14A Halfway Reflection

1. I have for sure developed the behavior of looking at the assignments before so I can time manage myself. I made the mistake earlier this semester of not looking at the assignments in advance, which one time led me to not having enough time because I underestimated how long it would take me to do it.

2. A moment I felt like giving up was when I underestimated the amount of time it would take to complete three assignments I had left for last-minute and to top it off as I was in a rush to finish it the electricity of my building went out for a couple of hours. I took that as a lesson for not reading the assignments in advance even though the electricity going out in my building wasn't any help. I felt like I kept a firm attitude this semester of the organization. It made me feel so stupid not being able to complete the assignment so I now organize my time.

3. Three tips:
- Make sure to keep up with the assignments so you are not left behind and are able to create a great business idea.
- Take notes! This will help you a lot when it comes to the cupcake assignments.
- Don't doubt your business idea. You will be surprised how many people actually believe in it.

13A Reading Reflection No.1

Book: Mary Kay Ash

What surprised me the most: 

After reading the book, a couple of things surprised me but there were some particular things that really surprised me about it. First being her determination and passion she had. Although people like her accountant had told her the business she was creating would fail she proceeded to build her business. Not to mention the age she had started her company.

What did I most admire: 

I admire her determination and her consistency with life. She never gave up even if there were bumps on the road and always managed to give back to her community. She never gave up and continued to move forward with creating a prosperous company. 

What did I least admire: 

I don't believe there are things I don't admire about Mary Kay. But I do believe she shouldn't allow people that pull you down like her accountant into her life. I feel as if maybe her allowing people like that into your life is like allowing this negativity into the process of creating your own business. You never know and people can have bad intentions and not want you to succeed. 

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure?

Mary Kay did encounter adversity. her being a female caused her not to receive promotions that a male would have received. She struggled with numerous financial challenges but pushed through every single one and even with the unfair challenges she pushed through making her business successful. 

What competencies did I notice the entrepreneur exhibited?

She had great mature social skills. This allowed her to create relationships that assisted her in making sure her business grew. She was also able to time manage her busy schedule and somehow run a successful business. 

One part of the reading that was confusing:

A part that was confusing to me was when she would appear then disappear in a part of the reading. 

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

1. I feel as if time management is a thing I currently struggle with and I am not even attempting to open my own business now. So how are you able to organize everything that is going on in your life while running a successful business? This can help me to organize myself and learn how to take on more tasks without overwhelming myself. 

2. With your lawyer and accountant expressing their doubts and opinions with you about your company not being successful, how did you manage to push forward without letting that affect you?

I would ask this question because I believe there are always going to be people who don't find the need for your product or business and you just need to not let that affect you because if you believe there is someone out there who would and you are confident then it shouldn't stop you. 

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Mary Kay's opinion of hard work is to be successful. She was great at time managing and this gave her the advantage of preparing herself ahead of time. She was constantly moving from place to place to accomplish her goal of making her business successful. Even with her pushing, I am sure that there were times that she felt exhausted but kept going. 

12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

Pick a segment:
Students who have busy schedules and struggle with time management. 

Interview 1:
The first student I interviewed said the need awareness was pertinent when they first experienced starting college. Although her first semester was not as bad as it is now she found it hard to adjust her routine to what it was before. She claims that now it's harder than ever. She has also decided to start working part-time and does not have time to work out. At times when she's at the library all day she wishes she could just walk around but knows that she doesn't have to waste. She consults the frustration she has of not being able to work out like she used to because of everything accumulating with her mom. Occasionally though, when she has about ten minutes to spare she will try to google a ten-minute work out before the shower but wishes for more exercise. 

Interview 2:
This student I interviewed has expressed that he has set personal health goals and has realized because of his busy schedule, the goal he wants to achieve is taking longer than expected. He works out throughout the week but not as much as he would like to because of school. He realizes this stress when he looks at the time when he is at the library. By the time he gets home he is exhausted and does not have the energy to work out. He has googled hacks on how to study lightly while working out but has found that when he tries out the hacks that are inconvenient because he loses track of where he is reading and hates having to constantly grab his phone to change the screen. 

Interview 3:
The last student I interviewed realized this was an issue during her senior year. She said that she's not quite sure why this wasn't an issue for her two years ago but expressed that it is possible because as the semesters go by the harder her classes get and the more it requires her to devote her to time to study. It is usually around 3pm after going to her classes when she realizes that time is passing by so quick and notices she won't have time to work out. She sometimes will force herself to go to the gym late at night but says that is a very rare occasion. She has talked about this situation with her dad and even offered to pay for a gym membership but still does not think that will be a solution to her because that is another thing that has to be added to her list of tasks. She's mentioned that her cousin told her she has the same issue and will just walk on the treadmill and hold her book as she reads and said that she has yet to try out her cousin's advice but seems a little uncomfortable to be holding a book while trying to work out. 

Conclusions:
Overall, everyone is aware of this need. Especially students that are learning to control their time management. It is something that is essential to them and a form of stress relief and could be an easy solution for students who care for their health but also care for their studies. It could possibly reduce the stress of students and can potentially improve their academic performance. 

11A Idea Napkin No.1

Who:
I am a senior at the University of Florida. I am a person who loves to express my ideas but also listen to others as well. I hope to use this skill and develop or help advance a product. This business concept challenging my creative skills and listens to what consumers not only need but want.

What:
I am offering a solution in school, business or even at your own house. Sometimes, there is not time throughout the day and we want to accomplish all our responsibilities and also take time out of the day to work on ourselves and our health. My solution is to create a treadmill that has a smart tablet that will allow you to read a book or use a specific app that allows you to study. This tablet on the treadmill will move at your own pace and no hands are required for you to move on to the next page.

Who are you offering it to? 
I am offering this product to students or people in general who don't seem to have enough time throughout their day. They all struggle to time manage their day. All of them want to accomplish their responsibilities and their health and to both be a priority without sacrificing one or the other. Although this product can be used from a person as young as 15 years old, this product will strive for people between the ages of 18-30 years old.

Why do they care?
Customers will be willing to pay for my product because it is an easy high-end technology solution to their problem. It is a product that is advance and works at the customer's pace. It allows them to not feel that they have to choose their health over their responsibilities.

What are your core competencies? 
I haven't seen a product that merges the priority of your health and accomplishing your readings. The tablet on the treadmill allows you to customize the pace of your reading or to read to you as well. 

Final
I believe that overall all five of the elements tie well together but I do have a few concerns on the comfort level for the customer using the product. I will have to hire a team of experts that will figure out how to adjust the text on the tablet to counteract the bobbing motion of the runners head. But I also don't believe this is a task that is unachievable.

9A Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Interview 1:
I spoke with my friend's roommate, she is 29-years-old and not too long ago came from Italy and is a current student at UF trying to graduate with her PhD. I found out that growing up in Italy and with age, she has found it harder to find the time of day to workout. In this interview, I found out that although she didn't necessarily work out back in her home town she did walk a lot. That walking everywhere was in some way her form of exercise but she also does not have the income yet to invest in a product like mine. She would prefer to take advantage of the gym that is for free at her apartment complex. She did say that when moving here there is a significant amount of walking around campus but that it's not nearly compared to the amount of walking she did back home. She found my product interesting but said she rather just place her phone on the treadmill she has in her complex and read her studies there.

Interview 2:
I interviewed my cousin in New Jersey. He is 18-years-old and just started college. He's just getting a hang of how to time manage everything he wants to do throughout the week. He expressed to me that my product would not be useful to him because although he does have weeks that are busy that he always finds the time to go workout. He has involved himself in the soccer club at school and says that is what has given him the motivation to workout and devote time to himself to make him feel better. I found out that people might already be active in their clubs and would prefer to work out as a form to get away from their studies and not merging them together.

Interview 3:
I interviewed a 47-year-old woman who works a full-time job and is a mother to twins that are 16-years old. She expressed that her kids were both on the cheerleading team and travel a lot due to competitions. I found out that because of her busy schedule she doesn't have the time throughout the day to go to work, be there for her kid's competition, go home and cook for her family and then somehow workout. Although the idea of my product sounded nice to her she claimed it would be an unrealistic thing for her to actually use and that even if the product was provided at her job she does not have the motivation to use it because of how busy her day is. I found out that even if people might have a busy schedule they just sometimes simply do not have the interest of working out and are okay with their current health condition.

Interview 4:
I interviewed a 20-year-old stem major who is currently stressed about all the back to back exams she has been having. She expressed to me that her studying is a lot of practice problems and that she sees the potential in my product but does not believe it is for her. She emphasized how she needs to be sitting down in a quiet room and completely focused on her studying or else she is unable to memorize or understand what she is studying. I found out in this interview that not everyone can study off a tablet by just reading and sometimes actually need to do practice problems and so my product would be inconvenient for them.

Interview 5:
I interviewed a 61-year-old man who has always been into fitness. He expressed to me that although his body has changed and now, of course, has belly going on that he doesn't see the need for my product. He claims that people nowadays are making so many excuses and that when he was younger he always found the time to work out and that it is just now that with age he has struggled with working out but still takes walk around his neighborhood with his dog. I found out with this interview that the older generation doesn't believe in all the high-end technology there is now and doesn't understand how complicated it could be to simply work out.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who is in: Students or people who have very busy schedules and are unable to fit their workout throughout the week.	Who is not: Those who have good time management skills, those who did not grow up with high-end technology and just simply workout and those who simply don’t have an interest in working out.
What the need is: A way to merge your studies and readings with working out	What the need is not: A waste of money when people are provided free services of working out at their apartment, school or job.
Why the need exists: Many students or people, in general, have a hard time managing their time and accomplishing all their tasks throughout the week without feeling the need to have to choose something over doing something else.	Alternative Explanations: People would rather just find the time to do both studying and working out separately. When working out should be a stress-free zone and not combing the stress with working out.

10A Elevator Pitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnGAN1dXKCY

8A Solving The Problem

Opportunity:

Due to the amount of work a student has for school or the organizations they are part of it sometimes leads them to not be able to have enough time or energy to workout throughout the week. It also leads them to be very stressed.

Product:

There are multiple possible solutions for this opportunity, like an app helping the student manage their time. But I am thinking about the library offering a service and a product to the students. This service will provide the student to be able to do some studying while working out on a bike or a treadmill. The point of this is maybe not to get a six-pack by the end of the week but to fit physical activities into the student's busy schedule. This machine will tell you the number of calories you burned in that session. You also have the option of either just placing your own book on the platform or you can use the touchscreen provided and use it to study note cards on Quizlet. This machine will be able to connect to online services. It is like a tablet on the machine. 

7A Testing the Hypothesis

Students in college are not getting enough physical activity throughout the week because of the amount of work they have to do. Whether that means doing homework or being involved in an organization. They do not understand that working out can actually help them release some of the stress they carry from school.

Testing the who: This issue isn't just college students but for any adult as well. As you get older there are more responsible and learning how to manage your time is part of growing up. However, I believe students have a harder time learning how to manage their time.

Testing the what: Attempting to fit it in their schedule like right after class or waking up a little earlier can be a solution.

Testing the why: Students struggle with time management because they are so stressed with everything going on in their life. As things accumulate for school students find excuses not to work out. This is for everyone and not just college students.

Interview 1:
I interviewed my roommate who is 21 years old and a senior in college. She said she would attempt to do a work out class at night after doing everything she needed to do for school. But she claimed she would be too tired when she got home that she would not change to go to the gym and instead would just fall asleep. She has not attempted waking up earlier and doing her workouts in the morning but says it can really hard for her to wake up early.
Interview 2:
I interviewed an 18-year-old female in college who is finishing her freshman year. She said that she does do a lot of physical activity throughout the week because she joined the soccer club so that keeps her active. But expresses her concern with the amount of stress she has when she knows she has a lot of homework to do but is exhausted after practice.
Interview 3:
I interviewed a 27-year-old man who is not in college but expresses his feelings about working out after a long day at work is not for him. He is not only tired from work but can't deal with rush hour traffic in Miami. He has found a solution and realized that working out before work suits his schedule better.
Interview 4:
I interviewed a 20-year-old male. He is a STEM major and says with the classes he is taking it adds a lot of stress into his life. But he somehow finds time throughout the week to workout and realized that working out destresses him and he is able to escape from his responsibility and focus on himself.
Interview 5:
In my last interview, I decided to interview a 16-year-old female in high school to see if there would be the same effect as younger people.  She was the complete opposite of everyone and claimed she did not have a lot of stress. Yes, she does have homework but has more than enough time to workout throughout the week. It is just the simple fact that she gets very lazy to do so. She also expresses that getting to a gym would be a hassle for her because she does not own a car and it would be too complicated to get there by herself.

Summary:
The opportunity of having a gym on campus is a huge advantage for college students. But I learned that this might not be the situation for everyone. It seems that the older you get the easier it is to wake up earlier and workout. The younger you are it is just harder for you to get up early in the morning. It shows that younger people have time management issues and don't know when to fit a workout in their schedule. Students seem to have more of an excuse than an older adult who has a full-time job. 

6A Identifying Opportunities

Economic Trend 1
Small cities face competition in attracting businesses.

a). I searched on the internet and found this article on how small cities are trying to make their city a more desirable location to do business so they are able to create more jobs.
b). This information leads me to believe there is an opportunity because cities want to make their city desireable to visit. No one wants to hang out or live in an area where it is not desirable. That is why building more businesses in small cities would benefit them and attract people to come.
c). The typical customer would be for small business owners.
d). I believe this would be something easy to exploit for a small business owner because there is no competition for a city that doesn't have many businesses in their city. Unlike a very well-know big city, you will have hundreds of competitors.

I saw this opportunity because I never understood how a small business would be successful in a big city who already might have the same type of business you have. Taking advantage of a small city that doesn't have a lot of businesses opened is a huge advantage to get your business noticed and started.

Economic Trend 2
Climate Change is causing higher temperatures.

a). I searched on the internet and found an article on CNBC that not only said climate change is making the world a more dangerous place but on how it affects businesses like farmers. With a breaking record heat in 2019.
b). This information leads me to believe there is an opportunity because of farmers that rely on the weather to grow crops and don't want to minimize or let it affect the quality of their produce.
c.) The typical customer for this would be farmers or any business owner that relies on the weather in order to produce or keep their business going.
d). I believe it is a very hard thing to exploit. This would take a lot of money in order to create a solution and would be hard for all the competitors to not fall back.

I saw this opportunity because of all the natural disasters that are occurring now and especially wildfires and droughts, I assume this has affected a lot of people's businesses.

Regulatory Change 1
Minimum Wage Laws and Paid Sick Days.

a). I searched on the internet and came across the website corporatefinanceinstitute.com and talked about the changes in the law.
b). This leads me to believe an opportunity might exist because this can attract future employees with courting talent and help businesses.
c). Employees who are looking for more benefits at their job would typically be the customer for this.
d). This opportunity is very difficult because as amazing as it sounds for the employees this can affect the businesses and have to consider and replan their budget.

I saw this as an opportunity because I have personally witnessed people actually being sick and having to work under those terms and to which I think is quite unfair just because they really need the money.

Regulatory Change 2
Legalizing marjuana.

a). www.fdli.org had an article that explained the regulation and current federal status of marijuana.
b). There is a huge opportunity here because marijuana is being legalized in multiple states and maybe even soon be eventually legalized everywhere. Opening up a dispensary would be a great and big business venture.
c). Marijuana users would typically be the targeted customer for this.
d). I believe this opportunity can be an easy exploit because since it is now just gradually being legalized to smoke in certain states this business can easily be successful.

I saw this as an opportunity because a plethora of people smoke marijuana and there are not enough dispensaries yet.