Customer Interviews No. 1

Find an opportunity: An idea I have so far is maybe having a pet-friendly product targeted especially towards pet owners on campus. As of right now I’m not too sure of what the product/ business will be.

People with the unmet need: The people that might have the unmet need would be pet owners on college campuses. 

Questions:

Do you have a pet on campus? If not, do you have a friend with a pet on campus?

Do you believe there is enough opportunities for pet owners on campus or near campus?

Do you like meet with other dog owners and their companions?

What are some problems you face as a pet owner?

Do you have any suggestions, on ways that we could improve the situation?

Customers:

What I learned about the opportunity: I learned that the opportunity seems really promising on the UF campus and even though some people I interviewed did not have pets they wanted the same as the pet owners did. The indirect and direct benefits of a more pet-friendly campus seems to benefit pet-owners and non-pet owners.

What I learned about interviewing customers: I learned that many ideas could come from listening to your customers. I also learned that learning to ask the right question takes practice and sometimes some research.

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Week 4 Reading Reflection

Week 4 Reading: Chapter 5 Kuratko

The biggest thing that stood out in this chapter is the amount of sources for innovative ideas. I never really thought about exactly how many things could cause innovative ideas, but this book describes each one thoroughly. I also enjoyed the various creativity exercises within this chapter. However, the thing that I wish the author went more in-depth on is the relationship between an appositional relationship and a functional perspective. If I could ask the author two questions one of them would be, “Does appositional relationships and functional perspective overlap?” and “Are there things to do to target different types of innovation?” In this chapter there was nothing that I completely disagreed with and I found it to be very interesting.

Top 5 World Problems

Ranking the World’s Biggest Problem

1.       Violence Issues

2.       Overpopulation Issues

3.       Education Issues

4.       Poverty Issues

5.       Environmental Issues

I choose violence issues to be the top problem because it is the most relevant topic, especially for this year. It is also the cause of many other conflicts ranging from war to neighborhood violence. If we could resolve this, then a lot of other violence related problems could be resolved as well. It could also prevent further conflicts from getting worse.

Ranking Solutions

1.       Solution for Overpopulation

2.       Solution for Environmental

3.       Solution for Violence

4.       Solution for Education

5.       Solution for Poverty

I chose the solution for overpopulation to be the easiest to implement out of the list. It would be fairly easy to raise awareness to the problems of overpopulation. I also feel that birth control should be easier to access in order to see real improvement.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Title: “Future of TV? Depends which domino falls first”

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A0A4630AC2C6A8?p=AWNB

Description of story:

The story talks about the possible causes for change in the cable industry. Before, cable companies were known for having a tight grip on many American citizens’ decades ago. However now competitors like Amazon and Netflix are causing cable companies to rethink its old methods and possibly change the way they distribute cable T.V.

Description of the problem presented in the story:

There is a constant overlap between cable and non-cable services. This makes us question what the future will hold for both parties. With the emergence of streaming shows, the cable companies may have to change their strategy to stay relevant.

Description of who has the problem:

The “cable cord” companies.

Title: “Dogs patronize Gainesville Restaurants, never pick up tab”

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A88EA81308DD20?p=AWNB

Description of story:

The story talks about how some restaurants have been given an opportunity to apply for permits that allow restaurants to seat pets in their outdoor areas.

Description of the problem:

Not many restaurant owners know about the permit or have not applied to get it, despite the easy process. Also, many owners do not know when the restaurants have the permit allowing their pets in to the vicinity.

Description of who has the problem:

Pet owners who want to dine with their pets at eating facilities.

Title: “DBPR sting turns up 11 unlicensed workers”

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/159F529B25BB8FA8?p=AWNB

Description of the story:

Department of Business and Professional Regulation found unlicensed professionals trying to offer their business to consumers.

Description of the problem:

Many unlicensed workers are offering professional services that they do not have the requirements for. This could be dangerous to potential customers who hire these unlicensed electrical and construction workers.

Description of who has the problem:

Consumers that hire the unlicensed workers.

Title: “More roadway concerns from residents”

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A73C5E311191B8?p=AWNB

Description of story:

This article discusses the concerning traffic issues that drivers want fixed.

Description of the problem:

The problem some drivers pointed out is faded paint on S.W 34^th St. and Archer Rd. which leads the path for many cars in the intersection. Other problems that drivers talked about ranged from worn down spots to misleading traffic signals.

Description of who has the problem:

The drivers in Gainesville.

Title: Leslie Poole: “Women have long led charge to protect parks”

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/159ED1C7302EC720?p=AWNB

Description of the story:

The story talks about women’s role so far in protecting Florida’s parks from being commercialized by the government.

Description of the problem:

The government is pushing towards the commercialization of Florida’s parks for activities such as cattle ranching or hunting. The government justified its actions by stating that the parks do not make enough revenue. However, many Floridians enjoy the park and want it to stay the same.

Description of who has the problem:

The problem is directed towards the people that enjoy Florida’s parks. Also, a lot of the plants and animals that reside in the park will be affected as well.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

Chapter 2 in the Kuratko textbook discussed the characteristics of the entrepreneurial mind-set, which I found to be interesting. The most surprising topic of this chapter was the section that talked about the dark side of entrepreneurship. It was nice to see the balance between the good and the bad sides of entrepreneurial characteristics. Part of the book which was not clear to me, was when he mentioned that the entrepreneur develops ethical consciousness. However, he did not clarify how an entrepreneur can go about developing the right ethical consciousness for business. The two questions that I have for the author is “What are the best ways to cope with entrepreneurial stress?” and “How to recover from the consequences of ethical rationalizations?”  I’d ask these questions because I want to know how to resolve the problem once they have already occurred. I disagree with the author when he said that ethical consciousness is the responsibility of the entrepreneur. I believe it is the responsibility of everyone who works under the business. 

World's Biggest Problems

1.       Environmental concerns are a big problem especially for developing countries that are now going through their own “industrial age”.  If we continue to overlook the conditions of the environment then it will impact many future generations.

a.       A potential solution is to start funding technology that could help improve the environment or building structures that have some environmentally friendly features to them.

2.       Violence is another big concern. There is a constant battle of whether the cause of the violence is people or guns. This has been such a heated debate that I feel that the main situation is overlooked and people are more concerned about whether or not they can keep their guns.

a.       Violence is a difficult problem to find a solution for. However, I believe that violence could be reduced if we change our mindset of violence in the media.

3.       Education is becoming a concern. It is hard to get a quality education when school funding is low. I feel that most schools are now put under so much pressure that they’ve adapted to care more about funding and average test scores than the actual quality of the student's education.

a.       I feel that increasing funding in education would be a solution. It may be a price that many people are unwilling to pay, but it has so many returns in the future.

4.       Food standards are also a concern. Many times questionable chemicals are placed within the food we eat.

a.       A solution would be to do more research on the safety of these chemicals or produce more natural ways to keep products fresh.

5.       Race Related Conflicts

a.       There is no real solution to this, but to make sure that when a race related conflict does occur that it is addressed to make sure the public knows that this problem still exist.

6.       General Apathy. People are less passionate now, which is causing many aspects of our lives to be affected.

a.       A solution is to get people excited about things again and give them more opportunities and time to see what they want to do with their future.

7.       Poverty in underdeveloped countries

a.       A solution is to try to come up with a strategy for underdeveloped countries to help them maintain a stable economy. That way, when they receive money/donations from other countries they will know how to maintain it.

8.       Overpopulation.

a.       We could raise awareness about the potential effects of overpopulation.

9.       Wealth Inequality

a.       It’s hard to find a solution for this, but maybe wealth could be better distributed if more career opportunities were opened for those that are less well off.

10.   The absence of political participation. Most people no longer keep up with politics, which can cause problems and allow for many unlawful acts to be overlooked.

a.    A solution that could be useful is integration of current events and politics within classes, especially during high school.

Bug List

Bug List

1.       After a football game, the campus is surrounded by trash especially around Midtown and Norman.

a.       This exist because there may not be enough trash cans around the areas that are heavily used by visitors and tailgaters.

2.       The crosswalk from 2^nd Ave. across 13^th St. to get on campus does not give pedestrians an adequate amount of time to cross and the wait time is long.

a.       This exist because there is a lot of cars that pass by

3.       A lot of people jaywalk to get to their classes in the 105 classroom building

a.       This exist because there is no cross walk to get straight to the 105 classroom building and the other crosswalks to get there are inconvenient

4.       The women’s bathroom on the second floor of Matherly Hall are poorly lit.

a.       This exists because there are not enough light fixtures in the facility.

5.       There is too much air in a bag of lay’s potato chips

a.       This exist because distributing the chips to its set location can cause product damage so it needs the air for cushion.

6.       During a YouTube video, when there is an advertisement in the middle of the video

a.       This exist because it is how YouTube generates its revenue and also if a video is long enough it can contain two advertisements.

7.       The Walmart on 103^rd has a small selection of produce, usually in poor condition.

a.       This exist because Walmart does not concentrate on their produce section as much so this leaves the produce section to be understocked at times and not maintained.

8.       Save A Lot on Normandy has a small amount of cash registers opened, which becomes a problem when it gets crowded

a.       This exists because the distribution of employees are spread thin across the store.

9.       Apple product’s cables usually start to unravel and fall apart after a couple of months.

a.       This exists because the design and material that the Apple cables are made of don’t last.

10.   Dunkin Donut’s in Target Copy never has the chicken salad sandwich.

a.       This exist because they don’t stock up on this particular item.

11.   There is not enough professional clothes in my size

a.       This exists because I have Asian proportions.

12.   Most UF business classes are online, which makes it hard to network

a.       This exist because UF decided that this is a better option due to the number of students.

13.   When it rains, UF doesn’t have enough covered walkways.

a.       This exist because UF isn’t built with covered walkways in certain areas.

14.   Turlington building design is unintuitive and easy to get lost

a.       This exist because there are no windows and all the halls look the same.

15.   Turlington plaza has a lot of solicitors and random non-students.

a.       This exist because Turlington plaza is opened to everyone.

16.   Target Copy needs a key to go to the only bathroom in the facility

a.       This exist to keep out unwanted visitors

17.   The air conditioning units in College Manor are not sufficient

a.       This exist because they are window units and they are not proportionate to the room size.

18.   Ross’s price stickers are hard to remove and leave sticky residue on product

a.       This exists because of the type of sticker they use.

19.   When walls are painted with the wrong type of paint

a.       This exist because the paint that is used is not the correct one for inside use

20.   Airplane seats are not comfortable even on long airplanes flights.

a.       This exist because comfort is not a concentration for air travel.

Reflection

Making this list was really difficult because it forced me to think about why the problem exist and I usually don’t think about that. However, doing this is good because it helps to create a solution for the problem, which is something entrepreneurs do often.  Another thing that I found difficult was remembering and coming up with these problems.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

Reading Reflection for Week 2: Kuratko Chapter 1

The textbook talks in-depth about entrepreneurship as a process. This was surprising to me because, for most people, it is usually thought of as a spontaneous collection of fortunate events and risk taking. I also wasn’t expecting there to be so many schools of thought in just the micro view of entrepreneurship. I understood much of what the book discussed, however I still find it difficult to grasp the whole concept between the integrative approach and the dynamic states approach. Some questions that I have for the author are, “What would the best step to take before taking on entrepreneurial ventures?” and “How do gazelle companies impact economic growth?” A few criticism  about the book that I would like to point out is the lack of applicable examples and the overall format of the book. I think that these should be improved because they play an important role of an entrepreneurship book because it makes it more applicable to real life situations and easier to read .

My Entrepreneurship Story

             My experience with entrepreneurship was in high school when I made the decision of creating my own organization. It was titled “Edub Eats”. It was a trying process, but  it taught me the difficulties that many entrepreneurs will face when starting their own ventures. Many people that I talked to didn’t feel that it was prospective to make Edub Eats an official organization. However, I was persistent and after I finished the paperwork it was an official club. I felt a great sense of accomplishment, unfortunately it was all but smooth sailing after the organization was official.  It wasn’t the most successful act of entrepreneurship, but I still appreciate the people that "Edub Eats" was able to help and the lessons it taught me.

             I enrolled in ENT 3003 because I wanted to know more about entrepreneurship and how to better learn from my failures, so I can reach success. Hopefully, this class will also inspire me to take more calculated risks and better manage and sustain entrepreneurial acts. I’m trying to get the most out of this class because I want to get out of my comfort zone. I also feel that the schedule of this class will help me manage my time more wisely and also reduce my procrastination.

 

Introduction

My name is Toni. I was born in South Carolina and moved to Florida during middle school. Currently I am a second year finance major, pursuing a career in the music industry. My interest in music started at an early age mostly because of the influence of my godmother. She introduced me to singers of the 1960s and provided the foundation of my interest and future career.

 My mom and dad moved to America for more opportunities before I was born, however my extended family stayed in China. I have visited there on many occasions. At first, I did not enjoy going there because I was so accustomed to American lifestyle, however now I find myself being reminded of it every so often. Other than my visits to China, I have been to Canada and the Bahamas.

 

Entrepreneur's Mantra

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