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.