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.