Final Reflection

1) After going through and rereading posts from this past semester I have realized that I have learned a lot with each assignment and grown more as an entrepreneur. There were a few instances that I felt like I wasn't going in the right direction with my opportunity but after hearing feedback and learning more I was able to complete each assignment with ease.

2)  The assignments I enjoyed the most were the ones where we had to do an elevator pitch. Seeing my change in demeanor, confidence, and fluidity really made me realize that the more you practice and perfect the better it will become.  I was proud that I was able to get better with each trial and really focus on making the assignment better.

3) I do think that I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset since the beginning of the semester. With each assignment I learned more and more information that would be beneficial to me as a new entrepreneur. After completing all assignments I realized that a lot more goes into it than just having a good idea and going from there. There are so many other aspects that one must consider when trying to take an idea from the bottom and create some extraordinary. 

4) For students who are about to take the journey towards gaining this entrepreneurial mindset, make sure you are using the feedback you receive on your posts to change and enhance your idea. If you feel like you aren't going in the right direction feel free to change your idea into something you are passionate about. The best way to foster the entrepreneurial mindset is to learn from the lectures and then take what is said and make it your own so that you can create something one of a kind.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: The opportunity I have identified was created to meet the unmet need of many Americans. In the recent years many people have tried to take the next step towards a healthier lifestyle and the best place to start is with what you are eating. If you are like me you struggle with eating healthy and staying on track with a diet. Those who are interested in this opportunity want to make a change in the way we view food and move in a positive direction towards a healthier life. Today’s society is very focused on clean eating and making sure that what we are putting in our bodies is both safe and beneficial. There are many people out there who are looking to start eating healthy but just don’t have the desire or want to make meals ever single day. It is not just one group or the other it is everyone who wants to make a change, so the demographic is huge. As for geographically it is not just people located in one part of the country or the other it is everyone. As for how customers are currently satisfying their need for eating healthy it is typically done at the grocery store. In interviews I conducted many said that they feel overwhelmed when going to a grocery store because of all the options and the different ingredients listed on the back that they’ve never even heard of. If given the opportunity to know what is in the food they are consuming but still know it is delicious people are more inclined to buy. This is a rather large opportunity to exploit because many people are looking to start eating right and working on staying on track long term. I feel as if this window will never close because people will always need to eat to stay alive and by eating healthy you have the opportunity to live a longer healthier life.

Innovation: The service I am offering is a meal prepping business that is devoted to clean eating and encouraging our customers to take the next step towards a healthy lifestyle. We are offering customers a wide range of options so that they feel full after a nutritious meal and won’t be tempted to snack on unhealthy products. Customers have the ability to purchase a meal plan for up to a weeks’ worth of food so they can stay on track. We have specific meal plans for those who are trying to lose weight, those who are gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian. By offering a multitude of different options we are opening the business to a larger demographic of people. We will have a trained nutritionist on staff that works closely with our chef to ensure the food we are serving stays within the proper nutritional guidelines. Since we support local business we will be working with some of our local farmers to get the fruits and vegetables we need to create our meals. By doing so we are ensuring that the produce we are using does not haven any harmful chemicals or preservatives that our customers are not expecting. We want to make sure that all of our products are non-GMO friendly and are up to the highest standards when it comes to farming.

Venture Concept: The service I have identified will address my opportunity through offering a meal prepping service to customers that can either buy anywhere up to a weeks’ worth of food or just a single day. This will help to encourage people to eat healthy and stick with a plan, so they can achieve the results they are looking for. Customers will buy our product/food because they are looking to make the next step towards a healthier lifestyle. It was designed for those who don’t necessarily like cooking and want to have the ease and convenience of having it prepared for you. This isn’t a service that people would necessarily switch to it would be one that they are looking for to help them start the meal prepping journey. There aren’t many competitors out there who are specifically designed for meal prepping and that it what makes this business unique. There are places that offer healthy options where you can select what you want, such as Grill Fresh. Since we offer meals for up to a week we will make sure that that the packaging is recyclable, the pricing is fair, and we offer stellar customer support. Our main goal is to make sure the food we are serving is nutritious yet delicious and will keep you full. Location is not a main factor but It is important. If we were to start out business in Gainesville it would be beneficial to have our store located near a college campus. Many students want the option to have a healthy meal for a good price and having a store near campus would make that possible.  To make sure this business runs efficiently we would need cooks, a nutritionist, workers to staff the front, and those who are dedicated to marketing our business to the community. One of the most beneficial employees to our staff would be the nutritionist, because they are able to ensure the food we are serving is healthy and stays within the proper nutritional guidelines.   

The feedback I received from the first venture concept was very positive but it did not give me much insight into what I need to change to so that I could make my business better. I also received positive feedback from the what's next assignment. No one gave me any helpful tips or suggestions that would allow me to change my plan based on the feedback I received. I wish someone would have critiqued my work so that I would have something to base the changes off of. 

Since no one gave any helpful suggestions as to how I should change my venture concept, I came up with a few of my own. In the opportunity section of my venture concept I looked at why people do not like the grocery store. I found that many people are overwhelmed by the amount of options and all of the ingredients listed on the back. So for this venture concept I would create an app that would help you while you grocery shop so that it would scan the nutrition labels on the bac and give you a detailed description of each ingredient used.  This way you know what you are putting in your body and have the ability to stay away from harmful ingredients. As for the innovation section there isn't anything that I would change, I like my idea and think it has a lot of potential. The venture concept section need to be able to tell customers just how we are different and how this business is better than other options available. 

Your Exit Strategy

1) After an unspecified time frame I would hope to sell my business to a larger company for a decent return. I feel like if i've put all my time and effort into a business for multiple years that I will have achieved what I planned on and will be ready to move on to the next venture. This way I will have put in the time in all aspects of the business so that I will have the experience behind me for any future endeavors.

2) I chose this exit strategy because it still allows me to reap the benefits from my business while I move on to the next venture. I will have left in good graces with all coworkers and business partners so that my social network will still be intact. All networking connections are so important to have because you never know when you might need assistance in other areas.

3) I feel like my exit strategy has influenced the decisions i've made in my concept because I wanted to create a business that can be the best it can be. By selling the business I will have done everything in my power with the resources I have to create the best possible opportunity. The opportunity that I set out to enhance will have been done and there are several other opportunities waiting to be explored. Selling a business after years of running it will show the growth that I have made over the years and the intentions for the future. The ability to acquire resources is a huge part of being a successful entrepreneur and leaving in good graces guarantees that the resources I had previously used will still be intact for future use.

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) The general theme the book The Art of Social Media: Power tips for Power users by Guy Kawaski focused on the importance of social media while pursuing a career. Nowadays social media plays such a massive role in society that future employers will now take a look at applicants social media. This way they are able to see how they are perceived by others before they hire them into their company.

2) This book connects and enhances what i've learned so far in ENT3003 in a positive way that will allow me to grow as an entrepreneur. With social media having such a high prevalence in our society it is important to make sure all social media accounts are professional in the case that employers may take a look at  them. You want to put your best self out there for those to see.

3) I would have participants create a fake social media account with all negative aspects that jobs would look at so that they can see the feedback. This way they would get a first hand look at the feedback and criticism that employers would be looking at when selecting an applicant.

4) I was shocked to discover that more employers aren't using the references listed as a way to screen candidates but rather checking social media.  Employers feel like they can gain valuable information on a job applicant through their social media accounts. This also terrified me because even though I don't post anything bad it just got me thinking about what future employers might be seeing.

Celebrating Failure

Over the past semester I have failed numerous times in all aspects of my life but that doesn't stop me from continuing to work hard. This summer I have really focused on attempting to lose weight and change my life for the better through proper nutrition and exercise. With that came a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best for my body and lifestyle. I would find myself getting in ruts where I just wouldn't feel like working out or eating healthy and could feel my motivation going down hill. During those times I really had to focus on making a step in the right direction at least once a day. I would substitute a bowl of grapes over a bag of chips and other small changes like that. I began to see that even the smallest of changes were begging to have a positive impact on my  attitude and well being. I learned that it is best to take the days one at a time and focus on making small changes. With all of these small changes they will begin to have a greater impact in the days to come. Failure is just something that everyone must experience to grow as human and learn from mistakes. With that you are able to grow and see the things that you must change in order to succeed in life. I usually handle failure rather well because I realize that it will only help me in the long run. This class certainly has changed my opinion on failure in a positive way so that I will take more risks to better myself and my future. The worst thing someone can tell you is no, and with that no you build upon those missteps and come back even better.

What's Next?

Existing Market:  It took me awhile to figure out what might be next for my venture but I finally figured it out. Since my venture was all about creating a meal prepping service for the main meals you eat my next venture would be to create a line of snacks with the same ideals in mind. In the interviews I conducted I explained my prior venture and all three of the interviewees were very interested. They gave me ideas as to what could be next for my business and these were a few answers; meal replacement smoothies, acai bowls, and healthy desserts. These were all great ideas worth considering but I still plan on taking the snack idea to the next level. This allows me to corner the market for all three meals a day with available snacks as well. By doing so we will be able to create tons of different options that people will enjoy and keep them full throughout the day. I know I tend to snack throughout the day on unhealthy options ut if I had access to filling snacks I would more inclined to eat those.

New Market: The market I am targeting has a wide range of individuals and not necessarily a single group. If I were to target a certain group of individuals I would chose those who are obese and want to lose weight. That would change the concept slightly so that we are still offering nutritious food but it is more specifically designed for weight loss.  This would encourage people in highly obese areas to seek out other options rather than just fast food. We would still make sure that this business venture is efficient and willing to adapt to the weight loss goals. By doing so we are expanding our demographic to include everyone who wants to change the way they are eating for the positive. In the interviews conducted I spoke with my aunt and her husband who are both on the heavier side to get their opinions on this new venture. They informed me that this would be something worth reading into and that would continue to use if it became apparent to them that it is working.   By making the change to specifically target weight loss we are encouraging those who are struggling with it to have a healthy meal option.

What surprised me the most about the new market is that it has the ability to target the largest group of individuals who are struggling the most with weight loss. It is not as attractive as the existing market because the existing market is open to all who wish to eat healthy and stay on track. A blend of the two markets would be very beneficial to the business because we would be able to reach a very large number of individuals.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: The opportunity I have identified was created to meet the unmet need of many Americans. In the recent years many people have tried to take the next step towards a healthier lifestyle and the best place to start is with what you are eating. If you are like me you struggle with eating healthy and staying on track with a diet. Those who are interested in this opportunity want to make a change in the way we view food and move in a positive direction towards a healthier life. Today’s society is very focused on clean eating and making sure that what we are putting in our bodies is both safe and beneficial. There are many people out there who are looking to start eating healthy but just don’t have the desire or want to make meals ever single day. It is not just one group or the other it is everyone who wants to make a change, so the demographic is huge. As for geographically it is not just people located in one part of the country or the other it is everyone. As for how customers are currently satisfying their need for eating healthy it is typically done at the grocery store. In interviews I conducted many said that they feel overwhelmed when going to a grocery store because of all the options and the different ingredients listed on the back that they’ve never even heard of. If given the opportunity to know what is in the food they are consuming but still know it is delicious people are more inclined to buy. This is a rather large opportunity to exploit because many people are looking to start eating right and working on staying on track long term. I feel as if this window will never close because people will always need to eat to stay alive and by eating healthy you have the opportunity to live a longer healthier life.

Innovation: The service I am offering is a meal prepping business that is devoted to clean eating and encouraging our customers to take the next step towards a healthy lifestyle. We are offering customers a wide range of options so that they feel full after a nutritious meal and won’t be tempted to snack on unhealthy products. Customers have the ability to purchase a meal plan for up to a weeks’ worth of food so they can stay on track. We have specific meal plans for those who are trying to lose weight, those who are gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian. By offering a multitude of different options we are opening the business to a larger demographic of people. We will have a trained nutritionist on staff that works closely with our chef to ensure the food we are serving stays within the proper nutritional guidelines. Since we support local business we will be working with some of our local farmers to get the fruits and vegetables we need to create our meals. By doing so we are ensuring that the produce we are using does not haven any harmful chemicals or preservatives that our customers are not expecting. We want to make sure that all of our products are non-GMO friendly and are up to the highest standards when it comes to farming.

Venture Concept: The service I have identified will address my opportunity through offering a meal prepping service to customers that can either buy anywhere up to a weeks’ worth of food or just a single day. This will help to encourage people to eat healthy and stick with a plan, so they can achieve the results they are looking for. Customers will buy our product/food because they are looking to make the next step towards a healthier lifestyle. It was designed for those who don’t necessarily like cooking and want to have the ease and convenience of having it prepared for you. This isn’t a service that people would necessarily switch to it would be one that they are looking for to help them start the meal prepping journey. There aren’t many competitors out there who are specifically designed for meal prepping and that it what makes this business unique. There are places that offer healthy options where you can select what you want, such as Grill Fresh. Since we offer meals for up to a week we will make sure that that the packaging is recyclable, the pricing is fair, and we offer stellar customer support. Our main goal is to make sure the food we are serving is nutritious yet delicious and will keep you full. Location is not a main factor but It is important. If we were to start out business in Gainesville it would be beneficial to have our store located near a college campus. Many students want the option to have a healthy meal for a good price and having a store near campus would make that possible.  To make sure this business runs efficiently we would need cooks, a nutritionist, workers to staff the front, and those who are dedicated to marketing our business to the community. One of the most beneficial employees to our staff would be the nutritionist, because they are able to ensure the food we are serving is healthy and stays within the proper nutritional guidelines.