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

Assignment 23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Assignment 23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. (Human Capital) Empathy
   Valuable: A lot of students find it difficult to communicate their concerns to adults and may find it intimidating. My empathy allows me to understand their needs and see where they are coming from in their worries
   Rare: To an extent, since there are empathetic people but not many are found within this market
   Imitable: While people could mimic my idea to manage an apartment complex, the logistics of my business idea would be difficult to replicate many times in the same area. However, they can be imitated by student
   Non-suitable: Other potential resources would be other apartment complexes, but they couldn't help my target group the way I would be able to
2. Affordability of my product
   Valuable: This is one of the first things most people look for when they're making a purchase decision
   Rare: Not many housing units close to campus are within the middle class income budget,
   Imitable: This could be easily copied
   Non-suitable: This preference for a housing unit could be replaced with other preferences
3. Productivity within residents
   Valuable: This is valuable for the experience and resume builder they can use on applications
   Rare: No other apartment complex compensates their residents in rent through labor
   Imitable: With the proper budgeting adjustments, this wouldn't be too difficult to copy
   Non-suitable: There are other ways to lower rent costs
4. Innovation
   Valuable: It's very difficult to come up with a "new" idea nowadays so it is valuable
   Rare: Innovation is equivalent to rarity
   Imitable: It can be but it would take time because it has never been done before
   Non-suitable: there are no other resources that can provide the same benefits
5. Partnership with other complexes
   Valuable: This will allow residents to not need to pay so much to cover for maintenance costs since they will be sharing staff from other complexes
   Rare: not rare, many complexes form partnerships often
   Imitable: Very easily imitable
   Non-suitable: Proper government funding would allow the complex to not need to partner with other ones
6. Accessibility for all
   Valuable: This is valuable because some resident halls, for example, are limited to the type of students that can house themselves there
   Rare: Not very rare, this is a common characteristic of most apartment complexes and dorms
   Imitable: Because it is already common, it is imitable
   Non-suitable: This can be replaced with restrictions on the types of students that are accepted to live in the apartment complex
7. (Human Capital) Having taken LEI3301
   Valuable: This has given me so must insight into the hospitality industry that I'm confident I would be able to have this business plan run successfully
   Rare: This course is limited in the people that can take it so it's somewhat rare
   Imitable: This course is easily imitable
   Non-suitable: There are more advanced courses that can teach me more about the industry
8. (Human Capital) Open-minded
   Valuable: By being open minded, I am very open to accepting criticism and the ideas of others to incorporate them into designs
   Rare: It is not rare
   Imitable: Being open-minded is a mindset and if you don't possess the ability to be this way, it is difficult to train yourself to be
   Non-suitable: Being very liberal in ideas is somewhat similar to being open-minded and produces similar results in leadership
9. Diversity
   Valuable: This would look great on resumes for residents that contribute to the chore work and would be eligible to receive more funding
   Rare: To my knowledge, the diversity of the student-housed residents depends on the amount of diversity within the college
   Imitable: It can be imitated by changing the demographic of your target audience
   Non-suitable: No other resources that can provide the same benefits
10. (Human Capital) Connections
    Valuable: This will give me an advantage in the field and will give me a lift in my position in this market
    Rare: Many people have connections, however it's a matter of the right connections that are rare
    Imitable: It is easy to reach out and network to make connections so yes, it is easily imitable
    Non-suitable: If someone can network for your company, you dont have to be the one to possess this human capital to benefit your company

After completing this exercise, I can see that my top resource is probably my connections. Because I actually have contact with people who are experts in the field I would be entering, I could get firsthand insight on what management methods would need to be changed and if any ideas I would have for my business design are proven to be faulty. As much as I can say these resources of mine give me an advantage, they dont really have any use unless a business expert (such as the one I have connections to) tells me they can be used

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No. 2

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No. 2

Book: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

1. What was the general theme or argument of the book?
   The general theme of the book was that failure is not truly "failure", because you can take what you learned from those experiences and emerge stronger from them. 
2. How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
   For me, this book made me feel a lot better about the many times I got stuck on an assignment or couldn't think of an idea for my business plan. This book emphasized the concept that it's okay and even necessary to experience failure in order to succeed again through other means. We learn a lot in this class similar values, and that its encouraged to be unique with our creations and focuses on innovation. Similarly, the author Scott Adams explains these concepts and that we should give credit where credit is due.
3. If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
   If I had to design an exercise based on the book, I would have students make a collection of skills they have based on what other people say (people that are close enough with them or have worked with them on a project) and another collection of skills other people say they can work on. For the first list, they would explain why those are their strongest skills and what led them to excel in them. For the second list, I would have them address how they can improve on their weaker skills and an example of someone they know that exhibits mastery in the skill. This would help students reflect on their "failures" and how there is actually a way to be successful from them. Also, it would allow them to praise themselves on what skills they do master and give them perspective on how they are still successful despite obstacles they face.
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?
   If I had to pick an "aha" moment from the book, I think it would be Scott Adams addressing that knowledge is more significant than willpower when it comes to being healthy. While some people would agree that strong willpower will push them to keep going when trying to be healthy, Scott argues that the knowledge of how your body works without comparing it to others is the key to being healthy. This is also great advice to implement in your daily life!