Venture Concept No. 2

1. Like I said in my first concept, my venture appeals to families and individuals who live a hectic lifestyle but want to provide their families and nourish their bodies with healthy and fresh food. My customers do not always have time to make home made meals that are healthy and provide all the nutrients a body needs. Today, many families do not have the luxury of having a parent stay at home to take care of the children, clean, and cook. It has become very difficult to live a comfortable lifestyle where money is not a huge issue. Many families and individuals are affected by money issues everyday. As I mentioned before, I think my venture would appeal to metropolitan areas where people live high pace lifestyles. I still think customers are satisfying this need by meal prepping. I also know some people who pay companies to prep their food for the week and have it delivered to their homes. I do know that these prepped delivery places are pretty pricey and do not appeal to families, mostly individuals. I think people are somewhat loyal to what they use now. I believe those who meal prep probably are the most loyal. I think this is a huge opportunity. Everyone is looking for ways on how to do things faster and have more time in their day to spend with their family and friends and i do not think there is stopping people from having hectic lifestyles. The "window of opportunity" will always be open. 

My concept involves offering fresh, fast, healthy meals to customers. We will use our local community to our advantage. To make sure it is fresh we will purchase our food from local vendors. We would make the food in increments throughout the day in order for it to stay fresh. As I mentioned before, the food would be served in an assembly line fashion for lunch and dinner. My plates will still range from $5-$15 and beverages $1-$4. 

As I said in my previous venture concept, my restaurant will address the problem in multiple ways. I will provide my customers with guaranteed fresh and local food. It won't be difficult for my customers to eat at my restaurant because there aren't many similar options available in the market. I still think my biggest competitor will be places like Wholefoods who prove healthy fast options. The only down side to their food is that you do not know how fresh it is. My food will be freshly delivered straight from the local vendor every morning. Regarding the other questions, I would keep everything the same. I think my pricing would have to be in a good range where customers do not feel like they are over paying for their food. Customer experience and location go hand-in-hand for my restaurant. It will have to be in an easily accessible location and the decor inside will have to feel homey and encourage happiness and relaxation. I think my restaurant would need about 7-8 employees and 25% of my employees will be hired from local schools who are interested in the culinary arts. 

My "secret sauce" will definitely be using local resources/vendors. This is difficult to copy because many restaurants owners do not want to waste time and money to find good local vendors and not be able to provide the same food everyday. I do not think it is important to have a consistent menu. People understand that not all vegetables and fruits are in season all the time. I think it teach customers the importance of using what the earth has provided and not using chemicals in their foods in order to produce it in climates that the food does not naturally grow in. 

I still think my next venture will still be creating a delivery app to bring more convenience to customers.

In the next five years I still hope to have multiple location. I understand this will be difficult because it is not easy to find local vendors who can supply enough food. I think I would also want to create a catering aspect to the business. In the next decade I would hope to own other types of business that would develop from what I learn running Homestyle.

2. The feedback I received was all pretty positive. Even though it was positive they did mention how there are not many affordable healthy places to go to. These comments did get my thinking about the affordability aspect of my venture. 

3. After reading the comments on my previous venture concept, I started thinking on how I can keep prices low. I know a lot of places have tried to do my idea but have failed at providing food at good prices. I think I can achieve my concept by using local vendors, having our own driver picking up resources/food and bringing them to the restaurant, and creating a green space/environment to use less electricity and reduce waste. 

Final Reflection

I think this class has showed me that it is important to stick to your goals and life. There might be times that you feel like giving up (i.e. not do the work), but once you do you are rewarded and it feels great. This is the first class I have taken at UF that has allowed me to basically grade myself. I was a little hesitant at the beginning thinking that taking a class with less freedom would be easier, but I was wrong. I had to depend on myself for this class. When I did an assignment I did not have to worry if I did something wrong or right. Some mistakes were made along the way but my grade did not suffer because of it. All the responsibility was put on myself and I truly enjoyed it. It made me realize how great it feels to accomplish goals, even though these goals were just completing an assignment for class. 

After this class I do see myself more of an entrepreneur and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. This class guided me on what first steps to take to develop an idea and try to figure out if it is actually a good one. It showed me how to do research and how important it is to receive and listen to outsider input. 

One recommendation I would make to students who will be taking this journey in the future is to not only believe in yourself, but believe you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. To perform best in this course make sure to set a certain amount of time during the week to dedicate to this class. Develop a routine to complete assignments in order to not feel overwhelmed. Maybe try to write down on a calendar or an agenda when you want to complete the assignments and make sure to follow it. You will feel so accomplished if you do and that is honestly a great feeling in this course. 

Reading Reflection No. 3

The Wright Brothers, David McCullough 

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised me the most was how so many people did not believe in them. They tried very hard to convince people that flying was possible and did not stop at anything to keep convincing them. 
• The thing I most admired from the Wright Brothers was their attitude. No matter what they encountered - money problems, many people doubting them or making fun of them, and even crashes - they kept on fighting. They proved that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and believe in yourself. I also admired how humble they were.
• There wasn't much that I did not admire from the Wright Brothers. I think they were very admirable people. 
• Yes, the Wright Brothers encountered a lot of adversity and failure. Even though they did, they kept on going. If something did not work they went back to the drawing bored. They never gave up on themselves and always thought outside the box. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

• The competencies that I noticed from the Wright Brothers were: 
• Committed
• Motivated 
• Knowledgeable 
• Humble 
• Trustworthy 

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

• There wasn't really anything confusing to me in this reading. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

• Two questions I would ask the Wright Brothers: 
• What kept you going? You encountered so many hardships and many people could have possibly not succeeded in doing what you two did. So what gave you the motivation?
• If you could have done something differently, what would it be? 
• I would ask them these two questions because I think it is important to understand what motivates people that way you know how to motivate others and yourself. I also think it is important to learn from not only your mistakes but other people who are more knowledgeable than me. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

• I think the Wright Brothers opinion of hard work would be that it always pays off. To always work hard because you know you are giving it your all no matter if you fail or succeed. I definitely share this same opinion. 

Making It Real

Resume

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N6Aafs8JWnLP_3shl6rBu-TVGqLWUC5ISPT-YRENOrg/edit?usp=sharing

My Exit Strategy

1) I am not sure what would my exit strategy actually be. If I feel like my business will be a staple in the community, I would probably stay with the business for several decades and retire or protect it as a family business and pass it down to my children. If it isn't a staple in my community I would probably sell the business to make a large return and start a different business. I think it ultimately depends on how responsive my customers are to the products we serve and the environment we provide. 

2) Like I said before, I would choose my exit strategy based on how my customers respond to my venture. I think this is very important to me because I want my restaurant to really feel like home. I want the food I provide to taste home cooked and I want all types of families to feel like they always belong and are welcomed. If they do and love the restaurant I would definitely keep it until I retire or pass it down to my children. 

3) I think my exit strategy has definitely influenced other decisions I've made in my concept. Because I hope to love it and make it feel homey, I think it has influenced the type of food I serve and the type of employees I hire. I also think it would influence the decor and location of the restaurant. My exit strategy has influenced how I plan to acquire and use resources. I want to buy food from local farmers who put all their love into growing healthy, fresh food. I also want to hire high school students to learn while they work and feel like they are a part of another family. That is why I named my restaurant "Homestyle". 

Venture Concept No. 1

"Homestyle"

My idea appeals to families and individuals who live a hectic lifestyle and are trying to eat healthy, fresh food. There are some places who do have some of these aspects to their business, but it is hard to find one that is fast, fresh, and healthy. This opportunity was created because many families not only have both parents working in their household, but they also have many after-school activities which make it difficult to have a healthy and fast cooked meal at home. This opportunity was also presented through individuals who work full-time and try to stay fit. Geographically, I think my restaurant would really appeal to metropolitan areas where many families and individuals live who like high pace lifestyles. Currently customers might be trying their best to satisfy this need by meal prepping on Sundays for the week. I think customers are pretty loyal to what they use when it really satisfies their needs well. I think the opportunity is pretty big. A lot of people in the US are over weight and I think the window of opportunity will be open for a long time. People are trying to change their way of eating and having an overall healthier lifestyle but it is difficult because unfortunately life does get in the way. 

 

My innovation is a restaurant that offers fresh, healthy and fast food to its customers. We will use local resources to create the food and make it in increments throughout the day to keep the food fresh. The food will be provided in an assembly lined fashion. Customer will tell the employee what type of protein they want and then veggies/grains, and so on. I would be selling plates of lunch/dinner food ranging from $5 - $15 and beverages ranging from $1-$4. Exact prices will depend on the time required to make the food and the amount of food provided per plate. 

My innovation will address the problem in many ways. My customers will be provided will not only healthy food but it will guaranteed fresh and local and it will be available for them the second they walk into the restaurant. I do not think it will be hard for my customers to switch to eating my food because there isn't really anything available like my product. I think my biggest competitors who be places like Wholefoods that provide healthy fast options at their stores but you do not really know how fresh the food is. The food is also self served allowing the food to be exposed to many people. I think my packaging, price points, distribution, customer experience and business location plays a huge part in defining my business concept. I think my pricing would have to be in a good range where customers do not feel like they are over paying for their food but that they feel like it is a fair price for the quality of food being provided. Customer experience and location go hand - in - hand I believe. It will have to be in an easily accessible location and the decor inside will have to feel homey and encourage happiness and relaxation. I think my restaurant would need about 7-8 employees. One manager, one main chef, two student chefs, two servers, and one bus boy. 25% of my employees will be hired from local schools who are interested in the culinary arts.    

My most important resource will definitely be the local vendors who will be providing the food and those students who are passionate about food. I think it would be hard for my competitors to copy these two things because it is not easy to find local vendors who will be able to provide all the food used. I also do not think many restaurants implement a learning program. Customers will be contributing to the community and at the same time eating delicious food. 

The next thing for my venture would definitely be creating a delivery app where customers will be able to choose what food they want and it would be delivered to their doorstep/place of work etc.

For me, I would want to have multiple locations after five years of opening my venture. In the next decade I would like to own other businesses and I think this first venture will help understand what it takes to run a business. 

Celebrating Failure

This past semester I did not have a specific failure that I clearly remember. I do believe I did fail at giving my all in this class. I convinced myself that I was working to hard and that was an excuse enough to not do a specific assignment during the semester. I did not complete any of the elevator pitches and now that I look back I realize that it was an important aspect to the class. Not only did I lose the points, I lost development that the elevator pitches would have given me. They would have not only helped me developed my idea further, but I know for certain I would have gotten more comfortable with preparing speeches and practicing them. After looking through other classmate's third elevator pitches, I realized that I really missed an important part of the class. 

I did learn many things through this failure. I realize that I sometimes try to come up with any excuse not to do something that makes me feel uncomfortable to accomplish. I also learned that when I just do something and get it over with, I am proud of myself and realize that it was not that difficult to accomplish. I think I realized that it is important to stop making excuses to not do things that make me feel uncomfortable and try to make an effort to complete the tasks in front of me. 

I think failure is very important in life. It helps you become a better and stronger human being. It helps you deal with other hard situations in life. It many cases failure is hard for me because I do not like how it makes me feel. However, I know it is important. When I fail I try to think about what can I learn from the situation, what can I do differently next and what actions did I take that led me to failure. I also reflect on any uncontrollable outside sources that contributed and piece together what I can control and what can't be controlled in the future when I am trying to accomplish a task or goal.  I think this class has really helped me realize how important it is to do things in a timely manner and allow myself to not get overwhelmed. I'm overall likely to not take these types of risks than I did four months ago. I think I always need to assess the situation and realize what is important and what can not be taken lightly.