Assignment 30A- Final Reflection

Assignment 30A- Final Reflection

1. Rereading these posts made me have a lot of flashbacks. This semester was so challenging for me that even the most entertaining assignments felt like a chore for me. I really wish this semester had been easier for all of us because these assignments are actually very engaging and fun, but your experience definitely depends on your product idea and where you are mentally
2. During my time in this course, I felt like I went through a lot of formative experiences. The whole idea of creating a product that we would develop throughout the semester was what stood out most to me, and definitely what I'm most proud of accomplishing. I think my most joyous moments were reading the comments on my posts and seeing everyone's positive responses and comments
3. I do believe I've grown to have an entrepreneurial mindset from this class. I went through many steps to create a business model of my venture concept and I think now, given that I have real experience, I would feel comfortable enough to start actually creating a product of my own
4. For students journeying down this path in the future, I would recommend to plan out their semester with this course from the beginning. Since the first lecture, Professor Pryor says students can be basically done with this class by end of February and he's right! I wish I would've planned out my semester to take the load of the assignments off my shoulders way earlier, but I would highly recommend doing that from the beginning. Also, to genuinely enjoy the product they're designing! Having a passion for the things you create allow for better work and better design. Enjoy the class and give yourself a break once in a while!

Assignment 29A- Venture Concept No. 2

Assignment 29A- Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity 

For this business design, my opportunity is easily identified. Being a low-income college student myself and also someone who identifies with a minority group in our student population (Hispanic/Latinx), I wanted to target a market segment that I can relate to and understand their needs. Therefore, the potential customers for my business idea are also low-income college students who primarily identify with a minority group within the respective college's student population, which in this case would be UF. The opportunity of this business idea occurs every year, and even appears to be in high demand at the start of each semester, but mainly towards the start of the academic school year in the fall/late summer. For this reason, my idea would be successful since there is always going to be a consistent new group of individuals every year who are seeking my product. The market is a clear demographic of students who can provide information of their financial and ethnic backgrounds upon completion of applications to be accepted as a resident of the housing complex. As of now, customers that are housed in off-campus housing need to be making a significant income to afford the rent of a place located close to campus and with decent living conditions- rent for a place like The Standard or Social 28 can range anywhere from $900-$1200 a month! With my idea, customers will absolutely be looking to find a place that can provide similar living conditions and maintain close proximity to campus for classes and studies for a low rate. Many low-income students don't get to experience these luxuries due to their financial situations, and my business idea gives them the opportunity to do just that- live in a place close, affordable, and nice for a low cost and small labor contribution to the complex. 

Innovation

The "product" I am offering is a housing complex designed for low-income students that will allow residents the ability to enjoy luxury-style amenities and decent housing while also remaining close to campus, especially for those students who cannot afford to bring a car to college or the bus routes do not reach their current apartment. Because this business would be in partnership with other complexes in the area that have maintenance staff and other business necessities, the monthly cost for residents would have to start out at around $530, which is an extremely good price for the location and style of housing. After the business has gained traction and become functional, the rent rate could eventually go down by as much as $100. To get the company started, students can be expected to pay the equivalent to a security deposit upon signing a lease, which could be up to a $400 deposit for unexpected costs that may arise during their time with the company. This housing complex can also ensure that there is an even amount of students from each grade level residing with them by maintaining a cap of how many 1-4th year students and graduate students are allowed to sign a lease during a semester. As the business begins to take off, expansion can happen as well and the cap can slowly become bigger and bigger depending on how well the system works. To keep rent costs low, students who are residents can contribute a small workload each week that normal apartment complexes would have maintenance do, such as sweeping hallways and delivering mail in exchange for low rent. These tasks can also be used for resumes and experience as the graduate student-run complex can also provide letters of recommendations for those students who so choose to put this experience on their resumes.

Venture Concept

All in all, I don't find it'll be difficult to get customers to switch to this product. I already am aware that this need exists to a great extent within student populations worldwide, and this business idea could really take off and expand if all were to go well. After going through many forums and speaking to low-income students firsthand, I've come to find this idea that a small labor task in exchange for residency at such a clean, convenient housing is more than worth it for the price of its monthly rent. I would be facing many other competitors, such as all the other apartment complexes close to campus that offer similar or even better facilities/location, but I think my offer for lower rent supersedes the need for these apartment complexes. Again, my market segment is somewhat limited in demographics of who can apply for a lease, but I know that at least the people in my target group would be extremely interested and I believe I will have a steady number of customers. Additionally, the convenience of it just being within walking distance to campus is enough to attract customers to my product idea.

Secret Sauce

I believe that my most important resource will be convenience in conjunction with affordability. The two seem to be mutually exclusive with regards to housing units around campus, and this business idea offers the best of both worlds. Not many places to live off-campus offer decent living conditions for a low price, and the incorporation of the two in this product is what will ultimately attract customers to want to purchase it. In the future, it may be cool to extend the business and offer a line of "rental" cars or scooters that students can borrow for the year. This would be designed again for low-income students who cannot afford to have their own cars or scooters on campus with them for transportation during the school year. For my own next steps, I would like this business venture to introduce me to the world of hospitality and kick-start my dream of working in the tourism and travel industry. This would just be the start to my career in hospitality and remind me of my humble beginnings when I hopefully own my own company in the future someday

Feedback

I mainly got positive feedback rather than constructive criticism, which was unfortunate. However, I definitely wanted to highlight the positive feedback which I greatly appreciated while also giving my own constructive criticism for someone who may want to actually implement this business venture in the future. I appreciated that the idea was received well and that there are others who agree my design is unique and extremely needed by college campuses. I terms of logistics, I think we could come up with a better idea on how to keep the complex sustainable without having to "borrow" workers from other complexes essentially. Maybe in the future we can partner with the university instead and employ workers with their budget.

Assignment 28A- Your Exit Strategy

Assignment 28A- Your Exit Strategy

1. Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
   In all honesty, I dont believe I can see myself managing a business like this very far into the future. It was designed for college students to help other college students, and once I dont fall into that category anymore, I will sell the business and make a nice profit to start off my life with.
2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
   I selected this strategy because I think while it would be a good experience and job to have coming out of college, I hope to be able to move higher and work with more recognized companies in the corporate world. I have no business managing a college campus housing unit for the rest of my life.
3. How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?
   I think my exit strategy may have influenced the way I thought about my business plan and how to improve it. Knowing that this wasn't a business I was planning to be in for the long run made me a little more relaxed about the venture concept idea since I knew there would be someone else dealing with it in the future. Admittedly, that may have not been the best way to think about it, but there's always room for improvement and this class taught me it was okay to fail.

Assignment 27A- Reading Reflection No. 3

Assignment 27A- Reading Reflection No. 3

Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

1. What was the general theme or argument of the book?
   The general theme of the book was how our several psychological biases are natural and it's important to acknowledge them in order to be more self aware about our judgments and decisions 
2. How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
   I think it connected with the course because our assignments require us to do a lot of self reflection and think about the way people make decisions, which is also a concept explored in the book. Our 2 systems of thinking can absolutely affect the way we behave which, in turn, can help us better understand buyer behavior which will affect our venture concepts.
3. If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
   The exercise I would design based off this book would be to essentially create a list of situations and have students decide what their responses to each one of them would be when following system 1 thinking and then system 2 thinking. It would be cool to see what each student's automatic first behavior would be through system 1 thinking, and then how their system 2 decisions actually showcase who they are as a person and their way of deconstructing situations to react appropriately
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 "aha" moment was his explanation of the bat and ball problem. The problem gives an excellent example of how system 1 thinking overtakes system 2 thinking and it shocked me so much because I fell into the trap. The question is "A bat and ball cost $1.10. The bat costs one dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?" where the answer is 5 cents instead of 10 because if the bat costs $1 more, it comes out to $1.05, which, combined gives you $1.10. He explained that overriding this system 1 thought is difficult but requires deliberate, intentional thinking

Assignment 26A- Celebrating Failure

Assignment 26- Celebrating Failure

1. During this semester and year in general, I experienced a LOT of failure with regards to academics and my personal life. In one instance, I helped lead a very large general body meetings where nearly 100 students (both UF students and exchange students) were there in attendance. The presentation ran fairly smooth, and we usually end the meeting with a game of two truths and a lie about each exchange students' home universities. Somehow, the answer key to the game was completely messed up and resulted in nearly a 30 minute delay of the game, which didnt even function properly after "fixing it". This was very embarrassing for both the executive board members and the students in the organization, and is definitely a time that I think I failed.
2. From this event, I learned that failure happens even at the most inconvenient of times. In the moments you need things to work most, like in front of an audience for example, they don't, and that's life. The only thing our executive board could do was laugh about it and come together to brainstorm ways to fix the situation either in the future or immediately.
3. In general, I learned that failure will happen whenever it wants to and you kind of just have to roll with the punches. Embrace it, accept it, and understand that it will keep happening until the day you die. Personally, I've become someone who is afraid of failure but ready to take it on. I think this year was very challenging for me because I failed so much more than I'd like to admit, but I'm clearly alive and well and made it through all of my failures in life if I can be where I am today. This class made me realize that someone else's failures can be your greatest strengths, so always look at your failure as an opportunity.

Assignment 25A- What's Next?

Assignment 25A- What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1: For my service, I think the next steps are to ultimately begin putting this idea into practice and begin receiving funding for its implementation. Then, once my business has begun, I would work on expanding to other college campuses across the nation and see how geographical location may alter the needs of the students and how we can begin the process of improving conditions depending on location

Step 2: Interview component suspended

Step 3: For my venture, I think it would be smart to first gather a group of students who would for sure use my facilities should it actually come to life one day. I think it would be important to ensure there is a waiting market segment and available government funding so that once this business venture begins, there is steady income to keep it maintained and growing.

New Market

Step 1: A new potential market I could target are specifically international students

Step 2: My venture concept could benefit international students because they also seek affordable, clean housing when coming from across the world to attend an institution. They also shouldn't have to resort to dirty houses or strictly on-campus dorms for living just because they may not have the funds to find something luxurious since they're already paying 3x more than U.S. residents for tuition
Step 3: Interview component suspended

Step 4: Through this market, I learned more about the demographic that I identify with than I've ever known. I got firsthand experience speaking with potential customers and I learned about many different opinions from people who all fit into the category of my targeted audience. I think introducing this business design to this new market would open up a lot of opportunity since they are also a large population of individuals who seek the services I am providing. This market appears equally attractive and maybe even more desirable since there are less options for housing for international students than just low-income students in general. I would definitely consider this market in the future after my business has successfully taken off.

Assignment 24A- Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24 A- Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

For this business design, my opportunity is easily identified. Being a low-income college student myself and also someone who identifies with a minority group in our student population (Hispanic/Latinx), I wanted to target a market segment that I can relate to and understand their needs. Therefore, the potential customers for my business idea are also low-income college students who primarily identify with a minority group within the respective college's student population, which in this case would be UF. The opportunity of this business idea occurs every year, and even appears to be in high demand at the start of each semester, but mainly towards the start of the academic school year in the fall/late summer. For this reason, my idea would be successful since there is always going to be a consistent new group of individuals every year who are seeking my product. The market is a clear demographic of students who can provide information of their financial and ethnic backgrounds upon completion of applications to be accepted as a resident of the housing complex. As of now, customers that are housed in off-campus housing need to be making a significant income to afford the rent of a place located close to campus and with decent living conditions- rent for a place like The Standard or Social 28 can range anywhere from $900-$1200 a month! With my idea, customers will absolutely be looking to find a place that can provide similar living conditions and maintain close proximity to campus for classes and studies for a low rate. Many low-income students don't get to experience these luxuries due to their financial situations, and my business idea gives them the opportunity to do just that- live in a place close, affordable, and nice for a low cost and small labor contribution to the complex. 

Innovation

The "product" I am offering is a housing complex designed for low-income students that will allow residents the ability to enjoy luxury-style amenities and decent housing while also remaining close to campus, especially for those students who cannot afford to bring a car to college or the bus routes do not reach their current apartment. Because this business would be in partnership with other complexes in the area that have maintenance staff and other business necessities, the monthly cost for residents would have to start out at around $530, which is an extremely good price for the location and style of housing. After the business has gained traction and become functional, the rent rate could eventually go down by as much as $100. To get the company started, students can be expected to pay the equivalent to a security deposit upon signing a lease, which could be up to a $400 deposit for unexpected costs that may arise during their time with the company. This housing complex can also ensure that there is an even amount of students from each grade level residing with them by maintaining a cap of how many 1-4th year students and graduate students are allowed to sign a lease during a semester. As the business begins to take off, expansion can happen as well and the cap can slowly become bigger and bigger depending on how well the system works. To keep rent costs low, students who are residents can contribute a small workload each week that normal apartment complexes would have maintenance do, such as sweeping hallways and delivering mail in exchange for low rent. These tasks can also be used for resumes and experience as the graduate student-run complex can also provide letters of recommendations for those students who so choose to put this experience on their resumes.

Venture Concept

All in all, I don't find it'll be difficult to get customers to switch to this product. I already am aware that this need exists to a great extent within student populations worldwide, and this business idea could really take off and expand if all were to go well. After going through many forums and speaking to low-income students firsthand, I've come to find this idea that a small labor task in exchange for residency at such a clean, convenient housing is more than worth it for the price of its monthly rent. I would be facing many other competitors, such as all the other apartment complexes close to campus that offer similar or even better facilities/location, but I think my offer for lower rent supersedes the need for these apartment complexes. Again, my market segment is somewhat limited in demographics of who can apply for a lease, but I know that at least the people in my target group would be extremely interested and I believe I will have a steady number of customers. Additionally, the convenience of it just being within walking distance to campus is enough to attract customers to my product idea.

Secret Sauce

I believe that my most important resource will be convenience in conjunction with affordability. The two seem to be mutually exclusive with regards to housing units around campus, and this business idea offers the best of both worlds. Not many places to live off-campus offer decent living conditions for a low price, and the incorporation of the two in this product is what will ultimately attract customers to want to purchase it. In the future, it may be cool to extend the business and offer a line of "rental" cars or scooters that students can borrow for the year. This would be designed again for low-income students who cannot afford to have their own cars or scooters on campus with them for transportation during the school year. For my own next steps, I would like this business venture to introduce me to the world of hospitality and kick-start my dream of working in the tourism and travel industry. This would just be the start to my career in hospitality and remind me of my humble beginnings when I hopefully own my own company in the future someday