30A – Final Reflection

1)    In total, this class has allowed me to appreciate all the hard work and effort that goes into starting up and creating your own product or service. I remember starting this class and completing the very first assignment, the bug list, and not having any idea where this assignment would take me or how it would tie into entrepreneurship. Now I see that everything is a process and it is important to complete all the right steps in order to achieve the best product.

2)    An experience that I will always remember from this class is asking the people closest to me what they think my social capital is. It was nice to talk with friends and family and discuss things they felt were positive attributes about myself. If it weren’t for that assignment I would have never known the positive qualities people see in me and be given that small moment of confidence and confirmation in my abilities.

3)    This class has definitely helped give me an entrepreneurial mindset. I appreciate how this class has changed my perspective on failure. Before I was always afraid of failure and thought it was something that was terrible but after this class, I have respect for it. Failure is a part of learning and growing and I have learned that many successful entrepreneurs had to fail countless times before they got to where they are today.

4)    I would recommend to any student taking this class in the future, to not allow the assignments to overwhelm you. It may seem like a lot at first but once you dive in it and start it will breeze by. Also, although you might think you have no interest in entrepreneurship or being an entrepreneur what so ever, this class may surprise you and you will learn some things that will help you for years to come.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

1)    Opportunity

While living in Gainesville for college over the last four years for college, I have experienced car trouble almost every year I am here that I had to sort through alone without the help pf my parents. Every time my car had an issue It was followed by an extensive process of inconvenience after inconvenience. Even when I was younger and living back home, I remember my dad always asking my grandfather to come over to drive together to the auto repair shop so he could drop off his car and give him a ride back. I think this opportunity exists because cars are an essential part of our daily lives. We depend on them to take us everywhere and without them, our day to day lives are completely disrupted. The need I’ve identified is people needing a better, more efficient, more convenient way of getting car repairs done. This market is made up of both males and females ranging from their mid 20s- 50s. The market includes employed Individuals living alone or couples that both work outside the home have an extreme burden placed upon them should their car break down. Often, this vehicle is their primary mode of transportation to and from work. Typically, they must reach out to family and/or friends for help to make transportation arrangements when this happens. They also must spend time away from their daily activities in order to deal with the problem. Not only does this problem create transportation challenges but it also creates time away from work to arrange for repairs of the vehicle, which may lead to a financial burden as well. There is an opportunity here to simplify this event.

Innovation

ARCS, Auto Repair Concierge Service, will provide several innovations to our customers. We will provide a way for customers to easily have their cars repaired with no hassle. ARCS will deliver a rental car to its customers and then drive the car needing repairs to the shop or have it towed if it needs towing. ARCS will also have an app that the customer can use to track the progress of repairs along the way to gain a better sense of the completion time. The app will also provide such information as a break-down of the repairs being performed and costs associated with the repairs. Once the repairs are completed, ARCS will deliver the repaired vehicle to the customer’s doorstep and drive off in the rental the customer had been using while their car was in the shop. ARCS will partner with insurance companies to provide their service to the insurance company’s policy holders for an added premium. ARCS will simplify the auto repair experience. What exactly I am selling my customers is a service membership. They will pay a monthly fee of around $70 and this will provide them unlimited service whenever necessary.

Venture Concept

This innovation will solve the opportunity I identified by taking care of the customer’s hassle of dealing with their car needing repairs every step of the way. Most importantly, customers who live in a one car household will not be inconvenienced during car repairs because we will provide them with a loaner car. This way they will not be left stranded without a car. Customers will pay the monthly fee for ARCS because the service we provide is unmatched. We provide a convince to our customers that they will not be able to find anywhere else. There will be no “switch” because there is not a service already on the market that takes care of all the aspects that ARCS does. The only possible competitor out there would be Triple A (AAA), but even they don’t provide everything that ARCS will. Customer support and Customer experience will play a huge role. ARCS will aim to provide an unmatched customer experience. ARCS employees will go through an extensive training program to ensure that the customer experience is the same at all locations and overall. Our customer support team will be there for all our customer’s needs every step of the way. We will need a lot of employees in different departments from customer service to scheduling, to membership, to drivers, etc.

The 3 Minor Elements

My most important resource that will make it hard for competitors to copy our success will be all the aspects of the car repair experience we cover. Unlike Triple A (AAA) that only assists with things like towing, battery replacements, etc. they don’t provide a loaner car and convenience the customer throughout the car repair process. This is what will keep our customers coming back to us time and time again.

Something that I would like ARCS to tackle next in the future is completing repairs with our own mechanics in house instead of outsourcing to other repair shops. I feel this will only add to convenience as we will be able to increase the speed of repairs and make things more cost effective for the company. To pair with car rental companies in the future we will have to provide them a small percent of profits or pay them a fixed yearly or monthly fee.

Within the next five years after this venture I would like to see ARCS expand nationally throughout the United States and become a household name. This first venture would help me gain my credibility in the business world and allow others to take me more seriously as an entrepreneur.

2)    The feedback I received was relatively positive. I received confirmation that my idea to eventually expand in the future to include our own repair shop and mechanics instead of outsourcing was indeed a good idea so we don’t lose that revenue to other repair shops. I also received praise on the uniqueness of my service, and how there really isn’t anything like it at the moment out in the market.

3)    The feedback was positive and supportive, so I left a large majority of the venture concept the same as before. Someone made a point and mentioned that in order to pair my service in the future with a car rental company, that we will have to provide them with something in return. I edited this in my venture concept under the three minor elements section.

4) 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1.     The exit strategy I plan to make with ARCS, Auto Repair Concierge Service, is that I would like to expand the venture as much as possible on my own and then ultimately keep the business in my family and pass it down to future generations.

2.     I selected this particular exit strategy because the idea for this service came directly from my dad’s experiences. Auto repair issues have always been something that has inconvenienced him. I think expanding this business on my own and then incorporating my close family into the venture will only add to its success. Passing the business on to my children if they would like to be involved is something that would give me so much pride in knowing I started a successful company that my children can then carry on. It would also provide me with ease knowing I gave my children some sort of financial security with this company.

3.     My exit strategy has definitely influenced other decisions I’ve made in my concept. It has made me think about this service more passionately and in-depth. Because me and my dad both have had difficulties in our lives with car issues, it has added an extra edge to my motivation when I’ve delivered my pitches and conducted my interviews. If I know I want to keep this business in the family as long as possible, I need to put my all into it and not cut any corners.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Book- Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

·       What surprised you the most?

I was surprised to discover that Ray Kroc didn’t start McDonalds himself. He sold milkshake mixers and bought McDonalds from two brothers who started the small business.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admire that Ray Kroc was on the older side when he made the decision to purchase McDonalds. He saw potential in a business that was very small when he first bought it. He built it from the ground up into the global phenomenon it is today.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I was disappointed to learn a bit about his personal and family life. He had become an alcoholic and was unfaithful to his wife. He didn’t really make his family a focal point in his life or a main priority.

·       Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Ray Kroc faced a lot of adversity throughout his lifetime. Before making it big with McDonalds, he played the piano for money which was his only source of income. In the book he says, “adversity can strengthen you if you have the will to grind it out”.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

His organizational skills in business allowed him to drive McDonalds to the level it is at. He has changed the way fast food is viewed and sold. He also invented the way franchising is done.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

It was hard to understand some of the wording surrounding business concepts. I also thought it was confusing how his paper cup company took 60% of the profits of Multimixer.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

I would like to ask Ray what his opinion is about McDonalds today and if he ever thought it would become the global phenomenon that it now is. I would also like to ask him if he thinks it’s ironic that the Multimixer milkshake was so important to him when he was starting off and how now ice cream and McFlurries are not one of the vital aspects of McDonalds.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Ray valued hard work, in the book he said that work was play. I viewed this as, if you love what you do, then it’s not so much a job it’s something you enjoy. He enjoyed the challenges that came with building a business. I agree with him that you should really love your job because it’s something you’re going to have to do every day so you might as well enjoy it.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1.     As a graduating senior, I can truthfully say that each of my four years of college was met with some sort of failure. From dropping classes to switching my major, college has definitely not been smooth sailing for me. On a lighter note, I can proudly say that my senior year has been my best year yet and I will be graduating with honors. After struggling heavily academically and trying to find a major that suits me and that I am passionate about, now graduating with honors in addition to making the Dean’s list these last two semesters has shown me that although things may start off rough, there is light at the end of the tunnel. In terms of a time where I have failed this last semester, I have struggled a lot with studying for the LSAT these last couple of months. Every time I do practice problems or take a practice test and don’t get the score I am looking for I see this as me failing. Doing poorly makes me only want to do more and more practice to increase my score and prove to myself that I can do this and get better.

2.     What I learned from studying for the LSAT and not doing well initially is that with most things in life, you are going to have to put in hard work and effort in order to succeed. Not everything comes easy, but if you try over and over and truly want to see an improvement, you’ll get what you put in. Initially failing when studying was extremely frustrating, I felt like there was no way I was going to get better or ever be able to understand anything on the test. This taught me that everything requires patience and determination if you want to succeed.

3.     Failure is something extremely hard to endure. Emotionally in the past, I have never handled failure very well. Failure makes me want to shut down, give up, and do whatever is easiest. The beauty behind failure is that it pushes you outside of your comfort zone and makes success taste so sweet. As I’ve matured over these last four years, my perspective on failure has changed as well. Now I accept failure with open arms and understand that failing at something isn’t the end of the world. I feel that taking this class my senior year has definitely helped alter my perspective on failure as well because it has taught me that failure is necessary when it comes to success and innovation. The most successful people in the world found their success only after they failed countless times.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market

1.     In the future, I envision ARCS forming some sort of partnership with a car rental service and then instead of outsourcing our customer’s cars to repair shops I also would like to have our own on-site mechanics at our locations.

2.     Three things that are next on the business agenda: 1) formulating the employee training program 2) designing the type of employee culture I want to foster 3) beginning to develop the customer app

3.     What makes the most sense for my venture in terms of growing the existing market would be deciding on how to launch my service and market it correctly. How a service is initially presented can make or break it so I feel it is important to spend some time deciding how I want to present ARCS to the public.

ARCS also needs to be tested a few times so it can run smoothly, this involves testing the app, testing delivery of loaner cars to customers, and much more. The goal is to be as efficient as possible to provide maximum convenience to customers.

New Market

1.     I’ve mentioned in serval other assignments how I am targeting one car households where they share a car and that one car is essential to their livelihood. Instead of targeting one car household I can try and expand my market by targeting households that own more than one car.

2.     My service will create value for the individuals in this new market because although their home has more than one car they are still going to need to repair one of their cars when it has an issue. Although they have additional cars to take them to and from the repair shop, ARCS will provide convenience to them that is unmatched. Our app and friendly customer service employees will make their car repair experience so simple they won’t even have to think about it.

3.     Adaptations to the service mix I should make to be successful in this new market are additional benefits that I could provide that these customers cannot get elsewhere. This could range from offering my customers to clean their car for no additional fee while it is being repaired to quick and fast repairs on their cars

4.     This market is definitely as attractive as my existing one because it expands my market greatly. Although the new market is not as dependent on their cars as my target market, I am positive that they will still want to use ARCS. I did not learn anything major from my new market but it did make me think about more ways to satisfy the customer.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

While living in Gainesville for college over the last four years for college, I have experienced car trouble almost every year I am here that I had to sort through alone without the help pf my parents. Every time my car had an issue It was followed by an extensive process of inconvenience after inconvenience. Even when I was younger and living back home, I remember my dad always asking my grandfather to come over to drive together to the auto repair shop so he could drop off his car and give him a ride back. I think this opportunity exists because cars are an essential part of our daily lives. We depend on them to take us everywhere and without them, our day to day lives are completely disrupted. The need I’ve identified is people needing a better, more efficient, more convenient way of getting car repairs done. This market is made up of both males and females ranging from their mid-20s- 50s. The market includes employed Individuals living alone or couples that both work outside the home have an extreme burden placed upon them should their car break down. Often, this vehicle is their primary mode of transportation to and from work. Typically, they must reach out to family and/or friends for help to make transportation arrangements when this happens. They also must spend time away from their daily activities in order to deal with the problem. Not only does this problem create transportation challenges but it also creates time away from work to arrange for repairs of the vehicle, which may lead to a financial burden as well. There is an opportunity here to simplify this event.

Innovation

ARCS, Auto Repair Concierge Service, will provide several innovations to our customers. We will provide a way for customers to easily have their cars repaired with no hassle. ARCS will deliver a rental car to its customers and then drive the car needing repairs to the shop or have it towed if it needs towing. ARCS will also have an app that the customer can use to track the progress of repairs along the way to gain a better sense of the completion time. The app will also provide such information as a break-down of the repairs being performed and the costs associated with the repairs. Once the repairs are completed, ARCS will deliver the repaired vehicle to the customer’s doorstep and drive off in the rental the customer had been using while their car was in the shop. ARCS will partner with insurance companies to provide their service to the insurance company’s policyholders for an added premium. ARCS will simplify the auto repair experience. What exactly I am selling my customers is a service membership. They will pay a monthly fee of around $70 and this will provide them unlimited service whenever necessary.

Venture Concept

This innovation will solve the opportunity I identified by taking care of the customer’s hassle of dealing with their car needing repairs every step of the way. Most importantly, customers who live in a one car household will not be inconvenienced during car repairs because we will provide them with a loaner car. This way they will not be left stranded without a car. Customers will pay the monthly fee for ARCS because the service we provide is unmatched. We provide a convince to our customers that they will not be able to find anywhere else. There will be no “switch” because there is not a service already on the market that takes care of all the aspects that ARCS does. The only possible competitor out there would be Triple A (AAA), but even they don’t provide everything that ARCS will. Customer support and customer experience will play a huge role. ARCS will aim to provide an unmatched customer experience. ARCS employees will go through an extensive training program to ensure that the customer experience is the same at all locations and overall. Our customer support team will be there for all our customer’s needs every step of the way. We will need a lot of employees in different departments from customer service, to scheduling, to membership, to drivers, etc.

The 3 Minor Elements

My most important resource that will make it hard for competitors to copy our success will be all the aspects of the car repair experience we cover. Unlike Triple A (AAA) that only assists with things like towing, battery replacements, etc. they don’t provide a loaner car and convenience the customer throughout the car repair process. This is what will keep our customers coming back to us time and time again.

Something that I would like ARCS to tackle next in the future is completing repairs with our own mechanics in house instead of outsourcing to other repair shops. I feel this will only add to convenience as we will be able to increase the speed of repairs and make things more cost effective for the company.

Within the next five years after this venture, I would like to see ARCS expand nationally throughout the united states and become a household name. This first venture would help me gain my credibility in the business world and allow others to take me more seriously as an entrepreneur.