30A - Final Reflection

What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

The experience that I will remember the most in this class is the Idea Napkins. I really enjoyed getting to think about how I would actually go through with my product and what would allow me to stand out above the rest. I will also remember interviewing people for the assignments. Although it was tedious at times it was sometimes interesting to see how other people viewed my product and the advice that they gave me to become successful.

At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I do continue to see myself as an entrepreneur as I did at the beginning of the class. I do think that my ideas and thoughts will continue to allow me to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This class did allow me to think outside of the box and come up with new ideas to allow myself to stand out from everyone else. 

What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

Try to be creative and be creative early on. A lot of the assignments are repetitive and I felt like I was just repeating myself in a couple of assignments. Also, come up with a good idea at the beginning because you have to go in depth. If you choose something that is hard to write about it the rest of the assignments will be hard.

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

• Today's college students tend to live a busy life, unable to make healthy eating choices because they simply don't have the time to make the food or the money to pay for it. They also tend to eat I believe an opportunity exists for fast healthy meals designed specifically for college students at a low cost that are open late.
• According to a recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, over half of college students (59%) have high levels of "food insecurity". This means that they have limited or uncertain availability to healthy foods due to high costs. To compare this to all households in the United States (only 14.9%) we can see that the biggest problem lies in the lives of the college students. This can lead to a greater risk for malnutrition. High food costs, limited income, and poor food support systems are contributing risk factors of food insecurity.
• The need is for college students to be able to afford quick and healthy meals so that they can continue their educational lives as well as continue to get the nutrients they need to be active and healthy. 
• The forces that allow this to occur are a lack of funding, lack of time to make food, and lack of knowledge about the benefits of healthy food. This causes a window of opportunity to remain open until all of the factors are resolved. 
• There is a no current satisfactory resolution to this need. Many interviewees complained of the high price of healthy food, as well as not having enough time to cook during the day. They also complained that most of the restaurants that do have fast food options or delivery services do not have healthy meal options. If these interviews showed a good representation of student populations throughout the country, than there are many people that are struggling with this issue and many of them are willing and open to looking at a new solution. 
• Potential customers are college students who are confronted with jobs, a heavy work load, and a social life. They may have many things that they come across throughout the day that cause them to be unable to cook themselves healthy meals, and they also may not enjoy eating out at unhealthy restaurants.

Innovation:

• For individuals with limited budgets, the food options will be priced very reasonably. Students with a college ID will receive a discount. There will also be a loyalty program for those who eat there often, and a discount if multiple meals are ordered/delivered per week. There will also be an option to get the food delivered cooked and uncooked, with the uncooked version being cheaper as well. An example of an uncooked meal getting delivered to the house will range anywhere from $6-8 depending upon the meal. This is a great option and great price for a full meal with healthy, organic foods. 
• For individuals with a tight schedule, the delivery option will be available for the food services. Some may prefer to have the food delivered to their apartments/houses every week, or twice a week, while others may prefer to pick it up at the restaurant daily. 
• Businesses with larger budgets may purchase food for catering which will be able to be delivered the day of, or if it is a large order placed ahead of time. This will allow the companies to host fast food for company events that have healthy choices and options. 

Venture Concepts:

• Individuals will buy this product if they are concerned with eating healthy foods in a quick time manner. They will be able to purchase the food in store, online, or over the phone.
• Businesses will buy this product if large quantities can be purchased at discounts and it provides a healthy meal option for large meetings or conferences. With the variety of food options that will be available, all businesses should be interested in this product.
• The term "Switch" is applicable because there are other alternatives to this product. Some individuals may prefer cooking their own food and not like eating something that was cooked by others. Some other students may still run into price difficulties depending on the funding that they have available. 
• There are a few major competitors, however the competition will be limited due to the cheap price of the product.

Price Points:

• If the price of the food is too expensive, my other competitors will have a better chance of getting customers that I could have had. The price must make a minimum profit, with the hopes that the great volume of students will bring in the most money. 

Distribution:

• I will first distribute this product to students at college campuses. As this starts to take off, I will start to expand to other individuals such as families and businesses. The ability to be able to market on college campuses will help the product grow greatly. I will be able to attend events with samples of the product and coupons to entice students to go to the restaurant.

Customer Service:

• The customer service to the students and other individuals will be the most important concept of this product. As the owner, I will focus on the customer service instead of managing the product. It is more important to me to hire others to manage and spend time focusing on what make the customer happy. 

Location:

• The first restaurant will be close to college campuses and bars. There will also be a delivery service between a certain radius as well as an online ordering system.

Employees:

• To begin, there will be minimal employees. I will continue to hire employees as the product grows, hopefully expanding the restaurant to other college towns. To begin, we will need cooks, managers, cashiers, delivery, and marketers.

Feedback/Changes:

• I will make sure to include more about other individuals and businesses instead of just students. Although they will be the main focus, they alone will not be able to fund this product.
• The location of the restaurant will be vital to the product as well as the delivery service. 
• The price of this product will also be important because there are other competitors in this industry. 

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

Grinding It Out: The Making of Mcdonald's, Ray Kroc

1. When reading this, the thing that surprised me the most was that Ray Kroc was already in his 50's when he started the business and he spent a significant amount of time after that continuing to develop his business. I admired his willingness to keep going and not give up in times of adversity. It was also interesting to see how he grew from the beginning of making paper cups into creating such a successful business. The thing that I admired least from Kroc is when he did not push harder to own the Multimixer business. One time when Kroc came across adversity was when he tried to make the french fries from the recipe that was given to him. Although this recipe was supposed to make great french fries, they did not come out like they were supposed to. However, he did not give up until he got the recipe just right to make the best french fries.

2. He is decisive and risk-taking when making decisions about the company. He was confident in knowing that his business was going to be successful even when he was having issues. He was also innovative and able to problem solve when he was not able to make the french fries correctly.

3. I did not understand why the paper cup employer was part of the Multimixer business. It became a little more clear as the reading went on.

4. How long did it take you to make Mcdonald's a really successful business?
Did you think you were going to fail when you could not get the recipe for french fries correct?

5. I think that the entrepreneur had a good opinion of hard work. I think that since he was older, he had a different outlook on life and why he wanted to be successful. I think he saw the potential in the business and was able to do different things in order to make it successful.

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1. If i were to pursue this business, I would probably end up using the profits to invest in other ideas and companies. Although I will most likely keep the business, I will probably be less involved as the years go on. I don't think I would protect the venture as a family business. I would want my future family to have their own choices and ideas about what they want to do in life and not feel forced to be a part of the family business.

2. I have selected this exit strategy because I believe that they best fit my goals that I hope to achieve in life. I look to be a successful entrepreneur but I don't plan on staying in one particular business for an extended period of time.

3. I think that my exit strategy has influenced other decisions that I have made in my concept. The way that I would run my business would allow me to be available more in the design phases and allow me to interact more with the customers instead of managing it. I think it has influenced how I have acquired and used resources because I would be looking at the views of the customers greatly when choosing which resources to use.

26A - Celebrating Failure

1) This semester I had a hard time keeping up with my course load of 17 credit hours. Since this class is not related to my construction classes and is online, I had a hard time keeping up with the assignments in this class. Overall, this semester tested my ability to be organized and to figure out how to do assignments for all of my other classes along with this one.

2) I learned that keeping up with classes this semester was harder than past semester due to the high level of courses i am taking in my major along with the online classes that I am taking. I also learned to do the assignments for this course early in the week, or I will often forget to do them by the due date.

3) I learned that failing an assignment because you forgot about it is not fun, nor is it good for your grade. Even though I did not like it when it happened the first time, it still happened more than once because I didn't change my actions soon enough. I don't think I'm any more likely to take risks than I was before taking this course. I do believe, however that this course showed me that there's a lot of ideas out there that can lead to success that haven't been thought of yet.

25A - What's Next?

What I Think Is Next?

Existing Market:

I believe that the next step in my market would be to cater the restaurant services specifically to college students. The more that the college students support and promote the services, the more that the general public would support and promote them. In terms of growing my business in an existing market, I believe that it would be best to partner with local businesses. They would be willing to help and support the business as well as help me with ideas on how to better promote the business.

New Market:

A radically new market for my company to emerge in would be an older, more sophisticated and family oriented crowd. I don't think that our apartment would do as well in this type of market because those that are in families are less likely to order meals to eat instead of cooking. The reason that this market is intriguing for college students because they tend to have little time to cook for themselves. It is also more expensive to cook for one person then it is to cook for four people.

Reflection:

After interviewing for the new market, I realized that it would in fact work better in a college market then it would in a more family oriented market. After interviewing a family of four, they decided that it is much cheaper to cook for a family of four than it is for a single college student to cook. I don't believe that this market is as attractive as the existing market, however I think that there are ways to change my idea to cater to different markets. One of my interviews said I had a great idea but it was very much catered to the market that I was trying to pursue.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Lack of Competitors
V: This is very valuable, because there will be less competition to be successful
R: It is pretty rare not to have a lot of competitors. Typically most ideas have a lot of businesses chasing it.
I: This can be imitated in different ways, but i don't think may people will have the exact idea that I have.
N: There are other resources that can provide resources like food, but none that can provide exactly what i'm offering.

2. Being close to a college campus
V: This is very valuable because it will be easy for the students to get to the restaurant from class.
R: It is not rare for restaurants to be close to campus
I: This can be imitated because other restaurants are open close to campus.
N: This cannot be substituted.

3. Delivery Service
V: This is very valuable because not a lot of student will want to go to the actual restaurants to pick up their food.
R: This is not rare for restaurants to have a delivery service.
I: It can be imitated because any restaurant can open up a delivery service
N: It cannot be substituted

4. Support of student organizations
V: Getting the support of student organizations would be very valuable, it would cause students to be more involved in the product.
R: It is not rare for student organizations to promote a particular product
I: It cannot be imitated.
N: It could be substituted by the support of a different organization.

5. Give samples out at the start of the business
V: I think this is a very valuable resource because it keeps people coming back, plus every college student loves free food.
R: It is not rare for a restaurant to give out free food to promote their company, especially at the beginning.
I: It could be imitated by competitors who want to get their product displayed
N: It could be substituted by not giving out free samples.

6. My capabilities
V: I think my capabilities to be outgoing and meet people would help me start the business
R: It is not rare for the owner of the company to be extremely outgoing
I: It could be imitated by other owners and entrepreneurs.
N: It can't really be substituted.

7. Using an app and website
V: Making an app to be able to order food online would be beneficial to the company as many students use technolofy
R: It is not rare to find apps for companies who deliver food
I: It could be imitated by other companies who have a similar idea
N: It could be substituted by a website or promotional ads

8. Contacts
V: Having the right contacts can really help your business take off
R: It is not rare to use the contacts you have to make for a better company
I: No, different contacts allow you to do different things within your company.
N: Yes, it can be substituted. People are always networking.

9. Leadership
V: I have taken on many leadership roles that would allow be to play an important role in the company
R: It is not rare to have leadership skills.
I: I use my leadership skills in my schoolwork, and social life.
N: Leadership is a quality that really cannot be substituted.

10. Public Speaking Experience
V: Having public speaking experience will be a huge plus to start this company.
R: It is not rare, a lot of great entrepreneurs have good public speaking skills
I: It can be imitated
N: It can't be substituted, having public speaking is vital for the company.

I think that most valuable resource is the contacts that you have. I think when starting any business or product idea you have to know someone who has some sort of experience in the area of work that you are trying to get into in order to have a successful product. In this case, I think that knowing people in the food industry and also in the social media world would help my product the most.