30A- Final Reflection

When reflecting on my experience writing this blog, the most memorable moments come from the beginning. My suspicion is that the beginning was when my learning curve was most significant, and my experiences were fresh and new. Taking this course has taught me less about the specifics of whats important when running a business, which you can learn any time, and more about how to think like an entrepreneur and successfully come up with a business idea.

The specific experiences I will take away from this course for the longest time would have to be the Bug List, the Reading Reflections, and all of my experiences having to interview different people. These are the most memorable because they are definitely the exercises that taught me the most. The Bug List was a difficult assignment for me and took me all week. Ironically, while this is one of the assignments that taught me the most, it is one of the few I did not receive credit for, because I did not realize the deadline was at noon, rather than 11:59. None the less, the Bug List gave me a different outlook on the world. I began looking at things as a problem solver. What is bothering me, why is it bothering me and how would it best be fixed are things I frequently think about now. The reading reflections not only inspired me to be like and learn from successful entrepreneurs but taught me valuable lessons they learned along the way that everyone should know. Finally, the interviews. At first, I resented the assignments which required us to interview people, it was my least favorite activity. However, as I completed more and more, they became more and more comfortable. I also learned along the way how important and useful interviews are when starting any kind of business. I certainly will be significantly more comfortable and confident interviewing people in the future.

Ultimately, what I learned in this class is not how to manage finances in a business, how to conduct a job interview and so on like I expected. I learned much more valuable information. How to think like an entrepreneur and act like one is much more important, and that is exactly what this class has taught me. 

29A- Venture Concept No. 2

 This business concept is extremely unique and new to the market. It is the perfect combination of an opportunity and innovation, joining an unmet need in a specific area with a new idea that has not been done before. This creative business idea will pioneer the rental property industry and create a new sector that is innovative in the industry and offers something unique to satisfy the unmet need that creates the opportunity. This business offers students a more flexible lease allowing them to account for the unknown future. By offering semester-based leases aligned to the local University, this business gives students the opportunity to pay more for rent because they do not need to when they are gone or save more money on rent in general. By not being stuck in a lease, students are encouraged to travel and experience as much as possible. Additionally, the uncertainty of roommates can cause significant stress. By signing a shorter lease, these fears and stress are alleviated. This is being offered to college students who are not local to their college town. More specifically, the primary target groups are students who travel home for summers, who plan to travel abroad, who plan to intern or work in another city during a semester or summer, students who are unsure who they want to live with or students who want to get a nicer apartment for less money. Customers will care because this is a product that offers them something that is potentially nicer than something they can afford now for a lower price. Shorter leases save them money giving them the opportunity to spend more per month. Additionally this alleviates stress significantly by knowing they do not need to lock into a year long lease where they may not know where they are going to be in several months or who they want to live with. More specifically, the primary target groups are students who travel home for summers, who plan to travel abroad, who plan to intern or work in another city during a semester or summer, students who are unsure who they want to live with or students who want to get a nicer apartment for less money.

After posting my first venture concept and receiving feedback, I was relieved that people seemed to really like my idea. This was extremely important to me, considering other students in this class is in my direct target market. The only critique I noticed was with regard to price. People did not seem to love the idea of charging more for shorter leases, even though they actually said they would be willing to pay it. For the first several years, I would not charge slightly more, however if the popularity and presence increased I would consider it more. I am a firm believer in the saying "if it isn't broken, don't fix it. For that reason, considering the feedback I have gotten, I only made very minor changes to my venture concept. I will definitely consider the concept of charging competitive rates to other apartments and working with universities like I was recommended in the feedback.

28A- Your Exit Strategy

The exit strategy I plan to make has been a part of this business idea since its inception. As someone who has always had an interest in real estate investing, it is my intention to make enough money to be able to own a large real estate portfolio to live off in my older years. With that being said, my intention is to run this business as hard as I can for as long as I can, probably into my 40s, growing it as much as I possibly can. At this point, it is my hope to sell the business, and begin using the money that I have made from this business and its sale to begin purchasing large real estate properties. Ideally, I would like to purchase and develop properties while working with my former company. Either purchase buildings that they are running, or begin development programs with them. This way, I can be retired at an early age, have a significant passive income to live off of for the rest of my life, and maintain a relationship and influential position in the business I worked so hard to create and build for half or more of my life.

27A- Reading Reflection No. 3- The Long Tail

The Long Tail

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general argument in this book is that selling items and products can been completely revolutionized recently and needs to be looked at in a different way than it used to. The internet has changed this industry so drastically that it is undeniable that businesses need to work differently and make different strategic business decisions. The internet allows everyone to have a voice, it creates a different way to make people see your product first (being the first to come up on google instead of on the first shelf), and it eliminates significant barriers to entry for people who want to start businesses and create content. Additionally, there is a larger variety of items able to be sold online because of drop shipping and lack of restrictions based on the physical size of a store. On top of this, psychographic information on customers is easier than ever to find. Ultimately, because of all of this, the primary argument is that the days of having one, extremely popular, high selling product is over. Businesses that sell a variety of niche items will ultimately do better when combining the income from all of their products. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book continued to increase my perspective and understanding on what kind of thinking and decision making goes into starting a business that is profitable. This supplements everything we have been taught about critical thinking and analysis for how to come up with a business, position it, and structure it in a way that will be profitable, scalable and lasting over time. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would have students do a research project, trying to find sales metrics and revenue information from public companies that both sell only one product that is popular and that sell a large variety of products. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

There is a part of the book that discusses the 80/20 principle which was a very big surprise. The basic understanding of this principle is as follows. If you have an exam coming up, 20% of the information you study will get you an 80% on the exam almost always. This is the case with other things as well. This can be seen in businesses that sell a variety of products and so on, however like exams, if you dont study 100% of the material, or sell 100% of the items that could do well, you will not see the results from that smaller percentage. 

26A- Celebrating Failure

A little more than a year ago, I decided that I will be attending law school upon graduating at the University of Florida. Last summer, I spent a majority of my time studying for the Law School Admissions Test, the LSAT, sacrificing working and making money to hopefully get into my goal schools and possibly even receive a scholarship. I spent my entire fall semester working hard on my application, writing papers and perfecting the application and letters of recommendation. I learned a lot about hard work, determination and focus throughout this process that will undoubtably help me in the future. Already being a Gator, my dream was to attend the University of Florida Levin College or Law. This semester I received a rejection letter from the University of Florida, which taught me many things.

I was unsure how I would react to a rejection from my dream school. I learned that I respond to major rejection and set back with anger and desire to prove my doubters wrong. As someone who met all the requirements for the school, I had a strong feeling I would get in. This also taught me that nothing is a sure thing, and everything happens for a reason.

When reflecting on this experience, I learned a lot about myself and a lot about how to react to rejection and failure. I learned that everything happens for a reason, and sometimes your dream might not actually align with your goals. After being rejected, I ultimately decided to choose FIU in Miami, which gave me a scholarship, allowing me to go to school for free and be present in the legal market I want to work in while in school. I can confidently say that if I were to be admitted to the University of Florida Levin College of Law from their waitlist today, I would still choose FIU. This has taught me how to overcome failure, to never get too hung up on one goal, and to take a step back and recognize that sometimes your dreams may not be aligned with your goals.

25A – What’s Next?

25A – What’s Next?

            After interviewing three different consumers in my target market, it was surprising apparent that they all came to the same conclusion. When explaining to them my business model of semester-based rent for an apartment complex, they all had the same idea. More apartment complexes, and more cities. Grow our presence in Gainesville, transition from one apartment to several, then ultimately transition into an entire new college town or city where you do the same thing.

            These interviews created an eye-opening response. I did not expect my plan for growth to be so predictable and expected- They basically said exactly what I planned to do. While I still plan to grow in this way, it has led me to think outside the box in ways I haven’t previously. The new path for the future includes these aspects, but also includes new ways to increase this growth such as offering our product in cities that are not as college dependent as perhaps there is a desire for short term leases in more places than just college towns.

            The primary goal is to open more apartment complexes, expand our real estate portfolio, and carefully select more college towns similar to Gainesville to infiltrate. However, once this is achieved, we will market this service/product to people outside the realm of college. Perhaps someone who has a short-term job or is working on a project in a city. Perhaps someone just does not want to commit to a long-term lease. There is a chance this product is marketable and desired by non-college students, and it would be a missed opportunity to not jump on it.

            The new market concept would be offering a brokerage service between businesses and consumers. Instead of having to sign a one year lease and find someone to sublet for you, we will sign the lease and offer a sublet service to individuals. Using our large network developed by the business we can outsource more people looking for short term leases and make a small premium. This eliminates the hassle for the business and the renters, making them both likely to agree to this with us. After speaking to two leasing agents at different apartment complexes, it seems like this idea was a good one. They both agreed that the apartment complexes would like the security of having a reliable tenant such as ourselves for the lease that would decrease their stress to reach max occupancy. They see it as a no brainer as it would be the same income for them with significantly more security. Additionally, they charge a sublet fee in the first place, and said they could likely eliminate that and we could use it as part of our compensation for the service.

            Reflecting on this new market concept I am more surprised than anything. I did not expect these leasing agents to be so excited by the idea. I would have thought it was discovered before, or they would have no use for it, but I appear to be wrong. It is also mildly concerning the lack of confidence they seem to have in their leasers consistently and reliably paying their rent. This however works in our favor as it increases their incentive to work with us.

            While many people would be discouraged by the premise of leasers not paying their rent, this does not bother me. It is my opinion that this is a result of an inadequate product. A majority of these defaults are results of people being fed up with their commitment to a lease when they are not around. I think people would be willing to pay a slight premium to us to not have to pay additional rent in months they are not around.

            At the end of the day, this new market is certainly not as attractive as the existing market. While it may work as a business, there is absolute certainty in my mind that it would not be as profitable as the existing business. It may be an excellent back end aspect of the business, but certainly will not be the primary focus of the business anytime soon.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

            This business concept is extremely unique and new to the market. It is the perfect combination of an opportunity and innovation, joining an unmet need in a specific area with a new idea that has not been done before. This creative business idea will pioneer the rental property industry and create a new sector that is innovative in the industry and offers something unique to satisfy the unmet need that creates the opportunity. This business offers students a more flexible lease allowing them to account for the unknown future. By offering semester-based leases aligned to the local University, this business gives students the opportunity to pay more for rent because they do not need to when they are gone or save more money on rent in general. By not being stuck in a lease, students are encouraged to travel and experience as much as possible. Additionally, the uncertainty of roommates can cause significant stress. By signing a shorter lease, these fears and stress are alleviated. This is being offered to college students who are not local to their college town. More specifically, the primary target groups are students who travel home for summers, who plan to travel abroad, who plan to intern or work in another city during a semester or summer, students who are unsure who they want to live with or students who want to get a nicer apartment for less money. Customers will care because this is a product that offers them something that is potentially nicer than something they can afford now for a lower price. Shorter leases save them money giving them the opportunity to spend more per month. Additionally this alleviates stress significantly by knowing they do not need to lock into a year long lease where they may not know where they are going to be in several months or who they want to live with. More specifically, the primary target groups are students who travel home for summers, who plan to travel abroad, who plan to intern or work in another city during a semester or summer, students who are unsure who they want to live with or students who want to get a nicer apartment for less money.

23A- Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

23A- Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.     Market Awareness-

VRIN: As a former student who has had experience with Gainesville apartment complexes for 4 years I have valuable market awareness and experience. This is valuable because I can use this information to determine what our clients really want as well as what will attract their attention in amenities, offerings and marketing. This is quite valuable, because there are not many apartment complexes that are run by young individuals. However, there are still many that hire students as employees and consultants to help with these questions.

2.     Advertising expertise-

            VRIN: I have an advertising degree meaning I can position the company in a unique and very competitive way that many people wouldn’t think of without paying for advertising. While many people have advertising degrees, it is unique in this field and gives me an advantage over my competitors that they cannot replicate without paying someone or paying for a degree that takes several years to get.

3.     Refuse to fail

            VRIN: I am dedicated and competitive, meaning I will work on this until I succeed. I will adapt, change or adjust anything I must. This is unique because many people do not have this mentality. Frequently they will give up or quit if it appears they are failing or not doing well. This is an inimitable skill because it is something you are born with. People cannot tell themselves they refuse to fail. Either they do or they don’t from the start.  

4.     Good at sales

            VRIN: I have developed a skill for sales, convincing people to purchase products that can be applied to nearly anything. This is not a unique skill. This can also be replicated relatively easily.

5.     Good at making connections

            VRIN: Networking and making connections can create a strategic advantage for me when trying to make deals with partner companies and learning about the industry. This is not an easy skill to replicate but many people have it. While it is hard to learn how to network well and is more of a personality trait that can not be bought or emulated, it is a common trait that many people possess making it less valuable and unique.

6.     Young enough for a higher risk tolerance

            VRIN: Being so young while starting this business means I can take more chances and risks than older investors or business owners. I have no dependents and am only responsible for supporting myself. This is unique as most people my age do not take on business ventures as large as this one. There is no way to replicate this advantage unless more younger people began businesses similar to mine which is unlikely.

7.     Young enough to grow a business for many years

            VRIN As someone who is so young. I have the opportunity to grow and shape this business over many years. Most businesses change hands and leadership several times throughout their life however I could grow and run the business myself for a very long time if I start at a young age. The uniqueness and value of this asset is the same as number seven.

8.     Trustworthy

            VRIN: I am a trustworthy person and businessman and it shows in my work and relationships. This convinces customers to do buy from me and businesses to work with me. This is not a unique skill. This can also be replicated relatively easily.

9.     Friendly and personable

            VRIN: I am able to make meaningful relationships with people in the work place which strengthens connections, brand loyalty and so on. This is not an easy skill to replicate but many people have it.

10.  Able to work

            VRIN: I am an extremely hard worker and have no other distractions. I live alone and have no dependents. Most people starting businesses have other things in their lives that distract their focus occasionally unlike me. This is unique and extremely hard to replicate. It is nearly impossible to avoid all obligations and devote your time to a business unless you do not have any obligations in general.

Our top resource is our market awareness. Having recently been a student who experienced the insufficiencies of student housing in Gainesville, I know first hand what the main stressors, annoyances and insufficiencies of the market. While it is easy for business owners to hire a student for advice, their gut intuition will be different than the students and they will likely go with their gut over the student opinion. Additionally, as the face of the company, we gain social credibility by being run by a former student who experienced the hardships these consumers are looking to avoid which increases their likelihood to sign with us.

Elevator Pitch 3

https://youtu.be/kQrbNZn2Urg

The feedback I got on my last pitch was relatively minimal. I did a good job of fixing my pitch after the first one but still had to fix a few things about discomfort and stiffness. I wanted to be more relaxed yet still professional and I think this worked well.