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.