Secret Sauce

1. This person believes my strongest attribute is the fact that I find something that I am passionate about and I give it a 100% effort. I believe this is a good quality because it will allow me to push myself when times get tough.
2. This person believes that my best human capital characteristic is the fact that I am always striving for improvement. This will benefit me in the future because it will prevent me from getting stuck in ruts when I'm doing the same thing over and over again.
3. This person believes that my best piece of human capital is being able to have fun with whatever I'm doing and enjoy it. This is important because it will allow me to have extra energy going into whatever endeavor
4.  This person thinks that my best quality when it comes to human capital is my ambition. This is important because when the going gets tough this will allow me to see past the difficulty and to the main goal and power through.
5. This person believes my actual dedication is my best human capital characteristic. This helps in the same way that ambition does, so that when it gets hard I power through and keep going.

Reflection: It seems that all of the main points that everyone agrees on are around the idea that I do not give up easily and I enjoy what I do and give it all the effort I have. This is a dangerous trifecta when it comes to getting anything done because It allows me to get tasks done quickly and efficiently. This is around the feedback I thought I would get, I thought I would get more feedback about my enthusiasm, because I feel like that is a big part of my personality,but it ties into all of the other things they discussed in the recordings.

Figuring out buyer behavior No.2

Figuring out buyer behavior No.2


I conducted interviews with people who self identified as being in the consumer market for my product. When talking to these potential customers the most important thing to them when it is a new technological product is the safety aspect. The general consensus was that it is cool if this "wireless charging system" work, but what if it emits a radiation that causes some sort of long term side effects or impairs brain development at an early age. The next aspect the interviewees found most important was the price. Since the device has usefulness in many settings with medium to large groups of people the affordability aspect seemed very important. One business owner said "Even if it keeps all of my clients phones charges at my business, it still needs to be affordable." Since this product is meant to service multiple people the price point will be more expensive so there is a good chance it cold be a payment plan when it comes to selling it to larger homes and businesses. One of the interviewees described how it would be a good Christmas present for all of the kids, and since it is a gift for all of the kids the higher price point is justified, and she was more justified to buy it. The sort of things that would make them think it was a bad purchase would be no one being at the home where it is installed to use it, everyone is just at school or work the whole time.

Conclusion: The buyer behavior of this product treats this product as one for a community. Whether it is for a business or a home this is the central point behind the sale. If no one at the office or at the home is using it, it is considered a bad purchase and a waste of money. However, if it is utilized properly the high price point can be justified and will most definitely  be worth it.

Halfway Reflection

Halfway Reflection

1. The behaviors I used to keep up with the requirements of this course were mainly my time management skills. Like some of my other peers this summer I took a week long vacation for summer. In order to stay on track because I had no internet where I was going, I had to get all my work done before the trip, and then as soon as I got back I had to get a lot of work done as well.
2. One point I felt like giving up is when I figured out I couldn't do the peer reviews on my phone on vacation. I knew I wouldn't be able to get the points and the highest grade I could get was capped lower than it was before. After a Little bit of thinking it came to me that it was only a few points in the big scheme of things and I could still get an A.
3. Three tips
• When it comes down to it fostering skills that support tenacity it comes down to finding a reason to wanting to get the work done. If you don't care it won't get done.
• Developing the tenacious mindset means finding that reason and drive to get the work done.
• This tenacity should be suited to your personality as well. However you go about dealing with problems is exactly how you should go about finding and implementing your newfound drive.

Reading Reflection #1

Andrew Carnegie


What surprised me the most?
Carnegie was a hard worker when he started off, obviously most people that are successful are hard working, but I expected him to have family help, or just be straight up lucky.

What did I most admire?
I admired Carnegie's work ethic and mindset of growth and advancement. During the course of his young years, he was always working hard to get promoted as his job as a telegraph messenger boy, and this help set him up for success in the rail road business.

What did I least admire?
In his day and age dealing with strikes with brute force is how it was done. But obviously with his strong character, and once being in his  own factory workers shoes, I feel like he could have dealt with the Homestead strike better rather than causing bloodshed.

• The competencies that I noticed that Carnegie exhibited was relentless dedication and a very strong work ethic.
• One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the Johnstown flood. If Carnegie was the man of integrity he obviously was why didn't he say something about the structure of the dam? He obviously knew there was something up with it and should have done something about it.
• If I was able to ask him 2 questions I would ask him:
• Did your success in any way contribute to your overall happiness in a good way?
• I would ask this because I feel like a lot of people who work all the time and I wonder if Carnegie enjoyed his work, or if in the end he got tired of it.
• If you were alive today and could see the legacy you have left behind would you be happy with it?
• I would ask him this because I'm curious on how he would want to be remembered and if he would be happy with how the world views him today.
• I think Carnegie's opinion of hard work was that it was necessary for success. He was an immigrant and is a major example of the rags to riches story of the American dream. He went from a poor child laborer from the riches person in the entire United States. Going from that low to that high requires a tremendous amount of hard work, and I'm sure he would preach that.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1


Interviewee #1

Q: How do you go about charging your phone on a daily basis?
A: I usually pug it in while I'm sleeping.
Q: Do you have a problem with how much you have to charge your phone?
A: No I feel as if my phone doesn't have any battery problems.
Q: Would anyone in your household benefit from a wireless charging system?
A: Yes actually. I have 3 kids that are always on their iPads and they are always cuddled up next to an outlet, I know they would love something like that.
Q: How would you go about finding such a product?
A: I would probably ask some of my co workers or the parents of my kid's friends if they have ever heard of something like that. I would also probably Google "wireless charging system".

Interviewee #2

Q: How do you usually go about charging your phone on a daily basis?
A: I usually charge my phone at work.
Q: Do you have a problem with how much you charge your phone?
A: Yes I do. I get up every morning before work to go to the gym and I listen to music when I work out. This on top of my phone's battery life kills my battery by the time I get to work.
Q: Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your workplace?
A: Heck yes I would. I wouldn't have to keep it plugged into my computer all the time and it would always be charged.
Q: Do you think your co workers would benefit from such a device?
A: Yes I would imagine that some of them come to work with their phones nearly dead.
Q: How would you go about finding such a product?
A: I would probably Google "charging wireless" or something like that, but I would have to bring it up to my boss since he would definitely have the final call on anything of that nature.

Interviewee #3

Q: How do you usually charge your phone?
A: Usually just when I'm at home taking care of the kids.
Q: Do you have a problem with how you charge your phone?
A: No I'm at home a lot so I just leave it in the other room.
Q: Is there anyone in your household who has a problem with how they charge their phone?
A: Well my son always has friends over, and they are always jockeying for control of the chargers.
Q:Do you think your son and his friends would benefit from a way to wirelessly charging their phones?
A: Most definitely they would love that
Q: How would you go about finding a product that can accomplish that?
A: I would probably ask some of the moms of the other kids, or I would Google "wireless charging"

What I learned was that busy people or busy families who spend a lot of time in their home or workplace fall into the market for this product. The families want the charging device for their kids or their kids friends who ae always on their phones. The working man would find it useful at work because he is busy and is already on low battery from going to the gym before work.

To conclude I have learned from this segment that in terms of awareness and search that the consumers aren't that aware, but their search methods are what I expected. If they were to find out about the product their search methods of Googling and asking friends and family would lead them to my product.

Idea Napkin No.1

Idea Napkin

1. You: I am going into my sophomore year at the University of Florida and I am majoring in marketing. My skills and experience are mainly derived from my job at Publix. From my job I have acquired excellent customer service skills that would be useful in selling my product.
2. What are you offering customers: My product is a wireless charging system that charges all phones connected to the system in a home or small business.
3. Who are you offering it to: My target market consists of people aged 16-30 who are constantly using their phones through out the day. The thing they all have in common is they are in either their home or their workplace a large portion of their time which would allow for a long charging period.
4. Why do they care: The wireless charging system is an efficient way to charge multiple phones at the same time, and is more convenient than the traditional wall plug in chargers.
5. What are your core competencies: The fact that the system is wireless and can charge multiple devices is what sets it apart from normal chargers. In a building with 15 or so people it is more efficient for everyone to charge wirelessly than have everyone bring their own chargers.

I believe that these five elements fit together pretty well, however the fact that it needs to be installed into an actual place, and only becomes useful means that it will target household and businesses and will make less for the individual consumer. Overall I believe that my concept it pretty solid, but if there was a way to reach individuals better than we would be in perfect shape.

Elevator Pitch #1

   

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2


Interviewee 1

Q: How long do you charge your phone daily?
A: Probably around more than 3 hours a day.
Q: How do you charge your phone?
A: I charge my phone overnight, and through out the day I have a charging case that prevents my phone from dying.
Q: Do you feel like you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or place of work
A: No not really just because I feel like that is unnecessary because I have my charging case

Interviewee 2

Q: How long do you charge your phone daily?

A: Around 2 hours a day

Q:How do you charge your phone?

A: I just plug it into the wall

Q: Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system?

A: Probably not, I'm getting the new Samsung next month and the battery life is supposed to be really good on it.

Interviewee 3

Q: How long do you charge your phone daily?

A: At least 3 hours a day

Q: How do you charge your phone?

A: On my desktop at home.

Q:Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charger in your home or workplace?

A: No because I work from home I can have my phone plugged into my computer all day and not have to worry about it.

Interviewee 4

Q: How long do you charge your phone daily?

A: Probably a little less than 2 hours a day

Q: How do you charge your phone?

A: In my car on my way to work.

Q: Do you feel that you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?

A: No just because I have a long commute to work, and I charge my phone on the way to and from work and I never have to worry about my phone dying.

Interviewee 5

Q: How long do you charge your phone daily?

A: I'd day 2 hours

Q: How do you charge your phone?

A: I plug it in right next to me when I'm watching TV

Q:Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?

A: A little bit, but it probably wouldn't make a difference because there is an outlet right next to where the couch is when I watch TV so I really don't need to.

Conclusions based on:

Who: The demographic doesn't matter as much as I thought it would. Many of the people I interviewed this time were all young, but fir various reasons, the wireless charger wouldn't be that useful to them.

What: The need I identified differs from another need such as charging one's laptop because everyone uses their phones all day, opposed to a laptop when there is a maximum of 3-4 hours a day of use.

Why: The outsider's differ from the mainstream target market because they all have some sort of way to easily charge their phone so that it doesn't hinder their day to day life.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is In: Young people who  at home or at work a majority  of the day without any good way to charge their phone.	Who is Not: People who have an easy alternative to charge   their phones.
What the Need Is: Needing an  easy and efficient way to charge one's phone.	What the Need Is Not: Not an absolute necessity, it is just a convivence thing for people ho use their phone a lot.
Why the Need Exists: Poor  battery life/constant use of  phones.	Alternative Explanations: Good use in small offices or homes to keep everyone's phone charged.

Solving the Problem

Solving the problem



The problem I identified earlier was that people's phones lose a lot of battery through out the day and end up needing to be charged a lot. In order to charge their phones they do they have to leave their phone in another room and let it charge, or stay tied down with it while it is charging. My solution is a wireless charging system. This wireless charging system can be set up in a home or a small office and customers would connect to this "device" and it would charge their phones as long as they are connected. This takes care of the problem of people's phones dying through out the day, and simplifies the whole charging process, so people do not have to plan their day around charging their phones. Opposed to staying tied to their phones customers have the freedom to move around their house or office with their phone and be more productive without being weighed down by having to plug in their phones to charge.

Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

• The opportunity I am pursuing is a wireless charger set up in homes or buildings that charges peoples cell phones without having to plug them in.
• Hypothesis: Cell phone users in the United States are unable to keep their phone fully charged all day without plugging into some sort of device, because of the poor battery life of cell phones and the absence of an efficient wireless charging system.
• The who: cell phone users in the US.
• The what: the users are unable to keep their phones fully charged without plugging into some sort of device.
• The why: Poor battery life of phones combined with the absence of  an efficient wireless charging.
• Hypothesis: If a wireless charging system was implemented, it would have great practicality and functionality because of the poor battery life of phones, and cell phone user's constant need to charge their phones through out the day at places like their home or work.
• Testing the who: Cell phone users with portable chargers don't experience a great need for this product, but it would definitely improve their quality of life.
• Testing the what: Most phones now experience the main issue of poor battery life, but iPhones more than any other brand.
• Testing the why: Households where there are people home all the time would benefit more from this wireless charging system. They would blame the phone producers for making poor quality batteries, but would probably end up purchasing one system anyways. 

Interviews

Interviewee 1

• Q: How long do you have to charge you phone on a daily basis?
• A: Around 1 to 2 hours a day.
• Q:How do you charge your phone through out the day?
• A: I plug it into the wall at my house or school, or even my laptop if I'm desperate.
• Q:Do you have a problem with charging your phone that much?
• A: Yes, I use my phone a lot during the day, and I have had it for a while, so the battery life isn't the best.
• Q: Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?
• A: Yeah I think it would be really convenient to not have to plug my phone in constantly to make sure it doesn't die. 

Interviewee 2

• Q: How long do you charge your phone on a daily basis?
• A: I just charge my phone when I go to sleep, and then while I'm at my desk at work.
• Q: Do you have a problem with charging your phone that much?
• A: No not really, when I wake up my phone is fully charged, and then I just plug it into my desktop while I'm at work and it isn't a pain.
• Q: Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?
• A: Not really I don't see charging my phone as that much of an inconvenience.

Interviewee 3

• Q: How long do you charge your phone on a daily basis?
• A: I charge it probably 3 to 4 hours a day.
• Q: How do you normally charge your phone?
• A: I have a portable charger that I use when I'm on the move, but if I'm at my house or at school I'll plug it in the wall.
• Q: Do you have a problem with charging your phone that much?
• A: Yeah its definitely ridiculous how much I have to charge it.
• Q:Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?
• A: For sure, if that means I won't have to charge my phone that much I would.

Interviewee 4

• Q: How long do you charge your phone on a daily basis?
• A: I'm not sure I just leave it on the charger and come back to it later and it is fully charged.
• Q: Do you feel you would be able to get more use out of your phone if you didn't have to plug it in to charge?
• A: Absolutely, it would great to be able to use it all the time and not have to worry about the battery.
• Q: Do you have a problem with charging your phone that much?
• A: Yeah, I feel like it would be nice to not have to leave my phone in the other room for a while.
• Q: Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?
• A: Yes, it would be nice to not have to charge my phone as frequently as I do.

Interviewee 5

• Q: How long do you charge your phone on a daily basis?
• A: Probably about an hour a day.
• Do you feel you would be able to get more out of your phone if you didn't have to plug it in to charge?
• A: Not really because I always charge it when I need to get work done, or get away and concentrate in getting things done.
• Q:Do you have a problem with charging your phone that much?
• A: Not really, no.
• Q:Do you think you would benefit from a wireless charging system in your home or workplace?
• A: Probably a little bit, but overall it wouldn't be worth the cost.

Summary

• I found that a majority of the people that I interviewed charge their phone pretty frequently through out the day and would be able to benefit from a wireless charging system. Additionally, those same people thought they would be able to get more out of their phone if they didn't have to charge it that much. However, there were a few in the group (the older folks) who don't charge their phone that much, and when they do they really wouldn't benefit that much from the system. This helps me come to the conclusion that younger people who are on their phones more would be the target market, and it would not be everyone with a cellphone as I thought before>

Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Economies Overseas Rebound 

• Where I found it: http://time.com/money/5075669/economic-trends-2018/
• This makes me think there is an opportunity because for the longest time the American Index funds have taken the lead in global market growth, but now with developing nations expanding faster than ever it makes sense the international markets will also be booming.
• The person I think is most likely to be the consumer is the middle middle or upper middle class. I think this because they are the ones who have enough money to invest, and with the booming economy they are going to want to invest their money somewhere to make a capital gain.
• I think for an informed person the opportunity is easy. If you know the good international stocks and funds the it will be easy. However, if you do not, you will have to hire a wealth manager to help you make these decisions.
• I saw the opportunity because for years the US market has been out performing the international, and experts keep on saying that the international market will make a comeback. I think that now is the right time mainly because there are many strong emerging developing economies such as Brazil and India

Supply of Hosing Finally is Catching up with Demand 

• Where I found it:https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/housing-trends-2018/
• This makes me think there is an opportunity because more houses are being built in the booming economy the supply is increasing which will decrease the price of houses.
• The person I think who will be most likely to capitalize on this trend are the millennials. They are just finishing up paying their student debt, and whether they are looking to settle down and raise a family, or live on their own their lives will be easier when their rent is less.
• The opportunity is just as easy to take advantage of as easy as it is to buy a house now.
• I saw this opportunity because of the fact the market has been going crazy, and with the President's goal to grow the wealth of the middle class this seems like another added bonus of the booming economy.

The need for more accountants after the Trump tax cuts

• Where I found it: https://1800accountant.com/blog/immediate-effects-trumps-tax-plan/
• This makes me think there is an opportunity because with the new tax cuts, there is a greater demand for accounts to understand the new code, and perform their services.
• The person I think would be most likely to capitalize on this trend would be college business students because accountants already makes a lot of money, and with this increased demand it will encourage more students to explore the field.
• The opportunity is pretty tough to take advantage of because one would need to pass the CPA and go through all four years of college and get their degree.
• I saw this opportunity because a student in my business speaking class gave his speech on the change in the accounting industry after Trump's tax cuts.

New Immigration reform (International Entrepreneur Parole rule)

• Where I found it:https://resources.envoyglobal.com/blog/new-immigration-regulations-for-2018
• This makes me think there is an opportunity because it just made it easier for entrepreneurs to enter the US and start a business.
• The people I think would be most likely to capitalize on this trend would be foreign entrepreneurs who want to start a business in the US.
• I saw this opportunity because I was researching the impacts of the immigration reform, and I though it would hurt all people trying to come into thee United States, but it turns out it is helping foreign business owners.