30A Final Reflection

                                 



1. This has been a long journey in ENT3003. This was a class that I was hoping to attend in person at school. However, I still enjoyed this experience and believe I learned a lot. The Bug List was definitely one of my favorite assignments. It required intense thought and made me really pay attention to what I encounter each day. It was hard to come up with the last ten bugs. I enjoyed having to interview people about my venture because their feedback was extremely valuable.

2. The most formative experience would have to be the elevator pitch. I have not done that many times before and I think that by the time I got to my third pitch I became a pro. I will now feel comfortable the next time I have to speak in front of a group of people. I would definitely say that the bug list will be an experience that I will remember years later because I am now more cautious of things that bother me. The most joyous experience would have to be right now. I worked very far ahead in this course and all my hard work paid off. I am most proud of accomplishing a business venture that was very well-received by my peers.

3. I still do not have a real desire to be an entrepreneur. However, this class has made me develop more of an entrepreneurial mindset than before this class began.

4. One recommendation that I would make to students that are going to journey down this path in the future would be to plan and get ahead! Working ahead will make your life so much easier! To perform best in the course, I highly recommend watching the videos each week and taking notes. I think by making a full schedule for each week on Monday will help foster that mindset. Best of Luck!

29A Venture Concept No. 2

                  James and co- Hurricane protection at an affordable rate!

Opportunity- Residents of South Florida in Broward County have this need. They are my target market segment. Hurricane season is impactful each year in South Florida and everyone knows how important it is to prepare the exterior of their homes. I believe I have many people that are my potential customers whether they live in a house or apartment. Demographically speaking, my customers come from a variety of backgrounds and differ greatly in age. The nature of the need is urgent and somewhat hidden. We are still in the midst of the Corona Virus pandemic that began in March. Countless Americans have been laid off and are facing tight budgets. Thousands of people are still being affected and that is the only thing we hear on the daily news. Due to the whole country being preoccupied with the virus, I believe many people are forgetting that hurricane season is beginning. I think people will seek my service instead of competitors because of my extremely low prices. People will be looking to save as much money as possible. There are already some tropical storms forming in the ocean so I definitely think it is time for people to start preparing. Customers will satisfy this need by enlisting the help of services like mine to install their hurricane shutters. As previously stated in earlier assignments, this is only something my friends and I do when home for the summer each year. Therefore, the "window of opportunity" will be open for roughly three months.

Innovation- My innovation is a creative service that may be applied in the marketplace to address customer needs of protection and saving money. My innovation is hurricane shutter installations. My customers provide my crew with the shutters and we put them on each window of the home. This ensures maximum safety from dangerous hurricanes. There are different types of shutters but my employees are experienced with all of them. Homes with 7 or less windows will be charged $125. Homes with 8-15 windows will be charged $150. If the home is two stories, an additional $25 will be added to the total. Competitors usually charge anywhere from $300-500 for hurricane shutter installations. There is no doubt that putting up shutters is grueling work. However, I think the prices some people are charge are very unreasonable. As a result, I think many customers will seek out my service upon hearing my prices. I envision making a lot of money from this venture because I believe everyone will be trying to save money.

Venture Concept- The venture concept write-up guide defined one as the application of a specific innovation to address a specific opportunity. The main innovation my service incorporates is low prices and the opportunity for people to save as much money as possible. This pandemic has put countless people on a tight budget and I understand that. That is why the prices I am offering are so low. People want to be well-protected from hurricanes and will be more than willing to pay for it. On top of my attractive prices, customers will buy my innovation because my team has more than 5 years of experience. We do our jobs efficiently and effectively. Additionally, we are all South Florida natives. We understand how chaotic hurricane season can be and have experienced them firsthand each year. This will help us relate with our customers, form a real connection and ensure them that they are in good hands. I do not think it will be hard to get customers to switch contractors for this service because of the price they usually pay. I am offering the same service for more than half off what they normally pay. There are many competitors and their main weaknesses are not having enough employees and over-charging their customers. Essentially, I am saying that they "rip-off" their customers. The location is set in stone since I live in South Florida in a big county called Broward. My pricing plays a huge role in defining my business concept. We also send our customers a survey to rate the service upon completion of the job. I currently have 12 employees and that is more than enough. We are able to split up and work on multiple houses at once. I am the main communicator, set up the appointments and assign the crews to the homes.

The three minor elements- I think my most important resource will be my unbeatable low prices. This is my venture's "secret sauce" or "unfair advantage". Besides my actual innovative service, I have authentic employees who are born and raised in South Florida. This gives us firsthand expertise on top of our 5 years of experience installing shutters. This will make it hard for competitors to copy my success. The next step for the venture is potentially launching a shutter removal service. This is difficult though because all of employees are college students and sometimes go back to school before hurricane season is over. However, I definitely see a need for this service because my customers know that my prices will be the best. In five years, I want to be one of the most sought after people for hurricane shutter installations in the summer. I do not anticipate on this being my main focus or job. This is only something I would participate in on the side each hurricane season. This is exactly how I have been operating for the last 5 years. I am still a college student and have bigger aspirations. Lastly, I do not have any desire to be an entrepreneur in the next decade. All in all, I think I will continue to grow my business each year and attract more customers. I want to help as many people in Broward County stay safe and save money.


Feedback- I received very good feedback from my peers. They all think that offering a shutter removal package would be convenient for my existing customers and a great way to grow my venture. They understand that this is only a service my friends would be providing on the side as we all live busy lives as college students. Additionally, they agreed with me that having a strong online presence will allow me to reach many customers. Social media consumes a huge portion of our daily lives. The key for my business to grow is definitely marketing. I also received some constructive criticism feedback. They mentioned that some customers might not be able to afford shutters. Therefore, they suggested that my company purchases the shutters for them to give to them at a discount. I am not sure if that is feasible, but it is definitely something to consider. I did not really change my venture concept much because I believe I have a strong plan in place. However, I am now strongly considering doing the shutter removal package.