Similarly to the previous idea napkin, my aspirations lie in making the world a better place through small steps at a time, which really forms the core of all the entrepreneurial ideas I've come up with for this class. If I were to start this business, I would have a full-time dedication to it -- as being an entrepreneur requires utmost commitment in order to be more successful.
What are you offering to customers? --
I am offering a small, local coffee shop. The beans would be harvested organically from low-income farmers in order to foster employment in the local coffee market. All cups and materials would be recyclable and eco-friendly. The profits of one month in the year -- or coordination of yearlong fundraisers -- will take place towards funding an annual educational trip. The trip would take employees and the most loyal customers to a developing country where coffee-based agriculture is a prominent economic drive – such as Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and more. The purpose of the trip would be to teach sustainable agricultural practices to local farmers, such as fertilizer and pesticide reduction, eco-efficient irrigation, and more
Who are you offering it to? --
I am offering this service towards the general public, as anybody can enjoy sustainably harvested coffee and making a difference in the local and global environment. However, like my last idea napkin, I would focus heavily on marketing towards young millennials -- as this generational group has shown to take greater support for causes that will affect us during our lifetimes.
Why do they care? --
The younger population demographic have a greater demand for coffee consumption -- especially college students. Also, millennials in particular are more likely to support social enterprises that are dedicated to a strong social cause. In regards to my business, the environmental cause is something that affects people everywhere, for generations to come as environmental issues progress.
What are your core competencies? --
What sets me apart from everyone else are my tenacious qualities. If I truly want something, I don't easily get discouraged from trying to get it. Also, I'm very flexible regarding adaptation to any situation or context.
I believe that all of the elements regarding my entrepreneurship skills set fuse relatively well. I believe that in order for an entrepreneur to be successful, they must have an audience to market their business too and have a strong understanding of their needs. As I am part of the target audience for the marketing, I am able to have a profound understanding of what would attract them to pay money for my social enterprise. I think my business would be appealing towards the target consumer group, and that they would care to be a part of a growing environmental movement.
Regarding a feedback memo, the comments I received on my first idea napkin were all very positive. They seemed to agree with everything I included in the first post, therefore I decided to keep this one similar to the last one as it seemed to be effective. The feedback I received liked how I included the importance of having a social cause in the business, therefore I decided to emphasize that in the post. Also, I was told that having passion for your business and what it stands for is also very important to show -- so I also decided to include that in this post.
Liana, I really like your coffee shop concept. Taking an environmentally-friendly approach will be absolutely necessary in meeting the demands of coffee around the world. Demand for coffee is rising throughout the world, but the harvesting of coffee is very sensitive to weather, diseases, and pests. One plantation's supply in Guatemala was cut by 75% in 2012 due to a certain disease that spread rapidly throughout the crops. In order to keep up with the rising demand, farmers and consumers must learn more about these environmental factors in hopes of a long-term, sustainable future for coffee. Implementing local solutions, like you have suggested, would be a good step in this direction as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Liana, I truly think you will be successful in anything you decide to do in life. I love all your attributes. You seem like a hard worker that lives each and every day to make the world a better place for all. You don’t seem to be motivated by greed but rather the pursuit of something great! You can speak more than one langue and conduct business on a global scale. Your commitment and dedication is a wonderful and rare quality. Keep up the great work and keep believing in yourself!
ReplyDeleteHi Liana, Your post is very well written. Your passion for this can be felt through your writing. Sustainability is certainly very important in a world of limited resources. If you are focusing on coffee though, how do you intend to address (if at all) caffeine addiction? My dad, for instance, has to drink several cups of coffee each day or he gets a headache, if he goes a day without than the headache goes away. Caffeine addiction causes people to drink more coffee than they really need and artificially inflates the demand, a way to help sustainability efforts would be to keep that artificial demand down. Regardless of what you do, I wish you good luck.
ReplyDeleteHey, Liana:
ReplyDeleteI read your “ Idea Napkin No. 2.” I like your business’s idea that the beans would be harvested organically from low-income farmers in order foster employment in the local coffee market, all cups and materials would be recyclable and eco-friendly, and the profits will take place towards funding an annual educational trip. You offer anybody can enjoy sustainably harvested coffee and making a difference in the local and global environment. Good job!