1) The part of this reading that stood out to me was the section about would be the story that the author of the article stated out with. I think I found it to be so surprising because it was a very shocking story in of itself. The fact that a gang attacked them was so insane to even read about.
2) This article was pretty straight forward, but there was one part that stumped me. The most confusing part was all of the things about microfinance. The concept of it is one that has a lot of details, so before reading everything very meticulously I was quite confused on what exactly it was and what its purpose was.
3) I would ask the author of this article why they decided to take such basic things and conceptualize them into pyramid. I would also ask the author why he decided to create this article in the first place. I thought it was very personal and difficult to read, so I would like to know what his true purpose behind the piece is in his own words.
4) I don't think the author was necessarily wrong but just needs to be very careful about what is said. Beginning with the first sentence of the article there is a lot of mention of cultural and religious norms of a region- so it is very easy for things to be found offensive.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Final Reflection
1) Looking back at all of my blog posts I am so surprised and overwhelmed to see so many assignments. This semester we did so much, more than I have ever realized. Looking back on my very first post almost made me tear up, because I can't believe how far I have come. Some of my best moments throughout this semester would be my introduction post, my venture concept post, and the overall design and organization of my blog. I really like the pictures I chose to put on some posts, and the theme I chose for the overall feel of the blog. Some of my worse moments include pretty much all of my interviewing posts. I did get better at doing interviews, but I still always felt kind of weird and unnatural.2) The thing I will remember most from this class would its not normal format. In no other class will I have to do the things I've done in this class, and it makes me kind of sad. The things we had to do for this class made us get out of our comfort zones and actually go into the real world. I think that these qualities are so much more valuable then just reading and being tested on memorized information.
3) I have learned a lot from this semester, and although I wouldn't say I fully see myself as an entrepreneur- I am definitely on my way. I have gained so much more confidence in my abilities after this class, and it has truly caused me to step out of my comfort zone and think outside of the box. I am definitely much closer to that entrepreneur mindset than I was before, and I could not be more glad that I decided to take this class.
4) I would tell a future student to get excited but to be prepared to work a lot. This class (like all other classes) requires you to be very organized, manage your time, and be an effective communicator. I would also encourage prospective students to really indulge in the assignments and not to just do the bare minimum. In order to perform to the best of your abilities just keep track of all of the assignments and make sure you are putting forth 110% of your effort. In order to foster an entreprenuerial mindset I would definitely say to take every assignment and try to once again, truly indulge yourself. The more you get into the class the more you will get out of it!
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 4
The pitch:
Reflection: Once again, my feedback was filled with positive things. Everyone loved how sophisticated my recording was, how I was clear and concise, and they said that I had their attention the entire time. I think these are some of the most important things in a pitch, so I was overwhelmed with happiness to hear that people think I am doing that well of a job. This time around I tried to do the same things that people said I did well.
What I changed: This time around I tried to get a more natural camera angle, even though people said the angle was fine. I also really tried not to stutter or get nervous- which was something I was internally struggling with every time before doing an assessment like this. This time around I tried to use gestures but only very minimally, and I also tried to appear more relaxed (but I don't think I was very successful). I think this elevator pitch was not the best out of all the times I've done it, but I still stuck with it.
https://youtu.be/ZlI371Te7-4
Reflection: Once again, my feedback was filled with positive things. Everyone loved how sophisticated my recording was, how I was clear and concise, and they said that I had their attention the entire time. I think these are some of the most important things in a pitch, so I was overwhelmed with happiness to hear that people think I am doing that well of a job. This time around I tried to do the same things that people said I did well.
What I changed: This time around I tried to get a more natural camera angle, even though people said the angle was fine. I also really tried not to stutter or get nervous- which was something I was internally struggling with every time before doing an assessment like this. This time around I tried to use gestures but only very minimally, and I also tried to appear more relaxed (but I don't think I was very successful). I think this elevator pitch was not the best out of all the times I've done it, but I still stuck with it.
Venture Concept No. 2
My business concept is one that could do very well in the world of dance. All throughout this class I have spent time deciding on the concept I wanted to create, who my target audience is, why people would like my product, and what is next. Through all of this I have learned so much about myself and my product.
Opportunity: Once I realized that there was a problem that I could solve, I instantly saw my opportunity. My product is great for anyone who dances and therefore uses dance shoes. A large part of my target market also includes dance moms and dads, the people who go out and buy their child the supply he/she needs for dance. I am closing out a large group of my market (those who don't dance), but the product truly just doesn't appeal to them in anyway. However, my "next" idea does appeal to a wider range of people. The idea is for a "skin patch", which basically is a super flexible patch with ultra-healing powers that goes on ripped pieces of skin on your toes. Sneakers and other types of shoes can cause painful tears in the skin that eliminate your ability to effectively practice, which is why people in any sport could utilize this product.
I foresee my product being sold via a dance store online, so I guess my idea is more B2B than I thought. However, doing this would allow me to reach just about anyone geographically, since most sales would be done online. My product would also be in dance wear stores, so that people in that area could conveniently walk in and buy the product too.
As of today, customers with this problem are satisfying their need by either dancing with hole-filled shoes or are going out and spending a lot of money on new shoes. My idea would eliminate the need to waste money on brand new shoes, especially if you just bought a pair. Current customers facing dance shoe problems are "loyal" to their methods of shoe fixing because it's the only option they really have. Once my idea exists, how they purchase dance shoes will forever be changed. This leaves my product with a pretty big window of opportunity in its market. I think this window should stay open until a better and cheaper product comes along, which is probably inevitable.
Although a lot of popular dance websites exist, there is no other company doing what I am doing. There are patches on some dance websites, but they are only for attaching to your existing shoe to make it the best fit for the type of floor you use. My patches would be designed specifically for holes and also to fit the floor; not to mention that they will be incredibly durable.
My shoe patch patch idea named "Pointe N' Fix" is an idea that revolves around something that has always been close to my heart, dance. As a dancer, I've always found that my brand new canvas ballet shoes begin to rip just a couple weeks into first using them. The same thing happens with my pointe shoes, which is especially troublesome, because a new pair of pointe shoes range from $100-$200. All dancers know exactly what I'm talking about, and my idea for a company sells patches of whatever material your dance shoe is made out of, and with a super strong glue already attached, you just adhere the appropriate piece to your shoe for a reliable, quick, and easy fix.
Now, for what goes into my product to determine cost estimates. Dance shoes are rather expensive in nature, so I envision buying patches of the material might be pricey. Other than this, all need is super strong yet flexible glue for adherence purposes, which shouldn't cost too much. My costs would approximately be:
- Cost to make a single patch: ($6.00 for material $3 for adherence glue)= $9.00
- How much I would sell the patch for: $15.00
- Margins: $6.00 for each sale
- Package will have a sleek, colorful design
- Instructions on package of how to adhere patch will be easy to follow and succinct
Venture Concept: Now that the details of my plan are more clear, I can finalize everything about my concept. In regard to my customers, they would want to use my product over other ways of shoe fixing because it is the cheapest and most reliable alternative. Like I mentioned earlier, there is nothing very similar to my product out on the market yet- so I don't envision it being hard for them to switch, but rather it will be hard for them to believe in the greatness of my product. Since many competitors don't exist, I think my biggest threat will be large dance wear/ dance shoe companies making a very similar product but stamp their brand onto it. My competitors weaknesses include not having a product similar to mine right now.
The price of my product is very appealing, and since I'm not a widely known brand- packaging, customer support and experience, and distribution are defining factors in my venture concept. Furthermore, I would need a nice group of around 30 employees/staff to upkeep with my productions. I would of course oversee all operations, but I would need a COO and CFO to be my right and left hands as well.
Overall, I think my most important resource would be myself. My idea, combined with my diligence and yearning for success cannot be replaced by any competitor. The next things on the list for my venture would be to grow my company (product) to as big as possible and then to eventually happily retire. Tying into my future plans, I do see myself still with my company after 5 years, but still retiring soon after. As an entrepreneur I want to continue to learn about and better myself in the ways of business.
The price of my product is very appealing, and since I'm not a widely known brand- packaging, customer support and experience, and distribution are defining factors in my venture concept. Furthermore, I would need a nice group of around 30 employees/staff to upkeep with my productions. I would of course oversee all operations, but I would need a COO and CFO to be my right and left hands as well.
Overall, I think my most important resource would be myself. My idea, combined with my diligence and yearning for success cannot be replaced by any competitor. The next things on the list for my venture would be to grow my company (product) to as big as possible and then to eventually happily retire. Tying into my future plans, I do see myself still with my company after 5 years, but still retiring soon after. As an entrepreneur I want to continue to learn about and better myself in the ways of business.
Feedback: All of the people who provided feedback were overwhelmingly positive and approving of my ideas. A lot of them said that although they don't dance, they love my idea. One person did mention that my product was for a very specific group of people, so that it may be hard to stretch out to people not in market (since they have no use for the product). Others mentioned how they did other sports (for example, a guy named Dallin talked about his crossfit experiences) and said how I could try to market my product to other people who don't necessarily dance.
Changes: People seemed to love my layout and what I talked about. I did go into depth on this assignment and the length of my post turned some people off, so this time around I tried to keep only the most important details. By doing this I can keep my audience more intrigued and less likely to become bored/ stop reading. I also tried to expand upon the most important points in my concept. Other than this, I didn't have much to change.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Week 14 Reading Reflection
Chapters 3 and 4:
1) The biggest surprise for me in this reading would have to be the part about preparing for failure in chapter 3. I think reading about this was so surprising because I think of failure as having a lot of ambiguity- you never really know when it's going to happen. It's easy to see how I thought preparing for something that you don't know is going to occur would be surprising!
2) The most confusing part for me was the diagram on page 88. It is supposed to be classifying decisions using a conceptual framework, but the picture just confused me. After truly analyzing it I understood it a little more, but I'm still kind of confused!
3) I would ask the author why he decided to put a chapter about ethics in the book, to see if he was trying to persuade people a certain way or if he felt it was very necessary for educational purposes. I would also ask why he chose the "entreprenuerial thought" he put at the beginning of chapter 3, to get to know his motives behind the piece.
4) The part that the author wasn't necessarily wrong about but could change would be the "Defining Ethics"section in chapter 4. Ethics is a funny thing to play around with- because there is no true root of validity in anything ethics based. Of course we know good from bad- but what exactly is good and what exactly is bad? I think it is too subjective of a thing to include in this textbook.
1) The biggest surprise for me in this reading would have to be the part about preparing for failure in chapter 3. I think reading about this was so surprising because I think of failure as having a lot of ambiguity- you never really know when it's going to happen. It's easy to see how I thought preparing for something that you don't know is going to occur would be surprising!
2) The most confusing part for me was the diagram on page 88. It is supposed to be classifying decisions using a conceptual framework, but the picture just confused me. After truly analyzing it I understood it a little more, but I'm still kind of confused!
3) I would ask the author why he decided to put a chapter about ethics in the book, to see if he was trying to persuade people a certain way or if he felt it was very necessary for educational purposes. I would also ask why he chose the "entreprenuerial thought" he put at the beginning of chapter 3, to get to know his motives behind the piece.
4) The part that the author wasn't necessarily wrong about but could change would be the "Defining Ethics"section in chapter 4. Ethics is a funny thing to play around with- because there is no true root of validity in anything ethics based. Of course we know good from bad- but what exactly is good and what exactly is bad? I think it is too subjective of a thing to include in this textbook.
SEO: Going for the Google Gold
1) My approach to search engine optimization (SEO) would be to try to infiltrate the web with my blogposts. I did this by always making sure to include a link in my comments on other people's blogposts, and I have given a lot of my friends the link to my blog so they could check it out as well. The repetition of my link and having lots of people visit my page defintely improved my SEO.
2) With almost every comment I put "feel free to check out my blogpost here: *insert link*", so I would say this is the closest thing I had to a set of key words. I picked this phrase and inclusion of my link in order to effectively and slyly put my link into my comment; so that then people who visit another person's blog with my comment on it will see my link, and then be prompted to look at my post!
3) I didn't use any super popular social media to enhance my SEO, I just used Blogger, yet I feel like I did an okay job. I was incredibly surprised by the number of visits I had to my blog; I have 712 page views! That's a WHOLE lot more than I would've ever imagined. I would say that my blog wasn't really ignored, because of the plethora of views I have and the outstanding comments I got on each post.
4) My "Elevator Pitch No. 2" post had the most traffic, a whopping 28 views and 6 comments. I think the comments only occurred because they were assigned, but the 28 views was still pretty good. I think this got the most views out of all my posts because the video aspect of it was intriguing and I think I did a pretty decent job with the pitch.
5) I have a very popular first in last name, so just typing in one or the other doesn't work- but when you type my name my blog does come up in the results! Unfortunately my key phrase does not lead to my blog, but I think that is understandable because I didn't make it succinct and unique enough. Just searching "Cassidy McKenna" however, you can see my blogposts starting at page 9. I thought for sure it would've been on some of the beginning pages, so I was surprised to see it was that far back in the search results. I need to continue working on my SEO.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Very Short Interview, Part 2
My thoughts on my initial interview looking back on it are all pretty good. I thought I asked very good questions, and the answers I received were eye-opening and inspiring. It's always great to hear from someone with so much passion for what they do- it is so great to hear from an entrepreneur himself. To fill you on my last interview, I talked to the creator and owner of UnBalanced, a clothing company that a family friend started.
Unfortunately I could not record my interview because of geographical differences, but I can sum up the conversation on the phone. Here were the questions I asked and summaries of the responses I received:
1) Did you ever think that you didn't have the mind of an entrepreneur? If so, how did you learn to embody this spirit?
I think that I've always had a mind for innovation- I always loved coming up with new, big ideas. I love brainstorming about things that could be enhanced and coming up with business ideas. I continue to embody this spirit because it's just something that I love to do. Entrepreneurship takes passion, and it's my passion!
2) What did you do if you ever felt like giving up?
Anytime I got frustrated throughout my two times truly being an entrepreneur, I kept in my mind that I am bigger than my failures- and that these said failures are the very thing that is going to make me a better person- in business and in life. Without failure we would be nowhere! Always keep a positive outlook and remember that you CAN work through whatever is getting you down.
3) Do you think my entrepreneurship class is doing a good job of giving me an entreprenuerial mindset?
This interview and the last I thought you asked great questions- but I like this question a lot because I do think that your professor is giving you great assignments. It's less just book reading and more real world experience- which is what you guys need. I would enjoy taking this class!
Since the person I interviewed is a family friend, it wasn't too nerve racking talking to him; yet I feel like I have become more comfortable with communicating all together. Interviews used to make me nervous, yet now I have learned to keep cool, calm, and collected. My levels of comfort are expanding, and I can truthfully say I do feel more confident doing things like this now. My interviewee is always impressed with the latest thing that I'm doing, so he was very pleased that I was reaching out to him again. He really enjoyed the questions i chose to ask, and even said himself that I was getting great real world experience.
Unfortunately I could not record my interview because of geographical differences, but I can sum up the conversation on the phone. Here were the questions I asked and summaries of the responses I received:
1) Did you ever think that you didn't have the mind of an entrepreneur? If so, how did you learn to embody this spirit?
I think that I've always had a mind for innovation- I always loved coming up with new, big ideas. I love brainstorming about things that could be enhanced and coming up with business ideas. I continue to embody this spirit because it's just something that I love to do. Entrepreneurship takes passion, and it's my passion!
2) What did you do if you ever felt like giving up?
Anytime I got frustrated throughout my two times truly being an entrepreneur, I kept in my mind that I am bigger than my failures- and that these said failures are the very thing that is going to make me a better person- in business and in life. Without failure we would be nowhere! Always keep a positive outlook and remember that you CAN work through whatever is getting you down.
3) Do you think my entrepreneurship class is doing a good job of giving me an entreprenuerial mindset?
This interview and the last I thought you asked great questions- but I like this question a lot because I do think that your professor is giving you great assignments. It's less just book reading and more real world experience- which is what you guys need. I would enjoy taking this class!
Since the person I interviewed is a family friend, it wasn't too nerve racking talking to him; yet I feel like I have become more comfortable with communicating all together. Interviews used to make me nervous, yet now I have learned to keep cool, calm, and collected. My levels of comfort are expanding, and I can truthfully say I do feel more confident doing things like this now. My interviewee is always impressed with the latest thing that I'm doing, so he was very pleased that I was reaching out to him again. He really enjoyed the questions i chose to ask, and even said himself that I was getting great real world experience.
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