My Customer's Avatar

My customer avatar is that of a student just starting college. He or she is a freshman or person new to UF looking to buy books at a discounted price. This student is probably receiving financial aid and plans on or already has a student loan. This student wants to spend as little as possible on making sure they receive good quality used textbooks at a price cheaper than what the bookstore offers.

I am similar to my avatar in that I too am looking to spend as little as possible on purchasing books as possible and am constantly looking for the best deal on them. I don’t think this is a coincidence as being a student is probably what sparked this idea in the first place. 

Serible

Serible

[sar-ah-bowl]

Adjective;

Something that is both terrible and sad

Unfortunately, my word did not catch on and wasn’t used by anyone but me. I got a few laughs from my friends as I tried to slide this word into our daily conversation, but other than that, it wasn’t used by anyone but me. 

Halfway Reflection

1.     Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

I have developed many different attributes that have helped me with my progression in this class. Hard work and creativity definitely help with this course more than most others. I’d have to say the biggest competency would be planning ahead. The longer you give yourself to do the homework, the better your assignments will be.

2.     Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I definitely felt like giving up when I had to do interview after interview. I pulled through by managing my time and just toughing it through. I have definitely become more tenacious in the past two months due to the large amount of workload I have been giving from this summer.

3.     Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

Fostering the skills that support tenacity:

1.     Always work hard and try and do all of the assignments for that week.

2.     Take time off to relax.

3.     Don’t overwork.

Developing the ‘tenacious mindset’:

1.     Plan out what you want to do when.

2.     Think of how to balance your life with school and life.

3.     Don’t let bad times prevent you from accomplishing your dreams.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1.     You. I am an ISOM major with years of experience with computers. I also know the basics of html and the very basics of website design. I really want to enter a business in my field and hopefully one day become a CEO or upper management. If I were to start this business then it would only play a minor role in my life as it would take up relatively little time to run it, but hopefully it would be a source of secondary income as time progressed.

2.     What are you offering to customers? I am offering a service to connect students to one another for book exchange and sales.

3.     Who are you offering it to? I am offering it to students in the local Gainesville area and potentially with success to students in a state and even national area.

4.     Why do they care? Students would save potentially hundreds of dollars each year on buying and selling to each other rather than the local bookstores.

5.     What are your core competencies? Being localized in Gainesville means that only a select group of people would be involved in the trading process rather than those at a national scale. What we have that no one else has is that we would not be involved in the sale at all money wise so that students would get the best price for their books.

Overall, I think these five elements interact quite well with each other. I definitely think that the weakest aspect of my business will be establishing it as a trustworthy website and getting enough people to use it each semester to make it popular. If I could accomplish those things, I think that this offering could definitely work to create a more reliable and cost effective alternative for students. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

For my opportunity, I chose to focus on book sales to students who are getting shortchanged by large markups. I chose to use this opportunity to create a business, Booklist, to help students connect to others in need of a similar book. 

Tweaking the Innovation

1.     Product/service mix –

Water for residents	Water for Businesses
Gallons of water	Pump straight to business
Bottles of water	Barrels of water

2.     Levels:

a.      Gallons of water

                                                    i.     Core: Clean water in a portable container

                                                  ii.     Tangible: safe water in a gallon

                                                iii.     Augmented: delivered safely to nearby markets

b.     Bottles of water

                                                    i.     Core: Clean water in a smaller container

                                                  ii.     Tangible: clean mineral water

                                                iii.     Augmented: delivered safely to nearby markets

c.      Pump straight to business

                                                    i.     Core: clean water for sodas and other necessities in business

                                                  ii.     Tangible: clean water pumped into local restaurant storage

                                                iii.     Augmented: Delivered to any business in the local area

d.     Barrels of water

                                                    i.     Core: Clean water in a large storable barrel

                                                  ii.     Tangible: strong steel barrels full of clean and sanitary water

                                                iii.     Augmented: Delivered to any business in the local area

3.     Innovations:

a.      Gallons of water

                                                    i.     Core: Price competitive water, clean tasty water

                                                  ii.     Tangible: Different gallon containers that are more portable, different minerals in the water

                                                iii.     Augmented: Home delivery, local area pickup

b.     Bottles of water

                                                    i.     Core: price competitive bottles of water, clean tasty water

                                                  ii.     Tangible: Different flavors, different sizes of bottles

                                                iii.     Augmented: Home delivery, local area pickup

c.      Pump straight to business

                                                    i.     Core: Reliable water, customer satisfaction

                                                  ii.     Tangible: Scheduled water deliveries, fast fill ups

                                                iii.     Augmented: Business delivery, Safe water stamp

d.     Barrels of water

                                                    i.     Core: Reliable water, customer satisfaction

                                                  ii.     Tangible: Different materials of barrels, different barrel sizes

                                                iii.     Augmented: Business delivery, Safe water stamp