Final Reflection

1) Read through your blog from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.


This has been a very challenging class in regards to keeping up with all of the assignments that are thrown at you.  They are not difficult, but the volume is very high.  I thought the "Very Short Interview" exercises stand out the most as the experience I enjoyed.  I did not like having to video the other assignments.  I missed a few assignments, and that has caused moments of drudgery!


2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?


The most formative was "Growing Your Social Capital." The formative aspect was locating and interviewing the people.  I understood the concept, but it was difficult to execute.
 
3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?


I better understand what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset.  I know I have the drive, determination, and will to pursue the venture I have been working on this semester, "The Shrimp Tent."  This class has helped me better understand how to actually make this venture work.


4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?


The best thing a person can do to be successful at this course is to front load the assignments.  Getting ahead, and staying ahead in this course would make it much more enjoyable, and easier.  When you miss your first deadline, it will foster that mindset.  However, the trick is not to miss a deadline, so future students need to come in with a "can do" attitude, a willingness to work, and to have fun.

Week 15 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?


This was a pretty interesting read.  I was surprised that this industry is taken on.  The shear volume of the Microfinance industry is huge.  It has to be in order to make a profit.  This is a great idea, and I am glad it is being taken on to better people's lives.


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


What is confusing to me is how clerics made getting a loan from SKS.  I am confused on how these types of people are in a position to affect the lives of so many people. 


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


What is the profit margin exactly?  This seems like a huge endeavor with many moving parts that sap efficiency and cause cost increases.


How hard would it be to set up internationally outside of India?  The market for this is very huge!


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


I thought the author was on point with what they are offering.  There is a definite need that has been discovered, and SKS is tapping in on it.  I thought the article explained this concept, and the future of the company very well.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Below is my final elevator pitch.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

The forces haven’t changed; the opportunity is a captive audience at festivals.  Festivals have very high prices for food, so a vender that is will to offer a decent meal at a decent price will have a great volume of business.

How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

The market is defined by customers at festivals looking for good food.  These people are a captive audience, and have limited choices.

How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

The customers are currently paying ridiculous prices to eat.  Granted the food can be great, but it is still overpriced.

How big is this opportunity?

This opportunity is not the biggest in the world, but it will suffice for my goals at present.  My goal is to keep my job and work this on the weekends or more.

How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

The window is open in the festival season.  That is basically all year except when it gets cold out. 

Innovation. An innovation may be defined as a new or creative service, product, or process that may be applied in the marketplace to address customer needs. The service, product, or process you develop in this class may be radically innovative or it may be incrementally innovative. In this section, I would like to you discuss your innovation in moderate detail. Explain what it is, what it does, and how it works. You should also describe how you will make money

In my earlier post, I talked about competitors, pricing and the business.  My competitors are other venders in festivals.   My business idea is to provide great food at a low price at festivals in order to draw in a large volume of transactions.  This will serve the needs of the customer who want to eat, but do not want to mortgage their house to pay for it.

My food is great, it consists of shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and crab legs.  This is very easy to prepare, and is always good.  It is very cost effective, and can make a profit of each plate.

Venture Concept. A venture concept may be defined as the application of a specific innovation to address a specific opportunity. In this section, describe how your innovation will solve or address the opportunity you identified. You also want to explain why customers will buy your innovation. In describing the concept, you also want to be sure to cover issues such as:

What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch?

My customers are people attending festivals.  Most people go to festivals on an adventure.  It comes down to marketing at the festival, and serving great food at a great price.

What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?

Packaging has got to be conducive to someone eating on the go. That will be a factor. The price point has got to make a profit, but has got to be low enough to beat out competitors.

How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?

For the first opening, I would have myself and a friend start at a festival with plenty of prior planning going into cooking supplies, food, and time and equipment.  It would simply be myself with a helper.

The three minor elements

I also want you to cover three final elements in your description. Your treatment of these questions can be relatively short. Please focus most of your time on the opportunity, innovation, concept descriptions above.

First, describe what you think your most important resource will be. You might call this your venture’s “secret sauce” or “unfair advantage.” Besides your actual innovative product, service, or process, what will you have that will make it hard for competitors to copy your success?

My most important resource will be me.  I will be able to devote the time and money in order to get this off the ground.  Once it is running, training and management skills will have to be top notch in the people I hire.

Second, what’s next for the venture? Describe either the next opportunity you want to tackle with your current innovation, or describe the next new product, service, or process that may be aimed at your existing customers.

The next opportunity will be to franchise my business out to other aspiring entrepreneurs.  That will help me succeed, while helping someone else succeed.

Third, what’s next for you? Assuming you launched, where do you want to be in five years with this venture? Where do you want to be, as an entrepreneur, in the next decade, and how does this first venture help you achieve your vision?

In five years, I hope to be doing this venture full time.  I hope to have been able to franchise out to other people while at the same time operating in more than one location myself.

Week 14 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 of the reading on 3M’s philosophy on business.  The way projects are handled, and the toleration of failure because it takes failure to bring out success.

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

“Sustaining a Corporate Entrepreneurship Strategy” was a lot to take in and I had to read it a second time.  I get the theory and practice that is involved, but it was a busy figure (3.4).

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

1. Do you think that NAFTA should be recalled as it is hurting our trade abilities and thus making it harder for entrepreneurs?

2. I liked the story on “Hot Dogs, Ex-Convicts, and Social Enterprise,” do you think that venture would have worked in a different location?

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

I thought his outlook on NAFTA was not correct. That is something that I think hurts small business owners by allowing trade to be off balanced.

Google Gold

Almost 40 blog posts ago, you started ENT 3003 and created a web log for this class. Since then, you've crafted a blog around a business concept, honing your keyword use, linking to other blogs, and perhaps even using your broader social media network to enhance your blog's exposure.

Showing up in that first page of Google results is make-or-break for many an entrepreneur, especially in this day and age. For this exercise, please reflect back on your efforts to promote your blog. Please include the following:

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimization (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 

When writing my blog post, I was keeping in lines with the rules of the assignment, but also utilizing some key words to try give my blog a boost in the results of searches.

2) What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?

My idea is to cook shrimp at festivals, so I used things like “Shrimp boil” and “Shrimp Tent” to try and boost my status.  I did not change nor refine as these undoubtedly describe the business.

3) How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What were your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?

I would share some of my blog posts on google, and on Facebook to try to get more exposure.  I would get some feedback from my Facebook posts, and everyone thought my idea is a great one and want to know when I will start.

4) What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?

I have to say I did not have a viral post. That would be nice if it was in a positive light.

5) Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?

I did not come close to making it to the first page of google and do not know where I ended up.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

For this exercise, I would like you to revisit that first conversation you had with an entrepreneur. In that initial interview, you asked an entrepreneur three questions. Now, revisit this interview and think about the questions you asked and the answers they provided you. From where you stand now, what is your impression of that initial interview?


In my first interview, I got the person's take on what an entrepreneur is, what I should learn from this class, and skills she wishes she would have been taught.  Her idea of an entrepreneur is someone who uses creativity to be successful.  I think this is true to a certain extent. Creativity is one aspect, but after being in this class I know it takes so much more. Ethics is the subject she wanted me to learn about.  Ethics plays a part in all aspects of business.  She wish she had known more about the financial aspect of business.


Second, visit the entrepreneur again. Record the interview if possible. The three questions you ask this time are entirely up to you. Let your experiences in this course drive what questions you ask -- and that will be very different for each of you! 


I visited the entrepreneur for another meeting last night.  I had three questions to ask based on my first interview, and what we have learned in this class.  Here are the questions and responses;


1. Besides creativity, what would be the most important skill to hone for starting a new venture? 
The most important skill I think would be useful is having a good work ethic.  It takes a lot of time to build a business and it generates a lot of pressure.  You have to be able to push through tough times, and keep coming back.


2. We talked about ethics last time as something that should be learned. Ethics is a huge part of business, how has your ethics affected your business?


Ethics has played a big role in the horse industry.  Everything with breeding is scrutinized and having a good ethical background helps minimize that.  It plays into the reputation of the business which equates to better sales.


3. Entrepreneurship is very demanding, what helped you keep your drive up to become successful in the horse industry?  One thing that is great about working in the horse industry are the horses.  They all have their own personalities and make it worth while.


Third, after the interview, try to gather some sense of how far you have come in this class. In your post, discuss your comfort level in talking about entrepreneurship in this interview now, compared to three months ago. Did the entrepreneur convey a sense that they thought you had progressed in your journey?


It has become easier to talk about entrepreneurship this time because I know a tremendous amount more on the subject.  Because of my background as a recruiter, I have never had trouble talking to people but it does get easier the more you understand the topic.
She was very interested about the class and what I had learned so far.  She thought the class was spot on for what we needed to know to focus on succeeding.

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. 

I have failed a few times in this class by not getting an assignment completed in the allotted time.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I learned that the assignments in this class are not difficult to accomplish, therefore there is no reason to miss one.  This failure has caused me to look at time management, and self-discipline to complete assignments.

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? 

I was in the Marine Corps for quite a time.  Failure was never an option! However, on the rare occasion it happened (depending on the situation), failure was looked at as a learning opportunity.  In fact, there is a section of the Marine Corps that studies failures and publishes “Lessons Learned” so the failures are not repeated. This class has not changed my perspective on failure.

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?

I enjoyed reading about Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon.  This didn’t surprise me, but the story of how he made Amazon successful is awesome.

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

The fatal visions in strategic planning section had to be read twice.  It is hard to fathom how these mistakes could be made.

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

This was a pretty straight forward reading and I do not have questions about this chapter.

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

I think the author was good to go on this chapter.  My experiences have helped me understand this chapter dealing with SWOT analysis, and shifting from entrepreneur to manager.

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 section on “The Value of Strategic Planning” was surprising on how important this is even to a small startup.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.  Nothing really confused me in this week’s reading selection.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? I do not have any questions on this week’s reading. The chapter was really well versed, and explained strategic planning very well.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? I did not disagree on anything for this week’s reading selection.

 

Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept Write-Up

Opportunity:

What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

This opportunity is based on expensive prices local festivals for a good meal.  This allows someone to come in with a more efficient process to offer lower prices to make greater profit.

How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

This market is a very “captive audience” meaning the customers are there for the festival, and to enjoy the food that is there. Some customers even only come because of the food.

How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

Customers are currently satisfying this need by offering a service at a high rate of pay. This is because the customers are a captive audience and do not have many choices.

How big is this opportunity?

This opportunity is big enough to operate as a weekend business.  There is plenty of money to be made a larger festivals, but that requires a much higher commitment and experience.

How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

This opportunity is open year round.  Florida is a state that is rich with festivals that are easy to be a part of.   The larger festivals are more difficult to attend unless you are a more well established business.

Innovation:

Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 

The competitors are the other food venders at the festivals. Their largest weakness is the price they charge for the food.

What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?

This plays a huge role in that we can produce a quality product more efficiently and charge a lower price.  This will bring customers to us.

How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?  

This would require myself, and two other employees.  One employee to watch the front of the house and service customers, and one to cook.  I would oversee both and make sure both are in synch.

Venture Concept:

 

What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch? 


The reason they will switch is because of lower prices with better food. Not hard at all.

Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 


The competitors are the other food venders. They are vulnerable because they charge outrageous prices due to their customers being limited on food choices.

What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?


The business concept is built around providing services at festivals in Florida.  The festivals are known for great food, but it is expensive.  Providing less expensive, however, better quality food will be our winning concept.

How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?


I have partly organized this business with family to start up.  After a winning strategy can be determined with success and failure will I seek outside help.


We will be successful because of knowledge of cooking skills, and also business skills.

Growing My Social Capital

1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry. This would be someone who's engaged in the same type of business activity as you would like to be. They may own the same kind of company that you would like to own, or they may be a technical expert who knows a lot about the kind of product or service that you would like to produce.

1) Who they are and what their background is.  My contact in industry works in exactly what I wish to market myself in, cooking seafood at local festivals. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.  He is a domain expert in this field as he has been successful with catering to this market.  He has been asked back to festivals just because of his business practices.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.  I knew this person through work, but he also works festivals in the same way I want to… On the weekends.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? He did not do a favor for me. However, I might possibly try to work for him to help build a business model.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? Knowing this person that will be working in the same market will help when I first start up the business.  Once the learning curve gets better, I will be able to operate more efficiently.

2) One person must be an expert on your market. This would be someone who is targeting your market with similar products services -- or knows a lot about conducting customer research in your area -- or represents a major piece of your market (this might be most applicable with B2B markets).

1) Who they are and what their background is. This is the same person I met with about being a domain expert.  He operates, and markets his own business.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Market expert.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I know this person from work that also has a business doing exactly what I want to do.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?  He did not do me a favor other than talk to me.  He always has time for questions.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?  Getting his advice will be instrumental in starting my business.

3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry. This would be someone who is selling products and services to other organizations/firms in your industry. 

1) Who they are and what their background is. I went by the local seafood wholesaler in my area.  They would be most important as suppliers go as this would really effect the price of the product.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. This would be the supplier.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I found the person through the internet.  I went to the business to talk to them.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? They did not do me a favor, but did enlighten me on how much shrimp can cost.  Basically, the more you buy, the cheaper it is per pound of shrimp.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?  Building report with a potential supplier is always key.  Becoming a customer will usually bring discounts later.

What constitutes 'contact'? Social capital exists in the "potential goodwill" that exists between two people. For you to establish "potential goodwill" for this exercise, you need to have obtained feedback from each of these people on your business idea so far. For instance, this could include meeting with them to show your elevator pitch or your idea napkin.

This exercise really helped me get another step closer to opening my festival tent.  I am really considering taking on this challenge because of the research I have done for these projects. 

Week 10 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? 

This week’s reading was about the financial side of entrepreneurship, the numbers.  There wasn’t really anything that was surprising as I have had many classes on accounting.  Reading the section on “Watching your Accounts Receivables” was interesting seeing how accounts receivables was handled.

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

The regression analysis can be confusing to me.  I thought the book did a good job explaining it.

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

a.  I would like a little more information on the Internal rate of return method.

b. I thought the rest of the chapter was pretty easy to comprehend. Accounting is a necessity in business and knowing how to read the reports is a requirement.

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

This was a very good reading on money for the entrepreneur.  I thought the author was right on with everything written.

Week 9 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? 

All of the differences in pricing stood out to me.  I know that value is complicated, and I was surprised at how much just varies in pricing.

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

In the "developing a marketing plan" section, sales forecasting is difficult to me.  I am in a management class as well, and this is a big part of it.  Sales forecasting is very in depth.

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

a. Mobile marketing, How is the best way to utilize mobile marketing with the changing technology of smart phones?

b. What is the best way to develop good tools for sales forecasting?

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

I thought this was a great chapter on marketing.  I learned a lot on mobile marketing.  I know that getting the product out in the minds of customers is very important. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am currently a Human Resources Specialist with a long background in the Marine Corps in vehicle maintenance.  I am also a great cook who loves to cook “Low Country Boils.”  The later ties into my business concept of cooking food at festivals around the state.  The local festivals are a great place to serve seafood as there is an almost captive audience. I have considered the aspects of cost, and judging by the average attendance at festivals, and the frequency at which festivals occur in close proximity, that the market is strong.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

The needs of my target customers arise from attending festivals.  Festivals limit customer’s choices of where they can eat.  This also tends to make the choices expensive.  My business model is to limit my menu to one item, “Low Country Boil” (this is shrimp, corn, sausage, and potatoes all boiled together) and charge a lower price for quality food.  All of my thoughts on this are core of the business, really, really good food.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

My customers are people attending local festivals.  These people are in the mood to come out and spend money on local and small businesses.  They are also a captive audience, meaning there are limited places for someone to eat.  Some people even go to festivals just for the food. Reading the feedback, this is a sound plan.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

People will care because they want great food at a reasonable price. People are tired of their choices serving food at a premium price.  This is a sound concept that if managed well, will make a profit.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

I have experience in the restaurant business, and I am a good cook.  I also know how to make the product very well in large quantities.  I also have the management abilities I learned with my extensive time in the Marine Corps. All of these elements combined make for a situation that will be successful.

 

I think that these elements do mesh well with a few exceptions.  My current position in HR is very demanding.  This takes a lot of my time and does not allow me to focus on putting a business together.  This is especially true while I am a student. Other than my lack of time, all of the other elements are a good match. I would have to dedicate a lot of time to this business which would have to be worked out.

 

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe all of the elements of my start-up ideas are very compatible.  Festivals put people in a mood to spend, they become a captivated audience and are willing to pay for food.  As described, some people really come to try the food.

For the "feedback memo" -- please summarize five main points that you took away from the feedback you received. Also, please describe how you incorporated the feedback into this idea napkin. 

The biggest criticism I received was whether the customer base would cover costs of the business.  That  could possibly be true, which caused me to change my business model.  The change is a focus on the frequency and availability of festivals to attend.  This would be a key point as the more attendance at festivals the more profit that can be made.

The Twenty Percent

For the 80/20 assignment, I decided to go to one of the horse farms in the Ocala area and talk to the owner.  The horse industry is very broad and covers a wide range from horses to hay.

The target audience for the farm I picked included other local farms and individuals.  This farm also markets nationally.  The demographics varied greatly as well.  For horses, wealthier people were more appealing, as horses can be expensive and are an investment (or a luxury item depending on the person). For hay they were mainly targeting other farms.

The marketing strategy for this farm revolved around horse shows, the internet, and word of mouth.

The customer’s needs for horses revolved around good investments.  The horses are used for breeding a lot of times, and customers want a good stock in order to turn a profit on their investment.  For hay, the customers are looking for the best deal possible.

I managed to get one interview with the owner of another farm. I was not able to record this interview because they did not want to be recorded.  I asked about what needs they had when looking for horses to invest in.  It was just as the entrepreneur thought it was, they wanted to make a profit on their investment.  This person was looking to make money from breeding, and was willing to pay a premium if he thought it was possible.  I found this is a very tricky business with a lot of risk from conducting this interview.  However, this particular customer had seen a lot of success when dealing with the other farm.

The need for quality hay was high.  This farm looked at price as a big determiner, but also the quality of the hay.  I thought that hay was hay, but apparently not.  They really liked the Alfalfa hay, and hay that was not wet.  The alfalfa is good for the horses, and rain can cause the hay to mold. 

I asked how he could find opportunities on horses and hay, and he replied “the internet.”  They look for deals on hay, but do use known good sources.  His loyalty to his provider was strong, because he knew the quality was good.  For horses, it depended upon what he was looking for, and if he was in the market to breed or not.

Week 8 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 biggest surprise came from the “Deal Killers” section of the reading.  “Vulnerability of the Founder” deal killer was a little bit of a surprise when talking about venture capitalist examining a business plan.  I understand why the overdependence of the founder would be undesirable, however I would think there would be a lot of dependence on the entrepreneur when a business is starting up in most cases.

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

Figure 8.2 was a little confusing.  I understood what the chart represented, but the numbers were hard to follow.

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

1. With the internet becoming more and more popular to do business, will the social lending success rate rise from 10 percent?  This seems like a low number when compared to how many people are on-line, and how many businesses are now on-line.

2. With more pension institutions becoming sources of capital, will this make finding a VC harder?  I think they would definitely want risk to be at an absolute minimum because of the danger of losing pensions.   

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

I think the author was spot on with this chapter.  When raising capital there are a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs to find funding.  I personally liked “The Art of Doing More with Less!”  This was something that was drilled into me from my experience in the Marine Corps.  We always had to make due with less, which took some imagination to get things done.

Half-way Reflection

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

Tenacity comes from within or having the attitude of not giving up.  I think a big part of this is self-discipline!  I have seen a lot of people overcome adversity simply by having self-discipline and a good attitude towards what the individual is doing in order to complete tasks.  I have definitely put self-discipline to work to keep up with this class. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 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?

There have been a couple of times where I have missed assignments because I am overwhelmed with other classes, work, and family life.  These have been the hardest times in this class because I want to make the highest grade possible and when I fail at an assignment, I take it hard.  To get through a time like this, I think about all the other people that have been successful in this class before me, and about all the people that will be successful in this class after me.  If they can do it, so can I!

3) Three tips. 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' ?

1. Time management is a must in this class.  There are so many assignments due, you have to keep up.

2. Develop a can do attitude about all of the assignments, and use that to work ahead if possible.

3. Have fun!  A lot of the assignments are fun, and will help foster skills that can be used long after this class is through.

Free Money

Giving Away Free Money

·        Where will you go?  I spend a majority of my time at the VA hospital in Gainesville, so I will be conducting this exercise there.  There are people constantly in the VA every day for different reasons coming and going.  I will approach people outside, and near the smoking areas.

·        What kind of people will you approach?  Most of the people going to the VA are veterans.  This will be easy for me to talk to them because I am a veteran as well.  I will not target veterans specifically, but anyone I encounter.

·        What will you say to get the conversation started? I served three years in the Marine Corps as a recruiter, so I will use a technique that is solid.  I will walk up to people and ask “Hi, what is your name?”   This is the easiest way to start a conversation with someone you do not know.

·        What is your plan for the conversation? My plan for the conversations will be to tell them I just want to give them a dollar and see if the person will be willing to accept it or not.  If not, I will employ some tactics I learned as a recruiter to find out why.

·        Out of five attempts, how many dollar bills do you think you will be able to give away.   I think I will be able to give away all five.  This is because  I know veterans, and I also know people like money, even if it is only a dollar. 

·        Second, be sure you record these encounters. It might help to bring along a friend, but your blog post needs to feature at least 2 recordings of your interactions with people. In the blog post, provide the video recordings and describe your results overall. What are your reflections on this exercise? Was giving away a dollar easier or harder than you imagined? Were your predictions correct or incorrect? If they were incorrect, why? What assumptions did you make about the people you planned to talk to, which were wrong?

Because I was on VA property, I was not allowed to record the encounters.  I did meet five people in the areas I described above.  Here is a list, and the outcome:

1.     John:  John is a veteran I caught going to smoke.  I walked up to him and asked his name, which he said was John.  I asked him if he wanted a dollar, and he said what for?  I said for whatever you want, I am conducting a survey on money because of an argument and wanted to know if people would accept a dollar.  He looked at me puzzled, but said “sure.” I gave him a dollar. 

2.     Pam:  Pam was walking behind the VA when I stopped her.  I told her the same exact thing as John, and she too accepted a dollar.

3.     George:  When talking to George, he was waiting on a shuttle to go to his vehicle.  He also had no problem taking the dollar.

4.     Donnie:  Donnie was an older gentleman, and was a little more apprehensive.  He was very skeptical of why I wanted to give him a dollar, even after telling him this was to win an argument, he still wasn’t sold.  So I told him I had already talked to three other people who all graciously accepted, and then he too accepted the dollar.

5.     Louie.  Louie was a younger person working there on a construction project.  After giving him my sales pitch of taking a dollar, he did. 

·        The results were just as I thought, it is very easy to get someone to accept a dollar.  I think this would have been harder if the dollar amount would have been more.