Reading Reflection No. 3

The argument of the book is promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Drucker includes strategies for aiming for a new market and leaving the existing market. He stresses that there needs to be more ideas and innovation in the world, and not borrow old ideas. Many people do not think to change the existing market, but rather focus on the old and not have time to invent any new ideas. This book enhanced me to always think of new ideas – it makes an individual unique. Also, focusing on the new market leads to more improvement in the market. The exercise I would follow in this class is think of a new prototype to design. I would say one that has not existed already and can be used for future usage. My biggest surprise upon reading this book was that many people do not focus on specialized niches and change their dominance in society. This book has taught me to always innovate my market and come up with new ideas. It also shows that as a whole, people need to be educated on the use of innovation. 

Your Exit Strategy

I intend to protect the venture as a family business because my two brothers and my best friend are involved in this networking. Sometimes, people will sell your business without you knowing – people cannot be trusted nowadays. I believe family comes first and I know that it will mean a lot to my children if my business was passed down to them. I believe I am doing this concept for college students and businesspeople. I believe this can be a working issue for many centuries, since I know that airlines want to make profit off their customers. I believe family businesses keeps the family together, but I still want my children to go to college and get the right education.

Identifying opportunities definitely made me realize why I chose this exit strategy. Everyone wants their families to help them with their businesses since they're the most trustworthy and keep the stability of the family. Also, growing up with these people truly showed their colors. From conducting acquaintances and strangers, I realized that I want my family and my best friend to help me take on this business. These opportunities have helped me acquire and use resources by formulating concept maps and sketch maps of how we will be building the generator and talking to airplane staff about our concepts.

Celebrating Failure

1) This semester I had the opportunity to mentor elementary kids at a local elementary school in Gainesville. During my first day of elementary school, I met my mentee whom had trouble speaking to me. I saw the rest of my co-mentors who were helping other students with homework and such having a blast with their mentee. Me, on the other hand, was trying to speak with my mentee, but he refused to talk to me. He would just nod his head and gave very subtle answers, such as "mhm". During my thirty minute time period, I just had to ask him, "what is going on in your house?"... He answered, "my brother is dying". I noticed that this was a sudden change in his life and helped him the best I could. I knew it was not me, but something that was going on his family.

2) I learned that body language is the best way to know when something is wrong. Also, people have ongoing problems in their home and act differently to people when it becomes frequently. A drastic change can change a person's behavior. It is always great to help the community, especially in times like this.

3) I think failure is a sign of learning – learning that one can fix this mistake. If we don't overcome failure, we will achieve the same mistake. I believe failure creates a balance in life for everyone. I handle failure behaviorally by fixing my mistake and changing my attitude. I believe this leads me to become a better person. I am more likely to take risks because I will learn not to do it again. I believe it does not hurt to try it, especially if your gut is telling you to do it. This class has taught me to speak to more people and talk about my business strategies. In the end, I was proud that I listened to my gut and got out of my comfort zone.



 

Venture Concept No. 1

Forget This Network

The forces in the environment creating this opportunity is the inability of connecting to Wi-Fi up in the air for free. A lot of people struggle with this opportunity because of college funds and other savings that they wish they cannot spend. This market is defined for the expense of college students struggling with money. Other people, such as business people, need the use of Wi-Fi for work. Customers are satisfying this need by utilizing the free Wi-Fi leisurely for entertainment and work. They still pay for the Wi-Fi on board if they really need to, but our team is conducting a generator to work overseas. The opportunity fits a huge population of people for their satisfying needs. The ability to utilize Wi-Fi for free entertainment is the perfect prize. Everyone wants to settle for free things, especially with the burden of other costs that need to be paid. The “window of opportunity” will be open from this point on. I do not think there should be an end for this. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. We need to help everyone in society. 

It is not that customers would switch into this product, it is about the fact that my company and I will be drawing a concept map for airplanes to visualize what they will be creating overseas. It will not be hard for customers to switch over because we are persuading companies to enable free Wi-Fi if they have it or design a generator for international airlines to use overseas. The competitors might be people who want to make profit off of the paid Wi-Fi. Their weaknesses will include people not wanting to board the plane because they will not have entertainment. We define the terms: customer support, distribution, etc. because we want to help the customer with their financial statuses. I already hired the right people suited for the right skills, my brother, Dylan, is already suited to play a role in designing the generator, and we want to campaign to airlines why it is important to understand peoples’ finances. We have four employees and we have someone that will speak on everyone’s behalf and someone that will gather a sample of people, including teenagers and business people, to display a sample data of the platforms people will use and the distribution of finances. 

Some competitors do not have the communication and handy skills needed to accomplish this job. We are eyeing out our customers needs and we want them to be satisfied with this utility. We want to aim at showing the airlines the prototype or at least the design of the product – this idea will show the true ability that technology can play in this time era. In five years, I want to not only have this for airplanes, but also have this for cruises and boats. Cruises and boats also do not utilize free Wi-Fi. I will tackle one transportation and go onto the next. 

What's Next?

In terms of setting the path for my future, I will like to tell the airlines to hire a distributor to make generators that will work overseas. If that is not the case, I will like to tell different airline companies that people are already paying other expenses, such as college funds, bills at home, etc. In one interview, the person stated that we need to draw out a concept map and select 10 different college students to demonstrate to the airlines why it will be meaningful to enable free Wi-Fi. Another person said that customers want to be able to be entertained on the flight and not just sit there bored. The last person said if they can compliment sleeping pills if the phone is too much for them. I know that, sometimes, I cannot sleep on airplanes due to the turbulence and the uncomfortable seating position. However, people will sue to the airline, if it has serious side effects. 

  Another part of this mission we have to consider is the amount of people that will actually utilize the service. A couple of interviews back, I interviewed my grandma and she said that she does not have a phone, so this will not apply to her. If the airlines want to buy an expensive machine for nothing, then it will be a waste of money. I believe, however, a lot of college students travel a lot, especially for gap years and study abroad. The trip is already expensive and using cellular data overseas is expensive, as well. College students would be grateful to have the access to still connect with their families and friends abroad without a charge. 

As part of all the interviews I have conducted, I asked them what kind of campaign we should host to get airplanes the free Wi-Fi on board. We have discussed to show them Brandon’s statistical evidence, Julien’s public speaking skills, and Dylan’s technology innovation to get airplanes to design the generator to work overseas. We have to design a concept map to show how we will generate the power. Customers will give thanks to our campaign for giving empathy to those who cannot afford the Wi-Fi on board, as well. I think a great way to keep the motivation subtle is to speak about everything you have to say to airlines. Show them information and statistical evidence of children who cannot afford these costs. Also, we would show the difference in ages of those who would be utilizing the Wi-Fi. We have also discussed to interview more people to ask them what kind of information or platform they will use to stay active on these plane 

rides. 

I was surprised the most about the fact that this is a long process for airlines to approve of our method. Showing them the generator to use overseas instead of inland can be tough. In one interview I conducted with my friend’s dad who is a pilot, he said stated that, “it would be hard to generate a generator overseas because there is no connection nor satellites. My expectations of this new market is considered correct because we have the right methods to move forward with this process with all the design skills my team and I have. The new market seems to be a motivation for us because we are going to invent a product that will work overseas and not just mainland. 

Pitch #3

What stood out to me as important was the hook being great. My feedback from my peers said that they were caught by the attention of the hook. The feedback that was silly was that my eyes were shifting toward and away from the camera.

I guess my eyes were focused more on the camera and I was way closer. Also, I think I overcame my stage fright just a little bit. Lastly, this video gave me only a few tries to practice instead of 20 mix ups.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. I possess great listening and patient skills, essentially understanding people with different difficulties.

• Valuable: This is valuable because dealing with peoples’ patience is something people should need in order to succeed in their job.
• Rare: A lot of employees do not have patience and are often rude to their customers
• Inimitable: The customers want to be understood and there for them, but few people want to help the next one and do not focus on the previous one.
• Non- Substitutable: This can be substituted for cooperation, but apart from that I think understanding people is something that sets people apart from the others.

  2. I possess respect to my customers and co-workers.

• Valuable: This is valuable because it is important to have respect for your co-workers and customers to gain a friendly, working environment.
• Rare: Sometimes, people will avoid customers’ demands and try to boss their own co-workers because they prefer not to do the work.
• Inimitable: The customers would like to be respected, especially if they’re paying for your needs.
• Non- Substitutable: This can be substituted for friendliness, but I believe friendliness is too intimate. I just think that having respect for your environment is a plus.

  3. I possess good networking and connections.

• Valuable: This is valuable because a lot of people are shy and do not know as much people as I do.
• Rare: A lot of employees do not know other companies or people and cannot give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
• Inimitable: People want to be introduced to other people, as well, as knowing people themselves. However, some people do not have the power to find connections.
• Non- Substitutable: This can be substituted for outgoing, but I believe that outgoing and knowing your connections are different.

  4. I possess security of privacy, meaning I do not share secrets.

• Valuable: A lot of people do not know how to keep their mouths shut and respect the privacy of others.
• Rare: A lot of employees sometimes share secrets of the company with their friends and that is wrong since some information cannot spill out in the hands of others.
• Inimitable: Having this quality will make others trust you more.
• Non- Substitutable: This can be substituted for trust, but I believe securing someone’s privacy goes way more deep than trust itself.

  5. I possess great leadership skills.

• Valuable: A lot of people were not involved, as much as I was. I was involved with mentoring with kids, worked four jobs, and helped the homeless.
• Rare: Many people want to follow the leader and do not process any leadership skills, so they follow.
• Inimitable: Having this quality will make you more successful because more jobs will call you because you have prior experience.
• Non- Substitutable: I believe for this quality it cannot be substituted because you need to start from somewhere and if you do not, I do not think you can acquire this skill.

  6. I see my own mistakes.

• Valuable: Some people are very stubborn and see themselves as perfect and that they can never process mistakes.
• Rare: Few people see their mistakes and try to improve their mistakes.
• Inimitable: I always strive to make myself better and I point it out with simple mistakes.
• Non- Substitutable: I believe this quality can be substituted, as being a perfectionist. However, I do not strive to be a perfectionist, I just want to fix mistakes.

  7. I possess optimism and future discovery.

• Valuable: I take this very seriously because it is important to move on from the past and focus on the future, maybe look for some possible outlooks.
• Rare: Few people want to look at the past and give up, this is not something to be proud of.
• Inimitable: I always strive to look at possible future outlooks and see for more opportunities.
• Non- Substitutable: This cannot be substituted because optimism is important for life and needs to be put in a person’s head to not give up, EVER.

  8. I am very passionate and dedicated to my school, my friends, my family, etc.

• Valuable: This is something to be cherished and it is something that is important to stay healthy and happy. These are the people that influence your decisions.
• Rare: Some do not maintain stable relationships with their families and friends and are left alone.
• Inimitable: I strive to seek help from the people that matter the most to me for the best advice and to help me get back up.
• Non- Substitutable: This cannot be substituted because the key to staying happy is to rely on your family for advice.

  9. I have confidence in myself.

• Valuable: People do not have confidence in themselves and cannot trust themselves.
• Rare: People do not trust themselves, but I always do. It is important to trust yourself and see how close you are to achieving the right thing.
• Inimitable: It is not simple to do this because a lot of people let their mistakes ruin them.
• Non- Substitutable: This can be replaced with trusting yourself; however, I think one should move forward and not look back.

  10.  Lastly, I think I am responsible.

• Valuable: People that are responsible take action for themselves and not blame others.
• Rare: A lot of people like to think that they’re right, but in reality, especially in a work setting, the customer is always right.
• Inimitable: I always like to think that if it is my fault, I will say sorry and move on from the situation.
• Non- Substitutable: This cannot be replaced because it is pretty self- explanatory. People should blame their own mistakes and not on others.

     As explained in this bullet, I like to think of myself as very optimistic and future forwarding. I like to see new opportunities and adventures. Maybe, the future might offer something new. I believe no one should ever give up. If you want to achieve something do it. I believe this is the best for being successful in a job.

Reading Reflection No. 2

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki 

        The argument of the book is promoting a business, product, and one’s self on social media. Guy argues many practical tips to enhance the best profile to attract customers and building one’s foundation. This book enhanced me to create practical use of developing my blog better to attract more readers, also it gave a sense of networking to connect with more people. A popular site, such as LinkedIn, has developed into a networking to connect with people and to find nearby jobs. The exercise I would develop for this class is to change perspectives on people by practicing public speaking and innovating new ideas to add to their nearby company. My biggest surprise upon reading this book is the overwhelming that people face everyday by learning new aspects in helping them become successful in the real world. This book has taught me to manage my money wisely and to effectively build my social media status for new opportunities on local business and professionals.

Growing Your Social Capital

Dylan Hopen, my brother, is representable to be the domain expert of my industry. My brother is a technical expert and an organizer of several technological organizations. He is very active on PS4 and is approachable to people he first meets. The favor my brother is doing for me is setting up technological pieces to my market. He will figure out ways in the reason why airlines charge for Wi-Fi – is it the profit or because Wi-Fi can be dangerous for them? He will enhance my ability to reach out to customers on a day to day basis for their happiness on the enhancement of the product.

Julien Saka, my friend, is representable to be the important supplier of my industry. His background consists of working with several firms, such as being an Analyst Intern at Keller Williams. I believe if he wants to sell a product, he will use his public speaking and attitude to sell the product. He is tough to handle, but he will provide all the important pieces to the company. Since I suffer from public speaking, he will enhance my ability and practice with me any drawbacks I have with it. Since he has also had experience, he will target the audience with his mannerisms and attitude and I will adopt this procedure. 

Brandon Hopen, my brother, is representable to be the expert on the market. As a equity investor at ICONIQ Capital, he knows how to invest in private companies. For example, some private companies conduct customer research, so he would be the perfect fit. Procedural management is what I believe he does best. This means that, he takes the time to proceed with caution to target and track customer service. I believe the favor he will provide for this company is the management skills to invest in private companies. Maybe this is a way of taking over their company to enhance a device that will not interrupt the airplane’s turbulence and make it affordable. He will show me how to properly invest in private businesses as a result of hiring him. 

I believe this assignment made me dive deeper into thinking who would actually campaign and help me in the long run. I had to choose wisely the people that would best fit this position. I think companies always hire people with experience because it shows that they are knowledgeable of what they are doing. Choosing representable people brings about new ideas. Also, gathering different people can help you learn new things, such as an individual’s public speaking and customer service.