Reading Reflection No. 3

I chose the biography written about the Wright Brothers.

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• I was most surprised about the reaction the United States had to the thought of the Wright Brothers actually flying. It was thought that humans were not meant to fly. In the end, the United States eventually believed in the value of the glider that the Wright Brothers created, but France was the country that originally invested into the Wright Brothers. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I think that the overall perseverance of the brothers to continually work to create this glider is what I most admire. 10 years is a very long time to dedicate your life to one product. I think everyone is thankful for the determination they had when working throughout their life to accomplish what seemed to be an impossible task. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• I think this complaint about the Brothers is also attributed to the time that they lived in, but I do not admire the lack of recognition their sister received for all the behind the scenes work she did in order to support her brothers. From writing letters, massaging Wilbur’s legs, and getting the brothers properly dressed, the brothers have much thanks to give to her. 

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• They encountered many failures and obstacles throughout the process of trying to fly. Wilbur’s accident, their mothers death, the refusal of the United States, failure after failure when trying to fly, and many more. Throughout the whole process, they often relied on family and new breakthroughs to propel them into eventual success. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Knowledge, excellent memory and analyses, and tenacity. Their passion throughout their life in combination with those competencies eventually led to their success. It took ten years, but they accomplished something that had never been done before.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you?

 I was definitely confused as to why the US did not even respond to the letter the Wright Brothers sent. I think it would’ve extremely beneficial to the US if they were on the forefront of this technology. Instead France got the recognition for initially investing in the first glider to take flight. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

My first question I would ask is what was the initial thought that sparked the idea behind flying. The second question I would ask would be how did you overcome the challenges and obstacles? Being the first in flight would be Very challenging and I’m sure there were many obstacles. I am very curious to know how they embraced these challenges to be successful. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

As I mentioned above, being the first in flight would be very challenging. The Wright Brothers failed many times before their first successful flight. If I were to guess, they would probably value hard work. I think the majority of entrepreneurs would put hard work as one of the most important characteristics to success. I also agree that hard work is important. The most successful people have the strongest work ethic. 

Your Exit Strategy

In the next five years, I hope to be selling my idea to a larger company for a large profit. I think my product has many opportunists for growth and expansion which will be appealing to potential buyers. I will also work to have already established relationships with big box retailers and Amazonfor a smooth and easy transition. I think a larger corporation could add a lot of value to my product through licensing and reduced manufacturing costs.

I have selected this exit strategy because it will lead to faster profits, which will be used to as investment capital to fund a new business idea in the future.

This exit strategy has influenced my plan because I have always had a large scale business plan even though I would be starting out as a small firm. I planned it to think far ahead and to make future business for the buyer easier. This should make the deal more appealing. I have planned to grow this product to be successful enough to intrigue larger businesses. Once I close the deal, then I can use that money to build another product concept and continue this process. Product development has always been a passion of mine. What follows after the development process, does not interest me half as much.

Failure

In the beginning of this semester, I experienced failure pretty quickly. When attempting to post some of the first assigned blogs, I wrote up the blog, posted it on blogger, but then forgot to submit the url that directs you to the blog post. This resulted in getting no points for the work that I completed. Being so early in the semester, I should have gone back and checked the directions to ensure that I completed the assignment fully.

From the experience. I learned many things. Always know what is expected of you. If I had remembered the tasks associated with submitting my blog post on canvas then I would have received credit. I think this can translate into the real world because missing one task of a project can have a very negative effect on the perception of the work you completed.

Failure to me is not always a bad thing. Yes, it can be very embarrassing at times, but you can often learn much more from your failures than from your successes. I choose to accept failure, learn from it, and then move forward with a positive attitude. I am pretty good at controlling my emotions through hard times and staying level headed. I do not think this class has taught me much about failure, but I think I will be more willing to take larger risks as long as they are very thoroughly calculated.

What's Next?

Existing Market

I think the next main thing for the car table would be to obtain licenses to wrap my product with children's favorite characters. Especially for children ages 4-10, I think this would greatly increase sales and overall perception of my product.

When asking my current market what they people I am not doing with my product, they answered to think bigger in terms of car accessories. I got suggestions of everything from car air fresheners to seat covers to storage for electronics used in the car.

Moving forward, I did like the idea of creating better storage for the car, but did not very much seem interested in either the car air fresheners or seat covers.


New Market

I have chosen to target a typically poorer market. Whether that be college kids or low income homes, many homes that belong to these individuals do not have an ice maker in their fridge. Instead, they must buy bags of ice or use ice trays that never seem to be full or take way to long to freeze. I want to make an affordable ice maker that is fast and small in size to fit in any size refrigerator.

After interviewing two people, both seemed very interested in the concept I had developed. They desired the ease of having a ice maker in the fridge without having to invest a lot of money into buying a new refrigerator. They mentioned that the ice maker should be small inside and there needs to be a lot of research done on the exact shape since many freezers are different sizes.

This new market definitely has a lot of new opportunities. There might actually be some overlap with my old market depending on the income of the families. I think I would have to work very hard to make this product extremely enticing for low income families to be willing to invest in this concept. I think if I partnered with Walmart or Amazon, there would be a potential for great success due to the streamline of production.

Putting it All Together: Awesom - table

Opportunity

The biggest market for my product exists with parents of any age and their children; children being typically between the ages of 4-13. I will essentially be targeting parents because they will be the ones eventually buying the product, but I also need to make the product enticing enough for children to want to use it and thus telling their parents to get it. The actually need is that eating in the car is so unnecessarily difficult. Your lap is uneven making for placing your food in your lap between bites a big risk. The food could spill, crumbs could drop, and using dipping sauce is much more painful than it would be at a table. Sometimes parents calling out "Hold on!" when making that last minute turn just is not enough to save that box of nuggets. Parents end up having to spend their otherwise peaceful Sundays taking hours to vacuum every nook and cranny of kids booster seats and regular seats.

I think kids are more involved with extra school activities than they have ever been. With so many sporting opportunities, after school clubs, and general involvement with clubs, life gets so busy. Sometimes eating dinner together just is not a possibility when you have three kids, each with a different place they need to be. Instead of sitting down to eat, the only way to feed your kids is on the road driving from one place to another.

In terms of geographically defining this target market, I think the only factors that truly play into it would be access to drive a car (not a busy city that relies on public transportation). When looking into demographics, age is definitely a factor for children simply due to maturity. The age of the parents is not really a factor, but I would assume younger parents would be more interested in this problem as older ones might have a higher expectation for their child's eating habits in the car. This is definitely an assumption and not a definite fact in the market.

Currently there is not much being done in the market place to accommodate this need. Products have come out to assist in writing, coloring, or holding a laptop in the car, but nothing has really been provided successfully to assist eating in the car. With that being said, people might not be loyal to another product, but historically people are resistant to change. I would have to make sure there is a big enough need and I create a product that addresses the issue of eating in the car and do it in a way has an exceptional design and a great perceived value in order to be successful.

This opportunity is utterly huge! Think of how many families there are worldwide that have children involved in extracurriculars. Even if they are not extremely involved, there are also so many families who take road trips which consists mainly of having food in the car.

On top of the opportunity being huge, there are slightly fewer than four million babies born in the United States each year. Even if only one quarter of those are born into a new family, that is a million potential customers. There is truly no ending window of opportunity for this product.

Innovation

In order to make eating easier, I have created what I call the car table. It is pretty much what is says it is. You will no longer have to worry about spills from uneven laps or having nothing there to catch your food when it slides because of sharp turns. The car table with measure approximately two feet by one foot and feature three inch sides. The table will be able to fold easily to best fit in between the seats or underneath the seats depending on you car seat orientation. The table will also be fully customizable. Whether you prefer a classic black look or you child wants a colorful rainbow and unicorn design, we will offer it all. We want their to be an element of excitement around this product, whether that be because it is very aesthetically pleasing or the fun wild design. With the foldable ability of the table, it will lock in all the crumbs making for easy cleanup for the parents and no hours spent vacuuming out car seats. For this product, I will charge somewhere between $25 and $35 depending on the design chosen for the table.

Venture

My product solves many of the stated issues in the opportunity including: losing food during sharp turns (the sides of the table will now prevent this), not having a flat surface to set food or dip your food in sauces, and the issue of endless crumbs all over the car. Having no direct competitors, I will have to persuade my target market that this product will save them time and money in the future. I also have to convince children that it is fun to use this product when eating in order to entice parents to purchase it for their child. Price point, customer service, customer experience, and business location will be the most important factors of business. The price point will make or break this product. Because this is a new product, I have to price it low enough for people to be willing to try it, but high enough for people to believe the product is high quality. I will strive to have a very high level of customer service and live by the mantra "the customer is always right". My product is based off of simplify the customer's experience of eating in the car. If I do not create a great customer experience, then I have failed at creating this product.

_______________________

First, my most important resource would be commitment to succeed as well as knowledge in both marketing and retail. Knowledge will put me a head above the rest and my commitment will take me to the finish line.

Second, I would love to get licenses in order to put marvel, Disney, and other characters on my products. The next product I want to make readily available to everyday consumers would be a charging platform for your car that allows you to charge it without plugging it in.

Third, after I have created my product, five years down the road I would love to have sold the company for a large amount of money and use that money to invest in other ventures.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Ten Resources for the Car Table


1) Marketing expertise

Valuable - Having marketing experience can be extremely valuable to a business; especially a start-up. Knowing how to market your product and best practices will help my business get off the ground and start selling product.

Rare - I think many people have ideas of how to show case their product, but having a four year degree bout marketing is less common among entrepreneurs. I will have the background to do in depth market research and analysis.

Inimitable - There are many resources available to learn about marketing, but in order to work three jobs in marketing and get a bachelor's degree takes a lot of time and resources.

Non-substitutable - You could hire someone to control your marketing efforts so there are substitutes available. If you have a lot of capital, then it very possible.


2) Background in sales

Valuable - A background in sales can be very valuable in deciding the best way to sell your product and also having the confidence to do so.

Rare - There are many people who are qualified to do sales, but having the proper training and personality to do so can be rare.

Inimitable - Again, sales can be learned from books. In order to be good, you must practice so that will take a lot of effort, but the bottom line is you can buy books and learn how to sell anyone anything.

Non-substitutable -  If you have the money to spend, you can hire someone develop a sales strategy and also salespeople to sell your product.


3) Retail expertise

Valuable - Retail expertise and experience will be valuable for this business. Selling any product requires some knowledge of retail in order to sell it on an online retailer or brick-and-mortar retailer.

Rare - I have a minor in retailing as well as experience working at a company that has department, off-price, and specialty stores. This broad background is hard to come by, but there are definitely people who have similar experience and more.

Inimitable - This resource takes many years as well as time reading materials. Like any type of business, it has it's own jargon and complex intricacies. Retail is a world all of it's own.

Non-substitutable - This resource is vital, but like the past resources you can hire someone with this experience or read books to gain this knowledge for the company.


4) Commitment to succeed

Valuable - This resource will be absolutely invaluable throughout the process of bringing this product to fruition. Starting a business can consume your whole life and requires so much commitment to put the tasks needed for this project above many other things in your life.

Rare - I think a lot of people become lazy and do not have the perseverance to complete a project of this magnitude. This has to be something you were born with or have experience something to propel you to have commitment to becoming successful.

Inimitable - There will definitely be some people who are determined, but your will to succeed can differentiate you in the market place. People will be able to see your persistence in your actions and how much you invest (time and money) into this business.

Non-substitutable - There are no other resources to compensate for this. You either want it or you don't. Plain as that.


5) Contacts in Retail

Valuable - Having people who already have connections with major manufacturers will be extremely helpful when looking for companies to make this product.

Rare - It is pretty rare to already have contacts and connections that will connect you with manufacturers.

Inimitable - People cannot really copy having preexisting contacts.

Non-substitutable - People can develop relationships overtime, but that takes time, trust, and good intentions.


6) Many connections with potential customers

Valuable - I think this will be extremely valuable because I can consult these potential customers throughout the process in hopes of getting quality feedback on my product.

Rare - I think this is rare depending on your age group. Being a young adult a know many people who are young mothers which is my target customer.

Inimitable - These connections can be made, but it would be unlikely that you would receive as much feedback or at the quality as I would.

Non-substitutable - People can ask random people in this target market or develop relationships with them.


7) Time to dedicate

Valuable - This extremely valuable to the success of any project especially a new business.

Rare - This is rare. Many people are busy working or doing intensive schooling.

Inimitable - People could quit everything and invest time into their business, but that takes a lot of guts and a lot of money already in the bank.

Non-substitutable - This resource can not be obtained through anything else.


8) Optimistic yet realistic mindset

Valuable - Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of hope in your business and natural talent. With hope must also come common sense and the ability to be realistic on what needs to be accomplished in order for the product to actually exist.

Rare - I think this mindset is pretty rare. Most people are either optimistic or realistic, but not often both.

Inimitable - I think this is hard to imitate, but I suppose you could have a friend or colleague who could offer one mindset or the other.

Non-substitutable - Not many other resources can provide the long term benefit this mindset can have.


9) Family and friends willing to invest

Valuable - This will be extremely valuable to get things started. You always need investors when starting a business.

Rare - People actually willing to help you are unfortunately often hard to find.

Inimitable - If an individual doesn't already have a support system, it is hard to just find one somewhere.

Non-substitutable - A company could recruit investors to help raise funds for the business.


10) Likable personality

Valuable - This will be so important for anything in life. People like other people who are friendly, happy, and easy to get along with.

Rare - This isn't extremely hard to find, but often times genuine people are hard to find.

Inimitable - If people do not have a good personality, then yes it is hard to copy it.

Non-substitutable - There are no other resources to provide the benefit of this resource.


I think marketing expertise, retail connections, and commitment to succeed are my top resources because I have a great knowledge base to work off of for currently marketing my product, gaining manufacturers support, and the perseverance to stick out till I achieve success.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/GZUou92Lw9c

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

I only had one comment giving feedback on my previous pitch. It was said that I spoke slowly and confidently. The message was clearly communicated in the pitch. They also mentioned the video quality and lighting was better than the video before. 

What did you change, based on the feedback?

I did not necessarily change a lot. I made sure I spoke clearly and tried to be engaging in front of the camera. I also made sure to capture the video in a way to ensure the quality and lighting were exceptional. 

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 argument throughout the book was trying to show different methods of using social media and how some work better than others. For example, you should never buy followers or likes on social media platforms. Instead, you should create or curate content that draws people to your page. Basically the overall theme was "content is king". He believed that if you show great content to your followers or readers they will continue to like it and share it with others. The author was also a firm believer in continually sharing content, giving credit where credit is due (or hat tipping as he called it), linking all your social media accounts, being concise and not making things too complex, and always responding to all comments and messages. 

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

I think the book connected with what we are learning in ENT3003 because when starting a business you will need to know how to successfully use social media in order to promote your products or services as well as connect with consumers. It talked about how businesses can effectively use different social media platforms to best engage their customers/potential customers. 

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

The exercise would involve thinking of different handles for each social media platform for their business they think would best represent the business. Additionally, they could create a bio for each platform and curate some content that would start the page. Every social media platform is used for different purposes based on the nature of the platform as well as what the societal norm is at the time. Looking into how similar businesses use social media could greatly benefit the student when first learning more about the business. 

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?

I realized a couple things while reading. The author has very little patience for improper use of social media, people who unnecessarily voice their opinions, use a negative tone or cuss a lot, hates SEO, and worships Google Plus. I lost a lot of respect for him after those last two realizations. One being that SEO is more than "tricking google" as he says. It has become vital to many businesses and a key focus in digital marketing efforts. Also, he says that Google Plus isn't a ghost town, but I have a very different opinion especially since it was announced that Google is shutting down Google Plus. I think this book needs to be revamped and updated to highlight the most recent practices of social media.

Growing Your Social Capital

Person #1

1) My first person is Elizabeth Watson. She works in a product development department creating car accessories. Previously, she worked to design toys for children.

2) She is my "domain expert". Because she works with car accessories so she knows about products made for cars as an addition to the features cars already offer.

3) For all of my contacts, I asked my parents if they knew of someone in this particular industry. Once they gave me the name and contact information, I reached out and asked if they would mind listening to my idea.

4) She listened to my idea and in turn Elizabeth asked for my opinion on a product she was working on. It was a new design for car coasters!

5) She will be vital in my network because of her history working with the parameters of the interior of a car. She can give me some consumer insight to the characteristics people prefer for products they use in a car. 


Person #2

1) My second person is Jeffery King. He works for an off-price retailer as a buyer for the kids department. Before this role, he has worked for other retailers buying in the beauty and kids departments.

2) I am using Jeff as my market expert. He fills this position because he is also targeting moms buying products for their children which is one of my main target markets.

3) Like the previously contact, I asked my parents to connect me with someone they new in this area. I thought this would be the easiest way to contact someone and get a response back.

4) I asked Jeff to listen to my car table idea and in return he asked me to ask my little brother and sister if they minded looking at some phone cases he was looking into buying.

5) This person will be vital because they could potentially put me in contact with a buyer that might be interested in my product.


Person #3 

1) My third person is Katie Long. She works for a water bottle manufacturer which sells their products to athletic retailers. 

2) I am using Katie as my supplier because she works for a company who makes and sells products. 

3) Again, thankfully my parents knew Katie and helped me get in contact with her. 

4) I asked her to listen to my product concept and in turn asked me to test a new water bottle they made that has GPS feature. 

5) Katie will be vital as part of my network because working in the manufacturing business she could either suggest a manufacturer to pursue or help secure a supply channel once my product is developed. 

Reflect

This experience definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. I have only ever contacted one of my parents contacts before when I was looking to improve my interviewing abilities and expand my network. This required me to understand more about what these new contacts do and also ask to help them in some way in order to create a win-win situation. Like I said I do not often participate in targeted networking so this process helped me to be more open and practice talking to new people. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

Car Table

1) You. 

A few of my skills include leadership, communication, creativity, determination, attention to detail, will to succeed, and problem solving. I have experience with graphic design, Microsoft Office suite, and have worked as a Marketing Intern for three different companies. I aspire to work up to managing a marketing team or multiple teams working with social, email, and product campaigns. I also have an interest in product development. I see this business being a great way to showcase my talents while gaining experience working in an entrepreneurial mindset.

2) What are you offering to customers?

I am offering a table for their lap to use while eating in the car. It will provide a flat surface with elevated sides to catch any food that happens to move during driving. It will be foldable for easy storage. Overall, it will simplify the process of eating in the car and make it worry free. 

3) Who are you offering it to?

I am offering it to essentially anyone who wishes to eat in the car. Specifically, I am targeting moms with children who often eat in the car. The are frequently driving to school, driving to practice, and other after school activities. This will help simplify their busy lives and make any meal on the go stress free. This product could also be for commuters as well. 

4) Why do they care?

Customers will actually pay money for this because so many spills and messes cause for headaches later down the road. Hours spent cleaning and trying to get stains out of the car seats will no longer be a problem with the car table. 

5) What are your core competencies?

Product wise, nobody has thought to make sides on the table to reduce food for gliding off the table. Another thing is our able to fold the table to easily fit in between the seats or under the seat. One last feature is the various colors and styles it will come in. Your car table will not be boring; instead it can be bright and fun or classic and sophisticated. 


I think overall all these elements fit very well together. The easy use, fun colors, and elevated sides make for a product that is great for kids who eat on the road. The easy cleanup that it will offer will be great for busy moms and dads who don't have much time to spend cleaning the car. 


Feedback memo

Two points mentioned in my feedback were how concise the explanation of the product was and how my experience will be valuable to the business. I made a point to be very clear and concise throughout this blog to showcase my product and all its attributes. In the beginning, I again highlighted my experience and skills. I made sure to mention how running this business will be a way to showcase all my talents in order to be successful in business.