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.