Assignment 30A

Assignment 30A- Final Reflection 

1) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I think that my most formative experience is having to interview so many people during the semester. I think it really helped my communication skills and helped me realize how easy it is to just talk to someone that you don't know that well. I think this will definitely help me when I join the workforce after I graduate. The experience that I will remember years later would be to fill an elevator pitch. This really took me out of my comfort zone and it taught me how to be able to entice someone into hearing what you have to say about a product that you are passionate about or just in general something that you really enjoy. I'm really proud of myself for being able to turn in the 3 elevator pitches because I was very uncomfortable with having to film myself. 

2) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I think that I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset. This class has helped me set goals for myself and being able to accomplish them is great. I also think that creating an idea from scratch was very hard and coming up with something that people would find helpful was very challenging. I think that was what helped me the most to develop that mindset of being able to potentially start a company in the future.  

3) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

One recommendation I have for students in the future is to make sure that they stay on top of the assignments that are due in the class. I think each assignment helps you develop a lot of necessary skills that will help you in the future.  I would recommend just making a draft during the week and finishing the idea up later, that way the can work on the assignments throughout the week. To foster the mindset I would just say to make sure that you are putting a lot of thought into each assignment and treating it as if it were a real company. 

Assignment 29A

Assignment 29A- Venture Concept No. 2 

Opportunity. 
 I believe that there is an opportunity to find lost children and other people that you go with to the park. Even if people aren't necessarily lost, it would be easy to keep track of people in your group. The potential customers for this product would be children starting from ages 7 and adults of all ages. The forces or changes creating this opportunity is mainly children who get very easily distracted and don't follow their parent's orders when they are at a young age. The market for this product is mainly for Magic Kingdom since this is their more popular park. However, this need also applies to any other amusement park. Customers are satisfying the need right now by just using their phones and making their children memorize their parent's phone numbers. I've seen that groups of people also assign a certain spot of the park as their meet up spot. There is also a solution that is provided to meet this need in the park. Disney has a place in the front of the park designated for children who get lost to go there. I think that this opportunity is very big because it would be beneficial to a lot of people. I think the window of opportunity is pretty big because this need isn't something that will go away.

Innovation. 
To solve this unmet need, I would use several items that Disney already sells and provides. The first item that I would use would be the magic band. This band can be bought at any of the parks as well as online. This band can be linked to the tickets and all of the information you need if you are staying at any of the hotels in the park. In addition to all of the information that it provides you with if you stay at one of their hotels, you would get one for free. To solve this unmet need I would create a GPS device that would have to be installed into each magic band. With this magic band, you would be able to scan them in a machine. The machines that Disney already provide as their fast pass system would be changed into a map of the park and it would be able to show you your current location and also the location of the people that you came with to the park. In other words, I would be selling the new magic bands with the tracker in them. I would be making money by selling the magic bands at a slightly higher price than they were before. The price of the magic bands depends on the design that's on them, so the price would increase slightly accordingly to what their price is.

Venture Concept. 
My product would solve the unmet need of lost children and just wanting to know the location of your friends and family in a park. It is a very simple solution to a problem that many parents may encounter while going to the park. Even though technology is very prevalent in today's society, phones can run out of battery. The magic band would never run out of battery and it is a quick way to access the location. With Disney's extensive resources the device can be as accurate as possible with no glitches. Customers would switch to this product instead of resorting to their phones because it is something that they have very easy access to. With this device, they don't have to worry about losing their tickets. All the information that they would need during their stay at the park is accessible through their wristband. I don't think it would be hard to switch to this alternative because so many people have the magic bands already or want to purchase them. As of right now, there are no competitors to this product. Some weaknesses or vulnerabilities that the product might have would be the accuracy of the locations. I think that design, price as well as customer experience play an important part in my business model. Since the magic band is a kind of accessory I think the design is something that people are bound to care about. Price is a given since magic bands are not something that is absolutely necessary it is important to keep the price attainable for customers.  I also think that customer experience is important because they must be able to use the product successfully for it to continue to sell. Customers must see this product as something helpful to them or else they won't purchase it.

The three minor elements 
I think that my most important resource is that this product is very accessible. For a product to succeed, customers must be able to buy the product anywhere they would like. It is easy for them to purchase it while they are at the park. It is also sold online and they ship internationally so this makes it easy access for everyone.

The next step for this venture would be to expand to the different parks that Disney has. If it becomes a success at magic kingdom and if the product is developed well and it works then that would most likely be the next step. 

In 5 years if this venture were able to launch successfully I would like to keep working for Disney. I really like their company and I think that since I was part of something that launched at their parks I would want to continue to work for them developing new concepts and ideas.

2) All of my feedback on the venture concept was positive. No one said anything that was negative about it and they all said they liked my idea. I then went to look at my what's next feedback and a lot of people were intrigued by what my new market was. They said that it would be interesting to have some kind of GPS system for emergencies. I really didn't know what to do next because I didn't receive any kind of constructive criticism on my assignment.

3) Overall, since I didn't receive any negative feedback on my venture concept I really didn't change it. I do believe that maybe one of the negative things about this product is still the accuracy of the location and the price point that Disney may put on this band. 

Assignment 28A

Assignment 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?

Considering my business is attached to an already established business like Disney, I think I would probably just sell the rights to them so that they can continue to implement it. If the business takes off, there is really no reason for me to continue to be involved because they really would be the ones that are providing the technology. However, I would love to continue to stay involved with a company like Disney and continue developing ideas for them.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
I selected this strategy because I think that once the product is developed and in stores, there is really no need for me to continue to be involved. They were the ones that created the magic bands, and my idea would just enhance their already established product. 

 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 don't think my exit strategy influenced how I came up with the opportunity. I think it influenced what I would do after I had created the product and what would happen after the product was being sold in the market. It also influenced how I would acquire the resources because I would have to partner with Disney and since I want to keep working with them after the product is sold I have to build a good relationship with them.

Assignment 27A

Assignment 27A- Reading No. 3

Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky

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

The general argument that the book presents is to explain how people have been able to make better use of their time due to the advances in technology. He explains that people have been finding more valuable ways of using their time to be more creative and to add something meaningful to society. With more ways of using the internet to their advantage, people can come up with different solutions to the different problems that one can encounter during their lifetime. It also argues that because of how easily accessible the internet is now it provides varying opinions and different forms of expression.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
I think that the book connects with what we are learning in the class because everything is basically technology based. We have to rely on the technology that we are given to put our ideas out there and show the rest of the class how valuable the may be. I think that it also relates because we had to come up with an idea for a company that we might be interested in pursuing. A lot of the companies that people have created may be able to be developed and could continue to add value to society.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
An exercise that I would design would be to maybe do some surveys with a group of people, and have them tell you how valuable your business would be. Show them your blog posts and have them rate from 1-5 how much value do they think your company would add to society. 

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?
I don't think anything really differed from my expectations of the book. I think what he said aligned with my thoughts which is that nowadays there are a lot of ideas constantly flowing through social media and the internet in general. Some of the ideas presented can change someone's life or help them with different things that they may encounter. 

Assignment 26A

Assignment 26A- Celebrating Failure 

1) I failed at being able to get into UF the first time I applied. I applied to all of the Florida schools, but the one that I was most excited about was UF. I started getting all of the decisions from the other schools but nothing had come in for UF. I applied with a good amount of extra-curricular activities, my GPA was good and my SAT scores were also good. Even though I knew it might be a long shot to get in, it still was very upsetting to get the rejection letter from them. I remember my family telling me that it was going to be ok since I still had options to chose from. But in my mind, I had failed to get into the school that I really wanted to go to. My boyfriend got in a year later than me, and it was really hard to know that we would be doing long distance for a while. 

2) I learned that no matter how hard it was for me to accept the fact that I would not be entering UF as a freshman, I still had other options to chose from. I learned that I could still try again, apply as a Junior and I would still be able to graduate from this school. I also learned that while things do not always go as planned, you can still learn from the experience that the other choices that are available to you. Even though I wasn't able to go to this school for my freshman and sophomore year, I was able to experience my first two years of college with my best friend because she was going to the same school as I was. 

3) I was very upset when I found out that I hadn't gotten into this school the first time I applied. It felt like I had failed, all those times I had worked really hard during high school to not be able to get into my first choice. I think I have changed how I view failure now since not everything is always going to go the way you want it to. I don't really enjoy taking risks that much but I think that this class has opened up more possibilities for that because of all the assignments where we had to interview people. 

Assignment 25A

Assignment 25A- What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1: After the initial launch of this product into the Magic Kingdom park, the next move for my venture would be to expand the product into the three other parks that Disney has. 

Step 2: When I told the three people I interviewed my business idea they said that they really liked it. They told me that by neglecting the other parks I could've potentially been losing out on a lot of business. They also said that they thought testing it out first in just one park , and then expanding to the rest of the parks was a good idea. They said that by expanding business into the other parks they distribution of the magic bands would be easier since the producer would only have to make one magic band from now on with the GPS included. 

Step 3: After the interviews I made I think that just keeping my magic band product localized for a while is a good idea. I think that once people learn that it is easy to use and it is not a hassle to find the machines people will love it. I also think that it will be easy to market this product especially to parents. 

While conducting the interviews I also realized that my next step would keep making sense. Neglecting the three other parks that Disney has to offer makes no sense because you can also buy magic bands in those parks. I think that customers would appreciate being able to use the magic bands that they had originally purchased with the GPS and being able to use them everywhere in the Disney parks. 

New Market 

Step 1: This product might be able to apply to a completely different cause. Instead of using it for lost children in parks, this product might be useful in school settings. As unfortunate as it is right now a lot of school shootings are happening, and this product might help localize the children in these situations as fast and effectively as possible. 

Step 2: I think that this product would be able to create value because the safety of everyone that is in this situation is very important. It would help the rescue of these children in a hopefully more effective manner. 

Step 3: I interviewed two people that were victims of a school shooting in Parkland. I described my product concept to them and told them what it was originally made for. They told me that they thought that it was a great idea. They weren't sure how it would work in a school setting though and the thought that might concept might be better applied as it was originally intended for. 

Step 4: Coming up with a new target market for my product was very hard. This product was intended just for amusement parks and nothing else. I learned from my new market that my product is just very specified to the target customer that I had thought of originally. My assumptions were correct because I didn't think that people would necessarily liked to be tracked while they are in school. However, I think that my existing market was very happy with the product and with the possible expansion of the product to other parks. I don't find the new market as attractive as my original market because like I said, my product is more intended for amusement parks. 

Assignment 24A

Assignment 24A- Venture Concept No.1 

Opportunity. 
When I was little I went to Magic Kingdom with my family. We were in a large group and we went during one of the peak seasons for the park: December. During the night parade we lost my brother and my dad. My mom tried calling his cellphone multiple times and he wasn't answering. Everyone in the group started panicking thinking that my brother could've gotten lost without my dad. Thankfully at the end of the night when everyone was leaving the park we were able to spot them and find them again. I believe that there is an opportunity to find lost children and other people that you go with to the park. Even if people aren't necessarily lost, it would be easy to keep track of people in your group. The potential customers for this product would be children starting from ages 7 and adults of all ages. The forces or changes creating this opportunity is mainly children who get very easily distracted and don't follow their parents orders when they are at a young age. The market for this product is mainly for Magic Kingdom since this is their more popular park. However, this need also applies to any other amusement park. Customers are satisfying the need right now by just using their phones and making their children memorize their parents phone numbers. I've seen that groups of people also assign a certain spot of the park as their meet up spot. There is also a solution that is provided to meet this need in the park. Disney has a place in the front of the park designated for children who get lost to go there. I think that this opportunity is very big because it would be beneficial to a lot of people. I think the window of opportunity is pretty big because this need isn't something that will go away. 

Innovation. 
To solve this unmet need, I would use several items that Disney already sells and provides. The first item that I would use would be the magic band. This band can be bought at any of the parks as well as online. This band can be linked to the tickets and all of the information you need if you are staying at any of the hotels in the park. In addition to all of the information that it provides you with, if you stay at one of their hotels you would get one for free. To solve this unmet need I would create a GPS device that would have to be installed into each magic band. With this magic band you would be able to scan them in a machine. The machines that Disney already provide as their fast pass system would be changed into a map of the park and it would be able to show you your current location and also the location of the people that you came with to the park. In other words, I would be selling the new magic bands with the tracker in them. I would be making money through selling the magic bands at a slight higher price than they were before. The price of the magic bands depend on the design that's on them, so price would increase slightly accordingly to what their price is.
Venture Concept. 
My product would solve the unmet need of lost children and just wanting to know the location of your friends and family in a park. It is a very simple solution to a problem that many parents may encounter while going to the park. Even though technology is very prevalent in today's society, phones can run out of battery. The magic band would never run out of battery and it is a quick way to access the location. With Disney's extensive resources the device can be as accurate as possible with no glitches. Customers would switch to this product instead of resorting to their phones because it is something that they have very easy access to. With this device they don't have to worry about losing their tickets. All the information that they would need during their stay at the park is accessible through their wristband. I don't think it would be hard to switch to this alternative because so many people have the magic bands already or want to purchase them. As of right now there are no competitors to this product. Some weaknesses or vulnerabilities that the product might have would be the accuracy of the locations. I think that design, price as well as customer experience play an important part in my business model. Since the magic band is a kind of accessory I think design is something that people are bound to care about. Price is a given, since magic bands are not something that is absolutely necessary it is important to keep the price attainable for customers.  I also think that customer experience is important because they must be able to use the product successfully for it to continue to sell. Customers must see this product as something helpful to them or else they won't purchase it. 

The three minor elements 
I think that my most important resource is that this product is very accessible. For a product to succeed, customers must be able to buy the product anywhere they would like. It is easy for them to purchase it while they are at the park. It is also sold online and they ship internationally so this makes it easy access for everyone.

The next step for this venture would be to expand to the different parks that Disney has. If it becomes a success at magic kingdom and if the product is developed well and it works then that would most likely be the next step. 

In 5 years if this venture were able to launch successfully I would like to keep working for Disney. I really like their company and I think that since I was part of something that launched at their parks I would want to continue to work for them developing new concepts and ideas. 

Assignment 23A

Assignment 23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage 

1. Connections with people that work with Disney

V: It is important to have connections with the people that you are designing your product for 

R: Not everyone has the opportunity to have connections with people inside the business 

I: It is imitable but it would take time to be able to build the connections and use them 

N: There is no substitute for connections that have been made already 

2. Very accessible product

V: The product already exists, it is very easy for the customer to attain the product

R: The product is only available at Disney Parks and its retailers

I: It has the potential to be imitated by Universal Studios or other amusement parks

N: There is no substitute for this item at any of the parks 

3. Education: Business Admin major with a minor in Entrepreneurship 

V: Being able to apply the knowledge that I have into selling the product 

R: It's not rare, but in some cases, people are not able to get a higher level of education

I: It is imitable, people are able to attend college and pick my major

N: People don't necessarily have to go to college to learn the ins and outs of a business 

4. The product is user-friendly

V: People already purchase magic bands and they don't have to do anything to it

R: I haven't seen a product that offers a GPS system in any amusement park

I: Once the product came out, other parks might be able to imitate it 

N: There would be no other product that offers the GPS in the park 

5. Financial Capital from a company as big as Disney
V: To be able to create the GPS device and install it into the magic band it requires a good financial standing to back it up
R: To have good financial backing from a company this big would be rare
I: Only someone with big financial assets would be able to imitate the product
N: The financial support from Disney would be non substitutable

6. Marketing/Advertisements
V: Magic bands are a product that people already want to buy and Disney's marketing techniques are very well made
R: Its not rare to have a good marketing team but its a big company so they can do things quicker
I: Not imitable because no one else has this product to market
N: No other company would be able to do what Disney does since its their product

7. Technology
V: This product is based on creating a GPS so a good tech team is required
R: Its not rare to find someone that is experienced and would be able to create the system
I: Imitable because already a lot of GPS systems exist
N: This would be no substitutable because the GPS needs to work and needs to be accurate

8. Lack of competition
V: I haven't seen anything like this product yet, hopefully would attract more people to it
R: Its rare because a lot of companies start by imitating or producing a product that's similar to someone else's
I: If the product does well it would most likely be copied
N: As of now there is nothing that would be able to substitute the product

9. Motivation
V: This is valuable because in order to get my product out there I need to stay motivated no matter how many times it gets rejected or the product doesn't work out
R: Motivation isn't rare
I: A lot of people are motivated so its imitable
N: This quality may be interchangeable with others but I think its more important

10. Team Player
V: This quality is valuable because I would not be able to get the product out there by myself
R: There are some people that are not able to work well in a team setting
I: This is imitable
N: I don't think there is a substitute for this quality

I think that my most important resource is that this product is very accessible. For a product to succeed, customers must be able to buy the product anywhere they would like. It is easy for them to purchase it while they are at the park. It is also sold online and they ship internationally so this makes it easy access for everyone.

Assignment 22A

Assignment 22A- Elevator Pitch No. 3 

The feedback I received from my last elevator pitch was very positive. I only received one piece of constructing criticism. I found myself in the last video as the person mentioned, shifting my weight a lot because I was nervous to film again. With this pitch, I found myself being a little less nervous but I still don't feel comfortable enough to film more than what was asked. I tried to not move too much in this pitch to indicate that I felt more comfortable with filming. 

Assignment 21A

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No. 2

Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More

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

The general theme of this book was to showcase how technological advances have changed how the market works. It showed that products that are smaller can now boost their sales by exposing themselves to selling them online. It also talked about how the diversification of products has been changed because of how many online retailers can offer a lot of different products in the same category. It compared sales in the old days to now, saying that even though there are a lot of products in the market today nothing sells in the way that it did before. Now things are more spread out equally between all of the different products because of all of the options offered. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
This book connected with what we are learning in this class because it showed how as entrepreneurs we have to keep track of what is going on in the market of our specified service or product. Since a lot of people have much more options now, entrepreneurs need to find a way to market the product in such a way that it is preferred above others. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?  
Based on this book I would design an exercise that would focus more on the market aspect of things. I would maybe try to find a product that is similar to mine and track how well they are doing in the market. From there, try to make my product more appealing and do a market performance test to see how well it would do against the main competitor. 

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?
I don't think that this book differed much from my expectations because now that we have more technological advances, people are always going to find a lot of products that are in the same category. Before, you only really had the option of buying a few select items because things weren't as readily available as they are now. 

Assignment 20A

Assignment 20A- Growing Your Social Capital 

1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry.

Andres Aleman has a start-up business called shake and share media. He works with photo booths and is constantly finding new innovative ways of appealing his product to the customer. He would be filling my domain expert position because he is constantly finding different ways to use the technology that he is given. He had to differentiate his product from all of the different photo booths that are in the market right now. He has had to prove to different companies that his product is different from others. He has worked with a lot of different major companies ranging from Google to Colgate. I found this person because he is my uncle and it was very easy to reach him. He told me that he liked my idea and that the thinks he would be able to help me show Disney that there is value in this product. He has worked with a lot of different companies so he knows how to navigate reaching and talking to higher-ups in companies. There were no favors exchanged for reaching out to him and he would help make this product come to fruition. 

2) One person must be an expert on your market.

Paola Guevara currently works for Disney World. She has been working for the company for a while now and is currently a manager of one of the hotels at Disney. Paola would be filling the market expert position, she would be filling it because she has been working for the company for a long time. She had to work hard for her current position, starting as working as a character for the park. She had to interact with people from the park and also had to work with people that were higher up in the company. Since she works as a hotel manager now she knows what people enjoy and what makes them tick. I found this person through one of my friends that goes to ucf, she was her sorority sister. I spoke to her about my idea of implementing the GPS tracker into the magic band and she said it would be a great idea. Since she works at the hotel she told me that they give out magic bands to the guests. This would help my product be spread around quicker since a lot of people stay on property when going to the parks. There were no favors exchanged with this idea and her help would be to promote the product to customers. 

3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry. 

The third person that I talked to, Stephanie was a current animator for Disney. She designs a lot of the products that Disney sells in stores. She would be filling my supplier position because she currently works for Disney in the design aspect of it. She has had to communicate with a lot of people in the product development area because she designs some of their products. This would be helpful when it comes to the distribution of the magic bands because she would be able to come in contact with the people who make the product. I found her through my aunt who is friends with her. I spoke to her about implementing the GPS into the magic bands and she thought it would be a great idea. She said that she would be able to put me in contact with people who would like to listen to the idea of this product. There were no favors exchanged but she said she would be able to help me come in contact with people who would probably want a favor in exchange. 

Reflect. 

This experience was out of my comfort zone because it pushed me to communicate with people that I had never talked to before on the phone and ask them for a favor. I am somewhat of an introverted person and I am very shy when it comes to meeting and talking to new people. This networking experience was different for me because I almost never have had to contact someone on a one on one basis. 

Assignment 19A

Assignment 19A- Idea Napkin #2

You: I am currently majoring in Business Management as well as minoring in Event Management. My skills include being able to communicate and work well with others, as well as time management and organizational skills. I've had a lot of volunteering positions where I have had to delegate tasks to people and make sure they are getting their work done. I try to be as organized as I can and make sure that everything gets done in time. I had the opportunity to work at several events where I had to work with a team and complete the tasks at hand. My aspirations if this business idea would ever take off would be to work for Disney. This would play a major role in my life because I would be able to achieve one of my goals by working for that company.

What are you offering customers?: What I'm offering customers is a chance to find their friends and family in an easy way. It provides an alternative to having to depend on your phone while you are at the park. It would cause no inconvenience because the product would already be in the magic band, which is what you would use to get into the park. It would be a product that you could use every single time you went to the park and you wouldn't have to purchase a new one every time. It is also convenient since Disney already has an app and on top of that has machines around the park where you can scan your magic band.  

Who are you offering it to?: I am offering this product to children starting from 6 years old to older ages. My target audience would be families and big groups of people, especially people who have multiple children in their party. 

Why do they care?: Customers using this product would care because they would want to know where their friends and family are in the park. If the can't locate them through calling them, they have an option readily available for them. The longer they stay at the parks, the higher the chances are that the battery on their phone dies. It is very easy to lose a small child at this park when they become distracted and parents would most definitely care to find where their child is. 

What are your core competencies?: What sets me apart from everyone else is that there is no set system in place to find people at Disney. The only "competitor" I would have would be the cellphones that people carry with them. However, not everyone has a cell phone especially tourists that are just coming to visit. 

I think all of these elements fit together because they all complement each other. The people that I would be offering this product to cares about the well being of others. They would want to find their family members and they would want to know they are safe. The demographic for this product complements this as well because it applies to all ages. There are also weaknesses with this such as the product itself and how well it would work in the parks. Price would also be a concern because Disney may raise the prices to apply the GPS to the magic bands. 

Two main points I took away from the feedback was my target audience and the price of the device. I need to make the product available for people at a price that they are willing to spend for the band. I also had to change my target demographic because it was too broad. 

Assignment 18A

                                         Assignment 18A- Create a Customer Avatar 

My customer avatar is not just one person, its multiple people that range from ages 6-18+. Ideally, my avatars are families or groups of friends. Families and friends all have the typical hobbies: from watching movies to attending soccer games or just a simple activity of going to dinner together. They all like going out during the weekends and planning different activities during the day. My avatars love to collect magic bands and taking a road trip to Disney World to go to their favorite park, Magic Kingdom. Families, of course, drive the typical Honda minivan and play music that ranges from old 90s music to current pop charts. Friends drive all different types of cars but my avatars like to drive the Volkswagen Jetta. They all like to listen to old songs from their childhood as well as music from their favorite artists. Families, as well as friends, love watching Netflix shows and talk about their favorite characters. The show that the family likes to watch the most is the Ellen show and the friends love to watch gossip girl or vampire diaries.  

I have more in common with my customer avatar that are friends. They enjoy taking road trips as well as watching shows on Netflix and listening to the current pop charts. I don't collect magic bands but I do like to buy them. I don't think its a coincidence that I have things in common with my avatars because I also enjoy going to Disney and doing all the things listed above. 

Assignment 17A

Assignment 17A- Elevator Pitch No.2

The feedback I received from my last elevator pitch was very helpful. One of the comments I received was that my lighting was very dark as well as I kept looking down on my computer. I also received a comment saying that they would like to include an example of how the product might help the customer. It didn't surprise me to get this feedback because I agree that my lighting was not the best. I also agree that maybe by making the pitch more relatable to the costumer they will grasp the product more. 

What I changed from my last pitch was mainly my lighting and location situation. I think its clearer to see me now. I also made an effort to memorize my pitch, that way I didn't have to look down on my computer. 

Assignment 16A

Assignment 16A- What's Your Secret Sauce? 

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. Hard worker: I believe I'm a hard working person. I try to put in as much effort as I can into everything that I do. 

2. Passionate: Whatever I try to invest my time into I make sure its something that I'm passionate about. That way I'm always motivated to complete the project or assignment that is given to me. 

3. Caring: I make sure everyone around me is happy and content. I try to put in as much time as I can into building relationships with people around me. 

4. Independent: My independence has helped me become a better problem solver. Knowing that sometimes you can't rely on people is important. 

5. Time management: I try to organize my time as best as I can. I keep an agenda to keep me organized and help my time to be divided as efficiently as possible. 

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

Interview #1
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Chase%202.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The first person that I talked to was my fiancee Chase. In the audio file he talks about how he's known me for 5 years. He talks about how dedicated I am, how I care about others and how I'm able to maintain a healthy balance between personal and work life.

Interview #2
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Nathan.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The second person I talked to was one of my best friends Nathan. He emphasized how caring I am and how I'm always there for people. He also talked about how I'm not really that outgoing and like to keep to myself more, referencing my independence.

Interview #3
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Juli.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The third person I talked to was my aunt Diana. She spoke about how dedicated I am and how I'm always there for others. She also spoke about my dedication and how I can be a team player when people need me.

Interview #4
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Juli-2.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The fourth person I talked to was my cousin Valentina. She said that I am a dedicated and hardworking person. She also said how I'm always there for others and that I am a very empathic person. She also spoke about my motivation and how when I'm passionate about something I will always get it done.

Interview #5
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/juliana%20thing%202.0.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The fifth person I talked to was my best friend Virginia. She mainly spoke about how caring I am and how I always try to be there for people.

3) Reflect on the differences.
I think that reflecting back on all of the people that I talked to, they see me as I see myself. They all spoke about how caring I am and how motivated I am. They also spoke about my hard working characteristics which is something that I also listed. The only thing that no one really talked about was my time management. Even though I see myself as someone that can organize their time adequately maybe other people might not see it this way. Overall I think that they all had the same opinions that I have about myself. 

Assignment 15A

Assignment 15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2 

Interview #1: To be able to place the gps tracker into the magic bands, customers must purchase the magic band first. The first person that I interviewed told me that she had purchased several different magic bands. She told me that her first purchase was based solely on price so she bought the most basic magic band which costs less. As she went into different Disney stores she realized that there were different styles but they became more pricier depending on the style. Price as well as style played an important factor as to which one she wanted to buy. She said that she likes to purchase the bands at the actual Disney stores so that she doesn't have to pay for shipping. She says she just pays with cash or debit card, no need to finance this purchase. They don't really think about the purchase because she says that its a very convenient one instead of having to carry the a ticket. 

Interview #2: The second person I interviewed said that they cared more about the style than the price. They like looking for once that have the characters that they like and they don't really care for price that much. The quality of the bands are all the same so she said that she only picked based on style. She also said that she enjoys online shopping more than going into the stores and looking at all the options. She buys the band a few weeks before her trips to Disney and she enjoys getting the package in the mail knowing she will go on the trip soon. She said that she doesn't mind spending money on them because they will last forever, its not a reoccurring purchase. 

Interview #3: The third person I interviewed cared more about price than anything else. He says he didn't really care for the designs that they had to offer and he just went for the most basic one. He doesn't feel the need to spend more money on an object because of the design changes. He said he bought the item at the store because its a very quick purchase. He was glad he made the purchase because he said he tended to lose the card that is given to him as the ticket. He doesn't see himself buying another one because this one will last him forever. 

Conclusion: The segment that I chose (teenagers) all cared about different things. The two girls I interviewed seemed to care more about style than anything else. They guy that I interviewed care more about price than style. Even though price was also a factor, all three of them were willing to buy magic bands. I think that they are willing to buy this product because its more convenient that carrying a card around that you can easily lose. 

Assignment 14A

Assignment 14A- Halfway Reflection 

1. Tenaciousness is a competency. During the course of this class I have learned to apply my organizational and time management skills more efficiently. I make sure I read the assignments earlier during the week. I also try to write a couple of ideas during the week and then put them all together at the end so that I don't have to rush and do the whole assignment on Friday. I have other classes that I have to focus on during the week so I make sure I make time to complete the assignments as well as watch the lectures.

2. Tenaciousness is about attitude. At the beginning of this course I felt like it was going to be a lot of work and I would have to set a lot of time aside for the assignments. Coming up with an idea for each assignment was difficult, especially having to interview different people for the assignments. What pulled me through was thinking that I couldn't falter with any assignments so I started making a mini schedule of when to complete each one. For the interviews I was able to find people through my friends so that has made it easier. In my opinion, I had already had a tenacious attitude when I came into this class. Several moments of my life have contributed to this but one of the was when I moved from my country to USA. I moved during high school and I knew no one so I had to learn to adapt quickly and I realized that I had to do it myself if I wanted to be successful.

3. Three tips: Always set aside time for the assignments, don't leave them for last minute especially the ones that have interviews in them. Do the extra credit when available, it will help you recuperate any points that you missed during the first assignments. Always double check to see if you submitted the assignment and the correct link.

Assignment 13A

Assignment 13A- Reading Reflection No.1 

I read Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc and I enjoyed the book and admired what he was able to do to get McDonald's to be a successful company. What surprised me the most about this book was his ability to do a sales pitch to anyone and get them as engaged as they all were. He was able to sell anything that he put his mind to and did not shy away from voicing his opinion. He told the customer exactly what they would be getting and he cared about optimizing their profits while also being able to sell his products. I admired his hard work and determination, no matter what hardships came his way he was always able to face them head on. He always worked for everything that he had and nothing was given to him. Everything that he put his mind to he was able to achieve and no one could stop him. What I least admired about Ray Kroc was that although he was opportunistic he was always very overly confident. He was never able to take no as an answer and he almost always let his ego get in the way of things he did. Ray Kroc encountered a lot of hardships while he was starting out with McDonald's. The McDonald brothers were writing out contracts for him that had a lot of "wrinkles" in them. They didn' state officially that he would be able to open up all the stores that he was opening and he thought at any moment they could've been taken away. However, he continued working hard and opening the stores and kept giving the brothers that they had agreed upon for the franchise. I noticed that he was very opportunistic and a hard worker. He never  took no as an answer, and he always seemed to hire the right people. He had a knack of hiring the right people to do the job and he always made sure his team was very complete and had a different skills that he himself might've not had. One part of the book that was confused on was the deal that the brothers had with Ray. I was confused because Ray seemed to have offered them a good thing and the brothers should've written a contract stating everything. It seemed like the contract was confusing in many ways and it would've been better for the business deal if they had had clear boundaries. If I were to ask my entrepreneur any question it would be why he placed his job above his family. It seemed like he wanted to put no effort into keeping his marriage with Ethel and I would like to know why. I would also want to ask him what exactly he saw in the McDonald's restaurant, why did he know that it would be such a successful franchise. I think that my entrepreneurs idea of hard work is being opportunistic. He always saw a business opportunity in anything that he put his mind into. I share that opinion but not as much as he does. He is was willing to do anything it took to get the business going and I'm not sure I would be able to have that mentality. 

Assignment 12A

Assignment 12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 

Segment: People that attend Magic Kingdom 2-3 times a year

Interview #1:

The first person I interviewed felt like she encountered the problem as soon as she walks into the park. She has two small children and she is constantly worried that they are going to get lost in the park. Her children currently don't own cellphones so she has to be hyperaware of where her children are at all times. One of her children suffers from ADHD and he has been known to roam around without paying attention to his surroundings. Her current solution is to tell her children where to meet in case they get separated, as well as write her phone number in a piece of paper and place it in her children's pocket. She did not use any source of information to find her current solution. 

Interview #2: 

The second person I interviewed said that they encountered the problem when her friends want to go their separate ways in the park. She says that she usually goes in a large group of friends with her sorority sisters and they usually split up into several different groups. She says that it becomes hard to try and communicate between all of them. Her current solution to the problem is to try and set up a time when they can all meet. They make a plan and meet at a specific place and they give a time as well. Sometimes, however, some of her sisters are late because they lose track of time or they are in line to go on a ride. 

Interview #3: 

The third person I interviewed said that they encounter the problem when their phone runs out of battery. This person said that their family isn't too fond of riding the rides so they let her go by herself and she had to depend on her phone to be able to communicate with them after. She has had the issue before were her phone runs out of battery because of the long waiting lines and her using the phone while waiting. She realizes that her family becomes bored and they want to ride something else while they wait for her. Her current solution is to either have her family wait for her or if she gets out and they're not there they tell each other which ride they are going to next and they meet there. 

Conclusion: After I interviewed all three people I realized that they faced different kinds of problems when going to the park. Dealing with children is obviously more different than when you are going with your friends. They all become aware of the problem at different times when attending the park. All of their solutions included making some kind of plan in case anything goes wrong during the day. I think the segment that I chose was good because they are people that get to experience the park more and can encounter more problems when going.  

Assignment 11A

Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin #1

You: I am currently majoring in Business Management as well as minoring in Event Management. My skills include being able to communicate and work well with others, as well as time management and organizational skills. I've had a lot of volunteering positions where I have had to delegate tasks to people and make sure they are getting their work done. I try to be as organized as I can and make sure that everything gets done in time. I had the opportunity to work at several events where I had to work with a team and complete the tasks at hand. My aspirations if this business idea would ever take off would be to work for Disney. This would play a major role in my life because I would be able to achieve one of my goals by working for that company.

What are you offering customers?: What I'm offering customers is a chance to find their friends and family in an easy way. It provides an alternative to having to depend on your phone while you are at the park. It would cause no inconvenience because the product would already be in the magic band, which is what you would use to get into the park. It would be a product that you could use every single time you went to the park and you wouldn't have to purchase a new one every time. It is also convenient since Disney already has an app and on top of that has machines around the park where you can scan your magic band.  

Who are you offering it to?: I am offering this product to everyone that attends Disney's Magic Kingdom. No matter the age, whether they are a child or an adult this product is very easy to use and is accessible to everyone. Tourists would be of course the main demographic for this product since they most likely have no access to phones and they usually come to the parks in big groups. They would benefit the most from this product if they want to go around the park in different groups. However, this product is for the usage of everyone that attends the park. 

Why do they care?: Customers using this product would care because they would want to know where their friends and family are in the park. If the can't locate them through calling them, they have an option readily available for them. The longer they stay at the parks, the higher the chances are that the battery on their phone dies. It is very easy to lose a small child at this park when they become distracted and parents would most definitely care to find where their child is. 

What are your core competencies?: What sets me apart from everyone else is that there is no set system in place to find people at Disney. The only "competitor" I would have would be the cellphones that people carry with them. However, not everyone has a cell phone especially tourists that are just coming to visit. 

I think all of these elements fit together because they all complement each other. The people that I would be offering this product to cares about the well being of others. They would want to find their family members and they would want to know they are safe. The demographic for this product complements this as well because it applies to all ages. There are also weaknesses with this such as the product itself and how well it would work in the parks. Price would also be a concern because Disney may raise the prices to apply the GPS to the magic bands. 

Assignment 10A

Assignment 9A

Assignment 9A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: The opportunity I had presented of being able to locate your friends and family in Magic Kingdom would ideally apply to everyone who attends the park. However, it certainly would apply more to people who go to the park very often or who have annual passes. In comparison to the other interviews I had conducted, the people I interviewed this time live in Orlando near Disney or have an annual passes. Three out of the five people I interviewed thought that the product would be a good idea since they would like to know where the people that they came with are in the park. The other two people that I interviewed had a few concerns. One being that the location wouldn't be as accurate or that by the time that they got to their friends they would've moved to another place. They also found that because Disney would have to implement this device into the magic bands, there would be a slight raise in the prices of the tickets. Another concern that they had was how the tracking device turn off as the left the parks. They also believe that because they go very often or most of them had annual passes they didn't find the need for this device as they change parks during the day and most times don't even stay for the entire day.

What: This need applies for a lot of people that go in large groups to the park and also parents who have small children. Some of the people that I interviewed seemed to go in large groups only sometimes because they had access to the park more frequently. They seemed to only go with 1 or 2 other people because not everyone in their friend group had annual passes.  

Why: Some of the people I interviewed seem to like the idea but found that there could be a lot of issues with the product. They felt like it would be unnecessary to have this product because they had other ways of communicating. 

Inside the boundary                                                              Outside the boundary 

Who is in: -Large groups of friend                   Who is not: - People who attend park with 1-2 others         Families with small children                     

Need: Easier to locate people you're with          Need is not: Tracking the other 1 person you're with

Why: loosing track of people                         Alternative: People already have phones/ don't split up    

Assignment 8A

Assignment 8A- Solving the Problem 

The problem I identified was that Magic Kingdom is a very big park and people can get easily lost in it. They might not even get lost, maybe they just want to go to different parts of the park with different people. This is mostly a problem for parents with small children that they can easily lose track of. It can also be a problem for a large group of people that split up. They would have to constantly pay attention to their phones so that they can find the people that they arrived with. Your phone can run out of battery and now you would have to find another way to communicate with other people. 

The solution I came up with is installing a GPS tracking device for the magic bands which are the now the tickets for Magic Kingdom. This device paired with the already made application for the Disney park would be a perfect solution to getting lost. There are also machines already installed around the park to get your fast passes for the day. This could also serve as a way of finding the location of the people you came with. As to finding the location of people in your party, you can link all of the magic bands which are the tickets together and find the specific location for your friends and family. 

Assignment 7A

Assignment 7A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

Opportunity: Finding friends or family members at Magic Kingdom who get lost or that go separate ways from you at the park  

Who: Anyone that attends Disney's Magic Kingdom 

What: Finding family and friends 

Why: Magic Kingdom is a big park and you can easily lose track of the people you're with

Testing the who: People who attend Magic Kingdom usually come in big groups. Especially friends and families. This need could also apply to all of the different theme parks in Orlando or any other state. 

Testing the what: The boundaries of this need are limited to Magic Kingdom but can also relate to other parks. A challenge that this opportunity might have would be the accuracy of the location of the GPS tracker. 

Testing the why: Getting lost or wanting to part ways with the group you came with can be a challenge. They why may hold for everyone that I am interviewing because they may encounter this problem when they attend the park. 

Interview #1

Sabrina (friend): This person experiences the problem sometimes when she goes to the park with her friends. She goes to UCF and has an annual pass to go to all of the Disney parks whenever she wants excluding block out dates. She usually goes with a big group of friends and they most likely end up splitting up during the day. She also leaves her personal items in the lockers provided and her phone runs out of battery constantly. She said its hard to keep track of people because they sometimes don't answer their phones or run out of battery like hers. Her current solution is to maintain a portable charger. 

Interview #2

Valentina (cousin): This person experiences this problem when she goes to the park with her family. She usually goes 3 times a year with her parents and her brother. She said that sometimes she likes to go on rides by herself because her parents and brother aren't too excited to ride some of the rollercoasters. She uses her phone while waiting in line and it always runs out of battery. Her family usually waits for her to get out but sometimes they go on different rides and she has to wait for them to come back. 

Interview #3

Diana (aunt): This person experiences this problem when she goes to the park with her family. She usually goes a couple of times a year with her children and husband. She said that she doesn't enjoy going on any rides so she usually has to wait for her family to finish. She gets bored sometimes and she goes to the stores around the park. When she calls her husband or children they usually don't answer their phones or it's too loud to understand what they are saying. She also had a situation where her son got lost in the park and it took a while to be able to find him. 

Interview #4

Virginia (roommate): This person experiences this problem with both friends and family. She usually only goes to the park 1-2 times a year. She said that with her friends it's most likely to happen because they want to go on different rides. She usually is very attentive to her phone but knows that her other friends are not. With her family, she has the problem of not being able to find her parents because they like to go and do their own thing at the park. 

Interview #5

Nathan (friend): This person said that he doesn't really experience this problem He only goes to this particular park maybe once every few years. Usually, when he goes to this park it's with his family and they like to stick together. If for some reason they want to do different things at the park they would just wait for them. 

Summary: Overall I found that this opportunity is feasible. It might apply more to people that go to the park a couple of times a year. It also reassured my thoughts about how groups of friends and family can split up or get lost in the park. I found out that the most common problem is people having to leave their phones behind or their battery dying. 

Assignment 6A

Assignment 6A- Practicing Opportunity Identification 

1). Economic trend: US-China Trade War

A. https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-china-tariff-full-list-of-goods-products-2018-6 

The opportunity exists right now for companies to search for ways to produce cheaper labor somewhere else, providing more jobs to people in the United States. Companies that would outsource their labor to China now have to find new sources for labor because of the tariffs that the United States has put in place. The prices within the United States are competitive with the prices aboard in China. Now manufacturers will get their labor here because it is cheaper. The manufacturers could also seek out other countries that could provide the same labor that China was providing before but for cheaper now. The prototypical customers would be other countries that can provide cheap labor, as well as companies based in the United States This opportunity would be easy to exploit if the manufacturers are already making the products here. Their business would be able to boom since more companies would buy their products because of the tariffs that are being implemented. However, it could be more complicated for companies that usually outsource their products to China. I saw this opportunity because this has been all over the news. The trade war with China is a very current topic and its something that could potentially have repercussions on our economy and is already showing the effects of it on China's economy. 

2). Economic trend: Shifting work demographics 

A. https://commercial.jpmorganchase.com/pages/commercial-banking/executive-connect/six-key-economic-trends

The opportunity exists right now for younger people to enter the workforce. As older people retire from the office jobs there are more hiring opportunities available for younger people. With unemployment levels very low, there are fewer options for people to join the workforce. There is a slow growth for the current workforce because of a lot of the older generation is currently retiring. More jobs are beginning to open for the current generation. The customer for this opportunity are younger people that are looking to join the workforce. This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because companies are giving the opportunity to younger people to join the workforce. I saw this opportunity because as someone that is graduating soon, I'm looking to join the workforce soon. 

3). Regulations: Plastic straw bans are spreading all over the world

A. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/07/news-plastic-drinking-straw-history-ban/

The opportunity exists right now for more companies to make their own version of straws that are biodegradable. It started in San Fransisco, where there started to be a ban on the use of plastic straws because of the amount of plastic that was going into the ocean. Companies are starting to be more environmentally conscious and they are making decisions to help reduce the amount of waste by a significant amount. There are some options out there of straws that are metallic and they are able to be reused. The issue with the metallic straw is that it would have to be cleaned each time it is used and also that it would cost more than a plastic straw. You would also have to remember to take your straw everywhere. Others have provided straws that are made of paper, but the straws are very easily destroyed when left in a drink for a decent period of time. The prototypical customer for this opportunity are companies that use plastic straws. They have to come up with a feasible way of another kind of straw. This opportunity would be easy to exploit if they are able to come up with a good working biodegradable straw. There would be a potential problem if companies get rid of straws altogether because there are many people out there with disabilities that require the usage of straws. I saw this opportunity because plastic has been a very harmful thing to our environment. When companies started to talk about phasing out plastic straws it would reduce waste and hopefully they would take the initiative to reduce waste in other ways. 

4.) Regulations: Overfishing 

A. https://www.ecomagazine.com/news/regulation/overfishing-is-a-huge-problem-here-s-what-you-need-to-know

The opportunity exists right now for a more aggressive approach to regulate fishing. Overfishing has become a problem because our population keeps growing. This has caused an imbalance in the ocean's ecosystem. More fish are being taken out of the ocean than the number of fishes that are being able to reproduce. This also causes a problem because there are a lot of different animals that also get caught in nets posing a threat to their existence. Fishing boats are able to go into international waters where there are almost no regulations and they can do whatever they want. There is also a lot of fish that are close to extinction due to the amount of overfishing. The prototypical customer for this would be nonprofits organizations that dedicate their time to protect the ocean. This opportunity would be difficult to exploit because the ocean is very large and it would be difficult to regulate the number of boats that are constantly coming in and out of the ports. I saw this opportunity because there are almost no laws protecting the ocean from harm. There are a lot of nonprofit organizations looking to change that.