Reading Reflection No. 1

For this reading reflection I read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I really enjoyed this book and the entrepreneurship story. The thing that surprised me the most was how difficult it was for Jobs to start his company. He began in his parent's garage with a few of his friends and was able to grow the company by reaching out to everyone he could. The thing I most admired about Jobs was how he stuck with his ideas so firmly. At one point, he was even fired from his own company because he would not change his ideas. The thing I least admired was his stubbornness. Although he always stick with his ideas and I do admire that the most, it also led to many issues that caused the company to have problems. He should have been more willing to listen to others ideas and hear if they were good or bad. He was a little too controlling. He ddi encounter diversity when his company did not like his idea so they decided to fire him. He left his company and still worked in the industry attempting to make a new company, but then was given an opportunity to come back to Apple and did. He had many competencies, with one of his best being his determination. He knew he had good ideas and a good product so he sold his ideas so he could be successful. One part that was confusing to me was when he was fired. I understand that he was fired because he was too controlling, but they overlooked his ideas and did not believe in him even though his ideas are the ones that made the company what it is. If i were able to ask Jobs two questions i would ask him how he came up with his idea, and how to really start a business. I know there is a lot more that goes into a business. than just an idea so the entire process of starting up is something I would want to know more about. I think that he values hard work more than anything. He wants people that will work hard and be able to make his ideas a reality. I do share the same opinion.         

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: 
The segment I will be focusing on is college students who are graduating college and how they are planning to enter the world with their degree.

Interviews:
I interviewed two students who are graduating this spring semester and one who graduated in fall.

1. The first person I interviewed was named Trevor. Trevor is graduating at the end of the semester and has been at UF for four years. He is also heavily involved in campus. He is a member of the impact party and a brother of Delta Tau Delta. I began by asking him what his plans were once he graduated. He said he was unsure, but had a few internships at different accounting firms over the past few years and was going to apply to those places. As I was talking to him about his future plans, he was growing more and more anxious. He clearly did not have any set plans and was unsure of what would happen after college. I talked to Trevor about if their were people dedicated to advising him with the transition if that would help him, and he said that it would be very helpful. He is currently trying to make connections in his field, but is struggling and said that someone that would advise him would help a lot. I learned that some students do not really know what they are going to do with their major and need guidance. 

2. The second person I interviewed was Hunter. Hunter is also graduating this fall semester and is involved. He is president of his fraternity and has also had a few internships. He is an accounting major. I asked him about his future plans and he seemed a little more confident in what he would do in the future. He said one of the companies he has worked for before is hiring and he has been in contact with a recruiter there. He said that the job is all set up and has already applied and has been called back. He will be working in Sacramento, California. I asked Hunter if an advisor would help him in finding his career path. He said it would be helpful, but he would not necessarily need it. Because he made good connections during college, he was able to secure a job in his field. He did say that if it was offered he more than likely would have used him or her, because any advisement helps. I learned from this interview that some students are more motivated than others and have a drive to make sure his life is planned out well and is in his own hands.
  
3. The third person I talked to was named Brad. He graduated this past fall semester. Brad was involved in college, although not as heavily as Trevor or Hunter. I asked him about how his transition for college to his career has been and he said it was not very easy. When he graduated he did not have many plans, but was able to get a job through one of his father's friends. He said it has been tough because he is not in the field he wants to be in, but he is working to pay the bills. He said he is applying at other places, but has not heard any word back yet. I asked Brad if an advisor would have helped him find a job and he said yes it would. He has some connections in his field, but needs help utilizing the connections. He said even something as simple as resume help would help him a lot. I learned that the transition from college to your field can be very difficult and that oftentimes you have to work outside of your field at first to then make money and apply for jobs in your field.

Conclusion:     
This segment of people are in a transition period that they are unsure of what life holds for them. Any sort of guidance can help them out so they can have their life more under control and know what they are going to do in the future. College is just a stepping stone on a career path and figuring out how to start a career is extremely difficult.

Solving The Problem

A local opportunity that I identified earlier was that street racing was a major issue and actually claiming lives. This is an issue because people love to race and people that have the itch to race do not have a convenient and safe place to race. Obviously, it is not very easy to make a safe racetrack, especially with all the expenses that it can occur. The demand is apparent with all of the street racing that is occurring. To solve this issue, I would want to give people a safe and convenient place to race. The product I would be giving people would be not only a place to race, but a place to come and watch racing. Now, with the Tampa area being so populated, there are already a few race tracks around, but almost all are at least a thirty minute drive from the most densely populated areas. One of the most convenient areas of the area is the airport. It is nearly twenty minutes or less from almost anyone that lives in the area, and there is a decent amount of land in the area that could be used to make a racetrack. If a racetrack is put in, it would have the opportunity to draw families and crowds of people on nights when there is little to do. The only problem would be the cost of opening a racetrack and all of the insurance that would have to go along with possible injuries to the racers. In order to attract people, I would have to sell racing tickets to watch for cheap, or maybe even free to watch, and as low as a fee as possible for people to race. I think this would be a great opportunity for the area and cut down on street racing that is occurring in the Tampa area.           

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunities:

1. K-Mart and Sears closing over 400 store

          I found this in a recent news article I read about major stores closing. With so many of these stores closing, people will be looking for places to purchase the types of items they sold, which allows for new people to get into the market. For example, Sears sold washers and dyers, and now, a washer and dyer store could open to fill the need of the people that were shopping at Sears beforehand. The prototypical customer is a family who needs a new washer and dryer. I think the opportunity could be easy to exploit because the customers of sears and K-mart need places that have the same products.     

I identified this opportunity because my Uncle, who now owns a printing company, capitalized on an opportunity such as this. A large printing company left the area and he noticed the need and filled it.  

2. Sustainability

          I found this opportunity when thinking about different items that I have recently started purchasing. Over the past few months I have been buying foods that are organic and shopping at healthier grocery stores such as Trader Joe's. Once I started thinking about that more, I started to think about how not only do I look for a healthier diet, I also look for a more "green" market. This includes buildings that save energy and places that pay respect to the environment. This opens up opportunities for businesses to become more "green" and receive a new customer basis that is growing everyday. The customers are the people that want more conservative ways of living. The opportunity is fairly easy to exploit because the customers want to shop locally, so if a new local business is opened, the customers will want to try it. 

I noticed this opportunity because I am an architecture major and have been thinking about ways to save energy and conserve the environment. I am currently working on a project that would be a sustainable space that would focus on its interaction with nature and how little of an economic footprint it could leave.         

Regulatory Changes

1. Taxes

         I found this while watching the news with all of the recent talk of tax changes. This change in taxes will  cause more tax to fall onto business owners. However, because the taxes are shifting, many opportunities will arise. One direct one that I see is the business owners who are being taxed more heavily will need help figuring out the new taxes. This creates a market where people who are good at understanding tax law can help. The customer will most likely be small businesses. I think it will be difficult to exploit because the law is very complicated and not easily understood.

I identified this opportunity because I know tax reform is difficult to understand, and this market already somewhat exits. People currently are getting help with their taxes, but a tax change will cause these businesses to have to adapt, or be overtaken by a new business.    

2. Regulations on Cryptocurrency

          I found this while talking to my Dad one night about cryptocurrencies and if he thought anything of it. There is an opportunity here because many of the current cryptocurrencies have little to no regulations and their prices fluctuate so heavily. If someone was able to make a cryptocurrency that had regulations on it and a steady value, then this would open up an entire new way of payment. The customer in this is people who are looking for a more efficient and safer way to pay for things. It is difficult to exploit because putting in new regulations is not an easy task, and stabilizing a currency is very difficult without a large, trusted backing. 

I identified this opportunity when talking to my dad about it. We are both tech-savy people who are looking at the newest trends. We noticed the rise in bitcoin, but also noticed how volatile it could be, and that a cryptocurrency that was regulated would be very efficient.