30A- Final Reflection

This semester has been a definite roller coaster. Every summer class is always a little bit harder in my opinion, because in my life, I have so much going on with working two jobs, trying to cram summer classes, balance a social life, and more. With that being said, I have enjoyed taking ENT3003 this summer.
     Upon going back and looking at my past posts, reading some of the posts, and reading the comments and feedback that I received, I will honestly say that I did learn some valuable information. I have previously taken an entrepreneurship class, but this class did help me expand my knowledge base on the topic. I enjoyed the whole blog format, because I have never made a blog before, and in the beginning, I had no idea what was going on. I quickly caught on to the topic and I enjoyed posting my blogs. I  also enjoyed collaborating with my peers. I did not like the whole idea of being the same small group all semester, but at the end, I can say it was cool to grow together with those in my group.
     The thing that I will remember most from this class is the books that we read. I am not big on reading, but I truly enjoyed the books that I read. Doing the reading reflections helped to give me some insight and advice from real entrepreneurs. I learned about Elon Musk, Scott Adams, and Guy Kawasaki. The thing I enjoyed most were the assignments where we had to do a sort of self evaluation of our lives and what skills we possessed. These helped me to better see who I was as a person. I am most proud of myself accomplishing making a blog. I customized my page to the way I wanted it to look, and I labeled all of my blog posts, including pictures along the way.
     I would say that I definitely have moved closer to an entrepreneurial mindset. An entrepreneurial mindset is not just one specific thing. It is a broader way of thinking. It is an awareness of sort. Being aware of your surroundings and being aware of opportunities. I have definitely moved closer to an entrepreneurial mindset.
     The only recommendation that I would like to make to future students would be to not procrastinate. That is the same thing that I said with my halfway reflection too. Procrastinating will not bring any success. To get the most out of all the assignments, they require thought, you have to try. Just blowing through the assignments with half effort will not get you anywhere. You will also miss deadlines. My recommendation is to not procrastinate.
    All in all I had a great experience in this class. I hope that all of my future colleagues get as much knowledge from this class as I have!

Here is a picture that I took on the boat this past weekend with some friends. I am happy because I have finished all of my summer courses!

29A- Venture Concept No. 2

This is my second venture concept on my organization "Homebound", which is a not-for-profit organization helping military veterans readjust to civilian life after returning home from their time of service. I have received some very helpful advice regarding my idea, and I have adjusted my idea accordingly. 

Opportunity:

     Every day military men and women return home after their time of service. As of January 2016, all across America there were over 39,400 veterans who were homeless. In 2014 alone, there were an average of 20 veteran suicides per day. The number of veterans who are homeless, unemployed, have mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders is unacceptable here in the United States. Numerous men and women return home and have no direction on what to do, where to go, or how to readjust. These military men and women who need assistance on their journey back to civilian life are exactly who I am looking to help with Homebound.

    Currently, there are a multitude of military organizations that provide assistance to military veterans. These organizations include the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and more. All of these organizations help in various ways, many of them focusing mainly on wounded veterans. No one organizations offers the services that all veterans could potentially need, which is readjustment to civilian life. I want my organization to be open to military men and women, and their families, assisting them in their transition back to the United States

Innovation:

     As I stated above, I want to offer a service that is like no other. I want my not-for-profit organization to assist all veterans who return home, not just the ones who were wounded in combat. Even those men and women who were not shot or physically wounded, tote mental burdens that sometimes need attention as well. And even aside from mental or  physical wounds, sometimes veterans have been away from civilian life for so long, that they do not even know how to go about adjusting back. Whether it be counselling for mental health problems, assisting wounded veterans, or offering simply a friendly hand in adjusting back, Homebound will be an all around go to for veteran transition needs. 

     Being a not-for-profit, my organization will not focus on profits, but rather on helping. Of course we will require capital to run, and our financial capital will come from grants and donations from the government and generous patriots wanting to support our cause. Through my relationships connecting me with multiple state representatives, as well as the numerous CEO's and business owners that I have, I have become aware of numerous grants and funding availability opportunities that will make funding a very small problem to stress. Conservatively, our working capital for the first year will be $500,000 which is a very realistic and achievable number. I know of multiple non-profit organizations that receive government grants and donations of more than double this amount, and I know that we can receive the funding to make this happen.

      Aside from our financial capital, human capital will be volunteers across the country who are looking to assist the veterans on their transitions. In 2015 alone, there were over 62.6 million volunteers that spent an average of 52.6 hours of volunteering for the year. We plan to have numerous part-time volunteers that only volunteer when their schedule allows it. We will have a board of directors. They will help us efficiently and effectively allocate our resources. On the board, I will sit as chairman, and the other board members will have military experience. Who better to help veterans than other veterans. The board is not a full time position. We will just meet and discuss decisions when needed with monthly meetings. 

     Along with the volunteers, we plan to have a team of paid employees as well. We will have a full-time marketing agent that is paid on a salary basis that works to spread our organization out to the world as much as possible. This individual will be in charge of social media, collaborating with other organizations and event planning. As we grow, we will hire on a team to assist this position with their duties. We will also have a full time employee, also on salary, in charge of career and job location for our veterans. This individual will help find jobs and careers for our veterans in need. Another paid position that we will have is a full time counselor who will be required to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in counseling or psychology. As we grow, we intend to grow the number of paid full-time employees.

     We hope to be able to collaborate and work together with other organizations similar to our to expand and reach as many in need as we can.

Venture Concept:

      At first, I believe the first people who are going to seek out our services are going to be those who return home from their military service and are seeking out their plans now that they have returned home. We will provide life advisement to these men and women helping them stabilize back civilian life. While teaming up with organizations such as MilitaryFriendly.com, we will help them find potential employers to find a job, and assist in the other areas of life including social, financial, home buying, and more.

     Once our name has been established and the success of our organization begins to spread, we plan to have veterans from all ends of the spectrum seeking our services for their transition back to civilian life. When it comes to military not-for-profit organizations, we do not consider any of the others to be competitors, because as long as we are all helping veterans, than we have the same goal. With that being said, it has been made clear to me that they are indeed competition to my organization in terms of taking our funding away from us. Our organizations are competing for funds. This is not a huge problem that we are concerned about at the beginning stages of our startup because of the ways we will receive funding as I stated above. Also some of the weaknesses that have been exposed in recent years with some of our potential brother or sister organizations include fraud and money laundering. Our business venture will be sure to exemplify the highest standards of integrity to build an outstanding reputation. We will have a competitive edge over many of the competing organizations because we will not have the bad reputation that some of the others have made for themselves. 

Secret Sauce/ Unfair Advantage:

     The resources that we possess are extremely important in ensuring the success of our organization in the long run. Our most valuable resource that we possess is our connections that we have. Connections can make or break a company depending on who you know. With the various connections that we have, they will be assets to us, guiding us to success along the way. There are currently twenty-one military bases in Florida. We plan to get in contact with each of these military bases and let them be aware of our services and what we have to offer. The point in doing so is to allow them to know of our services and allow us to be able to get in contact with those getting ready to leave their time of military service so we can help them immediately. As we grow, we will gain new connections as well, further growing our connection base. As a not-for-profit for the military, we will have a slight advantage because many people will want to help us more opposed to others. Our connections that we have and that we will gain is by far our most valuable asset.

What's Next:

     I was once told in an entrepreneurship class that you want to think big, but start small. When we first start our organization, we will be working with limited capital, and limited volunteers. As we grow and expand though, we will grow infrastructure and assets to where we can do more and help more veterans. There will always be veterans returning home that need assistance, and helping them will always be our focus, no matter how large we grow.

My Goals:

     The point of the organization is not about me at all, but it is about the veterans of the United States. I want to give back to those men and women who gave so much for us. In the future, as we continue to grow, I want to help more veterans and recruit more people to join our cause. While networking with everyone we can along the way, I hope to achieve a reputable status with many, and build relationships that will last a lifetime. My goals include but are not limited to continuing to assist the veterans, and helping others start their own not-for-profits as well.

Feedback

I received a lot of helpful feedback regarding my first venture concept! I received a lot of positive feedback, as well as a lot of constructive criticism that helped me make my venture concept better! 

     I had two individuals that elaborated to me that even though there were other organizations that were helping in the same goal that I was, they were competition. They told me that we would be competing against each other for funding and grants. So I changed my idea on financial  capital. I got in contact with some of the contacts that  I have and that I have acquired along this journey to help figure out my capital situation a little bit better. I came up with an effective strategy regarding the situation.

     I also received feedback regarding my human capital. There was a concern regarding volunteers, and I received a suggestion to implement some paid employees. I created a better strategy. I will implement a board of directors to help us allocate funding appropriately. We will also implement a handful of paid positions starting off. I understand business structure and what it means. Along with the paid employees, I visited the website for the United State Department of Labor and I went through the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I found that there were 62.6 million people who volunteered in 2015, and the average time that they spent volunteering for the year was 52.6 hours. With my connections and marketing strategies, finding part-time volunteers will not be a problem.

     I also received feedback regarding contacting military bases to collaborate with them regarding my business idea and such. I did my research and found that there twenty-one military bases in Florida, and I found out how to contact them once we are established. 

Here is the logo of Homebound:

28A- Exit Strategy

For this assignment, I have to discuss my long-term plans for the business, as in what I plan to do regarding my position with the organization. Will I move on? Will I start another business? Will I retire? What is it that I will do?

     I intend to stay with my organization for the long-haul. I am currently twenty years old. I have a lot of life to live, God willing, and I have a lot more that I want to do. I plan to stay with Homebound, continuing to grow with the company, and continuing to help the most veterans that we can. Helping others is my passion and has been for many years. Getting to stay with the organization that I started, all while helping others, I will have a happy life. I hope to have a family and kids one day, and I hope that I am an example to them on what a life of service looks like. If at some point in the future I find myself in an opportunity and position to run for a political office, I will do so. I hope that my family stays involved with my organization, but I do not necessarily intend to pass the organization to my children. It is a non-profit organization. Nobody truly owns it. It is a public organization that is owned by everyone. 

     I have chose this exit strategy because I want to live a life of service. If I can stay and grow with the great non-profit organization, building new connections and relationships along the way, it will be a good life. Eventually, I would like to run for a political office position in state or federal government, but that is only if the opportunity arises, and the organization will be able to carry on without me. I hope to use the connections that I have found in my endeavors with the organization to be able to run for office. 

      I think my exit strategy is influenced by my passion to serve others. Growing with the organization will help me spread the numerous individuals that I can reach out too and help along the way. I think that the idea of running for political office also stems from my desire to help others, and I think that the many connections that I make through my organization will help me on the pursuit to be able to help and entire different market of people. At the end of the day, as long as I am helping others, and the organization stays true to our core beliefs, I will be happy.

27A- Reading Reflection No. 3

For this assignment, I chose a book from the second reading list, and it was 'How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big' by Scott Adams.

1. 

     Scott Adams takes a different approach in his book on success and what it takes to be successful in life. In this book, the whole theme talks about helpful insights on what it takes to be successful, how to be successful, and how to take control of your own life. Adams focus talks about his own experiences from how he worked hard and took control of his own life, what he learned, and how he ultimately was able to branch out to start his multi-million dollar empire. Instead of the cliches that are typically spread about goals, time management, and working hard, Adams takes a different view on the mental mentality that is typically shared. He shares a bunch of different life-advising tips and hints along the way in his book from attitude and passion. He presents his ideas in a certain humorous way, that makes the book easy to read and keeps you engaged, laughing along the way.

2. 

     Like we have been working on most of the semester about innovation and coming up with new ideas, Adams takes a different approach on the way we view passion, success, goals, and more. Adams says in his book that we should  have a system, not a goal. He says losing 20lbs is a goal, while eating right is a system. He is not saying that goals aren't good, but he is saying that a system is more effective in achieving success, and it makes sense. I apply this to what we have learned in ENT3003 because it helps me take a new look on innovation and goal setting. 

     Also, Adams talks about failure in his book numerous times... Obviously, it is in the title. Adams talks about failures as a common thing. He says how failures happen from time to time, we just need to learn from them and then move forward because of that learning. I think this is great advice that can be applied because as entrepreneurs, we will fail. A lot. We just have to take it with stride and move forward.

     One of the points that I really liked in the book that Adams talked about that I greatly agree with is the point about connections. I have been saying that all year. Adams says that  who you know is important. He goes on to say that you do not have to be good friends with CEO's or billionaires, but just knowing friends that know different things than you are important! I think that this can be applied in our class in every way!

3.

In one part of the book, Adams talks about focusing on energy rather than time. What he is saying is that he prioritizes what tasks that he decides to do when by his energy levels. He says that his energy levels are maximized in the morning, so that is when he draws cartoons. In the afternoons, he says his energy levels are lower, and that is when he focuses on the more "busy work" that does not  require as much mental capacity. He acknowledges that not everyone has a flexible schedule and cannot always do this prioritizing, and he said at one point, he did not have the luxury either. He said he would wake up at four in the morning to focus on his own projects before he had to go to work and start his day. 

     If I were to create an assignment based on this book, I would focus on this point in his book. I would have the class evaluate their own life personally. I would have each student think about when their energy levels are highest, when they are lowest, when they are most creative and so forth. I would have them write about their energy levels, and how they think they should prioritize their day to be most effective. I would also ask them that if they did not have the luxury to  prioritize their day exactly how they wanted, what could they do differently in their own life to change that. It would be a self-evaluation assignment that helped students become aware of themselves.

4. 

The biggest surprise to me was about how Adams talks about generosity and selfishness. He says that there are three different kinds of generous people, selfish, stupid, and burdens on other. He says that the best one to be is selfish. He is not saying that we should go through life as a selfish asshole. He is saying that we first must take care of our own needs before we can go out into the world and help others. He goes on to say that if you do your selfishness right, you will automatically become an asset to society. Besides, how are you going to help others if you are not at your best yourself. This is definitely an interesting concept. I believe in helping others, and I enjoy helping others. With that being said, I have always kind of believed that first and foremost you have to take care of yourself. In my life, I want to give back in my community in numerous ways, financially and more. For me to do so, I first have to take care of myself and get where I want to be in life to be able to do so. Adams has solidified this belief for me. 

26A- Celebrating Failure

There have been many times throughout my life where I have failed. Failure is just a part of life that brings us one step closer to our successes. For this assignment, I had to think about a time when I failed in the past semester.
     This past semester in Summer A, I was asked to join the University of Florida Food & Resource Economics Department's Academic Quiz Bowl team. This is an academic team that competes in a Jeopardy style game in the various categories of agricultural economics against other teams across the country. When I was asked about the opportunity, I was thrilled and I immediately agreed to join the team. I was nervous because I knew two of the individuals that were currently on the team, and I thought that they were way smarter than me. Upon going to the first practice and trying to show my knowledge, I was proven right. I failed miserably. I maybe knew two of the questions the entire practice, and the other team members were running circles around me, quickly answering the questions with precision. I felt very embarrassed.
     When the second and third practices came around, I was nervous but ready. I had been given a book to study which included all of the materials that we would need to know. Once again though, I was dominated at practice. Even though I had studied a little bit, it was no match for my team members, and I once again failed to prove that I was going to be a valuable team member. I was very discouraged. As the following weeks progressed, I continued to study the material and work towards catching up to the rest of the team. I continued to notice my inferiority at the practices, but I kept trying and trying. I studied and studied and studied some more. I skipped going out and partying on a few  weekends to focus on studying as well.
     It was not until two weeks ago at practice that I finally seen I was catching up. At practice, I was answering more and more questions, and it did not go unnoticed. My team members told me that they could tell that I had been studying and that I was certainly stepping up! Very similar to when someone notices your gains in the weight room, when others notice your progress, it gives you a certain stimulation to continue working even harder and that is what I have been doing! I have been studying harder than ever before. My first official competition is in two weeks, and I will be ready!

If there is anything that I have learned from this experience, it is that if you really want something, and you work hard enough towards it, you can achieve it. I have always been a fairly bright individual, graduating top ten in my class in high school, along with many other academic accomplishments. With that being said, when I got to UF, I learned that I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was.  I never imagined that I would be able to join an academic team. I also never thought I would be able to catch up  with my teammates once I joined the team.  But with a little bit of prioritizing and a lot of hard work, I was able to exemplify what my team needs from me.

This class has changed my view on failure because as we have read about various entrepreneurs and collaborated with one another, we see that failure is natural. Not only is failure natural, but in many cases, it is necessary for growth. If we went around through life and never failed, we would be arrogant and blind to many different aspects of our life. When we fail, it shows us what we are truly  made of. I have a short temper. And when I fail, I get very frustrated. It helps me become a better person when I fail because I learn to overcome my frustration and pursue my goal. I feel that I am definitely more willing now, at this point in my life, to take a risk. We cannot fear failure. In my eyes, I would rather look back on my life in twenty years and say, "well, at least I tried" than to look back on my life and ask "What if?"

25A- What's Next?

For this assignment, I am looking to go out in the area and locating potential customers for my service according to my customer segment that I have previously identified, and then I am going to locate some new potential customers from a different segment.

Existing Market: 

In the terms of "Homebound", I am thinking big and starting small. Starting out, I will be located here in Florida. As a fresh organization, I will be working in collaboration with a lot of additional organizations with similar goals and ideas. What I mean by this is that since I will be freshly starting, I will not have a whole lot of start up capital at the start, and my organization will start by outsourcing many of the services that we will be offering. As we grow, we will become more self sufficient, able to provide all of the services needed ourselves. We will have more of our own job recruiters, counselors,  real-estate agents, and more. We will become a fully functional body working together to work fluidly. 

     I went out to search for the three interviewees/potential customers that fit my current customer segment, and it was a hard task to tackle. Finding retired military men and women that need assistance and are willing to accept assistance was not as easy as finding a potential customer for a candy bar sale. Once I found a handful of potential interviewees, I actually spoke with four individuals. I presented them my idea for Homebound, tossed my elevator pitch and used my venture concept as well. I then asked them the question, "what should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" As a whole consensus, the potential customers all told me that I was definitely headed in the right direction. One individual thought that it was a great thing that I was thinking big but starting small. She had said that even though it is aggravating at first, that is the best approach to take. Allows to grow at a rate that you can keep up with.

     I did have two individuals that told me that I needed to plan to differentiate my organization a little more. I asked what they meant, and they told me that I had a great idea, but when marketing, I needed to focus on expressing on how my organization was different than the others. They said, "there are a million different organizations out there, and yours is a great idea, but you need to make sure to emphasize how you are different. Express with more emphasis that your organization is to ALL military men and women, AND their families."  They went on to explain that differentiating myself would be crucial for donors, and it will allow for more people to look to us for their needs. 

Feedback:

      After  interviewing my potential customers, I think that I got a lot of good feedback from them. I always love hearing that I have a good idea, and I also am glad to hear about how I can improve my ideas. I think that no matter how good we think we are, there is always room for improvement.

       I really got to thinking about what the two individuals told me about making sure to differentiate myself and my organization to make sure that I maximize my success. What they were really telling me was that I need to make sure that I implement an effective marketing strategy and market right to be able to survive in an industry that there are currently so many different organizations apart of. Sure, I have a different business format and idea in mind, but I have to make sure that I show that to everyone else. 

     What I have taken away from the feedback is definitely that I need to make sure that I have a superior marketing and advertising sector for my organization. It cannot be just good. It has to be superior, and it has to be presented effectively for what it is we are trying to accomplish.

New Market:

So far with the venture that I have been participating in, I have been going to all of my potential customers with a B2C approach, going to the clients and talking with them. For my new market approach, I will be taking a B2B approach, selling myself to other businesses and organizations. This is just as, if not more, important as the customers. If I cannot join an alliance with these other businesses and organizations, I will surely fail. Creating the bond using the B2B approach is crucial. The goal of doing this is for both my organization and the business or organization I speak with, to be better off with the relationship. We will both be assets to each other. 

      For this part of the assignment, I went to businesses and organizations to conduct my interviews. My dad does home restoration and remodeling for a living, and he has many good relationships and accounts at many large home improvement stores. The first interviewee came from Home Depot in Gainesville, Florida. I knew that Home Depot was a military friendly company and that they would be good ones to go speak with. I spoke with the head manager at this particular Home Depot and pitched them my idea and what I was looking to do. I then explained that I wanted a relationship with them to be able to have a source of employment for my veterans that come to me for employment help. In return, Home Depot is receiving disciplined mature individuals to work in their stores. The individual I spoke with told me that he loved the idea of what I was looking to do, and he thinks that it would be a great idea to form such a relationship. He reassured me that with the relationship, it did not guarantee anyone a job, but it definitely opened another possible opportunity. He suggested that before I send them out for employment to make sure that they are going to be up for the task and that they will be hard workers.  That way my organization's standards will be held reputable. 

     The others that I went to were smaller businesses in the Gainesville area. I kept all of my interviewees in the Gainesville area because I knew that there is a VA hospital for any veteran affairs, a multitude of jobs available, and eager employers needing quality candidates. I went out briefly and pitched my idea at a few bike shops, bars, and construction companies. I knew that these smaller owned shops would have more flexibility on hiring processes and such, and that even if they didn't have job openings, they could help point us in the right direction. I had very positive results from all of the business places that I went, and many of them were very helpful. One shop owner told me that he was actually a military veteran and he would definitely be willing to help out with my goals, even if it was only part time positions. 

Feedback:

       The feedback that I received when I went out and spoke with businesses about partnering up was very positive. Many of the small businesses that I spoke with appeared to agree to the partnership for pure patriotism. Others seemed to agree because it appeared to be a good marketing move for their business. Even though this is not really the reason I would want them to join me, they aren't wrong, and the more bonds that I can create, the better. 

     After the experience, it made me realize that the job search part of my organization may not be quite as hard as what I had originally suspected. The one individual that told me that I need to make sure that those that I was seeking employment for would work hard is great advice. If I send a bunch of individuals out from my organization that are "shitty" employees, than I will be burning bridges. I will definitely have to first and foremost ensure that those that I am helping seek employment are going to be hard working individuals and are ready to get out into the workforce. If they aren't, that is just another task that we will first tackle prior to job seeking. 

     All in all, I think that I had good results from this assignment. I gained some good feedback and a lot of helpful advice that I had not previously thought of. It was good to get some other perspectives and gain new knowledge. 

     

24A- Venture Concept No. 1

My venture concept is about "Homebound", a not-for-profit organization helping military veterans readjust to civilian life after returning home from their time of service.

Opportunity:

     Every day military men and women return home after their time of service. As of January 2016, all across America there were over 39,400 veterans who were homeless. In 2014 alone, there were an average of 20 veteran suicides per day. The number of veterans who are homeless, unemployed, have mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders is unacceptable here in the United States. Numerous men and women return home and have no direction on what to do, where to go, or how to readjust. These military men and women who need assistance on their journey back to civilian life are exactly who I am looking to help with Homebound. 

    Currently, there are a multitude of military organizations that provide assistance to military veterans. These organizations include the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and more. All of these organizations help in various ways, many of them focusing mainly on wounded veterans. No one organizations offers the services that all veterans could potentially need, which is readjustment to civilian life. I want my organization to be open to military men and women, and their families, assisting them in their transition back to the United States.

Innovation:

     As I stated above, I want to offer a service that is like no other. I want my not-for-profit organization to assist all veterans who return home, not just the ones who were wounded in combat. Even those men and women who were not shot or physically wounded, tote mental burdens that sometimes need attention as well. And even aside from mental or  physical wounds, sometimes veterans have been away from civilian life for so long, that they do not even know how to go about adjusting back. Whether it be counselling for mental health problems, assisting wounded veterans, or offering simply a friendly hand in adjusting back, Homebound will be an all around go to for veteran transition needs. 

     Being a not-for-profit, my organization will not focus on profits, but rather on helping. Of course we will require capital to run, and our financial capital will come from grants and donations from the government and generous patriots wanting to support our cause. Aside from our financial capital, human capital will be volunteers across the country who are looking to assist the veterans on their transitions. We hope to be able to collaborate and work together with other organizations similar to our to expand and reach as many in need as we can. 

Venture Concept:

     At first, I believe the first people who are going to seek out our services are going to be those who return home from their military service and are seeking out their plans now that they have returned home. We will provide life advisement to these men and women helping them stabilize back civilian life. While teaming up with organizations such as MilitaryFriendly.com, we will help them find potential employers to find a job, and assist in the other areas of life including social, financial, home buying, and more. 

     Once our name has been established and the success of our organization begins to spread, we plan to have veterans from all ends of the spectrum seeking our services for their transition back to civilian life. When it comes to military not-for-profit organizations, we do not consider any of the others to be competitors, because as long as we are all helping veterans, than we have the same goal. With that being said, some of the weaknesses that have been exposed in recent years with some of our potential brother or sister organizations include fraud and money laundering. Our business venture will be sure to exemplify the highest standards of integrity to build an outstanding reputation. 

Secret Sauce/ Unfair Advantage

     The resources that we possess are extremely important in ensuring the success of our organization in the long run. Our most valuable resource that we possess is our connections that we have. Connections can make or break a company depending on who you know. With the various connections that we have, they will be assets to us, guiding us to success along the way. As we grow, we will gain new connections as well, further growing our connection base. As a not-for-profit for the military, we will have a slight advantage because many people will want to help us more opposed to others. Our connections that we have and that we will gain is by far our most valuable asset. 

What's Next?

     I was once told in an entrepreneurship class that you want to think big, but start small. When we first start our organization, we will be working with limited capital, and limited volunteers. As we grow and expand though, we will grow infrastructure and assets to where we can do more and help more veterans. There will always be veterans returning home that need assistance, and helping them will always be our focus, no matter how large we grow. 

My Goals

The point of the organization is not about me at all, but it is about the veterans of the United States. I want to give back to those men and women who gave so much for us. In the future, as we continue to grow, I want to help more veterans and recruit more people to join our cause. While networking with everyone we can along the way, I hope to achieve a reputable status with many, and build relationships that will last a lifetime. My goals include but are not limited to continuing to assist the veterans, and helping others start their own not-for-profits as well. 

23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Out of all of my resources and forms of capital, the most important one is my connections. The reason that having connections is so important is because connections are always important. Having the right connections can take you farther than anything else can. Being able to build sound relationships with potential assets could make or break you in a situation. 

21A- Reading Reflection No. 2

For this assignment,  I chose to read "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users", by Guy Kawasaki. The book was presented in a spontaneous, attractive sort of way that made it easy to read. I thought that the book would be boring and dull, but I actually found it hard to set the book down once I had picked it up. Even though the book was business oriented, the tips and skills that were presented in the book can be applied to everyone as a person as in their personal brand.

1.) In "The Art of Social: Power Tips for Power Users", the book talks about numerous ways that one can build successful social media pages on the various social media platforms. The books presents the information in a guide of sort, covering all of the bases of a successful page. Kawasaki shows how to make your page, how to incorporate your company's information, and how to post the right things accordingly to boost the number of followers your page has. Kawasaki expresses in the book numerous times the importance of building a personal brand for your company to create a type of 'brand loyalty' that will make people want to come to you with their business.

2.) When it comes to ENT3003, this whole class is based off of our blogs that we create in class and what we post on them. In Kawasaki's book, he talks a lot about blogging and how to integrate blogging with social media in order to maximize success between the two. The book talks about creating platforms that really catch the eye of  your potential consumers, and your posts should make the reader stop and want to engage with your posts, whether it be through blogging or social media. I think that if we take the information that Kawasaki teaches in his book, we could all have a very successful social media platform and blog followers.

3.) Based on the book, if I had to choose  an exercise for the class based on the book, I would make one that would  have to do with getting yourself out there on social media. Kawasaki tells how the more people you can reach, the more business that you can potentially draw in. I would create an assignment that has the students create a blog  post of any topic of their choosing. Then I would have the students share this blog post on their various social media platforms in order to reach as many people as possible. The whole point of the assignment would be to show the students how simple it is for them to spread information and get themselves out there. It would be a fun assignment for the students to see how many people they can really draw in to look at their post.

4.) The biggest surprising moment to me while reading the book was probably how Kawasaki said that nobody really knows how social media works at all. What he was saying by that was that every single person uses social media differently. We post different things, have different interests and so on. And even though there are many different ways to be successful, there is no one particular way to do it right. The way we use social media differs depending a number of factors. I thought that was very interesting on how he viewed it.

20A- Growing Your Social Capital

For this assignment, I am expanding my connections and developing new contacts to help with my business idea.
1.) The first person is a domain expert in my industry. This contact's name is Cale McCall. He is a 20 year old male that started a not-for-profit organization called the Dixie County Anti-Drug Coalition. He wanted to help others, and he pursued that goal. He is an expert as he has successfully started his business that now receives government grants and employees seven people as well as holding a board of directors. He knows the inside and out of starting a not-for-profit, and he could be a major asset to me in helping me start my own. I built my connection with him a long time ago, and he is a good friend of mine for many years. I mentioned my business idea, and he told me that he would be more than happy to help me out on my endeavors. Him and I have always exchanged favors when needed.
2.) My second person is an expert on my market. This contact is Albert H. Linden who is the legislative president for Chapter #90 for the Disabled American Veterans in Gainesville, Florida. I found Mr. Linden through the DAV membership system. I contacted him through email on the local chapter's website. I discussed back and forth with Mr. Linden how I was interested in helping veterans that returned home from their time of service. Mr. Linden gave me some information on their organization and how to join. I told him that I would definitely like to be in contact with him regarding that and that I would like to start my own non-profit to help all veterans. He told me that he would be happy to help at any time.
3.) The third person that I spoke with and built a connection with is an important supplier in my industry. Seeing as my business idea is a not-for-profit, when I say supplier, I am talking about volunteering and funding. Peter Cruz is the First Junior Vice Commander for the the Disabled American Veterans Chapter #63. I was looking at the website and it stated how they are always sending volunteers and future employees to other organizations. I seen that Peter was a member of the organization, and I messaged him on Facebook because him and I have mutual friends, and we have spoke before. I mentioned my business idea to him and he was very pleased with it. He said how my grandfather and his dad were friends and that he would be willing to help me out.

I will say that I was very pleased with the information that I found and the contacts that I found to fulfill the positions. Two of the three contacts that I have now to help me out are people that I previously have known, and I just did not realize that they were involved in such organizations. This assignment was definitely different with the connections gained because I did know these individuals through mutual friends and socializing. I am sure that all three of the contacts that I have listed in this assignment will be huge assets, and I hope that I will be able to assist them as well.

17A- Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/MDegwBgJJAU

Feedback Reflection:

The feedback that I received on my video was interesting in my opinion. I had a lot of positive feedback regarding my video and I was happy to hear that. I had some constructive criticism regarding my business idea that I appreciated as well, but I did not listen too. I also had some feedback that I laughed about at first, saying that the background noise in my video was distracting... It was raining outside. After watching my video again, I seen how that noise could have been distracting as well as the background of my video. 

What I Changed:

I changed the scenery of my video and the background. There was no exterior background noise and I was dressed differently, while also in a different location. I changed up the wording of my  video because there were some things that I said in the first video that did not flow correctly as a public speaker. I believe that my second video is better in the presentation, and I hope everyone enjoys it. 

18A- Create a Customer Avatar

For this assignment I had to create the ideal prototypical customer avatar that matches the customer segment that I have identified in previous assignments. After a lot of thought and consideration, I have finally developed my ideal customer avatar.

     For the assignment, I will name my avatar John Adams (after the American patriot and historical John Adams). John is a forty-five year old, white male, who has just retired out of the United States Army after serving for 20 years. When he retired, John was ranked as sergeant first class in the army which is the seventh enlisted rank.
     John has a tan complexion, short dark hair, a clean shaven face, and brown eyes. You can tell by looking at John that he has seen some things over the years from the look on his face and the darkness in his eyes. John wears casual, yet professional clothing; typically sporting a casual button up tucked into his jeans, with hiking boots. John always carries a knife, lighter, and his FNS-9 pistol that he wears in a concealed back holster. John is quiet but friendly, and he enjoys being alone in the outdoors hunting, fishing, and hiking.
     John lives by himself in a small two bedroom, one and a half bath home on five acres in LaGrange, Georgia. His only family is his parents that live in the next city over in a small house in town. He has neighbors in his little rural neighborhood, but he keeps to himself. He has a dog named Remington that was a stray mutt that came to his house not long after he returned home, and he loves the dog dearly. He has a few chickens that free range around his property that he likes to keep around for eggs. John has a small jon boat that he takes to the lake near his house. He enjoys cooking up some of the fish that he catches on the lake for dinner. He typically grows a small garden every year. In the evenings, John enjoys drinking a few beers, and his beer of choice is Bud Light. John drives a charcoal grey 2012 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 four door truck.
     John is very patriotic. John is a conservative and a member of the Republican party. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and enjoys going to the shooting range frequently to help stay sharp. John has started to notice that his eyesight is not quite what it used to be, and he gets aggravated that  his age is starting to catch up to him over the past couple years. John has a television and his favorite channels to watch are the discovery and history channels. John does not like to watch the news much because of the one-sided stories that the different media stations provide. John attends the local baptist church every Sunday.
     John does not typically like to talk about the experiences that he had in the military, and he still sometimes gets anxiety thinking back on those experiences. John is bored since returning home, and he wants to try and find a job to supplement his military retirement. John does not have any real world experience, and he is unsure about how to even go about finding a job.

Similarities:

I can say that there are a few things that I have in common with my avatar. I enjoy hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. I too am a lifetime NRA member and enjoy shooting guns regularly. I also consider myself patriotic, and I am very conservative in my beliefs. I live in a rural area on ten acres, and I recently adopted a stray dog that wandered up to my house. I also drive  a truck. I prefer not to watch the news because of the false one-sided portrayals. I too enjoy eating seafood, and I like Bud Light. There are quite a few similarities between my avatar and I. I think that it is a good thing that I have so many similarities with my avatar because it will help me to be able to connect with him on a personal level. Being able to build an initial relationship with my customer and knowing their basic wants and needs can help maximize success in helping them out. 

19A- Idea Napkin No. 2

Hey everyone, for this blog post it will be my idea napkin number two where I have taken the original idea napkin that I produced and changing it up a bit to reflect the feedback that I received on it.

You:

I have always been a hardworking person. I have worked two jobs since I was sixteen years old, and I am very passionate in everything that I engage in. I have always been a people person, and I try to build connections everywhere I go. I have always believed that connections will take you farther in life than anything else will. I strive for excellence and anything less will not be accepted. I have always had a large deal of respect for nation's service members, and I never have thought that they have been properly taken care of when returning home. I think my business concept would not just be another business, but rather it would be my life.

What I am Offering to Customers:

What I am offering is simply a life-advisement service for military service members and their families. The unmet need is not knowing how to readjust to civilian "normal" life when returning home from a service member's time of service, and what I am offering is assistance in doing just that.

Who I am Offering to:

I am offering to a very wide range of individuals. I am offering my services to all branches of the military and the direct families of those service men and women. My services will not be required by everyone that it is offered too, because many times those who return home do not need assistance. With that being said, many times, there are those who do need help when they return home. These individuals who need assistance, whether it be small or large, will be welcomed with open arms.

Why Do They Care:

So as for the question of why customers will come to me and why people will put money into my service are two different questions. First off, people who need my service will definitely care for it. When you are feeling alone in the world with no direction, having someone there to offer a helping hand can be a lifesaver. As for who will put money into my company, the number of donations that we could potentially receive is endless. In 2014 alone, the Wounded Warrior Project received over $300 million in donations. Military organizations are one of the most popular charities that are donated too, whether it be dollar amounts or volunteering. Once our services have been revealed to the country, patriotic men and women across the country will be ready to help. Many charities have been caught up in scandals in the past several years, and due to these scandals, the organizations suffered from loss millions of dollars in donations. We will be sure to hold the highest of reputations to ensure everyone knows that they can trust in our organization to be a reputable,  honest one that is truly helping.

Core Competencies:

What makes my services different is that we are offering to all service men and women. Currently, there are many military non-profit organizations that help and assist the transition back to civilian life for those who were wounded in the line of duty. Our differentiation is that we offer assistance in transitioning back to civilian life for everyone involved in military service, not just those who were wounded physically. Many were wounded mentally and emotionally, and we want to help them too. Expanding with that, we will offer different help for those who have families and those who are single. People that are in the varying situations and we want to be able to appeal to those needs to the best of our abilities. Expanding with that, I would like to be close with our government in hopes to get connected with military men and women before they return to their civilian life from the military. If we can make the service members know about us and offer help prior, we can nip any problem in the butt, ensuring a better transition.

Do The Elements Fit?

I think that I have formulated my idea napkin to where all of the parts fit together like a working machine. Without one part or the other, the machine would not work. I believe that the five elements are all solid in the ideology of each, and that together they will be successful.

Feedback:

I took the feedback that I received on my first idea napkin and incorporated it here in this one. Katia made sure to point out that proper advertisement will be essential in the success of the business. Brook brought up a good point about the scandals that have occurred in recent years with the large charitable organizations and how the scandals have hurt their reputations. She made sure to emphasize that holding a good reputation and proper marketing is essential in the success of the business structure. Bradley, being a veteran, had a lot of insightful advice to offer as well. He said that I should make sure to target families and those who are single differently because the two categories will have different needs. He also offered a great idea about trying to get a connection with the military men and women prior to them coming back from their military life. This will help them become more aware of our services and also offer them help earlier for an even easier transition. All in all, I received some great feedback from my peers that I made sure to include in my second idea napkin. 

16A- What's Your Secret Sauce

For this assignment, I was instructed to state what makes me different and original. What my human capital is. I will list what I think my personal characteristics are, and I will list what five of my closest friends and family think as well.

5 Ways I am Unique:

I think there is a lot of ways that I am unique. Everyone is original in their own way. Growing up, my grandmother would always tell me that I was different. I try to be very humble, and I do not like to tell about what I am good at and what makes me unique. But that is the assignment. So here are the ways that I think that I am different and unique:

1.) I work hard. I have always worked harder than most of the people I know. I have worked two jobs since I was sixteen-years-old, and I was the only person in my graduating class who finished their AA degree before graduating high school. 

2.) I am more aware than most. Throughout the years, I have always had an eye for even the little things. I notice things that others may look right past.

3.) I am very self determined! Growing up, my family did not have a whole lot of money, so I had to work hard to be able to get things and do things. I remember one time when my truck was broke down, I did not have the money to fix it. I had to have one of my best friends pick me up and take me to school. To be able to get to work, I would pay my buddy to take me there.  It was very hard for me, but because I am self-determined, I wanted more and knew I could do better. I have always been self motivated to working hard. 

4.) I am extremely competitive and goal oriented. Because of all of the experiences that I have had growing up, I have wanted more and wanted to do better. I have goals about where I want to be one day and what I want to do. Because of my competitiveness and goal orientation, once I have my mind made up, there is not a whole lot that can stop me. 

5.) I am well rounded. I am a smart individual, but I am not the smartest. There is always someone who will be smarter, faster, stronger, or better than you at something. But everything I have ever tried, I have been able to do. Whether it be making new friends, playing baseball, or using my mental knowledge on the quiz bowl team, I have been good at it.

How Others See Me:

I spoke with my grandma, my mom, my dad, and two of my best friends. After we got some sarcasm out of the way, I got some answers that I made me feel good about who I am.

1.) I was unable to record my grandmother's recording because I was speaking with her on the phone. But I was told that I am compassionate. My grandma told me that I am caring and have sympathy for others. She told me that I have a good heart in a bad world and that would take me places. 

2.) https://vocaroo.com/i/s1TaY7qH7St6
Mom told me that I am hard-headed. I asked her how that was a good thing. She told me that I stand firm in what I believe and that I can not be easily persuaded or pressured away from my morals. She told me to always hold onto that. 

3.) https://vocaroo.com/i/s1Jpl8Njqq3q
 Dad told me that I was hard working. He said that I get that from him. He told me that I remind him a lot of himself with my work ethic. He said he knows that I work hard in everything that I do, and he is proud of me for that. He told me that my work ethic would allow me to succeed in anything that I try.

4.) https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Uoga9pY8zr
Zach, one of my best friends that works with me, told me that I am passionate. Him and I butt heads at work a lot, and he told me that I can be a major asshole. He said that is because I am so passionate about my work, and I just want it done right. Which I understand because I can get hot headed when I am trying to work. 

5.) https://vocaroo.com/i/s1ITVlxcb49M
Dogan, my longest best friend, told me that he knows that I am going to be successful. I asked him what one of my best characteristics were, and he told me that it was my people skills. He told me that I can literally walk into a room and make friends with anyone. He told me that my people skills could help me become a politician some day.

Conclusions:

There were definitely some similarities and differences between the way that I viewed myself and the way that others view me. I would like to say that I can agree with the way that others view me, and I am satisfied with the things that they identified me as. I would probably change my list up just a little bit, I really like what Dogan and Zach said about me. They told me that I was a people person and that I am passionate. I agree that I am very passionate with what I engage in. I also like to think that I am a people person able to make friends with any type of person. All in all, I think that this assignment was kind of fun.

15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

So for this assignment, it was a little bit harder for me than I think it would be if i were offering a product.  Finding alternative services that would be substitutes for what I was wanting to offer may have different goals and objectives opposed to what I want to accomplish, but I think there are some services that offer similar competencies. For this assignment, I had to search for three more interview candidates that fit my segment of retired military veterans.

Alternative Evaluation:

To start off, I did not really start my interviews like an interview. Rather it was more of a survey of sorts, an experiment, gathering data to see which option the interviewee would choose. I strayed away from choosing any military organization because in my opinion that is kind of counterproductive. I believe that any military organization that is helping veterans readjust is an ally, not a competitor. Instead I chose organizations outside of military that help provide similar services. I found a handful of organizations that helped to offer rehabilitation services and who they offered too. I contacted Sierra Tucson personally to acquire the information needed, and I completed extensive research in all of the categories to create an excel file in comparison to "Homebound", the service I plan to offer. I showed my excel file to all of those who I interviewed, and I had them chose an option. The file is shown below.
  

All three of my veterans chose the Homebound option. I asked each of them what had make the decision, and I received the exact same answer from all three of the veterans that I interviewed. They told me that as a retired  veteran, military was where their loyalty was. They read through the list and seen that one option was a globally traded corporation, and they said they recognized how the other options seemed more like a job to them.  They said they knew the military was what they were comfortable with and that an option for military exclusively would be the best option for them. They said that they would  expect such a service to have veteran volunteering and helping out there, so the  individuals helping would actually understand the needs that they desired and would be able to share common ground with many of them. They went on to tell me that price was another huge factor.  The  veterans said that with the retired income from the military that there was no way in hell they could  afford a $45,000 service for a month. 

One veteran pointed out that the whole reason that  he would  have needed such a service would be that he needed help finding a job which he pointed out that Homebound would be able to help with. 

How/ Where to Buy:

For my segment, the individuals involved would more than likely find our services through the internet. If they went to search for ways that they could help, we would like to ensure that our services would be one of the first options to come up. As a non-profit, we will be partnering with organizations that look to hire military veterans and get a job for those who are searching. I asked each of those interviewed if they would be willing to make a donation to such an organization after receiving help. I had them respond and tell me that they would certainly like to help out an organization that was helping veterans for no other reason than to help. 

Post-Purchase Evaluation:

What matters most to my customer base is if the services work.  If we are able to help the veterans readjust, then we have been successful and our clients are satisfied. What would make them think that going with our service is a bad idea is if it doesn't help them.

Summary/Conclusions:

After doing some research and interviewing the segment members for this assignment, I have learned a few things.  Those who are retired military veterans have a sort of "brand loyalty" for military  brands and services. The military is a sort of brotherhood for them. They are a band of brothers and they have a loyalty unwavered to the military. I feel like as soon as each of my interviewees seen specializes in military veterans on the list, that was what they chose. I also learned from my research that counselling and rehab services are outrageously expensive. Offering a service to the military veteran men and women that they do not have to worry about cost could be very effective. 

14A- Halfway Reflection

Throughout this course so far,i have learned a lot of valuable skill-sets, and I have expanded my mind to look at various situations differently than I have previously because of the practices that we have engaged in. If I were to talk to a student that was considering taking this class next semester, I would have a few things to tell him or her.

1.

When it comes to what I have learned in this class thus far, I would say that awareness is definitely at the top of the list. Awareness is the single most important aspect in life. Aside from awareness of the due dates (which is very important), there is the awareness within entrepreneurship. When it comes to entrepreneurship, people believe that there is just someone who says, "Hey, this is a good idea, I am going to start a business." In reality, there is so much more.  You have to be aware of your customer base, aware of needs of yourself and others, and the awareness of the surrounding environment.  If there is anything that I have learned so far in this class that has helped me become successful, it is that awareness is everything. 

2. 

There was one week in this course where I had a lot going on, and I messed around sitting at my computer on a Friday afternoon with my course work uncompleted. I just knew that there was no way that I would be able to complete all of the required fields to successfully finish the assignments by the given due date.  I actually had my mom call me, and I told her that I would not be finishing my schoolwork in time to make it to my sister's graduation. I felt like giving up. Instead of giving up, I took a deep breath, hit my Juul, and I said a little prayer. I looked back on my times in high school when I would complete thirteen college assignments a week through my dual enrollment classes, while juggling scholarship applications, work, and more. I knew that I had the power within me to get the job done. And I did! I believe that I have always had a tenacious attitude, not easily strayed from my goals. 

Below is a picture of me celebrating with my sister as she graduated from Chiefland High School. I am glad I got all of my coursework done so that I could celebrate the moment with her!

3.

If I had to offer three tips to the student for next semester, it would be the following:

1.) Do not procrastinate. Some assignments may not require much time to accomplish at all. But there will be other assignments that will require you to do extensive research and conduct interviews.  This becomes hard to do when you sit down to the assignment at 10 o'clock on a Friday night. 

2.) Actually get involved in each assignment. Some of the assignments may seem kind of dumb. There has been one or two that I did not see a point in at the time. With that being said, there is valuable information that you can take away from every assignment. Even if you do not plan to become an entrepreneur, the skills you will learn in this class can be applied to anyone's life. 

3.) Stay engaged with your group members in a positive way. You are in the group with the same people for the entirety of the semester, and positive peer reviews do help boost morale among your group. If you want to offer advice, definitely do that! But do not be rude. I had one comment earlier this year that straight pissed me off. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but that does not mean that they have to be shared.  Stay a positive influence in your group, and you will all be able to grow together with your group!

As with any situation in life, this class is what you make it. It can be as good or as miserable as you make it!

13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

I chose to read the book "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the quest for a fantastic future" by Ashlee Vance. The book talks about the life of Elon Musk and how he came to be where he is today. From selling PayPal to building the empire he has today with his rocket company as well as his electric car company.

What Surprised You the Most?

I will have to say what surprised me the most was also what I respected the most. Elon Musk said that he was never driven by money, rather he was driven by ideas. I think that is very interesting as that is probably why he has been so successful. 

What about the Entrepreneur Did You Most Admire?

Well as I stated above, I think that it is really awesome that he was never focused on the money, he was more focused on the ideas. But aside from that, I what I admire most about Elon Musk is his work ethic. In the book, it talks about how Elon Musk moved to Canada from South Africa when he was only seventeen years old. When he made the move, he was so poor, he barely had enough money to feed himself. As we read on, it states how Musk worked all sorts of jobs to make ends meet, from cleaning boiler rooms to chopping wood. He worked hard and in every way he could to be able to afford to even go to college. Later on down the road, he continues with his work ethic, and it pays off. He has worked hard his entire life and that is why he was as successful as he was. Towards the end of the book, the author says that Musk is hard on his employees about getting the work done, and that is because he expects others to work hard as he does. I greatly admire the work ethic that Mr. Musk emits in everything he does.

What about the Entrepreneur Did you Least Admire?

While I do understand why he was hard on his employees, what I didn't like about Elon Musk was how he treated a lot of his employees. I did not like how he was so demanding with his employees. He forced his employees to work ridiculous hours and was rude to them in a lot of aspects. He fired one of his best secretaries once because she came to him about a raise. Now I know we do not know the whole story, but the book made Elon Musk appear to be a very unappealing person to work for. The book even states that Musk felt that he was superior to anyone and everyone else. I understand confidence, but I do not believe that anyone is better than anybody else.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure?

Just like any successful billionaire, there is a lot of trial and error and adversity that Elon Musk had to face along his journey. He was ousted from two of his own companies, constantly was put down for many of his ideas, and has endured many failures from failed rocket launches to Tesla cars randomly combusting. 

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

I will say that one of the largest competencies that Elon Musk exhibited was his confidence. He boasts such a huge amount of confidence, he truly believes that he will accomplish whatever it is that he is seeking out to do. Pairing his overwhelming confidence with his determination, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Towards the end of the book, when the author is talking about SpaceX and Tesla, there are some parts where she is talking about the market for rocket pieces and large words that I honestly had no idea what it was. So there was some information that was over my head.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

If I were able to ask Elon Musk two things, I would be ready. 

1. How much do you sleep? 

I know this sounds like a dumb question, but as a person who works two jobs and takes a full load of college coursework, I am interested to see how much someone like Elon Musk sleeps. 

2. Do you take downtime for yourself? Like how much do you work? Is it all work? Or do enjoy having a beer with the boys here and there?

The reason that I would like to ask Elon Musk this is because I know he works a lot. I am just curious to see how much he works in relation to if he gives himself any down time. Like the old saying goes, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

As I stated earlier, Elon Musk has a ridiculous work ethic. He believes very strongly in hard work, and I think that is awesome. It is said that Elon works anywhere from 80-100 hours a week on average. I believe that Elon Musk is a very hardworking individual, and I guarantee that he would accept no less from those who work for him. I do share Elon Musk's view on hard work, as I work hard myself. I have no sympathy for someone who does not work hard. I am a true believer that you can do anything as long as you work hard for it. And that all goes to priorities and prioritizing what it is that you want to work hard for.

12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Before I started my interviews, I watched a few of the lecture videos again to touch up on my information, and I did some research on my customer profile. I did some prior research to help maximize choosing the proper interview candidates and such.

Choosing My Segment:

The segment that I chose for this assignment is those who have retired out of the military. The reason that I have chose this segment is because those that have retired out of the military have been in it for a minimum of  twenty years. Those who have been in the military for that long period of time have become adapted to the military life and may have a harder time readjusting than those who may have only been in for three or four years. As of 2015 alone, there were 26,000 individuals who retired out of the military, and the numbers of individuals in the United States who have retired out of the military as a whole exceed 1,400,000 people. 

Choosing the Interviewees:

Choosing those who I was going to interview was not necessarily an easy task. I know a lot of people who were in the military, but it was hard to actually find those who have retired out and have the need that my service required. After trial and error, I eventually found three that I could talk too. Because of the nature of my service, I kept the interviews conversational. 

Begin with Need Awareness: 

For the interviews, I found three individuals who have retired from the military. One retired from the Air-Force and two retired from the Army. 

     The first person that I spoke with was the man who retired from the Air-Force. I know him from being a baseball coach at the local high school. I asked him the basic first question about him returning from the military. Was it hard for him? He went on to tell me that when he returned, he felt a little lost. He was not sure what he was going to do with the rest of his life or what he would do when he returned home. I asked him at what point did all of this hit him? He said that it was about two weeks after he returned home and he was staying with a friend when he realized that. 

     The second person I spoke with retired out of the Army. He is a member in the community that I have known for a while. I asked him if it was hard returning home from his military service. He told me that he did not think so at first. He said that it wasn't until he was back for a few months when he started to realize that it was slightly difficult. He told me that he started to have bad dreams, and he got a little anxious in crowds. He said that he figured if he started to drink more alcohol that it would help him out. He said that it did help dampen the anxiety and all for a little while, but his drinking did start to become a little bit of a problem and his friends noticed. 

     The third person I spoke with was also retired out of the Army. When I asked him if it was hard when he returned home from the military, he did admit that it  was. He said that when he returned home that he had a good family base, and that his family supported him very well. He told me what was hard was seeing how blessed he was and how he returned home, while many of his friends and brothers never got to come home. 

Move to Information Search:

After moving through the first part of the interviews, and identified that the three that I found have the unmet need, I moved to the next part of my interviews.
     The Air-Force retiree and I talked some more about his return.  I asked him that after he realized  that he was having some trouble, what he did next. He told me that he went to his friend that he was staying with and asked him about anybody who was hiring military veterans. He said he got on google and searched for jobs for military veterans. He did not really know what he wanted to do, so he spent a lot of time on the internet to try and find out what to do.
    Upon talking with the second veteran, I stated above that the first thing that he did was turn to alcohol. He told me at first he would just drink in the evenings to take the edge off, but as time progressed, he found himself drinking more and more. He stated that he was not a drunk because was functioning normally, but at the same time he was drinking in the morning before he even left for work. After his friend made a comment to him about his excessive alcohol consumption, he realized something had to change. He said that his cousin was a counselor who helped him identify his problems which related back to his military experiences. He said that today, he still enjoys the occasional beer but otherwise is clean and hopes to keep it that way.
     The third individual seemed to have a textbook definition of survivor's guilt. He felt bad about being able to come home and live the rest of his life whereas some of his friends would never get the opportunity. After many visits to the families of his fallen friends, one of the moms told him that he should try to go to some counselling to help deal with it. Being very against counselling, he said he found a group instead of people to go talk to who shared the same feelings that he did. He said that it was good collaborating with others who understood.

Reporting My Findings:

What I came to find out from the three interviews that I conducted was that currently there are services out there in many shapes and forms that can help those veterans returning home transition to civilian life. From all three cases though, I feel like they could have benefited from having a little guidance in the aspect of service availability and such.

Summary:

I would say that for the segment that I chose, the market for the service that I am wanting to offer is definitely there. There are these individuals who have been in the military for such a long period of time and they return home back to regular civilian life. When they return home, they are feeling lost, they have all of the experiences in the back of their mind and they could just use some assistance sometimes. Some more than others.

11A- Idea Napkin No. 1

Hey everyone, for this blog post it will be my idea napkin where I fulfill the criteria that I was given for the assignment. I hope that this post will help everyone better understand my idea.

You: 

I have always been a hardworking person. I have worked two jobs since I was sixteen years old, and I am very passionate in everything that I engage in. I have always been a people person, and I try to build connections everywhere I go. I have always believed that connections will take you farther in life than anything else will. I strive for excellence and anything less will not be accepted. I have always had a large deal of respect for nation's service members, and I never have thought that they have been properly taken care of when returning home. I think my business concept would not just be another business, but rather it would be my life. 

What I am Offering to Customers:

What I am offering is simply a life-advisement service for military service members and their families. The unmet need is not knowing how to readjust to civilian "normal" life when returning home from a service member's time of service, and what I am offering is assistance in doing just that. 

Who I am Offering to:

I am offering to a very wide range of individuals. I am offering my services to all branches of the military and the direct families of those service men and women. My services will not be required by everyone that it is offered too, because many times those who return home do not need assistance. With that being said, many times, there are those who do need help when they return home. These individuals who need assistance, whether it be small or large, will be welcomed with open arms.

Why Do They Care:

So as for the question of why customers will come to me and why people will put money into my service are two different questions. First off, people who need my service will definitely care for it. When you are feeling alone in the world with no direction, having someone there to offer a helping hand can be a lifesaver. As for who will put money into my company, the number of donations that we could potentially receive is endless. In 2014 alone, the Wounded Warrior Project received over $300 million in donations. Military organizations are one of the most popular charities that are donated too, whether it be dollar amounts or volunteering. Once our services have been revealed to the country, patriotic men and women across the country will be ready to help.

Our Core Competencies:

What makes my services different is that we are offering to all service  men and women. Currently, there are many military non-profit organizations that help and assist the transition back to civilian life for those who were wounded in the line of duty. Our differentiation is that we offer assistance in transitioning back to civilian life for everyone involved in military service, not just those who were wounded physically. Many were wounded mentally and emotionally, and we want to help them too.

As with any idea, there are always the unknown factors and there are things that you will have to take a "leap of faith" in order to make sure that it all works out. As for the financing and the volunteers for my service, these are the only things that will be slightly difficult at first. I feel confident in my service and that we will be able to acquire the resources needed to be successful.

10A- Elevator Pitch

Hey everyone, here is my elevator pitch! I hope you enjoy it!

9A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Hey everyone! Trying to find people that fit into my boundary of potential clients for the service without actually needing the service was actually a harder task than what I thought. It is kind of a touchy subject with many military veterans, addressing whether or not they need help adjusting back from the military life to the civilian life. I decided that it would be best to try and find some individuals who had been out of the military service for some time now instead to trying to approach those who were fresh out the service.
What I came to find out was that it is really hard to narrow down my market on potential customers. How a certain scenario affects someone will differ per person. What one person may shrug off, might break someone else. We all have different triggers, and it is hard to predict how each situation affects each person.

Interviews:

     I interviewed more than five people because I really wanted to make sure that I found what I was looking for in this assignment. I spoke with men and women ages varying from 26 to 63 in order to see their opinions. The men and women that I spoke with were military veterans from different branches, many of them participating in different worldly conflicts and such. One individual that I spoke with had served for six years as an accountant for the Army. He was a military veteran, but he had never seen the actual front lines of a battle field and he told me that he never experienced anything traumatic in his time of service. He did say that he had friends who had been injured or killed and that it hurt him, but all in all, he had an easy transition back to civilian life because he did not experience much that would cause him to feel otherwise.

     On the other hand, another woman that I spoke with was artillery in the Army, and she had seen many traumatic things from IED explosions to children being killed. She said that some of the things that she had seen were terrible and she would never forget. I asked her if she had a hard time transitioning when she came back home. She told me that it was different when she had arrived home, but she had a husband and a supportive family that had always loved and supported her so she was able to adjust almost flawlessly. This woman showed an unwavering sense of strength, and I could tell why she did not need help adjusting. 

     From all of the interviews, I noticed that those who did experience traumatic events, yet did not have a hard time transitioning, were those who had a strong supportive group of family and friends to help support them. As I stated with the accountant, a few that I spoke with never experienced "high-intensity" situations and worked other jobs in the military.

Who: 

Before the interviews, I did not really think about the veterans that would not fall into the category for my service. Upon interviewing though, I did learn that there are many people who do not require such a service. There is a large number of people who serve in the military that never go out and kill people like the common man would think. There are a multitude of jobs out there in the military that never include stepping onto the battle field. Many of these individuals may not need help adjusting back. With that being said, everyone's situation is different, and they may need assistance still. There are also those who have a superior mental strength and were able to deal with things and separate them in their minds from the civilian life. These individuals who can make the distinct difference and can adjust themselves would not need help.

What: 

For the what, there is not a distinct line of where the adjustment service would end its assistance. The only criteria that I could place for the what would be that those veterans in receiving our assistance have to be willing to help themselves. It is hard to help someone who doesn't even want to help themselves.

Why:

The why for those that would not need our help readjusting back to civilian life would probably be because every situation is different. Some people are stronger than others, people have different breaking points, different amounts of support, and more, which are all variables that could affect why some who could qualify would not need support.

	Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who?	Military veterans who need assistance adjusting from their military life	Military Veterans who do not need assistance adjusting back to civilian life
What?	Adjusting from Military life to civilian life	It is not a service for those who can transition back home easily and effectively
Why?	The active-duty military life is very different from civilian life in the United States	The Wounded Warrior Project, NAAV, American Legion