Making it Real

Below is the link to my resume:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwqRRwH-z_zPVVl4TmxpNWNBOE0/view?usp=sharing

My Exit Strategy

1. I plan to stay with my business for several decades because I think technology will keep advancing and continue to get bigger and bigger. As technology advances, so will my app. I think my app will be more successful as time goes on. When my app reaches it’s peak and is no longer popular, I will sell the app. I plan to put all the money I earn from this venture to my retirement fund. I don’t see myself protecting this venture as a family business. If and when the time comes if my children are interested in the business, of course it will be passed down to them. 

2. I have selected this exit strategy because I believe my app will continue to grow as time goes on. I am passionate about this product and I’m excited to see what’s in store. 

3. Since I plan to stay with my venture concept for a long time, I have been focusing on ways my product can grow. If I add more features to my app/expand the app my customers will be able to enjoy my product and I can acquire new customers in the process. 

What's Next

EXISTING MARKET

Step 1: The kind of product I would be offering next is to add more boutiques/big box stores to my app. Eventually the goal would be to have as many stores as possible available on the app across the United States.

Step 2: “What should we be doing that we aren’t planning to do?” 

I could not video my recordings because all my interviews took place over the phone. 

Interviewee 1: First I interviewed my friend in college who enjoys to shop online and is a frequent customer of Amazon. You could possibly look into teaming up with Amazon because both products have a similar target audience. Teaming up with Amazon would benefit your product immensely because Amazon already has a lot of loyal customers.

Interviewee 2: Next I interviewed my mom. She suggested having all local boutiques on board with a day-to-day delivery service. So, if customers live in a 10 mile radius of the store, the store will deliver it to the customer’s door that day. 

Interviewee 3: For my last interview I interviewed my sister. She liked my idea of expanding my app across the United States but said to make sure I’m successfully locally first before I start to expand.

NEW MARKET

Step 1: Overall, I believe my product is targeting a more affluent part of society so the new market I would be targeting is a poor part of society.

Step 2: My venture concept may be able to create value for people in this market because if these customers don’t have a car and need a product that day they can use my app to have it delivered to them. Also, these customers can use my product to order necessities such as paper towels. 

Step 3:  How they think your business might be help to them? Do they have any ideas?

Interviewee 1: First I interviewed my friend from college who is on a tight budget. She said she would be motivated to use the app if the app provided discounts or deals. 

Interviewee 2: Next I interviewed my friend who just graduated from college and is supporting himself for the first time. What was most appealing to him was that items could be delivered to him the same day. He doesn’t have a car, so he said this would be extremely convenient. 

Interviewee 3: For my last interview I interviewed someone who I used to babysit for who is now in high school. She said because she can’t drive yet this app would be beneficial for her. 

Step 4: I learned a lot from this new market and this assignment as a whole in general. What surprised me the most was the fact that this new market could be a big market for my product as well. I definitely should not have assumed that this market would not benefit from my product. 

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

After thinking of my venture concept I needed to decide who the target audience would be. The target audience for my product is a college girl all the way to a working or stay at home mom. More specifically, everyone in my target audience has an extremely busy schedule on a day to day basis and also enjoys shopping. The force in the environment creating this opportunity is new technology. Most of my customers are females between the ages of 18-45. However, my customer base can be expanded to males in this age range as well. Although males could be interested in my product, I am primarily focusing on females because I find more females enjoy the connivence of online shopping and shopping in general. My customers are currently satisfying the need to online shop through amazon and online retailers. I think my customers are extremely loyal to amazon. What sets my product apart from is Amazon is that my product includes local boutique and you can get the item you ordered in the same day rather than waiting 2-3 days for a product ordered off of Amazon. I think this is a big opportunity and I have a large window of time because the online shopping market is huge. A lot of people enjoy the convenience of shopping from their home. 

Innovation

My idea is incrementally innovative, but extremely useful. My innovative idea is to have every big box store/local boutique in a 20 mile radius from a customer on one central app. On the app customers will be able to browse the different stores and select what product they need/want. Once they selected the product and are ready to check out they can chose to either pick it up from the front of the store or have it delivered. For users my app will cost 99 cents. I will also reach out to companies offering them to pay to be advertised on my app. I would charge them a monthly fee of $10-$15, depending on how often they want their company to be advertised on the app. 

Venture Concept 

My innovation will save my customers time and is extremely convenient. I think customers will switch to my product because it is a lot cheaper than Amazon prime and my customers can get the products they want on the same day. My product is appealing because customer’s can take it anywhere because it’s an app and it’s extremely affordable. 

As stated in my previous post, my “secret sauce” is the connections I have in my local community. Having connections in the retail business will get me a good customer base and will also provide me with a lot of guidance and valuable information. What’s next for my venture is to be able to make my app available in any location in the U.S. In order to do this, I would have to contact a lot of local boutiques and retailers. 

Celebrating Failure

1. Earlier this semester it was my sisters birthday. We had dinner reservations at 7:00 pm and I was in charge of bringing the cake. I picked up the ice cream cake and thought everything was good. Unfortunately, do to traffic and the blazing heat the ice cream cake melted and I was late. When I finally arrived at the restaurant, I ran out of the car to get the ice cream cake to the freezer. That’s the moment I failed. I was so focused on being late and getting the ice cream cake to the freezer that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings and I completely ran into someone and dropped the cake. My sister didn’t have a birthday cake and I was late to dinner. 
2. I learned that it’s never good to rush and that problems can usually be solved. If I wasn’t running into the restaurant, my sister would have had her cake. 
3. Failure is certainly embarrassing. When I fail at something I tend to feel really bad and start to overthink what I could have done differently. This class has taught me that it’s ok to fail. We learn from our failures in order to be successful next time. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

Unfortunately, I was not able to post my elevator post the last time due to technological difficulties so I do not have any feedback.

My elevator pitch is below.

My Unfair Advantage

1. Hardworking 
1. VRIN: This resource is important because an entrepreneur can’t succeed if they are not fully committed to their product and not hardworking. Hardworking gets a business where it needs to be. 
2. Marketing experience
1. VRIN: Having marketing experience will benefit a new product because the product will be strategically advertised to the target audience. 
3. Social media experience
1. VIRN: Having social media experience is very good for marketing and a new product. Although a lot of companies use social media I will creatively use social media to reach my target audience. 
4. Outgoing
1. VIRN: It is important to have an outgoing personality because in order for a business to succeed you have to talk to a lot of people and make good connections. In order to maximize effectiveness one needs to be outgoing to solidify these relationships. I think being outgoing is something you have or do not have. 
5. Experience with shopping 
1. VIRN: I have experience with shopping first hand and experience the problems my customers face, so I will be able to give them exactly what they want. 
6. Optimistic 
1. VIRN: I think it’s extremely important to be optimistic, especially when starting a new business. I think there will be a lot of obstacles along the way so it’s important to stay optimistic. I think most entrepreneurs are optimistic because if they weren’t then most likely their product would not have succeeded. 
7. Mobile App
1. VIRN: Our product is an app so customers will be able to take the product anywhere with them. Not every product is mobile, so this definitely gives our product an advantage. 
8. Easy to use
1. VIRN: The app is extremely simply to use. Every store in a 20 mile radius of you is on the app, so there is no need to look at other places. Also, all customers have to do is select their product and then select if they want to be pick up the product or if they want the product to be delivered.
9. Friends who work in the retail business
1. VIRN: These people will be extremely beneficial and help me market my product. Not every person/company have these connections. 
10. High quality product
1. VIRN: My app will be high-quality so people will enjoy being on the app and not run into frustrating technological issues. A lot of companies don’t have high quality products, but it depends on how much time and money is spent in the product. 

After listing 10 resources, I think my most valuable resource is my connections with a lot of people in the retail business. I think these connections will help me market my product and build an even bigger customer base for my app. 

Amazon Whisperer

Revenue Drive

My product has a few ways in which I can earn revenue. First, since my product is an app I can reach out to company’s who will pay me to advertise them on my app. Second, I can have my shopping customers pay to download the app. Third, I can have my big-box store / retails customers pay me a fee for including them in my app. 

Next offering

My next offering is to update my current product. Eventually, I would have any store available on my app no matter the location of the user using the app. This will promote more customers and offer more stores to my existing customers, which I believe they will enjoy. 

Equivalent Products

Amazon, itself is similar to my product. On amazon, you can search almost any product and have it delivered to you from the convenience of never leaving your home. 

Customer Reviews

With roughly over 244 million customers, I would say people love using Amazon. I think customers enjoy the big selection of products and the convince of ordering so many different products and not having to leave their home.  I think Amazon is lacking what shoppers can purchase at local boutiques and if customers need the product such as toilet paper instantly. 

Design Changes

Since Amazon is doing so well, I don’t think I would make any changes to the product. I think my app is a great option for what Amazon can not simply provide. 

Product Alignment

This product would make a good addition to my current product because they both have the same goal, to provide convince and save time for customers. 

Growing My Social Capital

1. Mark is 54 years old. He has always been good with technology. For the past 7 years he has worked as an app developer.

Mark is a domain expert because he knows the technical side behind creating an app. 

Mark is one of my good friends dad. I’ve always been aware of his career so reaching out to him was a no brainer. 

The exchange went great. I learned a lot about what goes into the making of an app and how much it costs. He gave me a lot of useful information that I would need in order to create my app. 

Mark will benefit my network because he can help create my app/ connect me to other people in the app industry.

2. Carol is 51 years old. She has been in the industry for over 20 years. She owns a local clothing boutique in the town that I live in.

Carol is the market expert. Owning a local boutique in my community, she is completely aware of my target audience and customers who would be  interested in downloading my app. 

I used to work at her store, so she came to mind right away. I interviewed her at her retail store. I also had the chance to talk to potential customers in the store.

She is very friendly and was very excited to help! She asked for nothing in return and was more than happy to sit down and talk with me. 

This can exploit an opportunity because Carol can tell her customers, which are my target audience about my product. 

3. Ken is 56 years old. He has been a lawyer for 25 years and has his own law firm. His law firm is very familiar with patenting products. 

Ken is a supplier for my product. 

Ken is my step father. I interviewed him in our house. 

Ken enlightened me on the long process to patent a product. I learned a lot. 

Ken can exploit an opportunity because if he can get me a patent on my product than no one can copy my idea and I can start designing/producing the app.

Reflect: I enjoyed this exercise a lot. It showed me how important networking is. Even though I only interviewed 3 people, I received way more contacts from my interviewees that will benefit my business. This differed from my networking experiences in the past because I have never networked for business connections since I’ve never had my own product or business. 

Reading Reflection No. 2

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

The general theme in “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of he Story of My Life” by Scott Adams is to always pick yourself up when you fall down, in other words to never give up. In the novel, Adam discusses his own experience. He explained that he failed at several different ventures, but because he didn’t give up he found one that worked which led him to success. 

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

In my opinion, this booked connected with and enhanced what I am learning in ENT 3003 because the book explained that it is ok to fail. Even though I came up with a product/business in ENT 3003 it may not be successful and it may fail, but that’s ok. Adam also explains that in order to be successful one needs to get out of their comfort zone. In ENT 3003, especially during the interviews, I experienced being out of my comfort zone. 

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

In the novel, Scott Adams discusses how important it is to be confident. He believes in order to be successful you need to be confident. The exercise I would design for this class would to have the class describe where they are most confident and then a place/ or an active where they are extremely unconfident. Then I would challenge the class to take what they felt like in their confident environment and apply it to their unconfident environment.

4. What was your biggest surprise or ‘aha’ moment when reading the book? What did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I was surprised to learn how important it is to be confident and that being confident can determine your success. I always knew that being confident was a great characteristic to have but didn’t realize how crucial it was to being successful in the business/entrepreneurship world. The ‘aha’ moment I had is that I will start to be confident with everything I do, big or small. 

Idea Napkin No.2

1. You. I am Haley Fisher and I’m a public relations major. My talents consist of branding, marketing, and shopping! So far, I’ve had three public relations internships that taught me a lot about social media and marketing. I see the business playing a major role in my life because I would be an avid user of the app. 
2. What are you offering to customers? I’m offering customers an app that would increase their business sales. The app would allow retail/big box stores to post  pictures of their inventory on an app that will allow shoppers to easily pick up the item or have it shipped to their home. With this new app retail/big box stores will be able to compete with major retailers online such as Amazon. 
3.  Who are you offering it to? I’m offering my app to anyone who owns a retail/big box store and the customers of those stores. My customers are all either  competing with online retailers such as Amazon or use Amazon more than shopping in retail/ big box stores due to the convenience factor. 
4. Why do they care? I have two customers. Big box and retail store owners will pay money to use my product because it will benefit them in the long run and bring them in more sales. With my app, retailers and big box stores will be able to compete with Amazon because they will be providing the same convince factor. This app will drive in more sale for these stores. Shoppers will pay to use my app because it is more convenient for them. Every item in their location is available on the app and is available to be picked up or delivered. 
5. What are your core competencies? Nobody has an app that has every retail/big box store in your area that will provide the customer with everything they need conveniently. My app will be able to compete with Amazon and drive up sales for retail/big box stores.

I believe the five elements go together greatly and are all equally strong. In every element I explain why my target audience would be benefitting from downloading/using my app on a day to day basis. 

Feedback memo- After reading over my first napkin idea comments, I saw that I received a lot of positive feedback. My classmates definitely saw a market for this product, especially the classmates who enjoy to shop. These comments confirmed that I was targeting the correct audience. One of my classmates gave me the idea to make the products in my app 3d. I think this is a great idea and could draw in more customers since sites like Amazon do not have this feature. 

My Secret Sauce

Part 1:

1. Creative
2. Outgoing
3. Hard-working
4. Reliable
5. Determined 

Part 2:

https://soundcloud.com/user-364243662/kyra-alper

In my interview with Kyra she discussed how I have many responsibilities as a 20 year old. She mentioned that I was very hard-working. 

https://soundcloud.com/user-364243662/lexi-alper

Lexi mentioned that I am very self-motivated and enjoyable to be around. 

https://soundcloud.com/user-364243662/sam-lahav

For my third interview, I interviewed Sam. Sam talked about how I am a loyal friend. She also mentioned that I am a hard worker. 

https://soundcloud.com/user-364243662/stef-hall

Stef told me how responsible she thinks I am because I am responsible for a puppy. 

https://soundcloud.com/user-364243662/val-verano

In my last interview Val talked about how dedicated and committed to school she thinks I am. 

Reflection:

After I finished my last interview, I found that people view me similarly to how I view myself. Most of my interviewees mentioned that I am hard working. A lot of the people that I interviewed mentioned that I am a loyal friend and family member. I agree, and would include it in my list to describe myself next time.