Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) The amount of planning that goes into a business was surprising.  I know that it takes a lot of planning, but I didn't realize what all you had to take into consideration.

2) The part about fatal visions of having no competitive advantage was a little confusing.  I mean it makes since but I'm not sure if it applies to generic brand options.  Such as Publix, they offer basically the same product just slightly cheaper.

3) What is the difference between a CEO and a president of a company? With the one-person-band syndrome, is that necessarily a bad thing for small businesses?

4) I don't think the author was correct about having no competitive advantage because grocery stores who basically mimic products are just as competitive perhaps even more.

Google Gold

• Strategy to search engine optimization (SEO)

• I tried my best to make each post easy to understand and somewhat enjoyable to read.  Nothing is worst than reading boring pages of nonsense, and having to reread to get an idea of what is going on. 

• What were your keywords. 

• Throughout my blog I used: health, healthy, food, grocery, encourage, experience, learn
• These words embody what my venture product is all about! 

• How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? 

• I did not use social media.  If anything it might have posted on Google + 

• What was your most "viral" post? 

• The most views I had was for my post for My Unfair Advantage, I received 40 views. 
• This post was organized, easy to understand, and had pictures that added affect. 

• Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords?

• No most of the websites are government websites that deal with healthy eating, nutrition, and food experiences. 

Celebrating Failure

•  List of my Failures  

• Interviewing customers was the worst! I would write my questions down on a note card, practice, and fail miserably.  People do not want to be interviewed!  I have been turned down for interviews so many times, it's a real confidence killer. This was the worst part of the course going out and interviewing people, entrepreneurs, and people in the industry.  It is so difficult! 

• What I learned

• Get it over with, do not wait!  If you stop in the middle of getting interviews the more you dwell on it and your nerves/ anxiety will grow.  I found that it's best, walk around, and look for groups of people.  Usually when they are in groups they're more open and you'll get the number of interviews you need faster.

• How I handle Failure 

• Even with all the failure I have gone through, I'm not the best at recovering from it.  But I will say persistence is key and do not let the negative thoughts take over.  The moment you start thinking "This is pointless", "Is the world against me", "I'm giving up" is the moment of no return.  
• When I read my assignments for the week I get the interviews done on the same day I open the assignment.  This way you don't think about it for days, just get it over with! 
• Just think of it as one minute of your life, it's just one minute!  Plus these people are students who have classes just like you, they understand this!  They know your not just doing this to bother them, it's for a grade.  If they don't want to be interviewed then move on to the next person. 
• This class really hasn't changed my perspective on failure.  I will take risk, but with caution and making sure I'm prepared in advance. 

My Exit Strategy

1.  I think I would sell my idea, I don't have a strong connection to this industry and it's become more of a hassle or a chore.  I don't look forward to working on this product at all.  I would probably sell my product idea to Publix or a grocery store that has fresh ingredients that they prepare for consumers.

2.  I want out!  I have done everything I can and every-time I revisit my product I am exhausted and uninspired.  I think I have more of the "idea maker" or "inventor" mindset.  I like moving on to future  projects.

3.  I haven't really thought about my exit strategy before this. It hasn't really influenced me on my decisions. I guess if anything it has pushed me to come up with a product that doesn't need much improvements.

Venture Concept No. 1

What is one thing that all people on this planet have in common?  Our need to feed ourselves.  Unfortunately in the college setting this is in the form of fast food and vending machines.  Many young adults today do not know how to cook or have very poor culinary skills, and their confidence/self-esteem reflects this.  How can we fix this in a world of frozen food, fast food, and convenience mindset?  Three words – The Food Pack- my product provides the consumer with the ingredients they need along with easy to follow steps (or online tutorial) on how to prepare home cooked meals.  They will learn and develop their culinary skills, build confidence in the kitchen, and be exposed to different cultures through their cuisines. I am certain that this product will be successful, and as a responsible, goal oriented, and organized entrepreneur myself and my team will make cooking an experience to remember!

Through research conducted, when given the choice students would rather buy their meals out (which is very expensive in the end) because they simply do not know how to cook.  Many reported that they do not know what goes well together, how to prepare meals, and some are even intimidated by the idea of just frying an egg!  Many of us often stick to what we know, and after a while making what’s essentially supplying our bodies with nutrients has become boring.  How awful is this?  Especially with being in a country that has a supply of fresh ingredients to choose from.  Do you know how lucky we are?  

We need to change this perceptive of looking at making our meals as a chore and rather see it as a way to improve and nourish our bodies while making an experience out of it!

The consumers I want to reach are mostly students between the ages of 17-25.  During this time young adults are living away from home in a new environment, their responsibilities have increased while their budget has decreased.  It’s fair to see why many resort to fast-food or poor quality processed foods, rather than homemade meals.  During this time frame students are making decisions, learning lessons, and developing skills to use for the rest of their lives.  One of those skills that students develop is cooking, as long as they give themselves the chance or opportunity to learn.  Without the basic knowledge of cooking they will be forever reliant on the restaurant chains around them, frozen and premade food, or the person they might live with. If one does not eat, they will not survive or be healthy, the same applies when a person decides on eating something unhealthy.

Today the grocery industry is far different than what it used to be in the 1940s.  A single grocery store sells all merchandise we need.  The market is ran by consumer demands, people are all about convenience but also want options.  We are slowly transitioning from the packaged food era to fresh food. In fact a major deciding factor in grocery store choice for 75% of consumers is whether or not the store has a produce department.  This department includes meats, seafood, local produce, and bakeries where they can see the processing and handling of products in person.   With a switch in viewpoints on the importance of having fresh ingredients comes along the need and want to learn how to prepare such ingredients.  This is where my product comes into play!

I am offering a product that contains all the fresh ingredients students will need to cook along with directions/video links on how to prepare the meal.  Within The Food Pack will contain the necessary ingredients to prepare a meal.  There is no need to go and buy 20 different items that you may only use a few times.  There are so many venues we can go with this product!  We can teach students how to cook healthy meals while expanding their culinary taste buds.  We can have lines for Indian, French, South American, African, Middle Eastern foods you name it!  Not only can they make themselves dinner or lunch but we could also have Food Packs for deserts, breakfast, and snacks.  Imagine they could make their own granola bars, crackers, and for breakfast they could even learn how to make Beignets from Café Du Monde!  How fun does this sound? Unlike other pre-made boxes that only focus on desserts or breakfast, The Food Pack covers it all. There will be options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desert, and my personal favorite snacks.

Now that students have the ingredients in The Food Pack, the next thing they need is equipment to prepare their meals.  Our next venture is My Kitchen, the kitchen essentials set. Nothing's worse than not having the proper equipment for cooking. That's like showing up to a baseball game with a hockey stick. Sure you can improvise but it's not the same and your performance will reflect this.  I want to sell a box of all the necessary and must have cooking tools.  None of this broken up, buying separate items, let’s get it over with and give you exactly what you will need, the essentials! People will feel even more confident and more likely to want to cook.  Nothing's better than using your new set of knives that actually slice through chicken rather than mutilate them.  It will increase consumer loyalty, and we can have the tools color coordinated to make it easier for people following The Food Pack recipes.  For instance “To slice the chicken use the purple knife.  To chop the carrots use the orange knife. Sauté the green beans in the yellow pan”. 

They will carry the skills and techniques they learned from preparing meals with The Food Pack and My Kitchen. They'll gain confidence in what they are doing and continue to develop their skills.  Who knows they might then pass on what they learned to their children!

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1) The importance of having an innovation strategy was very surprising to me, and the consequences of not having one.

2) I'm just a little bit confused about the organization of the innovation strategy.  Wouldn't it damper creative thought if there are limits set?

3) Do doctors come together and come up with innovation strategies or is that management's responsibility? Do innovative collaborations have to follow set rules or are they free to do what they need to get the creative juices flowing?

4)  I do not believe that routine innovation is necessarily the best.  My reason for this is that the company may or may not have enough time to come up with a better product.  Sometimes time constraints can cause upset with the public as well.  For instance those who bought the iPhone 5 (which wasn't much of an improvement) were upset when just a year later Apple introduced the iPhone 6 (an entirely new design/idea).  Many were not able to get the phone because of the plans they were on.  So introducing new phones every year is not necessarily a good thing.  It would have been better for them to introduce an entirely new product every 2 years, than to release slight improvements on already released models every year.  Routine is fine as long they give themselves the proper amount of time to create the best.

The Amazon Whisperer

• Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 

• selling my version of ingredients, not having to rely on competitors products 
• Examples
• purchase chicken from suppliers or packers or have my own spices. 

• Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?

• I am offering a product that contains all the ingredients students will need to cook along with directions/video link on how to prepare the meal. 
• Next: Nothing's worse than not having the proper equipment for cooking. That's like showing up to a baseball game with a hockey stick. Sure you can somewhat improvise but it's not the same and your performance will reflect this.  I want to sell a box of all the necessary and must have cooking tools.  None of this broken up, buying separate items, lets get it over with and give you exactly what you will need, the essentials!  

• Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?

• People will feel even more confident and more likely to want to cook.  Nothing's better than using your new set of knives that actually slice through chicken rather than mutilate them! 
• It will increase consumer loyalty, we can have the tools color coordinated to make it easier for people! 
• Ex:  To slice the chicken use the purple knife.  To chop the carrots use the orange knife. Saute the green beans in the yellow pan. 
• It could have a colored handle, it doesn't have to be that color entirely. 

• Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.

• Rachel Ray's 14 Piece Hard Enamel Nonstick Cookware Set 

• Contains: 4 pots, 4 lids, a spatula, 3 prep-tools, 2 saute pans, and 1 baking pan. 
• Description of Material: aluminum and a carbon steal baking sheet, prep-tools are made of silicone and nylon. 
• Oven safe to 350 F

• What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?

• Reviews: 231/317 gave it 5 stars 
• However, when reading responses people are not happy. Multiple people have reported that the color washes off/ burns. 
• The sizes are too small. 
• Reviews were mixed overall 

• Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product. 

• I would give the consumer pans that are larger in size, not too small
• I would not use the paint based coloring (I think that is what her company used).  If there is any colored pots I would make them ceramic or use a non-stick ceramic coating. 
• Also I would change the design of the prep-tools
• Spatula would have a rectangular end and be a bit wider 
• The silicon spatula would have a flexible end allowing it to conform to the shape of the bowl when scooping mix out. 

• Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.

• It's another way to get student's ready for life! 
• Students will not have to feel limited to what they buy because they might not have the tools necessary to prep ingredients. 
• They will use these for as long as they want them.