Assignment 30A - Final Reflection

Assignment 30A – Final Reflection

1.     The most formative experience I had was the bug list. Up until then, I really kept to myself and never paid any mind to what was going on around me, even the smallest of things. When I did that assignment, it really opened my eyes to how much is going on at one time, and it made me realize just how much I do notice within a day and just choose to ignore.

2.     I will never forget those interviews. All of them were so nerve-wracking to do because I don’t normally reach out to people to talk to them out of the blue, let alone ask to interview them for something. A lot of the time, I felt super awkward, but when an interview went well, I gave myself a small pat on the back.

3.     My most joyous experience is whenever I got good feedback from an assignment by my peers. As a person who loves to write, receiving good feedback is one of the things that helps me to keep writing, on top of my own determination. The experience I am most proud of myself for accomplishing is all those interviews, since I am an introvert at heart and don’t really like talking to strangers.

4.     To be honest, I think I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset more than I see myself as an entrepreneur. I better understand how the mind of an entrepreneur works, but I don’t know if I can see myself becoming one in the future. I haven’t completely pushed away the possibility though.

5.     The one recommendation I would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future is to stay determined and to expect to do things that are way out of your comfort zone, especially if you’re an introvert. This class requires you to talk to people, get their ideas, and put yourself in their shoes, which can be a lot if you’re not used to going out and talking to people.

6.     To perform their best in this course, I would recommend they get good at managing their time. Doing these assignments, especially when it’s an assignment that requires you to do interviews, takes up a lot of your time. I would also recommend to not miss any of the assignments. Missing one can do a lot to hurt you, as I have learned in this semester.

7.     To foster this mindset, I recommend to tap into some hidden reserves of creativity that they might not even know they have. Think out of the box and don’t be afraid of an unconventional idea you may come up with, because that is the whole point of this class. Don’t be scared to take risks, because playing it safe will not give you the full experience this class offers.  

Assignment 29A - Venture Concept No. 2

Assignment 29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

·       Throughout the U.S., there are few schools that offer home economics and personal finance classes to students. The great majority of Americans who live above and below the poverty line are worried about their financial situation. This worry extends beyond adults to college and even high school students who are struggling to simply find means to pay their tuition and also worry about having a stable job in the future.

·       The need is for people who don’t have personal finance education and are worried about handling their money.  

·       The forces that allow this to occur are the lack of classes offered for personal finances and a home economics class in general. Therefore, a great majority of the population has to rely on finding their own resources in order to learn how to handle their money.

·       This market isn’t defined geographically; however, I believe that demographically, adults and people with jobs and families would be more likely to use the app.

·       Customers are currently satisfying this need by using other budgeting apps, going to financial consultants, relying on their parents or other friends who know how to handle money for advice, and reading articles and watching videos online. They’re pretty loyal to whatever they use now because these resources are the only resources they know of and have access to.

·       This opportunity is really big since most Americans are worried about their financial standing. The worry isn’t limited to people who earn less than others since it is common on every financial level.

·       I believe the window of opportunity will be open for a very long time since the home economics class and personal finance classes are uncommonly offered and knowledge on how to handle money largely depends on the individual.

Innovation:

·       The app will be free to download on the app store. Once individuals create their accounts on their phones, they will be able to also access the website with those same accounts. Individuals can also choose to create their accounts on the website and download the app later or not download it at all. For people who want more than just budgeting tips and finance tracking, for a small subscription fee of $5 a month, they will have access to additional articles if they ever want to read more on how to handle money or make their financial situation better. In addition, for people who want to consult an actual professional on the phone for advice on their own financial situation, they will pay a bigger price for that one call.

·       The app itself will be user-friendly so that people who are not tech-savvy will be able to easily navigate it. It will also have a simple, yet aesthetic setup to decrease confusion in case there is a problem of navigation.

Venture Concept:

·        Individuals will download and use my product if they have trouble keeping track of their finances and also want an easy way of how to budget and save their money better. In addition, for individuals who want more than just tips and want advice tailored specifically to their need, they will either pay the subscription fee for the articles or make the one-time payment if they want to contact a professional for insight about their financial situation.

·        It will be difficult to get people to switch because there are a number of budgeting apps that already exist and already have a great number of people who use and give them good reviews that attract other people to use them. I think the only weakness these competing apps have is the lack of giving real advice for budgeting.

·        My product can’t be packaged or distributed since it is an online and mobile service; however, the design of the icon for the app and the layout of the actual app and website when in use is important since it has to cater to both people who know a lot about technology and people who don’t know as much. The only location that would be relevant to my product would be where the customer service base would be.

·        The price is important because if the subscription price or the price to call a professional for advice is too low, people may think that it isn’t worth the time or money to invest in them, and if it’s too high, people won’t bother using these extra services.

·        Since the product is based solely on mobile devices and computers, having a really good customer support service is crucial since there is no way to personally connect to users of the app and website. My employees will be trained to be friendly, honest, and polite towards all customers if they have problems with the app or website, and they will be required to memorize key points and details about the product.

·        I would estimate twenty employees to begin with, mainly for providing customer support for people who have problems with the app or website. The number will grow as the number of people who use the app grow. A few would be marketers, people who will help advertise the app, as well as the designers of the app and website, to make sure they are user friendly and the layout isn’t cluttered.

Three Minor Elements

·        My unfair advantage would be the ability to build rapport. While there is little personal contact with potential customers, being able to establish trust with a customer that my product will work is crucial. Building rapport helps in bringing out and establishing a need for potential customers, and that is the beginning of attracting them.

·        My initial venture will not include the consultant portion of the product until later, when the app and website is already established and has a big customer base. I believe this will help jumpstart the addition of being able to call a professional for financial advice.

·        In the next five years of this venture, I would love to see people have a better generalized idea of how to handle their money better and be less stressed and worried about their financial situation. I want more people to have more confidence in their personal finance skills.

Feedback

·       I didn’t get any feedback as to what I could change about my venture concept, as all of it was positive. Nobody pointed out anything I could change.

How I’ll Adapt

·       Since I didn’t get any negative feedback from the comments, I read through my venture concept and cut out any repetitive information and shortened sections.

Assignment 28A - Your Exit Strategy

Assignment 28A – Your Exit Strategy

·       Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

o   I plan to stay with Tips for a few years until I know that I’ll be secure enough financially to start pursuing other things that may help my career while also supporting myself comfortably. When this happens, I would want to sell it to a company who has the same intention I did when I created this idea and make sure that the company would benefit from it as well.

·       Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

o   I chose this particular exit strategy because I want to pursue other interests that I have. Personal finance is one, but there are many others I want to learn more about and possibly build a career on one of those as well. For example, I am a passionate writer, and becoming a successful author has been one of my dreams, and it’s a dream I know I will be pursuing for a long, long time.

·       How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you’ve made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

o   I believe my exit strategy has influenced my decisions in my concept in terms of acquiring and using resources as well as the culture I would want to build within the company. I want to build its value before I decide to sell it to another company, and I want the value to be found not only in the profit it earns but also the employees and processes it has.

Assignment 27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

Assignment 27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

I read Mary Kay’s Miracles Happen.

·        What surprised you the most?

o   While I read the book, I wasn’t surprised by much even though I literally knew nothing about Mary Kay going into it. However, if there was one thing that surprised me it was how she always had God as her priority in life and trusted in Him so much throughout the course of her career. It’s not something that’s too common nowadays, and as a Catholic, I find it admirable.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? 
• I admired her determination the most. It carried her through a time where women weren’t looked at as equals in a society were men were held in higher regard, not to mention she didn’t have the best and most privileged early life. She was also divorced, had kids, and held a full-time job while also attending college for a while, and that’s enough to make a “normal” individual crumble under the pressure of everything. Her determination took her through all of that, and that’s what makes it admirable, especially in that time period.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• There wasn’t really anything that I didn’t admire about Mary Kay. If I were more narrow-minded and didn’t have a good idea of the way her mind operated from reading the book, I’d say that her dedication to her work rather than to her family is something I wouldn’t admire. However, that idea totally goes against her principals, and she has said herself that she always makes time for her family and does her best to make that time as meaningful as possible. She’s so good at time management, something like that is possible for her despite her busy work schedule. There really isn’t anything I don’t admire about her.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? 
• Mary Kay definitely encountered adversity and failure. She lived in a time where men were looked at as superior to women for one. She was also divorced and had to work a full-time job and take care of her kids, something that is really difficult to do. Starting her own business as a woman was also something really difficult to do in those days.
• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
• Mary Kay was a master at time management, and she was also really great at talking to people individually and in large groups. With a busy work schedule like hers on top of taking care of her family, having honed time management skills is a must, and she was able to perfect them throughout her lifetime and her career. Throughout her book, she mentioned multiple times how important paying attention to people, talking to them and listening to them, was. She was able to read an audience and take the best course of action to make them pay attention to her while also enjoy what she was saying, and she knew how to touch people’s hearts and make them feel cared for and motivated.
• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. 
• There wasn’t anything in the reading that I found confusing. Everything to me seemed really straightforward and well-explained, and I found the book to be a really enjoyable read.
• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? 
• The first question I would ask Mary Kay is when was it when she felt that the company would be fine when she passed away. I would like to ask her this question because I feel that it’s a worry that every first owner of a business has. Choosing someone to become the top person at a company is something stressful to think about. The second question I would ask Mary Kay is how was she able to keep her marriage strong with her husband. Both of them were really busy individuals. Admittedly, they did work together in the company, but to separate personal life from business life can be really difficult sometimes, and I’d like to hear her story on how they kept the marriage going strong.
• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? 
• I think Mary Kay’s definition of hard work is doing your best every day and striving to beat your best. Throughout the book, she mentions multiple times, “I can do better,” and she really did. For her, it’s all about pushing past your limits when you think your limits aren’t good enough and becoming the best version of yourself.

Assignment 26A - Celebrating Failure

Assignment 26A – Celebrating Failure

·       Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed – whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don’t spare any details! It’d be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time.

o   If there was one moment of big failure that I can remember from this semester, it was when I didn’t turn in the first Elevator Pitch assignment in this class. Now, I did write a rough draft of what I would say and would cut out words and shorten phrases I didn’t need until it was as short as I thought it could be without going over one minute of speaking, and I decided to record it the day it was due because I hate being filmed on camera and I wanted to delay it for as long as possible so I didn’t have the video for so long of a time that I would repeatedly watch it and cringe at myself. In addition, there was a lot of other school things going on, and I wanted to focus on things I knew would take longer than recording a one-minute video and posting it on my blog post.

o   The same night the video was due, the night I was going to record it, I got a text message from my boyfriend, and a very stressful and emotional conversation ensued. My boyfriend has had depression since the fall of 2017, and every once in a while, he will hit a really deep low out of the blue, not knowing what it was that made him feel this way. Every time he has one, it takes a few hours’ worth of conversation to make him feel the least bit better or even have the slightest bit of peace of mind. That night, he had a really bad low, and talking to him and reassuring him was harder and more emotionally taxing for me than usual. By the time I finished my conversation with him, it was already 11:30pm, and I felt too stressed and too emotionally strained to do anymore work, so I decided not to do the assignment, which brought my grade down a letter grade. This state of feeling stressed and emotionally taxed continued for the next few days.

o   I failed as a good student, I feel like I failed in supporting my boyfriend, and I failed myself, for allowing myself to enter such a dark mindset so easily.

·       Tell us what you learned from it.

o   From this, I learned just what my stress and emotional threshold was and started to find ways that would help keep me from reaching it and crashing all over again. I also learned that I can’t make things better right away and that certain things take time to get better, and it’s a continuing lesson for me. I also learned how to keep pushing myself when things aren’t as great as I would like them to be and to just take things day by day.

o   Also, I learned to do video projects as soon as I possibly could to avoid a situation like this in the future.

·       Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn’t it? It’s embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failures (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure – are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

o   My views on failure has changed over the years as I went through middle school and high school. I was afraid of failure in middle school because I was held to this super high unrealistic standard by the people around me that eventually became my own, which increased the pressure I felt which just made me feel more stressed. As I transitioned into high school, I learned that failure isn’t something so bad. It’s an opportunity to learn what it was that I didn’t comprehend and try to find ways to change that. Also, through high school, though the pressure to do great was still high, it wasn’t as great of a priority as it was when I was in middle school. It still is embarrassing to admit that I have failed at something, but I’ve become more accepting of it whenever I do fail. Emotionally, I berate myself for a few minutes before trying to push those thoughts aside so I can continue doing the important things that I have to get done. I’ve learned to not let failure get in the way of my day, and while I am not successful at doing this all the time, I’m definitely getting better at it.

o   ENT3003 is definitely a different class, since it’s the first class I’ve ever had where exams are nonexistent. It’s also the first class I’ve had where I really had to interact with other people and ask what their ideas were. In terms of how it’s changed my perspective on failure, it hasn’t really changed it much other than the fact it confirms that is a means of learning and improving yourself. I’m more open to new ideas, and I think I’m just a bit more likely to take a risk now than I was a few months ago.

Assignment 25A - What's Next?

Assignment 25A – What’s Next?

What I think is Next:

I believe the next step my service Tips should take would be to continue making updates to the app and website that will still cater to the current target audience while also adding an outside aspect that would be catered to an audience that would want to learn more deeply about finances. Since the app has a wide target market already, I think it would make more sense for the next step to be focused on those who have the serious intention of learning more about how to handle their money and maybe even beyond. These would be the people who would want to learn beyond how to handle a budget and learn more about finances in general, and we would do this by having a person to call, someone who would be considered a consultant for people who have more complex financial situations and want an advice from a person.

Existing Market Interviews:

1.     Interview 1: This interview was done with a college student in her junior year. When I described my app and website to her, she was in favor of it and said that it would be useful since it handles the basic budgeting and finance recording that a budgeting app does while also giving a little something extra. When I asked her “What should we be doing that we aren’t planning to do?”, she said there wasn’t much that she could think of that could be added to the product since it already covered so many basic areas. The only thing she could think of would be to continue to update the app with more tips and articles for the subscribed users. When I told her about my ideas about possibly adding a consultant to the service for people who want more personalized advice on their financial situation, she said it would either go really well or fail since it really depends on who is using the app and how dire their financial situation is, not to mention it also depends on how many people in the U.S. will end up using the app and also subscribing to it for the extra things it offers.

2.     Interview 2: This interview was done with a college grad student. When I described my app and website to her, she showed full support of it since she has trouble handling her personal finances and worries about money on a daily basis. When I asked her, “What should we be doing that we aren’t planning to do?”, she said that it would be cool to be able to call someone as part of the subscription if people ever needed any deeper financial advice for their own situation. She used herself as an example since she’s trying to save up for her wedding in a year or two. When I told her about my idea of having a consultant similar to what she described, she seemed happy about it and supported the idea.

3.     Interview 3: This interview was done with a college undergrad student in his freshman year who has a job delivering pizzas. When I described my app and website to him, he said it sounded a lot like the finance app he was using, but he did like the added bonus of getting budgeting tips just by downloading the app. That characteristic set my app apart from his. When I asked him “What should be we be doing that we aren’t planning to do?”, he said there wasn’t much that he could think of that would help the app improve further other than to keep updating the app so it runs smoothly and enhances the services it already has. When I told him about my idea of adding someone to call, a consultant, for those who want deeper advice on their own financial situation, he had a similar response to my first interviewee, saying that it would definitely be helpful to those who really needed it, but depended on how many people really wanted to seek out financial advice and subscribe for the service. It would also be targeted towards people who have a full-time job or several part-time jobs, so people who would potentially call the consultant would be adults and not students.

Reflection:

After interviewing these three people, I think continuing to update the app to make it run smoother and to add to the features it already has is definitely a good move and the safest. Two of the three interviews mentioned the updates on the app, and two of them thought the consultant idea was risky and depended on a lot of things despite it having the potential to be super successful, which I agree with. At the very least, I heard really good feedback on the original idea of the app itself since all three interviewees liked the idea of receiving budgeting tips every time the app is in use since it’s an added bonus compared to other apps they’ve heard of and used.

New Market:

The new market I am considering isn’t really new, but just a subgroup that I have mentioned but haven’t been focusing on, are people who have established jobs, more specifically parents and people who have families to take care of. The app wouldn’t change its features much, but I believe people who have families to take care of would find the app more attractive since they have more expenses to consider in their day to day lives. They would also probably be more open to the consultant service added with the subscription since they are more likely to have more complex financial situations. The success of the added consultant would depend on this subgroup.

New Market Interviews:

1.     Interview 1: My first interviewee for this new market was a mother I ran into while getting a drink at a nearby boba tea place. She was getting drinks for herself and her daughters. When I told her what the concept and details were for my app, she said that the budgeting tips really stood out and would definitely give people who needed them a better idea of how to budget their money. The basics of a budgeting help would definitely be helpful on a personal level since, as a person with a family, she has to keep track of many different kinds of expense for herself, her husband, and her daughters. When I told her about the consultant that would come with the subscription to the app, she was pretty open about it since she knows people who are really struggling with their finances and would like to go to a professional for help, but would only cost them more money to do so. The big problem she saw with it was whether or not the consultant would be someone credible enough to give people with financial hardships advice and information.

2.     Interview 2: My second interview for this new market was a daughter in her twenties who still lives with her parents and helps them with basic home expenses. When I described my idea to her, she was all for the budgeting, but said it wouldn’t be so useful since the money that comes into the household is usually spent really quickly on things such as house payments, groceries, and whatnot, so not much is left to save. There isn’t a lot of money to keep track of after all the necessary expenses are paid off. When I told her about my idea of adding an available consultant to call with a subscription to the app for people who really wanted personalized financial advice, she was for it. Her parents had been considering going to a professional for financial help, but they don’t have the money to do so. She said for those who were in her family’s situation, being able to call a professional for a simple monthly subscription to an app is convenient since they’re just a call away for a cheap price.

Reflection:

There were a lot of things I didn’t think of before I had these interviews. I didn’t think about the credibility of the possible consultant for my app, nor did I think about the added convenience for people who have wanted to see a financial consultant by providing them contact with one for a simple monthly subscription fee. Even though the service most likely won’t be on par with paying a full-price for seeing a professional for advice on handling finances, simply having someone on-call to ask for advice provides a convenient safety net.

I think these two interviews provided evidence that the consultant idea really does depend on this subgroup since they would be more stressed about their finances and more likely to have complicated struggles with them. However, like previous interviewees have said, this additional service will only be successful if the people who use the app actually want a real person’s advice and if a lot of people want it. It would be a service that would probably be implemented in the future, when the app has a big number of people already using it.  

Assignment 24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

·       Throughout the U.S., there are few schools that offer home economics and personal finance classes to students. The great majority of Americans are worried about their financial situation, whether or not they live above the poverty line. This worry extends beyond adults to college and even high school students who are struggling to simply find means to pay their tuition and also worry about whether or not they’re going to get a stable job in the future.

·       The need is for people who don’t have any education in handling personal finances and are worried about where their money is going and how much they have and are saving.

·       The forces that allow this to occur are the lack of classes offered for personal finances and a home economics class in general, where personal finances and budgeting are part of the curriculum. Therefore, a great majority of the population has to rely on finding their own resources in order to learn how to handle their money

·       This market isn’t defined geographically; however, I believe that demographically, adults and people with jobs and families would be more likely to use the app

·       Customers are currently satisfying this need by using other budgeting apps, going to financial consultants, relying on their parents or other friends who know how to handle money for advice, and reading articles and watching videos online. They’re pretty loyal to whatever they use now because these resources are the only resources they know of and have access to.

·       This opportunity is really big since most Americans are worried about their financial standing. The worry isn’t limited to people who earn less than others. It’s a worry that is common on every financial level.

·       I believe the window of opportunity will be open for a very long time since the home economics class and personal finance classes are uncommonly offered and knowledge on how to handle money largely depends on the individual.

Innovation:

·       The app will be free to download on the app store, and once individuals create their accounts on their phones, they will be able to also access the website with those same accounts. Individuals can also choose to create their accounts on the website and download the app later or not download it at all. For people who want more than just budgeting tips and finance tracking, for a small subscription fee of $5 a month, they will have access to additional articles if they ever want to read more on how to handle money for certain things or make their financial situation better. In addition, for people who want to consult an actual professional on the phone for advice on their own financial situation, they will pay a bigger price for that one call.

·       The app itself will be user-friendly so that people who are not tech-savvy will be able to easily navigate it and its features. It will also have a simple, yet aesthetic setup to decrease confusion in case there is a problem of navigation for users.

Venture Concept:

·        Individuals will download and use my product if they have trouble keeping track of their finances and also want an easy way of how to budget and save their money better. In addition, for individuals who want more than just tips and want advice tailored specifically to their need, they will either pay the subscription fee for the articles or make the one-time payment if they want to contact a professional for insight about their financial situation.

·        It will be difficult to get people to switch because there are a number of budgeting and finance apps that already exist and already have a great number of people who use them and give them good reviews that attract other people to use them. I think the only weakness these competing apps have is the lack of giving real advice for budgeting.

·        My product can’t be packaged or distributed in any way since it is an online and mobile service; however, the design of the icon for the app and the layout of the actual app and website when in use is important since it has to cater to both people who know a lot about technology and people who don’t know as much. The only location that would be relevant to my product, it would be where the customer service base would be.

·        The price is important because if the subscription price of the price to call a professional for advice is too low, people may think that it isn’t worth the time or money to invest in them, and if it’s too high, people won’t bother thinking twice about subscribing or calling a professional.

·        Since the product is based solely on mobile devices and computers, having a really good customer support service is crucial since there is no way to personally connect to users of the app and website. My employees will be trained to be friendly, honest, and polite towards all customers if they have problems with the app or website, and they will be required to memorize key points and details about the product the customers are using.

·        I would estimate twenty employees to begin with, mainly for providing customer support for people who have problems with the app or website, and the number will grow as the number of people who use the app grow. A few of them would be marketers, people who will help advertise the app, as well as the designers of the app and website, to make sure they are user friendly and the layout isn’t cluttered.

Three Minor Elements

·        My unfair advantage would be the ability to build rapport. While there is little personal contact with potential customers, being able to establish trust with a customer that my product will work and help them budget their money and become a better budgeter is crucial. Building rapport helps in bringing out and establishing a need for potential customers, and that is the beginning of attracting them.

·        My initial venture will not include the consultant portion of the product until later, when the app and website is already established and has a big customer base. I believe this will help jumpstart the addition of being able to call a professional for financial advice.

·        In the next five years of this venture, I would love to see people have a better generalized idea of how to handle their money better and be less stressed and worried about their financial situation. I want more people to have more confidence in their personal finance skills.