Customer Interview No.1

1) Find an Opportunity: I was interested in asking questions about dining and opinions of the options we have on our campus. I hoped to determine how students feel about the dining options we currently have and from there, assess what I can potentially do to improve any dissatisfied students. 

2) Figure out who might have the unmet need: I asked five students that attend the University of Florida about their opinions of the food options we currently have. 

3) Come up with a list of questions: -Where do you eat on campus?

                                                             - What do you think of the food in the dining halls?

                                                             - Why or why not do you like the food?

                                                             - Do you think there are any healthy options on campus?

                                                             - Are there any food places you would like to see on campus?

4) Go talk to customers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSUSA6QVJDQ

(I had trouble adding my voice recordings to the blog so I had to turn it into a video and upload it to Youtube) 

5) Tell us what you learned about the opportunity: From interviewing these five students, I learned that they are unsatisfied with the options we have on campus. They feel like we could have much healthier options than we do now. The students I talk to don't really eat on campus because they don't like the choices. They also only thought there were a few healthy options such as Chik fil a and Croutons. 

6) Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers: Talking to students on campus was definitely nerve-racking. Many people don't want to take the time to talk even though it takes less than five minutes. But, after the first one it got much easier to do. I chose to only record our voices because I only have a phone to use for recording and video recording would have been too difficult to go back and forth between me and the person I was interviewing. In the end, I learned a lot from these students and could use their feedback in coming up with ways to improve UF dining. 

Week 4 Reading Reflection

Chapter 5:

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

This chapter focused on innovative and what it means to explore opportunity and use creativity to create a business. I especially enjoyed reading this chapter out of the few we have read so far because it was entire chapter on how to be innovative, which is something I have always thought about. I learned that not only is there an innovation process, but there are also different types of innovation. What really surprised me were the misconceptions of innovation. There was one that talked about how people think technology is the driving force of innovation success.  To me, it would not make sense for technology to be the driving force. It's everything that is behind it including creativity, teamwork, target audience, finances, and of course if there is a market for the product or service. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I found this chapter to be very interesting and therefore felt there weren't any confusing parts. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Two questions I would ask the author include "What are you ways you have been innovative?" and "Have you used the Principles of Innovation in your life?" I would ask these questions to learn more about the author's creativity and type of innovation category he falls into.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I am not an expert in Entrepreneurship. I felt the author backed up all of his findings with great examples for evidence and I found it all to make sense. 

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Problems:
1) Terrorism
2) Pollution
3) Poverty
4) Scarcity of Natural Resources
5) Education of Skills and Development
Terrorism is definitely ranked as a top problem in my eyes.  Using violence and evil as a way to gain power and control can never be justified. There is always a better way to handle conflict and causing destruction and terror is simply not one of those ways.  Pollution and poverty are the next two big problems we are also dealing with globally.  There are many countries that do not have the structure and stability that we have and desperately need our assistance. I think scarcity of natural resources is definitely a growing concern but not as high as terrorism.  There is always something that can be improved within the education systems around the world.

Solutions:
1) Conserve energy, use public mode of transportation, use energy efficient devices
2) Teach poor farmers how to grow more food, install wells, provide shelter, build schools, and provide vaccines
3) Implement school requirements, eliminate the GRE
4) Be less of a consumer to preserve resources
5) Handle conflict in a non violent manner
I think decreasing pollution is definitely the most implementable. We are aware that if we continue to overuse electricity and energy, we will destroy our planet faster than we thought possible. If we have the self-control to conserve our energy and use less of our resources we can surely preserve our planet. It is much more difficult for the last four solutions to be implemented. Getting the funds and right amount of people on board is not an easy thing to do.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Opportunities

1) Georgia lawmakers, others question grading system for teachers; http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A842BCAE460608?p=AWNB
To summarize, this article discusses how teachers in Georgia are evaluated on their teaching skills. Half of their performance is based on how well their students do during testing. The problem being faced is that many teachers quit because they cannot control how well a student tests. They can only teach the material and assist the students. The teachers in this article have the problem.

2) Attorney general grilled over background checks; http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A842BCCAE19178?p=AWNB
This article is about Senator Richard Shelby attacking President Obama for his order on expanding background checks for gun sales. Senator Shelby believes this is unconstitutional and is taking away from our Second Amendment Rights. The problem is that the Senator feels that this order is not necessary and I would say it is the Senator as well as many other people who feel this way that are facing this issue.

3) Walmart closures hit small communities; http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7481D68DDD678?p=AWNB
In this article, I read that over 150 Walmart stores will be closed down. Closing all of these stores is going to affect so many people whether is be a person's job or the store that was closest to someone's home. This is a problem that Walmart is facing as well as individuals.

4) Suspension of U.S. forfeiture program will affect law enforcement agencies; http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A3046BD4091EB0?p=AWNB
The Oklahoma Highways Patrol receives a huge majority of its funds from the U.S. Department of Justice's Equitable Sharing Program. These funds will soon be cut which could mean a loss of $2 million
in annual seized revenue. This problem is affecting the Oklahoma Highways Patrol. 

5) Online surge leads to many not-so-happy returns for retailers; http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A104F0578E51B8?p=AWNB
With more and more people shopping online, it is found that expenses for retailers are increasing as shoppers are returning items to stores. This problem will effect those that work at these stores as well as the stores themselves.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

Throughout chapter 2, the author discussed the mindset you must have in order to be an entrepreneur. It takes a lot to be an entrepreneur and I was especially surprised to read about all of the risks there are.  Risks included financial, career, family and social, and psychic. The decision to start your own business is a big one and I learned that you have to be ready for all of the twists and turns that there will most likely be. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The author writes in a very straight-forward way so I did not find anything about this chapter to be confusing. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would like to ask the author how he decided what to discuss in this chapter and if he has any of his own theories or if what he wrote is from other studies. It would be interesting to talk to him and see the way he thinks. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I didn't find anything that I disagreed with when reading this chapter. 

Very Short Interview No.1

The entrepreneur I interviewed is someone I have worked with in the past.  He has been an entrepreneur for 10 years and has always believed in taking risks. He is an innovator and is constantly looking for solutions to problems.

Questions:

What does it mean to be an Entrepreneur?

Being an Entrepreneur means that you are willing to be innovative, take a risk, and willing to be independent. They are passionate about the vision that they have to make a difference selling either a product or a service.

What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 

I wish that I had been taught basic principles of business such as marketing, finance, and how to raise capital.

What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

There are basic principles about how start to a business and how to determine if there is a market for the product or service you want to sell.  You should also learn how to take the basic steps to set yourself up. There is no one there to babysit you or tell you what to do when you are starting your own business and you must also be aware of the risks you are taking.

Reflection:

I realized that it really is up to us to get the experience we want out of this course. From my interview, I learned that there is so much that much time and money that is put into starting a company. You truly need to have the motivation and energy to do it as well as passion for the product or service you want to provide. I also learned that we are lucky enough to have a course offered in Entrepreneurship because years ago there was not a course that could teach you what it takes to run a company. 

World's Biggest Problems

Terrorism: This is something we are definitely seeing more and more recently.  To me, it is one of our biggest problems.  Terrorism is acts of violence in all forms as a means to gain control.  It seems as if every week there is terrorism one way or another. Ideally, the only way to end terrorism is every country and every person wanted to stop using violence and against others and start solving problems in a civil manner.

Pollution: Pollution is doing things that can leave harmful effects to the environment. Throwing garbage on the street or in bodies of water can lead to negative effects of our planet.  Humans do not realize that there are so many ways we are harming the beautiful place we live.  An implementable solution would be to reduce the ways that people can destroy our planet.  We need to talk about it more so that we are more aware of it.

Poverty: We are lucky to live in the United States, where the majority of us have food to eat and a roof over our heads.  Many people in other parts of the world are extremely poor and are living on the streets.  However, these countries do not have the structure and stability that we have.  The best way to end poverty is for the more fortunate countries to help create programs and the like.

Global Warming: This is a very controversial topic but I do believe it does need to be addressed.  There are many facts and articles concerning global warming that lead it to exist. If we are aware of what could happen if we do not take care of our planet, then we will be more willing to do what it takes to avoid it.

Hunger: Just like poverty, there are millions of hungry people in our world. We can find more ways to assist the hungry and get them on their feet so that they have a chance at leading a fulfilling life. 

Scarcity of Natural Resources: We are using our natural resources at a pace where one day, there will not be any left.  We need to implement rules and alternative ways to live or else our planet will one day no longer exist.

Unemployment: Unemployment means that there are not enough jobs for people, specifically in the United States. Our government and President must come up with better ways to add more private and public sector jobs so that all Americans can work hard and earn a living. I do not believe in free hand outs. Everyone must work and if we eliminate the free hand outs, then people will have no choice but to create more jobs. 

Education and Skills Development: There are far too many uneducated individuals. We need to implement a rule where everyone is required to stay in school through high school, without dropping out to take the GED. I believe anyone can go to school and has what it takes to be educated. 

Middle East: There are an abundance of political issues going on in the Middle East between their countries as well countries all over the world, including the United States. The best solution to these problems is to discuss them in an educated manner and come to a compromise. 

Global Population: The population in the world is increasing significantly and it is feared that our planet will not be able to support us and sustain the necessary needs for life.  A practical solution would be for us to not reproduce as quickly as we are.