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.