Week 15 Reading Reflection

I was very surprised by how many factors of life people incorporate religion into. I've always been a believer that politics and religion should not be something that people bring with them into the business world. However, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions.

I was honestly a bit confused at the whole concept of micro finance. I understand what it is. However, interpreting the article was rather difficult as it has never been something that I've necessarily been too involved with.

If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him if he prefers to do business oversees or would like to do business in the U.S. I would also ask the author if he found a specific connection between loans and customer loyalty.

There was nothing that I necessarily disagreed with with the author.

Final Reflection

As a student in ENT 3003, I have definitely grown to become more confident in myself and all of my skills. I feel like socially I have also developed quite well because this class has forced me to put myself out there. I never really thought I would be making videos standing in front of a camera talking confidently about one of my far-fetched ideas. I was always slightly annoyed at the idea of interviewing people and having to speak to them about a business that they probably didn't have much interest in. However, it made me develop the mindset that struggle and failure is inevitable on the journey to success. This course has given me the mindset necessary to tackle my fears and to become more confident in myself in order to pursue my dreams. I would give anyone in the future taking this class the advice to just go out there and get it done. Follow the lessons precisely and just go out into the real world without thinking twice. The things you will learn in this class are quite useful for your future endeavors.

You can do anything you set your mind to. Tom Brady went 199th in his draft and is now the most successful NFL player of all time. Follow your dreams!

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Venture Concept No. 2

Consumers love to eat out. It's just part of life these days. The convenience factor is there. We live in a society where often times people would rather go somewhere and have a sit down meal. On the other hand, they may choose a delivery option or a drive-thru option. The convenience factor of having food served is something that many consumers love. A great example is the current Chipotle craze. It's simple yet consumers do not want to take time out of there day to prepare their own meals. I thoroughly believe there will always be a decent market for restaurants, especially one of my caliber. However, it will be a competitive market at that. I trust that I've laid down the foundation to ensure success.

In my mind, I can break down restaurants into several categories. There are the restaurants where you have a sit down meal. There are the restaurants where you can order through the a drive-thru and then take it to go. There are also the restaurants that offer delivery service. It's common to see restaurants try to incorporate one or two of these elements to make consumers happy. However, how many incorporate all three? McDonald's doesn't deliver. Chipotle doesn't have a drive-thru. These are just a couple of examples. However, the pattern holds true. Consumers need more options. It's only right that a restaurant offers all three.

As stated in recent assignments, my target demographic is primarily college students. For this reason, I believe that the business would be most successful in college-towns, such as Gainesville or Tallahassee, where the primary demographic is students of the university. I personally believe that this opportunity is enormous, due to the sheer size of college campuses. This is especially so, if we can work directly with the universities to incorporate our restaurants to be on campus, and even better included in meal plans that the students buy. While the market is large, it will be very important to get the name of the company out there with creative advertisements and special sales in the early stages of business.


I also have an interesting idea to incorporate customizable pancakes to the menu. Meaning, if someone likes something specific of another company, I'd like to incorporate that into my pancakes for a slight up charge. If it can be dreamed it can be made. Even something as crazy as a McChicken pancake is possible. It's ideas like this that take a restaurant to the next level. If something like this could become possible, it could potentially negate competition as the demand for our customizable products would make various foods of competitive restaurants complementary goods, strengthening business relationships and opportunities. For example, though it is a wild one, if McChicken pancakes became highly demanded, McDonald's business would increase due to the need for McChickens.

From a business perspective, I've got a pretty decent understanding on how the financial aspect of this business will work out. We would have the benefit of many of our workers working on a tipped-basis. This meaning, we wouldn't have the burden of paying many of our workers more than minimum-wage for tipped workers, because they will be making much of their money in the form of tips from customers. On the receipts we will put suggested gratuity to encourage that our workers make a fair wage. Likewise, costs may stay down if we stay located in college towns as the radius of delivery wouldn't necessarily be that large. For this reason, our delivery boys can use bikes for many of the deliveries, keeping costs down. The only costs that would be high would be initial start-up investment. However, this is not a single person venture. I've decided that I would like to do this with three close friends, all of which have significant savings and are ready to take on the challenge of starting a business.

I think that customers will love the convenience factor of our restaurant. Whether or not they want to dine in, pick up via a drive-thru, or have food delivered, any of their needs can be met. The convenience factor with my restaurant is far greater than what others can offer. Also, living in a college town right now is very helpful, as the first restaurant can be something of a test subject to see what needs to be changed or improved. Also, I think that customer's can have something of a personal experience with the restaurant, due to it being specifically geared for college students. With college classes constantly graduating and entering, it will be a revolving door for the business. As stated before, the first restaurant will be the test subject and we can see where to go from there. I am aware not everything will be perfect. And that's okay. We will constantly improve.

Summary and Changes to Venture Concept:

I got a few great comments that ultimately led to me adding to my venture concept. I was told that I'm a step ahead due solely on the fact that my friends and I have established a great financial backing. While it is just one step of the process, it is an important one at that. I was also told that I shouldn't be discouraged if business starts out slow, as the market can be very competitive. I also had to address a question about tipped workers. Someone implied that it won't work out well for employees because not everyone is necessarily a great tipper. I've countered this idea by putting suggested gratuity on the receipts, in an attempt to kind of passive aggressively let customers know that tipping is the norm. My new venture concept is in essence the same as the original, aside from addressing some of the comments made on my original post (about start up and financial capital).

Week 14 Reading Reflection

I was surprised by this newfound social aspect of entrepreneurship. Business seems like an eat or be eaten kind of world. These two chapters make it appear as if there's actually some sort of sympathetic side of the business and entrepreneurial world.

I was confused by all of the environmental factors present in the business world. The book addresses minimizing waste and ethical dilemmas faced in the business world. I understand that these are present but I'm confused due to the fact that it appears that many larger corporations do not follow these guidelines that have been set.

I would ask the author specifically what his views on climate change are. Is it real? Is it an issue? Is it naturally occurring or are people to blame? I would also ask him to what extent he finds a legal team helpful in the business world.

There is nothing that I necessarily disagree with about the author's point of view.

Going for Google Gold

My blog is not all that popular in terms of google searching. It does not appear anywhere near the first page of results. I think my biggest issue was that I named the blog after myself. I have a relatively common name. If I were to maybe have named it something abstract and more original, my blog probably would've been easier to look for.  I do believe that the use of social media would have expanded my blog's potential to receive views. However, for the most part I used the blog primarily just for the class, not to actually expand my ideas to the general public. This is something that I would like to do in the future. However, I would like to do it with my own website, rather than a generic blog. My most viewed post was "Celebrating Failure." It had a whopping seven views. I think it was the most viewed because it was a topic that many could relate to, and really did not seem like a post of an educational course. My blog only shows up when I search the exact name of the blog and use the keyword blogspot. I can't imagine how many other Alex Knights there are in the world. I think that I definitely need to give my blog some sort of absurd creative name. I cracked the first page when using those very specific keywords. When searching just my name, I was nowhere near the front of the search and probably would've been digging for hours. I gave up looking after about page 25 of searching.

Very Short Interview Part 2

Original Interview:

Me: What is it exactly that you do, that you consider yourself an entrepreneur?
Sean Treiser: I am a DJ. I play several location, several nights a week. Many of the fraternity and sorority socials, I play. I also play various other locations. I consider myself an entrepreneur because I run my own company, called DJ Stryzer. I am self-employed.
Me: That's very interesting. I take it that it's going well. Where do you see you and your company in the next year?
Sean Treiser: As I am approaching graduation, I've learned a lot. I now know the importance of proper marketing and proper networking. I work smaller venues at the moment, but through word of mouth, I do hope that my name and my brand grow exponentially in the coming years.
Me: What made you want to be an entrepreneur, rather than working for an entertainment company?
Sean Treiser: As a finance major, I've worked various internships. In doing so, I've been surrounded by entrepreneurs. It was almost a confidence blow to seeing that these people were working under their own control as business owners. I wanted to do that and watch my name and my brand grow over time.

Sean Treiser is a DJ who is currently a senior here at UF. He is self-employed and work several nights a week at various locations here in Gainesville. He often works downtown at 101 Cantina. He is an entrepreneur because he runs his own entertainment company. Furthermore, he is an entrepreneur because he is not okay with the idea of a stagnant business. He wants to see his name and his brand grow over time. He understand that in the entertainment industry, with hard work and a little bit of luck, success can become exponential.

Newest Interview:

Me: I know it has only been a few short months since we last spoke, but has your brand changed? Have you continued to grow your brand and gotten your name out there even further?

Sean Treiser: I think hard work and luck are somewhat related. I DJ'd several of the pool parties at Social 28 this semester, and met the managers of several night clubs. I've began to start working at much larger venues. I also started something of a partnership, a venture with DJ Nodex. We have played several larger venues together.

Me: It looks like you're ahead of schedule. So where do you see yourself further down the long run?

Sean Treiser: This has always been something I do for fun. I never expected that this would be my career. I am a finance major and have always thought I would go into business doing something related to that. However, seeing as my business as growing, this could perhaps turn into something that I pursue full-time. Either way, I'm doing something that I love.


Me: How much failure have you experienced before finding success?

Sean Treiser: I started DJing about a year and a half ago. Most people laughed when I dropped a ton of money on equipment, but I knew it was something that I wanted to pursue. At first, I couldn't find work anywhere. A lot of DJs just end up playing with their gear in their room without much of a purpose. But I actively networked myself and it took me a good year and a half to say that I am proud of what I have accomplished.



Reflection and Discussion: I would definitely say I've grown a lot this semester. My comfort level talking about things like this has increased a lot. I think at the beginning of the semester I was worried talking to Sean about entrepreneurship as I figured he would look down on me. However, most entrepreneurs that didn't have everything handed to them on a silver platter seem to have a good head on their shoulders. Most of them have experienced quite a bit of failure before leading to their successes. It took me this whole semester to realize that they weren't always in their blessed shoes. They worked to be where they are.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. I was confused about the idea of trying to avoid start up cost. I understand that it's something that should be attempted to be minimized. However, the books wording addresses it almost as something that needs to be avoided, which is probably impossible.

2. I was surprised by several of the points they made in regards to management depth. I understand that it's necessary. However, it isn't always an ideal idea when still starting a business up.

3. I would ask the author what his specific views on income taxes are. I would also ask the author how he feels about taking out a loan as an initial start up.

4. There is nothing I disagree with.

Celebrating Failure

In the past semester, I have experienced failure. I have spent the last semester specifically trying to improve my athletic ability as well as my strength in the gym. I think when people think of failure, we think of it on a business scale. However, it can be in many sections of life. I've tried to improve my box jump, and ended up eating crap and falling in front of everyone. I still get up and try again. Likewise, I've gotten stuck at the bottom of a squat and had to drop the weight in the squat rack. Everyone stares but will I stop? No. I think more than anything that failure teaches us to succeed. It is rare that one succeeds without failing. Not even just once or twice. Failure is something that occurs many times before success happens. This should be applied to all part of life. Without failure it is impossible to be persistent and eventually persevere.

My Exit Strategy

1. I plan on starting this business up with three good friends. Our intentions are to run it for as long as possible. Obviously, if the offer is on the table and someone would like to buy it for a good price, that can be considered. However, my main plan is to keep the company in the hands of the original four.

2. I've selected this exit strategy as a means of keeping my vision alive. I could turn the company over to someone else, but would it be what we wanted in the beginning? Obviously, nothing is set in stone. However, I would like to see the company progress under the control of my friends and I.

3. This exit strategy makes me want to go all in. If the company will be my prized idea, I would like it to be done at the best of my ability. 

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1. A surprise to me was when I looked at the venn diagram of strategic action and entrepreneurship action. I expected there to be similarities. However, the importance of these similarities was highlighted very well. To me, the two are one in the same. I don't think you can be successful at one without being successful at the other.

2. I was confused about how toward the end of the chapter there was a section which highlighted why many entrepreneurs do not use strategic action. Then, it highlighted the benefits of using strategic action. This seems rather contradicting.

3. I would ask the author if he thinks that the two concepts can be used together properly in action. I would also ask the author which strategies work better for which types of businesses.

4. I do not disagree with him on anything.

What's Next?

In terms of growing my existing market, I think I need to branch out slightly. I really had this idea for the restaurant to thrive in the later hours. However, if there were a way for it to thrive during the day as well, I think that would be a no brainer. More success equals more profits and ultimately a better built organization that has the ability to expand elsewhere. I really think that a concept like this has the ability to grow.

A radically bigger market to target would be something like the generation ahead of ours. This being, the parents of the current market. Most of them have matured past the point of wanting quick meals that are often incorporated with being intoxicated. They prefer a higher-class type of life. While my restaurant idea is not low quality in any way, it is without a doubt a far cry from being a five star steak house, in terms of it not being an uptight atmosphere.

To me, this idea seems very unattractive, as a lot of my business idea revolves around being structured in a college town. Not necessarily, the demographic, but the ease of access to everything is vastly greater in a college town, including costs and structure of the organization. For this reason, I do not believe that there would be a benefit to changing the market.