Final Reflection

The thing I will remember most is the elevator pitch. During the time, I absolutely hated those assignments. Looking back on it now, it helped my speaking and presenting so much. It honestly made it harder that it was recorded rather than in person. Since it was recorded, my standards for myself were much higher which took a lot longer.

I definitely think I have an entrepreneurial mindset. This class taught me to look at everything from several different angles and work with all the information I receive. I now know not only how to act like an entrepreneur, but how to think and be one.

I would recommend to the future students to really take this class for you. It is so much more enjoyable and you learn so much more when you actually use the material to help you rather than viewing it as an easy A class.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

I have discovered an opportunity in the field of small business and the way they market themselves.

The opportunity is the lack of social media marketing consultants for businesses. Small business

owners who do not have enough time on their hands are examples of potential customers. I am

targeting local businesses in Brevard County, Florida. Many business owners know the importance

of marketing for the sake of their business, but they do not know enough about it to do it on their own

successfully. Being a consultant would offer an individualized approach which is valuable to the

consumer. The online world is growing at an extremely rapid pace and more and more people are

using it every day. This factor is making what I offer even more important to customers. Currently,

businesses do one of two things. They either do their own marketing themselves, or they hire a firm

to do it all for them. I am offering something different in the sense that I will offer to do things that

make sense only for their specific business. I believe this window of opportunity will be open for a

very long time. Like I said before, the internet and more specifically social media, is continuously

growing and changing. 

Innovation

My social media consulting services are innovative in the sense that it is new and creative. I believe

my service is incrementally innovative because there are others who offer similar services, I am just

taking it a step beyond the others. When I receive a new client, I would go in and have a kick-off

meeting with each business owner individually. I would look at where their business is now and

where they’d like to see it go in the future. Based on what I learn from them and my previous

knowledge and experience, I would formulate a plan with specific marketing techniques that are for

their business only. I would also be sure to discover how a business has marketed themselves in the

past and what did or did not work. A big part of what I do depends on what type of business I am

working for. Since I focus mostly on social media, I would prioritize businesses models that would

correspond appropriately with social media platforms. Like other firms I would have base packages

and each client would fit into a category then add on additional services. For example, I would offer a

package that includes creating a social media presence for a business on three platforms of their

choice with 1 post a day on each platform. I would also offer social media marketing courses for

those business owners who believe they could do it themselves but need to learn how to first. This is

innovative because I am offering a creative method to solve customers’ needs.

Venture Concept

The concept that I have designed will solve customer’s needs because most business owners do not

have the available knowledge and advice from others to know how to properly market their

business. By providing social media consulting services, my customers won’t have to waste time and

money using marketing methods that do not work. Other people do not offer these types of services

so this is why customers would choose me. Customers would have to switch from their old ways of

marketing. It might be difficult to get them to switch because most people have never used a service

like this before. Some people might hesitate because of the fear of the unknown. I would be sure to

create a positive and reliable image of myself to potential customers. I would start my business off

by working alone and seeing how much it expands before I hire other people. Once I reach that

point, I would hire other consultants who have a lot of experience and knowledge in the field of

marketing and social media. 

2) I received a lot of positive feedback. I was able to expand my original ideas and I dug a little bit

deeper into ideas in this assignment. People told me that they liked how I was able to identify

my opportunities around me and my area. The feedback really helped me see what others see

in my own work.

3) Like I said before, the only thing I really changed was adding some elaboration. I expanded on

my previous ideas and made them more specific. I gave more in depth descriptions about my

opportunities and how I would use innovation to create my venture concept.

4)

Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

I would hope to continue to work hard on my business and keep working until I am ready to retire. I plan on staying with it for a very long time, then when the time comes for me when I am done I will either sell the business or pass it on to a trusty coworker or family member. If I choose to pass the business on to someone, I would want to make sure they share the same vision and values as I do so that they can keep making the business succeed.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I have selected this because I am very passionate about this field and I see it growing in many different ways. I want to be there to expand it as much as I can in my life, then when I am done with it, I will let a new leader take charge if it.

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I have identified many new opportunities because I want to be the one to take control of this business for the next several decades. I plan to grow in numerous ways and that is because I will be the one making the major decisions. 

Reading Reflection 3

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

1) The theme of this book was how to effectively use social media and how it will benefit you. The author walked you through the steps of saving time, effort and money. He focused on building a solid foundation for you social presence along with how to optimize the platforms to attract more people using different tools.

2) This corresponds with what we are learning in class because it's all about making a consistent message for yourself and your business. The first lesson that Guy focused on was how you should treat social media like you treat your business, in a professional manner. Everything you do online can be traced back to you as a person and as a professional. Entrepreneurship is about utilizing the resources around you, and social media is one of the most important resources today!

3) An exercise would involve creating a fake social media profile from scratch using all the techniques that Guy describes. Rather than optimizing what you already have, starting from scratch can give you a new look at it. Learning how to properly do this is the first step in self-branding yourself on social media.

4) My biggest aha moment was when Guy talked about creating content that your followers want to see, not what you want to express. He said "some people use their Facebook like it's a megaphone for their opinions." This made me realize that this approach is completely wrong. In order to create a positive image, you need to provide content that benefits your followers. Whether that be educating them, updating them, or even humoring them, always have a purpose.

Celebrating Failure

1) This semester, I have experienced what I would consider failure. In my other two classes that I took this semester, I did bad on every proctored exam that I had. I didn't technically "fail" but it was a failure in my eyes. I felt confident in the material that was being covered and I guess the combination of the exams being harder than class work and the fact that I couldn't use notes really made a difference. The worst part about this was that I truly did study and did try hard. It was frustrating because I was hoping for my grades to reflect the hard work I put in.

2) I learned that failures should motivate you more. Looking back on it now, I have learned that even if I studied and think I understand, extra work can never hurt. This acted like a wake up call and I'm glad I learned it during my first semester at UF to hopefully prevent in from happening in the future with other classes.

3) Failure is a very interesting concept to me. My entire life, I was always the type of person who never needed to be disciplined. That's because I always knew when I did something wrong and made sure that I wouldn't do it again or would improve on it in the future. Nobody ever needed to tell me, because I already knew. It's been hard for me to not get too caught up in when I fail. I am slowly learning how to take it as a lesson and move on from it.

What's Next?

Existing Market
1.) I believe my next steps are to create an online version of social media consulting to offer my services to people no matter where they are located.

2.) My interviews consisted of people telling me to use my connections and the internet to my advantage. They said that utilizing these tools will help me reach more customers and since my service is so different than what others offer, more people will be interested. Customers might want a way to be a part of their marketing strategy. For example, giving them a way to post on certain platforms at certain times rather than me doing everything for them.

3.) Growing my existing market would involve offering a variety of ways to deliver my services. This could be offering additional packages to what each consumer wants or even using online services to reach new people and offer new ways of online marketing. I would like to expand from just social media marketing to digital marketing as a whole. This would include purchasing advertising spaces on websites, search engine optimization, graphic design, email marketing and more. This would require hiring specialists in those areas to successfully expand. I would be sure to hire people that I trust and share the same vision and goals as me.

New Market
1.) A different target audience would be consumers rather than businesses. I am offering my services to business owners currently.

2.) I could expand my business and help people grow their own personal presence on social media. This is actually a really good idea because there are a lot people out there striving to be "social media influencers." I didn't realize this opportunity until now, but it is definitely something to consider.

3.) The people I interviewed actually loved my idea. They are very into social media and they know about how popular influencers are becoming and how this is definitely an opportunity I should take advantage of.

4.) Surprisingly, this new market could be even more profitable than my existing one. So many people want to be influencers nowadays because who doesn't want to get paid to post on social media and travel the world? I could help people build personal connections and get them sponsorships and more publicity. On the other hand, I could also offer services to established influencers and help them create content for certain sponsors or campaigns that they are a part of.

Venture Concepts

Opportunity

I have discovered an opportunity in the field of small business and the way they market themselves.

The opportunity is the lack of social media marketing consultants for businesses. Small business

owners who do not have enough time on their hands are examples of potential customers. I am

targeting local businesses in Brevard County, Florida. Many business owners know the importance

of marketing for the sake of their business, but they do not know enough about it to do it on their own

successfully. Being a consultant would offer an individualized approach which is valuable to the

consumer. The online world is growing at an extremely rapid pace and more and more people are

using it every day. This factor is making what I offer even more important to customers. Currently,

businesses do one of two things. They either do their own marketing themselves, or they hire a firm

to do it all for them. I am offering something different in the sense that I will offer to do things that

make sense only for their specific business. I believe this window of opportunity will be open for a

very long time. Like I said before, the internet and more specifically social media, is continuously

growing and changing. 

Innovation

My social media consulting services are innovative in the sense that it is new and creative. I believe

my service is incrementally innovative because there are others who offer similar services, I am just

taking it a step beyond the others. When I receive a new client, I would go in and have a kick-off

meeting with each business owner individually. I would look at where their business is now and

where they’d like to see it go in the future. Based on what I learn from them and my previous

knowledge and experience, I would formulate a plan with specific marketing techniques that are for

their business only. I would also be sure to discover how a business has marketed themselves in the

past and what did or did not work. A big part of what I do depends on what type of business I am

working for. Since I focus mostly on social media, I would prioritize businesses models that would

correspond appropriately with social media platforms. Like other firms I would have base packages

and each client would fit into a category then add on additional services. For example, I would offer a

package that includes creating a social media presence for a business on three platforms of their

choice with 1 post a day on each platform. I would also offer social media marketing courses for

those business owners who believe they could do it themselves but need to learn how to first. This is

innovative because I am offering a creative method to solve customers’ needs.

Venture Concept

The concept that I have designed will solve customer’s needs because most business owners do not

have the available knowledge and advice from others to know how to properly market their

business. By providing social media consulting services, my customers won’t have to waste time and

money using marketing methods that do not work. Other people do not offer these types of services

so this is why customers would choose me. Customers would have to switch from their old ways of

marketing. It might be difficult to get them to switch because most people have never used a service

like this before. Some people might hesitate because of the fear of the unknown. I would be sure to

create a positive and reliable image of myself to potential customers. I would start my business off

by working alone and seeing how much it expands before I hire other people. Once I reach that

point, I would hire other consultants who have a lot of experience and knowledge in the field of

marketing and social media. 

The most important element of my business is the individualized approach I will offer. It is valuable,

rare, and not easy to imitate or substitute. 

I would like to expand by creating online social media marketing courses that I could sell. I would

only have to create it once and I would be able to keep making money off of it. 

I would hope to have a group of at least 10 trustworthy employees who are reliable and able to

expand my business to its greatest possible potential.