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 experiencing her first semester of college. I can safely say that I truly did enjoy this class, even the highs and lows. Some of the moments of dread I had, especially at first, were probably recording the elevator pitches. I've always been rather introverted, and I never really liked knowing that people would be watching me speak. However, by the very end, I got used to it -- even if the pitches were still, relatively speaking, pretty bad. Sometimes I procrastinated the assignments, especially the lengthy ones, which definitely taught me to be more timely! The most important part was that I saw growth in all aspects, which I would definitely describe as the highs in this class. I loved putting hard work into developing my tiny eco-friendly, healthy, organic coffee café and turning it into a great idea. I loved getting the friendly feedback from everyone after I published my work, so overall I'd say I had a great time.

The best experiences in this class were definitely when I attended the live lectures. The classroom environment and small group made it a really fun and interactive learning experience. I feel like I will remember years down the line the insightful lessons taught in this class about entrepreneurship, everything from starting to exiting. I loved interacting with fellow business peers, and it was a very joyous experience to be able to network with others within a class. I'm very proud of myself for accomplishing such a well-developed business idea, and how this class gave me the opportunity to decipher all the nuances that compose a successful business. I'm glad I didn't give up on developing a socially conscious business made for the benefit of people. 

Now that we've reached the end of this class, I can definitely see that I have developed a greater entrepreneurial mindset. All of the assignments truly engrained within me the different skills that an entrepreneur must have in order to be successful -- identification of an opportunity, and the ability to come up with a solution. This new insight I believe will truly aid me as I continue to pursue a career in business. I believe I haven't 100% accomplished this entrepreneurial mindset because I still lack a bit of the creativity and innovative problem-solving skills that define the successful entrepreneur, but this class has definitely brought me a lot closer.

One recommendation that I would have to students that are taking this journey in the future is to make sure that they develop a business idea that they are in love with. If they aren't absolutely passionate and crazy about their idea, it will have a lesser chance of developing into something big and successful. Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset is all about having strong dedication to your idea and working hard to develop it into something that truly meets the identified opportunity -- tenacity is key. I think the same thing would apply in regards to general success in the course, since all the assignments are going to be about developing your business idea. If they choose to follow with something they're only marginally interested in, it will be very hard to keep up with the assignments and maintain motivation. So my best advice would be to pick something you truly wish to focus on for the whole semester, do the assignments ahead of time, and watch the lectures to get as much knowledge about entrepreneurship as possible!

It was truly a pleasure to work with everyone and I'm incredibly thankful for all the wonderful feedback received throughout the semester. Best wishes to everyone, and I hope to see all of your entrepreneurial ideas come to life! 

Venture Concept No.2

Sustainable Coffee Shop Venture Concept

Opportunity

My business concept is comprised of local coffee shop, but it's not a typical one, as it is rooted in social entrepreneurship by promoting environmental sustainability. The opportunity that exists here is a need for healthy coffee products with widespread convenience and availability -- products composed of organic coffee beans that support the local economy and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. The philosophy that forms the core of my business is tailored to meeting the needs of everyone, especially within a society with a huge dependence on coffee. According to an article from USA Today published in 2013, about 83% of U.S. adults drink coffee -- therefore, there is definitely a lucrative market opportunity here!

So, who exactly is in need of these things? Simply put, everyone. As previously stated in my first venture concept, this opportunity involves a 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. People are currently satisfying this need by purchasing at large franchises that dominate the market -- Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McCafé, etc. However, the "window of opportunity" lies in the fact that people are becoming more aware of the issues that are behind these popular locations. They're often not selling the most nutritional products, as they are replete with high sugar, preservatives, artificial flavoring, etc. The window of opportunity exists as society is becoming more aware of the ingredients in their everyday products. Furthermore, these large companies don't support local coffee growers nor place much effort in improving agricultural sustainability as my business addresses. If a large proportion of the population drinks coffee everyday, then it is our societal responsibility to make sure the coffee products being sold are healthy and made with simple organic ingredients of high quality, and that they aren't depleting our local soil. People are becoming aware of the environmental problems in agriculture and business development -- therefore, I wish to present a small solution with my coffee shop. 

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 coffee market is extremely competitive, as it is dominated by the large franchises previously discussed. Therefore, it is important that my business include elements of innovation in order to differentiate itself from these large companies with staggering amounts of marketshare. The way I've incorporated this is by founding the business by enveloping social entrepreneurship in its core and in every detail -- we wish to promote better agricultural techniques like drip irrigation, organic fertilizer use, soil management, and conservation of resources. By partnering up with local organic farmers, the business also helps out the local economy. Therefore, it incentivizes people to support these significant social causes by doing something they do everyday -- enjoying their daily cup of coffee.

 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.  Therefore, unlike the major competitors, my business can proudly market its efforts to help the local and global environment, local economy, and promotion of healthy ingredients in our food. 

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.

The product being sold are delicious, healthy cups of coffee sourced naturally. The pricing will range from $3-5, depending on the size of the drink purchased. The prices won't vary too much from what you'd find at any other coffee shop, as price distribution in this market is rather uniform to maintain the current levels of quantity demanded. There will be multiple flavors and brews, as well as seasonal drinks in order to maintain product differentiation.

Venture Concept

My business solves the opportunities identified in many ways.  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 us.

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 

- The "secret sauce" of my business lies in its core purpose of doing good for the world. This makes it highly differentiated from the other competitors, and makes it very marketable to a society that is beginning to value business with social consciousness. Social capital is also very valuable as we would foster business partnerships with organic coffee farms that would supply us with the delicious and healthy ingredients needed to produce the drinks.

- 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.

Feedback Summary + Application

The feedback I received in the first venture concept assignment was regarding logistics -- such as supply, production, and organization -- were very helpful. Since originally my idea only operated in the local scale -- as I had only planned to start with only one shop -- I realized then that I would only marginally be providing a solution for the local population. As I've said before, the needs that this business aims to solve are on a more national scale. Therefore, in order to be an even better solution to the widespread need, I would have to scale and expand my business. I would do this by partnering up with national coffee farms near locations with the right arable land to grow the coffee bean crop organically, sustainably, and for low-cost. Therefore, my coffee shop can operate all-year round, perhaps even in different locations by opening up more cafés near the farming partners across the country -- thus serving more people and reaching a greater portion of the market. This solves the issues of very small distribution, which would prevent growth. Also, if I only received supply from one coffee farm, it could be affected by climate and annual soil patterns therefore slowing down production. Increasing coffee farm partnership and covering a larger geographical region would definitely solve many of the problems that arise with supply, so I'm thankful for the feedback that helped me solve this issue! 

Other than solving those issues, I didn't really change that much from the original idea. The feedback I received really emphasized the innovation behind a social business, as one comment said, it is "more than a business." It is designed to help bring awareness to the environmental issues of the agricultural sector in a local, national, and even international scale! This emphasis on education and promoting social good has proven to be the best (and main) asset of my business, and the primary way it differentiates itself from market competitors and other business projects in general. 

Thanks again for reading~

Reading Reflection No.3

The book that I chose to analyze for the last reading reflection was How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams, a comic book creator.

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

The book ties together a bunch of small, yet effective life lessons from Scott Adams. He derived these lessons throughout his experiences of developing his career -- facing hardships and even failure like every entrepreneur at some points. The book itself has a humorous tone to it, although the lessons themselves are serious and good things to take mental notes of.

Adams focused a lot on the importance of valuing yourself, taking care of yourself first before anything else. Many of the lessons incorporate some elements of "selfishness," which are incredibly important -- as in order to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to make the right decisions that benefit yourself first before anyone else. This is imperative if you wish to reach your goals and find personal success, you have to be your own biggest motivator.

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

As the book title suggests, failure is something that is a part of our lives. At one point or another, the entrepreneur stumbles upon a roadblock in the process of attaining success in their market -- a concept that the class explored in detail in the assignment "Celebrating Failure." Therefore, this book deeply enhanced the content of the class by touching upon the personal side of things -- the entrepreneurs themselves. This is just as important as focusing on the business and logistical intricacies of creating and running a venture, as you have to have a certain mindset to be a successful entrepreneur. This book therefore delves into the more personal elements of the entrepreneurial process, specifically how to get back on your feet after failures, and develop human capital to craft a mindset tailored towards success.

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

Since the book involves a lot of self-care tips to maximize personal success and happiness, I would probably develop an exercise that incorporates self-reflection. I would want students to reflect on some long-term goals -- whether it be personal, career related, etc. -- then I would want them to provide some insight on how they plan to reach these goals. It doesn't have to be incredibly elaborate because many of us aren't 100% on what we wish to do in the future. However, if we can sort of get a general idea of the small steps we plan to take to gain personal success, then I feel like it would be insightful to see how we map out what we do in the present to help prepare us for the future. Then, after this is completed, the next step would be to amend the smaller details about how we plan to reach these goals -- what are some things we can do in our everyday lives to improve ourselves and attain our goals? How can we productively improve ourselves each and every day? These small goals -- maybe perhaps like adopting a better diet, exercising more, meditation, or making more time to do the things that make us happy, are key concepts that the book emphasizes to make ourselves more successful in the future.

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?

My biggest surprise moment came while detecting a strong pattern among all of the lessons -- finding personal happiness. This means doing things that encourage you both mentally and physically, which means surrounding yourself with positive people to foster a positive attitude that will lead to success. Often time, an entrepreneur finds themselves hunched over their work for hours upon hours, and neglecting to take care of themselves and basic needs. This, according to the book, will lead one to quickly run out of the personal energy that needs to maximized in order to strongly carry out through the journey. This came as a big surprise because in entrepreneurship there is a huge emphasis on the value of "the hustle", but the book made me realize that every extreme -- like overworking -- can slow down your productivity towards reaching these goals. Therefore, it's important to create a healthy balance that focuses on working towards success but still includes elements of personal positivity, health, and management skills in order to maintain the energy to keep going.