Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) The thing that surprised me the most about this reading was that the company had to forfeit $285,000 to thugs in Nizamaba. It was also really surprising the amount of money that they could make in microfinance.

2) I didn't totally understand how they could be making that much money in microfinance, but as I continued to read on I learned about the difficulty to create scale able operating systems.

3) I would ask him - What opportunities do you think are available to increase the growth rate of your company? How long have you been running your company?

4) To be honest I don't know enough about the industry to determine if the author was wrong about anything. He seems to be very intelligent and knowledgeable about his particular field.

Final Reflection

1) I honestly really enjoyed reading over my blog and seeing all the work that I have accomplished this semester. A lot of the assignments I forgot about, and was pleasantly surprised to see how well I did on them. However, I do remember being frustrated while completely some of the assignments and it definitely shows in the quality of the work. Also the video recording was somewhat of a pain in the ass I thought because not many people really wanted to be video recorded and you can get the same information from just having a conversation with someone because they will feel much more comfortable.

2) I would say the most formative experience experience from this class was all the interviews we had to conduct - they provided a lot of insight and knowledge. The most memorable was the process of creating a venture concept. My most joyous experience will be completing the last assignment. I am most proud of myself for the business plan that I created and very positive responses that I received.

3) Yes, I definitely do see myself as an entrepreneur. I think with a different mindset now that is more opportunity focused.

4) I would recommend student who are going to take this class to stay on top of the assignments and work ahead. If you leave things to the last minute you get lazy and just don't do it, or don't complete it fully. Also have an open mind going into the course and get ready to be creative.

Venture Concept No.2

 1)       The opportunity that I am trying to capitalize on is the need to stay healthy and happy in a time where there are ample amount of unhealthy distractions in today’s society. One of the main components of staying healthy overall is fitness. The current fitness industry lacks diversity and exhibits large amounts of mundaneness. The opportunity lies in those unhappy customers who are participating in workout class, paying gym membership fees, joining yoga clubs, etc. and are making slim to none progress on their goals and overall intent to workout in the first place. These people are yearning for something more exciting, more productive, and more efficient that allows them to accomplish the goals they intended to in the first place. The opportunity lies in people who are looking to better themselves through fitness in a healthy and enjoyable manner. These people want to have fun and enjoy life, while staying in shape in order to sustain their lifestyles. I think technology is exposing people to more things than what is just in their immediate environment, and this is resulting in people getting curious about things and having new interests. In order to fulfill your goals, and incorporate these new interests, new venues of fitness need to be introduced into the marketplace. This opportunity is huge. The fitness industry is a billion dollar industry and I honestly feel that it id nowhere near its full potential. Fitness will always be a part of society, as humans need to be healthy to survive and be happy.

            The product and service that I am trying to introduce into the market will satisfy these unmet needs and diversify the industry in such a way that people will be drawn to it over everything else available. I will provide a fun, productive, safe, and effective exercise class involving a patented balance training device that will be implemented along will aerobic, exercise, stretching, weight lifting, and yoga to create and all encompassing, exercise class. This balance training device will essentially be a scaled down surfboard on a roller that will allow the athlete to train leg muscles and core highly efficiently as well as other small muscles needed for balance.

            My customers will be extremely happy and grateful this product and service is on the market one it is. It will open their eyes up to a whole new way of exercising that will actually be enjoying, while also reaping great results. Everyone will love this new class once they hear about it. The implementation of exciting tools such as projections of waves, sand on  the workout floor, and beach vibes music will give this company the competitive advantage that it deserves. I will implement 1 week classes, or longer 12 week programs that will include on water training as well. This is the new wave of fitness and if you want to stay healthy, you better learn how to surf it. I would say the main possible weakness or vulnerabilities would be a potential competitor trying to replicate my product/service. However, this would also drive more traffic towards my company, which will result in higher revenue generation. It’s a win win I suppose. I think business location, customer experience, and marketing are the most fundamental parts that will lead to the success of this venture. I need to start my company in a hotbed of surfing, provide exception customer experience and relations, and connect with the top names in surfing to get the name out there and get the right facing using my product. In order to support an ongoing production of this venture I would need to hire a team to run the classes (yoga instructors, surfers, fitness enthusiasts, etc.) in addition to hiring employees that would help with the production of the training device, take online orders, maintain the company website, connect with potential partners, etc.

           I think my most important resource will be the new and exciting approach to workout out that will be fun and efficient. People will look forward going to this class, both for the experience that they have during It and the benefits that it provides to their health and overall lifestyle. My experience in extreme sports will also allow me to develop this product in a way that will benefit specific sports.

I would say the next step for this venture would be to transition in to other extreme sports similar to surfing. We could design new training devices that better cater to the muscles needs to balance in difference sports. Anything from snowboarding, to skateboarding, to wakeboarding could benefit from an additional training device like this.

I hope this venture would become very successful and would provide me with the financial capital to travel and pursue my passions, all while connecting with interesting and successful people in various similar industries that may be potential clients, partners, or just inspiration for future ventures.

2) To be honest I didn't receive much negative feedback about this idea. The only main thing was people wanted more information on exactly how the balance device works, and which muscles it trains the most efficiently (which I included in my updated venture concept). I also liked someones idea of have a 12 week workout program that accompanies some on the water training with the in class balance training.

3) I didn't really change anything about my core idea, just added some additions elements to it and went into more depth about the product itself. 

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1) The thing that surprised me the most about this reading was how they sort of downplayed corporate culture. I was surprised, and pleased to have read this as it has become an anti-cultural way of thinking but I definitely agree with the author.

2) I didn't totally understand the corporate entrepreneurial philosophy. I liked what they were trying to get at, but I think they were trying to merge 2 very different styles of doing business.

3) I would ask him 1 - what research have you done to come to these conclusions? and 2- what evidence do you have to prove that these philosophies have proven successful.

4) I wouldn't go as far to say that the author was wrong about anything. I am just uninformed on some of the topics that he covered that I would need to research more to have a more sufficient opinion.

Google Gold

1) My general approach to search engine optimization was to learn about the necessary steps to get your website up in the higher rankings of google. Things like meta information, descriptions and keywords allow one to accomplish this.

2) My keywords were entrepreneurship, student, blog, money, technology, business. I selected these keywords based on my blog content and overall topic of discussion. I used most of the same keywords throughout the semester.

3) Honestly, I didn't use too much social media to enhance my efforts. I didn't want to swamp my friends with content that they likely were uninterested in. However, if this were a company I stood behind I would know how to implement social media to benefit.

4) My most viral post was the twenty percent. I was fairly surprised that this one had the most views, as I felt it was one of my lower quality posts. It was about identifying the 20% that contributes to 80% of profits.

5) I did not make it to the first page, but I did make it to the second. I was pleased with my results.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

    After looking back over the interview that I had with Chad Nuss, I think he provided me with some insightful and quality responses. His experience in entrepreneurship was well known to me, but after taking this class I think even more highly of him and his knowledge. I would say his definition of what it means to be an entrepreneur was very spot on. Thinking independently and being self reliant was key in not only completing this online course, but as well as in idea development and innovation which are both large elements of entrepreneurship. I also really liked his point about seeing demand in the market - I thought about it a lot when I was completing the assignments about identifying and filling needs. Like Chad, I also wish we presented with more examples of small businesses in the early stages of development. I think this would provide a lot of knowledge that would be very valuable and applicable.
    Follow up interview:

Alex: What struggles have you encountered with running your business since we spoke last?
Chad: I have struggle the most maintaining productive and effective team dynamics. Interpersonal relationships are key in business and if your team is not operating at its highest level profits are going to suffer as a result. I have been implementing some different team building strategies to improve our company culture.

Alex: What are your long term goals for your current company InsideOut?
Chad: I want to continue to develop our web presence, innovate our current marketing tactics, implement some new technologies that would be beneficial for our clients, and continue to keep profits on a uphill slope to potentially exit from the business at some point.

Alex: If you could give one final piece of advice for an aspiring entrepreneur like myself, what would it be?
Chad: Never give up. Continue to stay interested in a variety of topics. Work on fundamental skills such as speaking, typing, writing, and reading as these are necessary regardless of your field. Practice your ability to focus for long periods of time without distractions. Enjoy the ride!

I think I have definitely progressed as an entrepreneur as a result of this class. Prior to this course, I was already very interested in entrepreneurship and had spent a decent amount of time engulfing myself in business news, blogs, articles, and books. However, I think this class did a good job of simplifying the basics of entrepreneurship and really laying a good foundation for students who are very new to the subject. I felt very comfortable speaking with Chad again, and think that I used a lot of things I learned this semester in our conversations. He appreciated me interviewing him and really listening to his responses. We also discussed some other web development interests that I have, and he was impressed with my ability to converse on a wide variety of topics.

My Exit Strategy

1) My exit strategy: I think the exit strategy that I would take for this business would be to work really hard for about 5 years to develop my overall brand name for the company to get it very involved in the specific extreme sport industries that I am interested in targeting. I think once I have it established in a few different extreme sports, or even just a solid amount of locations for surfing, I think I will be able to sell this business as a franchise because people will see the opportunity for expansion.
2) I have selected this particular exist strategy because it will allow me to enjoy the process of establishing a successful business as well as reaping the benefits of selling a successful one. It will provide me with something to focus on for a period of time, and something to support me not focusing and relaxing for a period of time. I think it would be a very enjoyable exist strategy if I could pull it off.
3) I would not say that my exit strategy has effected the growth or formation of my business at all really. It just hasn't been a big thought in my head and I've been more focused on the concept and implementation of business. The exit strategy was just an afterthought but I think it would be a very seamless and easy exit strategy is I wanted to get out.