30A – Final Reflection

I believe that the most interesting and formative experience this semester in this course was the assignments on buyer behaviors. This helped me to see how customers act, and how to decipher who is most likely to buy your product or service. This was also one of the most fun and "joyous" assignments. I am most proud of my venture concepts. I believe that through this course I have definitely developed more of an entrepreneurial mindset and have started to look at situations in a different way because of that. I would recommend that students on this path in the future keep their heads up, manage their time wisely and don't look at failure as negative, but look at failure as a learning experience. Keep pushing forward.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

My opportunity lies in the customer service industry, with retail and restaurant establishments. The opportunity is in the customer service and hospitality training of employees for businesses, as businesses struggle with training and keeping friendly employees. This opportunity has become more prevalent in the past several years as the pace of the world seems to have become faster and faster, and people have become more concerned with being fast than with being friendly. People just are not as friendly as they used to be, but people visiting retail stores and restaurants still expect great service. The typical customer of my business is other businesses. There is no specific demographic, just any business with the need of friendly employees. Currently most of the businesses that would be my customers are simply trying to train their employees themselves in house. This is something that I believe many of them are struggling with and would like to stop doing. I believe that the opportunity for this business is very large. There are many businesses that are struggling with customer service training, and I believe that they would be very interested in the business that I have proposed as a solution to their problems. I believe that the window of opportunity will be fairly short for me. I believe that when I start my business, I will need to grow and succeed quickly if I am going to make it. 

Innovation

My service is an outside team of professionals that comes into businesses and trains employees in customer service and hospitality. My business’ reason for being is to train up the next group of customer service and hospitality professionals. We will go into businesses and train their employees exclusively in customer service. We will work one on one with employees and actively coach them in how to treat customers not just as customers, but as guests. We will also offer classes for businesses to send groups of employees to learn more about customer service. We will charge our one on one services at about $50 per hour per trainer. For classes, we will charge $100 per person, with a discounted rate of $75 per person for groups of 20 or more people. The classes will be about 4 hours in length and will have a maximum capacity of 75 people.

Venture Concept

My business would solve the needs of other businesses by assisting them in improving their customer service. Businesses would choose to come and use our service as an alternative to wasting their own labor and time trying to train on customer service. Since we are professionals in this area, we would be the ideal choice, in comparison to wasting their own employees time in training. There are few other companies that offer this type of service, so competitors would likely be few. We would capitalize on our experience in the industry to try and outweigh any competition. We would likely employ about 15 trainers and have a home office where they can organize their materials. We would also have space in our office for classes to take place. The one on one training would take place on site in the businesses who hire us.

I believe the most important resource is the experience as well as the financial stability as I enter into the industry. 

Next I would like to offer training services based on food safety for our restaurant customers. 

In 5 years I would like to see my business thriving, with up to 50 employed trainers, and with a strong reputation in this field in my geographic area. In ten years I want to be pursuing new businesses, possibly a coffee shop, and flipping real estate on the side. With the experience I gain through this venture, I can have better knowledge to start future businesses and make future investments. I believe that I can pursue my passion through this passion and make my vision a reality.

I received some great feedback. Most of the feedback was positive, and constructive. Throughout the process I was reminded how much experience I have and how great my idea was. This helped boost my confidence going into this process.

I mainly changed my prices, I believe that I was rather low on those, so I would now plan to charge more for my services. I also now believe that in this market I have a smaller window of time to get my business going. 

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Book: Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most? His childhood. Having heard a lot about Steve Jobs throughout my life, this was something I never heard about, and it was just somewhat surprising to me. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? His tenacious determination. He never gave up until he achieved what he was striving for. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? He seemed pretty full of himself.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? He encountered many failures along the way. He continued pushing forward and developing new and improved systems. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Obviously he was very tech savvy and had a lot of know how in that area. He was very competent in this area, and was great with technology. 

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

Nothing was overly confusing to me, but there were parts of his childhood that were surprising and somewhat "confusing" to me. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

How did you find the motivation to keep going after failure? Do you have any regrets?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I believe that Jobs knew how to work hard and believed in hard work in order to achieve success. I agree, I believe that hard work is how to achieve success. 

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?

I plan to own my business for 5-10 years, and grow it to a point that I can sell out for a nice profit. I would like to build the business and move on to something new-a new adventure.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I would like to move on to another venture, probably either real estate or my ultimate dream of opening a unique downtown coffee shop/study space. I hope to be able to use the profit from selling this business to start my next venture.

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 believe it has effected some of my decisions as I am not trying to build a business to keep and pass along to my family. I am trying to make a difference in this area of business, make a profit, and move on. This has made me see things differently and identify my opportunities in a different, less personal manner. I believe it has also mad me more reluctant to take as many risks, as this is not my dream business. 

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

This semester I continually failed with my time management strategies. I decided at the beginning I would just wing it, make a mental list of what needs to be done, and I will just get through it. This provided failure within the first 3 weeks of classes. I missed an assignment and had to take a major grade deduction on it because of the fact that it was late. So then I decided to keep up by just watching canvas closer. This too failed me, as I continually looked over things. I ended up realizing that for me I have to put the extra effort into making a list of my assignments due in order to keep up most effectively.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I learned that for each person there is a different method of time management that works better. For me, I have to make a list of my assignments and keep a calendar. This way I know what is coming and when to start working on the tasks.

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

Failure sucks. Failing at something and feeling like a failure is absolutely awful. I have a tendency to take things personally and emotionally, especially failure. This tends to make me depressed whenever I fail at something. But it does not have to. If you look at it differently it does not have to hurt so bad. If you look at it as a learning experience, then you can just get stronger from the failure. This class helped me to realize that more. Whenever we start at something there is a good chance that we will fail. And that's okay. If we fail, we can't just get in a funk and give up, we have to get up and try again. Learn from mistakes and move forward. I believe that I am more likely to take risks now, than I was before this class, as I realize these points more so. 

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

My opportunity lies in the customer service industry, with retail and restaurant establishments. The opportunity is in the customer service and hospitality training of employees for businesses, as businesses struggle with training and keeping friendly employees. This opportunity has become more prevalent in the past several years as the pace of the world seems to have become faster and faster, and people have become more concerned with being fast than with being friendly. People just are not as friendly as they used to be, but people visiting retail stores and restaurants still expect great service. The typical customer of my business is other businesses. There is no specific demographic, just any business with the need of friendly employees. Currently most of the businesses that would be my customers are simply trying to train their employees themselves in house. This is something that I believe many of them are struggling with and would like to stop doing. I believe that the opportunity for this business is very large. There are many businesses that are struggling with customer service training, and I believe that they would be very interested in the business that I have proposed as a solution to their problems. I believe the window of opportunity will be open for quite a while as this issue is not subsiding much at all lately. I believe the time restraint I would be up against would be how long after I start my business would I start having a positive cash flow.

Innovation

My service is an outside team of professionals that comes into businesses and trains employees in customer service and hospitality. My business’ reason for being is to train up the next group of customer service and hospitality professionals. We will go into businesses and train their employees exclusively in customer service. We will work one on one with employees and actively coach them in how to treat customers not just as customers, but as guests. We will also offer classes for businesses to send groups of employees to learn more about customer service. We will charge our one on one services at about $30 per hour per trainer. For classes, we will charge $75 per person, with a discounted rate of $60 per person for groups of 15 or more people. The classes will be about 4 hours 

in length and will have a maximum capacity of 50 people.

Venture Concept

My business would solve the needs of other businesses by assisting them in improving their customer service. Businesses would choose to come and use our service as an alternative to wasting their own labor and time trying to train on customer service. Since we are professionals in this area, we would be the ideal choice, in comparison to wasting their own employees time in training. There are few other companies that offer this type of service, so competitors would likely be few. We would capitalize on our experience in the industry to try and outweigh any competition. We would likely employ about 15 trainers and have a home office where they can organize their materials. We would also have space in our office for classes to take place. The one on one training would take place on site in the businesses who hire us.

I believe the most important resource is the experience that we have in this industry. This is something that I would capitalize on.

Next I would like to offer training services based on food safety for our restaurant customers. 

In 5 years I would like to see my business thriving, with up to 50 employed trainers, and with a strong reputation in this field in my geographic area. In ten years I want to be pursuing new businesses, possibly a coffee shop, and flipping real estate on the side. With the experience I gain through this venture, I can have better knowledge to start future businesses and make future investments. I believe that I can pursue my passion through this passion and make my vision a reality.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Resources:

1. Valuable experience in the customer service/training industry. This is extremely valuable for my business, it is not overly rare but also not super common, it is somewhat inimitable as many people can have this experience, and it is non-substitutable as it is necessary for the business.

2. I have many personal connections within the industry. This is very valuable, it is not very rare, it is very inimitable and it is definitely non-substitutable.

3. I have a strong passion driving me. This is highly valuable, the level of passion I have is rare in my opinion, it is no inimitable and it is definitely not substitutable.

4. I  have training methods already developed from my previous job. This is very valuable, rare to already have, non inimitable, and not substituable.

5. I will have an education from the #7 public university (Go Gators) which I am currently working on. This is extremely valuable, rare, not inimitable, and definitely not substitutable.

6. I have a very good record of success in customer service training and references to back that up. This is very valuable, pretty rare, not very inimitable, and not substituable by anything.

7. I have connections that are prospects as employees in this business. This is pretty valuable when I start, somewhat rare, not inimitable, and not substitutable. You gotta have employees!

8. I have good credit to be able to get a startup loan. This is very valuable, moderately rare, not inimitable, and not substitutable unless I have the cash to start up on my own.

9. I have the support system of family and friends to help with starting the business and supporting me through the startup process. This is extremely valuable, rare, not inimitable, and definitely not substitutable.

10. I have a desire to own my own business and succeed that is beyond description. This is extremely valuable, very rare, not inimitable, and definitely not substitutable.

I believe my experience and passion are the most important two resources. I have extremely valuable experience that sets me apart and will be a major boost to my business. I also have a very strong passion for this area of business, which drives me and pushes me as I embark in this business.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/wffJshckEAw


After my last pitch, the feedback I received was that I needed to draw in potential customers more. I also heard that I should try to limit filler words such as "um" and "like." I also received positive feedback, saying that I sounded confident and comfortable with the topic. All of this feedback was very helpful and I believe it was accurate.

I tried to incorporate these aspects into this new pitch. I tried to limit filler words. I tried to continue to sound confident. I also tried to relate to the potential customer more and draw them in. I think I incorporated these aspects fairly well and improved my pitch.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I chose was "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users" by Guy Kawasaki. 

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

The books main theme was using social media in promoting a business. It talked about using social media effectively in promoting your business. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book really helped enhance the ideas of effectively growing and marketing your business. It tied in with what we have talked about with networking and making connections to benefit your business. It took these ideas and gave tips on networking specifically through social media. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would design an exercise that requires students to create a mock social media account for their proposed business. This way they can learn to effectively create profile pictures, cover photos and bio sections, and also learn about making connections on social media. 

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 think the only thing that differed from what I expected was the general "no nonsense" tone of the book. It was not all feel good material. It was straight forward and to the point. This was an aspect that I enjoyed, but it did surprise me somewhat.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1) My domain contact is Emillie, who is a Training Director for Chick-fil-A
My market contact is Jeff, who also runs a customer service training business.
My supplier contact is Kenzie, who is a representative for a training software company.

2) Emillie fills the domain slot as she is actively working in the customer service training industry with Chick-fil-A.
Jeff fills the market slot as he is running a similar business, and is an expert on the industry.
Kenzie fills the supplier slot as she provides training software to companies such as mine and Jeff's and Emillie's.

3) I found Emillie through my job at Chick-fil-A. I contacted her through our personnel system. I found Jeff and Kenzie through LinkedIn, and reached out through LinkedIn messages and emails.

4) Emillie told me about her training processes and we had great conversations about training in each of our Chick-fil-A's as well as my business. She gave me her opinion and said she'd be willing to recommend me if needed.
Jeff gave me information about the industry and told me what to expect. He would like to keep in contact if I do start the business, so that we can use each other as needed, to build our client bases.
Kenzie told me about the industry from her view, and gave me great information. She wants to keep in contact, and sell me software if and when I start this business.

5) Including these people can really help, if I can use them to create even more contacts. Through recommendations and general word of mouth marketing, these contacts can greatly help me if they pass the word to potential clients that they know. Also having a good relationship with a competitor like Jeff can help, as we can help each other instead of strictly competing. Kenzie can help me get setup with the software that I need and help me get started. These contacts can greatly help me as I get started.

This experience helped me get a taste of how to network and make connections. This was very different than networking events I have been to where you just walk around and shake hands and exchange business cards. This was more personal and up front. This can help me, as I get used to different networking methods as I start and grow my business.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

Hey y'all! I'm Robert Martin, and I'm a Junior General Business Administration major. I have over 5 years of customer service experience with Chick-fil-A and Publix Supermarkets. I am currently the Director of Training for Chick-fil-A at Lake City, FL. I have a passion for customer service and human resources, and with my training experience in these areas, I find myself to be very proficient in these areas. I hope to continue in the customer service and HR management industry after college, and continue to make a difference in this area of business. If I was to start this business, this would be a huge part of my life. I would be able to do the exact thing that I am passionate about for a living, and that would be amazing. 

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I am offering an outside service that comes in to train employees of businesses in customer service and hospitality. This would include group classes as well as one on one training with each employee. We would come in and put special focus on hospitality and customer service, training employees to understand and use these concepts more effectively on the job. We would focus on helping businesses increase their customer satisfaction statistics, as customer service has a huge effect on overall satisfaction for customers. Our biggest point with those we are training would be to see customers as guests, not as customers.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

My customers would mainly consist of businesses that need their employees trained in customer service. This would be restaurants, grocery stores, big box stores, and any other retail establishment that deals with customers. It would tend to be newer businesses that would have a higher need for this service, as their managers are not as experienced in training. Businesses with higher turnover percentages would also be a higher need customer, as they have more employees to train in shorter periods of time. I also believe that larger companies that have their managers stretched too thin, would be an ideal customer for this business. 

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Many businesses struggle with training and keeping friendly employees. By using this service they would be relying on us, the customer service professionals, to train their employees in this highly important area of retail business. We would be the professionals that they can rely on, and depend on to train their employees correctly. They would care about this service because it can greatly benefit them in their business. They would use us because we know what we are doing, as we are customer service professionals, and we put special emphasis on this area, making our training more effective. 

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

Because of my experience that is specifically in customer service training, as well as my business degree, I have specific qualifications to be able to balance the importance of customer service with the fundamentals of running a business. My service is exclusively customer service training, setting us apart from anyone else, as we will put special focus solely on this area of the business. This is my niche in the business world, as customer service is what I am trained in and truly passionate about. 

All of these elements fit together very well in my opinion. My experience and qualifications, as well as my passion for this industry is what drives this business, and ties all of these elements together. I believe that starting this business could pose some challenges, as I would have to prove myself before this business really takes off. But I believe that I can build a successful business here.

Feedback: My feedback on the first post was very positive. The only thing I heard that needed change was that I needed to add more in the "why do they care" section and keep talking about my passion. I did both in this post, as I added onto the "why do they care" section and added more about my passion overall. 

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

On my last elevator pitch, I received a lot of great feedback! Mostly people said that I needed to speak up a little bit more because I was very soft spoken. People also said that they thought I seemed confident and seemed to be very knowledgeable about my area of business. I tried to keep these positive aspects, and also work on speaking up a little bit to address that area of concern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AbJgsY7gBY&feature=youtu.be

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My protypical customer, based on my previous findings is a male in his 20s or 30s who is a new business owner.
- He enjoys golfing on the weekends
- He has a wife and between 2 and 4 young kids
- He drives a late model full size pickup truck
- He drinks a lot of coffee, especially in the mornings
- He enjoys motivational books and podcasts
- He is very active in the operations of his business
- He and his family enjoy traveling
- He is a saver, not a spender
- He is always thinking about the future
- He is a realist, but tends to be more optimistic about the things he is passionate about
- He is very determined

I have a lot in common with this protypical customer. I do not think that this is coincidental, as this is a service that I would also see myself as a potential customer of. I too hope have a family, drive a nice truck, travel and play golf as a leisurely activity. If I was a business owner, I could see myself as a customer of this service, so I do not think that this is coincidental.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

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

I feel that I have a unique "human capital" because a few different qualities and experiences that I have. Firstly, I currently work in customer service management, specifically over training, for a restaurant that is specifically known as a top choice for hospitality. I work as the Director of Training at a Chick-fil-A location, and that experience is a huge asset to me. I also believe that I have developed skills in dealing with people. I know how to lead and coach them, while still caring for them and being a friend at the same time. I am also very focused and passionate about what I do. I care about my tasks at hand and my work, stay focused on what needs to be done, and strive to do my best at it. I also care about others greatly. I want to see people thrive and do well, and in customer service, which is the industry of my business, you have to put others first. Lastly, I have the ability to see the best in situations and in people. In bad situations, I can see past the bad, and look for the good. I feel that this is a great attribute that will set me apart.

Interviews: I asked 5 people, including my close friends and siblings, what they see as my human capital-the skills, abilities and emotions that set me apart. Here are their answers. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-2 

In this interview answer Caleb said that my work experience set me apart. He also specifically mentioned my being in an upper management position at a young age. He noted that this has helped my knowledge of customer service.

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-3/s-T5h6v

In this interview answer Tara told me that she sees my care for others as a big factor that sets me apart. She sees that as a big aspect of the hospitality and customer service industry, and told me that she feels that sets me apart. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-4/s-dPesi 

In this interview answer Martin told me that he sees my care for others as a big factor. He also references my work experience as something that sets me apart. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-5/s-K8bKE

In this interview answer Dale told me that my experience in the hospitality industry is a big factor. He also references my personality and how I treat others as skills that set me apart. 

In my last interview with Katie, I was not able to get a recording that would work. But Katie believes that my work experience as Training Director with Chick-fil-A sets me apart. She also believes that my passion for what I do is a huge thing that makes me different and sets me apart. 

I noticed that most of my interviews confirmed some of what I felt were my strong areas. My work experience in customer service and training/human resource management for Chick-fil-A is a huge asset to me and sets me apart. People close to me also said that my care for others sets me apart as well, as I am willing to go above and beyond to put others first. One person also believed that my passion for what I do was a big thing that sets me apart. These were all things that I felt set me apart as well. No one mentioned my focus on my work or my optimism in bad situations, as was in my list, but I still feel that those are skills and abilities that I have which will also set me apart. I would not change my list. I think that my interviewees were correct about me, and I believe that my list was as well. 

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Findings and Conclusions from 3 interviews:

In my first interview, with Gabriel, I found out that he would consider my service for his business only if he could oversee our training with his employees himself, and pay a reasonable price. He liked the idea of the training service, and has the need for it, but has stipulations on the process. The stipulations he suggested were understandable, and would be something I believe we could work with, and could help us generate our specific process.

In my second interview with Cindy, I found out that she is very skeptical of the idea of outsiders training her employees and she would require that we have good experience and recommendations before she would hire us. She would like to be able to find us online with a "legitimate" looking website and see our qualifications there. She would expect to see a major difference after our work is done. She would expect to see her customer satisfaction numbers go up by at least 50% after our training was done... if she hired us. Her information was helpful.

In my last interview with Jay, I found out that he loves the idea and would be very open to the idea of outside professionals coming in to train his employees in customer service. He would like to be able to see a website and learn more about us fro there, and he would prefer that we meet with his leadership team before starting training, to inform them on what policies to enforce with the team after we are gone. His biggest concern is what this service would cost, and if he would see a return on this investment, through returning satisfied customers. He would expect to see customer satisfaction percentages go way up in his business. He was very interested in the service, and gave very helpful information.

The interviews helped me gain insight into what customers want and what results they would expect to see. They want to see qualifications and know about prices before hiring. They want results after. They want to see the difference in their employees and see that affect their customer satisfaction. I believe that a website with qualifications listed and a cost estimator tool would be very useful and help potential clients. I also think that some assurance of results would be a major help to potential clients of my business.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

I have learned through this course to be more organized, manage my time better, and stay focused on what I have to do. I have also learned to stay positive, and keep my head up, especially when I have a lot of assignments due. When I have assignments from this class on top of stressful assignments in other courses. It may seem difficult, but if I stay positive and keep pushing forward I can achieve what I need to do.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I felt like giving up when I left all the assignments in this course to late the night before they were due. I had to work quickly, but still try to do my best. I learned that if I keep my head up, and stay positive, I can achieve more than if I let myself get down and discouraged about it. I also felt like giving up when I got a bad grade on the first exam in one of my other classes. I felt defeated, but I picked myself back up and kept pushing forward. I think that I have become more tenacious, as I have learned to keep pushing through the good, the bad; the easy, the hard; and whatever else comes. I think that the experiences with hard deadlines and having to meet with people, sometimes that I do not know, have had the biggest impact on developing a tenacious attitude in me. 

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

I would tell them to 1 Stay positive and believe in yourself. You can do this. 2. Stay organized and you will push through much more easily. and 3. Don't allow giving up to be an option. Do not even acknowledge that giving up is an option, just push forward. You will be surprised what you are capable of.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

The book I chose was Coco Chanel by Lisa Chaney

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most? Her upbringing in poverty. I was not expecting her upbringing to have been so troubled.  
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? She never gave up. She was determined and continually pursued her ideas. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? Her lifestyle, as a mistress. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? She did. She faced setbacks and controversies, but kept pushing and pursuing what she wanted. She made her own unique path, and continued on. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? She was very talented in designing clothes. She had an eye for fashion and was able to create trends.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. Her connection with Germany during the war. I was not really confused, it was just odd to me. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? 

I would ask if she has any regrets in life and how did those things affect her work. She led a very different life that many would find controversial, and I would be curious as to what her view looking back over her life was, and how she feels that it affected her career. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I think she knew how to work hard and would do whatever was necessary to get where she wanted to be. I agree with working hard and creating your own success through hard work. 

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

I chose a segment of new business owners for these interviews.

Interviewees: 

Tyler: New business owner, started business 6 months ago.

Madison: Restaurant owner of 5 years.

Fernando: Owner of a small retail establishment, started 10 years ago

Grant: Manager at a fast food restaurant

Key questions:

"How is the customer service coming from your employees in your business?"

T: "Its adequate, but it needs to improve."

M: "It is continually getting better, but we struggle with keeping our best employees"

F: "It is solid, but could always be better"

G: "It is very up and down. Sometimes I have a group of great employees, but other times I have many who are not very friendly."

"What do you think would make that better?"

T: " I'm trying to develop a better training plan, I think that will help"

M: " We just need to keep working with our employees and developing these skills in them"

F: "I think just by continually encouraging my team members"

G: "Hiring more experienced employees would help, as well as having a more organized training plan when they start."

"Would you look outside your business for help with training in that area?"

T: "Maybe, but it would depend on what the circumstances of my store were at the time."
M: "Yeah, I would if I knew whatever it was would be effective."

F: "No, I think this is something I can handle in house."
G: "Possibly, but whatever it is would need to be something that I have assurance would work"

"Would you hire an outside professional to come in and train your employees in customer service?"

T: "Possibly, but it sounds like something that would be expensive and I might not be able to afford that"
M: "I don't know, I like to oversee my employee's training myself, or have one of my managers oversee it.

F: "No, I think I can handle this."

G: "Yes, if I know they are effective. Also if it was not going to be too expensive."

Overview: 

I found that people are skeptical of the idea. Business owners are concerned about the price of the service, as well as the idea  of having someone they do not know training their people. I think that there could be some demand for this service, but it is iffy. Businesses like to oversee their own training, so I would have to make the service where we do the training, while the business managers oversee us as we do the training. I think this could make the service more attractive to business owners. I would also have to figure out prices, as that is clearly a concern for business owners as well.

About this segment:
I think there are a lot of business owners in this segment that recognize that their employees need help in this area. They see the struggle in this area of their business, but do not necessarily know what to do. They are in need of guidance in this area, but are skeptical of the details. 

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

Hello! My name is Robert Martin, and I am a Junior General Business Administration major. I have about 5 years of customer service experience with Chick-fil-A and Publix. I am currently the Director of Training for Chick-fil-A in Lake City, FL. I have a passion for customer service and human resources, and with my training experience in these areas, I find myself to be very proficient in these areas. I hope to continue in the customer service management industry after college, and continue to make a difference in this area of businesses. If I was to start this business, this would be a huge part of my life. I would be able to do the specific thing that I am passionate about for a living, and that would be amazing. 

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I am offering an outside service that comes in to train employees of businesses in customer service and hospitality. This would include group classes as well as one on one training with each employee. We would come in and put special focus on hospitality and customer service, training employees to understand and use these concepts more effectively on the job. We would focus on helping businesses increase their customer satisfaction statistics, as customer service has a huge effect on overall satisfaction for customers. Our biggest point with those we are training would be to see customers as guests, not as customers.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

My customers would mainly consist of businesses that need their employees trained in customer service. This would be restaurants, grocery stores, big box stores, and any other retail establishment that deals with customers. It would tend to be newer businesses that would have a higher need for this service, as their managers are not as experienced in training. Businesses with higher turnover percentages would also be a higher need customer, as they have more employees to train in shorter periods of time.  

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Many businesses struggle with training and keeping friendly employees. By using this service they would be relying on us, the customer service professionals, to train their employees in this highly important area of retail business. The would use us because we know what we are doing, and we put special emphasis on this area, making our training more effective. 

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

Because of my experience that is specifically in customer service training, as well as my business degree, I have specific qualifications to be able to balance the importance of customer service with the fundamentals of running a business. My service is exclusively customer service training, setting us apart from anyone else, as we will put special focus solely on this area of the business.

I feel that all of these elements fit together very well. The experience that I have going into this business sets me apart and qualifies me well to serve the specific businesses that I mentioned above. I do believe that starting this business could be difficult, as it would take a lot of marketing to get this service in front of business owners. This would be a new concept to many, and may not be accepted by all. However, I do believe there is potential here, and it could have an effect in this area of business, if I could get it going. 

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/D8iLXezgkgE

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

-Who: Through my interviews I got a better idea of who is and is not a part of the market for my service. The ones who fell inside of my market tended to be business owners who have only been in business for 10 or less years, and business owners who experience higher turnover. The ones who fell outside of my market tended to be more tenured business owners and those who have a dedicated staff.
- My first interviewee was a business owner who has been in business for 15 years and has a very low turnover rate. He said that he would not use the service as it is not a need for his business.
-3 of my other interviewees were business owners of less than 10 years. Two of them have very high turnover rates, and one has a very low turnover. The two with higher turnover said that they would be likely to use the service. The other one said she likely would not, as she has a dedicated staff of very friendly employees.
-My other interviewee has been in business for 25 years, but within the last three years turnover has become an issue. He said that he was very indecisive as he has never had a need for this in the past, but now that he is doing so much more hiring he might would consider it.

-What: All of my interviewees agreed that the training is very important, but the biggest factor is what the culture of the business is like. If the environment is not one that is positive and upbeat, the employees are not as likely to really stick to customer service procedures, no matter how much training they get.

-Why: The need for customer service training is present in every retail establishment. The need differs in each business though. Some businesses have a bigger need than others, and some businesses need different methods of training than others. This all depends on the environment in the business, how dedicated the staff are, and how many people are being hired at one time.

                                             Inside the market                                          Outside the market
Who:                                        New business owners                                      Tenured business owners
                                                Businesses with high turnover                      Business with low turnover
                                               Businesses hiring many people at a time        Businesses hiring fewer
What:                                    To train employees better                                Ensure they stick with it
                                             To help businesses boost morale                      Keep morale high in                                                                                                                                 hostile work environment
Why:                             Businesses can't handle the training of a high number of employees
                                      Businesses can't get their employees to be consistently friendly
                                      New business owners are not experienced in this aspect of training.

8A – Solving The Problem

Opportunity: Customer service training of retail employees.

Solution:
My solution is to start a business that comes into other businesses and trains their employees is customer service, as well as providing classes and seminars for employers to send their employees to, in order to learn more about customer service. The idea is that, since it is difficult for employers to effectively train their employees in customer service, an outside service, run by customer service professionals, will be available to come in and train employees in customer service. This is intended to make the training process for employers easier and more effective, as they only have to handle operations training, which is specific to each business, and the customer service training will be handled by the outside service, which is run by customer service professionals. The typical customers of this business venture would be any retail or food service businesses needing to more effectively train their employees, as well as any business that has employees working with customers on a regular basis.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis

1.) The opportunity I chose to pursue is customer service training of retail employees.

2.) The opportunity that I have identified is that businesses that work with customers, have a hard time with training employees in customer service. The who is business owners and employees that work with customers. The what is that they are unable to train employees in customer service in a way that is effective. The why is that employees typically either do not care, or do not have an understanding of what is expected in customer service.

3.) I have seen, through my time in customer service management, that many employees are just not friendly with customers. This is an issue with food service employees, retail employees, and any other business employees that deal with customers or clients. They are just not friendly and businesses struggle to train them effectively. The management teams in customer service have a hard time with enforcing customer service standards. This is because many employees either just don't want to be friendly, or do not fully understand the expectations. They do not understand how to actually be friendly, and therefore do not understand what is expected of them.

4.) After interviewing 5 people, I found that many people see this as an issue, even in their own team of employees. There seems to be an opportunity to pursue here, in creating a service that provides outside training in customer service, or classes in customer service for employers to send employees to, in order to learn the basics and more advanced customer service expectations. People see that their employees and those who serve them in retail establishments, are a lot of times just not very friendly or welcoming. I have found that managers struggle with this area of training, compared to general operational training, and are somewhat unsure of what to do. This tells me that there is likely an opportunity here.

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

-Economic Trends
1. Fed interest rates to stop being cut.
a) Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/17/investing/fed-rate-cut-expectations/index.html
b) I believe that there is an opportunity here, as economists are making strong predictions that interest rates will stop declining, and likely stay stagnant, as opposed to what they have been doing lately. Due to international factors such as the attack on the Saudi Arabian oil facilities and the United States negotiations with China, it is causing instability in the economy. This is causing economists to believe that the Fed will stop lowering interest rates.
c) The prototypical customer would be businesses and individuals that are needing to borrow money.
d) Exploiting could be difficult as no one knows what might happen next to cause more instability or to reinstate stability in the US economy.
e) I saw this opportunity because of my interest in the banking and financial industry, as well as in economics.

2. Gas Prices Rising.
a) Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-gas-prices-spike-after-drone-attacks-on-saudi-oil-plants
b) I believe there is an opportunity here as there is evidence of a spike in gas prices. Since the attack on the Saudi Arabian oil facilities, there has been a sudden increase in gas prices in the United States. These events cause instability in the economy as a whole, but especially in the oil and gas industry. This instability will cause the price increases.
c) The prototypical customer will be any vehicle drivers who have to put gas in their cars, as well as business who own company cars for their employees.
d) Exploiting could be difficult as no one knows what might happen next, and what other situations might arise out of no where, as this one did.
e) I saw this opportunity because, as a driver I purchase gas and this effects me personally in a way.

Regulatory Changes
1. Smoking age raised to 21 in Texas
a) Source: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/08/30/texas-just-raised-the-smoking-age-to-21-who-is-exempt-and-what-are-the-penalties/
b) This opportunity exists as the congress in Texas has passed laws raising the legal age to smoke to 21. This could help companies that make products helping people to quit, as now hopefully those people under 21 that had started smoking, will be quitting.
c) The prototypical customer would be smokers.
d) Could be easy to exploit as the law has already be changed, and is very unlikely to change back anytime soon.
e) This opportunity caught my eye as I have family that struggled with smoking addictions, and it is an issue that is important to me.

2. No more regulations allowed on lemonade stands in Texas
a) Source: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/10/texas-greg-abbott-signs-bill-declaring-childrens-lemonade-stands-legal/
b) This opportunity exists as Governor Abbott in Texas has signed in a ban on regulations pertaining to kids selling non alcoholic beverages on private property. This will help the young entrepreneurs as they get their first experience in business, selling lemonade on the street in their neighborhood. This provides that opportunity to kids.
c) The prototypical customer is those who love lemonade and supporting the young entrepreneurs in their communities.
d) Possibly easy to exploit. The law is in place.
e) This opportunity caught my eye as this is something that I always wanted to do as a child. This is a great opportunity for kids to learn about business.

5A-Identifying Local Opportunities

"Hurricane Dorian: Keep ‘cool,’ cops say, amid gas shortage" by Andrew Caplan of Gainesville Sun
- https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190830/hurricane-dorian-keep-cool-cops-say-amid-gas-shortages
- In this article Caplan explains issues relating to gas shortages because of hurricane Dorian.
- The first problem is that people are buying so much gas preparing for the storm, that stations are running out. This is making it hard for people to find gas when they have to drive to work, school, etc. This is causing stress and anxiety for locals, on top of the stress of the storm approaching.
- The next issue is that because of all this hype, gas stations are becoming major traffic jams. People are trying to get in to get gas, but there are too many people and it is just becoming a mess. This is causing more issues for the gas stations and all those attempting to get gas.
-The Problems: 1. Gas was running out because of everyone stocking up for the hurricane. 2. Gas stations are getting over congested making it hard for people to get gas, because there are too many cars and people.
- The people: Local residents, gas station owners/workers, local officials.

"Opposition grows to Ginnie Springs water bottling" by Cindy Swirko of Gainesville Sun
- https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190824/opposition-grows-to-ginnie-springs-water-bottling
-In this article Swirko explains issues surrounding Ginnie Springs and the water bottling industry.
- The first issue is that the state is allowing bottling companies to take water from the springs without paying the state for it. This water is being removed, but the state is left with the tab of any upkeep of the springs, etc. Therefore the bottling companies are getting a great deal, but not so much for the state.
-Next, the springs are being taken from o much that sustainability is an issue. This is an area people love to visit and the water is being taken so much, that sustaining the springs is becoming an issue.
- Problems: 1. State not getting paid for water being taken by bottling companies. 2. Sustainability because of water being taken.
-People: Citizens of FL, tourists, bottling companies.

"Hackers Target Wakulla Schools, Shutdown District-Wide Emails in Ransomware Attack" by James Call of Tallahassee Democrat. 
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/10/hackers-attack-wakulla-schools-shuts-down-district-wide-emails/2275809001/
- In this article Call explains about the recent hack in Wakulla County School District.
- The first problem is that the Wakulla county school district has been hacked. This is causing major issues, as they are not able to access their email system and are locked out essentially. This has been an issue in other cities, counties and districts and now it has hit Wakulla.
-Next, there is the possibility of having to pay a ransom for access back into the system. Ransomware hackers will often demand ransom for the access key back in, which will cost majorly for the district if it is demanded.
-Problems: 1. The email system has been hacked and the district is locked out. 2. The district might be faced with having to pay big money for access back into their own system.
-People: Wakulla county citizens, Wakulla county district workers, state officials.

"4 Billion Particles of Tiny Plastics Pollute Tampa Bay, Study Finds" by Craig Pittman of Tampa Bay Times
https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2019/09/12/4-billion-particles-of-tiny-plastics-pollute-tampa-bay-study-finds/
-In this article from September 12, Pittman explains about plastic polluting Tampa Bay
-The main issue is that there is plastic polluting Tampa Bay, according to this new study. Plastic molecules are all over and are contaminating the water. It is estimated that over 4 billion particles are polluting Tampa Bay.
-This is an issue for the marine life in Tampa Bay. This is not good for the health of the marine life. This contamination can cause many issues, and be very harmful to the animals and sea creatures in the Bay.
Problems: 1. Major plastic contamination in Tampa Bay. 2. Marine life health is at risk due to pollution.
People: Tampa Bay residents, fisherman, wildlife.

"Coolidge plans on millage rate increase" by Erik Yabor of Thomasville Times-Enterprise
https://www.timesenterprise.com/news/local_news/coolidge-plans-on-millage-rate-increase/article_888caf95-e302-58f0-909a-c094511788f7.html
-In this article of September 12, Yabor tells of increased millage rates in Coolidge that has residents unhappy.
-First the millage rates will be higher. This will cost citizens more, and this is not acceptable to them. They will be paying ore, and they do not know what they will get out of it.
- Next, residents are concerned because of spending in the town. Spending is not being done according to how people would like, and people seem to think that money is not being used as effectively as it could.
-Problems: 1. Millage rates will be increasing. 2. Spending problems within the town government.

-People: People of Coolidge, Government officials.

4A-Forming An Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A

From my work experience in customer service management, I believe that there is a need for independent contractors that train restaurant and retail employees in customer service and hospitality. Customer service is an area of restaurants and retail stores that is often neglected, and therefore often forgotten about by employees. The training process for employees can be so intensive, in the operations areas, such as cash register training, training on what duties the employee are responsible for, etc. that customer service goes by the wayside. In reality, this is the aspect of businesses that affect the customer the most directly, and this can have a great impact on whether or not customers come back. I believe that an outside company, that exclusively focuses on customer service and comes in and trains new employees at businesses in the areas of customer interaction, customer satisfaction, general friendliness, etc. could be a huge asset to businesses. 

#1: Retail business owner of about 30 years.

- Q-How do you feel the level of customer service is in your restaurant, compared to where you'd like it  to be?

-A-Actually, it is pretty low. My employees are friendly, but they aren't ever going above and beyond for their customers. I always tell them to put the customer first and to go out of their way to make each customer's experience great, but they never really catch on.

-Q-Do you currently have a training program in place in your business?

-A-Yes, we have a two week program that goes over all responsibilities, safety and security, customer service and cash training. 

-Q-Do you feel that having an outside company come in and train on customer service, while your team handles the responsibilities and cash and safety part would be an asset to your business?

-A-It could be, but only if it wasn't too expensive. I think it would be a huge help to have that kind of company come in, and put special focus on that, it would just have to fit into our budget.

This business owner is interested but concerned about the costs. Business owners want to have their team customer service trained, it's just the matter of how and at what cost. 

#2: Restaurant owner of 35 years.

-Q-How is customer service in your restaurant?

-A-It's about average for a fast food restaurant. I'd like to see better, but we do what we can.

-Q-Do you get many customer complaints about customer service?

-A-Yeah, we do actually. We get multiple each week.

-Q-Would you be interested in hiring a company that comes in and trains your new employees in customer service exclusively? That way you just handle the operational side of training?

-A-Yeah absolutely. That would be a huge help. Having a focus on customer service from the get-go would majorly help. It just needs to be cost efficient.

So far we are getting positive feedback, but everyone is worried about cost. I think business owners want to put more focus on customer service, but do not really know how because they don't want to waste money paying an extra employee on shift to just train. I know from my own previous employment, I had a boss like that, who did not want to spend that extra money but still wanted the training done right.

#3: Retail business owner of 5 years.

-Q-How is the interaction in your store between customers and employees? 

-A- I'd say it is about average. Everyone is nice enough.

-Q-Would you say there is room for improvement in that area of your store?

-A-Oh yeah, there is definitely room for improvement. This is an area of constant work in our store.

-Q-How would you feel about hiring a company to come in and train your employees for you in customer service? And put a focus on that area of your business?

-A-I think that could be helpful. It is hard to put an emphasis on customer service, because there are so many other areas that we have to train on. Having a special focus could be good.

Again, this person is interested and sees the need. He obviously has room for improvement in this area of his business, but does not put a huge focus on it in training. He sounds like a potential customer of this type of business.

Summary:

These business owners all seemed interested in the idea, but the cost of having someone come in from the outside seemed concerning to them. This business could be profitable, I believe, but it would have to be able to prove itself. Business owners have a budget to stick to and they are not going to waste a huge amount of money on a service that may or may not work. This service would have to be affordable and also prove itself worth it, in order for it to be successful. 

3A-Your Entrepreneurship Story

Entrepreneurship has always been something that I was interested in and wanted to do, since I was young. Growing up, my dad always came up with business ideas that wee would talk about pursuing sometime in the future. These ideas would be like flipping real estate, starting a used car dealership, and finally, the business he did start, an accounting firm. So I have always been around the ideas of entrepreneurship and continue to come up with my own business ideas, which I hope to one day be able to pursue. The ideal business I want to start is my own Real Estate Brokerage. So I am in this class to learn more about the idea of entrepreneurship, and continue to move more toward one day owning my own business, hopefully in Real Estate.

Assignment 2A-Bug List

ENT 3003

Assignment 2A-Bug List

1. The lack of parking places at work (Chick-fil-A) during the afternoon

WHY it exists? There are so many customers during lunch rush, and the parking lot was not made large enough to contain them.

2. The lack of battery life on my laptop.

WHY it exists? The laptop is somewhat lower quality, and as it gets older the battery life goes down.

3. The line at Starbucks in Lake City on Sunday mornings.

WHY it exists? Many people stop on their way to church, and they are rarely staffed to handle the line.

4. The distance I have to walk from my parking spot to my classes at UF.

WHY it exists? The lots closest to my classes are not for "Park and Ride" decals, but only for faculty or grad students. 

5. Traffic on Highway 90 in Lake City on the weekends.

WHY it exists? This is the main road in Lake City, that is almost impossible to avoid if going into town, and with travelers off of I-75, it gets backed up during busy times.

6. When the exit ramp off of I-75 onto Newberry Road backs up onto the interstate in the morning.

WHY it exists? Because so many people have to get off on Newberry for work or school, and the stop light does not change quick enough for it to clear out. Also, there is not space for two lanes of traffic to sit at the light, therefore it backs up further.

7. Dirty public restrooms in fast food restaurants.

WHY it exists? Because so many people use them, they get dirty faster, and the employees have other priorities, therefore they become dirtier and dirtier.

8. When my phone glitches out of an app when watching a video.

WHY it exists? Typically because either the phone is not connecting to a strong internet connection, or there are too many apps running in the background on the phone.

9. The lack of available tables to eat at in Reitz Union during lunch time.

WHY it exists? Because this is the main eating area on campus, and SO many people come here during this time of day, and even though it is a large food court, it cannot accommodate this many people. 

10. Trashy parking lots at fastfood restaurants. 

WHY it exists? Because so many people pass through them, and litter, leaving trash laying around. And because employees have priorities serving customers, so it does not get cleaned often. 

11. When Dunkin' Donuts in Lake City gives me old/bad coffee.

WHY it exists? The coffee seems to be getting burnt or sitting out for too long before it is served, therefore it gets a bad taste/aftertaste and is not good. 

12. When my headphones get caught on door handles, knobs, etc.

WHY it exists? There is no way to clip the wire in place on my person, and it just swings around and gets caught on things.

13. When semis cut me off on the interstate. 

WHY it exists? The semi drivers are rarely "let in" by another driver to be able to pass someone, because they tend to drive slower. Also, they have larger blind spots, so they cannot always see who is behind or beside them. This makes it where they just have to take any opening in order to get over, and it sometimes results in another driver getting cut off.

14. All the ads on Pandora.

WHY it exists? The company has to be able to pay for the rights to the songs, so they sell ads to companies and interrupt your music to play them. 

15. When my sister's long hair gets everywhere in my house and car.

WHY it exists? Because she has so much long hair, it tends to catch on fabric and come out. This is also made worse when she lets her hair down instead of keeping it up. 

16. Having to have a different headphone end for my iPhone port.

WHY it exists? iPhone decided to combine the charging port and headphone jack, therefore it is a different shaped end, and normal headphones won't fit into the port.

17. How bumpy my yard is when I mow.

WHY it exists? Because my backyard is on a slope, when my house was built, all of the extra dirt flowed down here in the rain with all of the run off. Then grass grew over this runoff, and remained bumpy.

18. When the zipper continually gets stuck on my backpack.

WHY it exists? The zipper continually catches on the fabric of the backpack because of the poor design, and makes it difficult to zip.

19. How many people do not use their blinker, especially when changing lanes.

WHY it exists? People are in such a hurry, that they forget, or don't even care, so they just go, and end up cutting someone off or pulling in front of someone who did not know they were coming.

20. The amount of spam sales calls I get on my cell phone. 

WHY it exists? When I sign up for a service, some other companies will pay for information such as phone numbers, so they can try to get people to sign up for their services as well. So they then start calling. And it is difficult to tell when the call is spam, because they often use a number in your area code.

Reflection: 

This assignment was difficult for me. Even though these things do bother me, my mindset is that I can't fix them, so don't let them bother me too much. Also, as a person who tries to stay positive, it is hard to come up with "Bugs" on the spot. This was something that I have never really done before, because typically we are told to look at the good in the world.

      This was, however, very interesting to look at things from this perspective. To look at why these things exist and also think about what devices or services might be used or developed to fix these issues. This was very interesting and also enjoyable once I got into it. Thinking like an entrepreneur can make your perspective very different.