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Final Reflection

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This class has definitely provided some interesting experiences. Coming in, I thought this would be an informative and valuable class for me. I was excited about what it had in store. However, it started off with a low. I didn't realize the assignments were due at noon, so I went to submit assignment 2A at 3:00 pm only to realize I had missed it. This was really frustrating and set a bad tone for the class for me; however, I was able to bounce back. I put a little more focus on it, and I ended up enjoying the rest of the proceeding assignments. I think the best and most formative experience was finally coming up with a business idea. I had struggled with that for a while, and the ideas I had come up with were mediocre at best. But, eventually, my idea to help school lunches came to me, and it felt like the light bulb turned on over my head. That was extremely satisfying and I'm proud of the work I have done using that idea. While I think I have moved closer to an entrepreneuria

Venture Concept No. 2

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My business involves providing better school lunch services to schools around the country. The people who have this need the most are elementary school students. A majority of kids rely on school lunch food for their meals. Teachers also have this need, as a good amount of them also rely on school lunch. They are all at school for a long period of time, and they are unable to go out and get outside food. There are no changes to the environment that are causing this need. It is a need that has always existed without a real solution existing. The geographic area I am covering will be to start in Florida and later expand to around the United States. Demographically, I am focusing on 4-10-year-old elementary school kids. Customers are currently satisfying this need through the basic food provided by their local school district. Most would be more than willing to switch over to my company given the opportunity. I think this is a huge opportunity since there is such a huge market and so few

Your Exit Strategy

I think my exit strategy would be to sell my company to a previously established foodservice company such as College Chefs. I would spend the next few years building up my presence in the elementary school market before transitioning to middle and high schools. While I had planned to then move on into the college market, I think at that point one of my potential competitors would rather just buy me out. I think that would be my best option, as that would allow me to move on to other projects. I think this strategy does affect my plans to grow the company. If I know I am intending to move on once I get a big enough hold on the market, I will be willing to take more long term risks since I won't be around to deal with the fallout in the long-run. However, I wouldn't be reckless about it, and would be transparent about my intentions and my actions throughout my time working with the company,

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) You read about an entrepreneur: What surprised you the most? I think what surprised me the most is it didn't try to hide some of his less remarkable qualities (like his thoughts on women). What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admire that his goal is essentially to help save humans from themselves. What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? I don't like how often he snaps at people in anger-filled rampages. Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? His journey to creating multiple hugely successful companies was littered with challenges, but his desire for perfection allowed him to overcome them, and then move on to his next project. 2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?  He cares deeply about his work. He puts his all into it and doesn't stop until the output is perfect. 3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I was confus

Celebrating Failure

A few months ago, I was put in charge of a project in which I and 5 other people were supposed to build a table. I had no real building experience, but I was chosen to lead the project so I figured "why not?" However, I quickly realized that I was in over my head. I had no knowledge of the best types of wood to use, the best tools, the proper techniques to use, or pretty much most of the other aspects required to build a good table. After a few sessions of working on the table, I resigned from my leadership position and gave it to one of the other members who clearly knew more than I did. The lesson I learned from it is to not try to take charge just for the sake of it. I knew going in that I didn't really know anything about building a table, but I ignored that and tried to lead the project anyway, and I failed. I now know that in the future, I won't put myself in a position where I have a fairly good idea going in that I won't be successful. Failure, in genera

What’s Next?

     I think next, I would expand to bigger food packages. Right now, I am planning on doing three of them: basic, advanced, and premium. Once I get those up and running, I would expand to even more packages to allow schools more options. I asked three teachers what they would do next if they were running this business. One said that I should I move into the catering business. They thought that if schools saw that we are good enough to do catering than the food must be high quality and they would be more inclined to partner with us. The other two suggested more food options. I asked them about my idea to add up to 10 customizabile package options, and all three liked the idea.      My plan going forward would be this: I would add the custom packages to the potential options. Then, once I get big enough, I would expand into middle and high schools. After a few years of that, I would try to move into the college market. The amount of dining halls and fraternities/sororities that serve f

"Foodtastic" Venture Concept No. 1

     My business involves providing better school lunch services to schools around the country. The people who have this need the most are elementary school students. A majority of kids rely on school lunch food for their meals. Teachers also have this need, as a good amount of them also rely on school lunch. They are all at school for a long period of time, and they are unable to go out and get outside food. There are no changes to the environment that are causing this need. It is a need that has always existed without a real solution existing. The geographic area I am covering will be to start in Florida and later expand to around the United States. Demographically, I am focusing on 4-10-year-old elementary school kids. Customers are currently satisfying this need through the basic food provided by their local school district. Most would be more than willing to switch over to my company given the opportunity. I think this is a huge opportunity since there is such a huge market and so