Week 4 Reading Reflection

1. I’m still very surprised about the idea of capital when creating a business. The author touches up on it very slightly. However, he never mentions ways around possibly being slightly short on start-up capital. Likewise, he does not bring to the light a decent savings plan and how to save for a stable future to start the business.

2. I’m slightly surprised at the authors idea of growth in a business. He uses examples, stating that with x amount of start-up capital that one can expect x amount of profit the first year, second year, etc. However, what if it does not go to plan? What if profits exceed expectations at one point and do not meet expectation in another? What precautions would be taken to expect stability?

3. I would ask the author a very specific list of his previous entrepreneurship experiences. I would ask him where he started, what he did when he started, and what he would have done differently in the past. I would also ask him who his idols are. Does he look up to Mark Cuban? Does he think that all rich people have worked their way to the top, or some just got very lucky?

4. I don’t really disagree with anything the author stated. Aside from being slightly confused and surprised at some points, he said what many could expect in greater detail.

Interviewing Customers No. 1

One night, my friends and I had an idea to open a restaurant. Specifically, it was a restaurant idea that would cater to late night breakfast needs of people who have been out and just want good food before they go to bed. Obviously these places exist (fast food, Denny’s, IHOP, etc.). However, the idea we had was to make the restaurant a far greater experience, especially late at night. The most prominent place to run a business such as this would most likely be in various college towns. Ideal locations are most likely in midtown (where I conducted my interviews), or other college towns. Ideal locations would be the strip at FSU, near UCF campus, and areas where college bars are popular. I asked a series of questions. The questions were along the lines of: How often do you eat out? Are you more likely to eat out at the end of the night than in the daytime? After a night of drinking? Do you think your late night eats are satisfactory? What could someone do better?

I got a lot of responses which I had initially expected. In this day in age a lot of people eat out, and are willing to spend their money on food. This likeliness definitely increases when people have consumed alcohol. Thus, I stand by my idea that a collegetown breakfast restaurant would thrive, especially on nights with great drink specials. This also opens up a chance to engage in partnership deals with bars. While the interviewees did state that they were likely to end their night of binge drinking with a good, late night breakfast, some stated that they were somewhat above eating at the likes of McDonalds, and that something of the likes of Denny’s or IHOP is sometimes too formal of an experience at that hour. This gave a lot of input as I now can understand what the layout and design of the restaurant would have to be. After talking to the customers, I learned that a restaurant that has both a drive-thru and good sit down experience is a must.

It was definitely important to get some input on the matter. While I spoke to five people, it is not quite yet a large enough sample size to determine anything indefinitely. If an idea for such a business is actually one day put in motion, it is important to get as much input as necessary from the consumers.

Top 5 World Problems

Problems from most serious to least serious:

1. Climate change is real. The temperature is rising, as are water levels.
     Ans: Take initiative. Stop acts that contribute to the addition of carbon dioxide emissions in the environment. Strive to use clean energy rather than pollutants.

2. Education has proved to be a great problem. While more people in the U.S. have pushed to get a higher education, this is not necessarily commonplace around the world. Without education, society fails to advance.
     Ans: Foreign countries must make the effort to improve education. In a rapidly advancing world, the need for education should not be at a halt.

3. Global poverty, hunger and lack of clean water have left many struggling.
     Ans: The world's resources should be more evenly distributed. Better yet, global superpowers should do what is possible to help bring less developed countries to good standing.

4. Cars run on gas. The amount of oil on the planet is limited and is not renewable.
     Ans: If cars were invented today, they most certainly would use electricity as a primary fuel source. Hybrids, or fully electronic cars should become more affordable to average people.

5. Obesity is a growing epidemic. It's cheaper to buy very unhealthy fast food than it is to eat healthy.
     Ans: From a young age, children should be taught proper nutrition habits. It is much easier to keep proper nutrition through adulthood, when taught proper habits as a child. Also, people should realize that food is something worth spending a little extra money on.

Explanation: I without a doubt think that climate change is the most posing of threats. We as people, know of one habitable planet: planet earth. This is our home. It is a home that we voluntarily destroy. While the other issues do present serious threats, climate change is the only one, that if uncontrolled, could ultimately lead to an unsustainable future. I also viewed education as one of the more serious issues. This is due to the fact that if our education systems don't expand and grow further, many other issues may go unsolved. Knowledge is power. Global poverty, hunger and lack of clean water ranked next on my list. It would have been second if I did not believe that as the world's education systems improve, that these crises could become easier to solve. Though, poverty, hunger lack of clean water are all still extremely large issues. The next issue was also important, as cars run on gas. It could be further expanded, stating that societies still use many non-renewable energy sources such as oil and coal. This is a serious problem, as one day we will run out. Obesity is another serious issue, specifically in the United States. However, I think it is the least of our concerns in terms of larger problems. This is due to many cases of obesity are self-inflicted. If I were obese, it wouldn't necessarily affect the lives of others negatively. However, it is still a large health risk.


Solutions easiest to implement to most difficult:

1. Obesity is a growing epidemic. It's cheaper to buy very unhealthy fast food than it is to eat healthy.
     Ans: From a young age, children should be taught proper nutrition habits. It is much easier to keep proper nutrition through adulthood, when taught proper habits as a child. Also, people should realize that food is something worth spending a little extra money on.

2. Education has proved to be a great problem. While more people in the U.S. have pushed to get a higher education, this is not necessarily commonplace around the world. Without education, society fails to advance.
     Ans: Foreign countries must make the effort to improve education. In a rapidly advancing world, the need for education should not be at a halt.
3. Cars run on gas. The amount of oil on the planet is limited and is not renewable.
     Ans: If cars were invented today, they most certainly would use electricity as a primary fuel source. Hybrids, or fully electronic cars should become more affordable to average people.
4. Climate change is real. The temperature is rising, as are water levels.
     Ans: Take initiative. Stop acts that contribute to the addition of carbon dioxide emissions in the environment. Strive to use clean energy rather than pollutants.
5. Global poverty, hunger and lack of clean water have left many struggling.
     Ans: The world's resources should be more evenly distributed. Better yet, global superpowers should do what is possible to help bring less developed countries to good standing.

Explanation: Obesity is without a doubt the easiest issue to fix. If bad habits are not engrained into the mind at a young age, they will not continue. If childhood obesity can be controlled and reduced, the number of adults who are obese will likely decrease drastically. Obesity, for many, but not all, is a personal choice. If bad habits aren't created, they do not need to be broken.  Education is also another solution that is easy to implement. With the growth of technology, and things that people have access to on the internet, learning can be endless, provided that one looks in the right areas. Lack of renewable sources, such as gasoline in cars is another large issue. This one is most likely not terrible to solve. However, some problems may occur. Obviously, the technology for electronic cars exists. However, these cars tend to be extremely expensive and well out of the middle-class consumers price range. Likewise, the world does have the technology to move over to clean energy, it will just take time. Climate change is the largest issue and it is relatively easy to solve. It goes hand in hand with clean energy. If people reduce carbon dioxide emissions and work to create a smaller carbon footprint, climate change can be neutralized. Perhaps, people just need to make better personal choices.  Global poverty, hunger and lack of clean water is the hardest to solve. This is because resources would have to be relocated. Developed countries would also have to provide a lot of aid to less developed countries. This is not always practical.