The Twenty Percent

1. For this exercise, I chose to speak with AJ Latteri, chef and owner of The Loft 5 Catering and Event Planning on Anna Maria Island. I worked with her frequently throughout high school, and still do occasional events for her when I am available. As she is not in Gainesville and was unable to speak on the phone, I emailed her my questions for her to respond to:

• Who do you think your target customers are? Do you believe they are the 20% that makes up 80% of your revenue?

My target customer is young brides in their 20's and 30's. This is definitely the 20% of my business that generates most of my revenue in that it has a snowball effect as many of these brides have young friends also looking for caterers for their weddings

• Where do you find your customers and how do you reach them?

Referral is huge in this business as people want to hire someone that someone else has previously had a positive experience and successful experience with.  We have joined Thumbtack, Gigsalad, and Facebook to try to reach our targeted customers, as well as attending wedding shows and organizations.  We also have a very successful website that draws our clients.

• What are some issues/problems that your customers face? 

Most of our clients' issues are finding a caterer to fit their budget and still deliver the custom experience that they are desiring.

• How big, on a scale of 1-10, is this problem in your customers' lives? 

Many of our clients are dealing with planning a wedding. To those clients, the issue is a 9-10 on a 1-10 scale.  The wedding planning often consumes their lives. Other clients are planning parties and in those cases it may vary from a 5-10 depending on the type of event they are planning.

• What are customers currently doing to fix their problems? 

To fix this problem, we are finding that many of our clients are planning weddings earlier on so that they can have time to shop around and do the proper research to figure out how to meet their needs. Websites like Thumbtack and Gigsalad have become huge because of this.  Online searches are huge also as we have generated many clients from our website alone.

2.

3. I believe that AJ adequately understands her target audience and what they are looking for in a caterer. She mentioned that clients want the best deal for the best price, which my interviews verified. They also echoed her statement that people want a custom experience, which was very important to my interview #3. Also, all of the interviewees mentioned that they would do research to ensure that they had found the best person for the job, and AJ said that she has joined multiple social media sites and online search engines for this very reason. Overall, I think that this entrepreneur has a pretty solid grasp on who her 20% is and what she needs to do to reach them and cater to their needs.

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler

My Half-Way Reflection

Dear student from next semester's ENT3003 course,

Webster defines "tenacious" as "not easily stopped or pulled apart" or "very determined to do something." One of entrepreneurs' most important competencies are their tenaciousness. They persevere, despite all odds, despite waves of negative feedback, and despite failure and rejection. 

Tenaciousness is a skill. You will really find this out in the duration of this course. For me, I have had to be very self-disciplined in the assignments and ensuring that that they are completed not only on time but also to the best of my ability. It is true what Professor Chris says: you will get out of this course only as much as you put in. Some people may hear this and think, "Awesome, so that means I don't need to try very hard and I'll just slide by - I don't feel the need to get anything out of this course." This kind of mentality is such a mistake and ultimately only harms yourself, not only in this course but in life in general. I challenge you to really rise to the occasion and go above and beyond for the assignments - I promise you that you will feel so rewarded and bettered as a person in the end!

Tenaciousness is also about attitude. I will admit that sometimes I would see an assignment and think "This is stupid" or "Seriously, why is he having us do this, I don't see the benefit." A few of those times I succumbed to my poor attitude and didn't do the assignments, deciding I would rather do some extra credit assignments than this task. However, I can honestly say that looking back, I am kinda sad and disappointed in myself for not doing them. I see other people's blogs and their recounts of their experiences with those assignments and I really feel like I missed out. I know that sounds cheesy, its just a class, but I really mean it. It is my own feelings of failure that help encourage me to keep pressing on and doing my best moving forward. I know that I want to complete this course with a real sense of accomplishment, not simply that I "completed" it.

Three tips. Three tips that I can offer to you to have the best possible semester are these:

 1) Please do not make the mistake of thinking that this is a course you should put on the back burner of your studies - look ahead to upcoming assignments and stay up to date with course happenings. You don't want time-consuming assignments to creep up on you! 

 2) Really put forth your best effort in understanding not just the assignments but also the purpose behind them - Each and every task has a purpose behind it and you don't want to miss the true learning opportunity being given to you.

 3) Use this course as a way to really push yourself outside of your comfort zone - Go talk to people, seriously! You never know who you might meet that will become a great friend, a good job connection, or at the very least a funny story of your encounter! In general, I love talking to anyone and everyone and I truly believe that doing so makes me a happier person overall. I know so many different people in all different paths of life, many of whom I met right here at UF. If this is not something that you also already do, then really use this course as an opportunity to do so - You will be so proud of yourself and surprised at how open, kind, and receptive people truly are!

I hope you enjoy this course and have as rewarding an experience as I did!

Best of luck,

Marissa AKA student from last semester's ENT3003 course 

My Week 8 Reading Reflection

In Chapter 8, what most stood out to me was the emphasis on the fact that not only does a venture capitalist need to approve of its entrepreneur, but the entrepreneur must also make sure that the VC is the best fit for them too. A perfect real-life example of this is the TV show Shark Tank. Even if an entrepreneur has the exact same offer from several sharks, they still have a lot to think about because they must decide whose area of expertise will most benefit them and their business. Choosing the right VC is a very important decision for a company, as if they choose wisely it can be so much more for them than simply a check.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was all the myths about venture capitalists. I was surprised to read that people really think that they would only need a basic summary of information or that they don't consider management an important factor in their decision making. I would not think either of these things to be true, as obviously the VC will need in-depth details of the company they are considering and management is important because it is who they will be dealing with and who will be using their money.

If I could ask the author two questions, I would ask, "Have you ever sought out a venture capitalist?". I would also ask, "What do you consider to be the most important quality an entrepreneur should look for in a potential VC?". I would be very interested in hearing his responses to both of these questions.

I did not think that the author was wrong about anything that I read.

My Week 7 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 for me in this reading was the statistic that in 2004, while 59% of the 200 senior executives surveyed performed a major segmentation exercise within the last two years, only 14% of them claimed to have derived any real value from the exercise. This indicated the lack of success in market segmentation as an effective tool for developing ad campaigns and targeting a company's key audience.

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

I was initially confused by the example given about Miller Lite. I did not understand why the "mud-wrestling" campaign had not increased their sales. However, when I read about their other advertisement that actually gave information about the product and its lower carbs in comparison to other beers, I understood the difference between an effective ad that actually increases sales versus one that simply is interesting.

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

I would first ask the author "What have your personal experiences been with marketing segmentation?" I would also ask "Do you feel that there is an element of psychographics that is not currently being addressed/studied that should be?" I would like to hear the responses to both of these questions, as it feel it would be very interesting and helpful.

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 read anything in particular that I felt was incorrect or should have been presented differently.

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler

Free Money $$$

My strategy for this exercise:

• Where will you go? I chose to go to the UF campus.

• What kind of people will you approach? I will approach students that were walking through campus.
  

• What will you say to get the conversation started? I will simply approach people and begin talking with them. On campus, this is not too uncommon of an occurrence.

• What is your plan for the conversation? I decided to tell people that today is "National Make Someone Smile Day" and so I would like to give them $1 to make them smile.

• Out of five attempts, how many dollar bills do you think you will be able to give away. I think that while it is free money, some people may be skeptical of my true intentions and decline.

My interactions giving away money:

My results:

• What are your reflections on this exercise? I found this exercise interesting. While I understand the concept and what it is supposed to achieve, I'm not sure how indicative it truly was of trying to give someone a sales pitch. Someone is much more willing to pause for a moment to RECEIVE a free dollar than they are to sit for 5 minutes and listen to a sales pitch in which they are expected to SPEND their own money.

• Was giving away a dollar easier or harder than you imagined? Ultimately the exercise was actually simpler/easier than I had thought it would be.

• Were your predictions correct or incorrect? If they were incorrect, why? My predictions were half correct, half incorrect. I initially anticipated that some people may be a bit skeptical and decline my offer. However, while people did look skeptical, they accepted the dollar anyways. 

• What assumptions did you make about the people you planned to talk to, which were wrong? I assumed that people may ask me questions and want to know more about what I was doing and why. However, I was never asked any questions, people just gave me an odd look and took my dollar.

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler

Elevator Pitch No. 2: 2 BUS-y 4 U

For my second pitch, I made some minor adjustments to my original pitch as from the comments, I realized that I had not been clear on whether or not this would be a free app. This seemed to be the only real concern regarding my idea other than just a general possibility of existing competition, which makes sense and I know could be a potential issue if I were to go forward with this app. I greatly appreciated the feedback and did not feel like anyone "missed the mark" in their analysis!

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler

My Week 6 Reading Reflection

One of the things that stood out most to me in the reading was the statement, "Entrepreneurs blend imaginative and creative thinking with a systematic, logical process ability. This combination is a key to successful innovation." (page 155). I really liked this concept and completely agree that to have successful innovation, there must not only be a creative idea but also the organizational skills to back it up and ensure that the idea is executed in a smart and efficient manner.

I was initially confused by the four steps of the creative process. I had not heard this breakdown of the creative process before, but it makes sense and is a logical way to think about an ability that could be thought of as a more abstract concept.

If I could ask the author two questions, I would first ask him, "What do you feel have been your main sources of innovative ideas in your life?" I would like to know which of these sources seems to occur the most in real life. I would also ask him, "How do you best eliminate your 'muddling mind-sets'?" I would like to hear his advice on how to handle this creative thinking impediment.



I mildly disagreed with the author when he stated that everyone is creative. While I think that everyone has their own ways of thinking and their own ideas, not everyone is necessarily creative.

Idea Napkin No. 1: 2 BUS-y 4 U

1) You.  
My name is Marissa Mosher and I am a junior at the University of Florida, majoring in General Business with a Specialization in Travel and Tourism Management. I have worked in the hospitality industry for the majority of my life, and from this experience I have learned how to be personable, relate to others well, and patient with many different types of people. I aspire to work in the hotel industry and travel often. In regards to my business concept, I could certainly see this working well in my life. While it is not directly related to hotels, proper public transportation is an important and essential segment in the tourism industry.

2) What are you offering to customers?
With 2 BUS-y 4 U, through this app people will be able to see not only WHEN the next bus is arriving but also if it is already FULL. This is essential to time management and ensuring that one arrives on time to their destination. Even beyond helping a student see if a bus is full as he is on his way to class, it could help a tourist see whether or not they are able to take the next bus to the airport or if they need to arrange for an alternative plan.

3) Who are you offering it to? 
This app would be beneficial to any and all people who use a public bus system to get around. While I was inspired by my fellow students, as well as my own experiences, this app is not only helpful to students. It would greatly aid tourists, anyone without a car, those too young or old to drive, etc. No matter who you are, you want to know how and WHEN you will be getting somewhere. If you believed that you would be able to take a bus in 5 minutes but it arrived full and you had to wait another 30 minutes for the next one, that can be problematic.



4) Why do they care? / 5) What are your core competencies?
Customers will pay for this app because time and time again, it has been proven that people are willing to pay a bit extra for added convenience and accessibility. While there are already some bus apps on the market for free, people will be willing to pay for 2 BUS-y 4 U for the information of knowing which buses are full and the added ease of better planning out their departure/arrival time.

I believe that I have a fairly strong concept that will fill a need in the market, and this was reinforced by my customer interviews. Students agreed that they have run into the problem of a full bus in the past, and have had to since adjust their schedules to allot for additional time in case they miss the bus. This app would eliminate the need for that extra time allotment and provide users with a more accurate way to plan and coordinate their schedule without any unwanted surprises.

My Week 5 Reading Reflection

Upon reading Chapter 4, there was no one thing that stood out to me as surprising, but rather I was intrigued by the idea of a social entrepreneur as a whole. I had never really thought about entrepreneurs as belonging to one of two distinct groups, either socially or economically motivated, although I realize that there can be a mix of motivations as well.

I was confused by the fact that global entrepreneurs are a relatively new group, as it had previously been thought to be too difficult to work internationally. It is interesting to see how accessibility and ease of communication has greatly increased in the world in just a short amount of time.

If I could ask the author two questions, I would first ask, "What is your opinion on joint ventures? Do you feel that the pros typically outweigh the cons?" I would also ask, "Do you consider yourself to be more of a social or for-profit entrepreneur?"I would enjoy hearing his response on both of these topics.

In this particular chapter, I did not find anything I strongly disagreed with or felt was misinformation.

Elevator Pitch No. 1: 2 BUS-y 4 U

For my elevator pitch, I chose to address the issue of the public bus system used on college campuses. As a student, I often find that I check my app, see a bus is coming to my apartment, but when I get down to the bus stop, the bus is already full and there is no room left for me.

This is frustrating as I already struggle to manage my time so that I can fit everything into my day, so this is a big waste of time when I now have to wait at the stop for 20 minutes for the next bus. I thought, how much easier would it be if there was an app that I could check and not only see when the next bus is coming, but also whether or not it had any space left? This is why I came up with the newest app, 2 BUS-y 4 U, which will allow users to do just that.

Check out my elevator pitch to see why this app is the answer that all students have been looking for!

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler