Final Reflection

1) Read through your blog from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.
I went through my post and the comments that were posted throughout my blog. There were definitely times that I have felt a lot of pressure trying to get multiple interviews recorded in a very short amount of time. It can be quite stressful when you run out of people close by to interview.

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?
The greatest experience that I got out of these assignments was to feel comfortable stepping out of my comfortable zone and not be afraid to get out there to interview random people. I ended up making closer connections talking to random people. I enjoyed the assignments where we were asked to step back and reflect on how this class actually helps us in life. There are not that many classes where someone is able to say that they can apply their knowledge/ skills learned in class to everyday life. This class really helped me see my strengths and weaknesses. I was able to better allocate time towards assignments and understand what “failure” to me really means.

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?
It’s nostalgic looking back at the first day of this semester. I remember repeating that mantra as confidently as I could have at the time. However, I was not able to fully grasp the concept. I didn’t fully convince myself that I was an entrepreneur. Looking back at it now, I would be able to confidently say that I am an entrepreneur. I applied skills to build an entrepreneurial mindset. I am able to keep a sharp eye out for problems, and I’m willing to offer a solution. I see things from a new perspective.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?
To the students who end up taking this course in the future, I encourage you to allocate enough time needed to complete the assignments ahead of time because some assignments can be very stressful if done last minute. Always keep an eye out for any recording we would need to do because it can be very difficult to record last-minute customers. Especially if you are doing it late at night, there may not even be people around you to interview. Lastly, this class is what you make of it. This means that if you actually put in the effort to do the assignments and meet the requirements, you will definitely pass this class. Although it is a lot of busy work, it’s manageable if you keep an open mindset.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 
The biggest surprise to me in the reading was when the author mentioned that the only lend money to women because studies have shown that women are more likely than men to reinvest profits in the household and to support others in their borrowing group.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused at why they wanted to give information about their loans through text messaging. I understand that it might be easier in communication to an extent, but I feel like it doesn’t give the other party much privacy when that lights up on their phone as a notification to pay money for loans.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
If you were asked by someone in a poor area if they could borrow money from you, what would you say? I’m curious because the author mentioned that in general in order to truly use microfinance to help eradicate poverty, they shouldn’t turn any poor person away.

Did you have any other motives for starting a nonprofit with lots of small donations from friends? I’m curious because the author says that his initial motive was because he had no money of his own and no interested investors.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
I would disagree on the fact that text messaging being a better way of communication of loans. As mentioned in question #2, I would think that it makes it a little less private for the other party that is needing to pay the money.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

1) Final Elevator Pitch!

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

For my final pitch I have refined my business from being only focused on the Greek community, to being more focused on other students as well. I have gotten many people asking me to consider expanding my business to a wider range of people. I decided that it would be best to start small and gradually increasing my service. I have also been told to speak a little slower, and clearer.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

Based on my feedback, I refined my business accordingly to #2 above. I met the minute goal as requested and I spoke a little slower and clearer.

Venture Concept No. 2

1) Provide, again, your venture concept description:

Brief introduction:
Being in a sorority helped me identify potential opportunities that was brought to my attention. One of which is the lack of healthy food options available to sororities and fraternities. Although there may be a salad bar or vegetables, many of them are not fresh/ organic. Therefore, I came up with “GreekGarden” which is a catering service for Greek life on campus. It would definitely help fix unmet needs in my own sorority as well as others. *I would like to eventually incorporate this into campus for other students not in Greek life as well. *

Opportunity:
*I want to note that the change I would like to make, is to eventually incorporate this service to a wider range of people. For example, the whole campus, instead of just the Greek community. * 
Aimed at sorority/ fraternity meal plans, “GreekGarden” helps provide healthier meals throughout the week. It is a catering service, once a week on Mondays, where fresh, organic fruits and vegetables would be delivered to fraternities and sororities. In this one day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will contain only freshly cooked meals. Since Monday is usually set off for “chapter” (meetings) in many sororities, many girls have to dress up for these meetings. I thought that if they had to dress up nicely for dinner, the food itself should be highly authentic. Therefore, it would be a great day to make the majority of Greek life on campus happy by bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the table. I am only starting off with one day a week, because many people that I interviewed loved the food as is. Starting off with one day and gradually incorporating healthier food options everyday into Greek life on campus, is my goal.

How did this happen?
Unfortunately being in college means that some people might be off on their own for the first time. This might entail not knowing how to cook a healthy meal because many are looking for a fast and easy meal to make. The last thing a busy college student would want is an hour long waiting line to order food. As a result, colleges must plan to make fast served food for hundreds of students. This proves likewise for sororities and fraternities on campus. With hundreds of people in Greek life on campus, the chefs and kitchen staff must work twice as hard to make the sorority sisters’ and fraternity brothers’ food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In order to accommodate busy schedules for everyone, the food must be made in bulky and satisfy hunger. This might mean fast food, or meals that were frozen. In conclusion, the meals might not be as healthy as one would have anticipated because of the crunch for time.

Innovation:
Imagine a world where we could be able to eat healthy without having to pay for it through wasting time and effort making a meal. I am starting this business venture because I want to incorporate healthier meals into every life in sororities and fraternities. I am starting in one centralized area (Greek life) at first because I want to see how far this whole concept would prosper. If I would be able to start in a small generalized location, say in one sorority, and make my way up to the university, it would prove that people are supporting my ideas for incorporating heathier foods in our diets. It may not be easy for you, personally, to make a healthy lunch and dinner. That is why I want to implement a catering service where we come to the sororities and fraternities to help out the kitchen staff by providing healthy alternatives to dishes.

Venture Concept:
Customers would switch to this because it provides a better alternative to eating on campus. Especially if you are in a sorority or fraternity, GreekGarden would help implement a healthier way of living into college student’s lives. The chief competitors would be any business that Housing Corps. is associated with in regards to foods. My business will work but starting out small in one sorority or fraternity, and gradually integrating healthier alternatives into Greek life. Eventually, I would hope to expand to a greater network, such as the entire campus. I would hope to give everyone a chance to experience a healthier lifestyle.

My most important resource would be my connection to a sorority and know the different bylaws in my sorority. I can get my information through my sorority on campus. I think it would be beneficial to know how the contracts are written and how much extra money the sorority has to spend on luxuries like a catering service.

Next for this venture is to go out and talk to different sororities and fraternities and see how their budget will accommodate a catering service. Many sororities and fraternities have extra money that they would be willing to spend on a service like GreekGarden.

Next for me, would be to gradually increase from a small centralized location to a larger one. For example, I would like to one day incorporate this healthier meal alternative, not only for Greek life, but also for the university if business is successful in a small-scale sorority or fraternity.

2) Provide a summary of the feedback you received from your previous venture concept description. You certainly want to include the student feedback, but you may also include the feedback you received from others during the "What's Next" exercise. You want to summarize all of the feedback, but be sure to place an emphasis on what people recommended you change about your idea. (In other words, don't just describe the positive feedback.)
In regards to my feedback so far, many people have told me to consider expanding my business. For example, may people really want to not only have my catering service in sororities and fraternities, but also on campus as well, for the students not in the Greek community. I think that this would be a great idea, personally. Also, some sorority sisters told me that it would also be a bit difficult so negotiate with Housing Corps. for a catering service. They recommended that I start my business off small and then gradually explain/ show Housing Corps. why my service is wanted. The positive feedback that I received also gave me confidence that many people would love to have this kind of service.

3) Describe how you changed your venture concept, based on what you learned from the feedback.
I changed my venture concept by adding in that I would like to eventually incorporate my service to a wider range of people. For example, I would like to extend my service out to other students that aren’t in Greek life as well. Since there was a lot more positive feedback than negative, I didn’t change much on my venture concept.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 
I was surprised that there weren’t more steps listed when the author talked about the steps that will help innovative people to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The book started to get a little confusing when the author started to talk about corporate entrepreneurship. I feel like this is mostly due to the face that I don’t have much experience with this.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
When you are developing your venture teams, do you need to have any prior knowledge before you do so? Is there any statistic data that is needed when you structure for an intrapreneurial climate? I feel that I don’t have enough knowledge about these subjects.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
I don’t believe that the author was wrong is any of the information. However, I do think that this is mainly due to my lack of knowledge and experience in this field.

Google Gold

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimiation (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 
In order to approach SEO, I made sure that each of my posts contained the title of my assignment. Also, for all of my posts, I made sure to type in tags that would help me locate the assignment. I have also created a name for my business. This way, it was easy for me to find my blog out of everyone else’s. 

2) What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?
Keywords throughout the semester included the titles of every assignment. Also, I made sure to include the week that I was completing the assignment. This made it a lot easier for me to not only locate my assignment within my own blog, but easier for me to search as well. I also selected my business name “GreekGarden” specifically knowing that no one else would have the same business name. 

3) How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?
Using a social network such as Google to write my blogs really helped me in creating a network of supporters. It is easy to navigate and use. Many people who have the link to my blog are able to comment on it and give me feedback. This helped strengthen my own confidence or likewise build it up.

4) What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?
My most viral post would have to be the “What’s Next?” post. Many people thought my idea was really creative because it would help their shopping experiences online.

5) Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?
Yes, I did make it to the first page of Google when I typed in “GreekGarden IA Blog”. 

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 
I really liked the fact that the author broke the reading down from the images shown. For example, the author not only broke down Valuation of the Venture into three parts (Differing Goals of Buyer and Seller, Emotional Bias of the Seller, and Reasons for the Acquisition), but also elaborated in detail on each individual subset.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I started getting really confused when the author started talking about The Pricing Formula. This might quite possibly be due to the lack of knowledge I have in this area.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
Does estimating the value of the intangibles in the “years of profit” figure ever become reliable? Does the control factor determine the future success of your business? It would be great to know if it’s a model or a reliable prediction.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
In all honestly, I didn’t find anything wrong. This is mostly due to my lack of knowledge in this particular chapter. It really started to get into the logistics of the business and this subject isn’t my strongest suit.

Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 
The one thing I’ve failed to do this semester was wake up in time for my morning class. My class is at 10:40am, which doesn’t seem too early or too late. However, upon taking 18 credits this semester, tests and exams for each class start piling up. Therefore, I am always up until 6am studying for each class. My exams for each class alternate every week, so there is never a moment in my life where I can take a breather. It becomes really stressful and balancing my sorority (social life) and my clubs (academic life) becomes a real struggle. I’ve had to sacrifice my social life many times, but I have always put my academics first. Unfortunately though, sleeping at 6am every day ends up making me late to my morning class. I have even missed a couple quizzes because of it. I have yet to make it in time to my morning class ONCE before interrupting the professor by walking through the front door.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  
I learned that sacrifices need to be made. Not only did I sacrifice my social life for good grades, but I also had to sacrifice going to my morning class from time to time. It all really comes down to choosing what matters more to you: the good grade on your Organic Chemistry 2 exam or sleep? Honestly, it sounds terrible, but you do what needs to be done. I try to catch up on my lack of sleep on the weekends (assuming I don’t have an exam Monday).

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. 
Failure is really rough. Nobody fails and feels proud on the inside. Failure just points out the gray areas in your life that you can learn from and change. Failing something in life can be emotionally devastating for an individual. However, we must tell ourselves that it is not the end of the world. There will be up and downs. There will be brighter days to come. Hey, it can only get better from here right? It’s all how you look at it. You must have the right perspective in mind to get back up from falling to try again or move on. This class has changed my perspective on failure because it taught me that success is what you make of it. If you put in the time and effort, the chance of you failing the course is minimal. However, even if you do fail (to complete an assignment) you have to get back up. The only way to redeem yourself is to not make that same mistake in the future. If the same mistake is made, so be it, and there will be better days to come. Failing can either hinder you or cause you to work harder to succeed. It’s all how you look at it.

My Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.
The exit strategy I plan to take would be to stay with my business for several years. My business called “GreekGarden” is a catering service, once a week on Mondays, where fresh, organic fruits and vegetables would be delivered to fraternities and sororities. In order to see my business to succeed, I must wait to see the results after implementing the business. If deemed successful, I would like to pass the business down the family line.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
I have selected this strategy because it is a business largely dependent on my customers’ opinion. Therefore, I must see it through to the end, whether successful or not. My ultimate goal is to gradually incorporate healthier food options into Greek life on campus.

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? 
My exit strategy influenced my growth intentions because it made me realize that I cannot just simply start and end the business in 2 years. It is a tedious business that I would be willing to dedicate my time and effort into.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) I liked the fact that this chapter broke down the different section/stages of managing a business. It was nice that they really dissected it out for us step by step.

2)  I started getting lost at the section of “Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix”. I just couldn’t grasp that idea. Also, I was a confused at the part about the uncollectible accounts.

3) How often does one update the Entrepreneurial Strategy Matrix? Or is it a fixed concept that is proven?

4) I enjoyed learning about this new chapter and I don't believe he was wrong about anything. However, I honestly don’t know enough about this subject to make a reliable refute.

What's Next

What is next?

Existing Market:
Step 1: The next step for me would be to educate people on the way the app would work. Also, I would want to implement this software onto Amazon itself, so it is available for anyone deciding to purchase glasses. It is rather frustrating when you want to buy a pair of glasses, but the frames don’t look good on your face. That is why I think it would be a great addition to have on Amazon or Ebay before you go to checkout.

Step 2:

* The last video I recorded was done though Skype, hence I apologize for the clicking and terrible attempt to edit the video.

Step 3: According to my interviews, it seems that it would be a good idea to make the virtual fitting have an option for side-by-side comparison. My first interviewee brought up a good point about wanting to see different frames side-by-side so she can compare the different colors and sizes. It would definitely help someone debating between multiple frames. It would also save a lot of space in your browser by limiting the amount of tabs open per product.

New Market:
*For this portion of the assignment, I did a mixture of videos/audios and phone interviews. I could not figure out how to record a phone interview, so I just typed out the responses the last 2 customers gave. Since their responses were quite short, it was easy for me to type as they spoke.

Step 1: I would want to target college students buying glasses, so I guess parents who are out of college would be the opposite of that.

Step 2: I think my product would create value to those who aren’t specifically buying glasses online. This is because many people might want to buy other accessories on their faces, such as sunglasses or other different types of eye protection.

Step 3:

*I interviewed my mom and dad as my last two interviewees. Both were phone interviews.

Question 1: How do you think this product might help to meet customers like you?
Answers:
Customer 1 (my mom): “Although I don’t wear glasses, this product would be really useful to me when I go shop for sunglasses online.”
Customer 2 (my dad): “I never like shopping online for glasses, but I buy a lot of goggles to go swimming in... this would be useful to know whether the full face goggles would fit around my nose and eyes.”


Question 2: What kind of adaptations to my product do you think I should make to be successful in the new market?
Answers:
Customer 1 (my mom): "I think seeing my sunglasses side-by-side would help me pick the right colors for my face instead of having multiple tabs open.”
Customer 2 (my dad): “Honestly, as long as the goggles fit my face, I’m not too picky about anything else. Colors would be nice though… but nothing too girly.”

Step 4:  When my dad mentioned that it could be useful for him when he buys swimming goggles online, I felt like I found a way to further my business. Instead of targeting people who buy reading glasses, I can make the product into something more variable. My product does not have to be limited to only glasses, but also sun glasses or swimming goggles.
In conclusion, I think interviewing older adults deemed beneficial. It made me realize that even though they might not need reading glasses, but they can also have other needs that can be fulfilled by my product. For example, buying sunglasses or swim goggles.