18A - Create a Customer Avatar

Any person can be a nicotine addict regardless of their race, ethnicity, or religion. Young people, old people, and everyone in between can be addicts. My customers have all kinds of different hobbies, cars, favorite TV shows, favorite books, favorite politicians, etc. They all come from different family backgrounds and they all have gone through different life journeys. The one thing they all have in common is that they are addicted to nicotine and they all need to take actions to end this addiction. I have a lot of things in common with my customer avatar. While I am definitely not a nicotine addict, I am unique just like they are. I am sure many of them like a lot of the same things I like, but I am also sure many of them like a lot of different things than what I like.

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjR0Ip7QbfY&feature=youtu.be

None of the feedback from my first Elevator Pitch really surprised me. One person told me I should talk about my products earlier on in the video so that I don’t lose the audience. Another person told me I should include some facts in my video so that the audience has a better understanding of just how serious the problem that I am trying to solve is. I thought that both of these pieces of feedback were very helpful. Based on this feedback, I made some changes in my second Elevator Pitch. I made sure to start talking about my products in the beginning portion of the video and I added in some facts to capture the attention of the audience.

16A - What's Your Secret Sauce?

Five ways in which I think I have Human Capital:

1. Once I start something, I will not stop until I have finished what I started.

2. I am an extremely hard worker.

3. I care deeply about my reputation and I would never do anything to hinder it.

4. I am a very detail orientated individual.

5. I am very good at sharing ideas and working with other people

Interview #1: My girlfriend, Jade, thinks I am a very organized person. She also thinks I am very driven.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_t5yVaMzK5pOa5dhOhKQnYuW-yP59PA/view?usp=sharing

Interview #2: My friend, Grant, thinks I am a very hard worker. He also thinks I am very passionate.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kF-C4FWY0maynadVC99ObU4tq3PRe5E2/view?usp=sharing

Interview #3: My friend, Ben, thinks I am a very curious person. He says I am always committed to success.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C6dYv14j7C7iX4Mmt6Jy_hoR4ypgn6SX/view?usp=sharing

Interview #4: My friend, Jordan, also thinks I am a very hard worker. He also acknowledges that I never shy away from a challenge.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I30MRdmq30R1r4_qbaheQTFZ89JJk9C5/view?usp=sharing

Inteview #5: My friend, Edgar, also thinks I am a very organized person. He also thinks I am good at coming up with unique ideas.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16ubmhxDtNEi3W7rXbAj9CTKQ_GRrEhUE/view?usp=sharing

For the most part, I believe the people who know me best see myself in the same way I see myself. If anything, my friends are much more honest with me than I am with myself. I sometimes fail to recognize how hard of a worker I am and how much I do for other people, but my friends are never afraid to tell me how highly they think of me. I would not make any corrections to my list from part 1.

15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

From doing my interviews, I learned about all the different products that exist to help fight nicotine addiction. There are patches, vitamins, chewing gum, and various other drugs. All of these methods range in prices and effectiveness. The first person I interviewed said the most important thing was that he could purchase my products at a reasonable price. He said he can not afford expensive drugs, regardless of how effective they are. The next person I interviewed said she would pay any price for an effective drug to fight her nicotine addiction. She was much more concerned with the effectiveness of my products rather than the price. The third person I interviewed said she was not sure how much money she would be willing to spend on my products. She said it depends on how effective my products are. The first and third person I interviewed both preferred over-the-counter products because they are much cheaper and easier to get. The second person I interviewed was perfectly okay with having to get a prescription for my products. All in all, from doing these interviews, I have learned that although the effectiveness of my products are extremely important, the price is what will ultimately get people to try out my products. If my products are too expensive, people might not be willing to give them a chance. I believe it would be in my best interest to try to create products that can be sold over-the-counter so that a larger number of people are able to try them out.

14A - Halfway Reflection

1. In order to keep up with the requirements of this course, I have had to make sure I set aside an ample amount of time each week to complete all of the assignments. It is important to not wait until the last minute to complete assignments because everything usually takes longer than expected to complete.

2. A time when I felt like giving up was when I waited until 10:00 am on the due date to do my elevator pitch. I was really busy the night before so I didn’t have time to complete in until the morning. Little did I know, a short video recording would take a really long to complete. I ended up having to record like 20 different times in order to get the perfect video and I barely finished on time.

3. Three tips that I would offer next semester’s students are to make sure to go to the lectures or watch them online, don’t procrastinate, and take the assignments seriously. If you don’t go to the lectures or watch them online, you will fail the weekly quizzes. If you procrastinate, you might wait until Friday morning to do the assignments and then you might not finish in time. If you don’t take the assignments seriously, you won’t get anything out of the class. It’s as simple as that.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

1. The thing that surprised me most about Phil Knight is that he has a very introverted personality. This surprised me because many of the “sneaker heads” that are out there today have very extroverted personalities. They want everyone to know they have the newest and coolest shoes. Phil Knight kept more to himself and quietly went about his business.

I really admire the fact that Phil Knight was able to use a $50 investment from his parents to begin the creation of the brand we all know and love today, Nike.

The thing I least admire about Phil Knight is that he began his first shoe business by importing shoes from Japan. While this is still a huge accomplishment, it would have been nice if he could have sold shoes that were made in the United States.

Phil Knight encountered a lot of adversity. His first company, Blue Ribbon, struggled to stay out of debt. Knight had to constantly take out loans so that he could afford to keep his company in business. He also struggled to keep strong relationships with his shoe contractors in Japan.

2. Phil Knight is extremely smart. He noticed there was a need for quality running shoes, so he went out and started a shoe business. He was very dedicated and never quit even though he struggled mightily along the way.

3. One part of the writing that was confusing to me was the part about the $50 investment Phil Knight got from his parents. The book failed to mention how Knight was able to get more money to keep his business afloat. While it did mention he took out loans, I don’t understand how he was able to get enough loans, especially being the young entrepreneur he was at the time.

4. If I was able to ask two questions to Phil Knight, I would ask him when he first knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur, and I would ask him how he was able overcome the constant obstacles that were thrown his way along his journey. I would ask him these two questions because they are both very personal questions that I would be very interested in hearing the answers to.

5. I believe Phil Knight thinks hard work is the key to success. He had to work extremely hard to grow his companies and he continues to work hard, even today. I do share these same opinions because I learned at a very young age that nothing in life is going to be given to me and that I have to work for everything I want.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

For this assignment, I chose a segment of people who have started their own businesses. All three of the people I interviewed went to college and a major in the business school at their respective colleges. One of them was a guy who just graduated from college and started a website design business. Another one was a girl who started her own t-shirt business. The third person was a guy who created iPhone apps that are currently on the app store today.

All three of the people I interviewed told about their business journey and how their ideas came to be. They all said they wanted to start their own business at some point in their lives and that all they needed was a product that people wanted to buy. Once they came up with the product, the hard part was getting customers. The problem was not that there were not many customers. The main problem was that it was hard to make people aware of their products. Acquiring customers can be very expensive and most people in the beginning stages of their business. Do not have a lot of money to spend on marketing their product.

From doing my interviews, I learned that even though I might create a great product and there may be millions of potential customers out there, the biggest issue is going to be getting to be getting these people to use my product. Because there are already similar products out there, acquiring customers is going to be very difficult. I will have to prove to customers that my products are superior to all the others. It will probably be very difficult to go about marketing and advertising my products, but I believe I will be able to do it.

11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1. My name is Tyler Gaeser and I am from Orlando, Florida. My major is General Business Administration and I plan to minor in entrepreneurship. I also plan on earning my MBA. I am very good at solving problems and coming up with great solutions to these problems. I love to help people in any way I possibly can. I hope to use my product positively affect the lives of millions of people around the world.

2. I am offering two products that fight to end nicotine addiction. The first product is a pill. Addicts will need to take this pill everyday for about a week in order for their addiction to subside. After the week is up, they should no long feel a constant craving to smoke nicotine products. The other product that I am introducing is a tablet that dissolves on the tongue. This product is designed specially for people that are addicted to chewing tobacco. Similarly to the pill, the addict will use it every day and after a week, their addiction will be gone.

3. My products are meant for all nicotine addicts. This could be someone who smokes two packs of cigarettes per day, but it could also be someone who only smokes five cigarettes per day. Regardless of the extent of each person’s nicotine addiction, my products will be effective.

4. Customers will pay for my products because more and more nicotine addicts are becoming worried about their health. Many of these addicts truly want to stop smoking so that they are not a risk for major health issues. I know for a facts these people will use my products.

5. What sets me apart from everyone else is that I am fully dedicated to creating my products. I will do whatever it takes to be successful in creating my products. I also have access to a lot of useful resources that many people do not have access to.

I believe all five of these elements fit perfectly together. I am very good at creating solutions to problems. I have come up with two very beneficial products that I know people will purchase. My customer demographic is extremely large and people will be inclined to use my products because they are fearing for their health. Furthermore, I am fully dedicated and have access to multiple useful resources. Together, all of these things form a great business concept.