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.

23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

 Resources

1.     Effective communication skills

·      V- will allow me to communicate our company goals to my employees

·      R- not very rare

·      I- fairly high among the business community

·      N-  non-substitutable

2.     Leadership skills

·      V- important to allow me to drive my business forward

·      R- not very rare

·      I- very inimitable among many executives

·      N- a little substitutable as you can always hire other people to carry the business in the future

3.     Relationship with insurance companies to offer lower rates

·      V- this is valuable as lower rates are an incentive to use my service

·      R- pretty rare

·      I- not easily inimitable but can be done

·      N- cannot be substituted

4.     Unmatched convenience

·      V- very valuable, convenience is a luxury that many people want

·      R- moderately rare, not many services make this a priority

·      I- can be inimitable if you choose to focus on it

·      N- cannot be substituted

5.     Efficient, in-depth, employee training program

·      V- important to ensure my service runs smoothly and all employees know how to operate it efficiently and effectively

·      R- decently rare, some companies focus on training their employees in-depth

·      I- high, is inimitable

·      N- cannot be substituted

6.     Customer service experience

·      V- high value, important to know what your customers want and how to serve them

·      R- not very rare as many people have prior experience in this area

·      I- low, requires proper experience

·      N- substitutable, can hire a customer service department that can then teach me how to correctly deal with the customers

7.     App where customer can request service and access information about their cars’ repairs

·      V- provides a convenience to customers

·      R- pretty rare in this service industry

·      I- not difficult to replicate as apps are popular

·      N- we could use other ways to communicate to customers like websites, email, or calling

8.     Cars being essential to people’s daily lives

·      V- high value, makes my service important to people

·      R- not rare, cars are a necessity which could make my service a necessity as well

·      I- not inimitable

·      N- no substitutions besides public transportation

9.     My uncle’s extensive knowledge of running his own service business

·      V- high value, he can help me and the knowledge I’ve already learned from him will help as well

·      R- very rare, not everyone has someone close who knows how to run a high-profit business on their own

·      I- low, cannot be learned by everyone, not everyone has access

·      N- non-substitutable

10.  Customer loyalty

·      V- extremely valuable, our customers will be satisfied with my service on the first use and continue to come back

·      R- this is rare, customer loyalty can carry a business

·      I- inimitable

·      N- impossible to substitute for anything else

Top Resource

I think out of all my resources, the one that has the most value to my service, ARCS, would be the efficient, in-depth, employee training program I am going to implement. This will be essential to ensure my service is run like a well-oiled machine and all my employees in their different departments will operate as one, giving us a competitive edge.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)https://youtu.be/xc603AoWEns

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch.

The feedback I received on my second pitch was basically just a reiteration of the feedback I had received on the initial pitch. Again, it was all positive and it was mentioned again that my usage of statistics was liked. At this point, I feel I can improve by memorizing my pitch better and giving it a more enthusiastic delivery

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

Due to the fact that the feedback I received on the second pitch was positive and that I had no negative feedback, I didn’t really change anything on this third pitch. I tried my best to deliver it with full confidence and assertiveness to really sell the pitch. I also made some minor edits like shorting some lengthier sentences to make sure the pitch was around the 90-second mark.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Book- How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

In my opinion, a general theme I found in this book is self-reflection and looking in one’s self to find success. The book is all about exactly what the title says, all of our failures over time are what lead us to success. Adams' describes how he looked at success from a different point of view which is what helped him grow as a person.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

            In the book, Adams’ describes how his success didn’t come overnight, and how he had to fail many times and try over and over again until he finally found success. I think this relates to what we have learned in ENT 3003 because like Adams’ we have learned the importance of never giving up and knowing success will not come to use on our first try. In this class, we have had to tweak and edit our products and services several times because we know what we created is never going to be perfect from the get-go. Entrepreneurs must be flexible with whatever is thrown at them and sometimes find unconventional ways of doing things.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

            An exercise I would design for the class based on this book would be to ask the class to think of one of their favorite times they succeeded in something and then ask them to write down all the times they had to fail in order to achieve their ultimate success. Again, like the title of the book states, this will remind the students that their success came with many failures but ultimately with time they got what they were hoping to achieve.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

            Two big ‘aha’ moments I had when reading this book was first when Adams’ discusses how being selfish is not always bad like people perceive it to be. Being selfish usually has a negative connotation, but Adams’ says if we don’t focus on ourselves and our own needs, how can we tend to the needs of others. The second ‘aha’ moment I had was when Adams’ discussed how he prefers systems over goals. I had never thought about how systems allow you to alter your future plans, whereas goals can be perceived as being a little more concrete.

Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert: I emailed a service agent from the local Triple A (AAA) office here in Gainesville, Jenea Clarke. I believe she qualifies as a domain expert because AAA offers a service that is quite similar, though not identical, to the one I would like to offer. I emailed her and introduced myself, then I outlined my service idea and asked her opinion on it. I also asked her questions about the type of training their employees receive as I know this will be a crucial aspect for my business to run effectively. I don’t think she has any return expectations except my gratitude and appreciation.

Market Expert: I called a local auto repair shop, City Auto Repair, and spoke with one of their workers on the administrative end, Melanie. My service revolves around the fact that people’s cars break down from time to time and need repairs so I thought it would be beneficial to contact an auto repair shop as they are knowledgeable about this market. I asked questions on the time frame of certain car repairs and how their customers usually deal with being left without a car for the time being. This will help me better understand the opportunity I am trying to exploit by getting information from a business that sees people struggle with having to leave their car at the shop firsthand.

Industry Supplier: I emailed a manager from one of the local Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices here in Gainesville. I thought it would be appropriate to contact someone that works for a car rental service because an aspect of my service involves loaning out cars to customers while repairs are taking place on their cars. I asked questions in the email involving the logistics behind operating a car rental service and all the organization that needs to take place. I also asked about the capital that is required to purchase the cars to rent out. I found this person by looking at their website and calling the office and asking for a mangers email address to ask some questions for a school project.

Reflection: I was a little unsure about who to contact initially because my service is pretty complex and there is no one who offers something exactly like it. I believe by contacting all these different companies that are involved in a specific component of my service, will provide me with some critical tips and information that will help me when piecing all these parts of my ARCS service together. The experience of having to reach out and network with different individuals gave me some insight into the different perspectives people have in their respective businesses.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) My name is Marioly and I am a senior who is about to graduate this May. I am artistic, creative, athletic, and competitive. I am majoring in political science, but I also took many business electives here at the University of Florida. I was actually one class away from getting a minor in business. My parents both came to the United States from Cuba when they were very young and I am extremely proud to be Hispanic. If this business were to start I would dedicate myself and my time to make sure it can be the best I can possibly make it. It would give me a sense of accomplishment to know that something I started is helping people’s lives be just a little bit easier.

2) The service I am offering is Auto Repair Concierge Service, also known as ARCS. This service is designed to make things easier for individuals who are burdened when their car needs to be left at the shop for repairs. With ARCS, when your car breaks down you contact us by phone or app, we then send you a car to use for the duration of your car's repairs. ARCS transports your car to a contracted auto repair shop that will give you a discounted repair bill because you’re one of our customers. Soon thereafter you will see the cost of the repairs on your app. Once your car is repaired, ARCS will transport your car back to you, and we pick up and return the rental you were using. I am solving the unmet need of individuals who only have one vehicle and don’t have time to leave their car in the shop because they need transportation for work or to pick up their children.

3) This service is directed towards employed individuals living alone, couples that both work outside the home, or any individual that only owns one vehicle that is essential to their day to day lives. They can be both male and female and range from mid-twenties to about late fifties. I think something that all my customers will have in common is how disruptive they feel it is to have to deal with car issues because a car is a necessity for their livelihood. This service can also be targeted towards parents who have children in college and would be provided a sense of ease knowing their child will be taken care of when they have a car issue and they are not around to help them.

4) Customers will find this service valuable and actually pay for it because of the convenience the service provides and how it caters to one's every need when dealing with car repairs. Our cars are a fundamental aspect of our lives and are something that we use on an everyday basis. Break downs, accidents, small car problems, etc. can happen anytime. Customers will feel at ease knowing that whatever car trouble they are thrown, it will not be a set-back in their day to day lives because they have ARCS to help.

5) What sets ARCS apart is the many different aspects of services it will provide. From giving our customers a rental car to transporting their car to and from the shop, to returning your rental car for you, ARCS does all the things that you would have to do on your own. With my drive and competitive edge, I will ensure that this service runs smoothly and that all our customer’s needs are satisfied.

Evaluation: In all, I do believe these elements fit together. This idea came to me because I have experienced this issue first hand on several occasions and had to deal with flat tires, chipped windshields, and dead car batteries by myself here at school without the help of my parents. One aspect of the service that might be weak is organizing all the different components and training employees on how to run this service seamlessly and provide the best customer service. A solid training program would have to be put into place in addition to a decent amount of initial starting capital to afford vehicles to loan out to customers while repairs are being done on their cars.

Feedback Memo: The feedback I received on the first napkin assignment was pretty positive. It did help me understand a little bit better how complex my idea was and how it would be critical that a good employee training program is put into place so all the components of the service run as smoothly as possible. Also, it was pointed out to me that I would need a large amount of startup capital for this service in order to purchase the loaner cars. One thing I expounded on was portion #3, I further specified my target customers.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer would be anyone who is extremely dependent on their car. They live in a one-car household and everyone uses the car on a tightly set schedule. Whether it’s to get them to and from work in the morning and afternoon, to then take the kids to and from soccer practice after school, the car is an absolute key factor in order for their daily life to run smoothly. They drive not a super old car, but one that is known to have its occasional issue from time to time. They are constantly on the go, working, shopping, running errands, taking the kids to their tutoring sessions and extracurricular activities. They are about 45 years old and are always extremely anxious about being on time so their spouse can use the car when they need it. They don’t have time in their day to be burdened by any sort of issues or inconveniences, especially car problems. They get frustrated easily and love when things can be handled in an easy, swift manner and are accommodating to their daily life.

What I have in common with my customer-

Similar to my prototypical customer, I also am always on a very tight schedule with classes, law school applications, and driving to and from Gainesville to South Florida, I am very dependent on my car. I also get frustrated easily and try to avoid any stressful situations whenever possible as they overwhelm me.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Pitch: https://youtu.be/JiiPsks6lyI

Reflection of Feedback:

I received positive comments related to the statistics I included in my pitch, and how that added relevance and prominence to the issue I was addressing with my opportunity. I was somewhat surprised by the positive feedback regarding my confidence and enthusiasm because I was a bit nervous prior to delivering my pitch. I didn’t receive any feedback that was wrong or silly. The most useful feedback was the value of the statistics included in my pitch, the fact that I displayed a command of the subject matter, and a question around pricing, which I plan to address on my next pitch.

What I changed, based on feedback:

Based on the positive feedback I received, I tried to deliver my pitch similarly to as I did on my first attempt, and I added a portion pertaining to a pricing structure.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique:

1)    Great moral character, always able to elevate a mood when things feel down or alleviate people when times are tough

2) I am extremely creative. I enjoy painting and design. This would help give my company an edge when it comes to style.

3)  My experience in customer service 

4)   I am always very punctual and put in full effort in whatever I am doing

5)   I am great at effectively communicating with people and relating information

Interviews:

*(Due to the severity of the Coronavirus in the following weeks I felt it was safest to conduct interviews over the phone instead of in person. Due to this I was unable to provide audio recordings of my interviews but I have summarized them below)

1)    Ashley: Ashley is a good friend that I have known since high school. She said after playing travel soccer together for four years where I was the team captain, she admires my ability to lead a team when moral and low and motivate everybody to push through until the very end.

2)    Mia: Mia is my younger sister. She said something about me she views as valuable is my ability to look at something that appears to be black and white, bland, but then turn it into something special and colorful.

3)    Kati: Kait is my best friend that I met at UF. Kait said a piece of human capital she feels that I have is that I am able to view a situation and make the best tactical decision that will provide the best outcome, and factor any emotions out of my decision making.

4)    Riley: Riley is a friend I made at my LSAT prep class. She said she is very impressed with my ability to remain calm and relaxed when everyone around me might be stressed. She said I don’t let the emotions of other people affect my own.

5)    Sebastian: Sebastian is another close friend of mine. He said he admires my ability to multitask and organize my schedule in addition to other factors of my environment.

Reflection:

I feel that what my close friends and family stated was my human capital in my interviews does indeed closely align with what I wrote. These interviews helped give me some confidence and confirmed what I believed to be true.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

I conducted three additional interviews and found that the only alternatives to the problem of car trouble that the three people I interviewed could think of was Triple A. Two out of the three people interviewed said they had been previous customers of Triple A but were not satisfied with the service, so they discontinued their membership. They said Triple A was inconsistent and took a very long time to get to them when they had a car break down on the side of the road. In addition to this, they said Triple A does not provide a replacement car and they are then left car-less while their car is being repaired. All these complaints about Triple A are areas where my company, ARCS, will excel and improve upon. ARCS has a competitive advantage because while it is similar in concept to a company like Triple A, but ARCS provides additional services that Triple A does not and will provide these services more efficiently and effectively. The third interview I conducted was with a man named Alejandro. He said he has found no alternative solutions to the problems that come with car troubles. He said he just accepts the fact that while his car is being repaired, he will be without transportation for the time being. All three individuals said my service was something they would be willing to spend a decent amount of money on if it delivers on excellent service and quality.

To conclude, in this segment there doesn’t seem to be very many available alternatives and the one alternative that was mentioned, Triple A, doesn’t seem to deliver on its services. If executed effectively, this service would be of use to many individuals that own cars. I should consider all the areas where Triple A fell short and deliver a well-rounded service to my customers.

14A- Halfway Relection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. 

In order to keep up with the requirements of this course, I have had to improve my organizational skills. With multiple assignments being due each week and each assignment containing multiple parts and steps, it has been important for me to stay organized with my scheduling and how I spend my time.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 

Sometimes, the assignments look a bit overwhelming at first because they require a lot of steps and time must be put in to complete them. When I see an assignment that makes me want to “give up” and put off until the very last second, I try to start the assignment as early as possible and complete a little piece of it each day to not allow it to overwhelm me. During the past two months, just knowing that I will be graduating in May and am so close to the goal I have been working towards for the past four years motivates me to work as hard as I can.

3) Three tips.

1.    Don’t let lengthy assignments or the sheer amount of assignments that you see this class has overwhelm you. Take it week by week and put the work in one assignment at a time.

2.    Don’t compare your ideas to others. Be confident in your abilities and what motivates you and let it inspire your work and creativity.

3.    Watch the lectures early and take good notes. The lectures contain details on how to complete each weekly assignment. The earlier you watch, the sooner they won’t pile up at the end of the week when the cupcake is due.