1.) The exit strategy I would have if I ever started an online textbook rental service would be to just see what happens. This is not a lifelong passion I have had that I would want to see succeed more than anything. Personally, I am not committed to such a venture and it had nothing to do with what I want to do in life. If the service took off, I would help grow it for about 5 years or so until I can sell it for an enormous profit. I would take that money to plan for my future.
2.) I selected this exit strategy because I do not want to run a textbook rental service in the long run. It does not interest me, it is not what I selected to study in school, and it is not the career path I want. It would be nice if I had managed to create a successful service but even if that is the case, I feel like I personally wouldn't get any emotional satisfaction from this line of work. Once it had become a success, I could easily see myself get bored with the business.
3.) Because my exit strategy is one of very little attachment, every decision I have taken is one that was made without a lot of care. The opportunity I identified was one that stood out to me easily as a college student but if I cared more about the business I was starting, I could have chosen something more profitable or at least easier to get started. Since I don't plan on keeping this business over the long term, it has made me less motivated to seek and utilize resources to help it grow.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Reading Reflection No. 3
The book I read for my third reading reflection was Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker
1.) Drucker splits his book into three parts that focus on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategies. In this first part of the book, Drucker defines innovation which he says is basically the exploitation of any change that gives a competitive business advantage. The second part focuses on management of a new venture, existing venture, or public institution. Drucker argues that all of these establishes requires management with an entrepreneurial mindset because that facilitates success. All organizations must acquire entrepreneurial competence to keep pace with changes in economy and society.
2.) The entire book is focused on the need for an entrepreneurial mindset and strategies to help grow any potential idea a person has into a successful business venture. It talks about taking time to seek opportunities in a fast-paced world and how those opportunities must be utilized. That is exactly what we spent the first part of the semester doing while we were trying to figure out what our business ventures would be.
3.) I would not design an exercise for class from this book. We have more than enough assignments and I personally did not feel like I gained anything profound from this book that can be best learned through some exercise.
1.) Drucker splits his book into three parts that focus on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategies. In this first part of the book, Drucker defines innovation which he says is basically the exploitation of any change that gives a competitive business advantage. The second part focuses on management of a new venture, existing venture, or public institution. Drucker argues that all of these establishes requires management with an entrepreneurial mindset because that facilitates success. All organizations must acquire entrepreneurial competence to keep pace with changes in economy and society.
2.) The entire book is focused on the need for an entrepreneurial mindset and strategies to help grow any potential idea a person has into a successful business venture. It talks about taking time to seek opportunities in a fast-paced world and how those opportunities must be utilized. That is exactly what we spent the first part of the semester doing while we were trying to figure out what our business ventures would be.
3.) I would not design an exercise for class from this book. We have more than enough assignments and I personally did not feel like I gained anything profound from this book that can be best learned through some exercise.
Celebrating Failure
1.) I can think of numerous instances this semester that I failed in but one incident that comes to mind in terms of this class is when I did not do the elevator pitch assignments. I have missed all of them even though I did not intend to. The first one was due around the time that I was buried with my midterm exams. The next two elevator pitches were easily doable but I procrastinated on them until finally I was too busy both times to actually complete the assignments.
2.) The biggest thing I learned from this particular failure is that I need to seriously work on my time management skills. I left 9 points on the board in this class because of my complacency, which is inexcusable. It is going to be the difference in why my grade in this class won't be as high as it could be which is irritating.
3.) How I handle failure is to dwell on it for enough time that I am able to see what caused the failure and how I could keep myself from making similar mistakes. The key is to not dwell on my failures too long because it gets harder to accomplish anything when there is a fear of failure. One has to take their failures and grow from it. I do not think this class has changed how I handle failure and I do not think this class has led to me becoming a more risk-seeking person.
2.) The biggest thing I learned from this particular failure is that I need to seriously work on my time management skills. I left 9 points on the board in this class because of my complacency, which is inexcusable. It is going to be the difference in why my grade in this class won't be as high as it could be which is irritating.
3.) How I handle failure is to dwell on it for enough time that I am able to see what caused the failure and how I could keep myself from making similar mistakes. The key is to not dwell on my failures too long because it gets harder to accomplish anything when there is a fear of failure. One has to take their failures and grow from it. I do not think this class has changed how I handle failure and I do not think this class has led to me becoming a more risk-seeking person.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Reading Reflection No.2
1.) The book I read for the second reading assignment was "How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big". The general theme of the book is about how the author, Scott Adams, likes to use failure as something that guides him on his path to success. He gives various tips and advice that would be useful in finding success in an a difficult environment.
2.) The book helped enhance what we are learning in ENT 3003 because the focus of the book is how to overcome failure and have it work for you which I believe is necessary for this class where the goal is to learn about becoming a successful entrepreneur. When trying to operate a successful business, failure is a natural part of the process. Thus, a book that teaches how to turn that failure into success greatly enhances what we are learning in this class.
3.) Adams talks about prioritizing activities based on the amount of energy it takes up. One activity I would design for this class is to have students list out their daily activities based on the amount of energy each activity takes up starting with what takes the most energy all the way to what requires the least amount of energy.
4.) Adams talks about building your life around systems instead of goals because systems are more efficient in the long term than goals. He then explains what is the issue with goals. He talks about how goals are in the future and goals are too specific to where they invite additional opportunities for failure. I found this to be a very new perspective that I had never considered before and it made me realize that designing my life around systems could be a helpful way to live.
2.) The book helped enhance what we are learning in ENT 3003 because the focus of the book is how to overcome failure and have it work for you which I believe is necessary for this class where the goal is to learn about becoming a successful entrepreneur. When trying to operate a successful business, failure is a natural part of the process. Thus, a book that teaches how to turn that failure into success greatly enhances what we are learning in this class.
3.) Adams talks about prioritizing activities based on the amount of energy it takes up. One activity I would design for this class is to have students list out their daily activities based on the amount of energy each activity takes up starting with what takes the most energy all the way to what requires the least amount of energy.
4.) Adams talks about building your life around systems instead of goals because systems are more efficient in the long term than goals. He then explains what is the issue with goals. He talks about how goals are in the future and goals are too specific to where they invite additional opportunities for failure. I found this to be a very new perspective that I had never considered before and it made me realize that designing my life around systems could be a helpful way to live.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Growing Your Social Capital
Domain Expert- Thomas Rodgers is my domain expert. Mr. Rodgers is the lead IT developer at a company called the New England Packaging company. Rodgers was responsible for creating the company's online customer platform used for ordering products and services. Mr. Rodgers and I met at a networking event before Career Showcase at UF and we had a few different conversations over the course of the week. I emailed him about my business idea and he told me that he saw the growth potential in it. He directed me to which programming languages and online databases I could most effectively use for my platform. By having a technical expert I can contact whenever I have questions regarding the platform development will greatly help me design a very efficient and user-friendly online service.
Market Expert- Aaron Brady is my market expert. Mr. Brady works at the UF Survey Research Center which conducts research for the university and outside contractors like Texas Medicaid, Florida Department of Health, and the state government. Part of Brady's research is focused solely on university students, which makes him an expert in my target segment. I met Mr. Brady at the UFSRC when I used to work there as a survey interviewer. The biggest benefit I see to having Mr. Brady in my network is that whenever I would like feedback or additional input regarding my platform, I know I can rely on Brady for the research necessary for it.
Supplier- Drew Manning is my supplier. He is a textbook sales representative for McGraw-Hill textbooks, one of the biggest textbook manufacturers in the country. I met him at a sales convention this past summer that I attended with my father. I believe Manning will be useful because I can turn to him for information regarding book pricing which I could use when I am creating my payment options for my platform.
This experience did not differ from any previous networking experiences I have had because two of the three people were met through traditionally networking methods, which I am familiar with. However, this exercise gave me a real example of why networking is so important which has made me realize I need to expand my network as much as I can.
Market Expert- Aaron Brady is my market expert. Mr. Brady works at the UF Survey Research Center which conducts research for the university and outside contractors like Texas Medicaid, Florida Department of Health, and the state government. Part of Brady's research is focused solely on university students, which makes him an expert in my target segment. I met Mr. Brady at the UFSRC when I used to work there as a survey interviewer. The biggest benefit I see to having Mr. Brady in my network is that whenever I would like feedback or additional input regarding my platform, I know I can rely on Brady for the research necessary for it.
Supplier- Drew Manning is my supplier. He is a textbook sales representative for McGraw-Hill textbooks, one of the biggest textbook manufacturers in the country. I met him at a sales convention this past summer that I attended with my father. I believe Manning will be useful because I can turn to him for information regarding book pricing which I could use when I am creating my payment options for my platform.
This experience did not differ from any previous networking experiences I have had because two of the three people were met through traditionally networking methods, which I am familiar with. However, this exercise gave me a real example of why networking is so important which has made me realize I need to expand my network as much as I can.
Idea Napkin No. 2
1.) You- I am a fourth year information systems and operations management student at the University of Florida. Most of my skills and work experience is in the customer service sector. All of the jobs I held have required customer service skills including creating a customer service department for a company I interned for this previous summer. I believe this is an asset because I am able to always have the customer in my mind first and make decisions in the best interest of my consumers. If I were to start the online textbook platform, I would want to devote my time and attention into making it as successful as possible and have as many college students using it as possible.
2.) What are you offering to customers?- I am offering an online platform for college students to access their textbooks during the semester for a discounted rate. Rather than paying hundreds of dollars for each individual textbook, students can pay a nominal monthly rate that gives them access to their course materials.
3.) Who are you offering it to?- I am offering this product to students that are in college and need textbooks for their classes. All of these kids will fit in the age group between 18 and 25, have limited disposable income, and are currently taking classes at a university. The biggest thing these students have in common is that they are paying way too much currently for their textbooks.
4.) Why do they care? - The students will care about this platform because textbooks in the United States are way too expensive and they do not have large amounts of extra income that can be spent on books. Therefore, a product that would save them up to 75% of the cost they would have incurred by traditionally buying textbooks would be greatly beneficial to them and students would naturally care is such a platform is offered.
5.) What are your core competencies? - My biggest core competency is that willingness to adapt and adjust to new situations. Additionally, because of the nature of my major, I have a lot of technical skills that would greatly aid me in developing this platform.
I am confident that the above elements fit together well enough to help my business concept be successful should I choose to actually start it. The skills I have in customer service and the technical abilities that are a part of my core competencies will help me significantly in creating a successful online platform for textbook access. Additionally, I think that since what I am offering is so beneficial and comparatively inexpensive, students will be legitimately have interest in it, which would also aid in the platform being successful. The two biggest pieces of feedback I got that I used for the second idea napkin is that I needed to really talk about what about me would help the platform be successful and why would students care about the platform? I was told to elaborate on both of these points more than initially, which I have tried to do.
2.) What are you offering to customers?- I am offering an online platform for college students to access their textbooks during the semester for a discounted rate. Rather than paying hundreds of dollars for each individual textbook, students can pay a nominal monthly rate that gives them access to their course materials.
3.) Who are you offering it to?- I am offering this product to students that are in college and need textbooks for their classes. All of these kids will fit in the age group between 18 and 25, have limited disposable income, and are currently taking classes at a university. The biggest thing these students have in common is that they are paying way too much currently for their textbooks.
4.) Why do they care? - The students will care about this platform because textbooks in the United States are way too expensive and they do not have large amounts of extra income that can be spent on books. Therefore, a product that would save them up to 75% of the cost they would have incurred by traditionally buying textbooks would be greatly beneficial to them and students would naturally care is such a platform is offered.
5.) What are your core competencies? - My biggest core competency is that willingness to adapt and adjust to new situations. Additionally, because of the nature of my major, I have a lot of technical skills that would greatly aid me in developing this platform.
I am confident that the above elements fit together well enough to help my business concept be successful should I choose to actually start it. The skills I have in customer service and the technical abilities that are a part of my core competencies will help me significantly in creating a successful online platform for textbook access. Additionally, I think that since what I am offering is so beneficial and comparatively inexpensive, students will be legitimately have interest in it, which would also aid in the platform being successful. The two biggest pieces of feedback I got that I used for the second idea napkin is that I needed to really talk about what about me would help the platform be successful and why would students care about the platform? I was told to elaborate on both of these points more than initially, which I have tried to do.
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