Assignment 16A

What's Your Secret Sauce?

1.

1. I have a unique name. 
2. I can get along with almost any type of person and have a conversation about almost any topic. 
3. I have had the opportunity to travel and experiences a variety of different cultures including backpacking in Southeast Asia for 26 days.
4. I have a collegiate baseball background. 
5. I have great communication skills as well as interpersonal skills.

2.  

1. My girlfriend spends the most time with me than anyone else therefore she knows me the best. She has confirmed my natural ability to communicate both socially and professionally. She believes that this skill will be very beneficial to my future career. 
2. My roommate, whom I have known for a few years, contributed some of his thoughts to what would be my "secret sauce". He believes that I am extremely outgoing and sociable. 
3. My other roommate I have known for about two years and we have grown to become good friends. He states that I always bring a positive energy to every environment. 
4. My mother believes that my determination has largely played a role in my success. 
5. My older brother thinks that my emotional intelligence is one my greatest qualities. And he has great interpersonal skills.

Recordings: https://soundcloud.com/user-218554597/sets/assignment-16a

3. I think that the way that I see myself and the way that others see me are for the most part similar. There are differences in the way that people interpret my confidence. Many have mistaken it for arrogance. I believe that my interviewees are correct about me and they were all along the lines of what I listed for part one and because of this, I would not make any corrections to my original list. 

Assignment 15A

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Alternative Evaluation

For my business opportunity, there are many alternatives for people looking to turn their idea into a profitable business. Many of my interviewees questioned whether creating a business without consulting help is worth the time, effort and in the long run, money. Alternatives include taking on an investor or building your business foundation alone. In the consultation and service industry, what matters most is the quality of the service. My interviewees questioned how much experience and knowledge I would have in helping someone create a business foundation with little to no money up front. There is a mixture of quality, style, experience, knowledge and more that helps determine the price in the business consultation industry.

How/Where to buy

The element of my actual transaction will be financed after much of the "building a foundation" work has been completed. The parties involved will just be myself and my client. This segment would most likely be bought online in some fashion, but most of the work will be completed in the office.

Post-purchase evaluation

In the service industry, the biggest questions the clients will ask themselves is, "did I find what i was looking for?" If they answer to that question is yes, then they will most likely be happy with the services provided. The things that will help them determine if the purchase was a good idea or not is simply whether the idea turned into a profitable and thriving business or not.

Summarize Interviews

I learned many things after conducting the interviews about the service industry as a whole. Clients will make[ decisions about whether the service was quality before the entire transaction has been completed and at any moment, they can change their mind about the quality of the service. I also learned when people are paying for a service, they are paying for convenience as well. There is a difference between convenience and service, but they do work hand in hand.

Conclusions

Trying to begin a consulting firm that does not take cash up front is very risky in financial terms. There will be many more losses than wins, and more businesses that fail than businesses that thrive. I also think this type of business can be very rewarding.

Assignment 14A

Tenacity & Paying It Forward

1. This course has given me the opportunity to reflect on a few different skills and behaviors. One of the behaviors that it usually out of my character is working ahead of time to meet deadlines. I have been on a strict schedule with full-time employment and a few summer classes to finish to graduate in August and this has drawn me away from pushing things off to the last minute. This course has also given me the opportunity to use my creativity, which I usually do not give much thought, and how to have an eye for opportunity.

2. There have been a few moments where I wanted to skip an assignment, and I actually skipped one due to exhaustion from work and lack of motivation. My mindset has been "make it to August graduation" and it has really pulled me through and kept my motivation levels high enough to get my assignments done.

3. My three tips would include:

1. Stay ahead of the schedule - Don't push assignments off.
2. Put yourself in a real entrepreneur's shoes and see what you can do.
3. Don't let a rough patch hurt your ability to do other things. 

Assignment 13A

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

1. The part that surprised me the most was that Ray Kroc did not see much success with McDonalds until he was 52 years old. He spent many years working as a manager and in sales before McDonald;s business took off! The part I admire most about Ray Kroc is the leadership ability he possessed. Kroc did not let McDonald's become complacent, but he took it international with big plans and dreams. Kroc faced a ton of adversity. McDonald's grew relatively fast compared to the average restaurant chain once Kroc came to leadership.

2. Kroc displayed many different competencies. His best qualities were the ability to sell and the ability to lead & tell stories.

3. The part of the story that was extremely confusing to me was the story about the woman eating a hamburger in the McDonald's who gave Kroc a weird affectionate feeling over the food McDonald's served.

4. I would like to ask Ray Kroc:

1. What was the biggest difficulty over you had to overcome when you began the expansion phase of the business?
2. What do you have to say to someone who is looking to expand their leadership qualities?

5. The entrepreneur's definition of hard work I would say is the ability to produce quality service as well as quality consistently. Service is huge in food service, and it is probably more important than the taste of the food itself. I would agree with this definition of hard work, considering it is easy to become lazy in the service industry.

Assignment 12A

Young college students with a profitable idea and want to turn those ideas into a working business model. 

Interviews conducted. 

Interview Summary: 

My interviewees become aware of their needs at different times. The approach many of them have considered is learning how to take on the challenge of becoming a business owner from scratch rather than inquiring about help. Most people looking to start a business attempt to build a team before anything else. They become aware of the needed consulting help to build a business foundation at a later point in time. The segment of customers are extremely driven and have high expectations until they realize all of the work that needs to be done before a business becomes profitable.  

Assignment 11A

1. I am a senior at the University of Florida majoring in Public Relations. I believe my biggest skill is being able to communicate and form quality relationships with my colleagues, my customers and others. I have experience in the telecommunications industry, starting with my internship in the marketing department at Comcast. Currently, I work for Cox Communications in Gainesville. If i started my business idea, it would be very similar to a consulting firm. Consulting is a great "side hustle" as I pursue my career in my current industry.

2. My service would help people turn their profitable ideas into actionable business plans. I would help them create business models, develop a marketing plan, find their ideal customers and more. The best part is, I would like to help people who are particularly having financial issues get their businesses off the ground. I wouldn't get paid unless they begin to receive revenues.

3. Those who need consulting and financial help to create a profitable business.

4. They will care because I would not only be investing in their ideas, but I would be investing in the person.

5. Core competencies of an individual is the reason they become successful. I think my ability to perform under pressure, meet deadlines, and network will contribute to the success of the business.


I think my kind of service-based business is competent, but there are similar functioning businesses out there already. Looking back on a few other business ideas, it would have been easier to create a product-based business rather than service-based.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Assignment 9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2


Who: I could see many people falling outside the business model that I have proposed because they do not have the drive to start a business. My service would help people develop business models and turn ideas into actions. People who fall outside of my boundary are those who do not want to take on the trouble of beginning a new business from scratch, and would rather pursue careers in businesses that have already stabilized.

What: I think the need I have identified is similar to when someone would take on investors to continue their own self start-up businesses. The point where someone needs help turning their idea into action is where I would make my money. After the action has begun and the business begins to thrive, new challenges propose themselves such as increasing production, sales, marketing and others.

Why: The underlying cause of outsiders in my situation are those not interested in creating a business from an idea they think is profitable. Some people have dreams of working for large corporations or other businesses. Or they believe their idea isn't profitable and would be too difficult to sell or service.


Inside the Boundary

Who is in - People with business ideas and believe they are profitable
What the need is - Turning an idea into an actionable business idea with little money up front
Why the need exists - People have business ideas but believe starting a business is too difficult or too expensive

Outside the Boundary -

Who is not - People who don't have actionable business ideas or intend to pursue them
What the need is not - Taking on an investor
Alternative Explanations - People don't believe they possess the skill set to become a business owner

Assignment 8A - Solving the problem

Selected Opportunity - Starting a business with little to no money needed up front.

Service - Many people struggle with the opportunity to start a business on their own, due to the money needed to buy a foundation for the business.

I would like to create a service that can help people live out their business plans. My service would look for people who want to build a business, but are unaware they can do so with little to no money up front. I intend to help people with ideas build a foundation for their business by providing expertise, design, engineering, advice and networking opportunities - similar to a shark, but without the stake in the company.

My service would come at a cost, after my clients business launches and begins to bring in revenue.