Final Reflection

Like all good things in this world, ENT3003 must come to an end. As sad as it is to be apart of this finale, there are a lot of things to look back upon to raise those spirits. I've had many experiences in this class that I have learned a great deal from. The one that I think was one of the most useful was determining our potential customers' buying behavior. The customers are always priority. Therefore, what is more important than knowing how and what they buy? That is the secret to it all. Speaking of secrets, one of my other favorite experiences was finding my secret sauce. Like I have said many times throughout the semester, there is nothing more important than separating yourself from others in the business world. What separates people from each other? Their secret sauces. I thought this was a great activity because it helped each of us find what was unique about us. That is important because a lot of people do not think they are unique. However, all you need is one small detail to set you apart from others, and usually if you look hard enough it is right there to find. The last experience that I enjoyed a lot was the elevator pitches. Not only were they fun to do, but they were a great learning experience. They taught us how to be confident, brief and to the point, enthusiastic about out products, and more. Each time I did another one of them I felt myself getting better. I definitely took away the most from this activity.

You told us in the beginning of the semester that you wanted us to be thinking like entrepreneurs when this is all said and done. Here at the end I think that I can speak for my fellow classmates when I say that I do have a new mindset. It is a mindset that involves creativity, adaptiveness, confidence, and grit. This class has taught me a lot and I am very happy that I decided to take it. I would recommend taking this class to other students who have yet to do so. Like I said it was a great learning experience. It is also a class that if you stay updated on assignments and give you best effort, you can have success.

Venture Concept 2

My business venture is to open up an authentic bagel shop here on campus at University of Florida. Take a look around campus. There are no places to go and get a nice breakfast. In fact, our only options are franchises like Chick-Fil-A and Subway. I have been at this school almost an entire year now and have only had a real breakfast twice, both of which were at places far from campus. That is why I believe this business venture will succeed. This is a very unsaturated market at the moment. The window for opportunity has never been wider.

The restaurant industry is not a friendly one. There are so many places to eat that the competition has never been fiercer. You need to separate yourself form others and that is exactly what I believe my product will help me do. At my shop, I will be selling different bagels, sandwiches and omelets. However, I will be specializing in the most delicious breakfast sandwich there is: The Porkroll Egg and Cheese. This sandwich is only available in my home state, New Jersey. I think my knowledge and experience eating these sandwiches will allow me to introduce an entirely new product to the state of Florida.  I will have sides that include hash browns, home fries, tatertots, and fruit. I will also have fresh pots of coffee as well. Bagels will sell for $2.50 each. Breakfast sandwiches will sell for $5.00. Omelets will also sell for $5.00. Sides will be a $1.50 extra. I would also really like to incorporate the meal plan with my shop so that more students can afford and enjoy my food.

I have no doubt in my mind that this bagel shop will be a hit. Not only am I bringing a new type of food to Gainesville, but I am bringing a different style restaurant. Like I said, the only other places around campus to get breakfast are not ideal. In fact, I think I can speak for everyone here at UF when I say that we lack good breakfast here, and it is the most important meal of the day. Aside from the porkroll sandwich itself, I have one other thing to set myself apart from other shops. Good bread comes from good water. New York has the best water and I have a lot of connections in New York. I will use these relationships to import water from New York to Florida and use it to make my bagels and breads. The difference between florida water and new york water is noticeable. Take it from someone who has drank a lot of both.  I would need about 3-4 workers in the kitchen cooking, and 1-2 on the register. These shifts will vary on busier days than others. Also the morning staff will always be larger than the closing one. I will be opened from 7am to 3pm every day of the week. It is time for there to be some real breakfast here at UF, and I will be the one behind it all.

Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy

It is always important to plan for the future. Although it may be difficult because we have yet to actually open our businesses, it is still possible to plan. If my business venture goes as planned, I would like to keep it open for as long as possible. I think there is something to be said about good food spots that last a long time open. It shows authenticity and means that you can trust in their food. I might eventually sell it far down the road, but I would like to keep it open for as long as I can.

I have selected this particular strategy because my venture is different from any other. There has never been a place like mine or a product like mine in Florida. That is why it would be difficult to sell it, especially if it is going to be successful. Keeping it open would keep some diversity in the restaurant business. If I sold it, it would probably turn into another Chic-Fil-A.

My exit strategy has influenced my opportunity greatly. There are so many business owners who decide to sell. Most of the time, large corporations come into play and buy out everything. They then turn it into the same restaurant or store that they have multiple of in the same town. It is so important as a citizen of a town to support the local businesses. We must help these business owners stay open for as long as possible, so corporate America cannot come in and ruin it. 

Reading reflection 3

The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawalski

1. This book's author and a social media specialist teamed up and came up with tips/tricks and the inside scoop on social media and how it can play its part in a new business venture. There are so many good ones that it is hard to choose one. It is a must read,
2. ENT3003 is such an interesting class because it forces us to be as creative as possible That is why I enjoyed reading this book. There is no better place to be creative than on social media. Social media definitely has its downsides to it. However, if you are able to properly use it to your advantage, it can be a HUGE asset in the business world. 
3. If I had to design an exercise for this book it would be simple yet effective. I would have the students develop a website for their good or service. The world is all about technology now. That is just where everything is headed. As entrepreneurs, we might as well use that to our advantage and get our good/service on as many social media platforms as possible.
4. I learned a lot after reading this book. After all, it was filled with cool tips ad insight on social media. One thing that I learned that stood out to me was that I didn't know as much about social media as I thought I did. The authors offered a SMART (Social Media Aptitude and Readiness Test). It was filled with questions about all different aspects and platforms of social media. Turns out I don't know that much. Therefore, I must learn if I am going to be successful. 

Celebrating Failure 26A

A time I failed:

Life is filled with so many ups and downs that it is hard to keep track of each one. Even narrowing it down to specifically this semester does not make that huge a difference. I am taking statistics this semester for the first time ever. I have always been more of a calculus and numbers type person. However, statistics is vastly different. It is much more conceptual and doesn't involve numbers the way that most types of math do. I ended up bombing the first exam because I honestly did not know how to study for it. Like I said I had never taken stats before, so it was learning another language again.

In every moment of failure there is a lesson. It might sound really cliche and cheesy but it is in fact true. From this failure experience, I learned new ways to study for this material. I also asked around some of my older friends here at UF for advice. They said to treat stats not so much as a math class, but instead like a vocabulary test. If you can remember all of the vocabulary in stats, it makes the material seem a whole lot easier. Therefore, that is what I did and it allowed my grade to bounce back to where I wanted it.

Failure is an interesting concept. People are aware that failure is a common thing. However, they hardly ever expect that they will be the ones to fail. As an entrepreneur especially, failure is a common foe. I am willing to safely bet that there are no successful entrepreneurs who got it on their first try. If someone was lucky enough to do that, props to them. However, it isn't a bad thing if you fail. Like I said, although people have been saying this for years, there are lessons in failure. It is important to prepare yourself in case you fail because it will allow you to learn so much more from it than if it hits you completely by surprise.

What is Next?

Existing Market:

1. I think it is way past time that a product like mine has been introduced to this campus. The fact that I only know the name of one breakfast place around here is kind of sad. I know so many of them at home in New Jersey. Therefore, I cannot wait for my product to hit the market and see how people react to it.
2. After interviewing these few people, they told me that I should add some things to my game plan for this business venture. They think that I should do some research and try to find some different but delicious ingredient combinations for the pork roll eg and cheese, being that it is what I am specializing in. Therefore, I intend to do so.
3. Initially, I was only planning on opening up one shop in one location here on campus. However, I see greater potential for this business venture than that. Therefore, I am keeping my mind open to possibly opening up more locations down here. Obviously, I would not open up a shop up north, being that they already exist. Instead, I would open them up in popular locations down south. I really think these breakfast foods would explode down south.

New Market;

1. This new market will be very different from the existing one for one main reason. It is not part of a chain. I do not know how many times I have to say this, but people are tired of eating from the same places day in and day out. At this point, eating breakfast for UF students has become a pain. Therefore, the introduction of my product will bring a hot new market to the game. I am super interested to see how people react to my products. I think it will be nothing but a new successful market.
2. I think that people will definitely follow in my footsteps in a similar fashion. I have noticed that although it is not as much as breakfast places, but majority of the places to get lunch and dinner are fast food places or chain places as well. Therefore, I can easily see other fellow entrepreneurs begin to try and open homestyle lunch and/or dinner places. 
3. After interviewing another few people, I got more info on the customer base that I am trying to target. Like I have said several times, I will be trying my best to incorporate the meal plan into my business. This will target the biggest customer group of all: UF students. There are 40,000 of them, so might as well give them what they want. 

Venture Concept 1

With various technological advances occurring what seems like every day, the window for opportunity has never been greater. This is both a great time to be an entrepreneur and bad one. Entrepreneurs are currently more resourceful than ever, allowing them to work and produce more efficiently. However, at the same time because of all this, competition is also higher and fiercer than it has ever been. The time for young entrepreneurs to step in and flood society with their new bright ideas is now. Therefore, let's seize the opportunity. 

My idea is to open up a family-style bagel shop on campus, specializing in the best breakfast sandwich there is: the PorkRoll Egg and Cheese. The reason this opportunity even exists is because there are no homestyle breakfast places on or around campus. Instead, the only options are chain places like Chick Fil-A, subway, and other spots. I think I can safely speak for everyone when I say that we are in need of some homestyle breakfast here at University of Florida. Geographically and demographically speaking, this is a very unsaturated market. Like I said, there are very, very few breakfast spots on or around campus. In fact, I only know of one, Keke's. This is the perfect scenario for me to come in and introduce my product into the market. This need is needed my many. A lot of people on campus eat breakfast everyday. However, they are tired of eating at the same places (chick fil-A and subway) everyday. Therefore, putting my bagel shop on campus would satisfy a huge need at UF. This opportunity is not awfully large. I do not plan on franchising my shop. However, I would not be opposed to opening up a few of them. Therefore, this is not the largest of opportunities, but it will definitely allow me to do well for myself. Like I said earlier, the window for entrepreneurs is larger than ever. For this particular idea, the window of opportunity is open as long as no one opens up their own breakfast shop on campus. Since it does not look like anyone is planning to do that anytime soon, the window for opportunity is open for some time.

When it comes to the food business, it is super important to set yourself apart from others, I have one advantage that I believe will do just the trick. Being from New Jersey, I am used to eating that good New York bread. Good bread comes from good water, therefore, I will import my water from New York down here to Florida, giving me the best dough possible. I don't think that many people know how big of a difference there is between the water up north and the water down here. Therefore, I believe this will definitely set me apart from others. I plan on selling bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and omelets to my customers. The bagel types will vary. The breakfast sandwiches will include Pork roll egg and cheese, bacon egg and cheese, sausage egg and cheese, and hash brown egg and cheese. My omelets will have various choices of toppings. I will have sides that include hash browns, home fries, tatertots, and fruit. I will also have fresh pots of coffee as well. Bagels will sell for $2.50 each. Breakfast sandwiches will sell for $5.00. Omelets will also sell for $5.00. Sides will be a $1.50 extra. 

Ultimately, I think customers will quickly find my product very delicious and satisfying. I only see success for a business like this on campus. It is a different product being offered, and it is a delicious one. My only other competitors are Chick Fil-A, Subway, and Keke's. Those are the only other relevant places to eat breakfast around campus. All of the logistics that go into the job will be handled by myself and my advisors. The main thing to deal with is obviously importing water from New York. I will have to make a deal with a distribution company, allowing me to get some water from up there down to Florida. I would need about 3-4 workers in the kitchen cooking, and 1-2 on the register. These shifts will vary on busier days than others. Also the morning staff will always be larger than the closing one. I will be opened from 7am to 3pm every day of the week. It is time for there to be some real breakfast here at UF, and I will be the one behind it all.