Reading Reflection No. 3

1) Anderson discusses in this book how technology today is shaping the way goods are produced now.  Big companies can't compete with smaller more technologically advancing production businesses.
2) Much like the last book I read, How to fail and still succeed, I learned everything is a lesson in life. Anderson mentions several projects throughout the book and how they each mean something different. Much like I discovered in class, you can't stop once you get going with an idea.
3) If I were to make an assignment from this book for the class I would have each student make up or create a business that could follow the form Anderson believes is taking over. That is, what you can you produce and manufacture all via the internet?
4) I think the thing I took away the most was how history tends to repeat itself in a certain way that still requires innovation to be used in order to create new products. The link from the first industrial revolution to the next is something that I found extremely interesting and ended up reading more intp online after listening to the book through my phone. Eventually I thought I was getting the same values as from the first book and decided I'd rather look back at entrepreneurship from a historical perspective, it was an interesting idea.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

The group of customers with an unmet need I am serving are Anna Maria Island visitors in Bradenton, Florida.  These customers include locals living on the mainland, locals living on the island, and those who are just visiting the island. Currently the island has no large parking structure that can accommodate all the cars and traffic that inhabit the island. Often times cars cause the single lane road to get backed up so far that the line cane start miles inland.

• Geographically the market consist of Anna Maria Island, Perico Island, and Bradenton, Florida. Demographically the market consist of all local residents in the area (typically middle class families and retired elders).
• Currently island visitors, that do not have a residence to park at on the island, use the very limited public beach parking lot. While this lot is located in a good area it is not anywhere near large enough to solve the greater issue at hand. 
• The opportunity is large considering I can help three different target markets.
• The window of opportunity will be open as long as the population on and around the area stays where it's at now. The Amount of tourism also has an effect on the window.

Innovation

My product and service is to build a parking garage on mainland right before you cross the bridge to Perico Island, the island in between Anna Maria and mainland, allowing island visitors to park. Then a trolley service shuttles them from the parking garage to the island. This reduces the volume of traffic on the road out to Anna Maria. The garage would house a restaurant and convenience store which are some of the revenue drivers. The parking meter toll and trolley fee also are revenue drivers. The toll would only cost fifty cents an hour and can be paid for using an app on a smart phone. The trolley pass could be purchased as a year subscription or as an individual one time pass. The restaurant and convenience store would be owned by another business. They would just need to pay a monthly rent to use the space in the building.


Venture Concept

• Customers want to use this product and service to avoid the hassle of finding a parking spot on the island whether it's for the beach, dinning, or any other reason. Once the customer realizes the line of traffic is already backed onto mainland they will be more willing to park at the garage and take the trolley to Anna Maria. 
• Currently the only 'competitor' is the public parking lot on the island. Their major weakness is the lack of size. The lot is constantly full with people often times parking illegally in and around the lot. 
• The location must be convenient to get to in order not to deter anyone from parking at the garage. If customers have to go out of their way to get into the lot where the structure is built it will hurt the business.  Customers also must have a good experience using the garage. Showers will be provided to allow beach goers to clean up before getting in their cars. Also the restaurant provides a dinning experience to those who wish to have a meal before or after their visit to the island. 
• In order to start my venture I would need to purchase land requiring me to have a real estate agent. Next I would have to pay a construction company to build the garage. Finally I could rent out space to a restaurant business and a convenience store.

The ability for my venture to adapt and serve multiple markets is an important resource. The garage could potentially serve as parking for large scale events in town. Owning land that can provide a service to a large amount of people has many benefits. Also in the case of a state of emergency my business can provide support for those that need to evacuate the island and head for a safer shelter.

Next I want my venture to become a destination of some sort. Eventually I want my customers to use the trolley to head out to the island but then come back and spend more money at the business around my garage.

In five years I'd like to have purchased land to build the garage on and have a plan set for constructing the garage. Perhaps in the next decade I can have similar ventures all along the coast of Florida helping all the customers with this problem. This venture allowed me to open up to the idea of solving not just my own problems, but everyone else's. 

I did not receive any negative feed back from the first time posting this, however one person mentioned they liked my trolley system idea. So I will elaborate more on that here.

• goes to and from the island
• various stops on the island
• can also transport bikes, kayaks, paddle boards, etc.
• year pass, one time use pass
• pet friendly

I want the trolley ride to add to the "island experience". By having these features I believe I am doing just that.

Final Reflection

1) Throughout the semester I experienced a few things I would not have done if it wasn't for the way this class is carried out. Physically going out into my community and talking to people I don't know and asking about my venture concept was a new experience. I also enjoyed reading other people's blogs and following their story as well. I dreaded cold calling people and asking for their time the most.

2)The most joyous and proud moment was after an interview assignment was completed and hearing good feedback. All the stress of getting people to tell me their thoughts on my idea was over and it actually being decent is very satisfying. I certainly will not forget doing those assignments.

3)I absolutely have the entrepreneurial mindset now after completing this course. I can't help stop thinking about problems I run into that other people must have as well. I constantly go from one idea to the next and figure out how I can make a venture and business out of solving these problems.

4)One thing I would mention to students taking this class in the future is to have an open mind and the ability to put yourself in new situations. If you feel negatively towards uncomfortable scenarios this class probably isn't for you. You have to be able to think about any and everything from multiple viewpoints.

My Exit Strategy

Within the next five years of managing my venture I'd like to sell the property and ownership of the garage to a buyer. I would rather live in a different city and embark on new experiences and ventures.  This is just one of the many 'bugs' I've identified in life and I don't want to help solve only one. I'd rather spend time in a larger city and develop solutions to customer's needs on a larger scale. Perhaps the revenue from this venture can fund my next one. Often times one bug leads to another, so this exit strategy is the same concept. Leaving one venture for another, then another, and so on. Being an entrepreneur never really ends, that's one of many things I've learned this summer.

 

Making It Real

Here is the link to my resume.


https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx6H4MLdvRjAU0RBZEIydG41ekU

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

The group of customers with an unmet need I am serving are Anna Maria Island visitors in Bradenton, Florida.  These customers include locals living on the mainland, locals living on the island, and those who are just visiting the island. Currently the island has no large parking structure that can accommodate all the cars and traffic that inhabit the island. Often times cars cause the single lane road to get backed up so far that the line cane start miles inland.

• Geographically the market consist of Anna Maria Island, Perico Island, and Bradenton, Florida. Demographically the market consist of all local residents in the area (typically middle class families and retired elders).
• Currently island visitors, that do not have a residence to park at on the island, use the very limited public beach parking lot. While this lot is located in a good area it is not anywhere near large enough to solve the greater issue at hand. 
• The opportunity is large considering I can help three different target markets.
• The window of opportunity will be open as long as the population on and around the area stays where it's at now. The Amount of tourism also has an effect on the window.

Innovation

My product and service is to build a parking garage on mainland right before you cross the bridge to Perico Island, the island in between Anna Maria and mainland, allowing island visitors to park. Then a trolley service shuttles them from the parking garage to the island. This reduces the volume of traffic on the road out to Anna Maria. The garage would house a restaurant and convenience store which are some of the revenue drivers. The parking meter toll and trolley fee also are revenue drivers. The toll would only cost fifty cents an hour and can be paid for using an app on a smart phone. The trolley pass could be purchased as a year subscription or as an individual one time pass. The restaurant and convenience store would be owned by another business. They would just need to pay a monthly rent to use the space in the building.


Venture Concept

• Customers want to use this product and service to avoid the hassle of finding a parking spot on the island whether it's for the beach, dinning, or any other reason. Once the customer realizes the line of traffic is already backed onto mainland they will be more willing to park at the garage and take the trolley to Anna Maria. 
• Currently the only 'competitor' is the public parking lot on the island. Their major weakness is the lack of size. The lot is constantly full with people often times parking illegally in and around the lot. 
• The location must be convenient to get to in order not to deter anyone from parking at the garage. If customers have to go out of their way to get into the lot where the structure is built it will hurt the business.  Customers also must have a good experience using the garage. Showers will be provided to allow beach goers to clean up before getting in their cars. Also the restaurant provides a dinning experience to those who wish to have a meal before or after their visit to the island. 
• In order to start my venture I would need to purchase land requiring me to have a real estate agent. Next I would have to pay a construction company to build the garage. Finally I could rent out space to a restaurant business and a convenience store.

The ability for my venture to adapt and serve multiple markets is an important resource. The garage could potentially serve as parking for large scale events in town. Owning land that can provide a service to a large amount of people has many benefits. Also in the case of a state of emergency my business can provide support for those that need to evacuate the island and head for a safer shelter.

Next I want my venture to become a destination of some sort. Eventually I want my customers to use the trolley to head out to the island but then come back and spend more money at the business around my garage.

In five years I'd like to have purchased land to build the garage on and have a plan set for constructing the garage. Perhaps in the next decade I can have similar ventures all along the coast of Florida helping all the customers with this problem. This venture allowed me to open up to the idea of solving not just my own problems, but everyone else's. 

Celebrating Failure

Earlier this semester I missed half of the assignments for a week when I left town for the weekend. I had gotten back late Sunday night and didn't have enough time to finish all of the homework that was due.  I realized then that if I was going to continue working full time and leave town every weekend to visit friends I'd have to be much more organized.

I think failure made me analyze my schedule in great detail this summer. At one point I considered quitting my job or dropping the class. Ultimately I discovered how to keep both and figured out I can hold myself to a very tight and specific schedule. This class made me consider failure as a means to quit at first, but after one weekend of getting ahead on assignments I gave it another shot.

Outside of class I think I look at failure differently now as well. Before I might take failure as a sign to quit and try something else. Now I'll try and critique something or alter it to work before I throw in the towel.

Amazon Whisperer

Revenue Drivers
- parking toll
- trolley pass fee

The parking garage could potentially house a restaurant and convenience store for island visitors. These could draw more people to use the garage and make it the one stop place to go before getting to the island.

Obviously you won't find and parking garage convenience stores on amazon. However I did analyze the 7-11 that is closest to the island. They are open 24/7 and the only reviews they had online were about poor customer service. Clearly I would tell their management they must improve on customer service. From this I would suggest that my new store should be open 24/7 as well. The restaurant should have long hours in addition to great customer service.

My Unfair Advantage

1. Contact with market area specialist. Knowing multiple real estate agents through my father, I have insight as to specific demographics of people who come out to the island and people who visit the city. Not extremely rare, many people can look up demographic facts for cities online. Since it is available online, it can be imitated. While actual contact with professionals may be better, the web is another source for this information.
2. Organization. Being able to plan out a project and organize necessary resources is valuable. Organization is not a rare quality, neither is it inimitable. I do think that it is non-substitutable, you have it or you don't.
3. Forward thinking. Being able to predict the future as best as possible helps any business. No one can predict it perfectly, so any ability to analyze data and guess what the future has in store is not rare. Other businesses can do this. There are plenty of online data where other people could use info and decide how to move forward with a project like mine.
4. Passion. Caring about doing the project is valuable. Passion is not rare, many businessmen have it. You can;t imitate it, you have it or you don't - no substitute.
5. I'd like this project to have a very public demeanor. The 'organization' that builds the garage should listen to those in the community for suggestions and ideas. Transparent businesses are not rare and they can be imitated. There is no substitute however.
6. The organization would be environmentally friendly. Valuable in consumer's minds. Not rare, it's almost expected these days. It can be imitated but not substituted.
7. The organization would give back to the community. Charity is extremely valuable to those all around the community. It is not rare or able to be substituted. Giving back to the beach community and helping preserve that environment gives life to the whole project.
8. Management. I believe my organization would have solid management. Valuable in that it keeps the organization afloat. It is not rare or able to be substituted. It is studied often and can be imitated.
9. Financial integrity. Eventually I hope my organization would 'pay for itself' and sustain its costs by the revenue it brings in so it may give back to the beach community. This resource is not rare and is a very common business practice. It can be substituted.
10. Adaptable. Being able to use the garage for more than beach parking can be valuable. It can supply parking for in town events and other activities going on in the community. Having an adaptable business is not rare and can be imitated. But it cannot be substituted.

I believe a parking garage intended for island traffic and visitors that can also function as spots for in-town events is a very valuable resource. An adaptable business reaches new markets and can serve more people which provides for a larger amount of satisfied consumers. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

Here is the link to my elevator pitch no. 3 on youtube.

The only "negative" feedback I received from my last pitch was the difficulty of seeing me in the video due to lighting. I've been shooting these clips in my bedroom with the blinds open for lighting. However, That apparently wasn't the best way to do it.  Now I've done it with the lights on and blinds shut blocking out the sunlight. Other feedback I received complimented me on how I approached the subject by telling a "imagine this scenario", so I've continued to keep that in my pitch.

Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams

1) Scott Adams, the creator of the comic Dilbert, writes about a multitude of topics all explaining how one can be successful and happy.  Adams talks about how he personally embraces failure repeatedly in order to learn about himself and ultimately succeed from it.  It all starts with energizing ones self then putting yourself out there to have the best chance of luck entering your life.

2) This book easily connects to one of the first lessons we were taught in the course. Failure is okay. Chapter after chapter Adams uses anecdotal stories to portray his ideals on certain topics that all correspond how a person can achieve success and a life full of happiness.

3) If I were to design an exercise for this class based off this book I'd ask each individual to pick four of their favorite chapters or lessons from the book and write about how they can apply that to their own life.  Each lesson or chapter is only about five pages long.  The goal would be to rank each chapter according to your own importance then discuss how you could actually incorporate that into your life now or in the future. For example, I personally liked the chapters on humor, practice, luck, and passion.  I might write about using humor at least once a day to make a serious matter more approachable.  Or perhaps I could mention how I could find a career that makes me have passion and develop within that field to give me a better chance to come into luck that allows to achieve great success.

4) While this book had many 'aha' moments, I believe the third chapter was my first and probably my favorite. 'Passion is Bullsh*t'.  Here Adams briefly discusses how passion doesn't cause success, but rather it's the other way around - success causes passion.  After reading more by Adams you'll undoubtedly understand what he means by this.

Idea Napkin No. 2

Part One

1) I'm a person who likes to help others and make their lives easier.  I'm currently an office assistant for a company and continuously help around the office and understand that efficient work makes other people's jobs better. On a larger scale I can help out my city by putting up a parking garage to help ease the volume of traffic. If I were to start this project I would consider it my full-time job after graduation.

Additionally, If I were to pick up this business right now I would consider getting into the real estate field.  Since I'll be purchasing land to construct a large garage I would have to be able to understand the market for properties in my area.  My father is currently a real estate agent so his background may help me learn the business quickly.

2) With this product I am taking the headache out of beach traffic and parking on Anna Maria Island. Island visitors frequently run into the issue of limited parking which in return backs up traffic onto mainland, annoying people living there. This garage helps the source of the problem and takes care of the related issues.

This hasn't changed from the first napkin idea. I'm still offering customers a better solution to parking and bumper to bumper traffic. 

3) There are three different groups of customers I'm helping. One, island visitors who come to Anna Maria Island for the beaches. Two, island locals who become frustrated when visitors park illegally and cause problems. Three, mainland inhabitants who suffer from backed up traffic.

Again, this hasn't changed from the previous assignment. I haven't identified a new group of customers with an unmet need that my idea will solve. Perhaps later on I will discover an additional target market.

4) By paying money to park at a garage, visitors don't have to fight for parking on the island and worry about fees if they are forced to park illegally somewhere else.  Additionally, the garage can serve as a one stop destination to gear up for the beach.

Since the summer season has officially started and most schools in the county have let out for the break, the traffic situation has become very apparent within the last week. I'd like to emphasize that my idea helps diminish the number of cars waiting in line to get out to the island. 

5) It's easy to be set apart when I can be the only source of mass parking for AMI.  The garage would be the only area where people can park, buy beach accessories, and get a trolley ride to the island all in one.

After completing the 'Secret Sauce' assignment last week, I learned that my organizational skills seem to make me stand out according to those around me. Perhaps this skill will make planning a project of this stature easier and run more smoothly.

I think these five parts do fit together well. I've labeled the target market with an unmet need. I've devised an idea that solves this problem. And finally, I seem to have the skills necessary to carry out this project. Maybe obtaining a license in real estate would help and learning more about business in the construction industry could benefit me in the future. 

Part Two
I didn't receive that much feedback from my first attempt at this assignment. The only question that arose from the comments were uncertainty about where I could build a garage this large.  So that's why I added learning more about real estate and the construction business in my second attempt. I believe that learning more about Bradenton's property market and construction companies I could understand more about turning my napkin idea into more of a reality. 

My Secret Sauce

1) Organization - I tend to order things in my life in a unique way allowing me to accomplish everything I want.

2) Appreciation - I believe I understand people and situations which allows me to appreciate all aspects of the world.

3) Seriousness - I'm not exactly a serious person. I usually make a joke out of everything and see the positive side on most subjects.

4) Competitiveness - I can't stand not being the best or at least doing the best I can at just about everything.

5) Adaptable - I believe I can adapt to all the things in life that occur. After several different majors and overcoming obstacles I've been able to understand and change my mind about my studies.

Interview One - https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/cassidy-sauce
Takeaway - Enjoy making friends happy, does not enjoy losing.
Interview Two - https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/mom-sauce
Takeaway - solid team member, overly organized
Interview Three - https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/nick-sauce
Takeaway - Group function, working ahead
Interview Four - https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/dad-sauce
Takeaway -  Organization, numbers, states, negotiation
Interview Five - https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/sarah-sauce
Takeaway -  Sarcastic, constructive, organized

Reflection:

After conducting these interviews it's pretty clear some of the closest people to me think the same of me as I do myself.  Just about everyone knows I'm a neat freak and that I'm a steady worker and work well with others. No one really brought up the lack of seriousness I have or the fact I joke around about everything, but my sister. That makes sense. I think they failed to mention this because they may have wanted to sound more professional on the phone. My dad seemed to have the most insight mentioning math skills I have and people skills as well. If I could change what I had written first I may have switched something out for people/communication skills. Overall I think my family has the same view of me as I do myself.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Here is my second attempt at the elevator pitch.

I was surprised by the feedback on my first try and how positive it was. I was told my delivery was good, but my pitch may have lacked some confidence.  I changed that part up a little by taking some words out and making it shorter so I wouldn't stumble as much.

My Customer's Avatar

The prototypical customer that I will be serving with my parking garage is someone who is going out to Anna Maria Island during the weekend, summer months, or major holidays.  They may be a large family, a couple, or perhaps a single person just looking to escape town and enjoy the beach alone. Their hobbies would include visiting the beach, swimming in the pool, riding bikes, kayaking, beach volleyball, eating out at seafood restaurants, watching sun sets, being in social atmospheres, and enjoying a drink at beach bars.  My customers would especially have to enjoy being outside in warm weather and be able to adapt to weather conditions on the fly as a thunderstorm may appear out of no where on any given summer day afternoon.  They may drive a large SUV to accommodate a family or perhaps drive a small luxury sports car with only their spouse sitting next to them.  The island has many small businesses to shop at raging from high end specialty stores to cheap ice cream parlors, so the island welcomes high and middle class people.  A majority of Bradenton residents are registered as Republicans, however many snowbirds, people who visit from the north over winter months, tend to be Democrats.  Besides those with younger families, many customers would be older people. By race, a strong majority would identify as white with a smaller amount of people being of Latino decent.

I have several things in common with my customer avatar. I enjoy being outside and visiting the beach. Although I currently live with my parents now, I usually go to the beach alone or with a friend.  I drive a small car that would allow me to bring only one other person along with a beach chair. From a demographic standpoint I would be much younger than the average beach goer, but I do identify myself as a white male.  I don't think it's a coincidence that have have this many similarities with my customer avatar. I grew up in this town and have the same hobbies and lifestyle as most of the people living here.

Here are a few pictures that depict what my customers may look like.

"Yeggy"

For this assignment I created the word "yeggy." I combined Keurig and coffee to make this new word, and changed the spelling to make it easier to use.  I typically use a keurig three to four times a day whether I'm at home or the office so it was easy to come up with.  However most people that heard me say it couldn't put it together until after I had explained what it was, once they understood they usually laughed. No one other than my mom used it, and she would do so in a joking manner. Overall I learned that people who don't understand the idea almost immediately seemed to be turned off from it all together.  So it's crucial that the idea, or word in this case, is simple and easy to use.

Halfway Reflection

1) Organization is key.  Working full time and taking another four credit online class has been difficult.  In addition, most weekends I try to spend time with family or travel across the state to see my girlfriend. Time management has been the most important aspect of this summer.  Dedicating the same block of time everyday and working on assignments on schedule is how I've been able to complete most assignments.

2) When I was forced to cram and study for an exam in my other class I didn't have the time to give enough attention to this course.  I couldn't go out and conduct interviews and I missed a few assignments, I considered quitting my job or even dropping the class. I was lucky enough to be given a few days off work after explaining to my boss my situation. Since then I've been trying to work ahead when possible and stay on top of things.

3) When taking this course it is extremely important to plan ahead when trying to conduct interviews.  These are typically the most difficult assignments and require looking ahead of schedule.  Don't be afraid of talking to strangers about your assignments.  It will be uncomfortable the first time, but after one the rest come much easier. Having the right mindset for this course is needed if you truly want to learn how being an entrepreneur works.  Constantly thinking about how to better the world by solving people's unmet needs. Once you make your first bug list you realize it never really ends. Since then I'm always on the look out for fixing life's problems and issues.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) I'm a person who likes to help others and make their lives easier.  I'm currently an office assistant for a company and continuously help around the office and understand that efficient work makes other people's jobs better. On a larger scale I can help out my city by putting up a parking garage to help ease the volume of traffic. If I were to start this project I would consider it my full-time job after graduation.

2) With this product I am taking the headache out of beach traffic and parking on Anna Maria Island. Island visitors frequently run into the issue of limited parking which in return backs up traffic onto mainland, annoying people living there. This garage helps the source of the problem and takes care of the related issues.

3) There are three different groups of customers I'm helping. One, island visitors who come to Anna Maria Island for the beaches. Two, island locals who become frustrated when visitors park illegally and cause problems. Three, mainland inhabitants who suffer from backed up traffic.

They all experience limited parking and excessive traffic.

4) By paying money to park at a garage, visitors don't have to fight for parking on the island and worry about fees if they are forced to park illegally somewhere else.  Additionally, the garage can serve as a one stop destination to gear up for the beach.

5) It's easy to be set apart when I can be the only source of mass parking for AMI.  The garage would be the only area where people can park, buy beach accessories, and get a trolley ride to the island all in one.

I believe having the mindset to help others paired with understanding these customer's needs is an opportunity for success.  While there is virtually no experience with building construction, I believe customer needs and determination can overcome this setback.

Tweaking the Innovation

My product would be a parking garage for AMI visitors.

• Parking Garage 
• Parking meter fee
• core - pay to keep vehicle parked legally
• tangible - physcial space you've purchased to gaurnatee spot
• augmented - saves time by gaurnateeing you a spot here rather than chancing it for the spot on the island
• Trolley fee
• core - buys you a spot on a trolley that takes you to AMI
• tangible - physical spot on a trolley ride
• augmented - no waiting around to find parking spot, simply get dropped off at the beach or other destination on AMI
• Small convenience store with beach supplies
• core - sells much needed beach supplies and accessories 
• tangible - drinks, ice, sunscreen, coolers, sandals, clothes, etc.
• augmented - convenience of products sold right where you park before getting a ride to the beach

The meter fee could be either controlled by the hour or day. If monitored by hour we could theoretically control how long some people stay at the beach/island and manage the human traffic volume on the island.  The meter could also be paid for with an app that included a timer to let you know when your meter is running out. Island visitors could then choose to pay more while on the island if they wanted to stay longer simply by purchasing more time right from their phone.  The trolley ride from the garage to the island could be enhanced physically by not only offering bus rides.  Ferry or boat rides could also take people from the garage to the island. The trolley ride could be offered as a one time round trip fee or could be purchased as a year pass.  The convenience store could become a restaurant as well as gift shop. In addition the store could rent out beach accessories such as bikes, kayaks, jet skis and more. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Here is the link to my elevator pitch. My opportunity is to make the parking and traffic problem better in Bradenton, FL. Beach parking is limited and causes traffic to back up into town. MY solution is to build a parking garage that helps minimize this problem.

My Solution

Here I'd like to talk about a potential solution to the parking situation on Anna Maria Island. One idea I have is building a parking garage either on the mainland right before you cross the bridge to Perico Island or on Perico Island.  Then people going out to the island for the beaches or restaurants can take the trolley that already exists to AMI. This solves the parking situation on the island by reducing the amount of cars actually on the island. It also helps with the back up of traffic from the island to mainland. If more cars are puling of the road to enter a parking garage they decrease the line of cars that are waiting to get out to the island.  The parking garage also could include a store that sells all of the beach essentials - sunscreen, flip flops, bathing suits, etc.

Looking for Opportunity

• To start off with this assignment I'll use the decreasing gas prices as an opportunity from an economic trend.
• I found a great article that talked about the reasons why gas prices had dropped and the consequences of it, that article can be found here.
• After getting towards the end of the article it explains because of the low prices more traveling is done.  This seems pretty obvious, but with that increase it also means more car accidents. The first nine months of 2015 saw an increase of 9.3 percent more accidents, which is just some number right? But that's 26,000 more recorded deaths in America. This is what truly made me believe opportunity existed.  There must be a way to make traveling more safe.
• The prototypical customer in this scenario is anyone who is likely to travel more now that gas prices are lower. More specifically though I'm thinking those who have less income and maybe don't have as nice of cars with better safety features are the real target.
• The opportunity could be difficult to exploit. It really just becomes a numbers game. More drivers means more accidents, that's the unfortunate truth. The key is to make the most safe car at the most affordable cost. Here is a list of safe cars for under 25 grand, but I still think that these would be too expensive. VW and Volvo are known to be well built cars but they may still be too expensive for the target market I've identified. 
• Why did I see this? Last December I was involved in three car accidents.  Two parking lot fender benders, where people on their phones had hit me. The third accident a drunk driver hit me and pushed my car into the other side of the road into oncoming traffic. Luckily I was never hurt, but it was a dangerous situation and made me think about the safety of me in my car. So when coming upon this NYT article online I immediately realized I had found something that could be turned into an opportunity. I also think other people can realize this since it is backed up simply by numbers. More cars on the road equals more accidents taking place. 
• My second economic trend is fairly vague, but allows for a lot of creativeness.  The rise of consumer spending as the country continues to get out of its slump.
• The link to the article can be found here. It mentions four other trend in the article, but the shortest one is the one I'm focusing on.
• With more spending from the consumer, more products and services are being sold and more businesses are profiting. This is an easy opportunity to see. 
• The prototypical customer would be the consumer who recently acquired discretionary income since the end of the recession.
• I think this opportunity is easy to exploit compared to the opportunity mentioned above.  More people have more money that they'd be willing to spend on items that are not needed. 
• I saw this as an opportunity because I think anyone that has more money that they can spend on non-essential goods and services is inspiration to entrepreneurs to create the next 'unmet need'. For example, over summers I work full time and my 'discretionary' income increases greatly. For the first few weeks I tend to spend money on things I don't really need because I'm not used to having all of this extra money. I think this is similar to what the country is experiencing with the recession closing and unemployment rate decreasing. 
• My first regulatory change that provides opportunity could be directly related to the trend mentioned above. New overtime rules for hourly and salary employees.
• The article I found on this topic can be found here. It explains what the new rule is and how it affects some small businesses.
• I believe this is an opportunity related to discretionary income as previously stated.  Workers will either get a raise or get new overtime protection. More or less they have the chance to receive more money.
• The prototypical customer is someone who earned a lower salary but now gets an increase to meet the new minimum requirement. While overtime will not be payed they at least have a higher income.
• It might not be easy to exploit. It depends on how the company or management decides to use the new rule. They could lower the wage and pay overtime to their advantage making the employee not earn anymore than they have been. It also could mean the employer hires more employees, but this may not mean the new worker makes enough to have discretionary income still.
• As an employee for an employee leasing company I'll start to see the results of this change rather quickly.  It will be interesting to see how companies react to this new rule and how they manage their employee's pay.
• The last regulatory change I'd like to discuss is more of a governmental stance. I think regulated use of drugs, specifically marijuana is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs.
• The article I found talks about support for legalization of the drug. For the sake of the assignment I'd like to assume the drug will be allowed in every state of the country at some point tin the future. 
• With this drug available to everyone in the country I see a lot of opportunity. From taxing to decreased incarceration rates and sales of all the 'accessories' there are many opportunities. I'd focus more on products that could be sold along with the drug at stores.
• The prototypical customer in this scenario would be any consumer who buys the drug at a store. I think the key here if opening up a store would be to make it more user friendly and more appealing than the smoke shops are today.
• I think the opportunity is easy to see and exploit. Once the drug does become legal to all the economy could boost from all of the sales and taxes associated with it.
• Why did I see this? I think it is safe to say that most people whether they like the use of recreational drugs or not could agree that the selling of it could at least benefit the economy in one way or another.   

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

For this assignment I'm piggy backing off of my work from last week. My opportunity is limited parking on Anna Maria Island.

Who: Anna Maria Island
What: Limited parking
Why: Not enough space to accommodate heavy traffic

Post Interviews


Who:
What I had originally said was my 'Who' was correct, but it wasn't all the way there.  There was more than just AMI. In one interview a woman stated that traffic or parking could sometimes even get bad on Longboat Key, the island just south of AMI. Another interviewee said that once the parking is full and traffic backs up on to mainland that people here have to deal with AMI's problem as well.  Traffic could be backed up as far as 15 blocks into mainland according to one interviewee. I was told by an interviewee that her friends on the island also hate the heavy traffic because ultimately people resort to parking in the Publix lot, taking up spots for actual customers.


What:
As a result from limited parking the traffic becomes insanely congested.  This is what many of the interviewees stated was another issue.  You're more likely to experience that bad traffic before you get to the island and realize the parking is too full.  Some people also stated that with so much traffic and people it also takes away the 'charm' of the island.  Anna Maria Island and the community prides itself with having the old Florida charm.  They won't allow fast food chains on the island or any large businesses to operate there. Publix is the rare exception.  The locals aren't huge fans of all the tourists that come by and leave the beaches dirty in addition to taking up all the parking and crowding the traffic.  My view changed somewhat as people seemed to talk about how parking wasn't the sole root of the problem.  It may be attributed to a huge influx of people.


Why:
The why and what are similar, but I'd like to reiterate a few key points that were mentioned in my interviews.  Some people blamed the weather. Others the tourists.  One interviewee stated that no matter what day or month it was, if it was beautiful day out everyone is going to the beach, so you had better get up and out there early.  Others said the 'seasons' we have were the why factor.  Because we are a winter destination for many people up north, you can expect more people to visit town from January to March.  According to some interviewees, this is when the beach traffic and parking can become crowded.


Summary:
Overall the experience of talking to people about AMI and its parking/traffic problems was enlightening.  I learned about what other factors played into the opportunity at hand.  Maybe even more amusing was the fact that it's not only AMI.  I'm now understanding that beach traffic and parking is probably an issue all over Florida. It's just magnified on AMI because it is so small and it's not difficult to have traffic back up far into mainland because the city of Bradenton is also small, thus making the problem appear even larger.


Interview Links
1. http://tapeacall.com/nbw8ahg8ty
2. http://tapeacall.com/9aa6rxwuez
3. http://tapeacall.com/ftht9tpxhc
4. http://tapeacall.com/tqt7e8822c
5. https://soundcloud.com/user-297113972/interview-one

Forming an Opportunity Belief

1) My belief is that there is not enough public parking on Anna Maria Island.

2) The need for public parking on AMI has grown in the past few years as the population continues to increase in the Bradenton area. Anyone who visits the island to go out to the beach can experience this problem. The problem has always existed, but it can especially be seen during heavy tourist periods. In order to avoid the problem now beach goers are parking illegally in residential areas in addition to parking in local business lots.  There is a public beach parking lot but it is not anywhere near big enough to accommodate all of the people trying to go to the beach.

3) The prototypical customer is someone who lives off the island and is going to the beach.  They aren't able to get a public parking lot space which results with them parking illegally.

     After interviewing my mom, a person who frequently goes out to the beach, I was able to gain some prototypical customer insights. She believes that there needs to be more public parking all along the island for beach goers to use. She experiences this problem mostly between October and April and any major holiday.  She says the only way to deal with this problem is to get up very early and beat everyone out to the island in order to get a public parking spot.  On a scale of one to ten she said this solution ranked at a four or five.

After interviewing my mom I learned that this problem leads to other issues.  People don't want to get up early on their weekend to go to the beach.  I didn't consider the few major holidays that take place during her described months and much of a nightmare they could be.

My father presented a few different takes on the problem I identified.  He works on Longboat Key, an island south of AMI, and said the main issue for him is the traffic that accumulates and builds up as a result of people taking to long to find parking spaces.  He said he noticed this problem really taking place in the past three years.  To address it now he either gets up extremely early or just won't go on the island at all. He said on a scale of one to ten that this solution ranked as a two.

This interview, like the one with my mother, made me realize again how one issue can lead to another so easily.  As a result of limited parking the traffic backs up on the mainland and that can cause more problems.  I learned that really this is just one large chain reaction.

Lastly I interviewed my girlfriend who vacations on the island with her family.  I decided that understanding the perspective of someone who lives there, even if only for a week, would be important.  She said the parking situation becomes annoying when people park at shopping centers and take up spots that should be used for customers.

Since I live on the mainland, I wouldn't have seen this issue take place.  Once again I learned how just one problem leads to all these other issues.

After conducting these interviews I learned more about other problems than the one I originally came up with.  My problem was really just the main root of all these other issues.  My dad and I discussed many solutions to the problem, trying not to stray to far from my original idea.  I think it is okay to change your belief a little bit, but not so much that you're leaving the main problem unsolved.

Bug List

1. Coffee grinds in my coffee. Hate when they get stuck in my teeth.
1. Filter didn't do its job correctly
2. Bad hair cuts from new or different barbers.
1. Not enough communication between barber and client.
3. No arrow keys on touch screen Apple products. Not able to move cursor without touching phone.
1. possibly only problem for people with large hands/fingers.
4. Hidden renewal fees for monthly/yearly subscriptions. RedZone, magazines, etc.
1. Forced to actively deactivate services.
5. No WiFi areas. 
1. What if WiFi existed globally.
6. Dropped phone calls.
1. Poor service/not enough cell towers.
7. Out of stock products at grocery stores.
1. poor management, faulty UPCs
8. Out of sync traffic lights in heavy traffic areas (downtown).
1. Faulty wiring, power outage, bad system reboots.
9. "Glitchy" or "laggy" computers. Cursor moves slower than actual motion.
1. Bad cable connection.
10. Understaffed restaurants during prime hours.  Bad waiter/customer ratio.
1. Not enough money for employees.
11. Hidden bank fees. Monthly "maintenance" fees.
1. Not completely honest banks.
12. Faulty debit/credit card readers. Can't pay for things because I don't carry cash.
1. Cheap machines, old machines, old cards, cracked cards.
13. Spam emails.  After I've unsubscribed I continue to receive unwanted mail.
1. Glitches, viruses.
14. Wrinkles in clothes that are made to be wrinkle free.
1. Fabric used can actually get wrinkled in dryer.
15. Leaking Starbucks cups.  I've gone to work many times with coffee all over my chest.
1. lids are not fully secure on cup.
16. Difficult to open medicine packages. Mom has to use scissors to open NyQuil. 
1. Child proof gone over board.
17. Straws with cracks in them.  Sucking more air than liquid through straw.
1. Bent during distribution, faulty star made in factory.
18. Bad customer service at drive thru restaurants. 
1. Don't care about job, not trained properly. 
19. Getting in and out a small car as a tall person.  Dad with bad knees/back takes forever to climb out of the front seat.
20. The University of Florida having an obnoxious amount of websites for all of their services.  Seriously, why can't you put everything all in one place. Canvas, ISIS, ONE.UF, Gator mail?
1. Web designer is oblivious that students like me have their favorites tabs loaded with all of the school's different web pages.
21. When typing on this blog website, towards the bottom you can't scroll up and type. So I'm stuck continuously typing at the bottom of the screen. 
1. Poor design.

At first this assignment seemed difficult, but after a few days of sitting in my office at work I was able to go through daily routines and see how certain aspects of my day were off.  Once I got started one bug would lead me to another.  I asked for input from my parents and noticed that age played a small factor in some of their bugs. I found that products that malfunctioned were the easiest to think of. Looking at the list as a whole it sounds like my life revolves around coffee, monthly subscriptions, and electronics.  That's kind of a scary observation. 

My Entrepreneurship Story

     I would like to share the entrepreneurial story of my current boss.  C.J. Howard and his son, Chuck Howard, started a professional employee services company after they saw an opportunity to help small and large businesses.  They founded the company Howard Leasing which takes care of their clients by managing employee payroll and workers' comp.  C.J. understood the complications with payroll and other employee services after working in the industry and took the opportunity to create a business that helped solve a problem.

     I originally had signed up for this class simply to fulfill a requirement for my outside concentration within the business school.  After switching around classes I ultimately chose this course because I believe the minds of those who work in advertising are very similar to the minds of those who are entrepreneurs.  As an advertiser it is my goal to make consumers and people think and feel a certain way about a product or service. I believe this class can help me think more clearly about how I can take my current skills and apply them in a new way, forcing me to see other opportunities in the advertising world.

     Not exactly sure what kind of photo I'm supposed to include, but here is a picture of the Howard Leasing office where I will spend every day of summer.

Test Blog

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