There are many companies, services and products that are virtually identical or very closely related, but their "secret sauce" is what sets them apart from their competitors. Five things that make me unique are my coordination and organizational skills to keep everything in line and operating in the most effective and efficient way possible. Next, my punctuality sets me apart from the rest which allows me to get things done on deadline or ahead of schedule -- being late is never an option. My ability to connect with people and create friendships out of nothing helps me expand my network and collaborate with bright minds who could push my business or service above and beyond my current expectations. My openness also allows me to take on new perspectives and see the bigger picture rather than being narrow minded and with a rigid way of operating. Lastly, I would usually say leadership skills, but I've come to realize it's not about knowing how to lead a group, but rather it's how you leverage a group. While learning about some of the most successful entrepreneurs, I found you get a heck of a lot further when you leverage people, their money and their ideas instead of taking something on by yourself.
Interview 1: He said that I'm a personable person who is always willing to help others at no expense. He added I know how to bring out the best in people and he's noticed through my actions, when I help people the favor usually gets returned down the road and the situation turns into a win-win for each party involved.
https://soundcloud.com/caelan-barnhart-849985099/friend-1
Interview 2: She said that my biggest talent is my ability to make a connection no matter how big or small it might be. She also said I'm a great listener, which allows me to feel and engage with others.
https://soundcloud.com/caelan-barnhart-849985099/friend-2
Interview 3: She said I'm dedicated to a successful future and pay high attention to details, which is often highlighted in my writing.
https://soundcloud.com/caelan-barnhart-849985099/friend-3
Interview 4: She said when I set my mind to something, I give it 100% of my effort. There's no point in doing something if you're going to do it sloppily, so I pay close attention to details to work toward an effective and efficient outcome.
https://soundcloud.com/caelan-barnhart-849985099/friend-4
Interview 5: He said that I'm a driven individual that knows what I want in life and what I have to do to get there. He again reaffirmed my ability to effectively and properly communicate with others and he thinks that's something that will serve me well in life.
https://soundcloud.com/caelan-barnhart-849985099/friend-5
My parents have always preached the idea that you get what you give, so I always try to pull the best out of people in hopes I will become a better and more improved person. My friends have picked out certain attributes that help make me who I am and I'm humbled by that, but at the end of the day I'm just living the way my parents raised me. Touching on what I said earlier, being successful is a lot easier when you have a team of people on your side, so don't push them away, build them up because what goes around comes around.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2
In order to figure out the buying behavior of my target market, I interviewed three people. The first person I choose to interview is my next door neighbor who prides himself on his various investment strategies. He's been the first one to tell me that it's not the price that matters, but rather it's the future value of what you're buying that matters the most. With that being said, he said the research for determining something's future value is much more difficult and time consuming than shopping around for the best price. He made it clear that confidence is also key and when you purchase something, no matter if it's a good, service, or stock. He stressed that you need to be 100 percent committed to it and not semi attached to alternatives on the market. Although, he said that price wasn't the most important aspect, he said it's important not to over pay and shorten a potentially large gain.
The second person that I had the privilege to interview was a family friend aged 32 years old. She has no investment experience and said her first factor when shopping for a service or good is the price. She said once she determines the price that she likes or best fits her budget, she moves on and compares the brands as she said she likes to associate brands with the quality of the product. She described herself as the type of person that won't purchase at a discount price if she's not getting exactly what she wants. For example: she'd rather buy the black car for $30,000 rather than settle for the red car that's only $25,000. We concluded that her buying behavior is centered around preference, brand recognition and quality. She said the main reason behind her buying behavior is that it's very hard to predict a future value and she'd rather get what she wants today rather than wait and see the unexpected down the road.
The third person that I interviewed valued familiarity above everything else. He said his biggest pet peeve is purchasing a new product or service with a learning curve and that he'd rather purchase something he's familiar with and knows will perform how it's suppose to. He said this style of buying behavior can tend to be more expensive at times initially but that being a loyal customer usually pays off when it comes to service and renewals. With all that being said he thinks that quality is associated with familiarity because when you find a product that works effectively, there's no reason to mess with it and try something else. Contrary to the first two people that I interviewed, this buyer showed his purchase decisions are not based off trends and outside pressures, but rather based off what will serve him the best.
These interviews helped me realize that people use completely different strategies to justify their purchases decisions even when shopping in the same market space for the same product or service. Although everybody takes price, quality and value into consideration, they're placed at various degrees of importance unique to the buyer. These interviews showed me that purchasing behaviors vary greatly, so when designing a product or service and marketing it, you need to make sure to appeal to most segments to maximize your sales. Conducting more interviews could help me determine the single most powerful buying behavior to help narrow in my focus.
The second person that I had the privilege to interview was a family friend aged 32 years old. She has no investment experience and said her first factor when shopping for a service or good is the price. She said once she determines the price that she likes or best fits her budget, she moves on and compares the brands as she said she likes to associate brands with the quality of the product. She described herself as the type of person that won't purchase at a discount price if she's not getting exactly what she wants. For example: she'd rather buy the black car for $30,000 rather than settle for the red car that's only $25,000. We concluded that her buying behavior is centered around preference, brand recognition and quality. She said the main reason behind her buying behavior is that it's very hard to predict a future value and she'd rather get what she wants today rather than wait and see the unexpected down the road.
The third person that I interviewed valued familiarity above everything else. He said his biggest pet peeve is purchasing a new product or service with a learning curve and that he'd rather purchase something he's familiar with and knows will perform how it's suppose to. He said this style of buying behavior can tend to be more expensive at times initially but that being a loyal customer usually pays off when it comes to service and renewals. With all that being said he thinks that quality is associated with familiarity because when you find a product that works effectively, there's no reason to mess with it and try something else. Contrary to the first two people that I interviewed, this buyer showed his purchase decisions are not based off trends and outside pressures, but rather based off what will serve him the best.
These interviews helped me realize that people use completely different strategies to justify their purchases decisions even when shopping in the same market space for the same product or service. Although everybody takes price, quality and value into consideration, they're placed at various degrees of importance unique to the buyer. These interviews showed me that purchasing behaviors vary greatly, so when designing a product or service and marketing it, you need to make sure to appeal to most segments to maximize your sales. Conducting more interviews could help me determine the single most powerful buying behavior to help narrow in my focus.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
14A - Halfway Reflection
1. A behavior that I have developed to stay on top of this course is to have a set day each week to watch the lectures, complete the assignments and do the cupcakes even though we don't have a required meeting time. Having a time set aside to complete the course requirements helps me complete my work on time without procrastinating and helps me avoid surprises. The assignments are straight forward and easily doable if you're ahead of the game, but waiting until the last minute could bring some unwanted, and unneeded stress.
2. Once you get into the interviews and begin nit-picking all the different aspects of your identified opportunity, it can get a little discouraging and can feel like you have a long way to go, but over the first half of the course, you become more comfortable with the fact that you're going to fail over and over again in hopes to be successful. For many of us, the idea of entrepreneurship presents a whole new way of thinking and it takes some time to get the feel for it.
3. My first tip is to read and re-read the syllabus to make sure you understand the technical aspects of this course. Being overly familiar with how this course works can save you some easy points and reduce confusion down the road. My next tip is to take all criticism constructively and use it to better your product or service. Being narrow-minded won't help you in this course. Lastly, I encourage future students to take this course seriously as an opportunity to explore and possibly establish a business opportunity since basically every assignment revolves around your ideas.
13A - Reading Reflection No. 1
Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's by Ray Kroc
About the entrepreneur:
- I began reading “Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s” by Ray Kroc assuming that Ray Kroc was the mastermind behind the idea of McDonalds, but I came to find out he wasn’t. I’m not sure why this surprised me so much because we’ve learned throughout this course that simply having an idea and actually carrying it out are two totally different things. I’m sure if I conducted a little research, I’d find that a lot of the large companies we see today were dreamt up by someone and then built into the empires they are today by someone else.
- You have to be very passionate about something if you’re willing to pour your whole life into it. I admired Kroc’s passion for the business and all the hard work and dedication he put into making McDonald’s what it is today.
- We’ve all heard the saying “business is business,” and unfortunately Kroc treated some people poorly throughout the development of McDonald’s. Although, it might not always be something personal, I found his behavior at times to be a little un-admirable.
- Like most businesses, they are built from the ground up and experience plenty of turbulence on their way to success. Kroc experienced adversity and failure, but overcame them by taking each step at a time rather than getting lost in the big picture all the time.
What competencies did the entrepreneur exhibit:
- Some of the challenges Kroc faced on his road to success would’ve sent some entrepreneurs packing their bags looking for their next idea, but Kroc never showed any quit. A competency that Kroc had was that he was confident in himself and he kept working toward his end goal, because he knew he’d be successful one day.
- Kroc could definitely argue that he created McDonald’s since he’s responsible for what the giant restaurant has become, but it is a little confusing at first because he wasn’t the actual idea holder of the whole opportunity. In a way, it almost felt like he was writing off the McDonald brothers.
Questions for Ray Kroc:
- I would ask Kroc where he’d see himself if he hadn’t gotten involved in McDonald’s and turned it into a successful company. I would also ask him to take a look at the company now and tell me what his least favorite aspect of it is.
- Kroc seems like the type of guy to get something done at all cost necessary, no matter good or bad. Although I would describe myself as a dedicated person, I would say I would weigh my options a little more and think of some possible outcomes before acting and ruining relationships.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
12A - Figuring Out Buyer behavior No. 1
I have focused on the elderly segment. My service is focused around helping those with issues funding retirement. Florida has a high population of retirees, so there is a wide range of people to interview.
From the interviews I conducted, I found that my idea appears pretty good on paper, but might not translate well to the real world. However, the consensus was that there is definitely a market for this type of service if it's able to get fine tuned as there is obviously a retirement issue when comparing the current generation to those of the past. The interviews further confirmed the fact that retirement is usually a tough time no matter what and added financial stress doesn't help the situation. I was able to learn that the idea of replacing pharmaceutical prescriptions with "exercise prescriptions" was well received, and sparked interest as to why there isn't an everyday gym rooted in the health of the elderly. Many gyms focus on the youth and other elderly gyms are more like rehab centers at the hospitals, so the idea was perceived as refreshing. They liked the idea, but it was collectively agreed upon that the issue might lay more at the hands of the government and social security rather than a single company.
Knowing where to start is the root of retirement problems. There are many ways to go about saving for retirement, but now that the time to wait for the their investments to accumulate is not on their side, they didn't know where to go next. They liked how this concept was simple and something they could easily manage.
After conducting these interviews and as I'm beginning to understand my segment a little more thoroughly, I think they have the need awareness, they just need helping know where to go from there. These interviews actually sparked some confidence in my idea, because although it's still not completely solid, I have gotten some decent reactions, and I think with the right implication, it could be a beneficial and lucrative service.
11A - Idea Napkin No. 1
1. My name is Caelan Barnhart, and I am a senior public relations student. My talents include being an adept problem solver that's able to adapt quickly to new concepts or situations, while being an effective communicator is a top skill that I've used to create and solidify relationships. I grew up around real estate investors, which sparks my aspirations of creating my own extensive network of residential and commercial property. My investment-minded aspirations fall in line with the fight against problems with funding retirement.
2. This is the most undefined aspect of this overall opportunity. I've identified that there is a widespread issue of people not being able to retire properly, but the question of how to fix that is a little harder to focus in on. There are a few options I've explored such as create a real estate investment firm in which the elderly can invest in to hopefully reap some rewards. There is also a possibility that I think makes a lot more sense and compliments my future aspirations and that is creating a network of gyms that specialize in the health and wellness of people 60 and up in hopes to reduce the costs of medical bills during retirement. The overall goal and the combined effects of both strategies could work together to reduce expenses and increase funds to make retirement easier for those in need.
3. Our customers will be 60 and up and primarily those without a large retirement savings and express some concern for the future. Popular retirement states and communities would be the major target.
4. Customers would utilize my service because it could help create a sense of peace of mind and stability in a time that could otherwise be rather difficult. Investing in their own health might be the most beneficial thing to do around this time.
5. Most retirement plans are cut and dry, require high risk investments, and usually the rewards, if any, are not enough to sustain you throughout retirement especially if you have high medical bills. Investing in your health and wellness by choosing a gym that's rooted in medicine to help you stay in your best physical condition can help minimize medical bills.
I think these five factors I talked about above come together pretty well for the most part. The goals of each one compliment the next and aim to do go for other people. The one aspect that is a little weaker than the others is the exact service that I am offering. Although I have the framework for what that product might be, it's not a fined tuned service yet, rather just a gym rooted in medicine and therapy.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
9A - Testing the hypothesis, Part 2
Who: Not everyone runs into retirement challenges; however, it appears to be happening more frequently. In the interviews I conducted, I found that more often than not there is some sort of concern when it comes to financing retirement. Exploring the ones just on the outside of this unmet need, we decided that these people would be the super rich (obviously), people with solid and profitable investments capable of carrying them through retirement and the frugal people who are more conservative with their money. Although these people are very close to falling into this unmet need category, they lay just on the outside due to wealth, money management and spending habits.
What: This is where things got tricky. In the interviews, there was confusion on where the boundary for my need differed from another need. Retirement is such a case by case basis that it's hard to identify all the different needs and determine where they start and where they end. Noticing that there are multiple needs in this opportunity showed me I need to hone in my boundary and define it a little more. Bottom line is that most people go through retirement and making sure that everybody is capable of sustaining themselves is important.
Why: Yes, the underlying cause for the ones on the outside of this unmet need is different from those on the inside and that cause it rooted in wealth. Some of this wealth comes from luck, some from hard work and some from smart financial moves. Being on the inside can come from a variety of ways, too. The problem is determining where help is needed and where it is not.
What: This is where things got tricky. In the interviews, there was confusion on where the boundary for my need differed from another need. Retirement is such a case by case basis that it's hard to identify all the different needs and determine where they start and where they end. Noticing that there are multiple needs in this opportunity showed me I need to hone in my boundary and define it a little more. Bottom line is that most people go through retirement and making sure that everybody is capable of sustaining themselves is important.
Why: Yes, the underlying cause for the ones on the outside of this unmet need is different from those on the inside and that cause it rooted in wealth. Some of this wealth comes from luck, some from hard work and some from smart financial moves. Being on the inside can come from a variety of ways, too. The problem is determining where help is needed and where it is not.
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