Half-way Reflection

1) The skill that has been most useful has been organization. There are a lot of assignments to keep up with and organization is key. Putting all of my assignments in my planner has helped me to stay on top of the work. I'd also say a very important skill I've worked on has been persistence. Often, people are not willing to be interviewed and it can take a while to meet your requirements. The key is to keep trying.
2) I felt like giving up on this class in a week where I had three exams and also assignments due too. I felt very stressed out and just didn't want to spend the time to get everything done because I was so tired. My determination to not quit or take zeros pulled me through, I'm very blessed to be in the position I'm in and know I need to make the most of my opportunity. I feel like I came in to this class with a pretty tenacious attitude, however, my tenacity has definitely increased by persevering through challenges presented to me this semester. My three exam week was definitely the experience that showed me what I was made of.
3) To foster the skills that support tenacity, you must never be complacent. You must always be looking to improve yourself and your work. Developing the tenacious mindset means being unwilling to quit. Go into the semester with mindset that you will not give up no matter how hard things get and you will definitely be in a position to succeed. Finally, maintain a positive attitude, it is much easier to be tenacious when you are excited about your task and believe in yourself.

The Twenty Percent

I talked to Tom Meyer, CEO of Meyer Capital about his "20%". He is currently traveling so I interviewed him over the phone.
1) Mr. Meyer said his core customers are typically upper class, 40+ years old, located in the northeast and well-educated. The problems they have (and why they come to him) is that they don't have the time, know-how, or technology to invest their money successfully.

Having worked for Mr. Meyer and participated in weekly portfolio reviews of all his customers, I'd agree with his idea of Meyer Capital's core customers.

2) I had trouble finding people who fit this description and one potential customer agreed to an interview but did not want the video posted. Here is the transcript (I'll use the letter J to identify myself and M to identify Mary):
J: I'm here with Mary, Mary what are your unmet needs when it comes to wealth management?
M: I am currently happy with my wealth management situation but, like everyone, would like to see even better returns on my investments than I already am.
J: Ok thank you, how did you find your current wealth management service?
M: A recommendation from a friend led me to the company that currently manages my money.
J: Ok, what type of media do you consume?
M: My two main sources of media consumption are television and the internet.
J: If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?
M: I am 56 years old.
J: Where do you live?
M: I live in Philadelphia.
J: What is your profession?
M: I am an attorney for Subaru.
J: What is your education level?
M: I have a law degree.
J: Ok, thank you for your time.

3) Mr. Meyer seems to have a good grasp of his core group of customers. He says he has been able to identify this group from gathering data from his current customers and composing an average profile. I believe he understands their problems and needs very well and this explains why he is so successful. 

Week 7 Reading Reflection

I was surprised to learn that companies and executives have only been using segmentation to tailor commercials to audiences. I assumed that executives would want to maximize the amount of information they have about potential customers. I don't really understand the "gravity of decision spectrum". It wasn't elaborated on greatly, but the author made it seem important. I'd ask the author the best way to collect the information necessary for companies to segment. I'd ask that because I'm not sure of the information needed or how to attain it. I'd also ask the author how he would let demographics affect his marketing decisions. He made it seem unimportant but I'm sure there are scenarios in which demographics become increasingly important. While I couldn't find anything this author said that I disagreed with, company executives may feel differently. The fact that they are not using segmentation as much as the author thinks they should may say something about its validity.

Elevator Pitch No.2

1)
2) The best feedback I received advised me to improve my hand gestures and body language. She said she loved my idea to but in order to truly sell it, I need to incorporate more lively hand gestures to convey my passion. I was surprised when my other commenter suggested I take my idea and use it to help kids in low-income areas as well. While most couldn't afford the service, maybe I could put on a low-cost or free clinic for kids in low-income areas. This would definitely boost my companies image in local communities.
3) I didn't really change my pitch other than to expand on some of my marketing and targeting strategies. Most of the feedback I've received has shown me that my idea is simple and doesn't need much tweaking to be effective. I did attempt to include better gestures but I find it tough to do that when talking to a camera because it feels awkward and unnatural.

Customer Interviews No. 3

1. My notecard is just a general outline of my business idea. It explains that this will be a sport-specific athletic training company who's trainers are college athletes. I will also be asking two additional questions:
a. What community place would be best to spread word about this company?
b. What kind of advertising would most pique your interest in this company?

2.

3. I learned that people generally thought this venture was a good idea. I focused my questions on marketing this business because I believe it is an extremely important part of starting this business. I learned that community playing fields, youth and high school sports games, and gyms were probably the best places to market this business. Not much surprised me in this round of interviews because I didn't really have any expectations.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

What surprised me most about this reading was learning about the bargaining power of suppliers. While the power buyers have is quite obvious in daily life, I didn't consider the immense impact a supplier can have on a business if they decide to cut ties or raise prices. I was a little confused while reading about the intensity of competitive rivalry. I'm not sure how these factors affect the intensity of competition in an industry and feel like there is a high level of competition in almost every industry. If I were to ask the author a question it would be to give a couple modern day examples of intensity of competition. I'd ask this because I'm still confused by this topic and examples may give me clarity. I'd also ask how quickly a brand can build customer loyalty and what the best ways to go about that are. This information would be great for an entrepreneur trying to get his business off the ground with a loyal customer base. I have no arguments to any of the information this author presented. It's an often referenced piece for the reason that it is very logical.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I am very organized and have a sales oriented mindset. I am good at connecting with adults, especially parents. I think I can use this skill to my advantage because it will mostly be parents paying for my service. I have experience with team building, scheduling, sports training, and accounting that I think will be useful. I see this business as a venture to make some money on the side while working with my friends and helping shape young kids lives. I love sports and think this is a good way to stay involved.

2. I am offering my customers a chance to work with current D1 athletes in their respective sports in order to improve their game. Most kids want to be successful on the playing field and many even aspire for scholarships. I am offering a chance to work with athletes who are at the top of their game and have received exceptional coaching. While there are camps and clinics that offer this opportunity, I have not been able to find a business that provides a similar experience in a small group or one on one setting weekly.

3. This service is being offered to well-off athletes in South Jersey who are looking to improve their skills. Ages may very but I am marketing towards kids from age 10-17. A common factor among all my potential customers is the drive to improve and gain an edge as well as the money to pay for this service.

4. Customers will actually pay me for this service because of the competitive nature of youth sports. Kids are looking for any way to gain an advantage over their competition and I believe this is an opportunity that will stand out in their minds. Lots of parents with children in youth and high school sports have an eye towards potential scholarships and are willing to spend money now to save a fortune down the road.

5. What I have that no one else has is simple: talented, young athletes with great coaching who have ample time on their hands to train others in the summer. Not many training companies can offer not only athletes who are talented and know what they are doing, but also coaching points from several of the top coaches in the country. Also, the relative youth of the trainers will make it easier to relate to the young athletes and give them up to date advice on recruiting.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1) After my first round of interviews, I have learned that there may be a market for this service. However, I need to make sure the price is relatively low/competitive and the type of training costumers are receiving is very skills specific.
2) I believe I was asking the right people questions and will continue to make sure I find a diverse group of athletes.
3) Now that I know people would be willing to use and pay for my service, I will be asking them questions about how to make this service the best it can be.
Questions:
1. Have you ever had any bad experiences with athletic training services you've used in the past? What were they?
2. How much time would you be willing to spend per week on athletic training? (I am asking this to see how long sessions should be)
3. Is there a specific skill you wanted to improve on in your respective sport?
4.

 

5. I've learned that the more you get out and talk to people, the better idea you get of how successful your idea would be and how to make it better. Specifically, I learned that the sessions need to be cheap, provide small group or personal training, and focus on skills that are tough to master.
6. I've learned to be confident and friendly when approaching people, this will make them more likely to say yes to an interview. I've also learned that offering to leave their face out of the interview makes them more likely to say yes. Finally, I've learned to steer away from leading questions, as they typically do not glean information that is actually useful or constructive.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

I was surprised by all the factors that could cause a venture to fail. No wonder it is so tough to launch a successful start-up. I was confused about the new venture failure prediction model. I understand the basics of it but I still do not understand how to implement it and how to weigh certain factors when evaluating an actual new venture. I'd ask the author a question about the evaluation process. I wonder if there is a way to include some sort of simulation in the process to hypothetically look at how the company would fair if it was open for business today. If I were to ask the author a question, it would be, "What is the best way to gain insight in the market?" I'd ask this because there are several ideas that pop into my head for this question but I do not know how practical or successful any of them would be. There was nothing I thought the author was incorrect about this week.

Elevator Pitch No.1

The opportunity I've identified is the lack of a go-to option in my area for high level, sport-specific, training. My solution is to create a company that employs current D-1 athletes and establishes different training regimens for different sports. I will call my company All-Star Training.