Making It Real

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B15u-_opa9CkN1VkLUlYV3FveVU

My Exit Strategy

1.) I plan to make adjustments to my business as I go. In the next 5 years I think I would be looking for the next big thing, how can I take what I have created and change it to fit in with the technology around it. If I was unable to make that change, of course I would be willing to sell it to someone who has the ability to do just that. I think ultimately, if it was successful, I would keep the business until I couldn't any longer. Keeping it in the family would be nice, however, I wouldn't want to force it on my kids if that isn't what they want to do. 

2.) I selected this particular exit strategy because I would love to have a successful business that I am able to continue growing and to watch the innovation happening. New technology will come out and I want to be able to adjust with it. However, I also want to be prepared for life. If I am not financially able to continue growing it, if my family needs to come forth and so on. 

3.) It has influenced my mission because I have created it to include my long term goals which would be changing the product/service as technology changes, innovation. I think it has changed the way I look at my opportunity, I look at it as something that is a good service for right now but years down the road it could need a lot of improvement which is why I have to develop my business to be focused on that kind of innovation. I need to use my resources wisely, to ensure that I have money saved to innovate as I need to. I wouldn't want to fall behind especially if there were other competitors following close by. 

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity
The potential customers would be college students. I would say the majority of college students are between the ages of 18-26. However, some stay in school for longer, some change their minds, and some adults like to go back to college. I think that specifically this would pertain to those who are on a budget for college. They are using scholarships and student loans to get through. They could also be people who have money but are always looking for ways to save money. Another category would be students who are very dependent on their textbooks and think they are necessary for their classes. These are the types of students that have the need.
The textbook companies are creating this need in students as well as the price of college tuition. As it keeps increasing, students have less money to spend on these textbooks. I think that this kind of need could be applied to any geographical location in the United States. There are no cheap schools for college, so most students everywhere would be trying to save money. The need changes with parents income which is closely related with their occupation.
Currently students are looking to amazon, older versions, pdf files, or even going without textbooks to satisfy this need. Most students are very adamant about sticking with whatever works for them in order to save money.
I think that if I could implement this properly it could be a huge opportunity and I think this will be open until someone implements a new system.

Innovation

I would like to create a new product/service for textbooks in college. Typically, if you go to a bookstore you would pay on average $100 for a textbook and if you search online I would say on average $40 per textbook. I want to have one simple website with every textbook for that University. My website would have every single textbook from each professor. The students would pay one price for the semester and they would have access to all the textbooks they need. It would come in different versions so they can access it on any of their devices. I would want to sell this to each student for about $75 for the textbooks and an extra $25 if they need any of the extra assignments or practice exams. 

Venture Concept
My innovation will solve many problems associated with the textbook system right now. Each textbook is a different price and sometimes you have to look several places to be able to order it. Some of them are e-versions, some of them are printed out, and some of them are on different online websites. I want to save students that hassle of lugging around physical textbooks and having them in 8 different places. These would all be in the exact same database and easily accessible. The other thing that this would help with are the ridiculous prices they are charging for these books. Having them accessible online would be a lot more cost effective and less wasteful. From an eco-friendly stand point this is also going to help save tons of trees. No more printing out textbooks and then having them updated a few years later and having to discard these older editions. I think customers will switch because of the convenience and the price. The competitor right now would be McGraw Hill who has started to offer a bundle complete with the e-text, practice assignments, and other ways to engage students and help them understand the content. However, they only have access to their select textbooks and I would like to have access to all of them. 

Price point plays a huge role in my business concept and would be one of the top three things I would be advertising on to entice students to use my product. I think that there would need to be a great customer support to be available to assist if there were any problems with registration or technical difficulties. I would even consider having an office set up on campus so that students could easily contact us. Customer experience has to be perfect, the site needs to be easy to navigate through and the textbooks need to be easily accessible and it all needs to have the perfect format.
I would need a lot of tech support, web design, and I would also need the publishers/professors on my team to help me implement my business. My role would be overseeing the company and direction for each role. 

The three minor elements

My most important resource would be the textbook publishers. If I do not have them on my team there will be absolutely no business at all unless I start a team to write textbooks, which I don't see as being plausible. I will have the right format and the right price. I would also have the school on my side, so I don't see them being able to copy my idea. 

I think I could create a new tablet that is tailored for textbooks. Like a textbook tablet. It has two sides to it, one for the textbook and one for note taking. 

I would want to be finding even more ways to make the textbook business more innovative and technologically advanced. I would be looking for the next big thing to implement. This would change the textbook industry as we know it and we would be moving more into the world of technology.  

Celebrating Failure

1.) I was aiming to get an A in Marketing for the semester. However, I was not making the grades on the exams that I needed to. I took two exams and I failed at making the grade that I wanted to. I would watch all of the lectures and study really hard but I wasn't able to hit those grades. 

2.) I didn't fail the class, I failed at hitting my goal. But I learned that sometimes all you can do is try and all you can do next time is try harder. Sometimes things don't go as you'd like them to, but that doesn't mean you should give up. I focused on the positive side, being that I improved from exam 1 to exam 2! 

3.) I really think it depends on what I am failing at. I have failed exams before and felt like a complete failure. However, I try to look back on what I could have done better and then I apply that to the next exam I take. I think that the most important thing to do when you fail is to learn from it. There is always room for improvement, but there is no point on dwelling on it. I would look into what you could have done better, then move on to try again. Failure is apart of being successful, you try and try again. The only time you fail is the time that you actually give up. 

I feel like between this class and my internship, I am more likely to take a risk. I need to do what's best for me and I need to remember to not give up. It takes time and it takes trying, you'll never know if you don't try. 

Amazon Whisperer

• The revenue drivers currently would be people purchasing their textbooks on my database as a per semester kind of service. 
• I think that my next big thing would be a tablet type product that is specifically engineered for textbook use. 
• I think that it would assist them in effectively using their textbooks on the go and being able to do the things they want to like note-taking.
• Name of the product on Amazon: 

  All-New Kindle E-reader - Black, 6" Glare-Free Touchscreen Display

The product is simply an electronic book reader that is easy to carry with you and small enough to fit in a purse. 

• The overall score is 3.7/5.0 stars. People generally like the basic kindle. It's very light, very simple, and easy to use. The people that do not like it say there is no backlight on it, there is no gaming ability, and there are no arrows to change the page. 
• I want to make my textbook tablet two sided like any book is. So imagine a 2-in-1 laptop opened like a book and that is what I want for this but instead of the keyboard there is another screen. I want them to be able to read their textbook as if it is a book, but also there would be an option to have one screen in notetaking mode where you can take notes to go along with the page you are on. That way you can turn back to the page and see those notes. I would also make it to where you could plug it into your computer and sync your notes to be able to print them out. 
• The whole point of my product is to make it more accessible from anywhere and why not make a certain product to fit the need of the actual service. That way this is their textbook. They wouldn't even have to take their laptop to class and instead could take notes along with the book on what the professor is talking about. 

Elevator Pitch #3

Here is my elevator pitch!
https://youtu.be/5ZQ8CH1LAS0

I was not able to do the first two elevator pitches but I did work on it with my friend and he told me how to fix the first couple of drafts. I needed to add more information about the product, how is mine different, and why students need this.
He said that I needed to relax and to be more energetic about my product, show that I really like this and I am passionate about it.

I did add more information about my product. I want them to understand that my goal is to help students out by making it cheaper as well as making it more accessible and organized.
I feel that I was a little but more relaxed but definitely something I should continue to work on. I seemed energetic but I need to smile more.

My Unfair Advantage

Networks 

Valuable- Networking is very valuable to my business as I will learn more and more about how to grow my business, I will get better resources, and have connections. 

Rare- A network, in general, is not exactly rare. Many people have a network. However, a specific person might be someone who no one else has in their network and you could call them rare. 

Inimitable- You could copy others networks in a way, but it doesn't make much sense and would probably not be that easy.

Non-substitutable- A network is not substitutable for something else. You need a network to get in and get with the right people. There is no other way around that. 

 

People to make and run the website 

Valuable- Yes. The basis of my business is about the website these textbooks are on. 

Rare- No, there are people that create websites everywhere. 

Inimitable- Others could try and use the same people but that wouldn't mean they were copying us. 

Non-substitutable- There is no substitute for someone that is good with creating websites. 

Website

Valuable-Our website could be very valuable depending on how well it is made.

Rare-Websites are not rare, however, the graphics or design could be something people haven't seen before. 

Inimitable- People could copy our website but I don't feel like it would be very beneficial to them. They could copy our graphics or design though. 

Non-substitutable- We could not substitute our website because this is the basis for my service/product. 

Connections with the school

Valuable- This is very valuable in order to pair up with them to sell this to students. 

Rare- This is not rare, as people need connections with schools for many things they would like to sell. 

Inimitable- People could try to use the same connections for their product. 

Non-substitutable- No, we need the connections with the school. 

List of students (potential customers) 

Valuable- Yes, this is very valuable. We might be able to get records on about how many students purchase books for the class from the school. 

Rare- No, because other products are out there for these students. 

Inimitable- Other people could copy this resource. 

Non-substitutable- No, we need this resource and we can't switch it out for other things. 

Formats for the textbooks

Valuable- Yes, because this is a huge part of my product/service. 

Rare- Yes, this is the plan. I want it to be a format that no other textbook company has. 

Inimitable- Others could copy it but I could always get the format patented. 

Non-substitutable- It is because there are other formats for textbooks. 

Textbook publishers

Valuable- Yes, I need their textbooks for my service. 

Rare- No, there are a lot of different publishers. 

Inimitable- Yes, people could copy the textbook publishers I would be using. 

Non-substitutable- Yes, there are plenty more for these books. 

Textbooks- 

Valuable- Yes, this is the basis of my service. 

Rare- No, there are hundreds of textbooks out there. 

Inimitable- You can't copy someone else's textbook. 

Non-substitutable- Only for other textbooks. 

Professors

Valuable- We need their cooperation to sell our service. Some professors use their own textbooks so I would want theirs as well. 

Rare- There are so many professors. But I need all of them to cooperate. 

Inimitable- They could also use the same professors for their service. 

Non-substitutable- You can't substitute for other professors. 

Money

Valuable- Yes, I need it to start my money. 

Rare- Money is out there, but having a lot of it could be rare. 

Inimitable- No, you can't copy money. 

Non-substitutable- I could only substitute money for donations of certain products I need. 

I think the most important resource would be the overall website and how it is set up, you want this to be easy to navigate through, catchy, and have great features. It is supposed to be easily accessible and very organized. 

Reading Reflection No. 2

I chose to read Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan. 

In this exercise, I'd like you to select a book from the second half of the Official ENT 3003 Reading List and report on it. This part of the list focuses on books that cover, generally, entrepreneurship, business, and learning. I'd like you to address the following in your post:

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

The general theme of the book was the focus on marketing and generating customers. Social media can be used in so many different ways to interact and get feedback from customers. There are ways to do promotions and to generate sales by introducing new products to your followers. There was an emphasis on google type sites, blog sites, and social media. These are all different ways to market to your customer and maximize sales. There are ways to track this and see what is attracting consumers and what you can improve on.  

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

I think that marketing is a huge thing in being an entrepreneur. It is the ability to attract more consumers, it is also a way to find out what you're consumers are attracted to and how to draw them in. You are selling a product and developing an idea. You need to do your research on how to market and how to attract consumers, is this something that consumers would be interested in? What other products are there and how are they marketed to consumers. 

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

I think that my exercise would be to develop a website for your product, there you would emphasize the benefits and try to make, what you think would be an appealing website to your target customers. It is important to have an interactive, yet easy to maneuver website. It is important to be informative as well. I think that this would go into being an entrepreneurship and putting your ideas into action. 

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?

I think my biggest surprise moment was finding out how social media can play a role in politics. I never would have guessed that Obama had that many more followers than McCain and used them to interact with his followers. I think that this shows the power of social media and how important it can be to growing your business. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) My name is Kayla Moore and I am a fourth year in the college of business. I am pursuing a retail and minor and a specialization in mass communication. I worked for 3 years in the food industry and I have a lot of experience with customer service. I love talking to people and I love working with people. I think teamwork is something that can bring your company to the top. I am learning more management skills in my internship and I also am very organized. I want to work as a manager with the ultimate goal of getting into Marketing. These things will play into my business concept because I can look at who my customers are, how to increase sales, and how to appeal to them. 

2) I am offering a new textbook service that will have all the textbooks in the same place. One website or database full of all your textbooks. Each semester you pay a small fee and you are granted access. This means more convenient access and it would be much cheaper. 

3) My customers are all college kids. The majority of them would be ages 18-24 but there are definitely older demographics in there as well. I feel that the older demographic are usually parents returning to get there degree. I feel that these students would be the ones that are on scholarship and do not have a ton of money, they take pride in finding the cheapest books or deciding if they need them at all. 

4)I think that this makes it much more convenient instead of having your textbooks in all different places and forms. It makes it much more cost effective as well. 

5) I think what sets me apart is that I am a different concept to the idea of textbooks overall, whereas right now textbooks are written by all different authors and they also have different editions every year so that your textbooks are no longer valuable. I could have the new editions available and just add a small fee, or it could be built into the one time cost for the semester. There has to be a better way to sell textbooks. I think its better to have them all in the same place and not have four different websites to long into. McGrawHill is an example of something that is close to my idea, but I want mine to have all of the textbooks. 

I do feel that the concepts fit together well. I think this is something that I could work to implement and make into a business. However, the weaker parts of it are how to get all of the textbooks into one place, because some professors write their own books and such. I also think it would only work for the classes that are textbook based, that's another problem considering not everyone needs any at all. So there are definitely different ways to set this up. The other weak point is getting textbook companies on board because they are trying to make a lot of money and I am trying to sell them for less money. 

Feedback memo: 

I was told that I did a good job of identifying what is wrong with my idea and the conflicts I may encounter. This is very important when starting a business. 

I was told that it will be important to have a good pitch of my idea because the emphasis needs to be on how I am different from other websites. 

I was told that another way I could work with the different editions is to charge a small fee to upgrade it, which I included in the 5th element, because this is something to consider. 

I was told that the benefits of it being convenient and less expensive are good because textbooks are expensive and they are all very different. 

I was told that my idea is great and I brought up the number one concern of the fact that there are multiple editions and authors. 

What's your secret sauce?

I think that my personality makes me unique. I have a very positive and upbeat personality. It is very rare to see me not in a good mood. I love talking to people and I'm always smiling. 
I think something that makes me very unique is how I am able to relate to others. I try to think about how things make others feel. Sometimes it seems as if I can feel their pain. I am empathetic in the way that I can feel their pain even if I haven't been through the same thing. 
Its common for my friends to refer to me as the "mom" of our group. This is because I tend to have motherly instincts. I want to take care of everyone and be sure that everyone is having fun. I tend to worry about others before me and put their needs first. 
I think the way I look at the world is very unique, I always try to find the good in things and people. I try to look at everything in this world with a positive mindset and find the beauty that surrounds me. 
I like to have everything I do planned out, if I go on a trip I make a million lists of the things I need, the things I need to do, and where we want to go. I am always trying to have things planned out and I think this makes me unique. 

I interviewed one of my best friends Johnathan and he said that I am very caring and I am very organized, always planning trips and anything else we do. He said that no matter what I try to be understanding and help others. 
https://soundcloud.com/kayla-moore-113914090/johnathan-interview

I interviewed my friend Jared and he said that I was very organized and without me we wouldn't be able to go on trips. He also said that I am very positive and I am always smiling. 
https://soundcloud.com/kayla-moore-113914090/jovani-interview

Zuriel said I was a very diligent and organized person, these are things that keep me well-rounded and a great friend. 
https://soundcloud.com/kayla-moore-113914090/zuriel-interview

Jessica said I am very organized, I am responsible, and I am also very creative. 
https://soundcloud.com/kayla-moore-113914090/jessica-interview

Thai said that I am a great planner, he has put emphasis on our trip that we took and how I planned out every detail while they were all wondering what we were going to do. 
https://soundcloud.com/kayla-moore-113914090/thai-l-interview


For the most part the things that my friends said were the same as what I said about myself. They emphasized more details and specifics of when I was helpful, or caring. Also, Jessica said that I am creative. I do like to paint and I like crafts, however, I never really think about this being something that makes me unique simply because I don't give myself credit for having any skills. It's nice to hear from your friends that they think you are indeed creative and talented. I think that it differed because I don't like to brag about being great at things and I don't give myself that credit. I do think that they were correct and I guess if I could correct my list I would add creative on there, because in some ways I really am. 

My Customer's Avatar

My protypical customer would be a college kid aged between 18-22, I think specifically 18-20. I say this because I feel that textbooks are more important to kids coming into college as opposed to the upper class men. As students get older they realize they don't need the textbook anymore and find a way to not have to purchase it. I feel that these are going to be your students that like to stick to the handbook and do whatever the teacher wants, it's not going to be your students that like to slack off because they never read textbooks anyway. I would say that my customer spends most of his time studying and reading, fun is for the weekends and only when they aren't swamped with homework. I'd say the kind of car they drive is going to be an older type car, maybe a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord. The reason being that these students are looking for cheaper textbooks meaning they are trying to save money. If your parents have money and are paying your way through college then I'm sure you would not feel that my idea would be necessary and you wouldn't care much about it. 

I feel that this could also apply to older students such as those that have returned to college, single parents and those parents on a budget trying to get an education. Something cheaper and easily accessible would be better for them as well. 

I would say that their favorite types of books would be educational ones and their favorite tv shows as well. My idea would be aimed toward those students that make their homework and classes their life. 

I think that I have a few things in common with my customer, such that I am on a budget through college trying to save money whenever I can. I don't buy textbooks that I know I will not need but I am usually the kind of student that feels they are pertinent to my classes and me getting the information I need to succeed. 

This is not a coincidence, not always, but I feel most of the time entrepreneurs will choose an idea that relates to them. It's an idea that they are passionate about and that usually means it comes from personal experience. I hate the way textbooks are done and how expensive they are on top of everything else we already have to pay for.