Work Now, Play Later

My Venture Concept 2.0 - Whidbey Coffee: I am offering a new and innovative coffee selection on the University of Florida campus by opening up a Whidbey Coffee franchise on campus at the University of Florida.  Whidbey Coffee is a well-known franchise within the Pacific Northwest. students and faculty.  Whidbey Coffee offers varying product prices and new coffee products such as Frozen Mochas, Red Bull Spritzers, and more. As well as more seating availability in a relaxing and aesthetic environment. A typical Whidbey Coffee franchise incorporates at least one fireplace, open windows, and different types of seating like couches, chairs, and bar stools. Contrastingly, Starbucks facilities on campus either have no seating or just one to two small tables with little to no room to study, work, or relax. Starbucks has monopolized the prices for coffee on campus, and many individuals have this unmet need for lower prices, seating availability, and coffee variability o...

The End of My Journey & The Beginning of My Journey 1) Reading through my posts from this semester. Recalling all of the experiences I've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread. 2) I think the most formative experience that I'll remember for the years to come was creating and illustrating our customer avatar and our average prospective customer. I loved getting to think about my customer market from a different perspective and going even more in depth to decipher what they do everyday, what they own, what they like, etc. I'm not sure what my most joyous experience was but I truly enjoyed getting to get out in the real world and make connections with actual business intellectuals and entrepreneurs. There's so much to learn and even more room for growth - and I'm excited to continue to expand my network and go outside my comfort zone. I think the experience that I'm most pro...

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc What surprised you the most? I think what has surprised me most in all of our reading reflections is truly how small each entrepreneurs endeavors started. Moreover, I didn't know who Ray Kroc was or how McDonalds became to be as internationalized as it is now. So this whole biography was rather surprising. Learning that he didn't actually meet the McDonald's brothers until much later in his career and began working for the company.  What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I believe after reading this, I most admire Ray's work ethic and salesmanship. He routinely worked excessively long days while selling cups to playing piano on a nightly radio show. He never stopped hustling, especially in this part of his career, and he called it his "Grind It Out" time. Moreover, Kroc really emphasized the importance and significance of being able to sell something and do it well. I loved that he...

1) Selecting my exit strategy.  My exit strategy for my venture is to sell my business franchise in the next 5 years for a large return.  2) Why I've selected this particular exit strategy:  As a rather young twenty-one year old, I have many more ideas and passions I'm interested in pursuing. One of which is working in marketing data and research. I believe an entrepreneur, oftentimes, is only as successful as their experiences. In order to be more successful I must first become more knowledgeable about various business aspects of different industries as well as continue to develop my network. Therefore, this particular exit strategy would best support this transition and maximize my payout.  3) How my exit strategy has influenced the other decisions I've made in my concept.  I believe my exit strategy has influenced my growth intentions and how I plan to acquire and use resources. There are many other universities, particularly closer to the Pacific ...

1) A time this past semester that I failed. A time I failed this past semester was when I set an expectation and goal for myself to work out more and eat healthier. I know this goal may seem rather small for some - but after having a blood clot my first year at the University of Florida, my overall health has become exceptionally more important to me. Although I absolutely did work out a ton and eat healthier - I didn't achieve my end goal. I believe this was made exceptionally hard due to unforeseen circumstances such as the current health crisis.  2) What I learned from it.  What I truly learned from this 'failure' is that small wins are just as important as big wins. What I mean by this is that every day I decided to go to the gym, stay a couple minutes longer, not compare myself to other people, and eat healthier was a small win. Although I didn't meet my end goal this semester, I am so much closer to it. I learned that I need to trust and love the process. M...

Existing Market.  Step 1: What's next in terms of the products and services for my venture . Whidbey Coffee offers varying product prices and new coffee products such as Frozen Mochas, Red Bull Spritzers, and more. As well as more seating availability in a relaxing and aesthetic environment. A typical Whidbey Coffee franchise incorporates at least one fireplace, open windows, and different types of seating like couches, chairs, and bar stools.  Contrastingly, Starbuck facilities on campus either have no seating or just one to two small tables with little to no room to study, work, or relax. Starbucks has monopolized the prices for coffee on campus, and many individuals have this unmet need for lower prices, seating availability, and coffee variability on campus.  I'm offering this to students and faculty at the University of Florida - encompassing both coffee lovers and individuals who do not enjoy coffee but utilize it for increased productivity as well as a place t...

My Venture Concept - Whidbey Coffee: I am offering a new and innovative coffee selection on the University of Florida campus by opening up a Whidbey Coffee franchise on campus at the University of Florida.  Whidbey Coffee is a well-known franchise within the Pacific Northwest. students and faculty.  Whidbey Coffee offers varying product prices and new coffee products such as Frozen Mochas, Red Bull Spritzers, and more. As well as more seating availability in a relaxing and aesthetic environment. A typical Whidbey Coffee franchise incorporates at least one fireplace, open windows, and different types of seating like couches, chairs, and bar stools. Contrastingly, Starbucks facilities on campus either have no seating or just one to two small tables with little to no room to study, work, or relax. Starbucks has monopolized the prices for coffee on campus, and many individuals have this unmet need for lower prices, seating availability, and coffee variability on campus....

A list of all of my resources in my venture:  A human capital asset I have is my education at the University of Florida, Warrington College go Business. As many of us know, the University of Florida is a top 7 public university with an acceptance rate of 39%.  Another human capital asset I have is my previous work experience and trainings. Although I am a rather new twenty-one year old, I have worked 6 different consecutive jobs since I was 16 - going on 7.  As a military child, I have moved around the world from a young age. From doing so, my family and I have created a large network with uncountable individuals with different backgrounds and experiences within different industries. This would benefit me as a social capital.  My own personal savings account in which I have been investing into since I was 16 is a financial capital of mine.  After serving as an Executive Director of Warrington Welcome, a Career and Leadership Program within the Heav...

1)  The pitch.  Link to Youtube video: https://youtu.be/le3Y-bRcV1Y 2)  A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch.  I had several comments on my second elevator pitch, and it was all good feedback. I've attached the responses below. Similar to my last pitch, I found it extremely helpful that these individuals also believed I effectively connected the vision of the University of Florida as a community to the prospect of my new coffee service, Whidbey Coffee. From this feedback, I knew I was making the product more convincing to members of the UF community - and I wanted to make sure I kept this aspect of my pitch as I moved forward.  My last comment was still extremely beneficial an insiteful, however; I  don't  want to come off as though I am attacking the Starbucks franchises on campus or students for enjoying them.  I don't need to force prospective customers to see the opportunity, because they know i...