Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

      To continue exploring the opportunity I found regarding textbooks being too expensive for students, I conducted a few more interviews some students around campus at UF. These individuals were all students who should have had the same need I found in my previous investigation but did not. I realized that even though an online service that provided cheaper access to textbooks would be useful to all students, there are definitely groups who do not need this service. Students who have some kind of financial aid or scholarships had was one of these groups because they are allotted funds specifically to purchase textbooks. Another group is students whose parents pay for their books. The final group that I was able to find who did not have a use for this service were students who preferred to have a hard copy of their textbooks rather than an online version.
      The need I identified only applies to cheaper access for textbooks. It stems from an overall need college students have for cheaper education in general. It differs from other needs people have that relate to cheaper educational tools and supplies. The underlying reason that there are many college kids who do not have the need for cheaper textbooks is that they have some form of disposable income or money that they are able to use for textbooks. So the need only affects students that do not have as much money to spend on their books.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
College students with less money to spend on overpriced textbooks.	Students who have money to spend on expensive textbooks and students who prefer to have a hard copy of the textbooks.
The need is for cheaper textbooks	The need is not for just an online version of textbooks
The need exists because textbooks are very expensive even though there is no inherent reason that they are so overpriced.	The need also could exist because most students do not have super high incomes to where they can spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks.

Solving The Problem

         The opportunity I have selected to address is that college students are forced to spend way more than necessary for access to their textbooks for their classes. The average brand new text book can be anywhere from $200 to $500 depending on what subject the textbook is for. Even the used textbooks are not much better as certain used textbooks can cost up to $150 at the UF bookstore. Renting textbooks is often the cheapest alternative but even those textbooks can cost around $100 along with the fact that if the books are not returned, students are charged the full price of the book. The solution I have come up with for this issue is an online service where students can access their textbooks for their classes online without the ridiculous price. I believe the best method would be to charge a flat fee of $50 per textbook for complete online access to the entire textbook. The service would be delivered as both a standard website and a mobile app so that students will always have access to their textbooks regardless of where they are. Additionally, the student would have access to the textbook for the entirety of the semester and if the student really wished to keep a permanent copy of the book, a $20 download fee would be charged to keep the book. What that means is that if a student is willing to pay $70, they get the newest version of their textbooks that they can access across devices whenever they desire. This is substantially cheaper than the options students currently have before them.

Testing the Hypothesis

Step 1) Opportunity: I believe there exists an opportunity in college towns to provide an online service that gives students a cheaper online access to their textbooks compared to buying or renting textbooks from university bookstores and other sources.

Step 2) The Who: College students across the country who need access to their textbooks for classes.
            The What: They are unable to find a cheap option for their books that they need for their      classes.
             The Why: Textbooks are known for being very expensive, often being over $200 while        college students are known for not having a lot of disposable income and have to rely on                    their  parents for financial support.

Step 3) Testing the who: any student who needs textbooks could have the need but most public    schools provide students with textbooks from kindergarten through 12th grade so the                           majority of the target consumers who will have this need are college
  Testing the what: Are only certain kind of textbooks more beneficial to have on the service                 or are all textbooks needed? Do all college students have this need for textbooks or is it just                 a  certain portion of them? Most college textbooks would be useful to provide for this                           service  as students need books for almost all of their classes. Additionally, almost all                          classes have a textbook that accompany the course so most college students could benefit                    from this service.

Step 4) These are the questions that were asked every person that was interviewed:
Would you say that your university's bookstore fairly prices the textbooks?
How do you currently obtain textbooks for your classes?
How do you feel about an online access to a textbook over a physical copy?
Would you be interested in a service that provides you textbooks for a fraction of the price your university or even Amazon charges?
What would be an optimal price you would be willing to pay for your textbooks?

Step 5) Summary: I found from my interviews that I have stumbled upon a very real and existing need among college students. There is an overwhelming opinion that the UF bookstore charges extremely high prices which majority of students feel are unreasonable and should be lowered. A similar sentiment was found in students who attend USF. What this tells me is that the opportunity is very real and could be exploited if acted upon quick enough. Additionally, students do not have a preference towards physical copies of textbooks anymore do to the advantage of having an online textbook that can be accessed anywhere. Students are also willing to pay more for their textbooks than what I had initially expected as the average price a student gave for what they were willing to pay was $50 which means such a service could be very profitable.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Overall Global Demand is Increasing
        The world economy is growing at a rapid rate with the economies of the European Union, Japan, China, and India all growing faster than projected. The rise of the global economy and manufacturing overall means there are now more and more markets that are growing which can be utilized by companies that want to expand internationally. I feel like I am someone who notices a business opportunity like this because I am Indian and I've been raised to have a more global mindset when looking at things. I found this opportunity through the JP Morgan website that discussed major economic trends in 2018. Potential customers now include people in markets like India and China. I believe this is an easy opportunity to exploit because more and more companies are making the move to globalizing already.

Tax Reform Taking Hold
       Major tax reforms are set to take place throughout 2018, cutting down federal revenue by
$205 billion. What this means is that the American consumer will have $205 billion more than last year to spend on things. This presents an opportunity for anyone involved in any kind of business since what this indicates is that the American consumer will be spending more in 2018, which only serves to bolster the economy even more. I found this trend on the JP Morgan website also and I noticed the opportunity in this because of my background with accounting classes, I realized that more money in the hands of the consumer automatically presents more business opportunities. The prototypical customers from this opportunity is the American consumer who now has more money. This is a super easy opportunity to exploit because not many additional actions are needed. The average American will have more money to spend now so just utilize this opportunity.


Sales Taxes for E-Commerce
          Prior to 2018, e-commerce businesses could not be taxed sales tax because the law required that businesses could only be taxed if they had a physical presence in any given state. The Supreme Court recently voted 5-4 in favor of charging e-commerce sales tax. This now presents more opportunities for brick-and-mortar stores to compete with e-commerce since one of the main advantages of online shopping is the lack of sales tax. I found out about this opportunity through the Business News Daily website. I noticed this as a possible opportunity because my uncle used to own a bookstore but he had to close it down in 2016 because he could not compete with Amazon. I've been paying attention to how e-commerce will effect brick-and-mortar stores more and more because of this. Potential customers from this regulatory change are all consumers that usually purchase things online but will now go to brick-and-mortar stores because there is less cost incentive. This will be a hard regulation to exploit because of the convenience e-commerce offers, customers will still prefer it to shopping in person.  

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the European Union

         Regulations regarding cyber security and data privacy in the European Union are tightening up, calling for enhanced protection of people's data to prevent breaches like Equifax. This means that such regulations will come to the United States also. This prevents a huge opportunity in areas such as database management, cyber security, network security, and cloud computing. With increased privacy and protection regulations, companies that specialize in data security and services like this will have the opportunity to reach unparalleled growth. I found this regulation change on the Business News Daily Website. The reason this regulatory change stood out to me as an opportunity is because I am an information systems major. Topics like data management are what I study for my degree so enhanced regulations on data security are things that would directly effect the topics I am studying. Potential customers are corporations with large amounts of data that they need protected properly. This would not be a hard opportunity to exploit for people with experience in network security and data management because all this regulation does is increase demand for their services. 

Identifying Local Opportunities

MAN, 73, DIED IN MOTOR HOME FIRE

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0911%21September%2B11&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E5FB538451FCD0 

            An elderly man by the name of Richard Scarborough died in his motor home due to smoke inhalation when his mobile home somehow caught on fire. The authorities were not able to determine the cause of the fire due to an excess amount of debris and junk surrounded the property around the motor home. This, along with various power tools that were connected to extension cords around the property, makes it difficult to determine what the cause of the fire is. The real problem is that due to motor homes being cheaper, they are often not made to the best standards which means incidents like this occur easily. This is an issue that effects anyone who owns motor homes or want to own a motor home because they will have natural concerns about the safety of their motor homes. This could be seen as an opportunity for the development of a safer alternative to motor homes that could be just as cost-effective. While designing and manufacturing such an alternative won't be easy, the payoff could be high in markets such as Florida where there are a large number of people that would purchase a motor home or its equivalent. 

 

LIVING UNDER THE WHIM OF STORMS

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0914%21September%2B14&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E6F86CF1FA9228

           This article just a general one that was talking about the approaching hurricane Florence and what it is like living in places like Florida and the south east where tropical storms and hurricanes are common. The article describes how the more stronger storms like Andrew in 1992 and Irma last year always cause fear to escalate among residents as preparations get made to make it through the powerful hurricanes. The problem that is presented in this article is that we live in a place that is prone to  strong hurricanes. It is an issue for everyone Florida, especially if they live on the coasts, along with people of other states in the southeast like Georgia and the Carolinas. This situation presents opportunities for anyone who could provide storm preparation services or materials. Smaller construction firms or even independent contractors could offer services to fortify homes to last through storms. Water and canned food are always commodities that run out in stores so a company that focused on getting those necessary tangibles to people before, during, or even after hurricanes could also find success I think. 

PIZZA SHOP OUT AT CHANNELSIDE

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0905%21September%2B05&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E400EC9C0B1F78  

                 This article is about a local pizza place in Tampa, called Precinct Pizza, being closed because the commercial property it is on, Channelside, is being redeveloped. The pizzeria will not be a part of the development and therefore, the lease was not renewed by the property owners. This is a problem for the owners of Precinct Pizza as well as people who live by Channelside or visit Channelside that would want to enjoy a pizza. It is however an opportunity for a new pizza place or different food establishment or even a bar to come and take the place of Precinct Pizza and capitalize on its existing customers. 

 

SIPPING A LITTLE LESS TROPICANA JUICE NOW?

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0905%21September%2B05&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E400EDAEE90C68

                 Tropicana has decided to reduce the size of its plastic containers from 59 ounces to 52 ounces. This is because Hurricane Irma damaged a significant amount of orange crops, causing the company to incur a higher cost of production. The only ways to offset this were to either increase prices or decrease the packaging cost by switching to smaller sizes. The problem here is that orange juice companies are encountering higher production costs which is affecting their market. This would be an opportunity for the companies to do an overhaul of their production process to see where else they can save money while still offering customers the most value. 

VAN SHUTTLE IN PARKING GARAGE HAS UPS, DOWNS

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0904%21September%2B04&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E3AA8E43489768

           Hillsborough County is wasting $26,000 of taxpayers' money by paying for a shuttle service that takes county employees up and down the floors of their nine-story parking garage. The average wait time for the garage's one elevator is 1 minute 17 seconds which means this shuttle service is nothing more than a waste of money. This is an issue that effects all the county's taxpayers because their money should be spent for things that matter, not extra perks for county employees. I feel like this situation contains an opportunity to cut down on unnecessary government spending which can be better allocated to things that benefit taxpayers like schools and road public work projects like roads.  

Forming an Opportunity Belief

My Beginning Point- I think that there is a huge opportunity in Gainesville to have a food establishment that is open 24 hours and delivers. I believe that this is a need for both college students and people who works late at night in areas like hospitals, fire departments, and police stations. This has always been a need in Gainesville as the latest food establishments that are not fast food close by 3:00 am with only Gumby's being open until 4. Currently the only option someone has if they are hungry late at night is to get fast food which is not necessarily the healthiest option. There should be a restaurant that is open 24 hours and serves better quality food. At this point in time, I am about 50% sure this opportunity exists.

Iteration No. 1 - Interview with Mark Stine, college student at UF.

Q: So Mark, do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "I feel like there are plenty of places open late at mid until like 3 plus there's always places like McDonald's so there are places to get food late."
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "Yeah I mean there's nothing that is supposed to be healthy or anything but if I'm trying to snag a bite at 4 in the morning, I'm usually not worried about the health consequences."
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "Yeah for sure, that is the only bad thing about all the options right now that are available. None of them deliver and services like UberEats is super expensive. A place that is delivering food that late would be solid."
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "I am someone who stays up pretty late so it happens a decent amount honestly. I'm probably making a late night fast food run a few times a month."
Q: Why do you find yourself craving food that late at night most of the time?
A: "Its almost always on a night we've been drinking or out late. You just get hungry after slamming a few drinks man."

Iteration No. 2 - Interview with Devin Doyle, college student at UF

Q: Do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "Yeah absolutely. There's Gumby's, a bunch of fast food, places like Pizza by the Slice and Flaccos"
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "I would say so. I am not very health conscious but I also feel like someone who cared that much about what they ate would not be eating that late anyway"
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "I guess so but plenty of places deliver and there is always stuff like Uber Eats and BiteSquad that will pick up food for you so there is always options."
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "Its very rare, I can only think of a handful of times over the course of three years of being in college. I'm usually someone who will eat dinner by like 8pm and call it a night by midnight so I almost never get food that late. "
Q: What do you do on the rare occasions when you do get hungry late?
A: "Just fast food or I order a pizza but it is so rare that it almost never happens"
Q: Would you say you are happy with the options you have right now for late night dining?
A:  "I mean sure, I don't have a problem with the options that are there. I don't need more."

Iteration No. 3 - Interview with Meryl Linkler, nurse at Shands that works the night shift

Q: Do you feel like Gainesville has enough late night food options for people like students that have been out partying or in studying all night?
A: "I'm sure there are plenty of places that serve food that late. I work from 7 to 7 though so by the time I get out of work in the morning, everywhere is open"
Q: Are you satisfied with the quality of food that are currently available?
A: "Nothing that is open that late at night will be serving quality food so no but I am also not someone who will eat things like that either"
Q: Do you feel like a place that would deliver food that late would be beneficial?
A: "I know that people working the night shift sometimes get hungry around 4-5 in the morning. No where delivers then though so the vending machine or anything you bring from home are your only options since you cannot clock out for a burger run. So somewhere that delivers would be nice I suppose"
Q: How often are you hungry that late and want to get food?
A: "I like to bring something from home when I work just because I prefer home cooked food. I am not really someone who likes eating out a lot."
Q: What would you do if you forgot to bring something from one evening?
A: "Well if it was still early on in the shift like before 10, I know that the cafeteria is still open so that would be what I do. I wouldn't really order anything to get delivered"
Q: Would you say you are happy with the options you have right now for late night dining?
A:  "Yeah I really do prefer to keep it light at night and just bring in a snack or a sandwich. I personally don't need anymore options."

Reflection and Summary: 

         When I interviewed Mark, I felt more optimistic about the opportunity because he seemed like the target consumer, a college student that is up late and does enjoy eating out late at night. However, the interview with Devin and Meryl made me realize that the demand for food that late at night is very low, which explains why there are not more establishments open that late. What really surprised me was that no one cared about the healthy quality of the food that is being offered right now. People seem to accept that if you are eating that late at night, the quality of food is not as important. So having a healthy food establishment late at night that delivers probably would not be the best business idea in a place like Gainesville. I feel like only 25% of my opportunity is there now because there always will be a small portion of people that will want to get food that late. However, I don't know if that customer base is big enough to keep a restaurant open for 24 hours. I believe the opportunity is less accurate than what I initially thought was there. I am a believer that entrepreneurs should always adapt to customer feedback because that is what will increase customers. By catering to their feedback, an organization shows a commitment to changing and improving, which customers tend to appreciate.

My Entrepreneurship Story

         

     
             Entrepreneurship has been in my life ever since I was growing up. My father owned multiple gas stations and I used to go in on the weekends and give him a hand whenever he needed it. Seeing my father run his own business made me realize that eventually, I would want to work for myself and have my own business. I always liked the autonomy that my father had because he worked for himself. He always said that working in your business would always yield more sincerity to your work than if you worked for someone else. I realized that I want to be passionate about what I am doing in life which meant that I need to enjoy what I do and be committed to it. That is why I decided I want my own business at some point in my life. I joined ENT3003 for two primary reasons. The first was that I needed 4 credits to be enrolled as a full-time student and I have met most of my required classes so this seemed like it would a good elective class to take. The second reason has to do with what I said about wanting to own my own business. I hope that ten to fifteen years down the line, I will have started my own business solutions consulting company. If I am serious about starting my own business and being successful, I knew I should take a class on entrepreneurship and learn as much as I can.

My Bug List

1. There are no buses that run through the Enclave apartments on Saturdays and Sundays so getting to campus on those days are harder for students without cars. This is probably because RTS feels that there are not as many students going to campus from the Enclave on the weekends so it is not feasible to schedule drivers on those days. 
2. Products sold in the P.O.D market are extremely overpriced when compared to the prices of the same products at other stores like Walmart and Target. This bug is most likely caused by the fact that both Airmark and UF want a share of profits for the items sold so prices have to be increased. The students also get up charged for the convenience factor of having the P.O.D markets on campus. 
3. The patio screen in my apartment has a huge tear in it so bugs are able to get in sometimes if they try to. The previous residents must have not been careful by the screen, causing it to be damaged. 
4. My roommate plays his music and television extremely loud at all hours of the day and night. I feel like this is because he simply is unable to understand that he is being obnoxious and disruptive when he does it. 
5. My apartment is on the first floor of the building even though all of us specifically requested that we be placed in a unit on the second or third floor. I think the only explanation for this is that too many people requested units on the upper floors and we didn't sign our lease until later in the year. 
6. There is only one trash compactor for the Enclave and no additional dumpsters which means all the residents have to take their trash to the same place rather than having dumpsters conveniently located by their buildings. This is probably so that the maintenance department could easily consolidate all the trash. 
7. The design and layout of the Standard apartment complex is confusing and not easy to navigate at all. The building was probably designed how it was to make the most of the space that was available on the corner of 13th and University Rd. 
8. There is not enough student parking on campus which makes commuting more difficult and parking decals not worth buying. The university probably feels that funds and space should be allocated for more academic related developments like labs and study areas. 
9. Instead of having normal 16 week classes, all of my classes are split into two 8 week module courses so the classes go at a very fast pace. This is probably so that students in the masters in information systems program I am in can take a wide variety of courses over a shorter time period.
10. Marston library is always packed and does not have enough outlets for students in some of the higher floors. The library is older so less outlets were probably required when it was being constructed and it is the preferred library of students so that is why it is busy. 
11. UF students are the only ones who have to pay for season football tickets. The university knows how valuable seats for the Gators' games are so even students are required to pay a reduced rate. 
12. Uber prices increase during busier times like game days even though there are more drivers out on days like that. This is because the company realizes that during peak times like football season and the weekends, rides are a more valuable service so there is an up charge. 
13. The UF bookstore takes too long to process and ship out online orders. There is probably a high order volume in the start of the semester that creates a backlog. 
14. NFL games I want to watch are often not shown by the local cable channels. Cable usually broadcasts more local and regional games so often times we won't get to see teams like the Packers and the Seahawks play.
15.  Apple changed the audio port on iPhones to the new lightning jack that doubles as the charging port so you can't charge your phone while wearing headphones unless you have Bluetooth enabled headphones. Having less openings on the exterior of the phone is better against water damage which is probably why the change happened. 
16. My laptop battery dies within three hours of heavy use even though it is only a year old. I think that the stock battery that came in the laptop is probably a cheaper one that is now dying. 
17. Student meal plans are significantly overpriced as students are usually not able to consume as much food as they pay for which means the money is being wasted. UF and the dining hall company understand the convenience of on campus dining so they know they can charge high rates. 
18. The gym at the Enclave clubhouse is very small and lacks a lot of equipment that basic gyms should have. The company probably figured that the gym won't be used by the majority of the residents so there is no need to invest a lot of money in it. 
19. The NFL off-season is way too long, going from February to August. The sport is very violent and dangerous so there cannot be as many games as a basketball or baseball season. 
20. On campus housing at UF is much more expensive than off-campus housing compared to what the students are actually being offered in their dorms. UF is charging for the convenience of living on campus and not commuting as opposed how the actual dorms are. 

Coming up 20 things to bug me was not challenging at all because I feel like I am an easily annoyed person. The real challenge was coming up with different types of issues that bugged me. I felt like I fixated on my new apartment for many of the things that bugged me because we just moved in so I am able to notice many things that have irritated me. I also talked about a lot of things regarding UF just because I feel like we could make improvements to our campus in many ways. Coming up the reasons the bugs exist was not hard either because most of the problems stem from simple situations.