I had many enjoyable and interesting experiences in this class and it has truly changed my outlook on the world. I have developed a more problem solving orientation, and now feel ready to attack the holes in markets. The most formative experience was the day I attended class for the extra credit workshop. That was also my favorite experience from this class and will be my most memorable. I loved meeting everyone in the class and hearing their ideas for solving problems in the community. That ties into the thing that I am most proud of in this class: the bug list. The bug list was my favorite assignment this semester because it really helped me make the connection between entrepreneurship and the world around me. It showed me that the true meaning of entrepreneurship isn't just starting your own business or being creative, it is about solving the problems that exist in our society. I now understand that and it has proved to me how I am a natural entrepreneur who has that problem-solving mindset and always will. My recommendation for people in this class is to really focus on their original concept and make sure it's something they really want to delve into and learn about. That is the one thing I regret and that has made this classical a little more difficult. I wish I would have known the class would be a buildup of our concept; I loved the structure and the idea of it, I just wish I got more out of it. So, to the next student, do better than I did and get more out of it.Friday, April 19, 2019
30A Final Reflection
I had many enjoyable and interesting experiences in this class and it has truly changed my outlook on the world. I have developed a more problem solving orientation, and now feel ready to attack the holes in markets. The most formative experience was the day I attended class for the extra credit workshop. That was also my favorite experience from this class and will be my most memorable. I loved meeting everyone in the class and hearing their ideas for solving problems in the community. That ties into the thing that I am most proud of in this class: the bug list. The bug list was my favorite assignment this semester because it really helped me make the connection between entrepreneurship and the world around me. It showed me that the true meaning of entrepreneurship isn't just starting your own business or being creative, it is about solving the problems that exist in our society. I now understand that and it has proved to me how I am a natural entrepreneur who has that problem-solving mindset and always will. My recommendation for people in this class is to really focus on their original concept and make sure it's something they really want to delve into and learn about. That is the one thing I regret and that has made this classical a little more difficult. I wish I would have known the class would be a buildup of our concept; I loved the structure and the idea of it, I just wish I got more out of it. So, to the next student, do better than I did and get more out of it.
29A – Venture Concept No. 2
My name is Griffin Goldstein, and I am starting a business to help parents and grandparents deal with their teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy has always been an issue in society; whether it's having children when you are too young or having them without being prepared emotionally or financially, people need help to deal with these situations. That is the goal of this company: to provide a support system to the parents who do not know how to properly handle such a difficult situation. The company will offer educational products like guides as well as experts to talk to and ask questions to. This post will have four parts: first, I will talk about opportunity; second, I will talk about innovation; third, I will talk about the venture concept for this potential company; and lastly, I will talk about three elements of my business and how they impact the company as a whole.
Opportunity
The opportunity for my company involves targeting a product segment that is relatively desperate for any help possible. We will be attacking the unmet need of utilizing trained experts to support parents and grandparents whose children have recently become pregnant too early in life. When someone's child experiences early pregnancy, it is extremely tough for the family and very difficult to maintain solid relationships. It is important that this unborn child does not break up a family and that is why we are here. The change in the environment that motivates me to solve this problem is the future issue of overpopulation. We need to start valuing the creation of human life more so that lives will be generally better for future populations. Geographically these opportunities are in the United States; however, we will start on a smaller scale, locally, to get our product moving. These customers are satisfying this need by simply enduring the situations and dealing with them to the best of their ability. However, more often than not, that is not sufficient enough to prevent broken relationships or to prevent a birth that will not be beneficial to the family or the potential child. This opportunity I feel is pretty big and will only continue to grow. However, in order to get the most out of it, we need to be the first on the scene.
Innovation
This company will have two fronts of innovation: product and services. First, we will offer a product that is incrementally innovative which serves to provide vital information for someone trying to figure out how to handle a situation in which their child or grandchild has become pregnant. This product will be a guide that is sold online for a price of $20 and we will frequently offer discounts to promote the product. The second thing is the service. Eventually, we would love to provide a multitude of services to support these people in the target market; however, to start, I believe we should begin with one simple service of offering one-on-one expert question and answers to customers. I believe we could set up a website that allows people to book these experts for periods of time in 30-minute increments where the first 30-minutes is 50$ and every 30-minutes after that is 35$ extra with a cap of 2 hour sessions. These two offerings will allow us to target the same market but in different ways. For the people who like to read and are alright with getting information from a guide, we offer it; and for the people that want to talk to someone about their specific situation, we offer it as well.
Venture Concept
Although the forms of the products and services are common, the information gained from each can be qualified as radically innovative. This is because there is not currently a company, guides, or services that are in place to solve this SPECIFIC issue in the community. Yes, it is true that some companies offer free advice to help with this issue, ours will be different and more helpful than most. It's because of the reputation our company will garner as specialists that I believe will lead to success. Customers will want to utilize our resources once they respect us as experts in our respective field. These customers are the ones who are desperate for support in dealing with their child's early pregnancy. Once people are aware of this as a solution I believe it will be quite easy to get people to utilize our resources in a time of dire need. The competitors of my business are basic family therapists and companies like planned parenthood; however, there is no company that only does the specific services we want to offer. People don't want help for their problem from someone who is a jack of all trades, they want a master of the trade in which the problem exists, and that's what we will be. This business would be organized to realize quick early growth and then stable off in the future. All of the revenue generated will be going back into the business to grow it as to achieve my goals, we need to have extensive resources in both human capital and economic capital. However, once all of these necessities are met, our company will then be fully prepared to meet the needs of our customers.
The Three Extra Elements
1) I believe my most important resource is the connections to the sources of information and experts in the field. In order for my business to be successful, we need qualified people to help in the formation of the guide as well as offering the services to these customers in the one-on-one sessions. My current connections to these experts are extremely important because I need to get these people to come work for me.
2) The next big thing for this company will be expanding our website to offer samples of our product to potential customers or people who just want general information that may assist them with their issue. It may seem like any old doctor could help with these issues, but our qualifications and testimonials will prove that it's simply not true. Only we have the experience and the know how to provide qualified advice to people in such traumatic times.
3) In five years I want this company to have garnered all the necessary resources to properly serve our clients. This means having a reputable and quality guide to help parents and grandparents, as well as having experts to service these clients with their specific problems. In the next decade as an entrepreneur, I want to have an understanding of what it means to start a business as well as start to generate an actual income from it. I want to be living off of my entrepreneurial ventures by this time rather than the job I got right out of college.
Feedback and Change from Original Venture Concept
One of the major concerns of my feedback was that I may have a hard time providing differentiated information. However, I addressed those concerns in my venture concept and extra elements sections. We will have the qualified people with strong reputations and backgrounds all collaborating to help thee particular people with their particular issue. I was also complemented on the direction of the company and I plan to continue that path. One of comments requested an interview and I would love to help but I believe I have also provided all the necessary info for my business and while it will be a success.
Friday, April 12, 2019
28A - Your Exit Strategy
1) My exit strategy is one of two parts. First, I will attempt to expand my business using some of the strategies mentioned in previous posts in this blog. I have big aspirations for this company, and I believe I can expand it into a worldwide brand bigger than one's wildest dreams. However, if I am attempting to do this and I find that expansion is plateauing, I will immediately sell my business and enter another venture.
2) I have selected this strategy because it allows me to still shoot for the stars and not consider the possibility that I might be out of the business in a few years. It allows me to, first, see if I can access the maximum potential of this company. However, as this is my very first venture while I am still young, I have no ties to it as I know flaws are inherent. I plan to use this as a learning experience to apply to my next venture if I find that I can not expand my brand how I dreamed.
3) Yes, I believe that my exit strategy has impacted the way I plan to operate my business. I now understand what the objective is with this venture and I can devote all my resources to realizing that goal: expanding this company into a worldwide brand beyond anyone's wildest dreams! And if I fail, no hard feelings, move on to the next one chief. That is the mentality that I believe is key to success in entrepreneurship. Failure is inevitable but it is never a reason not to try!
2) I have selected this strategy because it allows me to still shoot for the stars and not consider the possibility that I might be out of the business in a few years. It allows me to, first, see if I can access the maximum potential of this company. However, as this is my very first venture while I am still young, I have no ties to it as I know flaws are inherent. I plan to use this as a learning experience to apply to my next venture if I find that I can not expand my brand how I dreamed.
3) Yes, I believe that my exit strategy has impacted the way I plan to operate my business. I now understand what the objective is with this venture and I can devote all my resources to realizing that goal: expanding this company into a worldwide brand beyond anyone's wildest dreams! And if I fail, no hard feelings, move on to the next one chief. That is the mentality that I believe is key to success in entrepreneurship. Failure is inevitable but it is never a reason not to try!
27A - Reading Reflection
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki
1: The objective of this book was to empower the reader with knowledge about Social Media and how imperative it is to the success of business in today's market. Kawasaki organized this informational novel through 100 tips.
2: One thing that I learned from this class is that entrepreneurship is about being outside your comfort zone sometimes and that is okay. This book connected with that feeling because I know that I need to step outside my comfort zone and increase my social media presence because I know it will help me in the long run.
3: The exercise would include 3 parts: first, a quiz to inform them about how truly important social media is in today's society; second, I would give good and bad examples of uses of social media to convey the most significant teachings of the book; and lastly, I would have them take what they've learned and apply it to their own social media.
4: The biggest 'aha' moment I had when reading this book is one that I seem to have a lot just in different forms. I keep learning from life how you need to be more considerate of what the audience might want from you as opposed to what you might want to convey. This book showed me that I sometimes have to appeal to my audience's desires if I want more success and growth. This really resonated with me and I think it is one of the major takeaways from this book.
1: The objective of this book was to empower the reader with knowledge about Social Media and how imperative it is to the success of business in today's market. Kawasaki organized this informational novel through 100 tips.
2: One thing that I learned from this class is that entrepreneurship is about being outside your comfort zone sometimes and that is okay. This book connected with that feeling because I know that I need to step outside my comfort zone and increase my social media presence because I know it will help me in the long run.
3: The exercise would include 3 parts: first, a quiz to inform them about how truly important social media is in today's society; second, I would give good and bad examples of uses of social media to convey the most significant teachings of the book; and lastly, I would have them take what they've learned and apply it to their own social media.
4: The biggest 'aha' moment I had when reading this book is one that I seem to have a lot just in different forms. I keep learning from life how you need to be more considerate of what the audience might want from you as opposed to what you might want to convey. This book showed me that I sometimes have to appeal to my audience's desires if I want more success and growth. This really resonated with me and I think it is one of the major takeaways from this book.
26A - Celebrating failure
One aspect of my life in which I have failed in this past semester was procrastination. I failed to stick to the schedules I set throughout the semester and it led to stress and anxiety. I feel like I failed myself and it motivated me to be better. I learned that in the real world there isn't going to be time to not do what I need to do, if I want to maintain my sanity. I have to stay on top of my life and the objectives I have set forth. Even though it has not made it so I haven't accomplished my goals, it's the manner in which I have accomplished those goals that I have to change. This was a difficult time for me as I had trouble eating and sleeping. This class has helped me learn that I need to make leaps in my life if I want to enact real change. I want to hit 225.
Friday, April 5, 2019
24A- Venture Concept
My name is Griffin Goldstein, and I am starting a business to help parents and grandparents deal with their teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy has always been an issue in society; whether it's having children when you are too young or having them without being prepared emotionally or financially, people need help to deal with these situations. That is the goal of this company: to provide a support system to the parents who do not know how to properly handle such a difficult situation. The company will offer educational products like guides as well as experts to talk to and ask questions to. This post will have four parts: first, I will talk about opportunity; second, I will talk about innovation; third, I will talk about the venture concept for this potential company; and lastly, I will talk about three elements of my business and how they impact the company as a whole.
Opportunity
The opportunity for my company involves targeting a product segment that is relatively desperate for any help possible. We will be attacking the unmet need of utilizing trained experts to support parents and grandparents whose children have recently become pregnant too early in life. When someone's child experiences early pregnancy, it is extremely tough for the family and very difficult to maintain solid relationships. It is important that this unborn child does not break up a family and that is why we are here. The change in the environment that motivates me to solve this problem is the future issue of overpopulation. We need to start valuing the creation of human life more so that lives will be generally better for future populations. Geographically these opportunities are in the United States; however, we will start on a smaller scale, locally, to get our product moving. These customers are satisfying this need by simply enduring the situations and dealing with them to the best of their ability. However, more often than not, that is not sufficient enough to prevent broken relationships or to prevent a birth that will not be beneficial to the family or the potential child. This opportunity I feel is pretty big and will only continue to grow. However, in order to get the most out of it, we need to be the first on the scene.
Innovation
This company will have two fronts of innovation: product and services. First, we will offer a product that is incrementally innovative which serves to provide vital information for someone trying to figure out how to handle a situation in which their child or grandchild has become pregnant. This product will be a guide that is sold online for a price of $20 and we will frequently offer discounts to promote the product. The second thing is the service. Eventually, we would love to provide a multitude of services to support these people in the target market; however, to start, I believe we should begin with one simple service of offering one-on-one expert question and answers to customers. I believe we could set up a website that allows people to book these experts for periods of time in 30-minute increments where the first 30-minutes is 50$ and every 30-minutes after that is 35$ extra with a cap of 2 hour sessions. These two offerings will allow us to target the same market but in different ways. For the people who like to read and are alright with getting information from a guide, we offer it; and for the people that want to talk to someone about their specific situation, we offer it as well.
Venture Concept
Although the forms of the products and services are common, the information gained from each can be qualified as radically innovative. This is because there is not currently a company, guides, or services that are in place to solve this SPECIFIC issue in the community. It's because of the reputation our company will garner as specialists that I believe will lead to success. Customers will want to utilize our resources once they respect us as experts in our respective field. These customers are the ones who are desperate for support in dealing with their child's early pregnancy. Once people are aware of this as a solution I believe it will be quite easy to get people to utilize our resources in a time of dire need. The competitors of my business are basic family therapists and companies like planned parenthood; however, there is no company that only does the specific services we want to offer. People don't want help for their problem from someone who is a jack of all trades, they want a master of the trade in which the problem exists, and that's what we will be. This business would be organized to realize quick early growth and then stable off in the future. All of the revenue generated will be going back into the business to grow it as to achieve my goals, we need to have extensive resources in both human capital and economic capital. However, once all of these necessities are met, our company will then be fully prepared to meet the needs of our customers.
The Three Extra Elements
1) I believe my most important resource is the connections to the sources of information and experts in the field. In order for my business to be successful, we need qualified people to help in the formation of the guide as well as offering the services to these customers in the one-on-one sessions. My current connections to these experts are extremely important because I need to get these people to come work for me.
2) The next big thing for this company will be expanding our website to offer samples of our product to potential customers or people who just want general information that may assist them with their issue.
3) In five years I want this company to have garnered all the necessary resources to properly serve our clients. This means having a reputable and quality guide to help parents and grandparents, as well as having experts to service these clients with their specific problems. In the next decade as an entrepreneur, I want to have an understanding of what it means to start a business as well as start to generate an actual income from it. I want to be living off of my entrepreneurial ventures by this time rather than the job I got right out of college.
Opportunity
The opportunity for my company involves targeting a product segment that is relatively desperate for any help possible. We will be attacking the unmet need of utilizing trained experts to support parents and grandparents whose children have recently become pregnant too early in life. When someone's child experiences early pregnancy, it is extremely tough for the family and very difficult to maintain solid relationships. It is important that this unborn child does not break up a family and that is why we are here. The change in the environment that motivates me to solve this problem is the future issue of overpopulation. We need to start valuing the creation of human life more so that lives will be generally better for future populations. Geographically these opportunities are in the United States; however, we will start on a smaller scale, locally, to get our product moving. These customers are satisfying this need by simply enduring the situations and dealing with them to the best of their ability. However, more often than not, that is not sufficient enough to prevent broken relationships or to prevent a birth that will not be beneficial to the family or the potential child. This opportunity I feel is pretty big and will only continue to grow. However, in order to get the most out of it, we need to be the first on the scene.
Innovation
This company will have two fronts of innovation: product and services. First, we will offer a product that is incrementally innovative which serves to provide vital information for someone trying to figure out how to handle a situation in which their child or grandchild has become pregnant. This product will be a guide that is sold online for a price of $20 and we will frequently offer discounts to promote the product. The second thing is the service. Eventually, we would love to provide a multitude of services to support these people in the target market; however, to start, I believe we should begin with one simple service of offering one-on-one expert question and answers to customers. I believe we could set up a website that allows people to book these experts for periods of time in 30-minute increments where the first 30-minutes is 50$ and every 30-minutes after that is 35$ extra with a cap of 2 hour sessions. These two offerings will allow us to target the same market but in different ways. For the people who like to read and are alright with getting information from a guide, we offer it; and for the people that want to talk to someone about their specific situation, we offer it as well.
Venture Concept
Although the forms of the products and services are common, the information gained from each can be qualified as radically innovative. This is because there is not currently a company, guides, or services that are in place to solve this SPECIFIC issue in the community. It's because of the reputation our company will garner as specialists that I believe will lead to success. Customers will want to utilize our resources once they respect us as experts in our respective field. These customers are the ones who are desperate for support in dealing with their child's early pregnancy. Once people are aware of this as a solution I believe it will be quite easy to get people to utilize our resources in a time of dire need. The competitors of my business are basic family therapists and companies like planned parenthood; however, there is no company that only does the specific services we want to offer. People don't want help for their problem from someone who is a jack of all trades, they want a master of the trade in which the problem exists, and that's what we will be. This business would be organized to realize quick early growth and then stable off in the future. All of the revenue generated will be going back into the business to grow it as to achieve my goals, we need to have extensive resources in both human capital and economic capital. However, once all of these necessities are met, our company will then be fully prepared to meet the needs of our customers.
The Three Extra Elements
1) I believe my most important resource is the connections to the sources of information and experts in the field. In order for my business to be successful, we need qualified people to help in the formation of the guide as well as offering the services to these customers in the one-on-one sessions. My current connections to these experts are extremely important because I need to get these people to come work for me.
2) The next big thing for this company will be expanding our website to offer samples of our product to potential customers or people who just want general information that may assist them with their issue.
3) In five years I want this company to have garnered all the necessary resources to properly serve our clients. This means having a reputable and quality guide to help parents and grandparents, as well as having experts to service these clients with their specific problems. In the next decade as an entrepreneur, I want to have an understanding of what it means to start a business as well as start to generate an actual income from it. I want to be living off of my entrepreneurial ventures by this time rather than the job I got right out of college.
25A - What's Next?
Existing Market
1) The future of our business includes an initial product launch to attract consumers to our business. This initial product will be our guide to parents and grandparents dealing with teen pregnancy. Our business will also then offer support for this product as well as experts to help parents one-on-one with their situation. These meetings or sessions can occur over video call or in person. I think our success will come from being the best in a very specialized field.
2) I interviewed 3 people that may be apart of my current existing market. When I spoke to each of these interviewees, I made sure that I did not spoil them with what I had in mind for the future of my company. This way, they were able to be creative and unique with their answers, and that they were. One interviewee mentioned how the business should evolve into a large organization that has a website with Q&A's, free information to help people, as well as paid offerings such as the things mentioned previously. Another mentioned how it sounds like this business could become a non-profit, in which it helps people and finds funding from outside sources. This is an interesting idea and it makes sense for what I am trying to offer to my customers. We could work with planned parenthood to be the support system for the families of the people utilizing planned parenthood's resources. The last interviewee thought that we could just continue to come out with more and more informational guides to sell to consumers about different information once credibility is earned.
3) All in all, these interviews sparked a lot of ideas for the potential growth of this business. I see this business going in a direction in which the community would see us more as a socially responsible, helpful organization rather than a normal for-profit business. This includes offering free services as well. I think these free services may act as samples for our paid products and services as well as general help for problems. I don't think it's fair to limit the expectations of my company. Therefore, I will reach for the stars. I believe this company can eventually become a household name in the area of teen pregnancy and the relationships between children and their parents. This can be done through extensive product offerings and service offerings as well. These products will include more guides and brand merchandise, while the new service offerings may be therapeutic sessions with experts, general online advice, free online information, and possibly abortion or medical services.
These new services will help expand our existing market. We need to establish a strong reputation and encourage the spread of our company through word of mouth. I think we can implement a loyalty and referral program as well to assist in these efforts. After all these new products and services are offered and our reputation is solid, I believe our existing market will gain significant size.
New Market
1) I think a new potential market can be in Africa, or other locations that suffer extreme poverty and population issues. I think that if we were able to expand our services into Africa, possibly in the form of a non-profit, we will be able to find a whole new market. Not only that, but I believe that putting in good work in these locations will bring back a strong reputation for our company.
2) As mentioned in the paragraph above, I think that in order to serve people that cannot pay for the services we would need outside funding. Our organization would operate as a non-profit in some aspects and as a profit-driven company for some. Our services would mainly be motivating change in these communities so that people may be less inclined to have children for the sake of having children and start considering that child's future.
3) After interviewing two people about extending my company's market, I found that it would be incredibly difficult to provide services to these people because of their way of life and religion. One interviewee mentioned how it's how the culture is in some parts of the world that drives early pregnancy and that it would be incredibly difficult to convince them to change their ways. I mentioned to the second interviewee what the first interviewee said and she had a different opinion about the situation. She believes that even though it is apart of some cultures if change is necessary then we should strive to be the change in the world that we seek. However, I am not trying to bankrupt my company providing probono services to people who don't want the help.
4) I learned that this idea of targeting poorer markets that might be too expensive and not viable. However, if my company did become a large organization with a lot of capital, then this opportunity may become more viable. So, for the sake of this post, let's pretend my company has the capital to help these people. Each new market would have it's own different challenges. That is one thing I did not seriously consider when thinking of this new market. Different cultures are more receptive than others for things like this and I think we would have to ween ourselves into this program and earn credibility before we extend into some of the markets that are less receptive to the program.
The other aspect of this is that the people of these countries have different life goals. To put this into perspective, salmon are known to swim upriver for miles just to mate, spawn babies, and then die. This is their natural instinct; people in these countries may have different natural desires out of life including making new life as a high priority. So it would be hard to convince these people that the thing they are living for may not be the best thing to live for in order to get the most out of life. All in all, I am not sure how this would look considering to them it might seem like we are pushing some sort of religion onto them, even though that is not the case. Maybe instead of trying to change people, we can try just support them in the situations that they are already in.
1) The future of our business includes an initial product launch to attract consumers to our business. This initial product will be our guide to parents and grandparents dealing with teen pregnancy. Our business will also then offer support for this product as well as experts to help parents one-on-one with their situation. These meetings or sessions can occur over video call or in person. I think our success will come from being the best in a very specialized field.
2) I interviewed 3 people that may be apart of my current existing market. When I spoke to each of these interviewees, I made sure that I did not spoil them with what I had in mind for the future of my company. This way, they were able to be creative and unique with their answers, and that they were. One interviewee mentioned how the business should evolve into a large organization that has a website with Q&A's, free information to help people, as well as paid offerings such as the things mentioned previously. Another mentioned how it sounds like this business could become a non-profit, in which it helps people and finds funding from outside sources. This is an interesting idea and it makes sense for what I am trying to offer to my customers. We could work with planned parenthood to be the support system for the families of the people utilizing planned parenthood's resources. The last interviewee thought that we could just continue to come out with more and more informational guides to sell to consumers about different information once credibility is earned.
3) All in all, these interviews sparked a lot of ideas for the potential growth of this business. I see this business going in a direction in which the community would see us more as a socially responsible, helpful organization rather than a normal for-profit business. This includes offering free services as well. I think these free services may act as samples for our paid products and services as well as general help for problems. I don't think it's fair to limit the expectations of my company. Therefore, I will reach for the stars. I believe this company can eventually become a household name in the area of teen pregnancy and the relationships between children and their parents. This can be done through extensive product offerings and service offerings as well. These products will include more guides and brand merchandise, while the new service offerings may be therapeutic sessions with experts, general online advice, free online information, and possibly abortion or medical services.
These new services will help expand our existing market. We need to establish a strong reputation and encourage the spread of our company through word of mouth. I think we can implement a loyalty and referral program as well to assist in these efforts. After all these new products and services are offered and our reputation is solid, I believe our existing market will gain significant size.
New Market
1) I think a new potential market can be in Africa, or other locations that suffer extreme poverty and population issues. I think that if we were able to expand our services into Africa, possibly in the form of a non-profit, we will be able to find a whole new market. Not only that, but I believe that putting in good work in these locations will bring back a strong reputation for our company.
2) As mentioned in the paragraph above, I think that in order to serve people that cannot pay for the services we would need outside funding. Our organization would operate as a non-profit in some aspects and as a profit-driven company for some. Our services would mainly be motivating change in these communities so that people may be less inclined to have children for the sake of having children and start considering that child's future.
3) After interviewing two people about extending my company's market, I found that it would be incredibly difficult to provide services to these people because of their way of life and religion. One interviewee mentioned how it's how the culture is in some parts of the world that drives early pregnancy and that it would be incredibly difficult to convince them to change their ways. I mentioned to the second interviewee what the first interviewee said and she had a different opinion about the situation. She believes that even though it is apart of some cultures if change is necessary then we should strive to be the change in the world that we seek. However, I am not trying to bankrupt my company providing probono services to people who don't want the help.
4) I learned that this idea of targeting poorer markets that might be too expensive and not viable. However, if my company did become a large organization with a lot of capital, then this opportunity may become more viable. So, for the sake of this post, let's pretend my company has the capital to help these people. Each new market would have it's own different challenges. That is one thing I did not seriously consider when thinking of this new market. Different cultures are more receptive than others for things like this and I think we would have to ween ourselves into this program and earn credibility before we extend into some of the markets that are less receptive to the program.
The other aspect of this is that the people of these countries have different life goals. To put this into perspective, salmon are known to swim upriver for miles just to mate, spawn babies, and then die. This is their natural instinct; people in these countries may have different natural desires out of life including making new life as a high priority. So it would be hard to convince these people that the thing they are living for may not be the best thing to live for in order to get the most out of life. All in all, I am not sure how this would look considering to them it might seem like we are pushing some sort of religion onto them, even though that is not the case. Maybe instead of trying to change people, we can try just support them in the situations that they are already in.
23 A
- Me
- V: I am unique, intelligent, and motivated to succeed.
- R: there is only one of me
- I: it is very hard, quite impossible in fact, to copy me and what I can offer to a company.
- N: There may be other people who can do the things I do, but there is no one who thinks like me.
- Computers
- V: Useful in advertising, marketing, finances, and many other business needs.
- R: Common
- I: This resource is replaceable and upgrade-able.
- N: This resource is substitutable.
- Knowledge of Social Media marketing
- V: useful in business building and new market openings
- R: this is a valuable skill nowadays so more and more people are starting to learn
- I: this is a skill that cannot be imitated exactly
- N: This resource is not particularly substitutable but others do have similar knowledge.
- Connections with potential customers
- V: this is imperative for the beginning of our company to start income generation
- R: this is a rare resource that needs to be valued highly
- I: this resource cannot necessarily be replicated because of the customers I would have would be mine and no one else's with respect to this product segment.
- N: This resource may be substitutable because you can find new customers
- UF connections
- V: this is very valuable for many reasons: finding new customers, educational resources, and contributors to the future product.
- R: this is a relatively rare capability for people in my product segment
- I: this is not imitable
- N: this is not a subsitutable resource
- Connections to professors and other sources of information for product
- V: this is extremely valuable and necessary for the production and success of my product
- R: this is a rare resource
- I: this resource is pretty hard to copy
- N: this resource contains knowledge and knowledge is different for each individual so I would say this is a relatively non-substitutable
- Desperate customers
- V: the target market for my product is valuable because it will improve sales and garner growth
- R: this is a hard/rare market segment to target and appeal to
- I: This is an imitable resource but not easily
- N: This resource is not easily substitutable but it is possible
- Money
- V: capital is vital to the startup of a business
- R: This resource is not rare
- I: This resource is imitable
- N: This resource is substitutable
- Vision and business plan
- V: this is valuable because it is important to know the long term direction of the company if you want to succeed
- R: This resource is rare
- I: this resource is a vision in my mind so it is very difficult for someone to copy
- N: this resource may be substitutable but only in different variations
- Specific market targeting
- V: This is valuable because I know who I am trying to sell my product to so it makes it much easier to advertise and market
- R: This resource is not rare
- I: this resource is imitable
- N: This resource is not substitutable but there may be ways to achieve something similar
My top resource might actually be the connections to the sources that make my product truly beneficial to consumers. These people are imperative to the success of the company because I do not have the knowledge yet to provide an educational guide to dealing with problems related to early pregnancy. Without these people, my product would no longer be viable.
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