The Twenty Percent

I was home this whole week so I interviewed the owner of a convenience store in my hometown that I would frequently visit when I lived here, Pik'n'Run. The owner is Joe Tiseo. He did not want to be filmed or recorded however, he allowed for name disclosure. I asked him about his customers and their needs, and how he markets to his customers/what media they consume. He replied as follows:

                  My customers are in the Port Charlotte and Fort Myers area. I have a few stores open, which started with my father as a family business. My customers don’t have any specific demographics. My store is a pizza store as well as a convenience store, and a few have Dunkin Donuts in them as well. So my customers don’t necessarily fit into one specific “category” I guess. They all need something though. Someone wants pizza, someone wants a Gatorade, someone wants coffee, a family needs gas on their way out of town. Whatever they want, I provide. I have a little of everything. I also make sure my facilities are clean which I find very important to bringing customers back. I can have all of the products and food in the world but if my facilities and restrooms aren’t clean, I’ll lose customers. About the media and marketing, I don’t produce ads. But people know me and my store. My family has proven to be reliable within this business so my customers keep coming back and for that I am thankful.

I then proceeded to interview a few customers I met at his store. Each only had positive things to say, they said it was reliable and they all seemed to go there for similar yet different things, all of which Mr. Tiseo said that he provided. Location also seemed to be a very important factor in the decision to go to this store over others. I also believe that he correctly understands his target customers and their needs and definitely provides.

Half-Way Reflection

1. I believe that one skill necessary for this course is confidence. Starting out, I was intimidated by some of the assignments. I was going to have to approach people, film myself speaking, come up with a business idea. All of this sounded crazy to me, but now that I have done it, it is easy for me to do now. I have built up the confidence that is necessary not only in this course, but also in the business environment. It is necessary to know the assignments prior to the week beginning. Therefore, I have also gotten into the habit of reading through the week's assignments every Sunday.

2. I think a moment where I thought about giving up or had enough of the class was during the customer interviews/elevator pitch. It seemed never-ending at first, and it was a constant assignment that I couldn't get a break from. However, now that I have completed this I have definitely gained the confidence and the ability to approach people with no problem.

3. My tips include the following:
        a). Don't get frustrated. Some activities will be harder than others and will definitely start to get            under your skin, but don't let it. Stay focused!!
        b). Don't be lazy. Don't go through the motions of the assignments but actually put in the effort and you will see the rewards.
        c). BE CONFIDENT! Even if you feel like you're not, speak loudly and clearly and be sure of your idea and what you're doing. If you're walking up to people, be sure of yourself. If its an elevator pitch, believe in what you're talking about. Confidence is the key to success in this class and I believe in business in general.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

1. I was slightly surprised at the information on commercial banks because I was unsure of how they operated prior to this.

2. I was slightly confused as to why the buyers researched the financial success of the venture. Also, the two types of angel investors confused me.

3. a). What makes someone choose to be a venture capitalist?
    b). If the inventor did not or could not get patent protection, why licensing over marketing?

4. I did not disagree with anything in the reading.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

This week we read about Market Segmentation. This is very interesting to me, as I am a marketing major and I am currently in Principles of Marketing so I just learned about Marketing Segmentation recently. Marketing has shifted from a production approach to a consumer approach which focuses more on the needs of the consumers. I did not find anything confusing. It was straightforward and I think my marketing class helped. The author identified various types of segmentation so I would ask them to clarify when to use what segmentation, as well as why marketing has shifted towards consumers so much. There was nothing I disagreed with.

Free Money

I went outside of Norman between classes. I approached people who looked like they were in a hurry or preoccupied yet looked nice enough to accept or kindly decline my money. I approached them and said hello and I then told them, “I was given a dollar and told to pay it forward. Will you continue this and pass it on?” At this point, the customer either declined or accepted. Going into this assignment, I thought that not many people would accept. They would disregard my approaching them or say “no thank you.” However, when I came up with my reason of paying it forward, I began to think that with a legitimate cause, they would accept and continue to pass on the dollar. Out of the videos I have included, one girl sitting on the brick wall on her phone quietly accepted, while another girl looked confused but said yes. I also approached a tall male who looked at my friend filming me, said yes, but then handed it back to me. My friend and I discussed whether this was because he felt he needed to give the dollar back to me, or because his way of paying it forward was to me. Either way, I was alarmed as can be seen in the video. No other students said no to my request.

I actually really enjoyed this, partly because I began to have people pay it forward, which I think is a great thing while also experiencing what its like to approach people solely for the reason of persuading them into doing something. Giving away a dollar was slightly awkward. College students, generally, are frugal so I think seeing a girl walking around giving away money was strange to other people. My predictions were correct, that with a reason like this, I think the students were more likely to accept. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

I changed the name of my idea from Gator Good Grocery Truck to just Gator Grocery Truck, since the Gator Good has been previously used. In one of my interviews, a girl said that it might be limited as to what I can put on the truck due to the size. This was a good catch so I took this to heart and mentioned that it would only be the necessities that college students need more frequently.

Customer Interviews No. 3

1. I asked various college students simply what their reaction was to my business idea. My notecard described that the Gator Good Grocery truck would have a route around campus a few times a week and students could get onto the truck to shop. I decided to only ask them this so that there was no chance of influence in any of my questions.

2.

3. I really liked hearing from a girl Katie in the blue sweatshirt. She was honest and very helpful. She said that there may be a limited variety on the bus which is very true. The size of the bus does limit what can be stored and sold through this method, so I think I would focus the selection of groceries to be more necessities and things people use daily rather than miscellaneous food and items.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1). I found one of the quotes in the center of the page to be not surprising, but rather interesting. It states "industry structure drives competition and profitability, not whether an industry is emerging or mature, high tech or low tech, regulated or unregulated." Now that it is stated, I can't help but agree. Although I formerly believed that it wasn't necessarily the structure, but the other aspects, the author made it clear this was not so.

2). I was a little confused about the major misconceptions relating to innovation. He brings up the myth that innovation is planned and predictable & that this is based on the old concept that innovation should be left to the research and development department. The author then goes on to say that it is unpredictable. At first I was unsure about this concept but now I understand how this is so.

3).  My first question would be to ask for more information on distinguishing temporary or cyclical changes from structural changes. My next question would be asking for various examples in this as this was slightly confusing for me as well.

4). I did not disagree with anything the author said.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I am a Marketing major and I hope to work in the sports industry. For my business idea, I decided to pitch a grocery truck which has a route around campus. My aspirations include helping this to grow and thrive and thus, allow it to expand to more off campus locations and apartments as well.

2. I hope to help college students eliminate the inconvenience and difficulty they find in getting groceries by essentially bringing the store to them.

3. I would provide this service to all UF students living on/around campus. Each student at some point has to go to the store, however, finding time to do this can be a hassle and take away from other priorities. Therefore, the bus would have a set route around campus on specific days at certain times.

4. Most students, according to my interviews, have had trouble at some point or another finding time to get to the grocery store. Therefore, they said that if the groceries essentially came to them, they would be much more prone to going down to get their groceries. With the same products that are in stores, students would only have to go downstairs or outside in order to get their needs.

5. Instead of waiting in long lines or dealing with the chaos of Publix, students could walk outside and onto the grocery truck and shop for their goods. They would check out, and only have to walk back to their apartment or dorm. Transportation seems to be a big issue on UF campus for students, and therefore, this aspect is taken care of. All a student has to do is walk outside to shop for groceries.

I do believe these elements fit together. I picture this truck somewhat like an ice cream truck, making rounds around a neighborhood. Students would simply go outside and buy their groceries on the bus. Therefore, the convenience of this while still providing the same products is ideal.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1. I began to evolve my idea into something that could be possible.

2. I continued to ask college students at UF about the convenience or inconvenience of their grocery shopping but now brought up my idea.

3. I became more specific with my questions and they are as follows: 

        How do you feel about grocery shopping?

        How often do you feel the need to get groceries?

       Would you be more inclined to shop more and get groceries if it was closer or came to you?

        How would this benefit you?

4. See videos

5. I believe my opportunity is actually possible and desired by college students. I think that a lot of students would benefit from having groceries "delivered" to them. 

6. My three tips would be as follows:

        a). Don't be nervous! They are people who are just as nervous to be on camera and they want to give you their feedback.

        b). Introduce yourself right away; it will make them more inclined to say yes to your interview.

        c). Be confident in your idea and your pitch; it's important and they will like it too!

Week 5 Reading Reflection

After reading Chapter 9, the biggest surprise to me was that a partnership allows for flexibility. I did not realize that this helped in the responsiveness of a business in its needs. The concept of liability was confusing to me. I have heard this many times and learned about it in Microeconomics but I was slightly confused while reading the chapter.
If I could ask two questions, I would ask: do different companies have different amounts of trade secrets? I would also ask for various examples in the processes of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.
I did not disagree with the author about anything. He was very objective and informative.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My opportunity arose from talking to various students about their issues with grocery shopping. All of them said it was inconvenient for them to have to find time to go to the store amongst exams, class, and extracurriculars. Therefore, I figured why not bring the groceries to them. Like an ice cream truck, Gator Good Groceries has a route around and through campus for students to enter the bus and shop for their groceries, basically at their doorstep.