14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Some behaviors that I have used to keep up with the assignments in this course are discipline and scheduling. Considering that most of the assignments are due at 12pm I have to remind myself that they are not due at 12am, so this requires me to never sleep in, especially on days that assignments are due.

2) In the past two months, I have not really felt like giving up, however I have been a little discouraged when I miss one or two assignments accidentally, but it is up to me to learn from my mistakes and do better next time when assignments are due. I feel like these experiences have allowed me to learn and to know better for the next time so I will not allow them to happen again.

3) Three tips I would offer to next semester's students would be to manage your time efficiently, don't worry if you are late on one or two assignments, and do not give up if you are feeling discouraged in not only this class but any other class you are taking.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1)  What surprised me most about the Wright Brothers is that they were in their mid-30s when they began on their quest to build the first aero-vehicle, and it took them ten years to do so. What I most admired about them was their determination and perseverance even after so many years of working. There were not many flaws I could think of with the Wright Brothers. They had encountered adversity and failure, but in these tough times they picked themselves back up and kept on going.

2) Both of the brothers loved the idea of aviation, and both were extremely intelligent, which made them such experts in their field. Knowledge and determination is what allowed them to achieve their goal.

3) In the book, I did not understand why government officials were unresponsive to the Wright Brothers, as they had such a brilliant idea but no one would really take them seriously enough.

4) What sparked the idea to create the world's first vehicle that can travel in the air? What kept you from giving up after all of these years and failures? I believe these questions are imperative to ask because it is so inspirational how these two men thought of the idea in the first place, let alone stayed determined after a countless amount of failures.

5) I believe that the Wright Brothers believed that hard work was solely based on whether or not you believed you succeeded or not, but somewhere down the road they needed to everyone else to believe in them too. I believe in this philosophy, however I also believe that it is enough to just try and succeed on your own and if you fail to get back up again and do not give up.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Pick a Segment: In order to segment my market, I decided to demographically separate my potential customers by age and by circumstance. In this case, I will choose people broadly from ages 18-45 that go out on a regular basis to local restaurants in the United States.

Interviews: I interviewed three more people, from ages 18-45 that go out frequently and are current residents in the United States.

Out of the three people I interviewed, I made sure that each of them had the unmet need I described in my previous posts. From here, I moved on to ask questions about the setting in which each of these people find that their need is being unmet, and with all three cases, I learned that they find themselves at an establishment that requires them to tip or suggests them to tip the workers. All three of the people I interviewed go out to dinner often, so their time of day was afternoon to later at night.

Surprisingly, the first thing that the younger people I interviewed said they do when they find themselves in the uncomfortable gratuity situation, they usually just tip approximately 20% to their server. The older person I interviewed (45) stated that when they find themselves in this situation they just do not tip altogether, which is OK, but obviously leaves the server not satisfied and bitter. The younger people I interviewed usually just find a place in which they don't have to tip as much so they look online via a maps app to find such an environment. The older person I interviewed simply continues to not tip when they feel uncomfortable. This situation makes the friends and family uncomfortable, leading to both sides being unhappy at all times.

Findings: What I have learned from these interviews is that although the younger members seemed to be more courteous and subjective to the tipping environment, they still had the need and were unhappy when the situation became uncomfortable or if they felt that they were being disrespectful had they not tipped enough. On the other hand, the older person I interviewed seemed to stand their ground more, and not be upset as much, but this is a perfect example for why the servers are the ones who receive the short end of the stick in this situation because they are not getting paid. These three people obviously do not represent all of the American population, but we could make an inference that they represent some if not most.

Conclusion: After reflecting and summarizing what I have learned from my interviews, I can say that this specific market segmentation is appropriate for my current opportunity. I could specify more on age, but I believe that all ages and opinions are a major factor when it comes to whether or not the customer or worker is experiencing an unmet need. When these interviewees search for information to help ease the pain of their situations they find themselves in at gratuity establishments, they probably do not find much helpful information considering that most of the American restaurant industry involves tipping and lowering the wages of servers. This is also why I believe that this opportunity still holds strong for the most part, although it may be too broad and I may need to specify my market segmentation more, or even change my opportunity altogether.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

I believe that this idea could work not only because customers have a need for a great dining experience and a comfortable environment to spend time with their loved ones in, but because servers are desperate for a consistent wage rather than a waxing and waning one that relies heavily on gratuity. This idea, however, could face a downfall not only because there could be potential competitors that I am unaware of, but most national restaurants pay their services below minimum wage, and most customers that come to America and see this find it unnatural and uncomfortable. Also, some servers may enjoy the tips they receive at their current establishment and not want to risk that, but from what I have learned, there is a necessity on both ends of the spectrum.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview Reflection
      Before conducting the five additional interviews regarding my opportunity, I tried to find ones who would not necessarily hold the same views as the five people that I had interviewed before, but some of the responses were surprisingly similar. Considering that the first five interviews that were conducted were with people who had experience in the industry that allows them to make tips, not the ones who were in management or have never made tips before, I tried to interview people who were either managing a tip-based work environment or people who had never worked/worked a tips job in their life.

Who: There are certain people who share the same opinions with those who have difficulty working with companies that limit their pay rate, however if they do not have the experience working or working where they would receive tips, the fall outside of the boundary of unmet needs. The people that I did interview that had no working experience at all for the most part shared the same concerns and opinions with those I interviewed first, but they did not meet the criteria simply because they had lack of experience.

What: This need can vary from desirable to a true need just depending on the person you are asking. From my interviews, 2 out of the three people in the first set stated that they wanted extra money and a steady pay rate so that they could buy things that they want or go out with friends more, while the rest of the interviewees stated that they would love the extra pay to be able to live a better life and be able to take care of themselves independently. This made me realize that the opportunity itself varies greatly and can cause some issues since it is very broad.

Why: The outsiders' needs are quite different from those inside the boundary, mainly because the ones who are within this boundary actually need this change to happen, while the ones outside are unaffected by this change. This is precisely why change does not occur, because the outsiders' needs are too plentiful and overshadow those who really need change to happen in the service industry.

The Second-Most Important Part of Entrepreneurship

Solution
        My previously stated problem was the issue in the service industry that servers, and customers, face when it comes to tipping after paying for a service. Most people I interviewed had a common theme, that being how tipping causes problems not only for workers, but also customers. The main problem is rooted in American culture, which would make it somewhat hard to find a solution. When it comes to whether a product or a service is needed to solve this problem, I would say for now a service would be appropriate. In this case, the problem itself is within a service, so rather than introducing a new service, it would be ideal to reconstruct and implement new regulations to the service industry itself. For example, certain service companies could implement new rules, where servers' wages could be raised, however customers would not be required to tip. It would obviously take time and an important exchange and understanding between customers and workers, but new regulations and procedures and a change of culture would be the most appropriate, yet complicated, solution to this opportunity. As I do more research, I may find that an introduction of a product or service into the industry could benefit the problem.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity
Many American workers in the restaurant and service industry rely heavily on the act of tipping by American consumers, resulting in a lower minimum wage, which is legal for employers to give out.
Who: American service workers
What: Rely heavily on tips to make most of their wages
Why: Culture implemented over many years makes tipping seem moral, but service workers most of the time suffer from this cultural impact.

Hypothesis
Testing the Need: The service workers who receive tips are the main subject of people who share the need.

Testing the What: The boundaries of this need are whether or not all American workers feel this way, because some may be happy with their wages. Also, it depends a lot on the specific industry in which they are working, because some consumers tip more in specific areas rather than others, which makes this situation dependent on setting, and more of a problem.

Testing the Why: Some workers may not believe that tipping is an issue in America, and some may believe that they make way less than they should and should not have to be fully reliant on tips. Some customers may even not want to tip servers, or would rather avoid the situation in which they feel obligated to tip. Either way, customers and service working suffer from the cultural idea of tipping.

Interview Reflection
Considering that the subject here is any American who works in customer service or restaurants, I just interviewed five people who have had experience working as a server or someone who receives tips. I also interviewed people whose pay rate is affected based on whether tips are accepted or not. After the interviews, I concluded that the majority of workers interviewed felt that the main issue is the drop in wages, but also acknowledge that the lower wages are affected by the tipping ideology. Some, however, had no problem with tips or the difference and wage, but I noticed that this was also because the average tips a night that these people would make were much higher than those who had an issue and the opportunity.

Conclusion
After learning about my opportunity and extensively interviewing five subjects who are affected by this opportunity, I can conclude that the opportunity of tipping in America still remains an opportunity, but it can vary between each individual in question. I realized that more people than I thought believe that tips have a bad affect on their working lives. Usually, when I thought of tips, I thought of them as a good thing, but if consumers do not feel the need to tip, then the worker suffers. I believe that this opportunity could be solved so that customer and workers are equally happy.

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1) Customer Needs Analysis Elevates Sales and Productivity for a Food Industry Client - Infiniti Research's Latest Success Story
a) https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190228005765/en/Customer-Analysis-Elevates-Sales-Productivity-Food-Industry
b) This article states how competitive the fast food industry is and how the unmet customer needs are extremely important.
c) The customer in this situation is the people who eat at fast food restaurants
d) The opportunity in this article is stating how certain fast food industries need to meet customer needs in order to grow and beat their competition. The opportunity itself is easy to accomplish, but the customer need needs to be specified for each restaurant.

Considering I found this article about the opportunity, it is safe to say that it does exist and that I did not make it up, however, one could believe that the opportunity does not exist and fast food restaurants are doing good on their own without needing to keep changing their services for customers so rapidly. I believe that the unmet needs of customers are always opportunities and places that offer services, such as fast food restaurants, should constantly change in order to meet the needs of a growing economy and population.

2) Like Apple, these firms satisfy unmet need: Cramer
a) https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/10/like-apple-these-firms-satisfy-unmet-need-cramer.html
b) Opportunity in this location reveals that some customers do not prefer to take out their credit card every time they pay for something, so Apple took this opportunity to create Apple Pay.
c) The customer in this situation is anyone with a credit card.
d) The opportunity is relatively hard for someone with no prior experience or funds to pull it off, however, Apple is a very large company with the resources to meet the need of it's customers.

I do believe that this need is unmet (now met) because I, myself, have hated taking out my card every time I pay for something and pulling out my phone to pay is so simple, especially since most everyone has a phone. People who do not have phones or who do not care about taking out their cards may not see this as an opportunity, but Apple must have seen enough complaints to label it as an opportunity themselves.

3) The Future of Data Privacy in the United States
a) https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/the-future-of-data-privacy-in-the-united-states/
b) New regulations regarding internet and data privacy are currently being passed in the United States, like CCPA. The opportunity here is taking what most people value (privacy) and allowing them to keep their privacy as technology develops exponentially.
c) The customer is all Americans who have access to the Internet and data.
d) The opportunity is going to be hard to take advantage of, considering that technology is growing so fast and laws take time to pass. So, if the government takes privacy extremely seriously, they should try to keep up with the protection of it's citizens.

I believe that this opportunity is extremely important, and if someone were to think that it is not an opportunity, it would be because they do not value privacy. Everyone values their privacy to a certain extent, as do I, so I believe that this opportunity is very important and should meet the needs of its customers.

4) Here's a better way to do compliance and risk management
a) https://techbeacon.com/security/heres-better-way-do-compliance-risk-management
b) Constant laws and regulations are being put into place dealing with ethical and business issues that some companies cannot keep up with all of the regulations, which makes them extremely vulnerable to getting in legal trouble because of their lack of knowledge of regulations.
c) The customer is any company that has regulations
d) The opportunity here is that companies should be more knowledgeable about the regulations of their company and the federal regulations, but some may not be able to keep up with all of them. It may be hard to implicate a strategy to help these companies better prepare for rules and regulations, but I believe that reaching out and collecting sources that will give them the information they need will keep them out of financial and legal trouble.

Some may believe that companies should already be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations of their own company, but there are a lot of federal regulations that are passed every year, so there must be a way to make it easier for large companies to enforce the regulations rather than get in trouble for not knowing they even exist.