FINAL REFLECTION

When reading through my old post posts until now, I have really seen a difference. In the way that I write and how I express myself through the blog. My product grew and I was able to get more ideas for it the more I got into the blogging. To be completely honest, a lot of the time it was dreading and I just wanted to give up. Studying abroad has made this class an obstacle for me because of the time change and keeping up with due dates for my in class and online classes. I am proud of being able to finish the semester strong with one final blog post.
I do not have the same mentality I did starting this semester but I would not call myself an entrepreneur. Maybe in the future with more experience, but for now I'm just a Marketing student. Being an entrepreneur is hard, but I have learned that anyone can be one. Everyone has an idea, it just depends how much of a drive they have for it. For anyone taking this class in the future, that is my recommendation. Everyone has a drive and a passion, just find it and make that the product for this class. There is a lot of time and dedication made for this class, so might as well combine it with something that will make it more fun. The best way to perform the best in this course is to do all the blog posts and always listen to what other people have to say because it will help for this class and for the future.

EXIT STRATEGY

1. I am hoping to sell my product (automatic door lock for school) in the following 5 years. I think the faster it is up, the better. This is something that is needed now and I don't think it should wait. I don't really had a set time that it will be in business. I think it should be in business until every school as this product installed. This product is something that is very meaningful for safety and its not something I would keep as a family company. It could be, but if my children want to do something else, they can. I will pass the company down to a CEO or CFO, if the company becomes that large.

2. Like states before, the faster the product is up and running the better. Last year there was one school shooting per week, whether it was covered on the news or not is a different story. It is proven that there needs to be something done about this problem and this product will do just that.

3. I think since this is something that is a problem today in society, it has really affected the exit strategy. There are products that are made everyday and put on the market that its not the right time to sell it and then the company fails. This strategy is good because its what the market needs today and it will not fail. It will succeed until it is everywhere (hopefully).

READING REFLECTION NO. 3

   I had heard about the cosmetic brand "Mary Kay" and had seen it in countless stores. I did not know it was a brand made my someone names Mary Kay Ash. For this Reading Reflection I read Miracles Happen by Mary Kay Ash. Since she was born right before the 20s, people would constantly tell her that she would not succeed and become who she did. I felt like I was able to get to know her in the story and I really admired her aspirations. Mary Kay Ash was able to prove people wrong and succeed with her cosmetic line. Something in the book that I least admired and I was a little confused about was her failures. She could have gone more into detail about it and told her readers how to overcome it. For someone as successful as her, she must have some failures? How did she over come it? Maybe it was part of her writing and she didn't want to admit that she failed in the past, especially because she was so hard working and determined.
Other than those questions, I would not ask her anything specific. I would just ask if I could follow her around for a day and see how she worked. She died in 2001, so that would not be possible anymore, but if it were, that would've been amazing. It was no lie that she was a hard worker, she started her company from the ground up and thats a great characteristic to have. When I put my mind to something, I will not stop until it is done and I feel like thats something I share with Mary Kay Ash.

CELEBRATING FAILURE

I am taking two online classes and two in person classes this semester. I'm not a huge fan of online classes because I tend to procrastinate even more than usual. This being said, in my other online class I have procrastinated so much that it shows in my grades. No matter how much I study, I still get low grades for my quizzes and tests. This is my fault because of the lectures. Watching lectures online has always been a problem for me and since I never watch it on time, I have a lot to watch in a short amount of time.
I've learned that I have to pace myself or take less online classes if this will continue. One online class is fine because I organize myself to watch lectures twice a week but since studying abroad, it has become more difficult and I watch the lectures whenever I think I have time. I am studying a lot for my next exam in that class and hopefully it will pay off. I get frustrated when I do not see the results I want but I am the only one at fault. Sometimes the information doesn't click and thats also what is happening. If I sit down and put all my focus on it, I will hopefully do well.

WHAT'S NEXT?

EXISTING MARKET:

1. The next step for my product is talking to a customer. I need to talk to either someone who has power within the public school system department, or a principle in a private school. The ideal customer would be public schools since private schools have more security.

2. After interviewing people, I came to the conclusion that what I said in step 1 needs to happen. I should be planning to talk to someone who would tell me if I am waisting my time or if this is something that needs to be done and can be done.

3. This will take some time. Having an automatic door lock in all schools or just in a few starting in Florida will take a while. There is a lot of research, meetings, and conversations that need to happen before putting this product on the market for schools to install. The best way to have this product start working is setting a meeting with someone who will make it happen.

I feel as if I have been repeating myself, but I have been talking about the existing market since the beginning of my blog posts. Talking to a chairman or someone in charge will help the product be hear about and start adding them to schools everywhere. From past interviews and responses to my blog posts, this is a product that is needed and people want to see it be implemented.


NEW MARKET:

1. If I were to target a very poor part of society, I would have to speak to a commissioner instead of the head of public school systems. I would go to the commissioner of a city and ask for them to arrange a meeting so that schools in a more poor area have the same rights as other places. I can even maybe start in lower income neighborhoods since they sometimes have less security.

2. Like I said before, the automatic door lock may help low income or poorer neighborhoods become more safe. Tragedies can happen anywhere, but sometimes some places are more at risk. In this case poor parts of society tend to me this way. 

3. I interviewed someone who went to public school in a low income/ poorer part of town. They told me that their school as bad to little security and this would be something very helpful and they wish it has existed in their school. Although they were never in danger, now a days it is a different story and there is no such thing as too much safety.

4. I was surprised to learn that the school the person I interviewed did not have a lot of safety. Sometimes poorer parts of society are left out and not as remembered or cared for. This way low income schools will have the same benefits as every other school.

It might be even better to start in schools that are part of poorer societies. This way they have the safety that they lack. Research will be done to see what schools are in more need of safety and that way the automatic door locks will be first installed there. 

YOUR VENTURE'S UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

Resources needed for my venture:

1. Door
2. Automatic Lock
3. Button to lock door
4. Electrical Materials
5. Technician

Instead of doing a VRIN Analysis for all the resources, it is better to do it all together. There are not much resources that are needed to create this product, therefore the five resources are needed.

Valuable: All the resources will be unique and only made for this product. There will be research done to see what is the best way to go with the automatic door lock product.
Rare: The product has a lot of electrical usage, therefore the technicians will be the only ones who know how to install it.
Inimitable: The product is the only one of its kind. No one has come up with it, so the door, lock, and materials will not be sold or made anywhere else.
Non-Subsitutable: There are similar resources like doors, locks and materials. People can do research and put it together themselves, but it is not the same as how the product will be. Since there is specific research done, this would be the safest options for installations.

Overall, all the resources are important in their own way. They all have their own usage and without one, the other would not work. In order to have an automatic door lock in school, there needs to be a new door installed with the lock and the button or remote to have someone lock it from the inside. There will be a lot of electrical materials used, where the technicians are the only ones who know how to install it.

ELEVATOR PITCH NO. 3

https://youtu.be/n99OBLAOeCk

I received good feedback on my last elevator pitch. I has a script in it and in the comments, my classmate said they really liked that and that he would maybe incorporate it in his next pitch. I feel like this really helped me because I sometimes get nervous so having the script doesn't make me go off topic.

I incorporated the script in my elevator pitch again. I realized that it really calmed me down and makes me say everything I need to so I can get my point across clearly. I don’t think this was my best yet but I am slowly learning and becoming more comfortable. I not only talked about my product, but how my past experiences have helped me be the best person for this job. I can say I am capable of doing something like an automatic door lock for schools because it was my idea, but I also need to prove why I had this idea in the first place.