Assignment 30

After reading through all of my posts, I feel like the most formative assignments that I completed this semester were the ones where I had to interview people and talk to other people to get their opinion on a topic that I needed to know more about. Practicing this allowed me to develop my communication skills while also trying to learn from the conversation. This skill of talking to people in a normal way while trying to learn something from this is very difficult, and I am glad I got some practice with it in this class. Additionally, I think these assignments are the ones that I am most proud of. They pushed me outside my comfort zone, which is not somewhere I ever go.

I do think I have developed an entrepreneur's mindset. I find myself looking around the world, and trying to find areas of my life that could be improved in some way. I believe that this is the most important part of the entrepreneur's mindset, and I feel I have fully adopted this way of thinking.

For others taking this class next semester, or at another time in the future, I would try to tell them to do more than the assignments. If you truly want to learn a lot in this class, it is possible. You could also learn the bare minimum, and not get much out of the class.

Assignment 28A

Your Exit Strategy

1. What is my exit strategy?

To be honest, this is an immensely difficult question to answer, as all hypothetical questions seem to be. The hardest part of this question is the uncertainty of the future. In order to answer this question, I will assume that my goals do not change. If this is so, I believe that I would work at this business for as long as I can, and eventually pass it on to someone who I believe has good intentions.

2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

 I believe that this is what I would do because of my purpose for starting this business. I would start this business in order to help students become more efficient at learning and studying. I don't believe that this is a need that can be fulfilled. It is perpetual, and will probably always be relevant. 

3. How do I think my exit strategy has influenced other parts of my business?

I believe that my exit strategy has most influenced my lack of growth. If I were to start this business, I would not be worried about growing quickly. I would try to grow as slowly as possible so that I can be assured that my business is still providing quality service. This is because my exit strategy is not to sell my company to a bigger business, but to pass my business onto someone else to continue my work.

Assignment 27A

Reading Reflection No. 3

I read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.

1. What surprised me most about Elon? What about him did I most admire? What about him did I least admire? Did he encounter adversity? What did he do about it?
What surprised me most about Elon is that he was a co-founder of Paypal. I have used this app on my smartphone for a while, but I had no idea that Elon Musk had anything to do with this company. What I admire most about Elon is his confidence. He always seems to believe in himself in anything that he takes on. What I least admire about Musk is his impulsiveness. He seemed to make decisions randomly at times. Musk encountered lots of adversity. When he was trying to start SpaceX and Tesla, he almost went completely broke. By believing in himself an working hard, he made both of these companies successful.

2. What competencies did you notice that the Elon exhibited?
Musk's greatest competencies are his confidence and his work ethic. Musk always seems to dream big and work as hard as he can to achieve his dreams. When faced with hardship, he never lacks belief in himself. 

3. What was one part of the reading that was confusing to me?
One part of the reading that was confusing to me was when the book talked about how Musk's goals and how he works towards these. To me, it seems that the "goals" of his that are described don't really line up with what he does with his companies.

4. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
If I were to ask Mr. Musk two questions, I would ask him how he has so much confidence and what he plans on doing in the future with Tesla. The first question would be one that helps me out in my life and the second question is one that I am curious about.

5. What do I think Elon's version of hard work is?
I think that Elon believes that hard work is doing whatever it takes to achieve your goals. Even if this means going broke or spending all your time doing something. To be honest, I feel the same about hard work. 

Assignment 26A

Celebrating Failure

1. What is something that I have failed at this semester?

Something that I failed at this semester was avoiding procrastination. I have been procrastinating in school (in everything, to be exact) for as long as I can remember. This semester was my first semester at the University of Florida, so I decided to (try to) lose this bad habit. I started off the semester, as I always do, teeming with motivation. Unsurprisingly, I lost sight of my goals for the semester and I eventually reverted back to my default habits. 

2. What have I learned from this?

 I have learned from this semester that I need better reasons for why I want to achieve something. I need something that a can cling to in times of hardship throughout the semester. A reason that will weather the storm, not "because I wanna". My purpose needs to be impenetrable. This will allow me to succeed in my endeavors, instead of falling short. I have also learned to be okay with progress. This semester I procrastinated much less than I usually would, and I am grateful for that. I have learned that not achieving what you desire is not the same thing as complacency. All of this that I have learned this semester will support me in my future ventures. 

3. What do I think about failure?

I have a horrible relationship with failure. I am terrified by it so I do everything in my power to avoid it. At times this is possible. When we do meet, I am sent spiraling into a dark place for a few days. I understand that I should look at failure differently. I am becoming better at understanding failure and using it to better myself. For me, I feel that this fear of failure comes from my unrealistic desire for perfection. When I avoid failure, I feel that I have done well. When I fail, I have to admit to myself that I am not perfect. I understand that there are better ways to deal with failure, I just have not gotten there yet. 

Assignment 25A

What's Next?

Existing Market

I think that for my service, the next logical step is to add individual tutoring. This will supplement my original service well because it will allow me to see how my market is utilizing my original service. This will allow me to not only refine the original aspect of my business, but it will also create another revenue driver. Additionally, I believe that this service is necessary for my market to be able to solve their problem. With my original service (creating study plans for individual classes by collaborating with teachers), I will tell students how they should be studying for a specific class. With the tutoring service that I could add, I could help students understand how they should be implementing my study plans, and how they should be learning material while in class.

If I were to interview three people within my market, I believe that they would ask for exactly what I am proposing. While most parents would graciously accept my original service if offered to their children's classes, I believe that parents would be ecstatic if their child were to get one-on-one treatment. In other words, parents like it for their kids to learn better in school, but they would rather only their kids receive help with school. Parents want their kids to get better grades relative to other students, and one-on-one tutoring would offer exactly that. I believe if I told interviewees about this proposal, they would be willing to buy it for their students. Parents with the means to get their children a better education will almost always take the opportunity to. 

The logical step to grow within my existing market is to ask the teachers with whom I will be collaborating with which students in their classes are struggling the most. This will allow me to hone my market for my one-on-one tutoring service to only the students that might need additional help. In order to reach these students' parents, I will ask the school if I could meet their parents in order to discuss my tutoring opportunity. I will describe to the parents how I am already providing study plans, and how I could enhance their education through one-on-one tutoring. I would be willing to provide these services directly after regular school hours and directly before school hours. If students could not make these hours, I would offer times during the weekends. I believe this would allow me to grow within my existing market by creating an additional revenue driver that nicely complements my initial revenue driver. 

New Market

My initial market was targeting private school students that are in middle school and high school, so the next step in order to help students of all socioeconomic statuses would be to help public school students with their studying techniques. 

I believe that I could create the same value for this market that I aim to create with my initial market: studying techniques that are effective and efficient for individual classes. I would achieve this through collaboration with teachers. 

If I were to interview individuals from this market, I believe that they would embrace this idea. Students from all schools need help with their studying techniques, so I believe that public school students would benefit in the same way that private school kids would. Parents of this market would not bear the economic expense of my service because public schools are funded primarily through local governments. Another way a public school could pay for my service is through a fundraiser. I believe that parents of public school students would be willing to pitch in to a fundraiser that would support my service. I believe that if I were to ask them in an interview if they would pay a small fee towards a fundraiser, many parents would be willing to.

I believe that if I were to interview parents of public school students, they would say something similar to what private school parents would. One thing that I might be incorrect about is how much they are willing to contribute to a fundraiser in order to provide for my service. These parents might expect local governments to pitch in in order to keep public school free, as it should be. I feel like this market is equally as attractive as my original market, if not more attractive. 

Assignment 24A- Studyright

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

The opportunity that I have recognized involves a problem that everyone has faced. This opportunity can mostly be seen, and will mostly be useful for high school and middle school students. The problem that they face is that their teachers don't teach them how they should study and learn their material. These students usually employ study tactics that are the easiest and the most fun. If their parents suggest a way to study, they might try this. The problem that these students face is that they will usually employ one method for all of their classes. While this might seem logical, there is usually one way that will work best for each class. Although middle school students and high school students have this problem, they are not the entities that an opportunity could be marketed towards, as they do not have the ability to pay for my service. The people that would be able to pay for my service are their parents. The parents that would be most willing to pay for this service are private school parents. They would end up paying for my service through tuition. The parents would pay for my service would be parents that believe that their kids are struggling in school, or parents that just want their kids to do better in school. These parents are people that value education, as they are willing to pay for their kids to become more effective studiers. I believe that parents are currently satisfying this need on an individual basis. If a parent sees that their kid needs to do better in school, many times they look for a tutor. I believe that parents will only continue to go to a tutor as long as their kids are succeeding In school. I believe that this is a big opportunity, as it seems that it is an aspect of schooling that is completely overlooked universally. I believe that this opportunity will remain open until all parents are completely satisfied with their kids' grades.

Innovation

A service that could solve this problem is one that collaborated with teachers and writes up study plans for students. This would not take much time, or be difficult. It would take a person that is committed to understanding what a teacher desires to teach their students and an understanding of how students are studying. I would meet with each teacher at a school and go over their lesson plans for a class. I would understand how the teacher is formatting their classes, and how the teachers will test the students. I will then formulate a plan for each class on what the best way to study for that particular class is. This will take the guesswork out of studying, which is what every student wants. I will be selling my service to schools for two hundred dollars per class. I will not force a school into buying my service for all classes, as I understand that there are classes that almost no students struggle with. I will allow the schools to choose which classes they would like my collaboration for. 

Venture Concept

I believe that my service will help students by taking the guesswork out of studying. They won't have to wonder whether their studying will help them with their tests. This will allow students to focus all of their educational time on learning the material. This service will also cut down on the amount of time studying students will have to engage in. This will also make my service advantageous for all students, not just the ones that are struggling. With less time studying, students will free up time to use however they please. I do not believe that parents will mind paying extra intuition for my service. As long as they know that their kids will be achieving better grades in school, I believe a majority of parents will be delighted to pay a premium for their child's enhanced education. Competitors of my service are tutors. One primary weakness of tutors is that they are very expensive. A good tutor will charge on a per session basis, and might not even address a student's studying habits. My venture is a service, so packaging and distribution will not be relevant. Customer support and customer experience will be vital for my service. I will have to be willing to have a support line even after I have completed my service with a teacher. This will not only make the customer experience much better, but it will also allow me to refine my business. Although my business might grow quickly, I believe the best way to keep the quality of my service as high as I can would be to not outsource work to employees. I believe this will be beneficial in developing relationships with schools and individual teachers.

Three Minor Elements

1. My most important resource is that I love helping other people solve their problems. I believe that this will allow me to persevere through hardships in my entrepreneurial venture. I believe that this resource is valuable and very rare in our society.

2. I believe that I could supplement my service by adding additional tutoring to provide students that would want extra help in school. I understand that knowing how to study is only part of the educational process, and I could address this by offering individual tutoring.

3. I believe that this venture will be very satisfying and will only leave me wanting to help the world out more. I could see this business growing and potentially becoming an online service that schools have access to from anywhere in the world. After this venture is completed, I will examine our world and see where I can offer assistance to those in need.

Assignment 23A

Your venture’s unfair advantage

My business is one that goes to high schools and middle schools and collaborates with teachers and students in order to formulate study plans and learning strategies for specific classes.

1. My first resource could be considered apart of my social capital. I know a tutor in my area that has an extensive list of clients that are in my target market. 

Valuable: I consider this source valuable, as I could potentially reach out to this individual in order to find students and parents that are willing to pay a premium for a good education. 

Rare: This resource is very rare because that aren’t that many tutors in my area that have a large client list, as I live in a very small town.

Inimitable: I do not think this resource is very inimitable. There are other ways I could potentially find clients.

Non-substitutable: I think this resource is substitutable, as I could find other ways to find people that are willing to pay for my service

2. Another resource that I have is that I have recently been through high school, so I understand high school students and their problems.

Valuable: I do consider this resource valuable because having empathy for your target market is imperative in order to solve their problems

Rare: I do consider this source somewhat rare because I don’t believe there are many people in this business that have recently graduated high school.

Inimitable: This resource is very inimitable, as you can’t re-experience high school.

Non-substitutable: There are other ways to have empathy with my target market and their problems other than containing this resource, so this resource is substitutable.

3. A third resource I have is that I know students at many of the high schools and middle schools in my area.

Valuable: I don’t believe this resource is extremely valuable, as it is not difficult to acquire.

Rare: I don’t believe this resource is very rare, as most people in my town know individuals at many schools in the area.

Inimitable: I do believe this resource is quite inimitable because it is hard to befriend high schoolers and middle schoolers if you aren’t their age.

Non-substitutable: I do believe this resource is non-substitutable because there aren’t any other ways for me to understand my target market other than knowing them.

4. A fourth resource I have is that I understand topics from middle school and high school very well, especially math.

Valuable: I would consider this resource valuable, as most people have forgotten most of the stuff they learned in high school and middle school because it was so long ago. 

Rare: I would consider this resource rare because not many people fully understand and remember school material from high school classes, but I recently graduated high school so it is much easier for me.

Inimitable: This resource is imitable because anyone could go back and learn stuff from high school that they forgot.

Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable because I must know the material that I am creating study plans for. There is no way around it.

5. My fifth resource is that I have the ability to focus on one thing in my life and not stop working at it until I am satisfied.

Valuable: This resource is necessary for any business venture. As I have learned from this class, perseverance is imperative for entrepreneurship 

Rare: I do believe this resource is very rare in our society. To me, it seems that most people are easily stopped in the face of hardships.

Inimitable: I do believe that this resource is inimitable. There is no way to fake perseverance. It comes from your motivation for doing something, and I don’t believe that you can imitate it.

Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable. There is no other way to be so dedicated in your pursuits.

6. My sixth resource is that I love to help other people solve their problems

Valuable: I believe this is my most valuable resource. It is not something that you can buy or find. Caring for other people is the most important capability that I have.

Rare: I do believe that this resource is very rare. I feel that many people that start a business do so for the financial benefits, without realizing what is more important.

Inimitable: This resource is my most inimitable. There is no way to imitate this resource, either you have it or you don’t.

Non-substitutable: There is no substitute for this resource. If you don’t love to solve other people’s problems, you will not have a passion or drive to do so.

7. My seventh resource is that I have a large family, so finding contacts to schools and understanding parents and students will be very easy for me to access.

Valuable: I don’t believe this resource is very valuable, because there are other ways to understand parents and their kids’ educational struggles.

Rare: I don’t believe this resource is very rare because many people have large families with cousins that are in high school and middle school.

Inimitable: I do believe that this resource is inimitable. There is no way to force yourself to have more have family members.

Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable. Others can go out and meet parents and students, but there will not be a bond of trust and care. I know many family member that could be considered apart of my target market, so they will be willing to talk honestly about their kids’ learning difficulties.

8. My eight resource is that I would have financial support from my family and friends, and would be willing to allocate much of my savings to it if I decided to pursue this venture.

Valuable: I do consider this resource valuable, because by definition, money will provide value to my business.

Rare: I do not consider this rare, as most entrepreneurs are willing to reach out to family and spend their own money on their entrepreneurial ventures.

Inimitable: This resource is inimitable. There is no other way to finance a business other than through money.

Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable because there is no way to finance a business other than with money.

9. My ninth resource is that I have a fundamental understanding of how people learn and the best ways to study for different types of classes.

Valuable: I do consider this resource very valuable, as it will allow me to solve my customer’s problems.

Rare: I do consider this resource rare. From my experience, most people don’t understand how to study effectively. 

Inimitable: This resource is not inimitable. Anyone can educate themselves about this subject If they wanted to.

Non-substitutable: This resource is non-substitutable. There is no other way to operate my business without this resource. It is what will allow me to solve students’ studying struggles.

10. My tenth resource is that by the time I could pursue this venture, I will have a degree in business. (And at the moment, I have taken many business-related courses)

Valuable: I do consider this resource valuable, as I will be running a business myself. Understanding the complexities of how businesses run will allow me to refine my own business. 

Rare: I do not consider this resource rare. Many people that pursue entrepreneurship have degrees in business.

Inimitable: I do not consider this resource inimitable. There are other ways to learn about business other than having a degree in business.

Non-substitutable: This resource is substitutable. There are other ways that I could learn about businesses other than having a degree.

Best Overall?

I truly believe that my best resource is my drive to help other people solve their problems. I believe that this resource satisfies all of the requirements of VRIN, with its most important aspect being that it is inimitable. There are no ways to acquire this resource. You either want to help others, or you are only trying to help yourself. I believe that this resource will allow me to succeed if I were to pursue this entrepreneurial venture.

Assignment 22A

Elevator Pitch No 3

Here is the link to my elevator pitch
https://youtu.be/UcZDb3mfZa8

2. Some of the feedback that I got from the last pitch said that I should try to include less content, and move at a slower pace. Other feedback that I got on my last elevator pitch said that I chose a good angle and the lighting was good. Another commenter on my last elevator pitch said that I did a good job of getting my ideas across clearly

3. I did not change much based on the feedback that I got. I tried to retain all of the good aspects that were mentioned about my last elevator pitch, and I feel that I did that well. I also tried to slow down with this pitch. I feel that this made this pitch easier to understand. I also feel that this made this pitch more enjoyable to listen to.

Assignment 21A

Reading Reflection No. 2

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman 

1. The general theme of the book is that humans think using two systems. The first system, Kahneman calls “System 1” is the system that informs how we think about things at first glance. This system does not do much work and bases our judgments off of what we know already. Decisions and judgments that come from this system are impulsive and not thought out. The second system, called “System 2” is the system that people think they always use, but they don’t. Most people think they are rational and logical, but this type of thinking is usually only produced when we use “System 2”. Kahneman explains how this system is not employed as often as we would like because of its energy-wasting nature. Kahneman explains how thinking hard actually uses more glucose, which would not be favorable from an evolutionary perspective. Kahneman continuously disproves the adage “humans are rational beings” and he seems to achieve this throughout the book by citing studies showing how humans aren’t quite as logical as we think we are.

2. This book enhanced my learning for ENT3003 by changing how I think about people. I used to think that people were logical and rational, generally. This book constantly reminded me that this is not the case. Entrepreneurship seems to contain many problems regarding human behavior, and this book has deepened my knowledge of how humans think and make decisions.

3. If I had to design an exercise for this class that is related to this book I would use some of the word problems that were mentioned in the book. The book had several simple math word problems that were attempting to show how humans are impulsive and irrational. For the assignment, I would have the students complete these word problems and reflect on how they thought about these problems. 

4. One of the biggest surprise moments or “aha” moments I had while reading this book was when I read about priming. Kahneman mentions many experiments that show how “priming” affects people’s decision-making ability. One experiment showed people money without them realizing, and then asked them to help other people. The people that were subconsciously shown money were much less likely to pick up a pencil for another person. Similar experiments to this regarding money were explained. This showed me how humans are affected by what they have seen, heard, and thought about recently.

Assignment 20A

Growing your Social Capital

Noah

1. Noah is a tutor for the SAT test. He went to the same high school as me and majored in musical theory in college

2. I am considering Noah to be my "domain expert". He helps high school students learn by tutoring them, so he seems to be in my industry.

3. I found this person because he was my SAT tutor when I was in high school. I contacted him by calling him.

4. The favor that he did for me was talking to me about my business idea. He offered me advice and sounded very interested. I do not believe that he wants something in return, because this was such a small favor.

5. Including Noah in my social network will better allow me to exploit my opportunity because he knows students that care about learning and that have parents that are willing to pay for it. These are the type of people that I am targeting with my service.

Daphne 

1. Daphne owns a small business. She grew up in a small town and went to a medium-sized college. 

2. I am considering Daphne to be my "market expert". Although we will not be targeting the same market, I am looking to get advice on how she thinks I should target my market.

3. I did not "find" this person. She is my aunt so I have known her all of my life. I contacted my Aunt Daphne by calling her.

4. I asked my aunt what she thought about my business idea, and how she targets her market. She said that she liked my idea, and she offered me some advice about how I should try to target my market. She mentioned that I could start by looking up tuition costs at private schools in the area. I thought this was a good idea, as it would allow me to find parents that are most willing to pay for their kids to learn more effectively. 

5. Although my Aunt was in my "social network" I believe that our relationship changed a bit because I contacted her about my idea. Talking to her about my idea will allow me to better target my specific market.

John

1. John grew up in the northeast part of the united states. He went to UCF and majored in business.

2.  I am considering John to be my "supplier". John works for a tutoring service in my town as the manager. This means that he is providing a service in the same industry as my business idea is in. 

3. I found John by visiting the tutoring company that he works for. I asked to speak to the manager, which led me to John.

4. John did me a favor of offering me advice. I talked to him about how he started working for the tutoring service, and how he finds customers. Although he most likely doesn't expect much in return because he knows that I was talking to him for a school assignment, I may offer him a favor in return.

5. Adding John to my social network might serve useful in the future if I have any other questions that he might be able to answer.

Reflection

This social networking was not much like social networking I had done in the past. This social networking seemed focused and objective-driven. This has its benefits, but it also seemed less natural. At times, it seemed like I was only talking to the person in order to get the information that I needed. I feel like this should change in the future so the conversations seem more natural.

Assignment 19A

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. You

I am a student at UF majoring in General Business. My talents are that I am a good problem solver, I am good at math, and I am good at helping other people solve their problems. My aspiration for this business idea of mine is for it to allow students to reach their goals in school more efficiently.

2. What are you offering?

My service is one that goes to elementary and high schools and helps teachers better understand and facilitate their students studying habits. I will talk to teachers and look at their lesson plans and then work with them to come up with the most effective way to study for their class. I will also offer test-taking advice, such as how to deal with test anxiety.

3. Who are you offering it to?

While any school would benefit from my service, my service is mainly being offered to private schools with below-average GPA's. This puts parents in my target market because the cost of my service will end up being paid by them. Parents that would want my service to be offered to their kids' schools value learning and success.

4. Why do they care?

These parents want my service because they want their kids to do well in school, but they are very busy. These parents want someone else to help their kids do well in school, and they want their kids to do well in school for the rest of their lives. My service will offer these benefits to them

5. What are your core competencies?
My core competencies are that I have had this problem myself and that I love helping other people solve their problems. These competencies will allow me to persevere with this business idea and beat out any competition that arises.

COHESIVENESS
I do believe that each of these five aspects of my business fit together, but something that might need tweaking is who I believe my target market is. Although parents will end up paying for my service, it might be useful to try to target principals. This alteration to my business model might allow me to reach more schools.

FEEDBACK
Most of the feedback that I received from my first idea napkin post was that they liked my idea. One commenter said that I should target schools with below-average GPA's, as they realize that they have this problem. Another commenter said that I should incorporate something to limit stress on exams. I thought that both of these ideas were important, so included both in this Idea Napkin.

Assignment 17A

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Link to the elevator pitch: https://youtu.be/x_TxRpRBu2Y


2.) Although I did not get much feedback on my last elevator pitch, the feedback that I did receive was helpful. One of the comments that was made was that I should change the camera angle when recording my pitch, which I thought was a good idea. Another comment that was made was that I should add a hook at the beginning of the hook, which is a good idea to grab the listeners attention

3.) I changed the camera angle to better represent an angle that might be realistic when talking to someone in person. I also added a hook at the beginning of my pitch, which I think added a nice touch and

Assignment 18A

Create a Customer Avatar

Customer Avatar

My customer avatar would most likely be parents that have a few kids and want their kids to learn better in school. This desire for them to learn more may come from many things, such as a dream for their kids to be successful. Because I am targeting parents for my service, I am assuming that their kids go to private schools. This is because my service will increase the tuition that parents have to pay. Many affluent parents with multiple kids use tutoring services, which would be a substitute for my service, so the parents that I would target either have had no luck with tutoring, or there is not a viable tutoring service within the area of them. These parents want their kids to do well in school, so they most likely were held to the same standard by their parents. I would assume that these parents have substantial incomes as a result of doing well in school when they were younger. These parents won’t have many hobbies since they have their hands full with multiple children. They are in their thirties or late twenties because this seems to be the age that parents have young children. These parents have a car that can hold many people and lots of stuff, such as an SUV or a minivan. At least one of these parents works full time, in order to finance their large family. One of the parents either only works part-time or does not work at all in order to have time to take care of their kids. 

What do I have in common?

I don’t have much in common other than that I also value learning and I don’t have much time. I don’t think this is a coincidence that I have these in common with my customer avatar, as this is the need that I have experienced that I am filling with my service.

Assignment 16A

Human Capital

Five distinct aspects of my "human capital"

1. Hard-working

Although this might sound cliche, I don't believe that I am hard working in the same sense that most people say that they are. When I truly have a passion for something, I tend to work at it until I am completely satisfied. This means that I set everything else aside and focus on this one goal of mine.

2. Perseverance

When I want to achieve something, especially some goal that brings about many difficulties, I always persevere through these hardships. I tend to "keep my eye on the prize" and focus on why I want to achieve this goal. This allows me to transcend the hurdles that I face on my path to what I desire to achieve.

3. Quantitative skills

For as long as I can remember, I have always been well above average in all of my math classes. I tend to grasp quantitative concepts more readily than most people, and I also tend to apply theoretical math concepts to realistic situations with ease.

4. Ability to empathize 

I believe that I have the ability to empathize with other people and understand their problems better than most people. Especially related to my service, I feel that I can empathize with struggling students. I have been in this situation many times, and I feel that I have the expertise to and capacity to help these people because of my relatability.

5. Desire to help others

I have always had an inner drive to help others achieve their goals. This drive is ratcheted up when I, myself have struggled in a similar way. I believe that my desire to help other people will allow me to hurdle hardship and failure that other people would fall to.

Five Interviews

1. https://soundcloud.com/user-367443133/sofia-interview/s-bbYbh
2. https://soundcloud.com/user-367443133/img-6510-online-audio-convertercom/s-I7TJy
3. https://soundcloud.com/user-367443133/new-recording/s-c4bgt
4. https://soundcloud.com/user-367443133/nw-13th-st/s-Ei0I7
5. https://soundcloud.com/user-367443133/img-0080-online-audio-convertercom/s-sddGl

Disparity

- While there were many similarities between my self-perception and other's perception of me, there were some notable differences that were surprising and inspiring. One commonality between the interviews was highlighting my ability to focus. While this wasn't something I specifically mentioned about myself, I did allude to it. I thought it was interesting how some of the interviewees saw this as a major aspect of my human capital. I think I didn't necessarily see this in myself because it is all I have ever known and don't see it as unusual.

Assignment 15A

Buyer Behavior No. 2

My service is one that helps teachers better understand their students and how they learn, and then facilitate their students to achieve their goals in the classroom. I would specifically focus on quantitative subjects like math and some sciences. The segment that I would like to target is parents of students, as they would inevitably be paying for my service in the cost of tuition. I talked to three parents of students that I know.

Alternative Evaluation

• After these interviews, it was clear to me that personal tutoring services are the main alternative to my service. One of the parents that I talked to said that she regularly takes her kids to tutors so that they can do better in school. After I asked her how she decided to use this particular tutoring service, she told me that she had heard about it from another parent. This revealed to me that there wasn’t much alternative evaluation going on with this purchase. The tutoring service was used, and because it worked, there wasn’t a need to change it. 

How/Where do they buy

• This tutoring that was mentioned by my interviewee is an in-person tutoring service, so it is paid for in person after the service has been completed. This is always paid for in cash because it is not a big purchase.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

• The post-purchase evaluation is the most pertinent aspect of the buyer behavior process to my service. This is because the primary alternative, tutoring, is evaluated heavily after the purchase has been made because it’s effectiveness can only be determined after-the-fact. Each of the parents that I talked to said that they evaluated their respective tutoring services based on how well they thought their kids were doing in school. If their children seemed to do better, they were satisfied with the tutoring service and continued to be customers. One of the parents that I interviewed said that a tutoring service that she tried did not seem to be helping her kids. She switched to a different tutor and saw better results. These interviews revealed invaluable information about the post-purchase evaluation.

In conclusion, these interviews revealed two major aspects of my segment and how they buy: the alternative to my service is tutoring, and the post-purchase evaluation is the only way this particular segment decides whether to continue using a particular tutoring service. 

Assignment 14A

Halfway Reflection

1. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

1A. One thing that I have done to keep up with the requirements of this course is to schedule out what I have to do each week for this course. This has allowed me to plan for how much time I will need to allot before this time has passed. 

2. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

2A. One week I saved my weekly assignments until a few hours before each of them were due. To be honest, I considered giving up and not doing the assignments. I tried to justify this by telling myself that I had had a difficult week. What pulled me through was picturing how I would feel a few days after the assignments were due. Would I be glad that I decided to not do the assignments? No. I would only be satisfied if I had given it my best effort. I ended up completing the assignments with quality and in a timely manner. I don’t feel that my tenacity has improved immensely, but I do feel that I have been planning better than I was at the beginning of the semester. This has saved me from needing tenacity and discipline when my motivation wanes. 

3. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

3A. My first tip to be more tenacious is to understand your reason for taking this class. If you can need motivation, you can return to this and strive to achieve what you desire from this class. My second tip is to plan out your academic week. This will allow you to have a clear image of what you need to do each week, which will undoubtedly foster your tenacity. My third tip is to strive to do your best. Constantly ask yourself, “Is this the best work that I can do?” If not, strive to make it your best. This will force you to pursue excellence. 

Assignment 13A

Reflection on Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

1a. The thing that surprised me the most about this book was that Phil Knight’s company, Nike, had many struggles along the way to becoming the renowned empire that it is today. For many years, Knight struggled immensely with financing his company. 

1b. What I admire most about Knight is his perseverance. No matter how difficult the challenges that he faced, he seemed to always believe in himself and his company. This allowed him to surpass great challenges that seemed impossible to defeat.

1c. I least admired how Knight treated his family. Although he did seem to love them, at times he ignored important family matters when obsessing over his company.

2. A few competencies that Phil Knight had were his knowledge of running, his connection to his track coach at Oregon, and his perseverance. Each of these greatly benefitted him when starting Nike and allowed him to break from Onitsuka Tiger, the company he was originally partnering with. 

3. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the relationships that Knight had with managers working for Onituska Tiger. These managers sometimes helped Knight out, and then they betrayed him. Knight did not make this clear why this happened, so this made the story a bit confusing.

4. I would ask him how he was able to believe in himself despite the overwhelming challenges that he faced. I would also ask him what he would pursue today if he was my age. I would ask him these questions because I feel like the answers would help me in my own life. 

5. I think Knight's definition of hard work was relentlessly pursuing opportunities in the face of hardship. I would agree with this definition because it seems to encapsulate what hard work really seems like to me: doing the stuff that you don’t want to do and doing it without stopping. 

Assignment 12A

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Although the group of people I would market towards are parents, teachers, and schools, I decided to talk to some students because they are the group of people that have the problem. In order to find more about the people who would benefit from my service, I interviewed three people who are currently enrolled in school: two of my younger cousins and one family friend. I asked them mainly about how they studied, what type of classes they found the most difficult to study for, and whether their teachers had even attempted to teach them how to study for their class. A major finding from these interviews that I drew was that students have a hard time studying for math-based classes. When probing the interviewees why they found it so hard to study for such classes, they all decided that there wasn’t any material to study. Unsurprisingly, each one said that math classes were the classes that they struggled with the most. After receiving these answers, I asked the interviewees whether their teachers had told them how to study for their tests. Each interviewee had a few different answers, but the ones that were talked about the most were study guides and rereading the material. When I asked this same question about math classes specifically, the answer was study guides. I asked them how they studied for math classes and each one said that they simply completed the study guide, and that was it. I then asked the interviewees if they had tried anything besides only completing the study guides, and the answers varied. My younger cousin said that he had tried to do other problems from the textbook for one of his math tests, and he got a better grade than normal. 

These interviews revealed important information that I expected before coming into the interviews. These interviews confirmed to me that kids in middle school struggle with math-based exams, and aren’t really doing anything about it. Additionally, their teachers don’t seem to be much help when it comes to studying for the tests. Although it was obvious that the interviewees wanted to get better scores on their tests, each one seemed to believe that it was out of the realm of possibility for them to do so. This revealed to me that my service needs to include some psychological reinforcement in addition to the educational aspect.

Assignment 11A

Idea Napkin

1. I am a student at the University of Florida and am majoring in General Business. My skills include problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. My aspirations are to enjoy life and help people solve their problems. I see my business concept as one that I would work on in my free time and continue to work at until I feel that I am not helping anyone by pursuing this opportunity. 

2. WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING TO CUSTOMERS?

My service would be a service that goes to schools and informs teachers about how they should be telling their students how to study and learn their specific class. I would mainly focus on helping teachers inform their students how they should be studying for tests. This will help students clear their confusion about how they can be effective and efficient when studying in order to reach their goals in the classroom.

3. WHO ARE YOU OFFERING IT TO?

Although I would be selling my service to schools, the students would be the primary market that would benefit from my service. The service would primarily be targeted towards middle school and high school students who are seeking better grades on tests. I would not limit my market to any specific gender, race, or income level.

4. WHY DO THEY CARE?

Although schools would directly pay for my service, I will talk about why students care about my service because they are the ones who will benefit the most from it.  Students will find my service valuable because not only will it allow them to get better grades in the classroom, it will also save them time when studying. This will make their parents happier and will give them more time for activities that they would rather be doing. Additionally, this service will benefit them for many more years as they still have many years of schooling ahead.

5. WHAT ARE YOUR CORE COMPETENCIES?

I believe that my primary core competency is that, from what I have seen, there is not a single company that is offering this service to schools. While the barriers to entry might be relatively nominal, I believe through some experience, I could develop a service tailored perfectly to the needs of the students. This experience would put me far ahead of anyone else trying to compete against me. Another core competency that I have is that I am young and have recently experienced the need that I am trying to fill. My proximity to the problem gives me a more empathetic nature than most potential competitors.

COHESIVENESS

Although I do believe that my business model is fairly cohesive, one part that seems to be a bit unsteady is my target market. I talked about how the need is one that comes from students, although they cannot pay for my service. I may need to market my service more towards parents and schools. This is something that I have struggled with, and I am unsure how this fits into my business model. Although schools and parents would both benefit from my service greatly, I am unsure whether I should also consider these segments as a part of my target market because they would not be benefited as much as students would be.