16A - What's Your Secret Sauce?

1)      Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1.       I have a genuine interest in problem solving, especially within the topic of computer programming.

2.       I am, or I like to think that I am, able create relationships with others easily and can make friends quickly, leading to networking and business opportunities.

3.       If I am truly interested in a project, I invest myself in it, learn all there is to know about it, and quickly become familiar with the material.

4.       I have experience in a work environment due to my 2-month internship with an artificial intelligence startup.

5.       As long as I am invested in a project, I can work for hours on end.

Mom

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My mom thinks that I am conscious of others, ambitious, eager, and motivated. Most significantly, she thinks that I am a perfectionist.

Dad

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My dad thinks that I have good social skills. To add on to that, he thinks that I also don’t care what others think of me in a productive way.

Manny

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My brother, Manny, thinks that I always persevere, that I am hard-working, diligent, focused, and intelligent. He also mentioned these traits in regards to my SAT score.

Brian

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My boyfriend, Brian, thinks that I am charismatic, that I have good people skills, and that I have a good work ethic. He also thinks that I am firm in my beliefs and that I stand my ground.

Michael

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Similar to Brian, my brother, Michael, also believes that I am very strong in my beliefs. He also thinks that once I put my mind to something, no one can deter me from that.

From these brief interviews, I have found that the way I see myself more or less coincides with how those closest to me see me. After all, we agree on the people skills and the hardworking attitude. However, I never saw myself as much of a perfectionist until now, and I have to say I agree. If I look back, there are many instances where I will be done with a task or a project, but spend a large amount of extra time making sure there are no mistakes. Overall, I think my interviewees are correct about me, because who else is best equipped to judge me than them? If I had to make any corrections to my previous list, I would change the first one to “ambition for” instead of “interest in.” Additionally, I would add the firmness in my beliefs to the list.

P.S.: It might take two tries to download the audio file!

15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interviewee 1: Newly married 30-year-old, expecting a child

This interviewee is a perfect component to the target segment, as she is mainly concerned with how she will care for her growing family in the future. By being proactive and starting to figure the tools she will use to do so, I am able to get an idea of how she behaves as a consumer. She outlined that for her, the most important thing in the product that I am would offer is price and quality. She wants to make sure that even if she is paying a “not-so-high” price, she is still getting the maximum protection for her packages. Furthermore, she would be paying for it in cash as to not accrue any debt early on in her family’s life. Her new husband, being a part of the decision, agrees.  Once she purchases something, her motto is “if it doesn’t bother me, it’s a good buy.” In other words, if she finds that the product she has purchased does what it was intended to do and does not give her any issues in the future, she knows her purchase decision was the right one.

Interviewee 2: 50-year-old with three kids and a husband

A big concern for this interviewee is style. Yes, she also believes quality and price are important, but she really wants the product to be able to match the style of her household. The design of her home has always been important to her, and she wants my proposed product to add to it, not stick out like a sore thumb. Additionally, she would be purchasing the product on credit online due to the frequency of purchases she makes on home improvements and things of that nature. She is the sole decision-maker on this purchase, as it ties into what she perceives as her main duty at the home. As long as it blends in and is cohesive with her household, she finds it to be a good purchase.

Interviewee 3: Married 40-year-old with two kids

This interviewee wants to be able to share the functionality of the proposed product with her husband. Put simply, the most important aspect of the product is quality and shareability. The decision-makers here are both of them, and she does not mind going to a store, as that gives her an opportunity to take time for herself. She has no preferred method of payment, as well, and trusts that the price she pays will adequately represent the quality she will receive. Lastly, after every purchase she makes, she admits that she is guilty of forgetting about it. Even if it gives her issues, she finds herself procrastinating on taking action.

Conclusions:

From these interviews, I have learned some major things that I need to consider in my product development. Firstly, from the first one, I found that the product needs to durable and able to last a long time with low maintenance. Furthermore, in order to provide high quality with low price, I have to research cheaper materials that give more bang for their buck. From the second interview, I learned that customization needs to be a considered feature, as it would expand my audience from not just people who seek its functionality, but also to those that would appreciate its style. Lastly, the third interviewee showed me that the product would benefit from the addition of multiple keys (or the use of a shareable combination). Maybe it could even be connected to some sort of electronic key, one that the primary user can share wirelessly with others. Additionally, because it is hard for some people to reflect and provide feedback on their purchase decision, I should look into the use of brief but useful consumer surveys. All of these new ideas better equip me to serve my target segment.

14A - Halfway Reflection

1)      This course is very assignment-heavy, and I often found it difficult to get used to the 12 p.m. due times on Fridays. However, I was able to keep up by setting alarms on my phone. Furthermore, I found that once I got used to my alarms going off, I was remembering to do the assignments without them. Additionally, I started waking up earlier, around 8 a.m., to create the habit of checking on my assignments for all of my classes this semester before any were due.

2)      A moment in this class that I felt like “giving up” was when I missed two assignments. Because of how important the assignments were to accumulate points, I panicked for a bit about the effect this mistake would have on my grade. However, to make myself feel better about this, I calculated what my grade would be as long as I kept on top of the course, and therefore was able to feel some form of control over the situation.

Because I am taking two classes this semester, I believe that I have developed a somewhat tenacious attitude. I had to make sure that my head went to “summer mode,” and instead stayed focus on the tasks at hand. Furthermore, having to remember the assignments and bigger projects for both classes made me more hardworking over this summer.

3)      Three tips for this course would certainly be:

1.       Creating habits that help you keep up with the assignments each week.

2.       Give yourself time to finish the assignments with quality.

3.       If you forget about something or make a mistake that will affect your grade, let that make you work harder for the highest grade you can get.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

1)      Ray Kroc was a very interesting entrepreneur to read about in his autobiography, Grinding it Out. What shocked me the most about him was how well he did selling paper cups. Furthermore, his involvement in the creation of the metal sleeve for paper cups to mix milkshakes was amazing to me. I mostly admired the fact that he constantly saw opportunity. Two examples include his sale of paper cups to Walgreen’s soda stand and his idea to sell milkshakes for 12 cents instead of 10 cents. Both of these ideas worked greatly for him. However, what I did not admire (other than the obvious situation with McDonald’s) was the attitude he held towards teamwork and family. He seemed to only ask his wife for forgiveness and for going along with his plans, and when his entire company suffered a pay cut, he refused to accept it, even though his own boss had to suffer through it, too. Despite my disagreement with this action, he did work for what he wanted. He basically quit and searched for work elsewhere until he received the pay that he deserved. Another challenge he faced was that of working as a piano player. He had to play very long hours, and learned how to derive the most rest from when he slept.

2)      Kroc was extremely proficient at sales. He knew exactly how to relate to people and level with them, ultimately getting them to spend money. Furthermore, he knew that by having a clean-cut and organized appearance, he would create better relationships with his customers.

3)      Something that confused me about the reading is the constant work Kroc had. I found it hard to keep up with his many jobs in his youth, always having to remind myself what he was actually doing.

4)      If I was able to speak with Kroc, I would ask him if 1) he had any regrets in life, and 2) if he thinks his life would be different if he never learned to play the piano.

5)      I believe 110% that Ray Kroc is a strong proponent of hard work. His autobiography is literally titled “Grinding it Out.” He touches upon sleepless night, trudging through a bad business deal, and chasing opportunities until something stuck. I do share this opinion, because I believe that if you want anything substantial in life, you have to work hard at it. Nothing great comes easy.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1)      Segment

For this assignment, the segment I will be choosing is that of women in South Miami that have families they order multiple packages for.

2)      Interviews

Interviewee 1: 50-year-old woman with a husband and three children

This interviewee is mainly concerned with the fact that her home has a large front yard, leading to her packages being left outside her gate. Her packages have been stolen before, and she usually just receives the packages and picks them up at the gate when she gets home, hoping they have no been stolen. When asked about need awareness, she highlights that it is something she knows she needs to address whenever she grabs a package from her gate, places an order, is waiting for her order, etc.. She has not conducted much of an information search. However, she does know that if she did, she would certainly be looking for ways to either 1) deter potential burglars or 2) have the packages be unreachable to everyone but herself.

Interviewee 2: 45-year-old single mother with 2 children

This interviewee, having a 10-year-old and a 12-year old, is constantly ordering things they need for school and their extracurricular activities. Considering the fact that she is raising her kids on her own, she is often worried about her packages being stolen. She becomes aware of the need for her packages’ protection, due to the importance of what she’s receiving. She feels this especially when she is waiting for her orders to come in, wondering “What if they don’t get here?” She has done some research, looking through department stores online for some sort of lockbox. However, she hasn’t been able to find something specific to her needs, that is, something specifically created for her problem.

Interviewee 3: 30-year-old with woman a husband and a newborn

This interviewee, just starting out with her family life, is interested in ensuring the safety of her future purchases. She has heard so many other stories of others that have had their packages stolen, and wants to take preventative measures to avoid that. She recently began ordering clothes for her baby and small decorations for her new home. Her experience with information search is similar to that of interviewee 2, where she has looked around but has not found anything tailored specifically to the problem she believes she will have.

 

3)      Conclusions

From these interviews, I have come to the conclusions that 1) people mainly become aware of this need when they are waiting, or hoping, for their packages’ arrival, 2) that most of the target segment has searched for a solution without finding one specific to what they need, and 3) that I can be the one to finally create a product specified to protect packages from burglars. Therefore, I will continue to be focusing on women with families, as these interviews have affirmed, and will furthermore market the product with its unique specialization to the issue at hand. I also know that because women are using the internet when they become aware of their need and search for how to fix it, the product’s advertising can be distributed on online shopping websites, such as Amazon, Overstock, Ebay, and more.

11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1)      My name is Sophia Morin, and I am a sophomore at the University of Florida. When I really want something to happen, I focus on it and am hardworking until I can achieve that goal. I enjoy the problem solving that comes along with coding, and I think that that skill can be translated here. In my own life, I have always seen packages coming to my house, and I have always wondered how they can be better protected. I have seen countless videos of packages getting stolen from people’s homes, as well.

 

I think this business concept of offering lockboxes for people’s packages would be used by my family, as well. I also know several people that would benefit from this product.

 

2)      The product I am offering is a compact lockbox that someone can place on their front porch or next to their mailbox. It would include a way to insert packages without being able to retrieve any. This way, mailmen and delivery services can drop packages off, but no one can retrieve them without the key.

 

3)      As a result of interviews, this product would be primarily offered to residents in more urban areas and in suburbs. Furthermore, I believe that women with families at home would be the most attracted to the product, as they have multiple people to shop online for.

 

4)      People would care about this product because my target customers have multiple people to please. It is a huge waste of money when you order things for your family members online and they get stolen. This way, this one-time investment can ensure savings for many people.

 

5)      I believe that I have what it takes to make this product valuable. I have a close relationship with someone part of my target segment (my mother), and I have the means of communicating with others like her. Furthermore, I live in an urban area and can therefore see how my product would work personally.

Overall, I believe that these elements fit. My personal experience, my identification of the problem, and my closeness with the target segment all help to meld my business concept into one cohesive idea. If anything, one weak piece of this is the acquisition of materials. I am planning some form of sturdy plastic, not wood, so that it can remain in good condition while being outside.

8A - Solving the Problem

My problem is that of people's packages being stolen. Although items like cameras on porches exist, this does not fully solve the problem, as people often get away by the time someone sees them on the camera. Therefore, I would like to propose the creation of easy-to-use lock boxes. I think that people can be able to have as many copies of the keys, and therefore have only people they trust have access to their packages. I also think there should be a way for delivery people to insert packages without having to open it, a package slot, of sorts.

I think this product would be easy to market, especially considering the situation we are all currently in. With an increase in online shopping nowadays, I am confident that it would be a smooth product development, with a large sample size of customers to provide feedback. Ultimately, this could even last past the worldwide pandemic, as people are overall are going to be more careful in future, as well.