Elevator Pitch #3

1. Elevator Pitch No. 3

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2. I got some really good feedback from both of my previous elevator pitches. To be honest, I thought I nailed the second one. I guess not. Third time was definitely the charm. My feedback from my second pitch was that I should be more relaxed and comfortable, I should engage more with my audience, and speak as if I was a real business owner.

3. Based on all this feedback I changed a good amount. I was more relaxed and comfortable when I spoke. I tried my best to seem engaged with my viewers. I spoke very professionally and acted the part as well as I could.

Reading Reflection 2

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

1. This book researches and studies two different methods of thinking, one way fast, one way slow. It compares and contrasts these methods and points out the advantages and disadvantages in each. It might possibly even change the way its reader thinks. 
2. ENT3003 has been a very interesting class for me. The main reason is because it forces you to think about every different aspect of potential business ventures. This type of thinking opens up a person's mind and allows them to think outside the box in even the most difficult of situations. That is why I loved this book. It examines the different types of thinking, which is a cool concept to read about when the main goal of this class is to help us think and make good decisions in the business world. 
3. If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, it would be a simple yet effective one. I would split the class into groups and give each group a few different scenarios. I would ask each of them to tell me what they believe is the right decision in each scenario. I would then listen to what they have to say, and tell them what I think would be the best choice. This way, everyone gets to see the different perspectives that each individual in the class has on a variety of potential scenarios, in hopes to help them make smart decisions.
4. I learned that in the business world, there is no "correct" way to think so to speak. Instead of choosing whether to think "fast" or think "slow", it is more important to be able to adapt to certain situations in order to make the best choices possible. 

Growing Social Capital

1. One of my best friend's dads owns a popular restaurant in the town over from us. It was not always his main occupation. In fact, he worked on Wall Street for some time and made a great deal of money. He retired and bought this restaurant, which is now where he works. It is called Val's Tavern. It is like many other taverns, serving pizza, wings, burgers, and has a large bar. However, everyone in the surrounding towns knows about Val's because of how well run it is. I shot my buddy a text and asked if his dad had any advice about a business venture like mine. He told me a couple of things that I found super important. The first thing he told me was that as an owner of a restaurant, you have to be super friendly with your customers. He said when you own a small local business, it is important to have loyal customers who you know will always support and recommend you. I have been to Val's several times and he was not lying. He is super friendly with everyone, getting to know them so that they want to come back and spend more of their money. The second thing he told me was that you need trustworthy employees. He said when you are the owner of mainly a cash business, it is important to have employees that you can trust won't steal or take anything from you without permission. I thought this advice was very helpful. I hope to be able to use it in the near future. 
2. My mom works for an interior design firm, so she knows a lot about customer service. Initially, she ran her own custom window treatments business. She was her own boss for many years, and she dealt with many different people. She said that in a business like interior design, you have to know exactly what your client wants. It is not like food where if you mess up and order, the customer can just send it back and get another one. If you were to screw up in the interior design business, you are most likely causing either your firm or your client to lose a lot of money. Home appliances are not cheap, especially in today's day and age. Therefore, there is very little room for error or mistakes in my mom's business, which is what she kept telling me in our conversation. After talking to her, I realized that it does not matter what industry you are in, you must try 110% to satisfy your customer's wants and needs. Whether you are cooking food for an average joe in a breakfast joint, or designing a very wealthy person's home, it is crucial to give it your all and satisfy your customers. 
3. One of my dad's best friends that he works with had a very similar business venture to mine. He worked in New York with my father for many years. However, he saw an opportunity that he believed he could not pass up. He moved to Nebraska, what many would call a "fly-over state". He opened up a pizza parlor, and imported his ingredients from New York. The best water flows in New York. Therefore, the best dough can be made there, making the best pizza. He knew that pizza in Nebraska could not be that special. Is there even pizza in Nebraska? Moral of the story is that he opened his pizza place in Nebraska and is killing it. he is doing very well for himself and the people of Nebraska could not be happier. They are getting New York styled pizza halfway across the country. He told me that importing and exporting goods is not easy. You deal with many people throughout the process. He said it is important to stay patient, stay trustworthy, and never burn your bridges. 

Idea Napkin 2

1. I am CJ Cesario. I am involved in the department of breakfast foods. For the lest couple years in high school, I was one of 3-4 chefs in a local bagel shop the town over. I specialize in the making of the porkroll egg and cheese, a fan favorite sandwich throughout my home state, New Jersey. I think my bagel shop would thrive on a large SEC campus like University of Florida. If I am able to allow students to pay for their food through the UF meal plan, I think that will capture even more customers. I see my bagel shop being the go-to place each and every morning of the week for students, professors, residents, and others. 
2. I am offering a wide variety of breakfast food choices. Places like IHop, Chick fil-a, Subway, and other chain places have very limited options. Not to mention that everybody is sick of eating from those places in the first place. Therefore, I think it is extremely important to be different in the business world and set yourself apart from others. I think my breakfast sandwiches with most of the ingredients imported from New Jersey and New York will give my shop what it needs to stand out as one of the top go-to places on campus. 
3. My breakfast shop is not limited to only those who reside on campus. It is gladly open to any paying customers. After my interviews with several different people, I realized that a lot of people in Gainesville, not just the students, would appreciate a nice breakfast shop to go to in the mornings. Although I still believe that students would be the largest consumers of my food, I still think my shop will draw a lot of attention from elsewhere off campus. 
4. This will be considered a valuable business to customers because it will be one like no other. Once again, people are tired of eating from chain places almost every day. Besides the fact that they are not at all healthy for you, it does not take very long to get tired of the food. However, no one seems to be working towards other options, which is why my business venture even exists. Plus If I am able to incorporate the UF meal plan within my breakfast shop, I think this shop could be as successful as any. 
5. What sets my shop apart from everyone else is that it is homestyle. I cannot stress enough how tired people are of eating from the same spots. Take it from me, someone who has eaten on the UF meal plan for two straight semesters and yet everyday, I try my best to look for options beyond what UF offers.  understand that it is a college campus and you cannot always have the food that you desire. However, I think that if enough people work together, we can have other places like mine open up on or around campus, making UF one of the best schools in the country for food. 

I think these business concepts go extremely well together. The demand is high. The supply is low. Not only is this a perfect venture that will fill a great need, but this is a perfect time to do so. There are several buildings on or around campus that would be able to have a place like this. I would not need that much space, just enough for a kitchen with some seating area. I do not want this to be a restaurant so to speak, but rather a popular "hole in the wall" concept. With hard work and commitment, I believe that this bagel shop could be up and running by next fall, so be ready for some good breakfast. 

The feedback from my first idea napkin helped me with this one immensely. I realized that I needed to make this more formal and professional if it is going to be taken seriously. I also made this second idea napkin more specific and more personal, to really show that I am the right man for this job. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

The most important part of an elevator pitch is obviously grabbing your audiences attention. The goal is, in that short period of time, to capture an audience and project to to them a need that have and might not even know about. My first elevator pitch had a lot of feedback that helped me create my second elevator pitch here. The feedback towards my first one had a couple consistent comments. The first one was that I was not energetic or enthusiastic enough. Therefore, in my second pitch, I cranked up the tone a bit and sounded more outgoing and enthusiastic about the whole idea and process. The second consistent comment I got un my feedback of my first video was about if students would be able to pay for this breakfast food through their meal plan. Therefore, I addressed in my second pitch that I would be allowing students to use their meal plans to pay for meals at my shop. Ultimately, I really thought that constructing this second elevator pitch was made a lot easier because of the feedback we received on our first one. The comments were well constructed and good criticism that I appreciated a lot. It helped me understand my mistakes and correct them.

Customer Avatar

My Customer Avatar

 My customer's hobbies include playing/watching all types of sports, hanging out with friends, and doing well in school. My customer drives an average sedan. The color is a dark grey. My customer watches TV shows like Game of Thrones, That 70s Show, and The League. My customer's age is 19. Therefore, he does not have any children. He reads a variety of books like Unbroken, Aragon, and others. My customer is not very political.

I have a few things in common with my customer avatar. The first one is that we have the same age. The second is that we have similar hobbies. I also play sports, hang with friends, and do my best in school. Lastly, I watch similar TV shows. I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones and The League. I do not think it is a coincidence that we have similar things in common. My customer avatar is interested in the same thing that I am: a good breakfast spot on campus. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that we are similar to each other.

My Secret Sauce

My Human Capital

1. Humble- I am a very humble individual. I think it is very important to be humble i the business world because it helps to be respected by other fellow businessmen and entrepreneurs. 
2. Observant- I am a very observant person as well. I like to look at things from different perspectives and angles before making my decisions.
3. Reliable- I am a very reliable person. I think this is very important because it helps build relationships when you are someone that others can depend on. 
4. Flexible- I am a very flexible individual. Things almost never go exactly as planned in the business world. Therefore, it is important to be flexible and be able to adjust to different circumstances. 
5. Charming- I'd like to consider myself a charming guy. It is important to be charming and social. It is a huge part of networking. 

Interviews

What makes me different from other people?

Mom: I think the fact that you are well rounded sets you apart from others. 

Dad: I think your ability to learn things quickly sets apart from others.

Sister: I think your social and outgoing personality is what sets you apart from others, 

Roommate: I think your trustworthiness is was sets you apart from other people. 

Friend: I think your ability to quickly adapt to situation changes is what sets you apart from others. 

Conclusion:

Ultimately, it is important to have things about you that make you different from others. Who knows if what these individuals even said about me is true? These traits might not set me apart from anyone. An individual is looked at differently by almost everyone. Everyone has their own point of view on someone or something. Therefore, one person might not see the same trait that someone else does in a person. That is okay. It is human nature. The important thing is that you have multiple things that set you apart from other people, and it is bound to get noticed by someone. 

Buying Behavior No. 2

1. Junior Student

Do you eat breakfast everyday?

- Not every day but a few times a week, give or take.

Where do you usually go for breakfast?

- Chic-fil-A most of the time to be honest. 

How often do you eat breakfast at a family-style place?

- Almost never. I don't even think there are those types of places around here. 

Do you think students here at UF would like if there were more family-styled breakfast spots in town?

- Oh definitely. Most of the places to get breakfast around here are fast food restaurants, so I think students could really go for a homestyle meal. 

2. UF Administrator

Do you eat breakfast everyday?

- Only during the week when I have classes. 

Where do you usually go for breakfast?

- Mostly just the places on campus. There are not that many other options. 

How often do you eat breakfast at a family-style place?

- Not very often at all. I'd have to find one first. 

Do you think you and other staff members at UF would appreciate a family-styled breakfast place?

- Yes I can't see why not. I think a lot of us would enjoy eating a homestyle breakfast, especially with our families on weekends. 

3. 43 year old Gainesville resident (Male)

Do you eat breakfast everyday?

- Yes, of course. Can't start my day without it. 

Where do you usually go for breakfast?

- My wife and I normally just cook it ourselves. 

How often do you eat breakfast at a family-style place?

- Some weekends my family and I will go out to a nice breakfast place. Most of those places are pretty far from where we are on campus though. 

Do you think you would appreciate more homestyle breakfast joints around campus?

- Yes I would. I think a business like that would do well for themselves around a big school like Florida.

Summary/Conclusion

Ultimately, these interviews helped me capture a sense of the buying behavior of my potential customers. It is beginning to look good for my bagel shop, for three out of the four people I interviewed saw this as an unmet need and believed my shop would satisfy it. People will take a homestyle, home cooked meal over fast food any day. That was proved in these interviews. In the final analysis, I believe that my idea has the potential to be a hot spot not only on campus, but eventually in all of Gainesville. Not only is it bringing homestyle breakfast, but it is bringing a different kind of homestyle breakfast that maybe Floridians might not be so familiar with. Bagels and breakfast sandwiches, like the famous porkroll egg and cheese, will be made with dough that is imported from up north, where the best bread is made.