Week 15 Reading Reflection

This weeks reading was extremely interesting to me.  It's always fascinating to read about cultures where some people can earn as little as $1.00 a day, and they still believe in themselves enough to invest in themselves.  I think that is extremely courageous and inspiring.  Some people in the United States make 30,000 a year and still do not believe it would be fiscally possible to make an investment of any kind, and instead they live paycheck to paycheck.  I think entrepreneurs and people around the world have a lot to learn from microfinancers and the customers of these companies. --That anything is possible.  If I were to ask the author a question, I would ask if there was time during this business where he contemplated giving the money to the people who threatened his business.  I would also ask him if he thinks his business would have still succeeded if he originally had given them the money.  Would people still respect the business? I was originally confused as to how micro financing worked, but after I read the article it was much more clear to me.  I do not think the author was wrong about anything in this article.

Final Reflection

After reading through my entire blog, I realized how much I have done and written for this class.  I think the most formative thing was the interviews with other entrepreneurs, feeling comfortable enough to reach out.  I think we realized the friendliness of others and how willing other people are to help.  I think another formative thing I've learned is time management and how important it is to stay on top of assignments and watch out for due dates.  I would have to say that my most joyous experience was handing out dollars for the "free money" assignment.  I think I'll remember that for a long time because it was very interesting.  I am most proud of myself for simply doing all of the posts by their due date.  I think a lot of students struggled to keep up with assignments but I think I succeeded in the challenge. At the end, I would not consider myself an entrepreneur, but that is because I have not actually tried to start my own venture of business yet.   I do, however, believe I have so much more knowledge about what it takes to start a business, and I think this also contributes to why I do not consider myself an entrepreneur yet.  --I know what it takes to be one.  The steps and processes involved are so complex.  I have definitely come closer to having an entrepreneurial mindset. For future students, make sure you keep up with the coursework.  As there are no exams or quizzes, the assignments take up your entire grade and they are easy to miss.  I love the 9 pm deadline time because it keeps me from staying up late to finish assignments, its great.  I would also suggest to work ahead, it makes the assignments and your responses so much better, because you are not crunched for time.  I think my best posts have been the ones that I've done ahead of time. To foster the mindset, just be open minded and imagine success.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

After much consideration, I've decided to keep my 4th elevator pitch the same as my third one.  The explanation is below. 

After the first pitch, people where a little confused.  I had focused too much on the fact that the tracker was identical to a credit card.  Some people I interviewed about the product thought the tracker was only a replica for a credit card so a thief would try using that card instead of a real card.  I got the response, "Well, what if the thief tries all the cards?"  For the second pitch, I tried to make my Elevator Pitch clear that the tracker is only for tracking purposes, not to stop the thief from spending any of the money in your wallet.  I also included the fact that a lot of people are now making purchases on their cell phones, so less people are carrying wallets.  Because of this, if you are carrying a wallet, it is more likely to be stolen, because the decrease in the amount of wallets for thieves to steal.  My third change to my product and pitch was the addition of an app or website, where people can access information about the whereabouts of their wallets.  Some of the people I interviewed seemed confused as to where they could track it from. 

After the second pitch, I concluded from the comments that almost all changes had been made that needed to be, to be clear about the product.  One suggestion that I added to my pitch was that the tracker could be used for luggages, duffles, and backpacks while traveling.  If your luggage has ever been lost while flying, the tracker can tell you exactly where it is, so you know where to call.  Overall, the four comments I received on my second elevator pitch were very positive, and people seemed excited about the idea, and happy with the changes I made on the second pitch. 

After the third pitch, I didn't really receive that much feedback.  Someone suggested that I start including SafeCard in designer purses, so it becomes a mainstream perk to buying designer purses, and a staple.  This way the brands would purchase very large amounts of SafeCards, and enter into contracts with me, where I could make massive sales at one time. I decided not to include this aspect in my forth elevator pitch, because that would come much later on for the product. I decided that there were no changes that I wanted to make about the information I included, and the way it was presented. 

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

With the growing theft rates, and with stress levels on the rise and our days getting busier and busier, it is easy to lose personal items or worry about misplacing your belongings.  Traveling is also becoming more and more popular, where it is extremely easy to have your items stolen or misplaced. Almost everyone in every demographic uses a wallet, luggage, purse, or jacket.  Sense my product can be used on almost every item or device, the customer base is endless. Currently, my customers do not have a solution to finding a lost or stolen item.  They may have insurance on their products to protect them if their phone or wallet is stolen, but sometimes these insurance policies are expensive and unaffordable. I think customers would easily switch from an insurance policy to using my disguised tracker if they trusted the device, because it would be much more affordable.  The window of opportunity has been open for a few years, since tracking technologies such as bluetooth, and the ways to access location, through apps and the internet, have been available. 

Innovation

SafeCard is a tracker that is sold in many different forms to disguise itself from thieves.  For your wallet, buy a tracker that looks like any old credit card.  For your luggage, buy one that looks like a luggage tag.  SafeCard uses an app and a website, where customers can log on and view the location of any of the devices they have registered.  You can also use the app to make whichever SafeCard you would like make a sound, either a vibration, loud ring, or soft ring.  This way, even if you know the location of your object, but it is lost in a crowded or cluttered area, you kind find it using sound.  This card is disguised as many different items so that if stolen, the thief will not know to discard of it. I am also selling holders for the SafeCard to be secure on the item that you are tracking.  A holder and keychain that can easily attach and detach from any item you would like.  The trackers would be sold for $25.00 to $30.00 each, depending on the item that the tracker is imitating, and the holders for $5.00 to $10.00, depending on the type of holder.  This is around the same price or less from any other tracker that is on the market, and it is very affordable. 

Venture Concept

Consumers will use SafeCard to find their items such as jackets, purses, wallets, luggages, and more, when these items are either lost or stolen. Customers will buy this for a piece of mind, and to save money on buying insurance for their items, and instead of re-buying their items when misplaced or stolen. Customers will switch to the SafeCard because the technology will be trustworthy and reliable.  Also apps are becoming increasingly popular, and are used in every day life by most Americans these days.  Customers will be very comfortable with using the app to find their items, and feel more at ease while traveling or working.  The competitors are other tracking device products, such as Cube, the tracking device that I mentioned in my last post.  The advantage that SafeCard has over cube is that SafeCard looks like other items, such as credit cards and luggage tags.  If a thief see's Cube on a wallet or luggage, the thief would recognize the tracker and quickly discard of it. For this product, I would not have a physical store, or location for people to go to, I would sell the product on the website, and from the app.  If people were interested in the product, they could simply download the app and order as many SafeCards as they would like to their house.  I would want a customer support team over the phone, and I would also like fast delivery and shipping to the customers house or business.  The packaging could be a very basic, inexpensive job, as we are trying to cut product and shipping costs down as much as possible, and the product would not easily break. 

Three Final Elements

1.  Unfair Advantages:

• Hundreds of apps are downloaded everyday.  They are such an available, easy, and fast way to buy and obtain a product.  Most people have many many apps on their phones, and would prefer a product that they could use from the convenience of their phones.

• We have such a dependence on technology, and because we are on our phones often, we can get distracted from the rest of our belongings, meaning that they are more available to be stolen. As theft in the US and abroad becomes more common, demand for my product will go up.

•  The demand for insurance is going up, as people would rather pay to feel protected.  This card is a form of insurance because people are paying to be able to find their items if lost or stolen.  People in the United States are spending more and more on insurance than ever before.  Because this card is a form of insurance, the demand high, and rising.

• Most people who order the product will order 2, or 3, so that they can put them in different places to keep track different items. This will drive up sales.  Even if the customer only buys one product to start, if he or she is happy with it, they will probably want another to put in a backpack or suitcase, and feel more secure.

• Hundreds of apps are downloaded everyday.  They are such an available, easy, and fast way to buy and obtain a product.  Most people have many many apps on their phones, and would prefer a product that they could use from the convenience of their phones.

2.  Next Venture:

• The next opportunity or aspect of my venture that I would like to accomplish would be promoting the tracker to be sold for everything.  I want to make it a common, "cant live without" item, like a cell phone.  
• I would expand it to go on children, pets, cars, bikes, skateboards, ect.  I would want to decrease the price as much as possible so that people could afford to buy them in bulk and put it on everything.  

3.  Future:

• Five years from now, I would like SafeCard to be a common and necessary household item.  In the future I would like people to look back and wonder how they got by without a tracker on their important belongings, just as people look back and wonder how they survived so many years without a cell phone, or the internet.  
• People spend so much waisted time looking for lost or misplaced belongings, which could be simply avoided with this device.  People also worry so much about items being stolen, but the police could easily use the tracker to track down any item using this product. 

Summary of feedback & What I Changed:

After the first pitch, people where a little confused.  I had focused too much on the fact that the tracker was identical to a credit card.  Some people I interviewed about the product thought the tracker was only a replica for a credit card so a thief would try using that card instead of a real card.  I got the response, "Well, what if the thief tries all the cards?"  For the second pitch, I tried to make my Elevator Pitch clear that the tracker is only for tracking purposes, not to stop the thief from spending any of the money in your wallet.  I also included the fact that a lot of people are now making purchases on their cell phones, so less people are carrying wallets.  Because of this, if you are carrying a wallet, it is more likely to be stolen, because the decrease in the amount of wallets for thieves to steal.  My third change to my product and pitch was the addition of an app or website, where people can access information about the whereabouts of their wallets.  Some of the people I interviewed seemed confused as to where they could track it from. 

After the second pitch, I concluded from the comments that almost all changes had been made that needed to be, to be clear about the product.  One suggestion that I added to my pitch was that the tracker could be used for luggages, duffles, and backpacks while traveling.  If your luggage has ever been lost while flying, the tracker can tell you exactly where it is, so you know where to call.  Overall, the four comments I received on my second elevator pitch were very positive, and people seemed excited about the idea, and happy with the changes I made on the second pitch. 

After the third pitch, I didn't really receive that much feedback.  Someone suggested that I start including SafeCard in designer purses, so it becomes a mainstream perk to buying designer purses, and a staple.  This way the brands would purchase very large amounts of SafeCards, and enter into contracts with me, where I could make massive sales at one time. I decided not to include this aspect in my forth elevator pitch, because that would come much later on for the product. 

Week 14 Reading Reflection

I thought it was interesting this week that we would jump back to chapters 3 and 4.  I wonder why we were told to study these chapters in this order. I thought the most interesting part between corporate entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and the global environment for entrepreneurship, was the part about how social entrepreneurship is an up and coming segment and it becoming an important aspect. I thought these sentences outlined it perfectly; "Most often, social entrepreneurs who create transformative changes combine innovative practices, a deep knowledge of their social
issue area, and cutting-edge research to achieve their goals. For entrepreneurs working in the
social realm, innovation is not a one-time event—rather, it is a lifetime pursuit." I also found interesting the information regarding the triple bottom line; economic, environmental, and social.  I think its great that the environment is becoming as important to businesses as financial and social aspects.  If I were to ask the author anything, I would ask if the author believes that the environmental concerns should be this important, or if it is having a negative effect on entrepreneurship.  Are some business owners afraid to pursue a new product or machinery out of fear that the public will react negatively out of environmental or ethical concerns?  If there were none of these concerns, such as animal testing or pollution, would we have many more inventions and more efficient methods of production today?  What are his thoughts. I do not believe the author was incorrect about anything in this section.

Google Gold

My search engine optimization for my product has been kind of a failure.   My strategy has been to use words such as "safe," "practical," "efficient," "at-ease," "comforting," ect.  Unfortunately, many products go by "SafeCard" or some other form of my company name.  I have noticed that it is also quite popular to use the keywords I'm using for many other products and companies.  As far as social media goes, my blog has only had 539 views, which have mostly been from me.  My youtube videos have only had 3 to 11 views each, most likely from the people assigned to comment on my post.  Since I do not use twitter, it has been difficult for me to post about my blog to social media.  I think if I were to do this again, or seriously pursue the marketing of my company, I would make a twitter and Facebook page for the company and ask my social network to like it and share it.  I would also probably go for a different, more unique name, without such common words like "safe" and "card." My most viral most was my first elevator pitch, although that only reached 11 views.  In conclusion, I couldn't find my company on google using key words.. I was simply unsuccessful with my marketing and SEO techniques.  I am disappointed, but after taking this class I know that failure is 100% part of being an entrepreneur, and that from failure there is so much to learn and obviously so much room for improvement.  I know that if I develop another business or product in the future, that I will know what to avoid if I want the product to be successful.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

My first interview with Rob Walters:

• What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

"It means freedom, it means being responsible for yourself and your whole team. It means that if you have your bad day you could lose your company, and everyone who works for you.  It's the ultimate responsibility.  It also means that you do not have motivation from anyone else, you have to motivate yourself.  There's no pressure except for what you put on yourself."

• What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

"In an entrepreneurship course you should learn how to start your own business, but it should be after you gain experience in another firm.  This course should give you 100% confidence that you can make your own business work.  Make your mistakes with other peoples' money, and then start your own business. You'll know when you'll be ready to go off on your own."

• What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 

"It's hard to teach that in school.  It's extremely hard to be in business for yourself. You need a lot of capital, because the first year is the hardest year.  I wish they taught me that I need to set up work before you start your own business. It's something you have to learn on your own. You cant learn experience from school, you have to live it.  You have to dive into the best operated company you can find and explore every avenue of your business. Be very diversified and know your trade."

My impression of that initial interview is that I got very great advice from Mr. Walters.  He touched on the fact that you have to be responcible for your own motivation and drive while working for yourself, and that this is so important because your responsibility is higher than ever.  He also mentioned how hard it is to learn in school because being a successful entrepreneur relies on experience.  Since experience cannot be taught in school, Mr. Walters suggested making all of your mistakes with a company first, before going out on your own.  After taking this class, I would strongly agree that I would rather have experience in the work force before starting an entrepreneurial venture.  I have learned what these ventures entail and I would rather have real world experience before starting my own business. 

Interview Part 2:

1.  What aspect of your job has been most satisfying?

"For me, as a builder developer; taking raw land, and taking it into a money making operation. In other words, bringing in the utilities, bringing in the construction, the vertical building, and all the permitting and design aspects, you know, taking it from the raw land and taking it into a money making facility. It's an assent not only to the people who are using the facility, but the community as well, through tax revenue.  I enjoy having a vision, taking the vision to a money making machine. 

2. What was the last book or article you read that had the most impact on the way you run your business?

"Emith principle. It basically says that you have procedures within your company and people follow those procedures. You don't want your employees taking your business into their own hands and moving away from your businesses procedures. Keep things simple, and control your business."

3. What is next for the future of your business? 

"Eventually there will be a way to sell our properties to a real estate investment trust, and once we depreciate the assets enough, its time to roll them over and sell them and move on."

After taking this class, I have become more familiar with the terms and speech that the interviewee used in his answers.  I am not sure if he noticed a change in my interviewing confidence, but I definitely felt more at ease and confident while interviewing him for the second time, after a semester of experience.