15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them.
The segment I'm picking is small restaurant owners. I interviewed the owner of a local firehouse, pizzeria, and cold stone. 

Begin with alternative evaluation. 
For the pizza place better ingredients were valued over having a large amount of stock. For the ice cream place it was all about variety and to do that they sacrificed efficiency. For Firehouse it was all about pricing things right and sometimes this meant sacrificing stock and quality. 

How/where do they buy?
All three of these companies get their inventory in bulk from big supply chains. Since they are small restaurants they do take the occasional run to Sams Club during desperate times.   

Post-purchase evaluation. 
If the price is fair, the product is good, and most importantly a demand for the product exists the owners are happy to keep buying it. 

Draw conclusions. 
It seems that if the price of ingredients is good, the quality is ok, and the bulk orders are customizable owners will buy ingredients from you. I'd like to make an online platform that centralizes and makes this process easier for them.   

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) If your looking for random ideation I think you've come to the right place. I have a crazy imagination and pretty good ideas. It's a good strength to have but my ability to follow through isn't so great. I'd say I'm also a pretty organized person which is invaluable when juggling a business. I'd say the greatest advantage I have over a lot of other people is time. Being 19 means that I'm still healthy and have the energy to make things happen. I'd say I'm good at connecting with people but struggle with leading them. I thrive in fast faced and high pressure work environments but am also pretty flexible.

Person 1:
What are strengths you'd say I posses?
You're pretty curious and will look into things even if they're out of your wheelhouse

What are things I can work on?
You can be a little pushy

What is one suggestion you have for me?
And for the love of god take a defensive drivers course

Reflection: Maybe I need to work on my people skills after all. More specifically empathy. 

Person 2:
What are strengths you'd say I posses?
You push yourself, self motivated, and don't care to much about what other people think.

What are things I can work on?
You explain yourself to much, get offended instead of taking advice, and go hard followed by stopping instead of being consistent

What is one suggestion you have for me?
Stop trying to do everything at once. Focus on 1 or 2 things because you seem to crash or burn a lot after trying really really hard

Reflection: Pretty much everything I said in my reflection but was surprised at the self motivated part.

Person 3:
What are strengths you'd say I posses?
U are creative

What are things I can work on?
Work on communication

What is one suggestion you have for me?
Work on brining ur creativity to life!

Reflection: Starting to see a pattern here. Work on follow through and communication.

Person 4:
What are strengths you'd say I posses?
I would say you're a quick learner and are very adaptable. You're also very kind and open minded

What are things I can work on?
You could work on your time management skills

What is one suggestion you have for me?
Make and plan out your goals using a planner
Hope this helps

Reflection: It looks like my problem is doing things and doing them right.

Person 5:
What are strengths you'd say I posses?
Responsible and caring
What are things I can work on?
Math skills
What is one suggestion you have for me?
If things seem hard keep going forward
Reflection: These are some core aspects

Overall Reflection: I think everyones opinions really lined up with my own. I spent a lot of time with these people at one time so maybe our opinions became reality?

14A – Halfway Reflection

To those that may read this in the future. The past two months have been pretty smooth in terms of workload and pacing. The most important thing for ENT 3003 is being consistent and setting a time to do the work. Since everything is out of a hundred points it's easy to miss an assignment or two if your not careful. This weeks posts along with the reflection was especially hard for me as the break made me fall off the regular schedule. Also I'm currently taking seventeen credits so it's hard to consistently work. That being said the format of the class let's you express your creativity, problem solve, and put your thoughts to paper. It eliminates the pressures of test taking making it actually enjoyable. These things combined with the possibility of getting an A have kept me on task so far. If your going to take this class next semester I recommend reading the Syllabus carefully OR watching the first two lectures. There are probably hundreds of existing blogs already with examples and inspiration for each assignment. These are good resources to keep in mind. To be tenacious ultimately means to keep going and doing the best you can with what you have.

13A - Reading Reflection

1. The book I chose was Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. What surprised me was how much effort and sacrifice actually went into starting Apple. He went as far as to sell his own belongings to fund the new company. Only to have it taken from him when the board pushed him out. One primary person involved being the marketer he hired. Even after facing all this adversity Jobs started his own software company and contributed to Pixar which makes the best movies.

2. Steve Jobs was extremely picky about every detail in both the products and operation of Apple. He truly believed in providing the best possible experience to the customer. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse as it made it hard for his employees to meet that vision.

3. One thing I found puzzling was what motivated Jobs. It's pretty clear that in his personal life he struggled immensely and before starting Apple he lacked direction. What caused that shift to ultra focused business man. 

4. If Jobs was alive today I would ask him more about the start of Pixar and and any advice he had for those that don't quite fit the academic mold. I would also ask him on advice on my own life since I'm sure his experience could help me.

5. I think Steve Jobs believed in setting goals and not letting go until you achieve them. Something along the lines of goal manifestation. This is clear as he worked relentlessly towards all the goals he set for himself. 

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Segment: Muslim college students and small families who want to cook but don't have the time to go out and buy Halal meat

Interviews:

Malik 20
Malik fits into my segment because he wants to eat fresh and healthy meals but doesn't have the time to go out and buy meat and or ingredients every other day. He started recognizing this problem after gaining a few pounds freshman year of college and realizing that he was eating a lot of pizza. His information search begin on google trying to find local stores. Unfortunately the nearest meat market was 14 miles away from him causing him to eat lots of vegetables.

Kate 19
Kate fits into my segment because she's always looking for new and exciting recipes to make but is often overwhelmed by the plethora of ingredients and information needed to achieve these dishes. Her information search begin on Google where she stumbled upon similar services but all of them offered very "conventional" recipes. If she can not find a service she can get behind she will set up something with Publix delivery.

Solomon 22
After recently being married Solomon realized that neither him or his wife actually ever cooked for themselves. Looking for a solution they took to eating out everyday but this proved to be unsustainable. If he can't find a way to cook for his family they will most likely probably continue to eat out.

All three of the students I interview recognize the problem due to significant shifts in their lifestyle. They needed a way to get ingredients and cook with the convenience of eating out. All three lived busy lives and were young. This makes me believe that their is a market for a meal prep delivery type service in the area.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You.
If I had to describe a few of my talents they would include good planning and organization skills as well as an eye for design. This is shown through my interest in photography and my 17 credit course load. I've also worked many jobs and internships making me experienced in many different things. 

2. What are you offering to customers?
My business idea is centered around delivering fresh Halal meat to Muslims around the world complete with ingredients and recipe cards. Think Blue Apron aimed at a different more niche demographic. 

3. Who are you offering it to?
Couples, college students, and the Muslim population. People who want to cook but are also about convince and accessibility. 

4. Why do they care?
It allows them to make fresh food without having to go out to the meat market or any other convenience store. 

5. What are your core competencies? The Halal meat is probably the biggest differentiator between us and the competition. The types of recipes and spices offered would also be different.  

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1: The first person I found was a father of twelve children who buys and eats Halal meat. When I described the Blue Apron solution he said that it isn't practical for his family to use such a service. Usually he heads out to a local farm every month and get's his meat fresh.

Interview 2: The second person I interviewed was a college student who also eats Halal. However after I explained the concept he exclaimed that money was already tight and ramen was all he'd eaten for the last month. For him to try the product it would have to be more affordable then eating out.

Interview 3: I asked my mom for advice since she's been cooking my meals since before I could talk. She liked the idea but told me that the recipes included would have to be good and would be a major selling point for the service.

Interview 4: This one took a while to find since people did like the idea. I asked the Imam at my local mosque. For him convenience was key since he was rarely home so a service that had you cook your own food fails him.

Interview 5: The last person that offered constructive criticism was my cousin. He noted that some people in my target audience just don't like to cook and a lot of muslims don't eat Halal.

Who: I interviews people from many different backgrounds because I wasn't really sure what my target audience was. I found target mostly Muslims but I did talk to other people as well.

What: The need for this product falls into a very niched space which is completely fine but also a crucial detail.

Why: At the end of the day it comes down to lifestyle and peoples individual preferences. Obstacles to sales included money and a desire for convenience.

Inside the boundary
Who is In Muslims that want to cook fresh meals without having to go and by ingredients. Also appeals to college students and small families.
What the Need Is Halal meat delivery
Why the Need Exists People want to cook and have ingredients delivered to them Outside the boundary Who is not Expert cooks and people on a budget. Big families. What the Need is Not: People can go out and eat and cook for themselves Alternative Explanations The demand for the service could be based on the cultural and generational details of the time

8A – Solving The Problem

Problem:
The nature of Halal meat makes more expensive to purchase and harder to find since it's not sold in big supermarkets. This puts a cap on convenience available to consumers. The particular market has seen little to no innovation since its inception. While other food based services like Blue Apron not only deliver fresh ingredients to the customer but also supply new recipes.

Solution:
The solution is a novel business idea based off the delivery service known as Blue Apron. Basically Halal meat would be packed along with other ingredients needed to make food from Asia and the Middle East. The recipes included would change every order keeping things fresh. Their is definitely a market with Muslims numbering around 1.3 billion and exotic food in overall demand. Customers would be able to order online from the comfort of their own home and select from a variety of side dips and sauces. I believe this could also benefit the Jewish community as it goes with Kosher foods and also can to the Vegetarian moment with Indian food.