Thursday, March 28, 2019
22A Elevator Pitch No. 3
Thursday, March 21, 2019
30A FINAL REFLECTION
1) While I still consider the class mostly busy work for me, I actually had some fun fleshing out ideas that I usually just think of in the shower. Not only that, but I get a grade for it! It turned out being enjoyable at points, but not the assignments that involved interviews. I decided to forego some of those. I liked that Professor Pryor understands that some students just want to pass, and that he tells us at the beginning that the class is what we make of it.
2) What will stick out to me the most is one comment I got that homeless people will end up taking advantage of my idea and repelling other customers. I am not mad at the comment. In fact, there is a very real chance that this could be the case. But the homeless population is not a monolith. There are millions of unique stories and personalities, and I want to try to dispel the idea that all of them are dangerous and or don't care about anything. We all have the potential to make bad choices and get into tough situations, so I hope to foster some empathy for those in need within my community. My most joyous moment is being forced to think about my "dream" a little more this semester.
3) In some ways, I feel I have an entrepreneurial mindest, in others not. I feel that I look for creative solutions and have a decent amount of ambition, but I am also afraid to voice my opinion and take risks. I think I've moved closer.
4) My advice for anyone entering the course is to not wait until the last minute. Work ahead as much as possible. Not only will this relieve stress, but it may improve the quality of your work. There is more time for creativity when you're not trying to cram to make a deadline. As much as I hate to admit it, once you get going, many of the assignments are fun and really get you thinking. SO if you work ahead, you avoid stress and get to actually MAYBE have some fun along the way. Really try to think of something you care ABOUT-EVERYONE HAS GOT SOMETHING.
2) What will stick out to me the most is one comment I got that homeless people will end up taking advantage of my idea and repelling other customers. I am not mad at the comment. In fact, there is a very real chance that this could be the case. But the homeless population is not a monolith. There are millions of unique stories and personalities, and I want to try to dispel the idea that all of them are dangerous and or don't care about anything. We all have the potential to make bad choices and get into tough situations, so I hope to foster some empathy for those in need within my community. My most joyous moment is being forced to think about my "dream" a little more this semester.
3) In some ways, I feel I have an entrepreneurial mindest, in others not. I feel that I look for creative solutions and have a decent amount of ambition, but I am also afraid to voice my opinion and take risks. I think I've moved closer.
4) My advice for anyone entering the course is to not wait until the last minute. Work ahead as much as possible. Not only will this relieve stress, but it may improve the quality of your work. There is more time for creativity when you're not trying to cram to make a deadline. As much as I hate to admit it, once you get going, many of the assignments are fun and really get you thinking. SO if you work ahead, you avoid stress and get to actually MAYBE have some fun along the way. Really try to think of something you care ABOUT-EVERYONE HAS GOT SOMETHING.
29A VENTURE CONCEPT No. 2
1) My conceot is to have a community-centered restaurant that takes a portion of each sale and adds it to a fund that will be used to periodically host free meals to the community, hopefully partnering with the city. My hope is that free meals at scenic locations in the town will encourage citizens of the community to come and connect in a way that they usually do not. Both those in need and in plenty are welcome at the meals.
2) I got both positive and negative feedback. The negative feedback was regarding the potential for the homeless population to flock to the events and discourage others from coming. This is exactly the problem I want to combat through this program. I understand that a significant portion of the homeless population is dangerous and or offputting. For those that are dangerous, they obviously will not be allowed into the events. However, I feel that the homeless population is largely forgotten and or ignored by the rest of us, and that people do not really care about the individual stories and circumstances of those without a home. They are a "junkies" or "crazies" in a lot of people's eyes. My hope is that if these people from all different walks of life can connect over shared meals, people will stop seeing everything so much as political issues and more as human issues.
3) I changed my venture concept slightly to account for the fact that certain people may have to be prevented from entering in order to avoid conflict with the others, but that is a bridge I will cross if and when I get there.
4)
2) I got both positive and negative feedback. The negative feedback was regarding the potential for the homeless population to flock to the events and discourage others from coming. This is exactly the problem I want to combat through this program. I understand that a significant portion of the homeless population is dangerous and or offputting. For those that are dangerous, they obviously will not be allowed into the events. However, I feel that the homeless population is largely forgotten and or ignored by the rest of us, and that people do not really care about the individual stories and circumstances of those without a home. They are a "junkies" or "crazies" in a lot of people's eyes. My hope is that if these people from all different walks of life can connect over shared meals, people will stop seeing everything so much as political issues and more as human issues.
3) I changed my venture concept slightly to account for the fact that certain people may have to be prevented from entering in order to avoid conflict with the others, but that is a bridge I will cross if and when I get there.
4)
28A EXIT STRATEGY
1) WHAT'S MY EXIT STRATEGY?) While I anticipate having to work and essentially keep it in the family for many years, I think that I would like to eventually sell the idea/concept to an outside buyer if no one in my family wants to take it. Having my family take over would be my first choice, but I also would not want to pressure any family members into doing something they don't want to do. Whatever the end result would be, I think I would have to work for a long long time to get the business to the point of selling/fruition.
2) I have selected this strategy because my idea is not simply to turn a quick and huge profit. I care about my idea and want to engage in meaningful work that gives me purpose and has me excited to wake up in the morning. Once the time comes to retire, I would like to give my family the first right of refusal, because I prefer this practice to selling out to huge corporations. However, I would also like for my business model/concept to be replicated in order to bring people in as many communities as possible together. So if selling to an outside buyer is what needs to happen for expansion to be the case, I may have to consider it.
3) My exit strategy has influenced the way I operate my business because while I want my restaurant to have the tight-knit family feeling and genuine love for customers, I also want the operation to be as efficient as possible so that the model can be easily replicated in different locations. While I feel that franchising can often destroy the soul/originality of a concept, I am willing for my idea to potentially become a little bit corporate-ified if that means that more people are reached and affected positively as a result. With this in mind, I would try to learn how to run the day to day operations efficiently in order to avoid the waste and inefficiency sometimes seen in small businesses.
2) I have selected this strategy because my idea is not simply to turn a quick and huge profit. I care about my idea and want to engage in meaningful work that gives me purpose and has me excited to wake up in the morning. Once the time comes to retire, I would like to give my family the first right of refusal, because I prefer this practice to selling out to huge corporations. However, I would also like for my business model/concept to be replicated in order to bring people in as many communities as possible together. So if selling to an outside buyer is what needs to happen for expansion to be the case, I may have to consider it.
3) My exit strategy has influenced the way I operate my business because while I want my restaurant to have the tight-knit family feeling and genuine love for customers, I also want the operation to be as efficient as possible so that the model can be easily replicated in different locations. While I feel that franchising can often destroy the soul/originality of a concept, I am willing for my idea to potentially become a little bit corporate-ified if that means that more people are reached and affected positively as a result. With this in mind, I would try to learn how to run the day to day operations efficiently in order to avoid the waste and inefficiency sometimes seen in small businesses.
27A READING REFLECTION No. 3
HOW TO FAIL AT ALMOST EVERYTHING AND STILL WIN BIG
1) WHAT IS THE GENERAL THEME? The general theme is pretty obvious from the title of the book. It involves not getting discouraged by perceived setbacks and or failures in your life, both personally and professionally. Instead, use them as opportunities to learn and reformulate your strategy for next time. It also touches on the idea of being "behind" as nonsense.
2) HOW DID THE BOOK CONNECT WITH OR ENHANCE WHAT WAS BEING TAUGHT IN ENT3003? ENT3003 is the culmination of all the classes business students have taken that have taught us the industry's buzz-words and networking secrets. This is supposed to be the class where we take all the theory we've learned and apply it to (while still theoretical) a practical idea. Ideas and startups entail failure, and that is what the book is about to a large extent. Not only that, but it is a book about failure from someone who figured out how to succeed.
3) IF YOU HAD TO DESIGN AN EXERCISE FOR THIS CLASS BASED ON THE BOOK, WHAT WOULD IT BE? The book mentions taking risks in areas where you feel confident, such as public speaking. My exercise would involve students making a list of, say 5 areas that they feel confident in. From there, I would instruct students to find 5 opportunities to engage in those activities that have a high risk for failure, such as an open mic night. It's a win-win. Either students will succeed and gain confidence, or fail and realize that the failure does not define them.
4) AHA MOMENT? The book talks about maximizing time and finding out how you work the most efficiently. So for example, if you are naturally a night owl, you can adjust your work schedule to the times that you work most efficiently, whereas seemingly everyone is taught that the 9-5 job is the way to go. Turns out, it's ok to deviate! I'm thinking Christian Bale in The Big Short.
1) WHAT IS THE GENERAL THEME? The general theme is pretty obvious from the title of the book. It involves not getting discouraged by perceived setbacks and or failures in your life, both personally and professionally. Instead, use them as opportunities to learn and reformulate your strategy for next time. It also touches on the idea of being "behind" as nonsense.
2) HOW DID THE BOOK CONNECT WITH OR ENHANCE WHAT WAS BEING TAUGHT IN ENT3003? ENT3003 is the culmination of all the classes business students have taken that have taught us the industry's buzz-words and networking secrets. This is supposed to be the class where we take all the theory we've learned and apply it to (while still theoretical) a practical idea. Ideas and startups entail failure, and that is what the book is about to a large extent. Not only that, but it is a book about failure from someone who figured out how to succeed.
3) IF YOU HAD TO DESIGN AN EXERCISE FOR THIS CLASS BASED ON THE BOOK, WHAT WOULD IT BE? The book mentions taking risks in areas where you feel confident, such as public speaking. My exercise would involve students making a list of, say 5 areas that they feel confident in. From there, I would instruct students to find 5 opportunities to engage in those activities that have a high risk for failure, such as an open mic night. It's a win-win. Either students will succeed and gain confidence, or fail and realize that the failure does not define them.
4) AHA MOMENT? The book talks about maximizing time and finding out how you work the most efficiently. So for example, if you are naturally a night owl, you can adjust your work schedule to the times that you work most efficiently, whereas seemingly everyone is taught that the 9-5 job is the way to go. Turns out, it's ok to deviate! I'm thinking Christian Bale in The Big Short.
26A Celebrating Failure
CELEBRATING FAILURE
This semester was pretty light academically, but I failed on several occasions to follow through on plans with friends that I have from back home. Although life gets busy and everyone understands that, I try my best to be a man of my word. I have never been a fan of empty promises or hollow suggestions to "hang out" when I know the person does not mean it. Although this is a pretty small, harmless example, I'm disappointed in myself for making plans with people and never following up. Failure is an essential part of life, and one that I feel UF students, in particular, have a difficult time with. Failure forces us (hopefully) to confront our deficiencies and discern where we went wrong and how to do better in the future. There is a fine line between acknowledging our failures and learning from them, and dwelling on our failures and living in the past. This we must not do. I have a tendency toward this, and I can say confidently that it is detrimental and takes a lot of joy away.
This semester was pretty light academically, but I failed on several occasions to follow through on plans with friends that I have from back home. Although life gets busy and everyone understands that, I try my best to be a man of my word. I have never been a fan of empty promises or hollow suggestions to "hang out" when I know the person does not mean it. Although this is a pretty small, harmless example, I'm disappointed in myself for making plans with people and never following up. Failure is an essential part of life, and one that I feel UF students, in particular, have a difficult time with. Failure forces us (hopefully) to confront our deficiencies and discern where we went wrong and how to do better in the future. There is a fine line between acknowledging our failures and learning from them, and dwelling on our failures and living in the past. This we must not do. I have a tendency toward this, and I can say confidently that it is detrimental and takes a lot of joy away.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
19A IDEA NAPKIN No. 2
1) YOU-My name is Chase Turbeville and I have some experience working on the foodservice industry as well as a nearing completion of my undergraduate degree at UF. My aim is to help bring people in my community together through food, something that everyone needs but few people take the time out of their day to really enjoy and bond over. I see it playing an active role in my life.
2)WHAT AM I OFFERING?- A restaurant with community values that puts on free meals periodically for the entire community, with the aim of bringing people out of their comfort zones, and hopefully meeting and bonding with other people in their communities. Additionally, those in need could come to get free, nutritious meals, and hopefully, the face to face interaction between people could help humanize many of the issues that as of now just seem to be political points of contention.
3) WHO AM I OFFERING IT TO?-Anyone and everyone that is hungry, both those "in need" i.e. the poor and or homeless, as well as people who just want good food with a good cause.
4) WHY DO THEY CARE?-Everyone sees the value of food, many people see the value of healthy food, and in a better world, more people would recognize the value of shared meal experiences and the bonding opportunities they provide.
5) WHAT ARE MY CORE COMPETENCIES?-Although I often fail, I try to pay attention to those that much of society does not acknowledge. I want to lend a helping hand in the small ways that I can, because I believe that even small acts of kindness can convey to people the idea that there are others out there who really care about their well-being. I try to use my talents to serve others.
REFLECTION: No one commented on my first post, so I did not know what to change for this attempt.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)