30A – Final Reflection

The most formative experience for me was having to go out and interview as many people as I did. This was a great experience for me and allowed me to really step outside of my comfort zone and talk to strangers about an idea that I have. Something I will remember later are all the amazing ideas that everyone came up with. Some of them are so cool and would be really useful and I hope some of them actually start these businesses! My most joyous experience was getting a lot of positive feedback on my ideas as it really encouraged me to keep going with this idea. I am most proud of myself for make this idea as large as it is. I love seeing how far I have come and how much research and thought I have put into this.

I definitely think I have an entrepreneurial mindset. I know that I can create anything I want and if I actually wanted to do these things, it is very possible! This class showed me that anyone is capable of doing these things and creating their own businesses. 

I recommend not being shy and do what you really want! Even if it is something you have no idea how to even start, this class will help you start your idea and show you have to continue it!

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity.

The customers that I am marketing towards fall into three categories.

1. The first category which makes up most of my potential customers are soldiers who do not have transportation or prefer to use public transportation. This customer may not be able to afford a vehicle, not be able to afford insurance, not be able to drive or simply is trying limit his spending.
2. The second category are the families or soldiers. These families may only have one vehicle or no vehicles at all. These families are anyone that lives on or off post that is in need of getting around post.
3. The third category are DOD civilians. These are people who work on post that may be looking for a ride.

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

• The main reason creating this opportunity is the fact that other means of transportation are not allowed on post.

How is this market define geographically and demographically?

• Geographically this market is currently limited to the base that I am located at. Demographically this market is young or new soldiers, families and DOD civilians.

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

• Customers are currently satisfying their need by getting rides from friends, riding bikes or walking. They are very loyal to this because they have no other option.

How big is this opportunity?

• This opportunity has the potential to be used as a base-wide means of transportation. It can potentially replace some individuals transportation.

How long will the "window of opportunity" be open?

• This opportunity will be open until someone else does it. With how long the opportunity has been open, there seems to be no motivation from others to change it.

Innovation. 

The service I am offering to address customer needs is a bus system that will be brought on post for anyone to use that has access to the base. This will contain multiple buses that run 24/7 across the post. There will be stops along major neighborhoods, close to shopping centers, close to works and at all the gates across post. 

There will be 4 different ways for customers to purchase these bus tickets. All ticket prices will be the same for all people on post.

1) The first way to buy a ticket will be to purchase a one-way bus pass.

• $1.00

2)The second way to buy a ticket will be to purchase a day pass. This will allow customers to use the bus system for an unlimited time for 24 hours.

• $3

3) The third way to buy a ticket would be to buy a 20 ride pass. This will allow customers to ride the bus 20 times.

• $15

4) The fourth way to buy a ticket would be to buy a monthly pass. This will give them unlimited rides for the entire month.

• $40

Venture Concept.

Implementing a bus system will offer a means of public transportation for everyone on post that was once not available. Customers would buy this service because there are no other competitors and they are very limited on options. It will not be hard to get customers to switch as it is reliable and inexpensive. The only weaknesses would be accidental bus breakdowns or accidents. If this happens there needs to be a close bus and driver nearby to replace this broken bus.

My most important resource will be being able to relate to these customers and understand their needs because I once had this unmet need.

The next venture would be to implement a bus system at other posts that currently do not have a bus system or a quality bus system.

In five years, I would want to have a successful service at my current installation and be in the process of implementing these bus systems at other posts.

I received a lot of positive feedback on my venture concept as people stated my prices seemed fair and they loved the idea of helping people who can not afford these prices but are still trying to get to work and other areas of the installation. Another comment had mentioned what we would do during a pandemic such as the one we are in now as many people are avoiding public transportation and this would hurt my business.

In order to compensate for things like pandemic, I will have additional buses that are able to switch between others in route so they can get cleaned every so often. I will provide hand sanitizer and implement a hand washing station at each bus stop for individuals to use before and after they get on the bus.

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

My exit strategy is to stay with the business for several decades and retire. This all depends on how the business is going as well, if I do not think it is going well then I might sell it and move on.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I have selected this particular exit strategy because I think my service is something that will be needed for years and years. I do not think that the need will ever change.

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I do think it has influenced my choices greatly. If I did not see a successful and long future with this product, I would not have hoped to start this opportunity as I would not receive all that I have put into it.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The theme of Inbound Marketing is how to attract people to your product in terms of social media and different marketing techniques.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book has provided me with many tools I can use to market my product and different ways I can use social media to do this. Throughout this course I have struggled to find good ways to market my product but after reading this book I feel a lot more comfortable being able to do this.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

For an exercise for this class, I would use what I learned from Chapter 4 - Create Remarkable Content. I would have students create different content for their proposed products and have them learn how to track their progress as described in the book. This would allow the students to visually see if their content is good or not.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

One thing that I found surprising was how much marketing has changed over the past 10 years with the way technology has changed. You can no longer use things such as phone calls or emails or even advertisements on TV because people have technology that can filter out these and skip ads on TV. All of this has definitely made it much harder for people to advertise their products.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Earlier this semester, I tried to fix my car on my own. I researched what the issue could be and I asked multiple people their opinion and I decided to fix it myself. I changed all of the things I thought it could be and that did not help. Then I had to tow my car an hour away to go get it fixed and it turned out it was the entire computer system in my car. Luckily, it was under warranty but I failed to fix my car.

2) I learned that I am not an expert on cars and even though something may seem so easy, it isn't always that easy. Sometimes you need help from others. 

3) I think failure is annoying if anything. It's annoying not to be able to do something you try to do and have to do it over and over again. I think I deal with failure pretty good as I am a strong believer in everything happens for a reason. I think once I get over the initial annoyance of it, I can move on pretty quickly. I think I am more likely to take a risk because of this class just because I know ways I can prepare for failure without it hurting my as bad.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market. 

For these interviews, I continued to get positive feedback and supportive potential customers that were very intrigued about my business idea. They loved the idea of a bus system that they could use whenever and the prices seemed very fair to them.

Some ideas they had were to include a few buses that would try off post to the neighboring city that has more stores and restaurants. They also mentioned only running these buses during the weekend as there would be less travel on post due to everyone being off work and having these additional buses would provide additional revenue for the bus system on the weekends.

I loved the idea of including buses that run to the neighboring cities on the weekend! I thought it was a great idea and would definitely give people a way to travel off post as well. I think this would be more successful as a weekend thing due to the travel distance and limited people traveling to these places during the weekend.

New Market.

For this part of the assignment I decided to focus on individuals who are poorer or have less money than the average person I am targeting. I think that we should included discounted prices for people who are in financial situations that have caused them to lose travel. For instance, with the Coronavirus, many people were left without jobs and people may not have been able to pay for their car insurance and may not be able to drive. With this, we could offer these individuals a discounted price for bus tickets to help them with their situation.

I interviewed a single mom who has had her hours cut due to the Coronavirus and someone who has lost their job due to the Coronavirus. Both of these individuals thought the bus system was a great idea and it would help them do simple things such as going to the grocery store. It would also allow them to go to job interviews and go other places on post that they wouldn't have been able to do before.

I really enjoyed doing this assignment as it allowed me to hear the opinions on many different people that I may have not thought about otherwise. I definitely think having discounted prices for these individuals is very important, we'd just have to figure out how to assess their financial situation.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity.

The customers that I am marketing towards fall into three categories.

1. The first category which makes up most of my potential customers are soldiers who do not have transportation or prefer to use public transportation. This customer may not be able to afford a vehicle, not be able to afford insurance, not be able to drive or simply is trying limit his spending.
2. The second category are the families or soldiers. These families may only have one vehicle or no vehicles at all. These families are anyone that lives on or off post that is in need of getting around post.
3. The third category are DOD civilians. These are people who work on post that may be looking for a ride.

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

• The main reason creating this opportunity is the fact that other means of transportation are not allowed on post.

How is this market define geographically and demographically?

• Geographically this market is currently limited to the base that I am located at. Demographically this market is young or new soldiers, families and DOD civilians.

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

• Customers are currently satisfying their need by getting rides from friends, riding bikes or walking. They are very loyal to this because they have no other option.

How big is this opportunity?

• This opportunity has the potential to be used as a base-wide means of transportation. It can potentially replace some individuals transportation.

How long will the "window of opportunity" be open?

• This opportunity will be open until someone else does it. With how long the opportunity has been open, there seems to be no motivation from others to change it.

Innovation. 

The service I am offering to address customer needs is a bus system that will be brought on post for anyone to use that has access to the base. This will contain multiple buses that run 24/7 across the post. There will be stops along major neighborhoods, close to shopping centers, close to works and at all the gates across post. 

There will be 4 different ways for customers to purchase these bus tickets. All ticket prices will be the same for all people on post.

1) The first way to buy a ticket will be to purchase a one-way bus pass.

• $1.00

2)The second way to buy a ticket will be to purchase a day pass. This will allow customers to use the bus system for an unlimited time for 24 hours.

• $3

3) The third way to buy a ticket would be to buy a 20 ride pass. This will allow customers to ride the bus 20 times.

• $15

4) The fourth way to buy a ticket would be to buy a monthly pass. This will give them unlimited rides for the entire month.

• $40

Venture Concept.

Implementing a bus system will offer a means of public transportation for everyone on post that was once not available. Customers would buy this service because there are no other competitors and they are very limited on options. It will not be hard to get customers to switch as it is reliable and inexpensive. The only weaknesses would be accidental bus breakdowns or accidents. If this happens there needs to be a close bus and driver nearby to replace this broken bus.

My most important resource will be being able to relate to these customers and understand their needs because I once had this unmet need.

The next venture would be to implement a bus system at other posts that currently do not have a bus system or a quality bus system.

In five years, I would want to have a successful service at my current installation and be in the process of implementing these bus systems at other posts.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1) Human Capital

Value - Human capital is very important as not everyone knows the same skills and every person can bring different value and knowledge to the table.

Rare - This is not rare as everyone has some form of human capital and has different skills to offer.

Inimitable - People can have similar experience but they will never know exactly every thing you know or have learned. They will also not have the same experiences as you.

Non - Sustainable - You can substitute someones human capital by bringing in multiple different people that fill this persons criteria.

2) Social Capital

Value - This is extremely valuable, especially when trying to sell a product or service and be competitive.

Rare - This is not very rare as some people can have very similar connections.

Inimitable - People can have similar resources and social connections but it is very unlikely they will have the same exact connections.

Non - Sustainable - You can substitute someones social capital by bringing in multiple people with the same or similar resources.

3) Financial Capital

Value - This is extremely valuable because many start up businesses have a hard time getting money to make the business what it hopes. Having this money can give you a good start and allow your success to fluctuate.

Rare - This is somewhat rare because many people do not have the financial capabilities to up and start a business.

Inimitable - It is easy to copy someone else's financial capital if you were to save money for your business.

Non - Sustainable - There are no other similar resources unless you were to go into debt.

4) Business Experience

Value - This is very valuable as it allows you to know and be familiar with at least some aspects of starting a business.

Rare - This is somewhat rare as many people do not have the opportunity to gain experience in starting a business and seeing it grow.

Inimitable - This is very easy to copy as anyone can open a business or try to be apart of a new business.

Non - Sustainable - You can not receive the same benefits as having your own experience.

5) Location

Value - Being close to you anticipated customers is very valuable as it allows you to gain knowledge on your customers and their needs.

Rare - This is somewhat rare as some companies are trying to reach a larger audience and can not live where all their customers do.

Inimitable - This is somewhat inimitable because many people can start a business where they live.

Non - Sustainable - You can have people represent you across these areas and have them gain knowledge on the location without you being there.

6) Customer Service Experience

Value - This extremely valuable as it give you experience working with customers and selling your product or service.

Rare - This is not that rare as you can gain customers service anywhere.

Inimitable - This is not that hard to imitate because you can this experience in any type of business or workplace.

Non - Sustainable - You are not able to fulfill this with anything else as it is an experience.

7) Familiarity with marketed customers

Value - This is extremely valuable as it allows you to be familiar with the intended customers and know their needs.

Rare - This is somewhat rare because not everyone that starts a business, started with the same need and they may not completely understand.

Inimitable - You are become familiar with these customers but you will not have the same relationships as someone who was once a part of that group.

Non - Sustainable - You can not get these benefits from another resource.

8) Vendor Relationships

Value - This is valuable as it allows you to have predetermined vendors to help with your business.

Rare - This is somewhat rare as many people do not have access to vendors before they start a business.

Inimitable - You are able to establish relationships with vendors but it will take time and can push back your business plans.

Non - Sustainable - No, these are relationships that take time to form.

9) Supportive Resources

Value - This is very important as many people do not have other businesses and resources that will promote a new business.

Rare - This is rare as you would need to have relationships with these business and resources in your community.

Inimitable - You are able to make these relationships but it will not be the same as someone who has made these relationships a while ago.

Non - Sustainable - It takes time to make these relationships and these can not be replaced with something else.

10) Marketing Experience

Value - This is very valuable as it will put you ahead in opening your business.

Rare - This is somewhat rare as some people may not have been able to get this experience before opening their own business.

Inimitable - This is hard to copy because marketing is continuously changing and if you do not know how to market to your customers, it can be very difficult.

Non - Sustainable - You can gain this knowledge elsewhere but you will still be new to marketing.

I believe my top resource is being familiar with the intended customers. Having personal experience with their issue will allow me to better understand their needs and what will and wont work for their circumstances.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The book that I chose to read was The Art of Social Media - Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick. The general theme of the book was supplying the reader with an extensive amount of tips on how to better your social media. It gave you tips on things like your profile and how to even manage your comments and how to get more followers.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book allowed me to see just how helpful social media can be with promoting your product or service. It showed me many different ways in which I can utilize social media and how I can continuously change my profile to match the direction I want my product to go.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an exercise for this classed based on the book it would be to have students make a social media platform for their potential product or service. Using these tips from the book, I would have students set up their profile and a few posts advertising and promoting their product. After that, I would have other students comment on their page which would allow the students to practice responding to comments and how to make their profiles perfect. This would simulate real life situations for them and would better prepare them for their future businesses.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

While reading the book I found that there was a strong encouragement to respond to positive and negative comments on your posts. Although I now see how this can better your business, from what I usually see on social media, I don't see people responding to negative comments and often here people saying to just ignore the negative comments.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

The first person I engaged with is a family friend of ours who has owned multiple successful businesses throughout the time I have known him. Walter has owned these businesses that have allowed him to grow his franchise and venture in to many different categories as well. He has a lot of experience in retail as most of his businesses focus on this. Walter is filling my domain expert slot because he has extensive knowledge on retail and was able to give me multiple tips on selling the product and advertising it. He also said that if I am serious about the service, he would help in any way possible.

The second person I targeted for my expert in my market was Jonathan Rivers. Jonathan is very well know in my community for a free bike program that he has established for everyone to use. He has also tried many other products within the community and has great experience with trials and errors. I found him by simply knowing about the business he had and meeting up with him at his office. Jonathan offered advice and support for my business idea. He loved the idea and believes it would benefit a lot of people in the community.

The last person I contacted was Julie who works for the community service center on the post I am trying to install a bus system on. She has a lot of experience selling different products to the same target group and had very good advice on advertisement and how to get the word out. She stated how she would look into other organizations on post to see if any would support my idea or help me start it.

I enjoyed doing this activity as it allowed me to see and meet with other entrepreneurs who supported my idea. It definitely motivated me to continue trying for this idea. It showed me that there are many needs for this community and it'll take some work to achieve the business I want but I will get there eventually. 

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list. 

1. I have a strong work ethic. I think a lot of people lack this nowadays and I take pride in my work.

2. I am very caring. I love taking care of individuals, I have a big heart.

3. I have interests in a variety of things. I enjoy doing many things and find I pick them up rather quickly.

4. I am very open-minded. I love to learn new things and am open to other peoples differences.

5. I am very adventurous. I love to travel and live different place.

2) Interview the five people who know you the best. 

I am unable to provide audio recordings as I interviewed my family and they are in a different state than myself but I will summarize their interviews below.

Interview #1

The first interview was with my dad who stated I am headstrong, opinionated, and persistent.

Interview #2

The second interview was with my mom who stated I am strong, very smart, very opinionated and doesn't hesitate to say exactly whats on her mind. She said I am very generous, thoughtful and very funny.

Interview #3

The third interview was with my sister who stated I am hardworking, blunt, caring and outspoken.

Interview #4

The fourth interview was with my husband who stated I am hardworking, smart and I don't let little things bother me.

Interview #5

My last interview was with my other sister who said I am witty, determined and independent.

3) Reflect on the differences. 

I think that the people interviewed represent who I am as a person but so does my list. I think it depends what situation you're in, people might see different sides to you. I am not going to act the same way at work as I do with my family, so I think these people would say very different things. I would not change anything about my list.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interview #1

In this first interview I spoke with a lower enlisted soldier who has not had a car for a couple months. He stated that he does not have enough money to buy a car. When choosing his mode of transportation he wants it to be reliable, inexpensive and easy to access. He usually gets rides from his coworkers or friends since this covers his main concerns. He said he might regret using public transportation if he later found a cheaper alternative.

Interview #2

My second interview was with another lower enlisted soldier who has just arrived to this post. She said she plans on buying a car but would love public transportation in the meantime. As of right now she catches rides from friends but they are not very reliable. She said she doesn't mind spending a bit of money as long as it's reliable. She said she would not regret using public transportation if she arrived to her destinations on time.

Interview #3

In my third interview I spoke with a lower enlisted soldier who owns a car but likes public transportation to save money. He said if public transportation was offered, he'd use it over his car as long as it was reliable. He doesn't want to risk getting to work late. He said he would only regret using public transportation if he was late to work.

Conclusion

The main concerns of these potential customers are the price and how reliable it would be. If all these things can be managed then it would be a great success. Although, if another forms of public transportation comes on post, it might be competitive.

14A – Halfway Reflection

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

To keep up with this course, I have had to adjust my entire schedule. I have worked ahead and posted "new events" on my canvas calendar to make notes about upcoming assignments. I have also had to have better time management and set aside time for this class and others. With the interviews required for this class, I had to make sure I had time to complete these.

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?

With the amount of work for this class and the stress of this pandemic, it was very stressful at times to keep up with the load. Being an essential worker, I found this time to be a lot more stressful than others. The thought of being able to graduate next semester pulled me through. I didn't want to have to push that even further.

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. Work ahead!

2. Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone!

3. Stay focused!

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

For this reading reflection, I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's, by Ray Kroc.

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most was how long it took him to find this opportunity.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? One thing I admired about him was how hard working he was and how he always found a way to support his wife and his daughter.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? The thing that I least admired about him was how he would often put strain on his relationship with his wife and daughter in order to follow his dreams.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Yes, he had many businesses earlier in life and often closed them after a few years, even a couple months.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 
Ray Kroc was very personable and able to read the body language of many of his customers. He found this to be his strong point in making business sales and keeping his customers.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
One part that was confusing to me was some of the jobs he held before he stumbled upon this opportunity. I found that many of these jobs are no longer a thing and found it very difficult to understand what exactly he was referring to in these parts of the book.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
What is some advice you would give to prospective entrepreneurs?
Do you regret doing or stopping any of the jobs you did?

I would ask these questions simply because I would find his answers to be very important and eye-opening. To see his full story and all the struggles he went through to get to where he ended up, it would be very interesting to see if he would change any of it.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I believe Ray Kroc believed hard work was a necessity in life. I feel he thought if you weren't hard working, you won't make it. I also share this opinion. Especially in today's generation, there are many individuals who lack this quality and it shows. Without a high work ethic or desire to achieve the best, we will have world full of unemployment and poverty which is where we are headed.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

This week, I interviewed three individuals who I believed who would have need for another way of transportation.

The segment I chose was lower enlisted soldiers.

The first soldier I interviewed was a PFC who has been here for a little over a year. During this time he has gone on a 9 month rotation and has since bought a motorcycle as this is all he can afford because his insurance on a car would be too high. He states that he does not have a need for a bus system under certain conditions but once it starts to rain or snow then he is in high need for another mode of transportation. He states that when it is raining or snowing he often has to find rides from his friends or people that live nearby.

The second soldier I interviewed was a PFC who has also been here for a little over a year. He has not bought a car because he can not get approved for a loan because he has no credit. He states that he has no support from his family and is unable to ask them for help in buying a car. He states that he is in need for a bus system many days of the week because he always gets a ride from someone else and feels bad. He stated that he pays this individual gas money but would feel better being able to use this money for a bus system and not have to rely on someone else.

The third soldier I interviewed is a private who just got here a couple months ago. She is married and lives with her husband on post who is also a private. She stated that they share one car because their insurance would be too high if they had another car. She stated that she does not have the need currently because her husband is away but once he gets back, it'll be difficult to get to work because they work on different sides of post and it takes them 30 minutes to get from one of their works to the other. She stated a bus system would be extremely helpful because she could use this when her husband uses the car and vise-versa. 

In terms of lower enlisted soldiers, I believe they have are very strong need awareness and often have no other way to help their need than to find a ride from a friend or their superior. I believe this resource would mostly be used by lower enlisted soldiers on a daily basis but would also occasionally be used by others.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) I am Heather. I am very caring and helpful. I love working with about anyone but find myself always around children and animals. I am very hard-working and have a great work ethic. I find myself to always striving to be the best or to find different ways to be the best.

2) I am offering a bus system that runs 24/7 and travels throughout post to help these people get to work on time or to travel to different locations.

3) I am offering this to soldiers, their families and DOD civilians. Anyone that can gain access to post will have access to this resource. Most of the time these will be customers who do not have a vehicle or prefer to use public transportation to get to places.

4) These customers will care because many are unable to find another option for transportation. With no other public transportation services on post, this will be the best one and the only available option to people who need it.

5) I have a strong desire to help people. I strive to provide the best I can for anyone in need and that would include people in this opportunity. I would take customers concerns into consideration and make adjustments as necessary.

I believe these points fit very well together as I will always have the desire to help others and with this opportunity constantly changing and evolving, I will continue to strive for the best for these customers. I am very hard-working and will always find a way to solve issues that may arise during this. With the need for this opportunity, and the desire to help people and solve this issue, I will be able to successfully solve this growing issue.

Elevator Pitch

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Bus System Opportunity

Interview Summary

This week I interviewed 5 different people who seemed to have the unmet need buy did not support the idea of a bus system. In these interviews, I talked to soldiers, families and DOD civilians. The people I spoke with either did not currently have a mode of transportation or were unable to travel due to financial reasons. In one interview, I was told that they wouldn't be able to afford a bus ticket every day. In the second interview, I was told that they simply do not like public transportation. In the third interview, I was told that they do not currently have this need because they get rides from friends and it isn't currently an issue. In the fourth interview, I was told that they would still be worried about making it to work on time if they were to rely on public transportation. Lastly, I was told that even though they only have one vehicle, they haven't had the need to get another or use public transportation.

I believe that all of these reasons can be changed when developing this bus system. If this mode of transportation is on time and reliable, many of these reasons who not exist.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who  Soldiers who do not have a mode of transportation. Families who do not have a mode of transportation. DOD civilians who do not have a mode of transportation.	Who People who don't like public transportation. People who have a reliable mode of transportation. People who do not come on post.
What  An easy, reliable, cost-efficient mode of transportation.	What Transportation to every place you could desire to go. Transportation off post.
Why There is not public transportation offered,	Why Individual is financially unstable to buy a vehicle. The individual's current mode of transportation is unavailable.

8A – Solving The Problem

(1) The selected opportunity I have chosen is the lack of a bus system for soldiers and their families on a military installation. Without any form of public transportation, it makes it extremely difficult for soldiers who don't have a car or their families to get around.

(2) The service I will be providing is a bus system that will transport soldiers, their families and DOD civilians across post. This bus system will have a few different buses that travel to different areas of the base. There will be multiple bus stops with them conveniently located near neighborhoods and common areas. I plan to have multiple ways for these people to use this service such as soldiers having the ability to "opt-in" to this service and have a payment directly taken from their paycheck, similar to their BAS (food) that is taken out bi-weekly. This will give these people who "opt-in" unlimited passes to use this bus system. There will be no penalties to cancel this service and will continue to be a resource for everyone on post. There will also be an opportunity for people to pay per use.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) For this assignment, I have decided to research more about my topic of a bus system on post at the military installation I currently live on for soldiers, DOD civilians and their families to make up for the lack of public transportation offered here.

2) The Who: The prototypical customer would be anyone that would use transportation on this particular military installation.

The What: This would provide a bus system for everyone on post.

The Why: This opportunity exists because of the lack of public transportation on post.

3)

• Testing the who: I believe this could be a need that is not met across many military installations. 

• Testing the what: I believe the boundaries of this need would be if these particular people have other means of transportation or prefer a different means of transportation.

• Testing the why: I believe this is a need because many new and young soldiers or families can not afford a vehicle or more than one vehicle.

4)

Interview #1
I interviewed a soldier who's first duty station is here. He told me that he is unable to buy a car because he is young and does not have any credit yet. He stated that its to expensive for him to buy a car at the moment. He has only been here for a couple months and finds rides from fellow soldiers. He supports the idea of a bus system as it would allow him to go places whenever he needed to.

Interview #2
I interviewed a mom that lives on post and has one child. She stated that her family is not financially able to buy another vehicle which leaves her stranded at home when her spouse goes to work. She supports the idea of a bus system because it would allow her to take her child to the park when her spouse is at work.

Interview #3
I interviewed another mom who lives off post but works on post. She is a single mom and commutes every day to work with her car. She stated how she would not necessarily need buses on post but would think it would help a lot of people. She also stated how her child is really into cars and trucks and would find it fun to simply ride on a bus.

Interview #4
I interviewed a father of two children who has two children that are driving age. He is a soldier and they live on post. He stated that he would find a bus system helpful for his children as it would allow them to pick up a small job on post and be able to save up for a car. He stated how sometimes he isn't able to drive his children to their jobs due to him being at work and would find the bus system extremely helpful. He stated that he would personally not use it but his family would.

Interview #5
I interviewed my husband who is a soldier and he stated that he would support the idea of a bus system because he has multiple soldiers who do not have vehicles and he gives rides to. He would not personally use the bus system as we reside off post but it would be helpful because he would not have to worry about his soldiers being late to work.

5) After my interviews, I found that a vast majority of people supported the idea of a bus system. Many stated that they would use it or would know people that might use it. I think this is a great opportunity and if followed through would help a lot of people.

I also wanted to add a note because on my last post a lot of people stated they did not see there being enough customers for it to be successful. I just wanted to put in it into perspective how big a military installation is. On this post there are 5 elementary schools, a middle school, 5 neighborhoods and is home to more than 10,000 soldiers, this does not include their families or DOD civilians that could potentially use this bus system. Just thought I'd put that out there for people who are unfamiliar with military instatllations.

Thanks for reading!

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend #1 - Unemployment Rate

(a)Throughout the entire Coronavirus pandemic, unemployment has been a constant issue. It has been brought to peoples attention through multiple news broadcasts and social media.

(b) This information leads me to believe that an opportunity exists due to the large need of jobs throughout the nation. This will allow small businesses to start up and be able to provide these people with jobs while building their business.

(c) The prototypical customer would be someone who has been financially affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

(d) I believe this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit due to the high need for jobs for many people.

I saw this opportunity because people in my community are struggling with unemployment.

Economic Trend #2 - Baby Boomers Aren't Retiring

(a) I found this information from multiple news sites and from personal experience. My parents are Baby Boomers and neither of them are able to retire yet.

(b) Because baby boomers aren't retiring, there is an opportunity for investment companies to target these individuals to help them become more financially stable and able to retire.

(c) Baby Boomers.

(d) I believe this is a slightly difficult opportunity because people can simply choose to continue to work. You would have to convince people to invest their money.

I saw this opportunity because my parents are unable to retire.

Regulatory Trend #1 - Securities finance takes centre stage as SFTR and CSDR strike

(a) https://www.globalcustodian.com/2020-vision-regulatory-trends-define-new-year/

(b), In this article it states how industries need to be more open and adapt to change. These businesses need to become more secure and better efficient in how they help customers.

(c) Businesses that are not up to date and efficient in there sales would be the prototypical customer.

(d) I believe this issue is easy to exploit due to the need of it.

I saw this opportunity due to previous research on security breaches throughout businesses.

Regulatory Trend #2

(a) https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/regulatory/articles/insurance-regulatory-outlook.html

(b) This information states how insurance companies are failing to meet the needs of individuals by helping them cover legal issues and new laws put in place.

(c) The prototypical customer would be most of the US due to the need of insurance.

(d) I believe this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit due to the high demand for good and relaible insurance.

I saw this opportunity due to my personal experience finding good insurance and the lack of help with legal issues.

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

Article #1 - Come up with at home activities or online activities for children to do.

With many activities canceled or in limbo, what will Wichita’s kids do all summer?

https://www.kansas.com/article242915891.html

This article starts off by talking about the issue with summer camps and activities being closed due to the Coronavirus. It states how these previous popular summer camps are no longer open or are open to half capacity leaving many children stuck at home. It talks about what is and isn't open, what pools and parks are open and what other activities there are to do.

The issue presented in this story is the lack of activities and summer camps for children to do throughout summer.

Parents and children have this problem because children will not be able to do the same activities they used to do and parents will have to search for a variety of new activities that are open and can accommodate for their children.

Article #2 - Create a mobile or at-home job for people that are affected by the Coronavirus.

41 million have lost jobs since virus hit, but layoffs slow

https://www.kansas.com/latest-news/article243049101.html

This article discusses the rate of unemployment that increases by 2.1% last week due to the coronavirus. It talks about how there are still 21 million people unemployed throughout the United States. It shows how the rate of unemployment is decreasing but the rate of applications for unemployment is rapidly increasing.

The issue is the lack of employment due to the coronavirus.

People that are affected by the coronavirus are being affected by unemployment.

Article #3 - Come up with an easy and affordable measure for colleges to protect this information.

‘In the hands of cyber criminals’: Man sues WSU over hack of decades-old student data

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article242844331.html

Back in December, hackers accessed information from students from over a decade ago that contained names, addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers from WSU. The university failed to inform students of this break of security for 3 months.

The issue is the lack of security of this information.

The problem affects universities that have out of date security measures for this information.

Article #4 - Come up with a better drainage system or easy fix to this problem.

Flash flooding inundates Westport, traps drivers around the Kansas City area Thursday

https://www.kansascity.com/news/weather-news/article243066636.html

Last weekend, heavy rain causes roads in Kansas to be flooded. These flash floods destroyed roads, cars and buildings. Many roads had to be shut down and people had to drive around.

The issue is the poor drainage system.

The problem affects all drivers in this particular area.

Article #5 - Make affordable outdoor activities for people of all ages.

With summer programs limited, turn to the great outdoors

https://themercury.com/features/arts_and_leisure/with-summer-programs-limited-turn-to-the-great-outdoors/article_559c8ebb-a9a9-52c1-a105-5a2e469585d3.html

This article discusses the effects of the coronavirus and how businesses are still shut down. It goes into detail the different things you are still able to do during this summer.

The issue is a lack of activities offered to the community.

It affects everyone within that community.

4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

1) Your beginning point. 

There should be a bus system on military installations for soldiers, DOD civilians and families.

2) Describe your belief. 

The unmet need is a public transportation system for military personnel, DOD civilians and their families. This need is new as there used to be a bus system on posts but this does not exist anymore. To meet the transportation needs now, many people are catching rides with friends or walking to where they need to go. I am 100% sure that this opportunity exists because I hear about the issue daily being a DOD civilian and my husband being active duty.

3) Identify the prototypical customer. 

The prototypical customer are soldiers.

4) Iteration #1

The first prototypical customer I spoke to said they support the idea of this solution as it would help them get to work on time and to grocery stores and different appointments that are located around post. They experience this need very often as they do not have many friends who have cars or their friends aren't going to the same place as them. They first became aware of this need when they arrived on post and had to walk to the store. They are currently walking to their destinations.

Iteration #2

The second prototypical customer I spoke with has been at this installation for about a year now and has had this issue since they arrived. They currently ride their bike to work every day or catch rides from friends. They support the idea of a bus system as it would be quicker and more convenient. 

Iteration #3

The third prototypical customer I spoke with has been at this installation for about a 2 years. They do have a vehicle and currently use it to drive to all of their destinations. They support the idea of a bus system as it would be more convenient and cheaper. They experiences this issue when they arrived because they did not have a vehicle and had to buy one as soon as they could.

5) Reflect. 

This bus system would be very beneficial to many soldiers and to many DOD civilians and their families. One surprising thing I learned was that there are people who walk daily to work and to stores as these places can be miles from where they live. I think this bus system would be a good way for the base to support the military families on post and the civilians that support them.

7) Summarize.

There is still definitely a need for this bus system or some other form of public transportation as there are currently none in place and many people are in need of one. I believe that I have a lot of information about the issue and feel I would receive a lot of support about it. I believe that entrepreneurs should adapt based on customer needs in order to be successful because once needs are met, opportunities change.