Final Reflection

I think the most formative experience was being introduced to a new entrepreneurial mindset, something that I did not possess before starting this class. Yes, I had done entrepreneurial things, but I don't feel that I really looked at them from entrepreneurial point of view. Now that I've seen things from this new perspective, I think that I'll carry this with me for the rest of my career and it will affect the way I view business ideas and concepts in the future. In being honest, I don't think I had any moments in this class that could be considered "joyous," but in terms of accomplishments I'm proud of, I'm proud of the fact that I didn't give up or let my laziness prevent me from being successful in this class (for the most part).

Now that I've reached the end of the class, I honestly do believe that I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset. As I mentioned earlier, I also feel that developing this new entrepreneurial mindset is the greatest takeaway that I can think of from this class. I felt challenged by the assignments to think differently and to approach them in a way that I had never done before, and I think that it was a real learning experience.

For students taking this class in the future, I recommend coming in with a open mindset. I think that this type of mindset is the best to have when completing the assignments, especially because there will be times where students struggle to see the "point" of an assignment, and may end up not completing it as a result. I think that the open mindset will allow students to complete more assignments and to think more about the "grand scheme of things," and how the assignment may be contributing to a larger piece of the proverbial puzzle.

Reading Reflection No. 3

For this assignment, I read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.

1. What surprised me most about this book about the Wright Brothers was the level of detail that went into detailing their personal lives and who Wilbur and Orville Wright were as people, and not just as inventors. To be honest, I knew virtually nothing about who Wilbur and Orville Wright were as people, and simply knew them as "the men who invented modern flight." The thing that I admired most about the Wright Brothers was that they, when all others doubted them, persevered and successfully became the first men to fly, a feat no one at the time thought was possible. I can't really think of any things that I'd say that I didn't admire about the Wright Brothers, primarily because they had few personal flaws that were mentioned in the book and there was nothing that stuck out to me as "bad." Considering the fact that no man had ever flown before the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, I think it's safe to say that they overcame adversity and did it in a big way because of the gravity of their accomplishments.

2. I noticed that the Wright Brothers were who they were as people because of their attitudes, work ethic, and the way they worked together as brothers to invent new things and accomplish their goals. I don't have a brother, so I don't know what it's like to have the same relationship as the what the Wright Brothers had, but I do know that they cared for each other deeply and each played to the other's personal strengths and weaknesses. Their relationship allowed them to work together to discover manned flight and become the iconic people we remember them as today.

3. The part I found to be the most confusing in the book was when the Wright Brothers, for a time, decided to not be on the planes they invented at the same time. I think that it may have been because of fear of crashing and becoming seriously injured or worse, but I think that it's hard to believe that they never flew together, even though it was *their* invention and should have been able to share in their accomplishment.

4. “What do you think air travel is like in the year 2016?”

I would ask this because I'm curious to see what the Wright Brothers would think about have far airplanes have come technology-wise in the last century. I would also ask this because I think regardless of what their answer may be, the reality in 2016 would blow them away, and it would be all thanks to them.

and

"Do you think that you would've still invented the airplane if you had gone to school for a higher education?

I would ask this because when I found out that the Wright Brothers both decided against going to college for different reasons, but were originally close to going, I wondered if they would've still tried to pursue inventing the airplane. In all likelihood, they probably would not have invented the airplane if they went their separate ways and pursued a college degree.

5. I think that the Wright Brothers greatly valued the concept of hard work, mainly because to invent the airplane, the Wright Brothers needed to work hard to invent a concept and working design of something that, at the time, was thought by the public to be impossible.

Venture Concept No. 2

1.

Opportunity 

For my venture concept, a social media consulting platform for B2B purposes, the entity that has the need (opportunity) in this instance are the businesses that currently feel that their social media status is not where they want it to be, and do not have the resources and/or experience to address said concerns internally. The nature of the need is essentially that these businesses desire to have a greater social media presence, and most likely feel that a strong social media presence results in stronger sales for their product line and/or services. The forces that currently drive the need for my venture concept are the ever-increasing presence of various social media platforms in our daily lives. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, etc. are constant reminders of just how connected our world truly is, and many companies realize this. Developing a strong social media presence is an effective, and sometimes necessary, aspect in successfully running a business today. This market cannot be defined demographically or geographically, as it is a need businesses around the world could potentially have, ranging from a small startup to a multinational corporation. Businesses are currently meeting this need if they are attempting to run a successful social media platform on their own accord, whether or not it is actually successful. I firmly believe that there is huge opportunity for my concept to succeed, as social media and an online presence will only become more important for businesses in the coming years. The "window of opportunity" closes when other companies specializing in social media consultation and services begin to saturate the market with their own products and services. As to when that may actually happen, no one can say for sure, including me. This is primarily because of the current state of our technology and the rapid advancement of the internet and social media. In the last decade alone, MySpace, a social media platform the dominated the world is 2006, has become a thing of of obscurity while Facebook, which at the time was not that popular, has become the largest social media platform in the world.

Innovation

In terms of innovation, my venture concept is incrementally innovative. My concept's services include direct consultation and solutions for businesses who desire to strengthen their social media presence, which in turn results in a stronger brand and stronger performance. Although many social media platforms exist, my concept will work with all of them, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, etc. to improve whatever it is that the company desires to improve on any or all of these platforms. Whether it be reshaping their brand image and style, or increasing the number of followers and "likes" on their posts, my concept will address these concerns. My concept operates on the revenue generated from consultation sessions and developed strategies which are then implemented and adjusted accordingly to be tailored to the specific needs of the clientele my concept works with. To elaborate on revenue, my concept makes money from charging either by the session (whether it be hour, day, or week) or a negotiated price up-front (similar to other consultation services). For example, if a business sought advice on how to increase their followers on Instagram, and what kind of posts garnered more "likes," a day's worth of consultation would cost 400 USD, or a week's worth priced at 1500 USD. Obviously, these prices would be subject to change and could vary greatly, considering the amount of possible services my concept has the potential to deliver to clients.

Venture Concept

My innovation will solve and/or address the opportunity I discussed earlier by providing a service to businesses which strengthens their social media presence on various platforms, allowing them to build their brand and generate more revenue for their respective goods and services. Businesses will purchase my concept's services when they fail to meet their own expectations or needs on their own (in terms of social media), and realize that they do not have the resources or the expertise required to achieve their desired results. These would be the main reasons businesses would purchase the service, and since they realize the need on their own, there will be little difficulty in convincing them to switch. Since our services deliver an intangible product, there would be little to no need for packaging or distribution, and location would not be a major factor. I think that my concept would first take the form of a startup, with a several key employees that previously worked in consultation and similar roles before joining the company. I think the business would be fairly straightforward until it grows into a larger company, and would not have designated roles until that time.

The three minor elements

I think the "unfair advantage" that my concept will have comes from the expertise and knowledge of the employees working for the company, sharing one vision and common attitudes and goals for the direction and purpose of the company. Honestly, the entire success of the company and concept rides on the notion and belief that my concept would actually have these people at its disposal, and would not be able to exist and thrive without them. But since this is for a class assignment, I have decided that it's not a concern since it's a hypothetical scenario. I think the thing that will make it hard to copy my company's success is its rapid development in getting to the market before anyone else and gaining a strong foothold on the clientele base. I think the next opportunity that my company would tackle is the B2A sector, where individual customers who desire social media consultation could work with our company's existing products and services to meet their individual needs. In five years, assuming this company launches, I want to be in a position where the company is successful, growing, netting a healthy profit, and expanding into new areas. I, personally, desire to be in a position where I am actively involved in other companies, along with this one, and continuing to innovate and come up with new ideas that will help improve businesses and the lives of the everyday consumer.

2.

The feedback students gave on Venture Concept No. 1 was nearly all-positive, and the commenters unanimously agreed that I had a good concept and that I had developed good ideas for the direction and purpose of the company. I received only a minor piece of constructive feedback, which stated that I should be careful when working with social media because it is a very powerful tool and changes faster than almost any other medium of communication in the world today.

3.

Based off of the feedback given, I made no changes to my original venture concept because based off of the feedback, nothing needed to be changed or altered. The only real thing that I could change based off of what others told me is possibly the mindset and the attitude with how I treat new developments to social media and the repercussions that may come with it. Other than that, I don't really feel the need to change anything from the first iteration of the concept because I think it's pretty solid as it stands.

Making it Real

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzxFo9YaovTqQ0ZGNWgwQW5PS00/view?usp=sharing

My Exit Strategy

In terms of exit strategy for my venture concept, I think it all really depends on how well the company actually performs. If the company becomes wildly successful and expands into new markets and opportunities, I would be very open to staying with the company in order to help it grow and become even larger than it already would be. However,  I would seriously consider selling the company and/or leaving in order to pursue other ventures if the company didn't perform as well as I expected it to. Additionally, if I didn't like the direction that the company was headed in, I would probably leave to take advantage of other opportunities.

Since I haven't exactly picked one particular exit strategy, I'll elaborate more on my rationale for the potential strategies that I provided above. I think that when I'm able to work in the same mindset and have the same goals as the company I work for, I'm more successful because I actually want to make a difference in the workplace. However, if my heart and/or mind isn't in line with the ideals and objectives of the company, I think that my work is negatively affected, and hinders my performance. For these reasons, I can't say for sure whether I'd stay with my company or sell it in 5 years. What I can say with near-certainty is that I don't plan on the company becoming a "family business," but depending on how the company would actually play out, it's always a possibility.

I truly feel that my exit strategy didn't affect the development of my business concept in any major way. Before this assignment, I hadn't thought about what I would actually want to do with the company in the future. That may be bad planning/foresight on my part, but it's the truth and I'm not going to deny it. Looking back, I may have influenced the development of the concept unknowingly with thoughts about the future, but I don't think that the exit strategy played a major role.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity 

For my venture concept, a social media consulting platform for B2B purposes, the entity that has the need (opportunity) in this instance are the businesses that currently feel that their social media status is not where they want it to be, and do not have the resources and/or experience to address said concerns internally. The nature of the need is essentially that these businesses desire to have a greater social media presence, and most likely feel that a strong social media presence results in stronger sales for their product line and/or services. The forces that currently drive the need for my venture concept are the ever-increasing presence of various social media platforms in our daily lives. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, etc. are constant reminders of just how connected our world truly is, and many companies realize this. Developing a strong social media presence is an effective, and sometimes necessary, aspect in successfully running a business today. This market cannot be defined demographically or geographically, as it is a need businesses around the world could potentially have, ranging from a small startup to a multinational corporation. Businesses are currently meeting this need if they are attempting to run a successful social media platform on their own accord, whether or not it is actually successful. I firmly believe that there is huge opportunity for my concept to succeed, as social media and an online presence will only become more important for businesses in the coming years. The "window of opportunity" closes when other companies specializing in social media consultation and services begin to saturate the market with their own products and services. As to when that may actually happen, no one can say for sure, including me. This is primarily because of the current state of our technology and the rapid advancement of the internet and social media. In the last decade alone, MySpace, a social media platform the dominated the world is 2006, has become a thing of of obscurity while Facebook, which at the time was not that popular, has become the largest social media platform in the world.

Innovation

In terms of innovation, my venture concept is incrementally innovative. My concept's services include direct consultation and solutions for businesses who desire to strengthen their social media presence, which in turn results in a stronger brand and stronger performance. Although many social media platforms exist, my concept will work with all of them, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, etc. to improve whatever it is that the company desires to improve on any or all of these platforms. Whether it be reshaping their brand image and style, or increasing the number of followers and "likes" on their posts, my concept will address these concerns. My concept operates on the revenue generated from consultation sessions and developed strategies which are then implemented and adjusted accordingly to be tailored to the specific needs of the clientele my concept works with. To elaborate on revenue, my concept makes money from charging either by the session (whether it be hour, day, or week) or a negotiated price up-front (similar to other consultation services). For example, if a business sought advice on how to increase their followers on Instagram, and what kind of posts garnered more "likes," a day's worth of consultation would cost 400 USD, or a week's worth priced at 1500 USD. Obviously, these prices would be subject to change and could vary greatly, considering the amount of possible services my concept has the potential to deliver to clients.

Venture Concept

My innovation will solve and/or address the opportunity I discussed earlier by providing a service to businesses which strengthens their social media presence on various platforms, allowing them to build their brand and generate more revenue for their respective goods and services. Businesses will purchase my concept's services when they fail to meet their own expectations or needs on their own (in terms of social media), and realize that they do not have the resources or the expertise required to achieve their desired results. These would be the main reasons businesses would purchase the service, and since they realize the need on their own, there will be little difficulty in convincing them to switch. Since our services deliver an intangible product, there would be little to no need for packaging or distribution, and location would not be a major factor. I think that my concept would first take the form of a startup, with a several key employees that previously worked in consultation and similar roles before joining the company. I think the business would be fairly straightforward until it grows into a larger company, and would not have designated roles until that time.

The three minor elements

I think the "unfair advantage" that my concept will have comes from the expertise and knowledge of the employees working for the company, sharing one vision and common attitudes and goals for the direction and purpose of the company. Honestly, the entire success of the company and concept rides on the notion and belief that my concept would actually have these people at its disposal, and would not be able to exist and thrive without them. But since this is for a class assignment, I have decided that it's not a concern since it's a hypothetical scenario. I think the thing that will make it hard to copy my company's success is its rapid development in getting to the market before anyone else and gaining a strong foothold on the clientele base. I think the next opportunity that my company would tackle is the B2A sector, where individual customers who desire social media consultation could work with our company's existing products and services to meet their individual needs. In five years, assuming this company launches, I want to be in a position where the company is successful, growing, netting a healthy profit, and expanding into new areas. I, personally, desire to be in a position where I am actively involved in other companies, along with this one, and continuing to innovate and come up with new ideas that will help improve businesses and the lives of the everyday consumer.

Celebrating Failure

I failed a few times this past semester, in regard to this class specifically. Several of the assignments regarding interviews ended up not being completed, or not being completed to the fullest extent. I think the reason that I failed when attempting to complete these assignments ultimately boils down to the fact that I was very busy this summer, and I often did not take the time to plan to conduct interviews with random strangers on the street so that I could actually complete the assignment. I also think that the current area that I've been in for this summer, London, is not the location most conducive to conducting interviews with strangers for extended amounts of time. British people are often described as standoffish, and are not as readily willing to talk with a stranger, especially an American one. This combination of factors is what I believe led me to fail when attempting to complete these types of assignments.

Although I failed to complete several of the interview-based assignments, I still completed a couple of them and I learned a lot from the ones I actually did. Now that I have the opportunity to reflect on my failures, I learned that in the big picture for this class, missing a few assignments here and there aren't that big of a deal, especially when extra credit is factored in. However, I also know now that it is important to utilize time management skills when I'm assigned a lot of work in one week, and that completing them effectively and efficiently is a major key to success in this class.

I think that failure is a necessary and important part of learning and growing as a person. I used to think that failure was just a negative side-effect of improperly doing something, whether it be studying for a test, writing an essay, or losing a pickup game of soccer or football with friends. Now that I'm older, I view failure in a more positive light. Yes, I will admit that when I fail, I get disappointed and sometimes upset. However, I know that failure is learning what not to do in a situation, and it helps to make me smarter in my everyday life and the things that I do. I treat failure with respect and I know it's an important part of learning, but I still try to fail sparingly, as too much failure is a bad thing.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

I received good feedback on my last pitch, and I tried to implement it as best as I could in the third iteration. Most people said my second pitch was an improvement on the first, but that it included a lot of filler words that made it sound less concise and efficient than it could've been. Based off of that feedback, I tried to tailor my third pitch to incorporate these changes (less filler and more concise).

https://youtu.be/v9p1RcNbDv8

My Unfair Advantage

Here's a list of resources that my company already possesses (hypothetically):

1. A good understanding of the industry
V: Almost necessary for my type of business, and allows for greater chance of success
R: Not exactly the rarest advantage
I: Relatively easy to copy
N: I don't think that there's anything that could replace this advantage exactly

2. Organization and dedication to succeed
V: It's something that definitely helps in other areas of my life, so it will probably help here too
R: Not a very rare trait to possess
I: Not easy to copy, comes more from within
N: Another advantage which can't really be replaced

3. Extensive market
V: Can't be understated. Required for the company to succeed
R: Average, as there are many companies with poor markets to work with and others which have very lucrative ones
I: Can't be duplicated or copied
N: The market can't be replaced unless we're talking about another area of the market itself

4. Connections
V: Helps with establishing the company and conducting business, especially in the beginning
R: Not rare
I: Can be somewhat replaced through other mediums, but not as effectively
N: Can be substituted and is not necessary for success, although it helps greatly

5. Part of the generation that grew up with social media
V: Important for understanding the industry and the passion behind it
R: Not very rare, as there are many people my age
I: Knowledge isn't easily replaced by people from earlier generations
N:Not required but helps with success

6. People skills
V: Important for conducting almost any business
R: Not rare, but also not universal
I: Can't be replaced or copied
N: Can be substituted, especially if business occurs online, but it's still important to have

7. I understand the importance of the idea
V: Assures that I can express my ideas correctly and effectively
R: Somewhat rare as there aren't many with similar business ventures
I: Somewhat easy to copy, but not automatic
N: Not required, and can be learned

8. Knowledge of specific social media sites
V: Required for the business
R: Not rare
I: Easy to copy, but not easy to maximize benefits and usage
N: Can be substituted by other knowledge or very little knowledge

9. Access to financial resources
V: Essential for starting the company and making the right decisions
R: Not rare
I: Easy to copy, many investors looking to put money into startups
N: Not substitutable unless another source of income is made

10. Access to potential employees who know social media and marketing
V: Necessary to successfully work with clients and come up with new ways to improve and innovate
R: Not rare, but relatively difficult to find if not looking in the right place
I: Somewhat easy to copy
N: Substitutable and not necessary to start up the company

I would say that my most important advantage is how extensive the market is. The field for my concept will only grow in the coming months and years, and more and more companies will require an online presence in which they effectively communicate their product/service and their ideas with their target audiences.

Amazon Whisperer

Since my business concept primarily deals with services, this post will be a little bit trickier to explain but I'll try my best.

My business concept's primary revenue drivers are the services it would perform for various clients' social media presence, improving upon things such as number of followers, likes, page views, and market awareness. Clients pay for the services performed, and my concept makes money as a result. Other than that, there aren't really any other revenue drivers I can think of.

I think the next product that my customers want would be a service where they can manage all of their different social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) in one place, easily and effectively.

The next product/service enhances my existing concept because it allows my concept to go one step further, in that the company can interact and work with clients after the initial social media consultation is performed. It also fosters an environment for customer loyalty, as well as improving client perception of our company.

Since I can't really search for a similar service on Amazon, I'll discuss a hypothetical option for this exercise. My option is a product where one sees all of their current social media accounts on one page, complete with statistics and user information. Customers like this product because the product gives them the ability to manage all of their accounts from one central location, making things much easier. To improve the design/usability features of the product, I would include new features which increase user satisfaction and interaction, while minimizing and/or eliminating any features that interfere with these criteria. This product is a good addition to my concept's product line because it increases the amount of interaction between the company and potential clients, and creates an additional source of revenue.

Growing Your Social Capital

1. Stacy, Domain Expert

Stacy is the co-founder of a small company I've been interning with this summer, and she has several years experience in the field of social media and consulting for different businesses, including large banks such as Barclays. Stacy fills the domain expert slot because she currently owns a company dealing with social media and she used to work as a consultant for several other businesses in other areas of the business world. I found Stacy after I began my internship with her company, and I work with her very often so I was able to learn more about who she was and what she's done. There's no expectation, other than that I do my assigned tasks properly and on-time. Including Stacy in my network will allow me to meet more people in that area of the industry and potentially help me find employment in the future.

2. Delphine, Market Expert

Delphine also works for the small company I'm interning with this summer, and she has several years of experience working on social media aspects of various companies since graduating from university over a decade ago. Now she specializes in targeting companies in the industry that require her company's services the most. Delphine also works for the company I'm interning with, so I was able to talk to her about this assignment in-person after learning more about her. Since I am her co-worker, there was no expectation set for getting something in return. Delphine is very good at her job, and she will be very helpful in giving me advice about future endeavors when I leave the company at the end of the summer.

3. David, Supplier

David, too, works for the company I'm interning with this summer, and he specializes in contacting other companies to sell my company's services on a B2B level. David is a similar age to me, but from a completely different background and has much more technical experience than I do, at least as of right now. Since David works for the same company, like the others, no expectation was set, except for getting him a cup of coffee next time we're in the office. Having David in my network will be very helpful because he's gone through many of the same things that I have, and more, and I hope to learn a lot from him.

I think this experience will make my goals at future networking events become a little bit more clear and defined, versus just talking to as many people as I can, for no particular reason. I think that may be the main difference from events in the past, in that I simply didn't have well-defined goals previously.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. This question is kind of hard to answer, but I'll try my best. I am going to be a fourth-year student studying Information Systems at the University of Florida. My talents include my perception, my ability to work with technology, my interpersonal skills, and that I'm a generalist. I have previous experience working in two part-time jobs in which I worked as part of a team to complete tasks and assignments. I have also worked in an internship in the technology industry in which I honed my skills in multimedia, app development, and data analysis. My aspirations include completing my Master's degree in ISOM and getting a job in the industry that I both enjoy and feel that I'm making an impact on those around me. Since my business concept deals with consulting too, I think that it would become my primary occupation and would be what I focus most on.

2. My business concept is essentially the same as it was last time I did the Idea Napkin assignment, although I have made some slight changes .My product/service is a social media consultation company, in which I will approach businesses who desire to have a social media presence in order to cater and market directly to their potential customers, but are unsure as to how exactly they would do that. I would meet these businesses' unmet need of wanting to better market their own product or services to consumers through data analysis and comprehension, an extension of experience I have obtained from my internship and my skills that I have developed as an ISOM major.

3.  I don't think that my customer base and target groups have changed much, either, primarily because I think I identified them correctly in the first place. I feel that my customers (in this case businesses) are those that are not large enough to have an internal marketing and data analysis department in which that can perform the tasks of my business idea in-house. I think that larger companies will already have these needs met because they will have the budget to afford hiring an internal team of strategists and analysts who can perform the same tasks my business can. I think that another similarity that my customers have is a strong desire to tailor their marketing strategies and market outreach to customers that will actually be receptive to their efforts, versus simply throwing things at the figurative wall and seeing what sticks. I hope that my business will be able to meet these unmet needs and lead to customers who are both happy and satisfied with my product/service, and have it lead to expansion and increased business with other similar companies.

4. This answer is also essentially unchanged from last time, because I feel that it still accurately reflects my thoughts. I think that customers (businesses) will actually care about my product/service because I offer something that they want and need, and they cannot do it themselves, or they're attempting to and failing to get the results that they desire. I think that by my business idea offering a must-have marketing and strategy consultation service for social media usage, I will create something that small and medium-sized business owners must have.

5. What sets my business idea from everyone else is that there is virtually no competition in my business' field yet, and I have a unique perspective on how social media works from my experience in the ISOM and technology fields, instead of just from a marketing perspective. I can take and use the numbers from data analysis to understand what truly caters and appeals to potential customers and what it takes to get said customers to pay attention to my clientele, which in this case are businesses.

I still feel that this accurately reflects how I feel about the question as to whether or not they fit together. I believe that the elements of my post actually fit together quite well. I think that I might have a weak area in that my product/service may not necessarily be the only one of its kind, and that I might have to figure out a stronger way to distinguish myself from other competitors. I feel that this concept goes together nicely with my experience and skills, and I think that it's a service that's only going to grow larger and larger as time goes on. The presence of social media in our lives as consumers grows everyday, and more and more companies are realizing this every day. With my idea, I hope to capitalize on said growth.

Feedback Memo: Since I didn't really get a lot of feedback on my first post, there was really much to add to what I had already written for the first post. Going back and re-reading much of what I said before, I still feel the same way about many of the questions that are being asked now, which also happened to be similar questions from beforehand. I made some minor changes, but for the most part I answered things similarly to the first post.

Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I decided to read for the second assignment was "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big" by Scott Adams.

1. The general idea/theme of the book was that it was a compilation of life tips and pragmatic lessons learned by the author, Scott Adams, throughout his career.

2. The book actually related to the class in a lot of ways, but mainly because being a successful entrepreneur in today's world requires many different abilities and skills that not everyone would think of, especially at first. The tips and lessons within the book address of lot of the necessary elements of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and I found them especially helpful since I'm in this class.

3. Write down the top 5 things that you think matter most in becoming successful, and why. Next, list the top 5 biggest things you think matter most in hindering success, and why. I think this exercise will help students learn more about what it takes to actually be a successful entrepreneur, and correct any misconceptions they may have.

4. The biggest thing that surprised me was that the book suggested that it was more beneficial to society when one is selfish, versus being "stupid" or "a burden." While I understand the point the book is making, I didn't realize that there may actually be some truth to that notion and that one may have a bigger positive impact on society when being selfish rather than overly generous.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

I didn't really get a lot of feedback on my previous pitch, seeing as I only got one comment on it. The only criticism was that it was hard to hear me speak, so I tried to talk louder for this pitch. I also discussed my business concept in greater detail this time.

https://youtu.be/4br6-3YYlB4

My Secret Sauce

1.

I think I have several different qualities that make me unique, but it's kind of difficult to think of just what exactly those may be, but I'll do my best to list them.

I feel that the first thing that makes me different is my perception. I think that I am very perceptive of my environment and my surroundings, and I'm always paying attention to details and the little things to a greater degree than most others do.

The second is that I'm personable, and I truly make an effort to get to know the people around me and learn more about them, because I find that I become happier and more productive in my everyday life when I can actually hold conversations with the people I know, whether it be at work, at home, or at school.

The third would be my desire to learn more about the world around me. I am constantly seeking out new experiences and information to learn about the world I live in, ranging from learning more about history and art, to trying new foods and traveling the world.

The fourth would be my ability to reason, respect, and empathize with others. I think that this is a trait that many people could work on, and I make a conscious effort every day to treat others the way I want to be treated. Sometimes I slip up, but this is something that I truly care about applying in my every day life.

The fifth that I'd like to talk about is my ability to learn from my mistakes and my desire for self-improvement. I make mistakes, and I make them often, but I'm always trying to improve myself by learning from them and applying these lessons in future situations.

2.

The first person I interviewed was my best friend, Hunter. He stated that the things that make me different are that he considers me a smart guy with a really wide-range of interests. He highlighted that I'm interested in many of the same things as him, and that we were good friends because of it.

The second was my mother. Her response was that I have a unique sense of humor, and that I'm always doing my best to better myself every day, and that I constantly do my best to be a good person.

The third was my father. He told me that I've always had a desire to learn more about the world, and that I'm a good problem-solver, especially when it comes to conflicts between people.

The fourth was my sister. My sister told me that what makes me different is that my interests and tastes in things such as music and pop culture are very different from what people might expect.

The final person was another one of my friends, Corey. He said that what makes me different is my attitude, and that I'm always the one to lighten the mood when we hang out, and that I'm a good listener when he has a problem that he wants to talk about with me.

3.

I think that the differences between what people said about me and what I thought of myself, at least in terms of strengths or what makes me different, were relatively similar. Although I talked more about my interests in Part 1, many of those I talked to discussed how I impact those around me. I think that the only thing I would change from the first part would be to add a section about how others perceived my impact on them personally, and summarize that into a cohesive statement that I could add to the list.

My Customer's Avatar

I think that my typical customer would fall in the 25-40 age range. They would probably be interested in technology, business, current events, and social media. Since they are most likely small-business owners, I think that they are probably pretty thrifty when it comes to spending money, and probably do not have live the most exorbitant lifestyles. I also feel that they are family-oriented, and have a strong desire to make an impact in their desired field because they want to promote their brand image even more than their current resources allow them to.

Some things that I find in common with my customer's avatar are that I, too, am very interested in technology, business, current events, and social media. I don't really fall into the age range category and I don't have a family of my own, so I'm different in that regard. However, I also would like to make an impact on the world in my future career and I hope that I will be able to successfully do this someday.

I do have some things in common with my customer's avatar. I don't think it's a coincidence because I feel that the idea I have proposed for a business has, at least in some respects, been a reflection and representative of what I'm interested in and would like to see improve in today's business world. I think that it's important to work with a concept one can stand behind in order to drive work ethic and promote success in the workplace. Because of this, I'm glad to share some similarities with my customer's avatar.