25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market

      In terms of what is next for my business venture, I really wanted to specify my market and narrow the ranges of certain prospects of the market as well. Considering my current market segment, consisting of more middle class Americans that go out to eat, I believe that I want to focus on a specific service in the restaurant industry that can also appease to another opportunity. An opportunity that I notice about restaurants is that the marketing aspect of the services that they provide is quite unclear and hard to lock down on what exactly restaurants do to promote their business. If the business is local, it may be easy to access local consumers, but I believe that attracting consumers from all over to be able to expand your establishment is one of the biggest problems that restaurants face. The next step in my business venture would be to discover new ways to advertise the business and the service it provides while also trying to expand to different markets.

(No interviews)

New Market

      Considering that my current market segment is mainly middle class Americans that are employed, I was thinking that maybe I could find a way to appease to people who may not be as well off as my current market segment is. One of the main necessities of all people is: food. Unfortunately, the poor demographic obviously does not have the privilege of having as much food as most middle class Americans have. If I could figure out a ways to possibly correlate the price of my services to the social and financial status of my consumers, maybe I could translate my services to people who are not as well off as my current market segment.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept

Opportunity

The opportunity that I am exploring in my business venture originates deeply within the culture of American service expectations and the customer expectations that come with it. The expectation of the average American citizen to tip their servers when they are out to eat is the opportunity that I am exploring in this venture, and although I do not have the one-fits-all solution to this opportunity, I am going to be exploring possible catalysts that can spark change in this cultural organization that has been embedded in American culture.

Specifically, most middle-class working Americans citizens who go out to eat often fit the market segmentation of this opportunity. Also, the range of age of the market segment includes American citizens from 18-40 years old. The nature of the need is not more situational rather than vital, not an intense need, but can be vital when the situation arises. This is why the market segmentation is extremely important to set up for the environment in which the opportunity would arise.

To set up this opportunity, we have to put the market consumers in the environment in which it will occur. In this case, imagine an average, working class American family going out to dinner. This particular family has a lovely meal, served to them by a waiter/waitress who was not extremely nice to them during their time at the restaurant. However, at the end of the meal, the family feels the need to still tip this server who was not necessarily deserving of the gratuity. If this scenario was flipped, the server would most likely be mad at the family for not tipping her/him, making the situation extremely uncomfortable for both parties involved. This type of scenario, by the way, would also have to take place in a rather populated area, preferably a city or a strip of town that has a lot of business. Anyhow, another issue with this awkward scenario is that the main driver is the wage of the workers and the sympathy given by the consumers to the workers. From my experience, I have learned that most servers rely on their tips rather than the wages that they are given per hour, mainly because they are paid below minimum wage; corporations assume that these servers will account for the lost wages in the tips that they will supposedly make. This creates an issue with the dynamic of the customer and the workers, making the environment and situation uncomfortable and maybe making some customers not come to the establishment again.

Unlike some, customers who are wealthy enough to tip servers do not come across this issue as often, but from experience I have learned that even the wealthiest of people can show signs of greed. Consumers bite the bullet most of the time and just tip servers to avoid such awkward interactions, which is also an issue that aids in making the whole process of eating out more uncomfortable. The opportunity itself is quite large, spanning across the country at all different restaurants, cafes, and diners that allow tipping. Thankfully, unless things start to change, this window of opportunity will always be open.

Innovation

            Amidst this broad spectrum of this opportunity, I have come up with a startup/catalyst business idea that could solve both workers and customers problems with tipping and gratuity by creating a new innovation restaurant that would no longer allow tipping, paying workers higher wages and leaving both parties satisfied. This innovated restaurant will make money by attracting more customers by not only being new and unique but also creating a more comfortable experience for them. Rather than selling a specific product or service, I am selling an experience that is familiar, yet different in one aspect that can change the dynamic entirely. I would not change many aspects of the prices of certain menu items, or even charge for the experience, however giving the workers a higher wage would require some extra spending that would need to be accounted for.

Venture Concept

            Because of how this innovated experience will make customers and service workers feel, it will completely solve the opportunity I described previously by eliminating tension between workers and consumers and alleviating the pressure of having to add gratuity at the end of a check. I do not think that it would be hard at all for consumers to switch to this new service. Not many things would change, and the location would be even more convenient for consumers to possibly just wander in and be pleasantly surprised, leading them to spread the word. There would not be many competitors, however in a different point of view every other restaurant could be a competitor. In this case, their main weakness would be that they enforce gratuity and my establishment would not. Customer service is the main proponent of my business concept, and I would organize my business and advertisement around the production of this unique service exchange.

What’s Next?

            The most important resource in my venture is going to be my social capital and learning how to network in the large service industry market. I would have to learn how to not only provide exceptional service, but also make it prevalent and make consumers aware in some way that is not invasive that they do not have to tip the serves because they are being appropriately compensated for. Next, I would love to tackle a more specified product that can be packaged and narrowed down to a very specific market. But, in the next ten years, assuming that I would have launched my business venture, I would love to have more than one establishment practicing this type of service and possibly influencing others to follow my lead in this endeavor.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

For the VRIN analysis of these resources, I gave them a rating of 1-10 at the end of each description to help me identify the top resource.

Resources

1. Intelligence (High GPA)
1. Value: It is quite valuable for a business to have an intelligent employee with the grades to back it up. (8)
2. Rarity: It is not very rare out of the many students in the world to have a high GPA. (3)
3. Inimitable: Considering it is a resource that can be learning and improved upon, it is quite inimitable, giving it a low rating. (4)
4. Non-Substitute: There are many resources that can produce intelligence: tutors, study sites, TA's. (3)

Total: 18

1. Sociable
1. Value: Not very valuable (2)
2. Rarity: Not very rare (2)
3. Inimitable: Can easily be imitated (1)
4. Non-Substitute: Not many resources can teach people how to be social, however. (4)

Total: 9

1. Important Contacts (Possible future employer and Production manager)
1. Value: Very valuable when starting a future business. (9)
2. Rarity: Rare, not all experts are the same, can provide unique insight (8)
3. Inimitable: Cannot be imitated unless you have the same contacts (8)
4. Non-Substitute: Cannot be substituted with another resource (10)

Total: 35

1. Want to change tipping culture in America
1. Value: Not extremely value, only an idea (5)
2. Rarity: Quite rare, not many people I have seen, at least, want to change this (6)
3. Inimitable: Can be imitated, just need the passion for it and knowledge to start the business (3)
4. Non-Substitute: Not very applicable, but growing up in the country can lead someone to have this mindset (4)

Total: 18

1. Access to Scholarship Funds to use for Startup
1. Value: Pretty valuable to have finances set aside for future endeavors (7)
2. Rarity: Not very rare (4)
3. Inimitable: Quite inimitable, relates back to intelligence resource (4)
4. Non-Substitute: Intelligence and sociable resources can be used to gain this resource (3)

Total: 18

1. Empathetic
1. Value: Valuable when working with people or trying to change organizational culture (8)
2. Rarity: Not very rare (4)
3. Inimitable: Can be imitated (4)
4. Non-Substitute: Some resources can be used to reproduce, but can be easily learned (4)

Total: 20

1. Summer Marketing Internship
1. Value: Very valuable for my specific business knowledge (9)
2. Rarity: Pretty rare, but many college students do internships (5)
3. Inimitable: Not very easily inimitable, unless someone is doing a very similar internship in the same field of expertise (7)
4. Non-Substitute: Can be gained with resources involving social capital, but difficult to obtain (7)

Total: 28

1. Attending one of the best Business Colleges (in country)
1. Value: Very valuable, it used to one's advantage (7)
2. Rarity: Not very rare (50,000+ students) (5)
3. Inimitable: Can be inimitable by many other students if accepted (5)
4. Non-Substitute: Can be obtained with some other resources such as intelligence, social capital, etc. (4)

Total: 21

1. Parent owns on personal business
1. Value: This can be very valuable in gaining knowledge about a field of expertise and not necessarily having to work for that knowledge (9)
2. Rarity: Not extremely rare (5)
3. Inimitable: Cannot necessarily be copied unless someone has a parent who owns their own business (5)
4. Non-Substitute: Since this is an effect of an outside person on you, then it is out of your control and cant be changed using your own resources (1)

Total: 20

1. Training in Accounting Work
1. Value: Very valuable in regards to field of accounting (8)
2. Rarity: Not very rare, there are many accountants (4)
3. Inimitable: Can be inimitable and copied easily (4)
4. Non-Substitute: Using human and social capital, this training can be received by anyone with a strong desire (3)

Total: 19

Top Resource

Looking at my VRIN Analysis, I have observed that my most valuable resources regard social capital and the contacts that I have acquired throughout my life and through this course. I believe that this is important in any aspect of life when it comes to wanting to start your own business, because not everything can be done on your own and it is extremely important to have insight and even help along the way.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I chose for this assignment is "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol Dweck.

1) The general theme or argument of this book is that our mindset determines the way we can change in our lives and how we can change our qualities to become better people in the entrepreneurship universe. It also touches on how our mindsets can grow, or remained fixed. Both ways describe different kinds of people, those being stuck in their ways and those who are aware that people can grow and learn.

2) Based on what we have been learning in this course, I believe that this book relates closely to what we have been studying recently, especially what we have been doing in these past few assignments involving selling ourselves and our qualities as entrepreneurs. If an entrepreneur has a mindset that is open to change and growth, then the entrepreneur themselves will be much more desirable to potential customers. If we have mindsets fluid and relatable to our customers, which is what we are learning about in class, it will be easier to appease to the market segment.

3) If I were to design an exercise in the class based on the book, I would ask students to try and describe themselves as someone completely different than who they are personally. Each student would be given a specific market segment and then be asked to describe themselves as if they were apart of that market segment. This would help the students be able to broaden how they think and also be able to put themselves in the shoes of consumers from market segments other than themselves.

4) What surprised me most about this book was that it was about the human mind and how it can be broad and complicated and change the way people think about others and the way people think about themselves. However, the book itself tries to de-complicate this concept by separating the "mindset" into two segments. Simplifying the idea of the "mindset" is somewhat contradicting of the author to do, considering that you would have to have a more fixed mindset to believe that there are only growth and fixed mindsets. This statement may be confusing, but I just thought that it was odd how talking about something so broad (the human mindset) can even be simplified into segments.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1) The first person I selected is a family member of mine who owns a small restaurant in St. Petersburg, making them an expert in my domain. I knew that they owned a business, and not previously using them in any other assignments, I decided to utilize this opportunity to get more insight from them, considering that they have accomplished what I am talking about doing.
      Considering that this was a close family member, they willingly gave me information on the subject without any exchange of favors, which I was grateful for. By knowing this expert in my domain, I will be able to freely consult and gather more insight as time progresses if I were to ever start this business.

2) The second person that I selected is someone who my father is close friends with that sells and distributes products while being head of a warehouse. I discovered this individual just by asking around if any of my family members were aware of someone who sells products and is aware of who market segmentation works. I am offering to help this person out over the summer, doing an internship that will last three months, and in return maybe one day he would be useful in helping me get my business started. Also, having these contacts for insight and information is also an extremely useful tool in making connections with people/experts in your domain and market.

3) The final person I contacted was a little difficult to find, but after locating the second individual, he led me to a contact that delivers supplies to restaurants, business, etc. It was hard to find a certain time to talk to this person, considering that they travel a lot around the country, but I believe that having this person's information will be useful in the future. Maybe I will be able to exploit this person's services to get my concept started and get the necessary materials needed in order to do so.

Reflection
Considering that I have never "networked" in the past, this experience was very useful, even if I never talk to these people again. It was interesting finding the individuals that I contacted, going through so many people in order to find certain experts in different fields to just get someone's phone number for the future if I ever need their help. I do believe that it will one day be very helpful to have the skill of being sociable and being able to offer something to certain experience people to get something from them in return. The most difficult part about this, however, is having something valuable enough to offer people in order to get something valuable from them when you have no experience in their fields.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) I am a very sociable person, and always get things done as soon as possible with as much effort as I can. It is very hard for me to procrastinate so when assignments or due dates are announced I strive to to complete them as quickly as I can. I have aspirations of being able to make change in the world for the betterment of people who are struggling in their lives, even if the change is minimal. If I were to start my own business in the restaurant industry I believe that it would be a very unique and interesting change that would be made to my own life, however I would feel very complete and satisfied if this business did become a reality.

2) The need I am helping to satisfy for customers is the urgency or uncomfortable exchanges between servers/service workers and average customers with their loved ones. Almost every interaction I have with servers at restaurants starts out well, but in the end comes the stress of having to deal with whether or not to tip and how much is an "acceptable amount". It is hard for college students especially to be expected to give extra money after a meal, and it is also hard for college students who are working for tips to have to rely on them to make a living.

3) The segmentation of my market can range from ages 20-40, and specifically people who love to go out and eat with friends or family. These people are sociable, and often try to be as generous as possible, even if deep down that is something they do not want to do. They will be generous in order to avoid any awkward situations, worrying about the consequences more than the heftiness of their wallets.

4) I believe that customers would be served at this establishment casually and professionally, and the whole point being that they can just enjoy their meal with no strings attached. The point of the restaurant itself is not to be interesting and cause attention, it is to create a very normal and comfortable experience for the customers, so comfortable that it is in fact a rarity in the United States.

5) The majority of the country enforces tipping and gratuity, which in my opinion is a very big flaw in the development in the country's culture. I believe that starting this business concept would obviously not change the whole serving industry in itself, but maybe it would inspire others to pay their workers more and strive to give their customers a more comfortable experience. Obviously, most companies try to do this themselves, but as stressful as most server jobs are, I believe that there should be some sort of solution to make both the customers of the establishment and the consumers of the service more financially safe.

I truly believe that the elements stated in my "idea napkin" fit together, although they may be somewhat broad. That is really the only issue I sense within this whole concept, is that it is so broad that it may not be successful. This is when a certain setting or city would be appropriate to inhabit a business like this, which I have not researched yet.

Feedback Memo
In the first idea napkin, I literally made a napkin like the one in the first assignment, not knowing that I was supposed to thoroughly explain the five elements and not just draw them on a napkin...That was the major change I made since the first assignment, doing this one correctly and specifically stating the five elements of the metaphorical "napkin".

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/P3Joy6ZGCNI

After my previous elevator pitch, I was aware or thought I was a little nervous. I tend to get very anxious before doing anything like what I did in the first elevator pitch assignment, even though I was alone in my kitchen...I tried my best to keep eye contact with the camera and not to act as nervous as I was before. Obviously, it is going to take a lot of practice to get over my "stage fright" and anxiety, because I can only imagine how I would feel in front of actual people! I also tried to make my pitch more to the point, swiftly giving a brief on some slight flaws in my idea, but also giving major support to the idea while keeping it brief.