Week 15 Reading Reflection

What surprised me the most in the reading was how the customer base for the company has been tripling each year.  That is very impressive.

The connection between microfinance and poverty was confusing to me.  I do not see how microfinance is a solution to poverty.  I view it as a way to fund smaller companies.

I would ask the author what the next step for SKS is?  The company has grown so much.  I am curious to see what he will do next.  I would also ask the author if customer loyalty is crucial.  I wonder if there are other things that can make up for a lack of customer loyalty. 

I did not disagree with anything the author mentioned in this reading.

Final Reflection

My most formative experience was my interview with an entrepreneur.  I will definitely remember this interview for years to come, because I learned so much from it.  My most joyous experience was the Free Money assignment.  I had a lot of fun recording the footage for that assignment.  I shared a lot of laughs with strangers that day.  I am proud of myself for conducting all of the customer interviews.  I had never interviewed anyone before I took this class.
I do not see myself as an entrepreneur yet.  However, I have moved a lot closer to that entrepreneurial mindset.  I think that I will be fully there in a couple of years.
I recommend that future students take this class seriously.  They can benefit a lot from it.  I would also recommend that they focus on developing that entrepreneurial mindset from day one.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

I think my elevator pitches have gotten better each time.  Therefore, I think this was my best one yet.  I received a lot of comments saying how similar my idea was to Uber and Lyft.  In this video, I tried to explain why my idea is different.

Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity I have chosen is the transportation of college students.  There is a very big need for transportation for college students.  This need increases when it is time for them to go home for the holidays.  They are my potential customers.  The reason that this opportunity exists is because many students do not bring their car up to college.  As of now, college students are satisfying their need of transportation by taking buses.  However, they are not that loyal to that system.  This is a big opportunity, and I believe that the window of opportunity will be open for quite a long time.

My idea is a phone application called Ride.  This app would be somewhat similar to Uber.  When college students need to go home for the holidays, they would be able to request a ride from another student that is also going to the same city.  This app can also be used for away games.  The students that are willing to offer the rides will be compensated.  It is different than Uber because Uber is only used for short trips.  My app would be used for trips that are at least an hour long.  Some trips could even be 10 hours long.  The payment will be through the app.  The drivers will receive compensation for gas plus a fixed fee.

Customers will switch to this new product because it will be easier and cheaper than other options.  My competitors would be the buses.  However, their weakness is that bus trips can take a long time.  This app would also take you closer to your destination.  Buses usually take you to an airport or a downtown station.  The only employees my venture would consist of are the people giving rides.

My most important resource would be the number of college students that want to make money by giving rides.  The thing that is next for my venture would be providing more and more rides for people around the country.  In the next decade, I want to be a successful entrepreneur that has created all kinds of innovations that can help people.

I received a lot of helpful feedback on my last post.  Many people thought my venture concept was a great idea.  They said that many people without cars would appreciate this app.  They also gave me some constructive criticism.  They told me to explain the pricing and how the drivers will be compensated.  I tried to be more specific about that in this post.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

What surprised me the most in the reading was how much environmental awareness goes into social enterprise planning.  I did not know that people were so eco-friendly.  It is nice to see people trying to sustain the planet.
The most confusing thing about this reading was the graph that was titled "Classifying decisions using a conceptual framework".  I understood what the graph was portraying, but it was a bit hard to read.
I would ask the author what are the best rewards/reinforcements to use.  This is important to know because rewards and reinforcements can influence employees to work efficiently and effectively.  I would also ask the author what he thinks about what 3M is doing.  I would like his opinion, because I know many people have mixed opinions about the matter.
I did not disagree with anything the author had to say in the reading.

Google Gold

I never really had a strategy for search engine optimization.  My goal for each post was to answer all of the questions fully.  I chose keywords that related to the topic I was writing about.  I used keywords such as "entrepreneurship" and "business venture".  I tried sticking with these keywords throughout the semester.  I did not share any of my blog posts on social media.  I did not want to bring too much attention to myself.  I also feel like many of my posts would have been ignored on social media.  My most viral post that received the most traffic was Customer Interviews No. 1.  This was my first time interviewing strangers.  I think people were curious to see how my interviews would turn out.  I never made it to the first made of google results.  However, I did make it to the second page a few times.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

I have changed a lot since the beginning of the semester.  I have also changed a lot since my first interview with an entrepreneur.  I know a lot more about what it means to be an entrepreneur.  I have also learned what an entrepreneurship course will teach you.

I have interviewed Veronica again.  Unfortunately, she is traveling right now, so I had to conduct the interview over the phone.  These are some of the questions I asked:

Me:  What is a good way to expand your business?

Veronica:  A good way to expand your business would be to reach out to more potential customers.

Me:  How do I reach out to these potential customers?

Veronica:  Business cards, flyers, word of mouth, etc.

Me:  Have you thought about your exit strategy yet?

Veronica:  I have.  I plan on staying with the business until I retire.

I have come a long way thanks to this class.  I know what it means to be an entrepreneur, and I am comfortable talking about the topic.  This interview was a lot easier for me than the first one.  Veronica even told me that I have come a long way in response to my questions.