1. For this assignment, I chose to read Shoe Dog which is the autobiography of Phil Knight because I have always been interested in Nike's story and knew I would enjoy reading this. The thing about reading this that surprised me the most was that he spent the first couple years simply just selling shoes out of his car. The thing I most admired about Phil Knight was that he had an idea when he was young about something that he loved and he went for it. He saw the business potential in his idea, so he decided he wasn't going to be held back by the possibility of failure. He also recommends that to all of us especially when we are young. While I was reading this there really was not anything that I did not like about him. Phil Knight did in fact encounter a lot of adversity especially in the beginning. For example, the reading said that it took over a year for him to get his first order of shoes to him so that he could sell them. It also said that his first year of doing this he only made about $8,000. He didn't let these things stop him though.
2. The main thing that I noticed the entrepreneur had was tenacity. He had this idea in college and loved it and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from making it a reality. This is also something that he recommends to all of us. If it's a good idea and we put in the work it will pay off.
3. There wasn't really any part of the reading that was confusing to me as I understood everything that it was saying, but there was one part that kind of annoyed me. He stresses that we need to be able to find a partner that we can rely upon with everything if we want something like this to work. He called his mentor and his mentor offered to be his partner. Usually I don't think it is always this easy for someone to find such a partner so quickly. This wasn't something that ruined the reading for me, but it just annoyed me a little.
4. The first question I would ask is did you think when you first started your company that it would be as big as Nike is now? The second I would ask is how do you manage and keep everything together over such a large company?
5. I think that his opinion is that hard work pays off and if you work for something hard enough a good outcome will come out of it. Yes, I do agree with that.
Friday, February 28, 2020
14A Halfway Reflection
1. I have used many different types of behaviors to keep up with the assignments for this course, but the thing that I have used the most is my thoughts. What I mean by this is I've never taken a course that has required me to think so much before giving an answer. Most of my other classes are there's a question that is asked and there is an immediate answer that can be calculated. For a lot of the assignments for this course, I had to really think about what was going on in my day to day life and come up with an answer.
2. There were a couple moments during these past two months were I felt like just giving up on one of the assignments. It normally was because the assignment was taking me too long to think of something that I could write down or I just didn't feel like doing it because I didn't like what the assignment was asking me to do. After wondering for a little while if the assignment was worth it I ultimate decided that it was and pushed through and finished even though I wasn't a huge fan of doing it. I think this class has made me more tenacious simply because of things like this that I have just described.
3. The first tip I would offer future students is to not wait until the morning of the assignments due date; look at it a few days prior so you can think about it for a little while. The second tip I would offer them is to watch the lectures because they are very helpful. The last tip I would offer them is to have fun with it because there are many fun and creative ideas that you can come up with during the course of this class if you put the time in.
2. There were a couple moments during these past two months were I felt like just giving up on one of the assignments. It normally was because the assignment was taking me too long to think of something that I could write down or I just didn't feel like doing it because I didn't like what the assignment was asking me to do. After wondering for a little while if the assignment was worth it I ultimate decided that it was and pushed through and finished even though I wasn't a huge fan of doing it. I think this class has made me more tenacious simply because of things like this that I have just described.
3. The first tip I would offer future students is to not wait until the morning of the assignments due date; look at it a few days prior so you can think about it for a little while. The second tip I would offer them is to watch the lectures because they are very helpful. The last tip I would offer them is to have fun with it because there are many fun and creative ideas that you can come up with during the course of this class if you put the time in.
Friday, February 21, 2020
12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1
For this exercise, I am picking people that I know go to the gym a lot and are around the same age as me and would use the service. I think college aged kids are a good group to interview for this because I think they are the most likely to use it.
The first person I interviewed is a friend of mine that also goes to UF and I go to the gym with a lot. He has the unmet need of the gym being too crowded and not being able to do anything about it. He said that he has noticed this problem after all of his years of going to the gym and would really enjoy a service like the idea that I had.
The second person I interviewed is also someone I know that goes to the gym a lot, but I personally don't go with all of the time. This person told me he is very annoyed by crowded gyms and always thought it was just part of going to the gym and that he would not be able to do anything about it. Once he heard my idea, he thought it was a great idea and said he would use it every time he goes to the gym if it was available.
The last person I interviewed was someone that I used to go to high school with, but he doesn't go to UF. This person used to play football so I knew that he used to workout all time and I had a feeling that he still would be. I was correct as he still does. He told me that he hated the crowded gyms so much that he ended up buying his own workout equipment so that he could just workout at his house and not have to deal with the crowds. He said if a service like mine was available he would consider going back to a normal gym because there are more exercises he can do there instead of just being limited now to what he bought for his house.
I learned a lot of things from these interviews and that is everyone has a different way of dealing with the problem of crowded gyms. Some people look for new gyms, some stop going to the gym, and some buy their own equipment as to not deal with it anymore. With the service that I thought of I think all of these problems could be solved and it would be everyone's way of solving the problem, instead of having to change gyms or buy their own equipment.
11A Idea Napkin No. 1
1. Who are you? My name is Nick Decker and I am a current student at the University of Florida, and I am currently studying Construction Management. I am a very kind and approachable person and have no problems talking to anyone. I am also not a lazy person and once I get my mind set on doing something, I do it. I am also a very outdoorsy person and love to fish.
2. What are you offering to your customers? The product that I am offering is a way to make sure you never have to wait a very long time for a machine or bench to open up at the gym as this is something that normally completely ruins your workout. It will be a service that offers a continuous live feed of the gym, so you can tell if it is busy or not. It will also offer a way to reserve a spot for a certain machine or bench, so you don't have to constantly be waiting.
3. Who are you offering it to? This service can be offered to anyone even if they don't currently go to the gym all the time at the moment. But, the people that will benefit the most from this are the people that go to the gym a lot.
4. Why do they care? They will care because if they are like anyone who works out a lot they will know how annoying it can be to wait in line for a machine or bench in the middle of a really good workout. They would be interested in having a way to solve/help fix this problem.
5. What are your core competencies? I believe what sets me apart from everyone else is that simply has tried to put this idea into practice. I also am someone who goes to the gym a lot and have thought about this almost every time I am in a crowded gym and have thought a lot about the logistics of it.
I believe that all of these elements fit well together and all make sense with each other. The product makes sense with the people who will benefit from it and have an unmet need for it. I think that the only weak part of my service is that there are some people out there who have this problem but simply do not care and don't mind it. But, I think this is also the case for almost all services.
2. What are you offering to your customers? The product that I am offering is a way to make sure you never have to wait a very long time for a machine or bench to open up at the gym as this is something that normally completely ruins your workout. It will be a service that offers a continuous live feed of the gym, so you can tell if it is busy or not. It will also offer a way to reserve a spot for a certain machine or bench, so you don't have to constantly be waiting.
3. Who are you offering it to? This service can be offered to anyone even if they don't currently go to the gym all the time at the moment. But, the people that will benefit the most from this are the people that go to the gym a lot.
4. Why do they care? They will care because if they are like anyone who works out a lot they will know how annoying it can be to wait in line for a machine or bench in the middle of a really good workout. They would be interested in having a way to solve/help fix this problem.
5. What are your core competencies? I believe what sets me apart from everyone else is that simply has tried to put this idea into practice. I also am someone who goes to the gym a lot and have thought about this almost every time I am in a crowded gym and have thought a lot about the logistics of it.
I believe that all of these elements fit well together and all make sense with each other. The product makes sense with the people who will benefit from it and have an unmet need for it. I think that the only weak part of my service is that there are some people out there who have this problem but simply do not care and don't mind it. But, I think this is also the case for almost all services.
Friday, February 14, 2020
9A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
In this post, I will be continuing with the idea of having live cameras going in the gym so you can see how busy it is and the use of an app that links with each machine enabling you to secure your turn with each machine. After conducting five more interviews I learned a lot about my idea. These five interviews were all conducted with people that I know go to the gym all the time. Three out of the five people that I interviewed agreed with me that extremely crowded gyms are very annoying and having to wait too long for a machine messes up their workout entirely. However, the other two people that interviewed said that they don't really mind either of those things at all, and it is just part of going to the gym that they got used to. After these interviews I learned that even though there are some people that like my idea, there are also some people that go to the gym that wouldn't benefit from it at all.
Who: Yes, there are certain people that fall outside the boundaries even though they share a lot in common in the opportunity. There are multiple people just like the two that interviewed that wouldn't benefit at all from my idea or use it. This is simply because they don't mind super crowded gyms at all or waiting for machines.
What: The point at which the need I identified differs from another need is really just when you leave the gym. The need I identified only happens in the gym.
Why: The people who are outside the boundary are there simply because they have no problems with crowded gyms or they just don't go to the gym.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Anyone that goes to the gym who does not Anyone that doesn't go to the gym or anyone that
like when it is crowded or waiting on certain goes, but doesn't mid it being crowded
machines
The need is for something to be able to tell People will not have a need for anything like this
them if the gym is busy or a way to reserve a if they don't go to the gym or don't care if it is
certain machine to not have to wait for it crowded
The need exists because people get annoyed There really is no alternative explanation. You
when things like this happen either get annoyed by this or you don't
Who: Yes, there are certain people that fall outside the boundaries even though they share a lot in common in the opportunity. There are multiple people just like the two that interviewed that wouldn't benefit at all from my idea or use it. This is simply because they don't mind super crowded gyms at all or waiting for machines.
What: The point at which the need I identified differs from another need is really just when you leave the gym. The need I identified only happens in the gym.
Why: The people who are outside the boundary are there simply because they have no problems with crowded gyms or they just don't go to the gym.
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Anyone that goes to the gym who does not Anyone that doesn't go to the gym or anyone that
like when it is crowded or waiting on certain goes, but doesn't mid it being crowded
machines
The need is for something to be able to tell People will not have a need for anything like this
them if the gym is busy or a way to reserve a if they don't go to the gym or don't care if it is
certain machine to not have to wait for it crowded
The need exists because people get annoyed There really is no alternative explanation. You
when things like this happen either get annoyed by this or you don't
Friday, February 7, 2020
Solving the Problem
1. In my previous post, I talked about an opportunity that is available due to the wait time on machines at the gym and overall how crowded every gym gets. Everyone who has experienced this problem and hates it, as it is one of the worst things that can happen in the middle of a very good workout. I believe that there is service that can help fix this problem.
2. In my last post, I talked about a service that was very basic and simple and now that I have had more time to think about this opportunity I would like to expand on the service. The first part that I mentioned about the service in my previous post I would like to stay the same. That was that the gym set up general cameras around the gym and broadcast a live feed from those cameras to their website or app, so that people can see how crowded the gym is before they go and if it is a good time to go. The second part of my service that I discussed in the previous post I would like to change a little bit. I said that each gym should have their own app which tells you if the machine you want is open or not. This is a good idea, but I would like to expand on it. I think in addition to this, in the app there should be a way to reserve certain machines through the apps and once you get to the machine you can start your reservation. This way if someone is already using it then they have it reserved. You can reserve it while they are on it, that way a queue can start on the machine and you have a spot in line. You can do this while you are using a different machine so your time in the queue won't be too long. But you can't reserve every machine in the gym for yourself. There will be a system that once your reservation starts you will have two minutes to get to the machine and start it or your reservation will be cancelled. Then the machine will either open or the next person in the queue can now use this machine.
2. In my last post, I talked about a service that was very basic and simple and now that I have had more time to think about this opportunity I would like to expand on the service. The first part that I mentioned about the service in my previous post I would like to stay the same. That was that the gym set up general cameras around the gym and broadcast a live feed from those cameras to their website or app, so that people can see how crowded the gym is before they go and if it is a good time to go. The second part of my service that I discussed in the previous post I would like to change a little bit. I said that each gym should have their own app which tells you if the machine you want is open or not. This is a good idea, but I would like to expand on it. I think in addition to this, in the app there should be a way to reserve certain machines through the apps and once you get to the machine you can start your reservation. This way if someone is already using it then they have it reserved. You can reserve it while they are on it, that way a queue can start on the machine and you have a spot in line. You can do this while you are using a different machine so your time in the queue won't be too long. But you can't reserve every machine in the gym for yourself. There will be a system that once your reservation starts you will have two minutes to get to the machine and start it or your reservation will be cancelled. Then the machine will either open or the next person in the queue can now use this machine.
Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
1. The opportunity that I would like to pursue comes from a problem that I'm sure a lot of people, like me, encounter almost every day of their lives. That is when the gym is too busy and you either have to wait for a certain machine or bench to open up or when that certain machine has so many people waiting for it that you just decide to change your entire workout for the day, so you don't have to wait to do certain exercises. The opportunity would be simple, but it could be used in every gym in the country. There's two things that can be done. The first would just be to set up a couple general cameras in the gym and the live feed could be broadcasted on the gym's website, so people can see when the gym is busy or not in real time. The second is each gym can release their own app that tells every if a machine is open or not.
2. Who: anyone who goes to the gym or might want to start going to the gym
What: Machines and benches end up having a wait time with them
Why: This happens because there is either not enough of a certain type of machine or there are way too many people in the gym at the same time
3. Testing the who: I think everyone who has gone to the gym has encountered this problem and knows that when you are in the middle of a workout and have to stop to wait on a machine it is not enjoyable. Not everyone goes to the gym so not everyone has this problem.
Testing the what: Not all machines get crowded, so this opportunity would be used most effectively on some machines over others
Testing the why: Not every single gym has this problem because some gyms are massive and have so many of each machine that they don't need to worry about this problem. It seems though that a majority of gyms do have this problem and the opportunity could be useful in a lot of them.
4. I interviewed 5 people and I made sure to interview someone who never goes to the gym so that this information could be relevant to everyone. Out of all the people that I interviewed that go to the gym regularly all of them said that they have had at least one of their workouts completely ruined due to just sitting around waiting for a machine to open. They said that this stall in their workout really hinders what they were trying to accomplish in the workout and they hate it. They all agreed that if some system could be made where you could find out easily if a machine was open or if the gym was crowded it would be very helpful. The person who never goes to the gym said that all of this stuff really wasn't relevant to him and didn't affect him at all. But I did ask him if he ever plans on going to the gym any time in the future, and he said that he probably will eventually. So the information will still be relevant to him even if it is not right now.
5. I now know that almost everyone who goes to the gym has this problem and hates it as much as I do. I think there is a real opportunity here to help with the inconvenience.
2. Who: anyone who goes to the gym or might want to start going to the gym
What: Machines and benches end up having a wait time with them
Why: This happens because there is either not enough of a certain type of machine or there are way too many people in the gym at the same time
3. Testing the who: I think everyone who has gone to the gym has encountered this problem and knows that when you are in the middle of a workout and have to stop to wait on a machine it is not enjoyable. Not everyone goes to the gym so not everyone has this problem.
Testing the what: Not all machines get crowded, so this opportunity would be used most effectively on some machines over others
Testing the why: Not every single gym has this problem because some gyms are massive and have so many of each machine that they don't need to worry about this problem. It seems though that a majority of gyms do have this problem and the opportunity could be useful in a lot of them.
4. I interviewed 5 people and I made sure to interview someone who never goes to the gym so that this information could be relevant to everyone. Out of all the people that I interviewed that go to the gym regularly all of them said that they have had at least one of their workouts completely ruined due to just sitting around waiting for a machine to open. They said that this stall in their workout really hinders what they were trying to accomplish in the workout and they hate it. They all agreed that if some system could be made where you could find out easily if a machine was open or if the gym was crowded it would be very helpful. The person who never goes to the gym said that all of this stuff really wasn't relevant to him and didn't affect him at all. But I did ask him if he ever plans on going to the gym any time in the future, and he said that he probably will eventually. So the information will still be relevant to him even if it is not right now.
5. I now know that almost everyone who goes to the gym has this problem and hates it as much as I do. I think there is a real opportunity here to help with the inconvenience.
Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends
1. The first opportunity that I found came from the Wall Street Journal and it was about the coronavirus affecting all of the factories that produce goods for manufacturers around the world. There is an opportunity here if someone were to try and manufacture these goods in a different country where the coronavirus isn't as much of a problem. The customer for this opportunity would be really any manufacturer that is experiencing halts in manufacturing because of the problem. This opportunity would be pretty difficult to exploit because it would require a lot of money and a lot of time.
I noticed this opportunity because I was scrolling through articles and I noticed that this was causing problems for manufacturers around the world, and when something like this happens there is potential for an opportunity.
2. The second opportunity comes from an article I was reading about in the Tampa Bay Times. It was about the Rays two city deal and how it can become actually implemented in 2020. The two city deal is when the first half of the season is played in St. Pete and the second half of the season is played in Montreal. I believe an opportunity exists because if this deal is actually implemented then someone has to build the stadium in Montreal, and there would also be an opportunity to sell merchandise like tshirts there too. The customer for this would be anyone in Montreal who is excited about this idea. The building of the stadium would be hard to exploit, but selling tshirts would not.
I noticed this opportunity because I am from Tampa and am a Rays fan and I love baseball. I've been following news about this deal ever since it came up.
3. The next opportunity I found came from an article in the The Alligator. It was about the tobacco and e cigarette age being changed to 21, and not as many people being able to buy these products from places like smoke shops or gas stations. There is an opportunity here for a new product that someone could come up with that the age would remain 18, and the product would give the same effect as tobacco or these e cigarettes. The customer would be anyone whose into those two products already or anyone who still is under 21 years old. This product would be hard to exploit as it would require inventing a new product.
I noticed this opportunity because a lot of my friends and fellow classmates are very addicted to nicotine and ever since the law changed the age to 21 a lot of them have been unable to buy it.
4. The last opportunity I found comes from the New York Times and the article was about how in the US added 225,000 jobs just in January and how the unemployment rate is at 3.6%. There is an opportunity here because some companies might be noticing that more and more jobs are being made in the United States, so they may realize it might in their better interest to provide some of the manufacturing jobs in the US rather than in places like China. A decent amount of the new jobs that were created came from manufacturing jobs. The customer would be anyone in the US who is still looking for a job. It would be relatively difficult to exploit because you would need to already own a manufacturing company or need to start one.
I noticed this opportunity because I have been following Trump and his efforts to create new jobs in the US which he has done.
I noticed this opportunity because I was scrolling through articles and I noticed that this was causing problems for manufacturers around the world, and when something like this happens there is potential for an opportunity.
2. The second opportunity comes from an article I was reading about in the Tampa Bay Times. It was about the Rays two city deal and how it can become actually implemented in 2020. The two city deal is when the first half of the season is played in St. Pete and the second half of the season is played in Montreal. I believe an opportunity exists because if this deal is actually implemented then someone has to build the stadium in Montreal, and there would also be an opportunity to sell merchandise like tshirts there too. The customer for this would be anyone in Montreal who is excited about this idea. The building of the stadium would be hard to exploit, but selling tshirts would not.
I noticed this opportunity because I am from Tampa and am a Rays fan and I love baseball. I've been following news about this deal ever since it came up.
3. The next opportunity I found came from an article in the The Alligator. It was about the tobacco and e cigarette age being changed to 21, and not as many people being able to buy these products from places like smoke shops or gas stations. There is an opportunity here for a new product that someone could come up with that the age would remain 18, and the product would give the same effect as tobacco or these e cigarettes. The customer would be anyone whose into those two products already or anyone who still is under 21 years old. This product would be hard to exploit as it would require inventing a new product.
I noticed this opportunity because a lot of my friends and fellow classmates are very addicted to nicotine and ever since the law changed the age to 21 a lot of them have been unable to buy it.
4. The last opportunity I found comes from the New York Times and the article was about how in the US added 225,000 jobs just in January and how the unemployment rate is at 3.6%. There is an opportunity here because some companies might be noticing that more and more jobs are being made in the United States, so they may realize it might in their better interest to provide some of the manufacturing jobs in the US rather than in places like China. A decent amount of the new jobs that were created came from manufacturing jobs. The customer would be anyone in the US who is still looking for a job. It would be relatively difficult to exploit because you would need to already own a manufacturing company or need to start one.
I noticed this opportunity because I have been following Trump and his efforts to create new jobs in the US which he has done.
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