Reading Reflection #3

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

Scott Adams

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

I think that the general theme is actually to inform you that just about everything you have been told isn't actually how to succeed. People tell you it's passion and it's the goals that get you to where you want to be. Scott Adams is here to tell you that the key to success is to strive to be happy, to not set goals, and that failure is only going to help you. The key is to set systems in your life and continue to do them everyday, if you set goals then one day you will reach it and will lose your purpose. Create a system in your life and this will make you happy everyday. 

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

I think that it gives you some good keys to help you to become an entrepreneur. These are things you are going to come face to face with. You have to know how to really make a difference in your life, how to take failure and let it help you, and also how to talk to people and overcome that shyness. 

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 do something you have always wanted to but you were afraid you might fail. Explain what it was you did and tell if you did fail? Now go back and try again, use your failure as a key to succeeding and tell me how it helped you. Brag about your failure and how it really helped you. 

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 the part about goals not being the key to success. At every point in my life I have been asked what goals are you going to set, where do you want to be? The truth is this is not how to be happy and do what you want to do. I wouldn't say I want to lose 5 pounds in 2 months, instead I would say I want to live a healthier lifestyle and in the end this will make me happier and also will get me on a system of doing this. It's not what people are told at a young age, but I think Scott Adams was absolutely right.

Venture Concept No. 2

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 think I would need to focus a lot on advertising and advertising well to get my idea out there so that people understand what I am offering and why my service is much better. I could advertise around campus and also online through UF's website.
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.  

My feedback was very simple. They loved my idea and thought it was great the only problem might be getting the textbook publishers on board with something like this. The other thing is the focus on advertising heavily to get my idea out there and known to these students. 

Based on my feedback I added in that advertising will play a huge role and be very important to my concept. 

Final Reflection

What sticks out most to me is how my concept has changed over the course of this class. I was able to put myself in an entrepreneurial mindset to not only develop an idea but to modify it accordingly. I was able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of my business concept. I think that is what I would remember years later is that I was able to push myself to do this in the first place. I am most proud of building my venture concept, if you told me that I would be doing this way ahead of time I would have thought you were crazy. I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. 

I do not see myself as an entrepreneur, however, I do feel that I have tapped into the entrepreneurial mindset and this is something I can continue to build on. Even though I do not plan on opening up my own business but I do want to get into the business world and make a difference. These kind of skills will be very beneficial in my future and I look forward to building on them. 

I think they need to remember to really take this class seriously, no there aren't any exams but this class can prepare you and help you to develop skills you wouldn't have otherwise. Do the assignments and really make the most of it, this is not just some easy A, elective class. It is crucial for a different kind of mindset. To perform best in this class, stay on top of your assignments and don't get behind. Also, do the extra credit.