiple people) are difficult and tiresome. I have wanted to just skip an assignment and take the hit for the missed points. However, I remind myself that each assignment has a purpose and that I will learn from each person I talk to. I can proudly say that I have not missed an assignment for the last two months, so I think this classifies me as quite tenacious.

3. Three tips.

A couple tips I would give to support the fostering of tenacious skills and a tenacious mindset is to dedicate yourself to the class since it has something you have decided to take. You should also 100% be sure to not miss an assignment, because although the assignments can be time consuming, they are easy and all about yourself so it's not worth missing the points. Lastly, I would say you need to time manage, shoot for nothing less than an A and make the most out of the opportunity that this class has to offer.


Saturday, June 11, 2016

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 - Need Awareness and Information Search

1. My segment will be students that need a more specific class offering for their major. 
2. My three people really game me some great insight into their need and want for an improvement in my opportunity. Below I have my interviews with them explaining their difficulties with classes offered for their majors. 
https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/james-bailey?in=user-329268085/sets/need-awareness-and-information-search
https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/maggie-mckinley?in=user-329268085/sets/need-awareness-and-information-search
https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/sameer-patel?in=user-329268085/sets/need-awareness-and-information-search
3. The need awareness occurs when students hear about other schools that offer programs of more specific subject. It also arrises when students start looking for internships and realize that they aren't sure what they want to focus on or aren't prepared for the job at hand because of the broad classes offered. 

4. The first thing they do to find a solution to their problem is look for other resources to gain the some information that they are missing out on. They also start to ask a lot of questions and wonder what is stopping their current situation from fulfilling this need. Their search terms in google would specifically relate to their line of work or major classes. They would talk to friends and family to see how they have overcome similar problems in similar situations.

5. In my interviews I learned that there is an unmet need and that finding a solution is difficult and definitely depends on the student that is looking for a solution. I think this opportunity is unique because it differs depending on each student that has this unmet need. It also makes it that much more difficult to solve the problem. 

6. I would describe this segment intern of need awareness and information search as apparent and definitely an opportunity for many people, but that the information is sometimes hard to find and hard to define since each case is unique. 

Reading Reflection No. 1


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

  • I think what surprise me most was the amount of effort and uniqueness that went into the creation of his business. For example, the specific recipe’s for the food served at McDonalds and the way he came about it all.
  • The thing I admired most about this entrepreneur was his hard work and persistence to be the best and make the largest food chain restaurant in his time. He really did work his way up the ladder to learn from his mistakes before becoming successful.
  • I least admired was his process of going about certain situations. And honestly, i think that this fast food industry is destroying America so I’m not to fond of his part in that. It would’ve been nice if he would have used his entrepreneurship skills and success for something that could affect heath in a more positive way. 
  • I think he encounter lots of adversity and failure. For example when he needed to find more funds, or perfect the recipe’s being used and cherished for his future customers. He overcame these obstacles with his passion, drive and relentlessness to achieve greatness.  
2. Some competencies that I noticed he exhibited included a tough work ethic and an attitude to never give up and to not stop until you reach perfection and success.

3. Some of the reading was confusing because I'm not well rehearsed in law or the processes that take place when trying to develop and sell a franchise. I wish I would have understood all of the more technical phrases and terms that detailed his processes in the business world a bit better. 

4. The first question I would ask him is "what did you learn most about this entrepreneurship adventure." I think he learned a lot of things about him self and about the business, but I would like to know what impacted him the most. The second question I would ask him is "If you could do it all over again, would you change anything?" This is because we all look about on different challenges we go through and in hindsight say we would have done something differently or changed something. Maybe if he know that fast food would've had such a negative impact on the world he would have chosen a different industry.

5. I think his opinion of hard work is that you have to try and try again, and over come obstacles and learn from mistakes to be successful. I think that he believes hard work is the only way to achieve greatness and the only way to make something of yourself, just as he did. I definitely agree with this outlook on hard work.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You. I am someone that wants to make things in life easier and more efficient for others. I have had experience working with people and hearing about their frustrations with different products and processes and I think I am good at listening and solving problems. I think this business will help make life easier and more successful for myself and for others.
2. What are you offering to customers? I am offering the customers an easier way to clean up puppy messes so that they can spend time with their puppy instead of always cleaning up after them. I think that if people don't have to clean the messes, they will get less mad at their puppies too and then have a better bond with their owners.
3. Who are you offering it to? I am offering this product to younger pet owners that like to find new technology to help make easier but also have a love for animals. This person will probably have a busies social/work life and will need to puppy clean up robot to help raise the puppy.
4. Why do they care? People will pay for my product because it will prevent them from having to touch yucky puppy messes and will save time because the robot will be more efficient in clean up than a human. 
5. What are your core competencies? My product is unique because is new and modern and up and coming and no one has done anything like it before. It's a need that a lot of people have and that hasn't been looked at to solve yet. 
ANALYSIS: I think that these elements fit together perfectly because they hit everyone point that a product needs to have to be successful and sell in a market. I think the only weak aspect will actually be the creation on the product and to make sure it doesn't have too many defects. I also think I will need to figure out a way to make the product useful after a puppy is potty trained and no longer makes messes. 

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Tweaking the Innovation

Puppy clean-up robot.

Style - The robots color or look

  • Pink
  • Blue
  • Red
  • Silver
  • Girl 
  • Boy 

Size - Dependent on dog size via mess size

  • Small 
  • Medium
  • Large
  • Extra Large

Functions - Different types of cleaning it offers

  • Mop
  • Sweeping
  • Sponge
  • Scrub
  • Brush
  • Cleanse

Scent - The scent of the cleaning materials

  • Oak
  • Powder Fresh
  • Lemon
  • Flowers

Surface - Specializing in cleaning surface

  • Carpet
  • Hardwood
  • Tile
  • Duel

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2


Interview 1: My conversation with this student was interesting because he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his major once he graduated. As a general business student, the general business classes and broad information was good for him since he wasn't sure what specific thing he wants to focus on.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/alex-baxter?in=user-329268085/sets/testing-hypothesis-2

Interview 2: This student was a pre-med student. She isn't sure what specialty she wants to have as a doctor, so the general pre-med classes are enough for her to learn and understand the different roles. Furthermore, if she wants to go into nursing, that is offered for her.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/rebecca-blake?in=user-329268085/sets/testing-hypothesis-2

Interview 3: As a journalism major, you don't need a lot of specification apparently because you just need experience with writing. Furthermore, there are only so many version of journalism you can go into for a career so it's easy to offer a specifying class.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/john-madison?in=user-329268085/sets/testing-hypothesis-2

Interview 4: This interview was interesting because this student was exploratory. Since he doesn't even know what major he wants to focus on...the variety of random general education classes are a good way for him to test out different subjects.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/max-cassidy?in=user-329268085/sets/testing-hypothesis-2

Interview 5: Finally, my last interview was unique because this student saw a need for specification, but also understood that these more specified classes are in grad school or have special programs that you can apply for. For him, the classes he needed to take to feel prepared were offered though so he didn't see a need for the opportunity personally.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/seth-collinsworth?in=user-329268085/sets/testing-hypothesis-2

Summary: I liked these second rounds of interviews because it put a new perspective on my opportunity. Although I thought that my opportunity applied to every student, this showed that I was wrong. Some students are getting what they need out of the classes offered at the university. These students are usually planning on going to grad, med, or law school to them specify their classes. Or they aren't sure what they want to focus on within their field of study. 

Inside the boundaryOutside the boundary
Students with specific fields of studyStudents with general majors or that aren't sure what they want to focus on
Diverse classes that can educate and prepareThe general classes offered are good enough for them
Students aren't getting the right preparation for their careersThey aren't sure what they want to do so they don't know what they are missing