Very Short Interview, Part 2

What is the best advice you can give a prospective entrepreneur?

To go for it. Most people have an idea of what they want to do but they are hesitant to make it happen and end up working for someone else and staying there.

Do you plan on staying with your current business, or selling it?

My plan is to eventually sell it, once we get things going here and are able to make a good profit. As much as I love my job, and owning a business, I don't want to work in a bar for life. As I get older I have other ideas that I want to pursue.

My plan is and has always been to get my business going and to sell it.

The hardest thing for me to overcome as an entrepreneur is when we had a some trouble with our first college bar and eventually had to close it down. Business was always good, but the place would get trashed, we had problems with underage kids trying to drink on property, and it was hard to keep a consistent staff. These students would graduate or transfer, and their class schedule changed every semester so it was a little chaotic to plan around that. We sold the business and decided to open a new and improved one, which turned out to be much more successful.

I felt a little more comfortable interviewing him now that I have a bit more background and insight on being an entrepreneur myself. However, this is someone that I used to work for and I had a good idea of what his answers would be because I have asked him before.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

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

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

The thing that most surprised me in this reading was the detail of the due diligence and checklist of analyzing a business.

There was not really any part of this reading that I found confusing. It all made pretty good sense when explained in the text. The two questions I would ask are do you think a business owner could do without the due diligence evaluation, and how do you handle the control factor when in the process of buying a business? I don’t disagree with anything the author mentioned in this reading.

Celebrating Failure

1)      Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time.

There have been several occasions where I feel I have failed in this class. Almost all of my interview exercises didn’t go as planned. For a lot of them, I just gave up and opted to do the extra credit instead.

2)      Tell us what you learned from it. 

I learned that it’s okay to accept the fact that not everything will be perfect. It’s ok that I don’t want to post videos for some of the assignments in this class as long as I know that I can still earn an A by doing extra credit. I tried my best for some of these and being that I am studying abroad, there was only so much I could do.

3)      Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were four months ago?

Honestly this class has helped me to take risks a little more, because I did push myself out of my comfort zone and tried to complete the video assignments, even though I failed. At other times in life I have failed, and it only made me realize that I was either not trying hard enough, or it was just not the right thing for me to by trying. That is okay. Everyone has something that they excel in, and things they will never really be that great at. Accepting failure is a big part of accepting yourself.

My Exit Strategy

My exit strategy for this business is to let it grow for 5-10 years and then ultimately sell it. My entire business idea is based off an app that could be widely popular today because it is a fairly new market. I don't think that this type of service will be relevant 10+ years down the road and if it is, it may have a lot more competition. My plan would be to get it to it's peak, and then sell it and invest in a new idea, and then repeat. This way I won't lose everything I put into it. I would of course invest a lot of the money I make along the way in case my plan doesn't work out. I want to make a lot of money and start investing as soon as possible so 10+ years down the road I will have a steady income from my investments. An example of how I think my plan will work is when Myspace Tom sold his business for millions of dollars and then not too long after, it's use began to plummet immensely and it is now mostly irrelevant.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1)      What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The part that surprised me the most was when the author explained what the best strategic plan would be influenced by. Usually an author would point out what was absolute best so that’s why it surprised me.

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

The part where the author talks about participation by subordinates in a strategic plan being appropriate. It kinda makes sense to me but I suppose it’s situational.

3)      If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I don’t really have any questions that I would ask the author for this section.

4)      Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

There isn’t really anything I think the author was wrong about in this chapter. I agree that the 

Venture Concept No. 1

The opportunity that I am venturing into is a similar to a ride-sharing service. But I am offering a service beyond just rideshares, but service shares of all kinds. For example, people can call on their driver and get food delivered from anywhere. It gives people an opportunity to become entrepreneurs themselves. It allows people to be their own boss, work their own hours. It gives customers the ability to travel and get things done at a lower than normal cost, increasing productivity. They can get anything delivered, anytime. It’s like Uber and Lyft but with endless opportunities.

Geographically and demographically this market can help people in all regions and from all demographics. Rural areas have very few options for delivery services and taxis. This can help people to get around and get things done in their community. In the big cities, it is very helpful to people who live in high rise apartments and don’t have the time or ability to get things delivered themselves, or if they don’t want to take public transportation. Demographically, people of all ages, races, and classes can use this service. People who are too poor to buy their own car can use the ridesharing service, while people who are rich and don’t want to bother to drive their own car can use it as well. It really is a helpful service for all people, because everyone moves around and everyone eats food.

This opportunity is huge, because it’s something that some people will use on a weekly (or even daily) basis. The window of opportunity will always be open because although there are similar services in existence already, there is always room for improvement. If I can expand on an idea that already exists and find my own customer base and keep them satisfied, I have a huge opportunity for success.

My customers all have one thing in common, they need assistance. Whether it be that they can’t walk and need their groceries delivered, or they just need a ride somewhere. My innovation is that I am selling them a transportation service. I am selling the customer a ride in a vehicle or a delivery from a hired driver, from anywhere they wish. Corporate restaurants that do food deliveries and taxi companies charge a great deal for a small service, and in most cases, pay their employees a small hourly wage. This company gives the customer convenience of getting something done with the knowledge that the majority of their fare goes directly to a person’s paycheck and not to a huge corporation.

This type of business has been successful because of the convenience. In this day and age people put a huge emphasis on saving time and not being inconvenienced. They are willing to pay to get things delivered to them when it saves them a trip they don’t want to spend the time to make. It allows them to get around town without needing to drive themselves. They are helping everyday average people to earn money on their own.

What my idea has that no one else has is options. There are many uses for this service and it can only get better and better. Focusing on customer and employee satisfaction by creating a rewards system when the services are used is what will keep them coming back. It’s one of those things you don’t realize how much you value until you stop using it.

I have a lot of ideas for this company, but I still have to figure out how to put the pieces together. I think it is very possible to offer a wide range of services from one app instead of several, but of course it is a bit of a challenge to make it all work when it is a completely new business model. The next step for me is figuring out how to pull in my first set of customers and independent contractors.

The Amazon Whisperer

The Amazon Whisperer

The main opportunity that I have to work on for my business is customer experience. There are other competitors in this type of business and I have to make sure mine stands out as the best and different from the others. One thing I've learned from using Uber is that it feels like a much more personable, pleasant and trusted experience than when I use taxi's. It feels almost like you are hiring a friend to drive you somewhere in their vehicle. I would make sure my business runs based on customer/driver ratings so that both parties are satisfied. Any customer or driver who gives the other an exceptionally poor experience will no longer be able to use the service. The other factor of my business is safety. There have been many safety concerns for Uber drivers because it is not that hard to become approved as a driver. For my business I will make sure to do extensive background/driving checks for drivers as well as a brief phone interview to make sure they are able to communicate well. I have to make sure both parties feel safe, even when they are only doing deliveries. Having a very responsive customer service team is a huge factor in maintaining business. My business is a service that is based off an app, so I am unable to do the Amazon portion of this assignment.