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.
No comments:
Post a Comment