Exit strategy-
1) I would stay with my business, as founder and CEO, for as long as I could. In that time where I have that position, I would try to develop the business as much as possible. I would try to grow it as much as I could, in other words, I would work for as long as I can to do as much as possible to go above and beyond the original goals. After I retire, I would pass it on to someone who is equally as passionate and eager to continue expanding. This person would also have to be dedicated to finding new ways that my business can continue its theme of environmentalism and social causes.
2) I selected this particular exit strategy because I want the business to maintain it's original foundation of social entrepreneurship and making a product-service that advocates for environmental and human welfare causes. I want it to continue this original objective, even after I retire. I want it to forever be known as a peaceful, environmentally-friendly coffee shop, and I feel like if I sell it for a return, it's development will be out of my control. Basically, I don't want anyone to tamper with its original purpose and message, which is why I'll choose someone with a similar original vision as I had to run the business.
3) I believe my exit strategy does reflect many of the decisions I've taken in developing my entrepreneurial concept. When working through the class assignments that guided me in developing everything, I made sure to maintain the original purpose of the business -- to create a quality coffee shop with delicious, healthy products that also incentivize people to support environmental causes. This remained constant throughout the whole process, and therefore my exit strategy shows that I will make sure it remains constant even after I retire. Consistency is a key pattern in my business, and has become a very valuable aspect in how I make decisions.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Celebrating Failure
As a first-year college student, or rather, as a normal human being, I've learned that it is completely okay to make mistakes sometimes. We aren't perfect, and that is something I have learned extensively during my first semester of college.
During my second week as a college student, there was a syllabus quiz to be completed for my Macro class. However, I wasn't too Canvas savvy at that point -- the quiz was due at 8 AM on a Monday, but for some reason I thought I had until 8 PM to turn it in. You could've imagined my surprise when I opened my computer at 5 PM to work on the quiz, and lo and behold, it was already marked as past due. No makeups. I felt a rush of anger and disbelief at myself, how could I let such a thing occur?
Thankfully, everything turned out okay. The professor drops the 2 lowest quiz grades for the semester! I certainly took that experience as a valuable lesson that has aided me ever since -- always pay close attention to due date details. Do things ahead of time to avoid such easy slip-ups. I don't know if I would be so meticulous with details as I am today, had that mistake not occurred back in August. So at the end of the day, I celebrate myself for both the highs and lows.
Failure is something that happens to people at some point or another. However, here's one of my all-time favorite quotes --
"The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried." - Stephen McCranie.
When I first stumbled upon this quote, it resonated deep within me. It ultimately changed the way I perceived failure. Failures are lessons that help us improve for the future. For example -- didn't do so well on a test? Change your study habits. See what went wrong and improve yourself. In entrepreneurship, failing is the way that you learn what works and what doesn't -- therefore, the insights gained are incredibly valuable. Also, without experiencing the lows, you won't appreciate the highs as much when they occur. I think it's important to celebrate all aspects of being an entrepreneur, and learn as much as you can.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Venture Concept No.1
Sustainable Coffee Shop Venture Concept
Opportunity
My business is comprised of a local coffee shop which envelopes an element of social consciousness by promoting environmental sustainability. Therefore, my venture concept stretches onto a variety of different opportunities in various spheres -- a need for independent, localized places to buy coffee, greater promotion of organic coffee agriculture and the local agricultural economy, places with eco-friendly materials and inventory, and businesses with an educational/social mission for the greater good.
So, who exactly is in need of these things? Simply put, everyone. That is why I could decipher this opportunity, as it is inclusive of all people. There is a huge market for coffee lovers, environmental activists, and overall, people that want to make a change while going about their everyday routines such as enjoying their daily cup of fresh coffee. Although a good strategy would be to market to young college students that make up a great proportion of coffee consumers and social cause activists, my business would still cater to all people. Currently, people are satisfying this need by turning to large corporate franchises like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McCafé, etc. Truth be told, the quality of coffee from these places cannot compare to that of a fresh, flavorful, and locally grown cup of coffee. Coffee beans distributed to the masses just don't have the same homemade warmth, healthy properties, and care to it, and it's palpable from the way it's produced to the way it tastes. Your Grande Caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks carries a staggering 66g of sugar, has artificial flavoring, high cholesterol, and all other kinds of unhealthy qualities encompassed in food produced for the masses. People deserve something better than this, and my business is the healthy alternative.
The window of opportunity regarding social entrepreneurship is only beginning to grow as we transition into a new millennium, where positive change and doing good is starting to become highly emphasized in our social fabric. In a world where environmental and social problems like climate change and income inequality are beginning to come to light, people are starting to fight back and make their voices heard -- and my business allows them to do so in perhaps the easiest way possible, as they don't have to go out of their way to make a change!
Innovation
The greatest aspect of innovation in my business has to do with the social cause that is tied to the business, allowing for feasibility in making a positive change as people go on about their daily lives. This also places an incentive for doing good, as customers get a high-quality cup of coffee in return -- a product that a lot of people want everyday!
Here's how it works: We acquire organic coffee beans from local farmers. Not only does this economically help the local agricultural market, but it's also good for the environment. By harvesting organically grown coffee beans instead of the genetically modified ones, we are helping the local soil maintain fertility and growing a product that is better and healthier for people to consume. Furthermore, the coffee beans would be grown using sustainable agricultural practices like minimized fertilizer/pesticide use, which is great news for environmental sustainability. Also, since the coffee beans will be harvested locally, there's no need for them to be trucked and transported from thousands of miles away, so that's less greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
A cup of coffee with healthy roots and simple ingredients made transparent for consumers is really good news for the environment and human health and awareness. Our coffee drinks will be made with healthy ingredients to preserve quality and freshness, it will taste homemade -- so no artificial flavoring, excessive sugar, and weird ingredients that you can't pronounce. The result is a simple and delicious coffee drink that consumers don't have to think twice about drinking. The cups themselves will be manufactured from recycled material, and engineered to be as compostable and biodegradable as possible -- demonstrating the innovative eco-consciousness enveloped in all details of my business.
Consumers also have the option of ordering their favorite drinks through smartphone apps in order to avoid waiting in lines, which is very useful if they are in a rush and want to expedite their purchase. The most innovative detail of my business, however, has to be the annual educational trip. A potion the profits -- what remains after the variable/fixed costs are paid -- will be saved up over the course of a year to fund an educational trip. The trip would be to a developing country where coffee agriculture is prominent in the economy, like Indonesia, Colombia, Ethiopia, etc., and would be composed of investors, the most loyal customers, and some employees/administrative personnel. The purpose would be to help with sustainable agricultural research and development in these places, with the ultimate goal of fostering growing techniques in these regions that are environmentally sustainable.
Venture Concept
As previously discussed, the opportunity and need that my business addresses covers a variety of different spheres. There's a need for feasible access to local coffee shops to promote the local economy and agricultural landscape. There's a need for healthy coffee drinks sourced from organic coffee beans and made with simple and good ingredients, all while preserving a delicious and fresh taste. There's a need for businesses to integrate environmental consciousness and ethics in their products and services. There's a need for an easier way for people to promote social and environmental causes without people having to get out of their way to do so, and with an added bonus of a high-quality cup of coffee as an incentive. My business offers solutions to all of those needs, which is what would attract consumers to purchase from me.
The educational trip, which will take some of our greatest customers, take customers that have a certain amount of "points." Similarly to a retail rewards system, with each product purchased you get a certain amount of points -- which can be kept tracked of using the official app or a physical "rewards card" that would be recorded in a database software that the locale would use. After a customer accumulates a certain amount of points, they would be invited to join the educational trip, all expenses paid, to participate in humanitarian and environmental service by teaching sustainable agriculture in a developing region abroad. This is how my venture concept plans to incentivize people to gain eco-consciousness and do good things to promote sustainability for the planet. All you would have to do is go about your daily coffee run. My business offers delicious and healthy, organic and sustainable products that don't have the unhealthy ingredients that you would get at Starbucks or other popular franchises.
My business therefore differentiates itself from competitors by promoting environmentally-conscious harvesting, packaging, and an important annual event dedicated to environmental education and awareness, and on top of that, it's a healthy, organic product with simple and quality ingredients unlike what you would find at most coffee franchises and supermarket shelves today. Consumers get the opportunity help the local economy and the global environment as a whole, in the simplest way possible. The benefits are truly amazing!
Three minor elements
My venture's "secret sauce" would be our passion for promoting environmental sustainability, social change, and just doing good for the world. Another useful asset is the strong dedication from the entrepreneur, who would work really hard to make this business a success!
What would be next for our business is probably developing a research team on how we could incorporate even more social and environmental consciousness into the core of our business, and maximize revenue. Also, we would work on other ways that we could keep our customers happy, an example could be improving customer service so that it will be unique as possible. An example could be training the baristas to be as friendly and welcoming as possible to have the best service out there.
What would be next for me, as an entrepreneur, would be steadfast dedication to making sure the business thrives. I would probably give it my all, and this probably sounds cheesy but my heart is fully invested in the progressive cause that shapes the foundation of my venture concept. I want to strive to make sure that everything I do is for the benefit of the Earth and humanity as a whole, as feeling like I'm making a difference -- regardless of scale -- fosters utmost personal happiness and self-fulfillment more than anything.
Thanks for reading!
Opportunity
My business is comprised of a local coffee shop which envelopes an element of social consciousness by promoting environmental sustainability. Therefore, my venture concept stretches onto a variety of different opportunities in various spheres -- a need for independent, localized places to buy coffee, greater promotion of organic coffee agriculture and the local agricultural economy, places with eco-friendly materials and inventory, and businesses with an educational/social mission for the greater good.
So, who exactly is in need of these things? Simply put, everyone. That is why I could decipher this opportunity, as it is inclusive of all people. There is a huge market for coffee lovers, environmental activists, and overall, people that want to make a change while going about their everyday routines such as enjoying their daily cup of fresh coffee. Although a good strategy would be to market to young college students that make up a great proportion of coffee consumers and social cause activists, my business would still cater to all people. Currently, people are satisfying this need by turning to large corporate franchises like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McCafé, etc. Truth be told, the quality of coffee from these places cannot compare to that of a fresh, flavorful, and locally grown cup of coffee. Coffee beans distributed to the masses just don't have the same homemade warmth, healthy properties, and care to it, and it's palpable from the way it's produced to the way it tastes. Your Grande Caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks carries a staggering 66g of sugar, has artificial flavoring, high cholesterol, and all other kinds of unhealthy qualities encompassed in food produced for the masses. People deserve something better than this, and my business is the healthy alternative.
The window of opportunity regarding social entrepreneurship is only beginning to grow as we transition into a new millennium, where positive change and doing good is starting to become highly emphasized in our social fabric. In a world where environmental and social problems like climate change and income inequality are beginning to come to light, people are starting to fight back and make their voices heard -- and my business allows them to do so in perhaps the easiest way possible, as they don't have to go out of their way to make a change!
Innovation
The greatest aspect of innovation in my business has to do with the social cause that is tied to the business, allowing for feasibility in making a positive change as people go on about their daily lives. This also places an incentive for doing good, as customers get a high-quality cup of coffee in return -- a product that a lot of people want everyday!
Here's how it works: We acquire organic coffee beans from local farmers. Not only does this economically help the local agricultural market, but it's also good for the environment. By harvesting organically grown coffee beans instead of the genetically modified ones, we are helping the local soil maintain fertility and growing a product that is better and healthier for people to consume. Furthermore, the coffee beans would be grown using sustainable agricultural practices like minimized fertilizer/pesticide use, which is great news for environmental sustainability. Also, since the coffee beans will be harvested locally, there's no need for them to be trucked and transported from thousands of miles away, so that's less greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
A cup of coffee with healthy roots and simple ingredients made transparent for consumers is really good news for the environment and human health and awareness. Our coffee drinks will be made with healthy ingredients to preserve quality and freshness, it will taste homemade -- so no artificial flavoring, excessive sugar, and weird ingredients that you can't pronounce. The result is a simple and delicious coffee drink that consumers don't have to think twice about drinking. The cups themselves will be manufactured from recycled material, and engineered to be as compostable and biodegradable as possible -- demonstrating the innovative eco-consciousness enveloped in all details of my business.
Consumers also have the option of ordering their favorite drinks through smartphone apps in order to avoid waiting in lines, which is very useful if they are in a rush and want to expedite their purchase. The most innovative detail of my business, however, has to be the annual educational trip. A potion the profits -- what remains after the variable/fixed costs are paid -- will be saved up over the course of a year to fund an educational trip. The trip would be to a developing country where coffee agriculture is prominent in the economy, like Indonesia, Colombia, Ethiopia, etc., and would be composed of investors, the most loyal customers, and some employees/administrative personnel. The purpose would be to help with sustainable agricultural research and development in these places, with the ultimate goal of fostering growing techniques in these regions that are environmentally sustainable.
Venture Concept
As previously discussed, the opportunity and need that my business addresses covers a variety of different spheres. There's a need for feasible access to local coffee shops to promote the local economy and agricultural landscape. There's a need for healthy coffee drinks sourced from organic coffee beans and made with simple and good ingredients, all while preserving a delicious and fresh taste. There's a need for businesses to integrate environmental consciousness and ethics in their products and services. There's a need for an easier way for people to promote social and environmental causes without people having to get out of their way to do so, and with an added bonus of a high-quality cup of coffee as an incentive. My business offers solutions to all of those needs, which is what would attract consumers to purchase from me.
The educational trip, which will take some of our greatest customers, take customers that have a certain amount of "points." Similarly to a retail rewards system, with each product purchased you get a certain amount of points -- which can be kept tracked of using the official app or a physical "rewards card" that would be recorded in a database software that the locale would use. After a customer accumulates a certain amount of points, they would be invited to join the educational trip, all expenses paid, to participate in humanitarian and environmental service by teaching sustainable agriculture in a developing region abroad. This is how my venture concept plans to incentivize people to gain eco-consciousness and do good things to promote sustainability for the planet. All you would have to do is go about your daily coffee run. My business offers delicious and healthy, organic and sustainable products that don't have the unhealthy ingredients that you would get at Starbucks or other popular franchises.
My business therefore differentiates itself from competitors by promoting environmentally-conscious harvesting, packaging, and an important annual event dedicated to environmental education and awareness, and on top of that, it's a healthy, organic product with simple and quality ingredients unlike what you would find at most coffee franchises and supermarket shelves today. Consumers get the opportunity help the local economy and the global environment as a whole, in the simplest way possible. The benefits are truly amazing!
Three minor elements
My venture's "secret sauce" would be our passion for promoting environmental sustainability, social change, and just doing good for the world. Another useful asset is the strong dedication from the entrepreneur, who would work really hard to make this business a success!
What would be next for our business is probably developing a research team on how we could incorporate even more social and environmental consciousness into the core of our business, and maximize revenue. Also, we would work on other ways that we could keep our customers happy, an example could be improving customer service so that it will be unique as possible. An example could be training the baristas to be as friendly and welcoming as possible to have the best service out there.
What would be next for me, as an entrepreneur, would be steadfast dedication to making sure the business thrives. I would probably give it my all, and this probably sounds cheesy but my heart is fully invested in the progressive cause that shapes the foundation of my venture concept. I want to strive to make sure that everything I do is for the benefit of the Earth and humanity as a whole, as feeling like I'm making a difference -- regardless of scale -- fosters utmost personal happiness and self-fulfillment more than anything.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, November 16, 2017
What's Next?
Existing Market
In the market for products and services with social causes, I think there is a lot to come as a result of growth. I feel as though the next wave of social entrepreneurship will find a way to involve society's technological innovations -- perhaps funding for programming and coding education in third world countries, the growth of technology fueled by clean energy to promote environmental causes, apps that can detect whether or not water is safe to drink, etc. The possibilities of this growing market are endless.
Interviews
As usual, I interviewed local university students that would make up the majority of my targeted customers. The responses that I received mainly suggested that we cater to worldwide expansion as globalization of the coffee market continues its growth trends. People advocated for partnerships with rural, low-income coffee farmers in developing nations -- however, I felt as though that would take away from my businesses' goal of helping out the local agriculture.
Other responses suggested that the business should cater to technological advancements in society, as I had mentioned previously. An interesting idea could be to develop an app -- similarly to the Starbucks app -- that could keep track of a rewards system, or perhaps some sort of "points" that need to be collected in order to participate in the sustainable agriculture trip abroad. To summarize, businesses are gaining the ability to become more consumer-interactive, much of which is derived from technological development -- therefore my social enterprise would greatly benefit from adhering to these progressive changes.
Reflection
After gaining these new insights about what the future of my socially-conscious coffee shop should be, I began to vision a viable plan to take in order to develop and improve my idea into something greater. I think it makes a lot of sense to incorporate technological elements into my business in order to enhance the overall customer experience and satisfaction. The business-to-consumer interaction that is growing in marketing and frequency is definitely something very important, and something that consumers want, given its rising popularity in the business world. We see businesses interacting directly with customers over social media, and this fosters a stronger bond between buyer and seller.
The ways in which I would develop these new methods of creating growth in my existing market would be through incorporating technology into the experience. I would probably hire a developer to create an app, one preferably with a feasible and beautiful design interface to enhance the user experience. I think it would include something similar to the rewards system, alongside express ordering so that people wouldn't have to wait in lines. Either way, this shows how consumers really look for feasibility and quick convenience in a business -- both of which are made possible by incorporating technological advancements.
New Market
A completely different market for my business -- which currently targets a market of younger people, mainly university students -- I could completely change things by targeting perhaps an older audience.
I think my venture concept can create value for the older age demographic similarly to how I created value for my original market -- by marketing the importance of the environmental cause that is the heart of my business. Also, I would work to maintain a friendly, warm customer experience ranging from the helpful service to the satisfaction post-purchase. The atmosphere of the local shop would remain a little more traditional and peaceful in order to cater to the older audience.
Interviews
The responses that I received were very similar in nature, regarding the customer demands this new demographic market. They would like a place that keeps a more traditional atmosphere -- perhaps the decor, product names, colors, and overall arrangements wouldn't have such youthful notes, like what you'd find at a university locale. The shop would have to be more classic in design, and perhaps not promote such a social and crowded atmosphere that the younger market would prefer.
The responses also emphasized the importance of warmth and tranquility of the place itself, which must then reflect the actual coffee products themselves. So it would be perhaps a quiet place so that people could unwind after long working days.
Reflection
I wasn't too surprised by the difference in interview responses that I received for the existing and new market ideas. My assumptions regarding the new market were confirmed as the responses highlighted the importance of a calm and comfortable experience. I assumed that targeting an older audience for my coffee shop would incorporate more traditional elements of coffee shops, such as timeless decor and warm atmospheres.
I think both markets are very attractive for my business, everyone has similar demands for a high quality product enhanced by the experience from entering and leaving the coffee shop. Though I think a younger audience would, on average, be more inclined to the social entrepreneurship idea of environmental causes for sustainability in the future, I think it's still something that concerns all people regardless of demographics. Therefore, I learned that I could benefit greatly from placing my venture concept in a market for all people -- though I would still maintain the innovative "millennial" aspects of social media marketing, technological developments, etc.
In the market for products and services with social causes, I think there is a lot to come as a result of growth. I feel as though the next wave of social entrepreneurship will find a way to involve society's technological innovations -- perhaps funding for programming and coding education in third world countries, the growth of technology fueled by clean energy to promote environmental causes, apps that can detect whether or not water is safe to drink, etc. The possibilities of this growing market are endless.
Interviews
As usual, I interviewed local university students that would make up the majority of my targeted customers. The responses that I received mainly suggested that we cater to worldwide expansion as globalization of the coffee market continues its growth trends. People advocated for partnerships with rural, low-income coffee farmers in developing nations -- however, I felt as though that would take away from my businesses' goal of helping out the local agriculture.
Other responses suggested that the business should cater to technological advancements in society, as I had mentioned previously. An interesting idea could be to develop an app -- similarly to the Starbucks app -- that could keep track of a rewards system, or perhaps some sort of "points" that need to be collected in order to participate in the sustainable agriculture trip abroad. To summarize, businesses are gaining the ability to become more consumer-interactive, much of which is derived from technological development -- therefore my social enterprise would greatly benefit from adhering to these progressive changes.
Reflection
After gaining these new insights about what the future of my socially-conscious coffee shop should be, I began to vision a viable plan to take in order to develop and improve my idea into something greater. I think it makes a lot of sense to incorporate technological elements into my business in order to enhance the overall customer experience and satisfaction. The business-to-consumer interaction that is growing in marketing and frequency is definitely something very important, and something that consumers want, given its rising popularity in the business world. We see businesses interacting directly with customers over social media, and this fosters a stronger bond between buyer and seller.
The ways in which I would develop these new methods of creating growth in my existing market would be through incorporating technology into the experience. I would probably hire a developer to create an app, one preferably with a feasible and beautiful design interface to enhance the user experience. I think it would include something similar to the rewards system, alongside express ordering so that people wouldn't have to wait in lines. Either way, this shows how consumers really look for feasibility and quick convenience in a business -- both of which are made possible by incorporating technological advancements.
New Market
A completely different market for my business -- which currently targets a market of younger people, mainly university students -- I could completely change things by targeting perhaps an older audience.
I think my venture concept can create value for the older age demographic similarly to how I created value for my original market -- by marketing the importance of the environmental cause that is the heart of my business. Also, I would work to maintain a friendly, warm customer experience ranging from the helpful service to the satisfaction post-purchase. The atmosphere of the local shop would remain a little more traditional and peaceful in order to cater to the older audience.
Interviews
The responses that I received were very similar in nature, regarding the customer demands this new demographic market. They would like a place that keeps a more traditional atmosphere -- perhaps the decor, product names, colors, and overall arrangements wouldn't have such youthful notes, like what you'd find at a university locale. The shop would have to be more classic in design, and perhaps not promote such a social and crowded atmosphere that the younger market would prefer.
The responses also emphasized the importance of warmth and tranquility of the place itself, which must then reflect the actual coffee products themselves. So it would be perhaps a quiet place so that people could unwind after long working days.
Reflection
I wasn't too surprised by the difference in interview responses that I received for the existing and new market ideas. My assumptions regarding the new market were confirmed as the responses highlighted the importance of a calm and comfortable experience. I assumed that targeting an older audience for my coffee shop would incorporate more traditional elements of coffee shops, such as timeless decor and warm atmospheres.
I think both markets are very attractive for my business, everyone has similar demands for a high quality product enhanced by the experience from entering and leaving the coffee shop. Though I think a younger audience would, on average, be more inclined to the social entrepreneurship idea of environmental causes for sustainability in the future, I think it's still something that concerns all people regardless of demographics. Therefore, I learned that I could benefit greatly from placing my venture concept in a market for all people -- though I would still maintain the innovative "millennial" aspects of social media marketing, technological developments, etc.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Elevator Pitch No.3
The feedback I received on my last elevator pitch was very positive. Everyone had very kind and constructive responses, which I enjoyed reading. Everything stood out to be since it was all kind. I tried to speak more clearly and show greater dynamic such as vocal variety, in order to cultivate audience engagement -- though I feel like these are the things I struggle with the most. Everyone seemed to like the social and environmental consciousness attached to the pitch and how I emphasized the business being constructed from a passionate cause.
I didn't really change anything from my last pitch, as the feedback suggested it was sufficient, though I am open to receiving any constructive criticism! I found that compared to the last two times it was a lot easier to be in front of the camera and speak as I pitch my idea even if I had changed my idea. I still messed up a few times but I feel as though it's not as bad as before. The more I practice the pitch, the easier it seems to be which really highlights my progress in building these vital entrepreneurship skills.
Your Venture's Unfair Advantage
What Makes You So Special?
Resources already possessed --
1) Steadfast dedication and tenacity
2) Personal connection/passion for the business
4) Social & environmental cause enveloped in the business
5) Highly demanded and popular product
6) Materials are eco-friendly and easy to acquire
7) Great support network of friends and family
8) Target customers are local
9) Great business atmosphere and environment
10) Annual educational trip that attracts customers
Resources already possessed --
1) Steadfast dedication and tenacity
- Businesses with a strong, dedicated leadership are more likely to stand out from the rest
- "Staying power" depends on the ability of founders to stay as it progresses through obstacles and other difficulties in the start-up phase and in the future
2) Personal connection/passion for the business
3) Connections to the organic coffee market
- Provides motivation to develop the business to the best extent it can be
- High personal investment allows for a greater chance for the business to be sucessful
- If you love what you do, you're going to be more interested in growing the business.
- First-hand experience with your business allows for greater understanding of it
- Greater understanding = enhanced skills and capabilities that will allow for the business to run more feasibly
- Knowing what you're doing will make you a more effective entrepreneur, also allows for greater personal investment
4) Social & environmental cause enveloped in the business
- Highly marketable and attractive to customers
- Allows for people to make a positive change in this world without going out of their daily routines
- Allows to develop a more loyal and strong customer-base composed of people that advocate for environmentalist causes
5) Highly demanded and popular product
- Lots of people drink coffee everyday
- A product that is highly sought-after in daily life is going to help in sales and attracting customers
6) Materials are eco-friendly and easy to acquire
- Coffee cups and other materials will mainly be recycled, which is cheaper and easier to manufacture as opposed to acquiring completely new production materials
- Saves money and promotes economic efficiency
7) Great support network of friends and family
- Strong support from close contacts will help provide motivation to keep working hard
- Can help with tackling obstacles, especially in the first entrepreneurial phases, by seeing issues with an outside and fresh perspective
- Encouraging and helpful
8) Target customers are local
- Developing a local business near the university, which encompasses a high proportion of daily coffee consumers
- Millennials and the youth are very likely to support progressive causes, such as the environmental advocacy that my business is based off of
- Helps create a strong and steady customer base
9) Great business atmosphere and environment
- Social café environment will be highly attractive to customers, which will encourage growth
- Great place for people to meet up, do homework, relax, etc., which yields a high rate of customers that will return and share to other people -- helps expand the business
- Provides a positive local space
10) Annual educational trip that attracts customers
- Serves as a valuable marketing tool
- Incorporates an element of social entrepreneurship to give the business more dimension
- Encourages greater business-to-customer interaction and builds a more loyal customer base
Top Resource -- The resources that had the greatest VRIN outcome, and thus is the least substitutable as it's difficult for other businesses to incorporate, would be the annual educational trip that my business would do. The trip is to a developing country where coffee is highly produced in their economy -- business investors and the most loyal customers get to go abroad and teach local coffee farmers more environmentally-friendly and sustainable agricultural practices. This element of social entrepreneurship is unique as it promotes a cause that people can advocate behind. This is highly marketable and creates a loyal customer base as people like to do good actions without having to step out of their daily routine, which is something that not many other businesses can replicate easily. Therefore, it's definitely the most vital resource as it composes the purpose of my business.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Reading Reflection No.2
The book I chose for this assignment was Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan.
1) The overarching theme, or overall argument of the book was that the traditional ways of marketing to attract customers are phasing out. This includes spamming physical mail, phone calls, e-mails, and other old ways that businesses used to reach out to customers. These traditional marketing tactics are being replaced by the rise of the internet's interconnectedness -- especially social media. This book analyzes the psychological and societal changes that influence the dynamic regarding consumer reaction to marketing -- and explains how entrepreneurs can make the most out of these new marketing trends.
2) This book correlates very well with course material for this class, especially the lecture topics that were covered this week -- as the marketing aspect of entrepreneurship is one of the most important. Marketing your product to consumers is an incredibly intricate process, and every small decision made by the entrepreneur regarding the sale of their product/service can yield drastic effects. Everything from your business' image, reputation, pricing, structure, marketing tactics, and more are very important when it comes to market competitiveness and consumer appeal -- and this book goes into detail on that.
3) If I had to design an exercise related to the book, I would probably make something fun and interactive.
Every person in the group would create and upload a short advertisement (or elevator pitch if they'd like) that can take any kind of format (picture/poster, video, audio, anything) to be hypothetically posted online through social media. The ad or pitch would attempt to sell something very basic -- like "sell me this pen" if anyone has seen Wolf of Wall Street. At the end of the week when all the media is posted, everyone in the group has to vote for ONE ad/pitch that they found the most convincing and would be most likely to purchase. Afterwards, there would be a reflection on the good marketing strategies used in the ad/pitch that had the most votes -- what was effective about the marketing message? Why was it the most appealing to the potential customers, and what marketing tactics made it different than the rest?
4) I didn't really have any significant "aha" moments -- as I had already been aware about the increasing importance of marketing through social media platforms such as blogs, and Google search relevance. Growing up in an age where interconnectedness has grown as never before seen due to the Internet, I've been exposed to how businesses adapt their marketing plans in response to these technological and societal developments. However, something new that I did learn was the importance of building an online community -- instead of merely plastering a popular website with ads. Fostering a sense of community where businesses interact with consumers at a more connective level than before can really improve the quality of marketing and business image -- which continue to evolve alongside innovation.
1) The overarching theme, or overall argument of the book was that the traditional ways of marketing to attract customers are phasing out. This includes spamming physical mail, phone calls, e-mails, and other old ways that businesses used to reach out to customers. These traditional marketing tactics are being replaced by the rise of the internet's interconnectedness -- especially social media. This book analyzes the psychological and societal changes that influence the dynamic regarding consumer reaction to marketing -- and explains how entrepreneurs can make the most out of these new marketing trends.
2) This book correlates very well with course material for this class, especially the lecture topics that were covered this week -- as the marketing aspect of entrepreneurship is one of the most important. Marketing your product to consumers is an incredibly intricate process, and every small decision made by the entrepreneur regarding the sale of their product/service can yield drastic effects. Everything from your business' image, reputation, pricing, structure, marketing tactics, and more are very important when it comes to market competitiveness and consumer appeal -- and this book goes into detail on that.
3) If I had to design an exercise related to the book, I would probably make something fun and interactive.
Every person in the group would create and upload a short advertisement (or elevator pitch if they'd like) that can take any kind of format (picture/poster, video, audio, anything) to be hypothetically posted online through social media. The ad or pitch would attempt to sell something very basic -- like "sell me this pen" if anyone has seen Wolf of Wall Street. At the end of the week when all the media is posted, everyone in the group has to vote for ONE ad/pitch that they found the most convincing and would be most likely to purchase. Afterwards, there would be a reflection on the good marketing strategies used in the ad/pitch that had the most votes -- what was effective about the marketing message? Why was it the most appealing to the potential customers, and what marketing tactics made it different than the rest?
4) I didn't really have any significant "aha" moments -- as I had already been aware about the increasing importance of marketing through social media platforms such as blogs, and Google search relevance. Growing up in an age where interconnectedness has grown as never before seen due to the Internet, I've been exposed to how businesses adapt their marketing plans in response to these technological and societal developments. However, something new that I did learn was the importance of building an online community -- instead of merely plastering a popular website with ads. Fostering a sense of community where businesses interact with consumers at a more connective level than before can really improve the quality of marketing and business image -- which continue to evolve alongside innovation.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Growing Your Social Capital
Social Capital
1) Jaco de Witt -- a South African coffee shop entrepreneur.
2) This person is filling the spot as the domain expert, as he also centered his coffee shop around a social business model.
3) I found the person while reading online about the rise of social entrepreneurship, and how he was able to develop his socially-conscious coffee shop "Roast Republic" through bootstrapping.
4) The nature of the contact is an e-mail regarding my business plan of creating an environmentally-conscious, atmospheric coffee shop -- such as attaching my elevator pitch -- and receive feedback.
5) Including this person in my network would help me understand the nature behind creating a successful social coffee shop -- i.e, how to offer people an opportunity to do something good as they go about their daily purchases.
1) Andrew Hetzel -- a coffee market expert and consultant with specializations in international trade and value chain.
2) This person is filling the spot of market expert -- as he has profound understanding of coffee value chain development, trade, marketing, and consulting for private and public businesses in the coffee industry around the world.
3) I found this person's online Linkedin profile that showcases his areas of expertise regarding the coffee industry and international markets.
4) The nature of the contact is also an e-mail of my business plan to create a socially-conscious coffee shop -- but asking for insights on operations and management plans, along with marketing strategies.
5) Including this person in my business network would allow for a greater understanding of the logistical side of running a quality coffee shop. Having a consultant in my networks would be beneficial for guidance on operations, management, marketing, overall business development and trade.
1) Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co., an organization that partners with international coffee growers and roasts their own coffee to supply to local coffee businesses in Gainesville, Florida.
2) This company would fill the spot of being the supplier due to their coffee supplying services.
3) I found this company while researching online the variety of coffee suppliers in the local area.
4) The nature of the contact is reach out to this organization -- preferably getting a response from the person in charge of business partnership and relations -- and explaining my business concept and receiving feedback, such as whether or not they would be willing suppliers.
5) Having a network with the Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co. would be very beneficial as a start-up local coffee shop, I would need a nearby and reliable supplier. Furthermore, their company has similar philosophies and values to mine -- partnership with small scale and local farmers, using organic and sustainable harvesting, and fostering eco-awareness within the community. The alignment of business values is important when developing meaningful networks.
Reflection -- This experience of targeted networking was very beneficial, as it helped me outline the niche that I should keep in mind when fostering networks and business relations. In the past, I would always network with everyone I came across, as I felt like everyone I met could have something to offer when it comes to business. To a certain extent, I still have this mindset in believing that there is something that every individual can offer -- however this practice really helped me see the importance of more narrow and specific networking to get people with the highest expertise in your business's domain and sphere, especially as you move forward in the entrepreneurial process.
1) Jaco de Witt -- a South African coffee shop entrepreneur.
2) This person is filling the spot as the domain expert, as he also centered his coffee shop around a social business model.
3) I found the person while reading online about the rise of social entrepreneurship, and how he was able to develop his socially-conscious coffee shop "Roast Republic" through bootstrapping.
4) The nature of the contact is an e-mail regarding my business plan of creating an environmentally-conscious, atmospheric coffee shop -- such as attaching my elevator pitch -- and receive feedback.
5) Including this person in my network would help me understand the nature behind creating a successful social coffee shop -- i.e, how to offer people an opportunity to do something good as they go about their daily purchases.
1) Andrew Hetzel -- a coffee market expert and consultant with specializations in international trade and value chain.
2) This person is filling the spot of market expert -- as he has profound understanding of coffee value chain development, trade, marketing, and consulting for private and public businesses in the coffee industry around the world.
3) I found this person's online Linkedin profile that showcases his areas of expertise regarding the coffee industry and international markets.
4) The nature of the contact is also an e-mail of my business plan to create a socially-conscious coffee shop -- but asking for insights on operations and management plans, along with marketing strategies.
5) Including this person in my business network would allow for a greater understanding of the logistical side of running a quality coffee shop. Having a consultant in my networks would be beneficial for guidance on operations, management, marketing, overall business development and trade.
1) Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co., an organization that partners with international coffee growers and roasts their own coffee to supply to local coffee businesses in Gainesville, Florida.
2) This company would fill the spot of being the supplier due to their coffee supplying services.
3) I found this company while researching online the variety of coffee suppliers in the local area.
4) The nature of the contact is reach out to this organization -- preferably getting a response from the person in charge of business partnership and relations -- and explaining my business concept and receiving feedback, such as whether or not they would be willing suppliers.
5) Having a network with the Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co. would be very beneficial as a start-up local coffee shop, I would need a nearby and reliable supplier. Furthermore, their company has similar philosophies and values to mine -- partnership with small scale and local farmers, using organic and sustainable harvesting, and fostering eco-awareness within the community. The alignment of business values is important when developing meaningful networks.
Reflection -- This experience of targeted networking was very beneficial, as it helped me outline the niche that I should keep in mind when fostering networks and business relations. In the past, I would always network with everyone I came across, as I felt like everyone I met could have something to offer when it comes to business. To a certain extent, I still have this mindset in believing that there is something that every individual can offer -- however this practice really helped me see the importance of more narrow and specific networking to get people with the highest expertise in your business's domain and sphere, especially as you move forward in the entrepreneurial process.
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Final Reflection
As I look back on all of my old posts, I've come to realize how much I've grown in this class and as an individual ...
