Wednesday, September 26, 2018
9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
Hypothesis:
Plastic Straws can be replaced by reusable metal ones, or done away with altogether.
Who:
It was difficult finding people, or any kind of common group of people, who are not effected by this opportunity. People who felt they did not have any need for reusable straws, or did not care to do away with plastic straws, typically were people who were either uneducated about the dangers plastic straws cause, or they simply do not value to environment or wildlife as highly as consumer comfort. The reasoning behind people not caring usually had to do with their core values or political beliefs/positioning.
What:
Some of the interviewees that did not know or did not care much about this opportunity questioned why the focus was on straws; why wasn't I interested in all sorts of plastic waste and pollution? In my opinion this is the clear split of this need compared to another. Plastic straws are not a completely necessary product, like some other plastic products, and it seems to be one of the easiest to eliminate, but still has one of the largest impacts on pollution.
Why:
I believe that the underlying need is not necessarily different. Many are simply unaware of how important of a need it is, and how dependent their future may be on this opportunity. Whether it was due to lack of knowledge, or not valuing the environment, it didn't seem that the need didn't exist, but rather non-supporters were simply unaware of the need and how important it is.
Plastic Straws can be replaced by reusable metal ones, or done away with altogether.
Who:
It was difficult finding people, or any kind of common group of people, who are not effected by this opportunity. People who felt they did not have any need for reusable straws, or did not care to do away with plastic straws, typically were people who were either uneducated about the dangers plastic straws cause, or they simply do not value to environment or wildlife as highly as consumer comfort. The reasoning behind people not caring usually had to do with their core values or political beliefs/positioning.
What:
Some of the interviewees that did not know or did not care much about this opportunity questioned why the focus was on straws; why wasn't I interested in all sorts of plastic waste and pollution? In my opinion this is the clear split of this need compared to another. Plastic straws are not a completely necessary product, like some other plastic products, and it seems to be one of the easiest to eliminate, but still has one of the largest impacts on pollution.
Why:
I believe that the underlying need is not necessarily different. Many are simply unaware of how important of a need it is, and how dependent their future may be on this opportunity. Whether it was due to lack of knowledge, or not valuing the environment, it didn't seem that the need didn't exist, but rather non-supporters were simply unaware of the need and how important it is.
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Inside the Boundary
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Outside the Boundary
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Most consumers
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Uninformed consumers, anti-environmentalists
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To eliminate plastic straw waste
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Not trying to eliminate all plastic waste, or
increase metal straw waste
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Plastic straws are extremely damaging to the
environment
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These consumers need to be given more info and helped
to understand why this need affects them.
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Friday, September 21, 2018
8A - Solving The Problem
1) The Problem
Often at night, McDonald's will not serve desserts like ice cream or McFlurries, although according to the menu they do. Stores do this to avoid having to re-clean the ice cream mixing machine, and effectively doing more labor. Many people want and are willing to pay for this product, but it is simply not being offered.
2) The Solution
My firm intends to create a non-toxic cleaning fluid that completely eliminates grime and food particles, and can be simply washed away with water. This cleaning product would specifically be made to clean dairy-based food residue. By making the cleaning process much simpler, quicker, and easier, employees at McDonald's will be more willing to continue using the ice cream machine into later hours of the night.
Often at night, McDonald's will not serve desserts like ice cream or McFlurries, although according to the menu they do. Stores do this to avoid having to re-clean the ice cream mixing machine, and effectively doing more labor. Many people want and are willing to pay for this product, but it is simply not being offered.
2) The Solution
My firm intends to create a non-toxic cleaning fluid that completely eliminates grime and food particles, and can be simply washed away with water. This cleaning product would specifically be made to clean dairy-based food residue. By making the cleaning process much simpler, quicker, and easier, employees at McDonald's will be more willing to continue using the ice cream machine into later hours of the night.
7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
1) After peer-reviewing my classmates' blogs, I realize that there is a huge opportunity I never thought of, and have experience with. Plastic straws continue to be a major source of pollution in our oceans, and are not completely necessary. Over summer, I prepared a presentation about the problems caused by plastic straws, and steps we could take as a society to decrease the amount of plastic straws in the future.
2)
Who: The Earth, the environment, and the Oceans. (And further, humankind as residents of the planet)
What: Plastic pollution continues to grow larger, and serve as a bigger threat to wildlife.
Why: The leading cause of plastic pollution is plastic drinking straws, which specifically due to their shape, can cause even more damage than other types of plastic.
3)
Testing the Who: Are people aware that the Earth and oceans are suffering? Do they feel this is their responsibility, or do they feel affected by it? Is anything or anyone else affected?
Testing the What: Is pollution increasing or decreasing? Are people making an attempt to recycle or decrease plastic use?
Testing the Why: Are there other major causes of ocean pollution? Is this failure due to consumers? Or due to lack of policy?
4) Summary of interviews
Of the five people I interviewed, all of them were familiar and aware that plastic pollution is a major threat to the planet. Some felt strongly that this was an issue that needed to be addressed, while others did acknowledge that it was an issue but didn't feel strongly about it. Some also added that more plastic pollution could cause political or economic problems on top of the obvious environmental damage. All of the interviewees were unsure of whether pollution was becoming more or less of a problem, which shows that this opportunity needs to be discussed more. Of the five, three said they recycled, with one already having committed to avoiding plastic straws. Two did not recycle, but understood the importance, and said they were willing to in the future to help this issue. As far as other sources of pollution, people quickly pointed out other plastics in general, Styrofoam, oil and chemical runoffs, as well as gases. One interviewee specified more that another large source of plastic pollution comes from deep-sea fishing nets. When I asked them who the fault of this issue, and solution, fell on, most replied that they hadn't ever considered that. Was this more an issue of consumers abusing the environment and needing to improve their recycling and plastic use culture? Or, is the government responsible for maintaining the environment and protecting it? When I clarified this question, they all agreed that it is a combination of the two. While consumers do need to be better about their plastic use, the government should also be making efforts to reduce pollution and improve the health of our oceans.
2)
Who: The Earth, the environment, and the Oceans. (And further, humankind as residents of the planet)
What: Plastic pollution continues to grow larger, and serve as a bigger threat to wildlife.
Why: The leading cause of plastic pollution is plastic drinking straws, which specifically due to their shape, can cause even more damage than other types of plastic.
3)
Testing the Who: Are people aware that the Earth and oceans are suffering? Do they feel this is their responsibility, or do they feel affected by it? Is anything or anyone else affected?
Testing the What: Is pollution increasing or decreasing? Are people making an attempt to recycle or decrease plastic use?
Testing the Why: Are there other major causes of ocean pollution? Is this failure due to consumers? Or due to lack of policy?
4) Summary of interviews
Of the five people I interviewed, all of them were familiar and aware that plastic pollution is a major threat to the planet. Some felt strongly that this was an issue that needed to be addressed, while others did acknowledge that it was an issue but didn't feel strongly about it. Some also added that more plastic pollution could cause political or economic problems on top of the obvious environmental damage. All of the interviewees were unsure of whether pollution was becoming more or less of a problem, which shows that this opportunity needs to be discussed more. Of the five, three said they recycled, with one already having committed to avoiding plastic straws. Two did not recycle, but understood the importance, and said they were willing to in the future to help this issue. As far as other sources of pollution, people quickly pointed out other plastics in general, Styrofoam, oil and chemical runoffs, as well as gases. One interviewee specified more that another large source of plastic pollution comes from deep-sea fishing nets. When I asked them who the fault of this issue, and solution, fell on, most replied that they hadn't ever considered that. Was this more an issue of consumers abusing the environment and needing to improve their recycling and plastic use culture? Or, is the government responsible for maintaining the environment and protecting it? When I clarified this question, they all agreed that it is a combination of the two. While consumers do need to be better about their plastic use, the government should also be making efforts to reduce pollution and improve the health of our oceans.
Friday, September 14, 2018
6A - Identifying Opportunity In Economic & Regulatory Trends
Economic Opportunities
1) Florida Healthcare Helper funds cut
I learned of this issue from a Gainesville Sun article. In the past, there has always been a lot of readily available help and guidance to navigating healthcare, but recently funding cuts has eliminated a lot of their support. Any healthcare users would likely be affected by this increasing issue. This opportunity has a simple solution, redistributing the funding and increasing healthcare counselors, but finding the necessary money to fund may be more difficult.
I found this opportunity because I personally do have difficulty navigating the expansive system of healthcare offered in the United States, Florida, and various companies. This problem will at some point directly effect me.
2) NASA expansion
NASA and space exploration and research has always been a focus of the American people. More recently, President Trump has shift this focus, by majorly cutting funding to NASA and space programs. I've learned about this issue from many various news outlets. This opportunity does exist because there is a lot of work and research available to be done, but simply can't because the funding is not present. Many employees, scientists, astronauts and more are affected by this in that it limits their ability to work successfully. This disrupts a major employer, business, and future research. Solving this problem would include allocating more money towards NASA, but again, it may be difficult to physically find money to use.
I found this opportunity because I'm quite interested in the future of space research and exploration. The United States is not acting as efficiently or quickly as it could be when research, and it disappoints people like myself when we don't reach our potential.
Regulatory Opportunities
1) ICE and Kids in Prisons
Current policies are separating refugee kids from their parents as they enter the United States, fleeing from other countries. This opportunity presented itself all over the news and media outlets. The opportunity to do more with these kids, and their parents, is being ignored. The people effected by this are the kids, the parents, tax-payers who are responsible for providing boarding for them, as well as the future success of the United States. If more is done for these people who want to contribute to the United States, the future success of the U.S. could improve. This would be difficult to solve, as there are many factors in play, but steps towards ensuring these families a real future in the U.S. would be major in moving towards a solution.
I found this opportunity because it is something that is personally upsetting and much more could be done to improve this situation.
2) Legal Medical & Recreational Marijuana
The United States is currently split between states with full legality of marijuana, medical legality, and complete criminality. This opportunity is everywhere in the media, with many states and private companies making huge profits off the newly legalized industry. The opportunity for jobs, tax money, profit and more that legal marijuana provides is huge. Many people are affected by this. Laborers who could be employed by the marijuana industry are hurt. Recreational users of illegal marijuana are punished, while a large portion of the country it is perfectly legal. Patients who could use cannabis to improve their medical situation are harmed by not having access to this medication. This opportunity would not be hard to solve, as many states have already solved it by legalizing marijuana to different extents.
I found this opportunity because I'm very interesting in the expanding cannabis industry, and plan to look for career opportunities within it in the future and after graduation. It is vital to my career aspirations that this industry continues growing and breaking barriers throughout the country.
5A - Identifying Local Opportunities
1) Mother, Infant, Among several killed by Hurricane Florence
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180914/mother-infant-among-several-killed-by-hurricane-florence
As Hurricane Florence begins to hit the east coast of the United States, damage and destruction have already started. Several people have died due to trees falling, electric issues, as well as wind damage. Since this is just the beginning of the hurricane, it is sure to do much more damage in the following days, with many citizens at risk of harm.
In this article, the mass destruction and lack of preparedness displays a huge problem. While states like Florida have had to prepare for hurricanes for years, many east coast residents that live farther north are not used to dealing with these kinds of natural disasters. Recently, the Carolina's passed a law that makes creating policies based on weather and future forecasts illegal. This is a huge issue and will come back to haunt these states as this hurricane gets worse.
The problem is experienced by the residents in North and South Carolina that are at risk to be harmed by the coming storm.
2) 10 Communities, including Marion County, to share $500K to reduce bear conflicts
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/10-communities-including-marion-county-to-share-500k-to-reduce-bear-conflicts
Bear and human interaction has increased in recent times in central Florida, and it causes many to worry about the potential danger of having bears nearby. Several areas of the state have come together, seeking the best way to prevent bears from getting into trashcans, as well as entering parks with civilians in them. $500,000 was put together from these communities to invest in research and materials to prevent future bear problems.
The problem addressed in this article is bears having easy access to public areas, and causing distress and potential harm among residents.
This problem is experienced by all residents within these areas, and owners of trashcans that are tampered with by bears.
3) Funds for Florida health insurance helpers cut by millions
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/funds-for-florida-health-insurance-helpers-cut-by-millions
Federal funding for health insurance helpers continues to be cut. Last year over $3 million was cut. This year, due to President Trump's policies, it will be cut by another $5 million. This money was previously allocated to "helpers" that would do in-person counseling about health insurance, and help make it more understandable for the average consumer.
The problem this article presents is that average-consumers or lesser-educated consumers now have less access to information and knowledge about the United States' and Florida's healthcare system and policies. These counselors made it much easier for consumers to choose the best plan possible, but now will be much less funded.
This problem impacts many consumers that would need advice about healthcare, as well as affecting the actual ability of the counselors to provide information and labor, with less funding.
4) Federal Judge orders Spanish sample ballots
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180907/federal-judge-orders-spanish-sample-ballots
There is an estimated 30,000 Puerto Ricans across 32 counties in Florida. Judge Mark Walker ordered that more Spanish sample ballots need to be made to accommodate all these American voters that may have trouble with English ballots.
The problem addressed in this article is that there is a huge population of people who are American citizens and have the right to vote, but have difficulty exercising that right because of a language barrier. Without such a huge portion of people voting, elections are not as accurate and do not represent the entire population as well as they should.
The issue impacts Spanish-speaking eligible voters in Alachua as well as surrounding counties.
5) Florida Red Tide: Wildlife advocate stunned by 'Level of Carnage' on fish
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180823/florida-red-tide-wildlife-advocate-stunned-by-level-of-carnage-on-fish/1
On the southwest coast of Florida, red tide algae has been growing larger and larger. Recently, 452 sea turtles, 100 manatees, 11 dolphins, and thousands of fish have died due to the red tide that now stretches almost 150 miles.
There was two issues present in this article due to the growing red tide. First, wildlife is dying at an alarming rate due to the toxic algae bloom. Second, partly because of the wildlife dying, tourism on Florida's west coast has suffered majorly.
This problem effects everyone. It effects all the ocean wildlife, as well as terrestrial wildlife that may feed on fish. Residents all around the state, from every socio-economic background, are more and more impacted by the presence of the algae bloom and associated health repercussions, large quantities of dead wildlife, as well as the decline in tourism.
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180914/mother-infant-among-several-killed-by-hurricane-florence
As Hurricane Florence begins to hit the east coast of the United States, damage and destruction have already started. Several people have died due to trees falling, electric issues, as well as wind damage. Since this is just the beginning of the hurricane, it is sure to do much more damage in the following days, with many citizens at risk of harm.
In this article, the mass destruction and lack of preparedness displays a huge problem. While states like Florida have had to prepare for hurricanes for years, many east coast residents that live farther north are not used to dealing with these kinds of natural disasters. Recently, the Carolina's passed a law that makes creating policies based on weather and future forecasts illegal. This is a huge issue and will come back to haunt these states as this hurricane gets worse.
The problem is experienced by the residents in North and South Carolina that are at risk to be harmed by the coming storm.
2) 10 Communities, including Marion County, to share $500K to reduce bear conflicts
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/10-communities-including-marion-county-to-share-500k-to-reduce-bear-conflicts
Bear and human interaction has increased in recent times in central Florida, and it causes many to worry about the potential danger of having bears nearby. Several areas of the state have come together, seeking the best way to prevent bears from getting into trashcans, as well as entering parks with civilians in them. $500,000 was put together from these communities to invest in research and materials to prevent future bear problems.
The problem addressed in this article is bears having easy access to public areas, and causing distress and potential harm among residents.
This problem is experienced by all residents within these areas, and owners of trashcans that are tampered with by bears.
3) Funds for Florida health insurance helpers cut by millions
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/funds-for-florida-health-insurance-helpers-cut-by-millions
Federal funding for health insurance helpers continues to be cut. Last year over $3 million was cut. This year, due to President Trump's policies, it will be cut by another $5 million. This money was previously allocated to "helpers" that would do in-person counseling about health insurance, and help make it more understandable for the average consumer.
The problem this article presents is that average-consumers or lesser-educated consumers now have less access to information and knowledge about the United States' and Florida's healthcare system and policies. These counselors made it much easier for consumers to choose the best plan possible, but now will be much less funded.
This problem impacts many consumers that would need advice about healthcare, as well as affecting the actual ability of the counselors to provide information and labor, with less funding.
4) Federal Judge orders Spanish sample ballots
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180907/federal-judge-orders-spanish-sample-ballots
There is an estimated 30,000 Puerto Ricans across 32 counties in Florida. Judge Mark Walker ordered that more Spanish sample ballots need to be made to accommodate all these American voters that may have trouble with English ballots.
The problem addressed in this article is that there is a huge population of people who are American citizens and have the right to vote, but have difficulty exercising that right because of a language barrier. Without such a huge portion of people voting, elections are not as accurate and do not represent the entire population as well as they should.
The issue impacts Spanish-speaking eligible voters in Alachua as well as surrounding counties.
5) Florida Red Tide: Wildlife advocate stunned by 'Level of Carnage' on fish
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180823/florida-red-tide-wildlife-advocate-stunned-by-level-of-carnage-on-fish/1
On the southwest coast of Florida, red tide algae has been growing larger and larger. Recently, 452 sea turtles, 100 manatees, 11 dolphins, and thousands of fish have died due to the red tide that now stretches almost 150 miles.
There was two issues present in this article due to the growing red tide. First, wildlife is dying at an alarming rate due to the toxic algae bloom. Second, partly because of the wildlife dying, tourism on Florida's west coast has suffered majorly.
This problem effects everyone. It effects all the ocean wildlife, as well as terrestrial wildlife that may feed on fish. Residents all around the state, from every socio-economic background, are more and more impacted by the presence of the algae bloom and associated health repercussions, large quantities of dead wildlife, as well as the decline in tourism.
Friday, September 7, 2018
4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief
1) My opportunity in society is McDonald's realistically serving ice cream or milkshakes at night, although technically it is an available product.
2) The unmet need in society is dessert products at late hours, provided by a drive thru specifically. While McDonald's offers desserts like ice cream, they often refuse service and turn off the machines that make desserts. The need for late night snacks has existed in most of modern history. Right now, this unmet need is usually filled with a late-night run past a convenience store or gas station. This opportunity surely exists, as I have experienced it many times, as well as witnessed others encounter this issue. As well, the next best alternative to this opportunity is certainly not the same as the original product desired.
3) Usually younger people, who would be up later in the night.
Customer 1: Ryan (a good friend and student at UF)
4) Ryan felt that while this problem doesn't occur to him as often as me, he does experience it usually at least once a month. He said this problem has encountered many times throughout his life, remembering that he even encountered this issue when he was much younger. When Ryan is turned down by McDonald's, he usually has to go to a convenience store and buy more expensive dessert products. He agrees that McDonald's should offer desserts the entire duration of them being open.
5) Reflecting on my interview with Ryan, I realized that this is a relatable issue that many people experience. I learned that not everyone may encounter this opportunity as much as I do, but it is still an issue present in their lives.
Customer 2: Tyler (a friend who works late night delivering around Gainesville)
4) Tyler had an interestingly different perspective on this opportunity. As someone who is often on the road late at night, Tyler felt this opportunity was often present in his life. He said that he often wishes he could stop at a drive-thru for a dessert. He didn't have an alternative when this need isn't met, because while working, he doesn't have enough time to go into a convenience store, and very few other options are available. He agreed with me that desserts should be offered late night.
5) Reflecting on my interview with Tyler, I was very surprised that he brought up time as a factor in his decision making. For me, this opportunity is a matter of price and convenience, but to Tyler, with only limited time, he is unable to get access to other options. This reassured my belief that this opportunity is present in many people's day-to-day lives
Customer 3: My Mom
4) My mom had a vastly different perspective than my other two interviewees. As an older person, she said she doesn't encounter this problem very often. First, she is usually not awake as late, or in desire of sugary foods late. She also said that in general, McDonald's isn't as appealing, as she prefers more healthy food options. She did understand the need, but simply said it doesn't impact her very often.
5) Reflecting on my interview with my mom, I realized I hadn't explored all the potential customer types. In my own way of thinking, I hadn't considered that there may be a section of consumers that don't realize this opportunity. It was interesting to me that once I informed her of this opportunity, she understood why it was an issue, and agreed that desserts should be offered lately as stated.
7) My opportunity is mainly the same, as it is a very relatable issue experienced or understood across a variety of types of consumers. If I were to make my opportunity more specific, rather than "serving desserts late hours," I would restate it as "serving desserts all operating hours." This opportunity belief would be more inclusive, and include older consumers like my mom. I believe that entrepreneurs absolutely should take customer input and adapt their opportunity beliefs. Developing an opportunity belief solely from the perspective of the entrepreneur limits how affect a solution to the opportunity could be.
2) The unmet need in society is dessert products at late hours, provided by a drive thru specifically. While McDonald's offers desserts like ice cream, they often refuse service and turn off the machines that make desserts. The need for late night snacks has existed in most of modern history. Right now, this unmet need is usually filled with a late-night run past a convenience store or gas station. This opportunity surely exists, as I have experienced it many times, as well as witnessed others encounter this issue. As well, the next best alternative to this opportunity is certainly not the same as the original product desired.
3) Usually younger people, who would be up later in the night.
Customer 1: Ryan (a good friend and student at UF)
4) Ryan felt that while this problem doesn't occur to him as often as me, he does experience it usually at least once a month. He said this problem has encountered many times throughout his life, remembering that he even encountered this issue when he was much younger. When Ryan is turned down by McDonald's, he usually has to go to a convenience store and buy more expensive dessert products. He agrees that McDonald's should offer desserts the entire duration of them being open.
5) Reflecting on my interview with Ryan, I realized that this is a relatable issue that many people experience. I learned that not everyone may encounter this opportunity as much as I do, but it is still an issue present in their lives.
Customer 2: Tyler (a friend who works late night delivering around Gainesville)
4) Tyler had an interestingly different perspective on this opportunity. As someone who is often on the road late at night, Tyler felt this opportunity was often present in his life. He said that he often wishes he could stop at a drive-thru for a dessert. He didn't have an alternative when this need isn't met, because while working, he doesn't have enough time to go into a convenience store, and very few other options are available. He agreed with me that desserts should be offered late night.
5) Reflecting on my interview with Tyler, I was very surprised that he brought up time as a factor in his decision making. For me, this opportunity is a matter of price and convenience, but to Tyler, with only limited time, he is unable to get access to other options. This reassured my belief that this opportunity is present in many people's day-to-day lives
Customer 3: My Mom
4) My mom had a vastly different perspective than my other two interviewees. As an older person, she said she doesn't encounter this problem very often. First, she is usually not awake as late, or in desire of sugary foods late. She also said that in general, McDonald's isn't as appealing, as she prefers more healthy food options. She did understand the need, but simply said it doesn't impact her very often.
5) Reflecting on my interview with my mom, I realized I hadn't explored all the potential customer types. In my own way of thinking, I hadn't considered that there may be a section of consumers that don't realize this opportunity. It was interesting to me that once I informed her of this opportunity, she understood why it was an issue, and agreed that desserts should be offered lately as stated.
7) My opportunity is mainly the same, as it is a very relatable issue experienced or understood across a variety of types of consumers. If I were to make my opportunity more specific, rather than "serving desserts late hours," I would restate it as "serving desserts all operating hours." This opportunity belief would be more inclusive, and include older consumers like my mom. I believe that entrepreneurs absolutely should take customer input and adapt their opportunity beliefs. Developing an opportunity belief solely from the perspective of the entrepreneur limits how affect a solution to the opportunity could be.
3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story
3 years ago, I worked for Gamestop. During my 2 and a half years there, my duties often including cleaning, shelving, cashiering, as well as on-the-floor selling and planning and coordinating special events. My time selling consoles, games and more at Gamestop taught me a lot about how to sell and more importantly how to adjust your selling/entrepreneurial skills to each individual customer. This taught me that the customer or consumer, and their thoughts, are much more important than the actual product or its features. The entrepreneur needs to have an understanding of his or her customers' needs, and then be able to target those needs with products.
Hosting midnight releases also served to teach me a lot. Coordinating hundreds of people can be difficult and needs to go according to plan, or can become hectic. I also found that developing relationships improved our success as a business. Included in my post is a picture from our Star Wars midnight release. Through some customer contacts, we were able to start a relationship with a cosplay group in Gainesville. This worked to our benefit, as for free, they attended our event and took photos with customers. This relationship helped our event to be even more successful.
I hope to get a lot out of ENT this year. I want to be able to call myself an entrepreneur and understand what goes into being a successful entrepreneur. I'm looking forward to getting more in-depth as to what the core values are to an entrepreneur.
Hosting midnight releases also served to teach me a lot. Coordinating hundreds of people can be difficult and needs to go according to plan, or can become hectic. I also found that developing relationships improved our success as a business. Included in my post is a picture from our Star Wars midnight release. Through some customer contacts, we were able to start a relationship with a cosplay group in Gainesville. This worked to our benefit, as for free, they attended our event and took photos with customers. This relationship helped our event to be even more successful.
I hope to get a lot out of ENT this year. I want to be able to call myself an entrepreneur and understand what goes into being a successful entrepreneur. I'm looking forward to getting more in-depth as to what the core values are to an entrepreneur.
Thursday, September 6, 2018
2A - Bug List
- McDonald's Ice Cream Machine not working at nights
- Employees feel having to re-clean the machine is not worth the value it brings in.
- New iPhone's requiring an extra cable to use a 3.5mm headphone jack.
- Apple has greater control over what products you need/use.
- Internet not working - needing internet to contact support.
- With increasing tech, more companies use online-only support
- High cost of Textbooks/Required Materials.
- Companies understand that students MUST buy these items, and can form an informal cartel to set a price floor.
- Vinyl Records are usually sold online now, but shipping quality is not up to par.
- Many sellers of vinyl don't have personal experience with it and don't understand how fragile it is.
- Turo Car Rental lets users register with incorrect license info.
- Without enough pre-checks, a car can be rented under incorrect legal info.
- Travis Scott's Astroworld Merch Sale Timed Exclusives
- The sale started as limited time, but was brought back later, adding to the exclusivity of the merch, but also negatively impacting people who purchased first.
- Drake's uncreative music
- The demand for Drake's music is so high, that the quality has suffered, but sells regardless due to demand.
- Video Game Lootboxes
- More and more companies see the potential profit in in-game loot boxes, but detracts from focus on the game's true content.
- Fake Jewelry vs Real Jewelry
- Since value is assigned by the consumer, many people purchase cheaper fake jewelry that is very similar to real, effectively increasing the value of fake jewelry and decreasing the value of real.
- Tobacco prices across the U.S. are not standardized
- Due to varying state laws, tobacco products such as Swisher Sweets, cost a different price for the exact same product in different states.
- Many airlines no longer offering baggage with the ticket
- Base ticket prices can be lower by charging customers for baggage after the ticket purchase.
- Xbox One Controller breaking
- The same issue has broken 3 times in 4 months, all directly after 1-month warranty expired. This forces the consumer to continue purchasing new controllers.
- Sony and PlayStation refusing to allow cross-platform play.
- Sony doesn't believe other consoles are up to par with theirs, keeps their console more exclusive.
- Sony having the exclusive rights to Spiderman games.
- While frustrating to the consumer, this gives Sony a unique competitive advantage.
- SoundCloud not having a queue feature.
- SoundCloud doesn't have the infrastructure or resources to make a more streamlined app.
- Not enough regulation on gun sales.
- Companies aren't required by law to do thorough enough background checks, and prioritize sales over safety.
- Mechanic shops automatically looking for more problems.
- If a mechanic finds more problems than the original work being done, it may provide more business.
- At Domino's (my workplace), multiple places where "side-items" can or will appear.
- While this makes it easier for customers to order sides, it increases the likelihood a mistake will be made, as special instructions or sides can print in a huge variety of places.
- Burger King breakfast ending at 10:30am.
- Burger King has determined that it isn't profitable to continue serving breakfast all day, although McDonald's does.
It was somewhat difficult coming up with 20 "bugs." Some were very obvious and appear often in day-to-day life, but others required more in-depth thought. I realized that from a consumer perspective, many things seem to have "bugs" or problems, that can sometimes be justified, but nonetheless harm consumer belief.
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