The Twenty Percent

1) The entrepreneur I chose is my friend Alfredo Ramirez, a student at UF, who started his own business a few years ago. I thought it would be cool to have someone my age and living a similar lifestyle to show that anyone can be an entrepreneur at any age or time in their life. He is the founder of ALRAS academics, a tutoring service aimed primarily at high school students. The company also provides help with essays and papers. I conducted the interview over the phone because he is out of town for vacation, so i do not have a recording but i will provide the transcript below. 

• Who do you think your target customers are? Did your view change after some time? 
• "My customers are both high school students and their parents and college students. I originally focused on reaching the high school students themselves through my brother and other connections from my old high school but realized that I needed to target the parents as well who ultimately pay for and overlook the work that I do. I began to target college students recently after expanding my services to include help with research papers, etc."    

• What are your customers unmet needs and how do you address these? 
• "Their unmet needs are simply that they need help with a certain subject or help passing standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. I try to provide the best tutoring by hiring more than capable tutors and tailoring my services to each student's individual needs." 

• Where did/do you acquire your customers? Are they all referrals? Did they find out through your website or social media?  
• "Most of my customers come to me as referrals by parents and students. That is how i started, I spoke to parents from the water polo and swimming teams that i use to be part of and used my brother who's in high school as my scout. I have had some come to me after seeing my website or a post on social media but more than 80% of them are referrals."

• What are your customer's demographics? 
• "Like i said, most are high school students ages 14-18. But i also have some middle school students and college students looking for extra help with editing papers and such. I focused on my home town of Miami so a lot of them are cuban or hispanic and have had experiences similar to mine in terms of academic stress. My old high school was difficult and demanding."   
• What kinds of media do your customers consume? How do you reach them?
• "Being that they are high school and college students, they consume a lot of social media like facebook, twitter, instagram, and snapchat. I assume a lot of them read online newspapers like me and watch a significant amount of TV or netflix."

2) I used my sister who is in high school in Miami to find target customers. They are the right age and go to a private school that is both difficult and demanding. They are all under the stress that comes with taking AP classes and applying to college. The questions I asked were:

• What do you consider to be your academic needs as a high school student who will apply to college soon and needs to balance academics with extracurricular activities? 
• Have you ever used a tutor? Would you be willing to accept help from someone who has been in your same shoes before?
• If you were to look for a tutor, where would you look? Online? On facebook? Or would you rather ask a friend or teacher? 
• What kinds of media do you consume on a daily basis? Social Media? TV? Radio? 
• Has anything bothered you about a tutor in the past? For example: were they too old and could not relate well to you? 

3) I think Alfredo did well to anticipate his customers needs and made sure to tailor his services accordingly, considering his twenty percent are mainly high school students. The customers I interviewed all agreed that school can be demanding and prioritizing work was the biggest need. All of them have used tutors, some with good results while the others did not really benefit from it. The only thing that i could tell him would be to make sure to stay up to date with the material and makes sure his tutors have knowledge of the student's teacher and what he/she is looking for in their students. The interviewees mentioned that some of their tutors did not teach like their teacher wanted them to learn and therefore was not as useful. 

Half-way Reflection

Tenacity, how do I achieve it?

1) The past two months in this course have been challenging not because the material is difficult rather because it has been demanding and requires steady consistency. There are 2-4 assignments every week and the due dates are set up in the middle of the week at what I consider to be a random time of 9:00pm. My thoughts on this are that the professor chose these due dates and times so that we don't try to complete assignments right before the deadline, rather take time to plan ahead and complete them with plenty of time left. In other words, act like a true entrepreneur who manages his/her own time, due dates (in a sense), and stay on top of our work. To keep up with this demand I have tried to imagine as if there are no due dates, instead I try to think that I need to get my work done to improve my business and succeed. To be honest i am still in the process of developing the proper behaviors, I have not been as consistent as I should be. i need to learn to get ahead and do the assignments for me rather than for my professor or the grade. The fact that we grade our own work makes me want to do well and not settle for mediocrity as I am trying to impress myself and make myself proud. I hope to become more consistent and conscience of my work to succeed with a good grade in the class and with a well developed business concept. 

2) I honestly have felt like giving up a few times this semester in regards to this class. these moments have been a result of me undermining the work and leaving it to the last minute. I started to put less effort in my assignments and completed them right before deadlines. This didn't allow me to immerse myself in my business concept and made me focus more on the completion of assignments rather than improvement of my concept and making real progress. I have pulled through because I do not like to accept failure when I realize that the outcome is totally up to me. I began to think that I would drop the course if anything goes wrong but have been noticing that i can do it, and that the work is really not all that much. i have to focus on the fact that i am developing an idea and gaining useful knowledge through unique experiences rather than just receiving a grade. i feel like I have yet to develop the tenacious attitude needed to truly succeed. Until I start to get ahead and immerse myself in my idea, i will continue to do mediocre work and only get by. 

3A) Three tips that I would offer a future student in regards to fostering the proper skills that support tenacity I would say: 

• Learn to be consistent and remain consistent. With due dates, effort put into the assignments, and the like. 
• Be willing to accept criticism and not get fazed by a "no" or negative feedback. 
• Be perseverant and honest with your work. Be true to yourself, try to make yourself proud, and the rest will follow. 

3B) Three tips i would offer to develop a tenacious mindset would be:

• Think about the assignments as tasks needed to improve and develop your concept rather than just a grade. 
• Develop a routine and stick to it. From cleaning your room to doing your work. 
• Don't settle for mediocrity. If you do this, you will see yourself becoming more tenacious in your attempt to do good work. 

Week 8 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

• What surprised me most about this week's reading was the fact that there are many untold truths in regards to obtaining capital. The author mentions some myths and truths and made sure to explain that even though money is important, it should not stop one from accomplishing business or life goals in general. 

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

• The reading didn't really confuse me per say. Everything was pretty well explained. I guess the only challenging thing to understand was the section on accounts receivable and loans. I had to think about it for a second but I was able to understand it, especially because I have taken accounting classes before. 

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

• If I could ask the author anything, I would ask him questions about the venture myths and how one can succeed in gaining sufficient capital. For example: How did you uncover these myths and why have they become so commonly misconstrued? And, What is the most efficient way of gaining capital for a venture related to liquor? (as that is my idea).

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I don't necessarily agree or disagree with what the author said because I am not very knowledgable on the subject. Therefore i don't really know if something he said was wrong or right. To me he was simply stating facts. 

Idea Napkin No. 1

Emergency Booze.....Wait, what???

  I am a third year marketing student minoring in Entrepreneurship. I recently switched to marketing after studying mechanical engineering for 2 years. I came into college thinking engineering was my calling. I have always excelled in creative solutions to tangible problems whether it be fixing an appliance at home or constructing a tent with no poles. My analytical skills were there but it wasn't my true calling. I started looking into product design and manufacturing through Mechanical engineering and learned about the whole product development stage. This brought light to marketing and product design and led to a realization. My strengths were analytical and creative but I was always good at knowing what people want and how to please them. It can sound like a manipulative and fake trait at first, but I realized there are ethical and useful ways of applying it. After realizing this I switched to Marketing and started to engage in sales/promotion activities. I worked as a promoter for a Gainesville nightlife company and volunteered in fundraising/marketing for a Hispanic Heritage Celebration at UF. These experiences with people, rather than with calculations and mechanisms, evolved my interpersonal skills and gave me experience that I have applied to my current business concept. The idea of a bar is not new. What s new is my delivery of that idea and the medium at which i provide it. This is mainly marketing and problem solving. Two skills that I believe i have. 

  I am offering a just in time solution to the problem of having to cater (alcohol) a last minute party and easing the hassle of having to reserve space at a local hotel ballroom, party room, or other venue with a certified liquor license. You can call our hotline or click online. You can be browsing for party favors, local bars, or catering services and stubble upon our solution. Emergency Booze is not an attempt at hosting a party for you, rather a useful addition to your already existing party. You choose your theme and we will aim to cater to your needs as much as possible. If you would like an immiddeate solution, we have already exisiting themes and layouts. We can operate in private and certain public locations.  

    We aim to provide our service to anyone who has ever experienced a "slow" party or mixer if you will. Or maybe they have family coming to town and haven't made proper preparations. They want to have a large gathering, maybe a BBQ or cocktail party but are unsure whether to guide the masses to a venue with a liquor license or stay home and call a regular catering service. My demographic would not be able to provide the proper stage, equipment, utensils, or drinkware that is neccesary for a catering service to work. "But The service will provide there own equipment at a fee at least". Yes, but it remains your typical waiter service. The drinks are pre-made at a tent and served to you. With Emergency Booze, we provide a themed bar that you can sit down, relax, watch your drink being created, and have that happy hour feeling at. But at home, or at your local music festival, carnival, etc. 

   My customers will pay for the ease, comfort, and preciseness that my service delivers. We will save our customers time and stress in that we are certified, mobile, all inclusive, and customizable. We hope to provide augmented benfits that help us to stand out from regular catering services. perhaps our most attractive features are our pricing options. Our customer can choose to pay based on consumption (calculated based on average liquor pricing per bottle in stores plus a small facilitation fee) if they are not sure about party size or bottle count needed. Our more affordable option provides packages of set number of bottles that are customizable to your need by brand or type. This option accounts for wholesale pricing and is at a discount. 

  We offer certain pricing options and a revolutionary approach to catering that sets us apart from other catering services. We provide a fully stocked, themed, open or close layout bar in which you can sit, relax, and enjoy the proper party/happy hour experience at the comfort of your, your family's, or your friends home. Or at your local hectic music festival or carnival for example. Our uniqueness is in our range of customer base, ease of logistics and cost, and augmented party favors if you will. 

Upon completion of this assessment i realized that my concept is plausible and creative. I was able to target my audience, fine tune ideas on pricing, and truly reflect upon my customer base and service offering. I became more confident about my idea and believe to hold some ground if properly executed and within the right legal boundaries. The kink in my chain that I came across after this exercise was, What truly sets me apart form my competitors? AmI establishing a new and revolutionary service? or am I a silly twist of an already existent concept? Hmmmmm.....

Elevator Pitch No. 1

For my business idea, i chose to address the burden of having to throw a last minute party. Many people feel responsible for welcoming family or friends that have come to visit with a big party but don't really know how to cater. They can hire food catering and buy their favorite liquor, maybe even hire a bartender and waiter. These appear to be more of a formal event with a servant bringing you a rather easy drink to make. With Emergency Booze, the rush to find a suitable place with a liquor license or last minute number crunching and planning to hire a bartender/waiter, is over. Emergency booze will cater to crowds of all ages 21+ looking to throw an exciting party or family get together with a twist. You could have your own bar on your backyard or take your favorite cocktails to your uncles house. This idea will serve to facilitate party favors in terms of alcohol and give an exciting twist to home parties.