29

Opportunity:




I believe that businesses in Gainesville could benefit from my reduced priced supplies while contributing to be more environmentally friendly.


The forces that make this possible are the inherent desires of a business to cut costs as well as the existence of the RePurpose Project and other used good stores and thrift shops. Locally ran businesses are also an important feature in the mix since they have more flexibility.


The current target market of my business is Gainesville local businesses. In the future, I believe we could shift to helping out more locally owned businesses in other cities and regions. Another vital partnership would be with Alachua County Waste Management. I believe that if we had a partnership with this organization that we would be able to help the businesses we partner with recycle better and more often. We could potentially even collaborate to provide “Green Audits” of the businesses that we partner with to ensure that they are doing their best job at doing well for the planet.


Our current target market is solving this problem through accounts set up with local supply stores such as Staples or just ordering off online sites using their company’s bank account. Since these are not binding contracts, I do not foresee loyalty being an issue if we can provide similar products of high quality at a lower cost.


This opportunity expands far beyond Gainesville and applies to businesses everywhere. I believe that these reasons would drive many businesses to switch their suppliers.


This opportunity will be open until someone else does it and finds a way to do it digitally. I believe that if we were able to get a large enough supply of used goods, we could offer these services to businesses all over the nation. The biggest issue is finding that large of a supply and still keeping our prices low.




Innovation:




The RePurpose Program partners with local Gainesville businesses to provide them recycled office supplies through an established partnership with a local thrift-like, junkyard store known as the RePurpose Project. We offer low prices by buying products from the RePurpose Project and marking them up to make a solid profit but also remaining a good amount below retail price for new goods. This is advantageous for the local businesses and companies we partner with as they are able to save money while reducing their waste and helping another local business. Our pricing model is based on keeping our margins high as possible while also ensuring that they are far enough below the retail value of new goods. Our supply is based on demand; we do not buy goods from RePurpose Project until they are requested by our clients. If we end up branching off to helping more businesses, we would most likely switch to keeping an inventory of often requested goods.




Venture concept:


Since the ultimate goal of most businesses is to make a profit, I believe that our cost savings would drive a large customer base. The idea of being the cheapest available on the market tends to be a poor business model for many companies. However, due to the nature of our sourcing I do not foresee this being as big of an issue. If we were to sell digitally, this then may be an issue as shipping costs tend to be a large factor.




Three minor concepts:




Our most important resource is our partnership with RePurpose Project. This will allow us to source supplies easily and cheaply. If we get them to sign a binding agreement to not work with anyone else, that would guarantee an advantage. However, if we partner with too many businesses and sell mass quantities, we may lose this as an advantage. If we expand our partnerships, we could hedge against this risk.




Our next move would be expanding our supplier and customer partnerships. We could then drive sales due to our increased availability of suppliers. I believe that partnering with Goodwill would be a solid company to work with given their massive presence in the thrifting retail business. However, it may be easier to partner with locally owned thrift stores at first yet I am unsure since most of them just have clothing a knick knacks.




I would not be able to run this business for long unless I hired younger UF students to fill orders. It is not my dream to run this business for life but I think would be a good experience. I do not think hiring college students to continue the business would be too hard as many students work for similar businesses like Uber Eats. I would still be able to take the orders and translate them to whoever I have working in Gainesville. This would be concerning since I wouldn't be able to help fill orders if the students are busy. I am unsure that I would be able to generate enough profit to keep the business going if I had employees. If possible, I would sell it to RePurpose as they could hire people or just have their current workers and interns fill orders.




Summary of feedback from first Venture Concept:




The feedback I received from my last Venture Concept outline was to focus on finding partnerships with other businesses that could provide more supply resources. I agree that this would make my life a lot easier as I would be more assured that we would have a product available to offer to our business clients. I believe that this would allow us to expand our business to serve a wider customer base in a greater geographic region. I think Goodwill could use this as a great way to expand their service offerings and revenues. With the increase in “fast fashion” due to increased accessibility and the internet, I believe that they may eventually have to expand to being available

27

1) I chose Grinding It Out ; The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc, the man who pioneered the spread of the McDonald's franchise that many of us know and love

What surprised me the most was how old Mr. Kroc and the McDonald's brothers were when this all came about. Their older age definitely gave them the knowledge to create such an innovative way of doing things and for Kroc to know that it would change eating out forever.

What I most admired about Mr. Kroc was his constant effort and belief that things would go through. He adjusted accordingly to what he was learning and put all stability on the line for his dream to come true.

The demise of many of Kroc's relationships is not an admiral trait. It is unfortunate that he had cycled through many marriages. It is also unfortunate that his relationship with the McDonald's brothers went sour. I hope that I am always able to rekindle relationships despite hardships like his relationships encountered. 

I think that convincing people was always a struggle for Mr. Kroc. His ideas were grand so it makes sense that they would oppose him. I am unsure that I would be able to continue to persist after so much rejection. I hope that I can have as much conviction as Kroc in my future pursuits. 

2) I believe that persistence and adaptability are major things that Kroc encompassed. He was able to adjust his plans yet always stayed true to making sure that the business was a success. 

3)  The most confusing part of the whole thing is conceptualizing the culture that they lived in. McDonald's is a staple in everyday life in America and also technology has changed so much since. It is hard to put yourself in the characters shoes since we live a life very different when it comes to day-to-day functions. 

4) I would ask him what he thinks of his brand now? I am curious if he would like the direction being takes. I also would ask what he would believe the next big food/restaurant trend is. I would love to understand his perception of the industry. 

5) I think he would believe that you should do all you can to get things done. I am unsure if I completely resonate with this since I do not completely believe success in business is the most important thing in life. However, I do believe that individual fulfillment is extremely important and should be shot for. 

30

I think the most challenging and memorable experience was having to cold call the businesses that I hoped to be customers and pitching my idea to them. It was hard to remain professional given that I knew my service still had some tweeking to do. I think that emotional intelligence skills can always been improved since there are so many different people out there to meet and interact with which can at times be challenging. 

My most joyous experience was definitely pitching and coming up with what I was going to say. At times, I felt pretty silly but watching myself made me notice ways I could improve for the next one and in other public speaking contexts. I think that this is also something I most proud of being able to do and improving at. 

Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I am unsure if I would consider myself an entrepreneur but I also have discovered that I possibly could be. I hope to open my own business one day so having this experience made me realize lots of questions I need to ask myself when making decisions about how to target ideal clients and provide a customer focused service. 

I think entrepreneurship is mostly challenging and scary because you are not guaranteed success. I think is it important for aspiring entrepreneurs to be mindful that the main objective is to make a product that makes peoples lives easier and/or better. If you always have this in the back of your head when making decisions, you'll be a lot better off.

If you're just looking to get the grade, definitely try to get ahead and not wait until the last minute to do things. It is too easy to miss points so you need to be on top of your game. However, if you want to truly get the most out of it I would recommend working a little bit on it practically every day. If it's in the back of your mind always, you may be out somewhere and see something that sparks a way for you to make your service or product better. I believe that this is the key mindset on an entrepreneur: always looking for better solutions! I think Gary Vee does a good job of embracing this mindset and I believe all entrepreneurs should listen to some of the content he has created. 

28A

1)Since my business relies so heavily on the Gainesville area and the RePurpose Project, I think it makes the most sense for me to sell my business or potentially pass it on to a club in Heavener. I think that Warrington Goes Green, the new Heavener club that emphasizes the importance of being environmentally conscious as business, could use my business as a way for members to actively be involved in this message while generating funds for the organization.
 
2) I think that it may be hard to sell the business since profits are too low. If the club is not interested, it may be advantageous for the RePurpose Project to hire someone to do this or to delegate this responsibility to their employees. I would have already done most of the hard work establishing relationships so they would just need to fill orders.

3) I think this strategy definitely impacts my strategy for expansion of the business. This is how it mostly impacts the business since it would be hard to build so many relationships and all of a sudden leave.

26

I will say that I have continued to fail at being productive this semester. In fact, I am doing this assignment far in advance to procrastinate studying for Finance even further. I have sort of burnt myself out. I took Financial and Managerial accounting this summer which was a lot on top of the internship I held along with two other classes. Spring was not an easy first semester either as I got adjusted to campus while pledging a business fraternity, doing an internship, and taking on a role in one of the "Fund" clubs. I have had barely any time to enjoy college life or build relationships with people outside of my peers in these organizations. I did it all to get ahead for a Masters program I am applying to but my lack of dedication these past few months may limit me from that.

From this I have learned the importance of work-life balance. What is most funny about my current feelings is that I did this to chase a career that is known to have 80 -100 hour work weeks. I am now trying to spend more time thinking about what I really want long term and how I can best use my education to get me there.

I think this class is valuable in that it shows students that you can come up with great ideas and start a business rather than take on a corporate role. However, what I think is most important is planning for failure. I do not necessarily think failure is bad if a concise and thought out plan leads you to it. Yet, making decisions that you know will likely end in failure are probably not smart especially if you can get the same results through a different route. I sped up my classes because I wanted to have a window to retake them but the speed is what has led me to do poorer in them. It's unfortunate but I am glad to have made mistakes early on so I can make sure I am doing things that make me exciting going into my remaining time at UF.

24

Opportunity 

Businesses in Gainesville would benefit from more affordable office and facility supplies while helping reduce waste by using recycled goods.

Although this may not be urgent, my solution would be advantageous as it would make the businesses more profitable while helping support other local businesses. 

The forces in the environment that makes this possible is the availability of recycled goods at the RePurpose Project, a local Gainesville thrift-like store, and the variety of locally ran businesses in the Gainesville area. 

Due to the limited supply of this store, it would be advantageous to mostly focus on Gainesville businesses to sell to. 

Customers are currently solving this need by using big retailers to provide their supplies, including Office Depot, Staples, and Amazon. Many of these businesses do not hold contracts with these companies and simply have opened a non-binding business account with them. 

This is a limited opportunity but there is almost guaranteed profits to be made. However, I think I may be limited in expanding my business as paying employees would dip too far into my margins which already are low.

This opportunity will be available as long as RePurpose is open and there are small businesses who are willing to do business with me. 

Innovation

The RePurpose Program partners with local Gainesville businesses to provide them recycled office supplies by an established partnership with a local thrift-like, junkyard store known as the RePurpose Project. We offer low prices by buying products from the RePurpose Project and marking them up to make a solid profit but also remaining a good amount below retail price for new goods. This is advantageous for the companies as they are able to save money while reducing their waste and helping another local business. 

At first, the idea was to work with different offices throughout the University of Florida and help them be more environmentally conscious. However, after considering the amount of work that is required in becoming a vendor to the University it made more sense to focus on outside businesses that also serve the students of UF and the rest of the Gainesville population. I would first focus on the locally-owned businesses and then see if we could expand to helping some of the bigger businesses around UF’s campus that have parent companies.

Venture Concept

I think the biggest incentive for companies to switch to my product is the cost savings. Since the ultimate goal of most companies is to make profit, I believe that any way for them to do this while retaining the quality of their services would be seen as a good thing for them to do. However, I believe that I will encounter a lot of questions about the reliability of the supplies to be available when they need it, for it to be of good quality, and also if it will be delivered as quickly as they may want it and therefore quicker than Amazon, Office Depot, or wherever else they are sourcing these goods. This has become of greater concern to me as Amazon is pushing for all of their goods to be available within one day of ordering. 

These are our biggest competitors by far. Due to the massive size of their business they practically ensure quality. I definitely am concerned by this. I will say though that this is probably the biggest advantage they have over my business, in addition to having some sort of obscure item that is not as common as a hot glue gun or stapler. I definitely will do my best to ensure that our products are held to a higher standard and are fully functional. 

Our product offerings are not delivered in any particular packaging except whatever is available at the RePurpose Project. We would deliver mostly using old cardboard boxes. Customer service may be hard as my initial intent is to run the business by myself. I am not available 24/7 as some of these customer service lines are for our big competitors yet since the nature of this business is not very urgent, I do not see a few hour delay being a huge make or break factor. I do think I would need to focus on businesses close to campus since I do not have a car. I may need to enlist a friend to help me in delivery and pickup in order to be able to get the products to customers quickly. Besides that, I believe the structure can be pretty laid back. 

3 Minor Elements

Our biggest resource will be our partnership with the RePurpose Project. This enables us to be the only company with access to their goods, creating a monopoly. I believe that we could also work on establishing partnerships with local Goodwills incase our demand proves to be too grand for the supply at the RePurpose Project. 

What’s next for our venture would be expanding to more places in Gainesville. I believe we could provide value to a wide variety of businesses beyond just office supplies. I would start with businesses close to campus and RePurpose Project and then try to expand further from there. 

I would not be able to run this business forever unless I hired younger UF students to fill orders. I do not think this would be too hard as many students work for similar businesses like Uber Eats and Bite Squad. I would still be able to take the orders and translate them to whoever I have working in Gainesville. This would be concerning since I wouldn't be able to help fill orders if the students are busy. I am unsure that I would be able to generate enough profit to keep the business going if I had employees. Also, I would have to have someone in charge of quality control which would dip even more into my margins. I could potentially just pass this program off to the Warrington Goes Green club that was recently established. 

25

Existing market

Step 1:
I think that the next step in offering my products and services to businesses is simply expansion. I believe that my business could provide value for a majority of Gainesville businesses.

Step 2:
Makayla: "I think you could go through the process of branding your goods and refurbishing them to increase value and the price slightly. If you did this, you still need to remember not to make them so inexpensive because that is one of your selling points"
Danielle: "I think you could do this with stuff from Goodwill as well but it may be hard to establish a relationship with them unlike RePurpose"
Tatiana: "You should sell products to consumers. Maybe you could fix up some of the other items they have and sell them through a website. I am sure some of the records they have are valuable"

Step 3:

I think that my friends made great points on how I could expand my business. What I think my main focuses should be for the near future is expansion into more stores and a method for refurbishing some of the items. I think establishing more contracts is important since the companies I am working for are not ordering things everyday and therefore my volume is not very high. It may be helpful to actually hold inventory of some products just in case someone comes in to RePurpose and buys out the majority of the lot of things that my business provides.
This leads in to a method for refurbishing the items that I am reselling. Potentially painting all the items a same color or adding my logo would be advantageous. This would increase product quality and serve as a way to market my products to other potential customers. However, this may cause me to get away from my guiding selling point of low costs and low waste. It may be better if I just focus on making sure that my products are as clean as possible and lack rust so they function properly. Checking for proper functioning is definitely something I should look at focusing on.

New Market.

Step 1:
I think going B2C could be an interesting space but very different. I believe that I would need to really focus on improving the aesthetics of my products if I ever expect to sell them online and shipping may cost more than service and car delivery.

Step 2:
I think value could be created here if my customers were searching for more fun products. I think that people into vintage goods may find value in a similar concept but I am not sure if it would work my current concept of selling old staplers.

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market?
Valentina: "I love vintage things! I think maybe making art with the old records could be a cool idea"
Amanda: "I think some of the old magazines and cards could be repurposed into artsy decor which people may like"

Step 4: 
I think that art would be a more suitable focus for consumers. This makes more sense since I would likely have to search harder for potential customers than I would in the B2B space. I definitely could utilize the used goods RePurpose has yet this business is more risky. A business is more likely to want to purchase a fully functioning used stapler rather than consumers purchasing a piece of art since preferences are so important. I do not see this market as attractive.
If I did this business, I think I would rely to heavily on whatever RePurpose has to offer. I think that it may be hard to create things that I would find good to sell. It also would require me to establish a greater brand and style. This requires a lot more investment than my B2B idea.

23

Resources of my venture:
- ability to instill a sense of doing better for the environment, local economic community, and youth to the companies we are doing business with
- low prices as sourced by the RePurpose Project
- ability to monopolize through out partnership
- variety of experience within professional settings
- minimal financial investment required for starting the business
- culture of caring and giving back to the community and environment
- ability to market the reputation of the RePurpose Project
- derived demand for inventory which will decrease upfront costs
- ability to use school's students reputation to promote the connected culture in Gainesville
- I will also be able to use my accounting knowledge to keep track of how we are doing in terms of profitability
VRIN:
Valuable - provides low prices to businesses while helping reduce accumulation of waste throughout Gainesville businesses
Rare - since we would partner with the RePurpose Project, we are the only ones with access to the resources
Inimitable - we would create a contract with RePurpose Project
Non - substitutable - I think there may be potentially replaceable resources but I think that the idea that we are helping the planet and community is the main selling point

Our top resource is the sense of goodwill instilled by the idea that companies are helping reduce waste and helping a student develop a business

21

The book I chose to read was Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. What was great about this assignment is that I had actually already bought this book at the recycled book store here in Gainesville. It was a book that I had wanted for years and it was great to see everything tie together through my school education. I found it challenging due to the sheer size of the book.

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

The theme is understanding the levels of thinking your brain operates at in different scenarios. By understanding this better, you can think more clear in the variety of situations you encounter.

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

One of the earliest things I noticed that I thought really aligned with this coursework was what we consciously observe versus what slips right by us. I think this related back to our Bug List assignment where we had to point out things we dislike. I believe that if you can do this, you may come up with a revolutionary product idea to solve this issue for everyone.

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

The book focuses on thinking objectively versus subjectively. An interesting assignment would be showing a student a video and having them record their initial reaction on how they would react to the situation shown. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The bigggest thing for me was being able to apply these concepts to my everyday life which I believe has really helped me get through the semester. 

22

https://youtu.be/h3kDJvXs378

I believe that I did pretty well on this pitch compared to my past two. I added a more fun opener than I the one that I had in the past. I think I did a better job of showing the connection between two separate entities that are doing business together, since my company is business-to-business. I took my peers advice and did this video in a better place where the sound did not bounce off the walls. They did not comment specifically on the content but that I should strive to continue making improvements. Overall, I think I have made great strides in this department of my business and as a skill. Pitches are hard but can also be fun with practice.

20A

1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry. 

- I interviewed someone named Maya Rogers who has her own online, recycled clothing brand.

- This person would potentially be a market expert since she is well aware of the business models of these thrift shops who sell used clothes, which she uses to make her products.

- I have followed this person on Instagram since we went to the same high school.

- We just had lunch and I brought her an orange clementine as a thank you since I have seen her post them a lot with her meals.

2) One person must be an expert on your 

- Unfortunately, I was not able to contact the manager of RePurpose but spoke to a worker who's name i did not catch. 

- This person would be a representative of the supplier

- I knew to contact this person by calling the store and asking who had time to speak. Not the greatest source but they were able to give me lots of insight into how their processes work. 

- I just asked them when they'd be in to work and I plan on bringing them something small when meting

3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry. This would be someone who is selling products and services to other organizations/firms in your industry.

- I decided to talk to a competitors since this space is not currently penetrated. Speaking to an Office Depot employee while visiting their store was a simple step towards understanding more.

- This person would also provide help similar to how a strategist would

- I found this person by visiting a local consignment store, which made it easiest for me

- after the conversation, we opted to stay in touch through Instagram. I followed her dog's Instagram account so I believe we are pretty close. 

These were not the types of people I usually encounter since their lives center around their specific industry. It was a great learning experience as all networking is but knowing more about these people revealed to me that there really may be a target market for my product that exists,

19A

1) I am a dedicated student and friend. I am talented at bringing people together and finding the root of issues. As far as tangible skills, I believe that I am decent at making PowerPoints. This business makes sense in my life since I have recently been taking on 'minimalist' habits to reduce the waste and clutter in my life.
2)We are offering customers an affordable solution to be able to receive goods quickly while promoting the reduction of waste on a corporate level.
3)We are offering this to local offices that are less focused on luxury aesthetic and more interested in catering to those who are environmentally conscious.
4) They care because they save money, get to help support a local business, and help reduce waste overall.
5) What sets myself and the company apart is that we are able to meet our goals while helping a greater good in the process. 

Generally, these fit together. This is mostly because I even used the same reasoning to answer a majority of the questions. I think it is wise for me to spend time identifying and developing more of my skills and understanding of myself. I believe this will help me in my business and while working with others.

17A

https://youtu.be/rk1zkrMAq7U


I still think I could do a better job. I am usually good at coming up with puns but this one is stumping me. I honestly did not change much about this pitch. It is mostly because I have not really changed much about my business. I think it really could work. What I am most concerned about is operations on my end. I would need to be able to have time to make these deliveries and be intentional with quality control. Depending on how many partnerships, I would need to hire people. However, I think it would be good to speak with Repurpose to see if they would just be willing to expand their business in this capacity. I think it may work better than a separate business. The pitch does need improvement. If I did it again, I think I should work on memorizing what I am saying better, being more concise, and smiling more. I do not think I improved very much honestly. Also, I should shoot at a different angle or go to the gym. lol.

18A

Creating my customer avatar is somewhat challenging given that my company provides services to businesses and not individual consumers. I do believe however that my business caters to a specific kind of business more than others.

Finding businesses who match my target consumer may be more challenging than it appears because finding value in my service has a lot to do with their values. The businesses I do service for would need to put an emphasis on caring for the environment. I do not believe that many of the luxury apartments around Gainesville would care for this given that many seem to do whatever they can to cut costs. However, if I really can provide fast and cheap products for these types of businesses we may be able to form a partnership. I believe that the university would find a lot of value in my idea but given the strict, time consuming process for becoming a vendor of the school, I am unsure if they would find it very helpful since they have need for so many products constantly. It makes sense for them to continue with what they are currently doing. However, if I partnered with a larger consignment store I may have more leverage when approaching institutions.

As for now, I plan to target the less luxurious apartments around UF. I believe Looking Glass may fit the mold since they are not as concerned about aesthetics as other places like Standard and Hub.

I relate to these businesses in that I do care about being resourceful and reducing waste as much as I can. It makes sense that this would be a business idea of mine since my personal values align with those of the company.

16A

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.
- Straight forward and I like to challenge people
- keep calm in chaos
- like to figure out loopholes in rules
- gained a good understanding of psychology through personal research
- bounce back very quick after making a mistake and am able to look at the bright side or the lesson I learned from it

2) Interview the five people who know you the best.

a) Dad

b) Danielle Lara

c) Makayla Ho

d) Valentina Blanco

e) Julian Berrio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5h33YAZg2E

3) Reflect on the differences. 
I think that the attributes my friends and father described are pretty accurate in terms of how I hope to be perceived and what I try to do. I think this was helpful in reflecting on how I have grown since high school and the different ways I try to be helpful towards my friends and family. I think it is a good sign that many of the things I put on my list are things that were described by my friends and family. I think something that was funny that my dad identified is that what makes me rage is unfairness. Recently, I have come face with a lot of issues with people who run organizations I am in by a lack of fairness. This reminded me of the driving force that allowed me to make so many changes at my school while I was Student Body President. I was so upset that popularity determined someone's position within our organization. This is something I am now learning to deal with in different capacities and continues one of the most important things to me as a enter the business world: fairness and truth. 

15A

To conduct my interviews, I first came up with an outline of questions for the firms I decided to interview:

1) What is the most important factor when considering where to buy your office supplies: price, quality, style, speed, or something else?

College Manor Apartments: Probably price

Trimark: speed

The Nook: quality to improve efficiency

2) Do you buy your supplies from a local company or online? Do you have a contract with this company?

College Manor Apartments: We order online from Staples through an account

Trimark: Different depending on product

The Nook: Not sure, but order online

3) How have you set up a payment system?

College Manor Apartments: Connected to one account

Trimark: Not sure

The Nook: Not sure

4) What makes you happy with the supplies you buy and what makes you disappointed?

College Manor Apartments: Happy but there is nothing that makes what is used particularly special or great. Yet, we have no issues.

Trimark: No issues, everything has been smooth

The Nook: No issues

Summary:

I think it is important for me to segment the different types of apartments and do this research again. Luxury apartments may be more concerned with the aesthetics of what they use since the people who live there are more likely to care and be concerned about those aspects. 

13A

1)

• What surprised you the most?

When I think of the Chanel brand, I think of high class. Since Chanel was in her prime around 100 years ago, the things society accepted were a lot different. When looking at old pictures you may think she was old fashioned and conservative but at the time, the things she did were quite progressive. This goes from her style to her actions and lifestyle. It was something I had never looked much into. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I think Chanel's courage to go against the status quo and be a hard working woman is admirable and what makes her such a historical figure, in addition to her timeless brand. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

It is well known that she lacked honesty when describing her family history. I can see how this many have been rooted in embarrassment and is her personal business, yet I think it paints a better picture when trying to understand and learn from her life. 

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• I believe that the adversity Chanel faced in the early years of her life is what allowed her to accomplish many things. She suffered abandonment from her father from the very start of her life and when her father died, she was left at a covenant where her authority figures were overbearing. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Chanel demonstrates great tenacity. After realizing that her company was unprofitable, she started getting even more serious at becoming the best business person she could be. Due to her tenacity, she was able to become resourceful while breaking the rules of modern day standards. 

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

When they described her Cabaret singing times, I at first thought that she was basically acting as a stripper. After doing some further research, I was able to clear this. Due to my lack of understanding of 1920's culture, specifically of France, this made the book more challenging. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

- I would ask what are the staples that a woman should wear every day in today's world. I would be curious how she would navigate the trends of today's world while keeping the timeless style.
- I would also ask what are her thoughts on the evolution of her brand since she has been gone. There was recently a new Chanel perfume released by the name of "Gabrielle", which is her birth name, so I can't help but wonder if she would actually enjoy it and how other aspects of the brand waiver from what she may have done. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? 

At the very beginning of the book, the author starts with stating a turning point in Chanel's life that served as the catalyst for creating the habits that would lead her to become one of the most influential women in artistic/fashion history. Arthur Capel, one of Chanel's late lovers, is said to have changed her life when he broke the truth to her that her business was not profitable and that he was funding it. She raged while pondering on the fact that all the things she had been buying were not from her efforts. She then began to run a tighter ship in her business, being cautious of every penny spent and giving up love and companionship to focus on her craft. I believe she would say, if she had to in one word, that hard work is about sacrifice. She has said that work consumed her life but she liked it and found pride in it. I believe that Chanel would successful hard work must be done with pride. This is something that I have been trying to embrace more in my life lately since I believe mindset and confidence are key to becoming your fullest self. 

14A

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. 

- I think that to develop tenacity, knowing yourself is very important. What I mean by this is, doing things when you are most effective. There are many times when you need to push through but having an understanding and being able to monitor your mood, level of focus, potential places and times to be distracted, and who you need to be surrounded with at what times are key. It's easy for a student to think that studying all day in the library without break is the best way to get stuff done but that is not what the evidence shows. In my first semester at UF, I read "How to Become a Straight A Student" by Cal Newport which really taught me how to schedule my days to work when I am most effective and plan for the inevitable distractions of life. These have helped me manage my hectic "business major" schedule that requires lots of involvement, career prep, and internships. Applying these skills to this course have made it enjoyable and have allowed me to actually focus when engaging with the content and throughout the assignments. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 

During the past two months, I thought I was going to have to drop one of my hard classes. The day before the exam I took a practice test and did not do well so I started to panic. Yet, my panic did not last as long as it had in the past when situations like this came up. I realized that it is not the end of the world and even if I did fail, I had many ways to make it up and even be very productive for the rest of the semester if I would have had to drop it. I reminded myself of how special it is for me to be at UF in the first place and that I have seen lots of success in the past and that this one moment would not be the defining moment of my life. In fact, I'm not sure that any moment can define the success of your whole life. I know that great things are respectable because they are hard and that I can get back up immediately once things get bad if I just make the decision to. 

3) Three tips. 

- I would first read "How to Become a Straight A Student" by Cal Newport and "12 Rules for Life" by Jordan Peterson because they both provide honest perpectives on the tasks college students face and the hardship that is living. They have helped me better define my aspirations and goals for what I want out of college and life and how I can achieve those things. 

- I think it's important to challenge yourself to do things that you know would impress you. If you do not have some sort of goals, you'll find yourself lost. Writing down your goals and placing them somewhere will help a lot. Everyone hears it but it really does help me focus and bring me back to reality in rough and distracted times. 

- I think it is important to try and observe yourself and your world from that of a visitor who knows nothing about you. When you really focus on why you do the things you do and try to recognize what you are really getting out of them, you can figure out the flaws that are keeping you from your potential. 

12A

Interviews
The Courtyards:
- We use mostly paper more than anything
- We do have a recycling program where residents can recycle but nothing further than that
- We have a vendor through our family company that we use for supplies

The Hub
- Mostly paper and printing services but everything else is paperless. Other supplies would be water bottles, and pens. There is not a lot we
- We are unclear of how the recycling
- Supplies go through an account with Office Depot where we get them delivered since it is much more convenient for us.

The Retreat
- We mostly replace paper frequently more than anything
- We have recycling at our property but it is not used by residents properly or frequently
- Corporate warehouse through a warehouse

Summary
From my interviews, I think it would be good for me to target the companies that do not use corporate warehouses and have an account set uo with local supply stores instead. I think the Hub would be good to target since they are new and outsource a majority of their needs. I think other good collaborations would be more so with the other apartments that outsource.

11A

Who am I: I am a second year Finance major with lots of experience in social media marketing and event planning. With this business, I hope to help local businesses go green and help drive profits for local organizations that support this idea.

What are you offering: I am offering a cheaper, greener way for businesses to get the tools they use in their everyday business practices. The transfer of goods will be through a student ran business.

Who am I offering this to: Businesses who are looking to lower costs and be more environmentally friendly

Why do they care: They will be able to save money while supporting a good cause.

What are your core competencies: We are different from the competition in that we offer solutions that also help fellow local businesses and students looking to gain leadership and business skills.

I think the biggest struggle that is the next part of this process is evaluating if the costs savings really are there for businesses. I believe that this is their ultimate concern so it is the most important element. I also need to work out the logistics for transferring the goods. I am considering getting with the Heavener club that focuses on green solutions to see if they'd be able to operate the business in able to fund their organization's activities and philanthropy.

10A

https://youtu.be/7OM7vFvwXtw

9A

Interview 1: Ali, Library Desk Assistant

She stated that the biggest limitation of the partnership with Repurpose Project is paper. Paper is the largest reorder since other products are usually purchased for long-term use and paper needs to be new for their purposes. Therefore, the partnership may not have as many benefits as it does at first glance.




Interview 2: Kandyce, Desk worker at the map collection in Smathers Library

She said that her biggest concern is the transportation and the facilitation of the products since the Repurpose Project does not have a website where you can order things like they can with current vendors




Interview 3: Natalie, Study Abroad Office of Heavener Hall

She doesn't know if it would work for their office since most of their items they give put to people and they need them to be cohesive and to look professional. She believe it could be an issue because you couldn't guarantee quality.




Interview 4: Ricardo, Business School Advising Student Assistant

His biggest concern is that with established partnerships they have access to technical support. He believes that it would be the best option to go with an established vendor for bigger ticket items. There is already an established partnership with these vendors as well and the university purchasing things is a long process.




Interview 5: Kevin, Luxury Apartment Leasing Office Assistant (I thought this would be a different perspective that would lead to discovering more holes in my proposed idea)

He believes that since their customer demographic is people who like "shiny" things given that they are a luxury apartment, that this may not be aligned with their goals. He also says that lots of their items are branded to the inability to do that would be a big con. He said that it also makes sense that for bigger ticket items that they go with something new because they believe the longevity is valuable. Another concern he has is the pricing and transportation of these products to their facility.

Who is in: Potentially individuals who are using the tools themselves and/or are in an environment where aesthetics are not as important	Who is not: Professional and Luxury businesses front offices
What the need is: More “green” practices for administrative work	What the Need is not: may see this as an issue since aesthetics is one of their most important features.
Why that need exists: It is not precisely a need but potentially a preference especially if it is just as effective and saves money	Alternative explanations: There is issues with transportation of the goods because they may not be able to buy in as much bulk as they can with current partnerships.

Overall, I think that this process could work but not with the two entities I initially talked to: the UF libraries and luxury apartment leasing offices. I believe that my best option is to talk with other local businesses or an apartment complex that has less of a focus on their brand image being fresh and new.

8A

I believe that a better way that I could help UF produce less waste is by helping cut costs in the administrative offices by creating a partnership with repurpose who sells their items to the university.

I first would need to talk to the different administrative groups in the school and see what their departments are spending lots of money on. Then I would need to see what could be used from repurpose to replace what is currently being used. Throughout collecting this information about the supply and demand, it would be important for me to form dialogue between the university offices and repurpose project leadership. I also think reaching out to my Florida Leadership Academy mentors would be helpful for expediting the communication between myself and those who control these type of operations in the business school to start. I also believe reaching out to other Gainesville Green initiatives and UF organizations would be able to push me towards helpful resources.

7A

Organizations at UF have very high costs they require member to pay for gear yet up-cycled shirts would help to reduce waste and costs

Other who? Yes, I think that this could be utilized by a lot of organizations and even companies who have focuses on sustainability.
Issues with the what? The question is if the effort is worth the cost savings and how big the cost savings really could be
Issues with the why? I think this may be a good idea since I am regarding college organizations as the initial target market. Since many students do not have much money and also are educated about the importance or being resourceful, I believe that they would find this very helpful while also feeling like they are doing a good thing.

Interview 1: Valentina Blanco
Overall, liked the concept of upcycling shirts since in her sorority they pass down shirts anyways. This is something that occurs in lots of greek organizations yet they often do produce a lot of shirts so maybe automating that process in someway would be better to reduce waste and focus on an order-by-order method.

Interview 2: Danielle Lara
Worried that old shirts being upcycled may be missing the point of a lot of organizations making shirts. They want to all have the same one. This could be an issue since repurposing usually consists of random pieces.

Interview 3: Makayla Ho
Likes the idea but responded to the suggestion from Danielle to see if there is any organization who is mass producing shirts and then having to donate them because they are not being used.

Interview 4; Jacob Bobet
Said he is mostly worried that people may not be comfortable with getting an old shirt, especially if their organization is still making them pay for it.

Interview 5: Julian Berrios
He suggested that I think of other things that people donate and how that could be used to reduce costs for organizations. He suggested visiting the Re purpose project in town to get inspired. He thinks that still printing on the old shirts would be a big hassle and almost equally as expensive.

I believe that the re purposing of products is a good idea but that I should search for other products going to waste that UF students use. I am going to visit re purpose project and look at the office products they have.

6A

1) More environmentally friendly single parent household furniture.
- This was discussed in my marketing class as less and less people are getting married.
- The text discussed how this impacts the amount of people who buy products and also their desired features.
- I think the environmentally friendly aspect could be a big hit given that people are becoming more aware of issues with fast fashion and I think this could be seen against IKEA and similar companies soon. I think single parents is a good marketing approach and interesting thing to target since this is a growing market.
- I am unsure how to target this market by making the products they need but I believe that it would be a big hit if done tastefully.
WHY? I definitely believe that being environmentally responsible is on people's minds. This has increased more as I have seen many of my peers go out of there way to do better for the planet as well as older people I am around.

2) More environmentally friendly clothing made though ethical practices.
- I have seen this as a growing concern with the recent fall of Forever 21.
- With the big fan base that Forever 21 has, I think that more people will become aware of how these companies are able to produce so much and be more conscious of their consumer decisions. Environmentally friendly seems to be a trend among the younger generations due to increased knowledge of the impact.
- I think the younger generations will be very in-tune with this since thrifting is already very popular.
WHY? I think the biggest issue with this idea is price. The huge differences between cheap and expensive clothing I think just shows how strange the industry is. Fashion is hard to stand out in for a variety of reasons and staying relevant too.

3) Helping the vast amount of young people come off of nicotine.
- Widespread across the news and been often talked about with peers
- We all have seen the widespread amount of advertisements that are trying to explain how juuls and other similar products are just as bad as cigarettes. Maybe some sort of therapy would help curve the addiction.
- I think targeting young people would be good since there has been such a dramatic increase in this population having this issue.
WHY? The biggest opposition I could see is wondering if there really is a product that could be thrown into the market quick while there is such a vast amount of addicted kids. Medicine takes an extensive amount of testing and legal work prior to actually making an impact.

4) Clean power being financially achievable for organizations and individual households
- Current regulation changes in the auto industry
- I think that most everyone wants to strive for more environmentally friendly products because ultimately it impacts everyone's health which will in the long term create irreversible problems
- I think that most organizations would prefer this because there tends to be higher upfront costs due to implementation yet long term savings.
WHY? Many organizations may not have this as a priority since we still do have access to old solutions.

4A

I believe that there may be an opportunity to create more functional backpacks for people in sunny, warm places.




There are two main problems that I believe specifically students at universities and high schools with outside campuses have. One is that there is no safe way to store your sunglasses in your bag unless you bring a case. Additionally, the friction between the bag tends to create sweat stains on the back of a shirt. Currently, I think students are just dealing with the sweat and carrying their sunglasses around in their hands. I am not very certain that this problem is of huge concern to lots of people.




The typical customer would probably be any student who lives in a sunny, hot state. I think that trying to create a trend - such as hydro flasks - would be ideal since backpack trends are commonly something that a lot of people pick up on.




Interview 1: I spoke with a friend named Makayla who is a fellow student at UF.




She said that any classes that are not a short walk away causes her to sweat on her back. She says that she faces it often since she has many classes across campus so it comes up a lot and it can be embarrassing and make her feel self conscious. She often tries to sit in the back but other than that she does not do much more to prevent it. Sometimes she will wear darker shirts. Overall, she often tries to avoid being outside because it is so hot. With glasses, it tends to be a struggle to access anything in her bag. Since she has sight glasses this is even more of a problem because while she is putting her sunglasses away she has to also retrieve her sight glasses and try not to drop them or anything else while swapping them out.




I think the interview definitely confirmed that I am not just the only who experiences this problem and that I am not being especially picky.




Interview 2: Danielle, fellow student




She also agreed that these were issues but she didn't particularly find sunglasses an issue because she does not wear them very often. She did emphasize that being sweaty at the library was very embarrassing even though everyone else is too.




I think this interview made me realize that I may be looking at the wrong issue and maybe focusing on sweat specifically is more of a focus that resonates with a greater group of people.




Interview 3: Valentina, fellow student




She said that she does not wear sunglasses and does not often sweat that much on her back because she carries her backpack with one strap.




This interview made me realize that I am probably focusing on the wrong market since people naturally find a way to mitigate these issues. However, I think for a hiking backpack or music festival bag of some sorts, I may be able to create something more efficient. However, I think I would need to try to understand more about the current market leaders in these spaces and the issues these people face, since I am not someone who hikes or goes to festivals frequently.







Summary: I am unsure if my problems are widespread and if my idea would actually create impact. I think this also may be an over saturated market so it may be very hard for me to really fix a need that has not already been tackled. Maybe I could come up with some other tool for organization in transporting things since it is always a struggle for me to keep all of my stuff sorted. I believe feedback from customers is vital since without them you have no business. This is especially true if the people you have talked with are your exact target market.

5A

“High-priority violations: Alachua County restaurant inspections (Sept. 2 -7)”


https://www.gainesville.com/photogallery/LK/20190910/NEWS/910009985/PH/1


This article details about a dozen restaurants that have made important healthcode violations recently. This article details the specifics of the violations they made whether it be temperature, organization, or just general cleanliness. As much as this has now become an issue for the restaurant owners, it is also more of an issue for anyone who has been to these restaurants. These violations may have been the cause of illnesses of past customers. It also is an issue for the restaurant owners in that they haven’t been able to hire reliable employees to obey these violations. It is also an issue for those employees because it could lead them to be out of a job.





“UF Cybersecurity Researchers Gaining New Ground in Protecting Businesses and Consumers from Fraud”


https://gainesvillebizreport.com/uf-cybersecurity-researchers-gaining-new-ground-in-protecting-businesses-and-consumers-from-fraud/


This article addresses how UF is doing research on one of the leading causes of credit card fraud. Credit card skimming uses small devices to get the necessary information to make fraudulent charges or counterfeit cards. This could be an issue for anyone who uses a credit card which is the majority of people today. The worst part is that you are likely unaware it is happening.





“StudyEdge fills a niche”


https://www.businessmagazinegainesville.com/studyedge-fills-a-niche/


This article discusses how Ethan Fieldman created StudyEdge, a study review tool used by many UF students, by identifying a need as a college sophomore. He identified the issue that if students are bored, they do not learn. They now serve 200 schools across the country. This could be an issue for universities because it could make the tests easier since they analyze past test content trends. Also, it could convince students to use this tool to cram before instead of practicing a balanced life like they will need when they take on a career.





“Hurricane Dorian: Evacuees find refuge in Gainesville hotels”


https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190902/hurricane-dorian-evacuees-find-refuge-in-gainesville-hotels


This article details how the storm altered the demand the hotels typically encounter and how this created struggles while Dorian approached Florida. This can be a problem for both the hotel and the people trying to stay in them. The hotel not being prepared can leave them short handed, their employees overworked, or over capacity. This can be beneficial as they may be able to charge premiums however may hurt overall morale. It can also be an issue for people looking for places to stay as these places may become overcrowded and force them to travel to other locations. It’s a weird time for businesses when they must contront potentially profitable yet unfortunate situations.





“The Sun”


https://www.businessmagazinegainesville.com/13592-2/





This article discusses the global transition to solar energy. They emphasize the importance of businesses to innovate and be aware of the current trend to be able to withstand this changing of the times. This could create problems for consumers as well as obtaining gas to power their petroleum powered cars may increase dramatically in price and be more obsolete. This is overall good for our environment but the transition will impact any and all businesses and people.

My Entrepreneurship Story (3A)

I am taking this class because I am in the Innovation Academy, an entrepreneurship and creativity cohort and minor here at UF. This program allows us to take Fall off while Spring and Summer are left for classes. I am taking classes this Fall but because of this I spent last Fall interning at a startup. This startup was a local media presence that hosts events and provides informative content about the developing area in which they are based. I was one of six people who worked for the company. I was able to sit down with the owner and brainstorm activities for events and create posts for their social media platforms. Two of the bigger projects I did was start their food page that grew 1300+ followers in 3 months as well as hosted a pop-up event where we notified followers just 24 hours before that we were bringing a trendy Acai food truck to the area which ended up drawing 100+ people out. From this, I learned a lot about planning and proper communication and how just asking may lead you to unexpected places.  It was also very interesting to see how we would also just wing a lot of things which was fun because I had to would have to work in chaotic environments where I had to come up with solutions on the fly. In addition, I also recently started doing photography and have had a few paid shoots thus far.

Bug List (2A)

- glare on computer screens when sitting near a window
WHY: glass is reflective
- getting water on hand or side of bottle when moving hand away from the sensor activated water bottle fountains on campus
WHY: fountain does not sense when water bottle is full
- nail polish chipping
WHY: use fingers a lot
- needing to carry stuff but then my backpack looks massive and like a turtle shell
WHY: layering of pockets vertically
- sweat stains easy on gray t-shirt
WHY: not dark or light enough to not be seen
- nowhere to store sunglasses in backpack if there is no case
WHY: aren't built for it
- losing socks
WHY: small and get buried
- alarm clocks when living with roommates/other people
WHY: loud
- car mechanics charging very high prices for small repairs
WHY: want to make max amount of money
- crumbs getting stuck deep in the crevices of a car seat
WHY: small particles on a sloped surface
- tarnishing of cheap jewelry
WHY: materials are prone to it
- straws not being properly recycled
WHY: processing plants do not have the capabilities of recycling such small pieces of material
- shoelaces getting wet
WHY: walk in puddle or rain
- shoelaces coming untied
WHY: not tied tight enough or are pulled
- lack of outlets
WHY: demand is greater than supply
- carrying around Tupperware after you have ate everything out of it
WHY: it is reusable so you are not going to throw it away
- not having a pen/pencil on me when I need one
WHY: no practical way to carry it
- lack of cleaning in public restrooms
WHY: not being cleaned properly/ at all
- bulkiness of carrying around chap stick
WHY: contain large amounts of product
- sunglasses getting scratched
WHY: delicate material
- hairbands on wrist looking unprofessional
WHY: material they are made of
- outlet's close proximity can limit what can be plugged into them
WHY: shape of plugins and outlets
- crease after bookmarking a page
WHY: paper material does not bounce back to it's original form


Reflection: I did not find coming up with this list as difficult as I expected it to be. I think this is likely because I just moved into a new apartment with new people and it is the start of a new semester. This has caused me to run into a set of new problems. Also, I have a lot of commitments that require me to travel to different places or dress certain ways at different times so what I carry and how I get to each place causes me to run into a variety of problems. A lot of these issues have solutions to them already but I still have them listed because I do not think they are the most optimal. As college students, I also think we notice small problems more easily with these types of environments since we are depending a lot on other people and also have limited budgets when it comes to solving these problems.

First post

First time using a blog!