FINAL REFLECTION

WEEK 15

• Looking back at my blog, I have realized that we have come trough a lot. It is amazing to see how much I have improved with every elevator pitches, venture concepts, post, etc. Having the assignments just become part of my daily routine and with every single assignment and throughout the weeks come along, the assignments become easier and like a said part of my daily routine. Also, the reading helped me a lot with the way I start writing my post and most importantly, the way I now think about any business and the market in general. On the other hand, I personally think the videos helped me a lot to over come fears and be better with customers and people in general. Also, confidence was a big deal in order to do every single assignment, the more we did assignments, the more I was getting confidence to do them. Overall, every single assignment and exercise made me a better person and I am glad I did take this class. 
• One of the best memories from this class or the more enjoyable one was the venture concepts and when we had to ask our best friends what they think about us. Those exercises Made me think out of the box and step out of my comfort zone to complete those assignments. It was also nice to get incredible feed back from people and to hear what the people you most care about think about you. These two exercises gave me not only ideas for the future and so much to learn. Also let me to overcome hard situations. 
• I do think that I have always have  an entrepreneur mindset. However, this class has gave me more tools to really start my own business idea and be a real entrepreneur.    
• I would recommend definitely to be organize if one want to accomplish aver single assignment. Also, try to think out of the box and do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. I would encourage everyone to take this class since it is one of the most interesting classes that I have take at UF. 

ELEVATOR PITCH No.4

WEEK15  

Here is my last elevator Pitch, I took the past feedback from my classmates and people that I interviewed here. Also, I felt more relaxed and confident with this final elevator. I think is due to the past experiences that this one was was easier to do. 

VENTURE CONCEPT No.2

WEEK 15

Fresh Home-Made Meals "Molde":

Opportunity:

Here on the University of Florida's campus and its surrounding areas, I have found an unmet need. In today's society or people's life styles, we do not have time to cook a good home made meal. People is always busy with work, school, job, and the list goes on and on. We barely pay attention at what we eat, specially in those busy days when you just have to get the fastest food you can get. What we do not understand as students or just busy people, is that our bodies need food as much as a car needs gasoline. Most importantly, we need good food and  when I say "good" I meant, healthy nutritious meals. We might not pay too much attention at what we give to our bodies but let's just face it, some day our bodies are going to surfer our previous choices. Therefore, I thought in a business idea where I can full in those needs and help people in their daily routines by preparing fresh home made meals that I would call 'Molde". why Molde? because is easy to pronounce and remember and molde means basically caserole in Spanish. First, I would be making a mash potatoes caserole with well seasoned and well prepared ground beef and lots of cheese. This market is an unique group of people who would be more than happy to have a delicious home made meal just by ordering it. According to the interviews I have done, not only students will be interested in this product also, staff from the University of Florida. This business idea does not need to much advertising since it would work by 'worth of mouth" I would first tell my friends, they will tell their friends, and on and on until  I meet enough profit to add advertising to my business. I will start with baby steps until the product become popular in the University of Florida's campus and I have to make the decision of expanding the business in order to met everybody's needs. 

Innovation:

I have two newest venture concepts concerning this business idea. One is to add an extra caserole for those vegans who would like to consume the product. instead of meat, I would have a caserole made of mash potatoes, well seasoned and well prepared ground veggie tofu, and almond cheese. on the other hand, this product would have its own app where costumers will have easy access to the products and will be able to order them just by going to the app. This app will also offers rewards and points, if you are a good member, you will received point by avery purchase you make until you can get free meals and rewards. The app would have plenty of scenarios where customers can either order their meals or go to the app and order meals in anticipation. In other words, customers will have the option to order their meals days before day want it. Also, loyal customers will received the best benefits they can get. 

The Three Minor Elements:

1. I have one big advantage, convenience. College students are always looking for food is what keep us going so, I would be offering the most important need for our bodies in a innovative and ease way to get it and last but not least. This product would be cheap compare to other business who only offer fast food.  
2. What's Next? Molde will be using its app to satisfy customers and reward the loyal one in order to keep them motivate and engage with the product. 
3. What's Next for you? well, hopefully with my business idea being on track, I will be offering customers to make their own "Molde" with the ingredients they chose and one day I would have my own line of frozen food at supermarkets. 

Feedback:

I am glad to share that I have received a really good feedback on every single assignment we have done in this course. For this one specially, I have received such great feedback. Actually, the  idea to a have a vegan line came  out after interviews with costumers. Other than that, I have not received any criticism with this business idea, everyone seems very excited with the idea and love the idea as much as I do. Based on the research done and the previews interviews, I do not have to change anything about my business idea, perhaps just try to add new products and make the idea a reality.

WEEK 14 READING REFLECTION!

WEEK14

To my surprise, I really liked to read about the 3M's philosophy, I did not know anything about this and how it woks. Reading about how companies implement this philosophy and make progress through its application really stood my out. There was not anything really confusing to me. However, I would like the author to give more examples about the corporate entrepreneurship topic and how corporates take the decision to use this method. Therefore, I would like to ask the author about social and green entrepreneurship. what's its future? and how can new entreprenuors be successful with it?. other than that, I do not have more questions.Finally, there was anything in the reading that I have to disagree with the author, I think he knows what is he talking about. 

GOOGLE GOLD

WEEK 14

1. My general approach and strategy to advertise my blog was consistency and motivation. I always try to use some key words that helps my blog to be founded. Also, I try to follow the instructions given at the beginning of the class when tagging our blogs. Maybe after this class is done, I would change this blog into a personal one and I will use different methods, perhaps creating personal hashtags. 
2. My keywords were basically  the homework assignments words and stuff relate to it. I think in some point I forget to promote my blog since we were not remind to do it. 
3. Since this is a blog for a class, I did not advertise my blog through  my personal social media because I don't like the idea of everyone having access  to what I do in a class.
4. My most viral post was my elevator pitch number 2, with 5 comments and lots of views. 
5. Even though I did not think advertising my blog it would make a huge difference when looking for my blog in google. Now I see how all this really works. In order to find my blog in google, I have to put this "entrepreneurship carpe diem blog natalia garcia" then, I made it to the first pages. 

VERY SHORT INTERVIEW PART 2

I am a senior and I'm a bout to graduate, these four years have been a really important part of my life. I feel UF has gave me the most incredible tools to go out there and face the real world in order to accomplish my career goals. Also, it gave me the opportunity to meet awesome people that I have learned something from each of them. even though, my emphasis it is not business administration, this class taught me a very important deal. For example, now I am one hundred percent sure that before I start moving on with any business idea I have, I need to research first the target market. How do I do that? looking for people's needs, survey people, and query the demand.

This time the interview took place through the phone. Mr. Bread started thanks to word of mouth, Mrs. Pelli, the owner, came from an Italian family which cooking skills are delectable. Linda Pelli started to make French breads, pastries, desserts, and any Italian breads. One day she decided that it was time to make some goodies as people's request, her friends were fascinated, as well as her friend's friends etc. As people tell other people the demand was very high that she had to hire help and months later she opened her own bakery-caffe. Today, Mr. Bread has a variety menu where customers can order from cakes, desserts, breads, to any kind of pastry and panini.  Since my Mother is very close to her due to her obsession with Mr. bread products, I called Mrs. Pelli  and talked to her. here are the questions I asked her.

• What do you think is next for you? 

Currently we are looking forward to open a second bakery at Palm Beach Gardens, My daughter will be the one who takes care of that one. I will be here in charge of this one but in a couple of years I hope my daughter take care of the entire business. 

• What do you think has been the key for your business's success? 

Honestly, this started as a hobby of mine, I'd never thought I would have my own bakery but people wanted more so I think our products make the difference since you would not find our products in any other places near us. So, I think we owe the success of this business to the quality of our products.

• what recommendations would you give me if I want to follow your steps?  

Put your product out there, try, see people's reactions and then start only by product request after that you will have experience, you will know your market and you would have more tools to open your own place.  

I was so glad I did this interview, Mrs. Pelli is a remarkable woman, very determinate and smart. even though, she did not have plans to have her own restaurant. opportunities were there for her and she did what any good entrepreneur would do. She took those opportunities and by hard work she has now a very successful place. 

WEEK 13 READING REFLECTION

In this week's reading the most surprising thing that I found is how long and tedious the due diligence evaluation is. Even though, I found it tedious I have to admit that it is fundamental, essential, and useful can be for the owner of any business. On the other hand, I did not find any part of the reading confusing or anything that it was not understandable.
If I have to ask the author a question I would ask " Do you think is essential for a business owner to have such a tool like the diligence evaluation? besides that I would not ask anything else. I did not disagree with anything said in this reading. I thought it was very interesting and it will be useful.

CELEBRATING FAILURE

WEEK13

I have failed a couple a times in my life, at least that's what I think. However, recently I have a bad experience with a class. Last semester I was so concern about a personal matter that I did not realized I was doing poorly in that specific class, that maybe required more time from my part and I just did not do it.  I  tried to lay to myself by buying smokin notes, trying to memorize them but at the end of the day I was not doing well and not learning at all. Also, when I finally realized that I was not doing well in that class, it was too late and I could not pass it. Sometimes unexpected situations are put in to your life and you just do not know how to handle those situations, well that was my last semester's  case scenario. 

I did learned that I have to learn how to handle classes with daily life problems and not to underestimate a class even tough, it looks like an easy class. I was also reminded to manage my time in a better way in order to be able to handle classes and outside matters. 

I personally believe I can handle failure very well. I have been through a lot of situations when I have to face failure and I take it as a learning experience. I believe the decisions we take have a cost and a consequences, sometimes those decisions are not the best ones. However, we can learn from them and keep trying until you reach the goal you want to reach. Now, after taking this class I am more aware of consequences of taking risks in a business field so, this class help me to understand failure even more.  

MY EXIT STRATEGY

WEEK 13 

If for any reason my business idea do not grow and do not complete the goals I have for it, I will end up just  not making the product or passing the idea to someone that is interested in ti. Also, I will research the market and make all the arregemnets in that order the  person  can continue with the business idea. However, this might not happen since the product is prepared by customer request. I will hope that this idea grows as I planned and I can have a legacy for my children and maybe one day I will open my own restaurant. I have selected this exit strategy because in the worst case scenario, my business idea could be followed by any person that have the capability to cook a fresh meal and they would be the ones who follow my paths.
I believe my exit idea has inspired me to work harder for my business idea. Since I interviewed a new market, I did realized that more people than I though is interested in this idea. Also, my exit strategy has influenced new decision that I will be implementing to my product in that way I am sue the product is going to be a successful and some day I will have my own restaurant with innovative products and in that order, some day it will be a chain restaurant with its own frozen foods located in  supermarkets all  over the country.

WEEK 12 READING REFLECTION

WEEK 12 

In chapter 13 it was very interested to learn about the stages to achieve growth. The explanation of the strategy matrix model was very helpful, the one kind of confusing at first, was the SWOT analysis but after reading twice made much more sense.  I personal found the matrix model a little confusing but once again, after reading it for the second time, it was much more clear. One question that I would ask the author would be that I would like to have furthermore information about the different types of failure. Other than that, I do not have any more questions.
In this chapter I did not disagreed with anything the author said. For the most part of the chapter, the reading was pretty straightforward, well explain, and easy to understand. I only have trouble understanding one small part and after reading it twice I did understand the whole thing.

WHAT'S NEXT

WEEK 12

In case you have forgotten about my product or business idea here is the link of my latest pitch. http://nataliagarcia2022.blogspot.com/2016/02/elevator-pitch-no-2.html watch it and be familiar with the product. Now that you remember exactly what I am offering I will tell you what's next. I interviewed three customers from my parent's town, one of them happen to be the owner of a  small business make "Run Cakes" this small business, that is not that small anymore have more than fifty different flavors of run cakes and Mrs. Kern (the owner and administrator)  gave me some good insight on how she started her business. Having the opportunity of meeting Mrs. Kern was such a great experience, not only for the great advice she gave me. Also, just for the experience to see on first hand how such a local product and  home made product started.


Existing Market: 

My current market is College-age people in college towns. From the people I interviewed it seems that I am on right track and I have to continue to come up with strategies or ways to attract more people not only college people. For example, at my parent's town the product could be a little bit more expensive and more detailed prepared. Here are some tips that my interviewed gave me, unfortunately they did not let me to record them so I am going to write the interview.

• What do you think of the product? 
• 1: I think is very innovative and helpful, especially for weekends when you get lazy to cook. 
• 2: I love it! specially that you have a vegan option. 
• 3: It is amazing, having the chance to get home made food when you don't want to cook

Everyone loved the idea and they liked it even more when I told them about the vegan version of the product. However, some of them recommended me to use vegan cheeses  as well. 

New Market:

For the new market I decided to ask seniors and people from my parent's town where is such a different market and surprisingly they loved the idea. However, my biggest concern was if senior's would like the idea since it is such a different market with a different life style. However, the response was positive and it seems that they would welcome the product with open hands. 

Overall they have positive reactions with the product and it seems that they would buying it. Therefore, comparing both markets, the existing market and the new one gave me the same recommendations and the positive response was the same in both of them. In addition, the product have a good future in both markets even though they are way different from each other. 

WEEK 11 READING REFLECTION

WEEK 11


First of all, I have to say that I cannot believe it's been 11 week since we start this class. Now getting to the end I most say that these week's reading was very interesting specially reading about innovations systems. The fact that smallest companies are not really heard or making much innovations with products or services really surprises me. There was one part of the reading that was not much clear to me, and was the part about where they suggested not have R&D work on different projects at the same time. I wasn't really sure about this discussion and why the author suggested that.  My only question to the author would be if there is more stories about innovation that we can get examples from. Besides that, there was nothing that the author said that I disagree with or did not understand. In addition, i wish the author were more specific about the smaller companies and why they are not marketing as they should be.

THE AMAZON WHISPERER

WEEK 11

Since my idea is a a food product but people will request  the product through the phone or the Internet (product web page where people can order the product).  I would be making my main revenue from the product. Thus, If  I can get enough people requesting the product, I would create my own app where customers can have direct access to the product and I will also get sponsorship and ads revenue. When I pitched my idea, customers recommend me to have an app where they can order the product for their convenience and whenever they want so, the app would make money by getting customers to register to the free app and they just would have to pay a small fee in order to have all the app benefits. Such as, coupons, discounts, rewards etc. Since my product is a fresh dish only target to residents of Gainesville, Fl at least at the beginning stage of the product, I am not able to find a product like this one in amazon because what they have is frozen food from recognized brands. Overall, by having customers to register to a possible app and also, having the product web page. I would get revenue for ads and propaganda.When the products has complete its beginning process, I would be adding new methods in order to be able to make the product as big as possible and even have the access to put it in a national market place.

WEEK 10 READING REFLECTION

WEEK 10

The biggest surprise for me in this reading was the among of risk that you have starting your own business. Also, I did not that pro forma statements were made of projections, it was very interesting reading about that.
None of the reading material was confusing to me at all. However, I found some aspects more interesting than others. On the other hand, one question that I would like to ask to the author is what are some common mistakes entrepreneurs made when they are starting their business. and what are the things entreprenuors should do first for financial planning. Other than that I do not have more questions and either disagree with anything been said in this week's reading material, everything was pretty clear and easy to understand.

GROWING YOUR SOCIAL CAPITAL

This week I had to contact three experts in the field where my product is located. I did some research and I found out there is so many people out there to help you, you just have to do some research and contact them. Bellow is all the information they gave me and how they helped me out with this assignment.

1. Domain Expert: 
Mr. Diego Sardi is my best friend's father. He is a great example for this exercise since he is Ventolini's CEO. Ventolini is a family restaurant that started as an Ice cream company. It is from Cali, Colombia and it has a location in Bogota, Colombia as well. This company started as an ice cream place that it was growing to the point that today is an excellent restaurant which, is all over the city of Cali and it has the same structure as "Chessecakefactory". I called Diego to ask my questions and he was very helpful because ehe is a great business man who saw a business opportunity in a small ice cream place that today is a big successful  chain of restaurants. He also  liked my idea and told me some ideas to start my business.


2. Expert on the Market: 

Mrs. Isabella Vernaza, She is the menu food creative at Ventolini and Diego Sardi wife, they both have made a Ventolini a successful family business.  She is in charge of Ventolini's menu and products. Also, I talked to her over the phone and asked her everything about menus and food products at the restaurant. She was very helpful since she has more than 20 years of experience with making good food products. However, she told me that the pros and cons of this type of business and how she keeps the business successful.


3. Important Supplier: 


Mr. James Termay, he is the sales director at Doña Ramona (Ventolini's bakery) and Ventolini. He is been at that position for the last 25 years. He has enough experience to be interviewed. I'd email him and asked him about sales and how to maintain all their products in such a good standard and how they maintain the restaurant products with the excellent quality that they have. His theories and tips were very helpful and for the most part I was excited to see such a good business being that successful.

In this experience I was lucky to remember my favorite restaurant form back home and lucky enough to well known the owners and have to opportunity to get in contact with them first handed. I have been to every single location they have which is more than 15 restaurants and small locals around the city and also I have been to the fabric where they made all the ice creams, cakes, desserts, and main core food items from the regular menu. This is a family business that I have always admire and loved since I have memory and it is my role model to follow up.

MY SECRET SAUCE!

WEEK 9



1. 

• loyalty: I am a good friend, I care about the people I love and it is a priority to me try my best to make them happy. Life has showed me that friends are literally the family one choose that is why I believe in a good friendship. when I consider someone a friend I try to give my best to that person because I am the kind of person who give it all to something that matters. 
• Passionate: I am very passionate with my dreams, goals, and hobbies. I like to commit one hundred percent to something I care about. I would not be in peace with myself if I do not complete a goal that I have set. 
• Perfectionist: I am a perfectionist, I don't settle for something that I think it's perfect or well done. I like to do thing the best way I can do it. I like everything well organized and prepared. 
• Free: I believe I like to go to new places every chance I get. By traveling I have found peace with myself that anything else can give me that feeling. I love submerging myself in new cultures where I can learn about them, try their food, and experiencing that makes me feel free. 
• Determinate: I am a determinate person, every time that I set a goal I do not stop until I get it and I do my best to try. 

3.  I did interview my four best friends and my little brother, unfortunately one of them did not wanted to be filmed. according to what they said about me and of what I did say about me. I think they know me well, it was a surprise to me that they all say kind of the same things about me, it was also nice to se them saying good things about me because it is not something that we do every day.  I have to admit that even though, this exercise was kind of hard because I am not used to evaluate my qualities, it was still fun to do the challenge. 

2.

Mariana, best friend

Max, Best friend

Marianna, best friend.

Santiago, my little brother. 

WEEK NINE READING REFLECTION

WEEK 9

• I really enjoyed this chapter, it was a relief to me to see and clarify how marketing research is conducted and applied. The entire process of it and how has been developed through the years is interesting.  
• After reading the entire chapter I found out that nothing was confusing or either make not sense to me. Everything was well explained and easy to understand.
• I would ask the author about the marketing process. such as, How would marketers recognize the most important part of the marketing process. Also, if there is an prefer type of consumers more reliable to test than others. 
• I do not disagree with anything said in this chapter. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. Who you are. I am full of dreams woman that is trying to find her inner peace by living her life at its fullest  taking one step at a  time. My business idea for this project, as I mentioned before was born out of a hobby. I love to cook, I think is an expression of art in so many ways besides it makes me relax and forget everything that is going on around me.

2. What are you offering to customers? I will be offering to customers two delicious casserole dishes one for meet-lovers and the other one would be for our vegan customers. The meet-lovers casserole would be made from one layer of mash potatoes, one layer of well seasoned ground beef and other layer of lots of cheese. On the other hand, for our vegan customers I would be doing the same procese but instead of meat I would use well seasoned tofu and vegan cheeses. This dish is home made and very fresh since it would be prepared by order. All the ingredients are organic, fresh, and best quality. It is an easy home-made dinner ready to eat.

3. Who are you offering it to? this product would be offered to all my friends, their friends, classmates, professors, and mostly students who do not have time to cook and want something home-made and fresh.

4.Why do they care? they basically care because my main customer target are students and students are always hungry, busy, and looking for home-made food. When I did the interviews to received feedback I did noticed that not only students don't have time to cook, to my surprise non-students such as, Uf staff do not have time to cook every single day either. Today's society lack of time to do this regular activities like cooking so, there is always people who would prefer the convenience that someone cook fresh meals for them.

5. What are your core competences? No one else that I know. Customers are out there waiting for me to satisfied them with my food and make their lives easier. I will be offering customers a home-made fresh casserole since is going to be prepared by request.

I truly believe that these five points all make an achievable business idea. It is reachable for anyone who ask, it would be accesible since is very cheap, and ready to eat.  
Reflexion: In the comments, most people were very excited with my idea, they even suggest to make a second dish for vegan people since they found my product very convenient. As they suggested, I incorporate their feed back on my product and it is ready to make it work.

WEEK 8 READING REFLECTION

WEEK 8

1. The biggest surprise I had on this week's reading was on the dispelling ventures capital myths. Most of the myths I read on the chapter were things that I used to believe. It was very challenging reading this chapter since I had to re-read and concentrate to get all the information provided. 
2. This ready was easy to get through. Fortunately, I have did not get confused with any of the material because the chapter was explained. 
3. I do not have any questions to the author. Like I mentioned before, the chapter was perfectly well explained and I have no questions at all.
4. I would say that the author is right about every point made on this chapter so I agree with him in every single aspect.  

Half-way reflection!

• In order to keep up with a blog I would say that first of all, you need to be constant. patience and being constant is a key to success with your blog. The behaviors to that I used to keep up with all the amount of work that we have every week was to write down on my planner every single homework with its due date. This helped me to do my job on time and not gent behind. Also, I had to be very patience. Some of the homework required to left my apartment and most importantly get out of my comfort zone. Every time that we have to interview random people, it took me lots of time and patience to get my work done. Finally, I have developed an important skill such as, planning ahead my work. I have to say that this course has been a challenge not only for the amount of work that we have to do but also for the due dates, that are an important part of this course since there is no exceptions or make-ups. 

• I must admit that the first time that cross my mind to give up with this course was when we have to do the first interviews. It was such a challenge to do it and get the courage to get it done. To my surprise I did it and it felt amazing, getting out of your comfort zone has been a challenge to me and that is exactly what this course have thought me through the past two months. I feel much more capable of doing different task in my future career thanks to the work done in this course. Also, I feel more prepare to interact with random people which is not only on a career basics but also for life in general. 

• My biggest advice for future students would be first, be confident. by being confident you will not be insecure to do any assignment and you will happily make it happen. Second, buy a planner, being meticulous and organize will help you to do all the work on time. and third, get out of your comfort zone. Be active, be kind to people, don't be afraid to talk with strangers,  you can imagine how helpful can people be and to my surprise you will received good feedback and people will  always want to help you. 

Week 7 reading reflection

WEEK 7


1.  What really stood me out was the different types of segmentations for the different group of people and their owns purposes. Also,  the fact that the  author mentioned companies such as, pepsi and miller, make the article even more interesting.

2. It was not fully confusing but I would like to get more examples of the the Gravity of decision spectrum.

3.  I would like to have more examples about the gravity of decision spectrum.

4. I don't believe that it's necessary to change anything or the author is not wrong about anything. I enjoyed reading all the material specially which attitudes involves in the buyer decision.

Free Money

WEEK 7

• I went around my neighborhood and Publix. 
• Guys and girls between 20 and 25 years old.
• I said hi and just handed them the one dollar bill and waited to see their reaction. It was kind of fun to see how everyone was really surprise and confuse by my actions. 
• I just say hi and after I handed the dollar I waited to see their reactions and right after that, I introduced myself and actually made some friends. 
• I was able to give them all in the very first attempt. 
• I told all of them that I wanted to be nice and see people's reaction because it is not usual that someone do that. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

WEEK 7

The feedback that I have received from the past exercise was very positive and helpful. People loved the idea and it was gratifying seeing all the good responses. However, I feel that I have to improved my presentation and this time I asked my roommate to recorded it while I was doing my pitch. I tried to be more energetic and pretended that I was doing a commercial instead of just talk about my business idea. Also, I added a vegan product for all those who have the life style. I have decided to added  it since the majority of feedback received was about that matter. In addition, I wanted to showed my kitchen which  is the place where I will make the Casseroles and people can see the place where all the action is going to take place. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did doing it.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

Week 6

The biggest surprise for me was definitely the five forces. It was a very interesting lecture and very easy to understand. Porter's five forces were very detail-oriented and well explained. Implementing them would be challenging but one can learn lot from it. However, I found the supply side of the economics of sale kind of confusing. On the other hand, I would like to ask the author what motives him to come up with these great ideas and How did he proved al this theories, in oder words. was he part of more studies besides the ones that he mentioned on the book. Finally, I agree with everything said in this reading and I'd learn a lot from it. 

Customer Interviews No. 3

1. Describe your interviewing strategy.

This time I wanted to interview students and stuff from Uf in order to have their different reactions and points of view. Here are the questions that I did ask. 

Questions: 

1. What do you think about my business idea? 

2. how much are willing to pay for it?

3. would you recommended to someone else? 

2. Conduct the interviews. 

3. Reflect on what you learn. 

What I did learn from this set of interviews was that people is concern about the vegan population. They suggest me to implement a "vegan casserole" with vegan cheese and instead of meet, used tofu or veggies. I think is a great I idea that I should think about it. On the other hand, I am very surprise that customers really loved the idea and are willing to pay much more expected money that I thought. I have in mind to charge for the personal casserole around five and seven dollars and for the big one no more than twelve. It was great to see that customers are willing to pay way more than I'd expected. 

Idea Napkin No.1

Week 6

1. Who you are. I am a Colombian full of dreams girl that is trying to find her inner peace by living life at its fluffiness and taking one step at a time. My business idea for this project was born out of a hobby of mine. I have always find cooking very easy an entertain. It makes me feel relax and want to share special moments with the people I love.

2. What are you offering to customers? I will be offering to customer a simple  casserole dish made from mash potatoes, well seasoned ground beef and lost of cheese. This dish is homemade and fresh. and all that is needed is my kitchen and fresh ingredients.

3. Who are you offering it to? first of all the idea was born since one of my best friends told me that I should sell my homemade food. So, given the circumstances I would offer my product to all my friends, their friends, classmates, and mostly students who don't have time to cook and want something delicious and fresh.

4. Why do they care? They care because they are students and students are always hungry, busy, and looking for homemade food. Students barely have time to cook so are the majority of busy people. It is clear that there are people who cook, but there always would be people who prefer the convenience of having someone who cook for them.

5. What are your core competencies?  No one else that I know, besides I will not be offering a huge menu of frozen food. What I will be offering is a homemade single dish that is fresh because it would be made by request.

I think all I need for this project is time and commitment. The customers are there waiting for me to satisfied them with my food. It is a  time demanding project, I believe that is the main reason I haven't start yet.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

week 5

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The biggest surprise I found in this chapter was the part when they mentioned the "Ebay Entrepreneurship" story. It was interesting to read about that since I had no idea that there was a growing market right there in our faces. How people start business at ebay and how the book give us steps in order to follow up the process and understand it. Also, the detail explanation about "why new ventures fail" is was very easy to read and understand. In addition, I think that is very helpful for all of us who want to start a new business. I really love the "In Practice" parts from this chapter. How the authors explain how to face our fears was also very helpful and motivating. 

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

Although the reading was enjoyable and easy to read, I was kind of confuse "Product Design Problem" I think the author could have give us more examples. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would like to ask to the author how would he solve the mistake Bille make in terms of the new venture? and what lesson did he get from it? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

No, I did not disagree with the author in anything from this chapter. I think all the material is very clear and everything makes perfect sense to me. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Week 5

One of the things that I really enjoy is cooking for my friends and surprisingly  they love my food. I made a caserole that I call "Molde" is  made from mash potatoes, ground beef, and lots of cheese. My friends love it and always tell me to make it and sell it. well, I have always heard all of my friends and classmates complaining about their meals and how there is no time to cook and have a good home-made meal and since,  "Molde" is so popular in my social circle I will make it in personal portions and sell it ready to eat or people will also have to opportunity to put it right into their fridge. I would have an online service where people will request their "Molde" and they will get it delivered to their homes, library, or anywhere near campus.

Reading Reflection

week 4


What I really liked about this chapter was "The process of knowledge and learning" how entreprenuors need to be aware of this process in order to succeed. It was also interesting the fact that there are common idea killer and if entreprenuors do not detect them, this words can cause a negative impact on any project. Therefore, the importance of "the nature of the creative process". The four phases of this process were new to me. I found them very helpful. In addition,  all these theories are connected to how our brain works. Using our brain properly, sounds easy but getting the facts of how our brain really works was fascinated to me. It was a very fun reading, getting the knowledge of how our left hemisphere is associated with or right hemisphere and how this can affect or help on the creative process. One question that I would like to ask the author is. How can I prevent the block of mental habits that impede creative thinking? I would like to have more examples about this.

Conclusively, I agree with all the points made by the author in this chapter. Everything was well explained, easy to read, very enjoyable and I did understand the entire chapter.

Customer Interview No. 1

WEEK 4

1. Opportunity:

My potential opportunity is about the maintenance service at my Cousin's community complex. I have heard her a million times complaining about that service and since last week I went to visit her I found the opportunity right there to interview her neighbors about this situation. I found it interesting since it's a common issue that had  happened to me at the apartment complex that I used to live. I would like to create a more efficient system where residents can request their petitions without any long waits and faster service. In addition, residents would be able to make their request and get a 24 hour service to solution any issue presented. That way, residents would have faster service and happy lives.

2. Who might have the unmet need:
I think residents from that community are the ones who might have that need since they could get a faster service without the discomfort of having something that is not working well at their home.

3. List of questions:

1. When you make a maintenance request, what do you think about the wait time? is it too long?
2. How long does it takes your service to be fixed, Is it hours or days?
3. Have you ever experience a situation which you were dissatisfied with the maintenance request system? if yes, explain the situation. if no, are always satisfied by this service?
4. In general, what do you think about maintenance service?

4. What I learned about the opportunity: 
In general terms, I learned that residents have experienced different kind of services from the same provider and it definitely could be improve in order to have the same impact on everyone and people would complaint less about that service.

5. What I learned about that interviewing customers:
I did enjoy the interviewing part, having the opportunity of interviewing my cousin's neighbors was something that I have never done before and it was fun. It did turns out that some of them were actually happy with the service that my cousin though it was awful for everyone, so it helped me understand that everyone's opinions are different and may vary.

Top 5 World Problems

week 4

Top 5 Problems:

1. Uneducated people.
2. Hunger.
3. Violence.
4. Religions.
5. Selfishness.


Top 5 Solutions: 

1. Everyone should have the opportunity to get education. In some countries, college is so expensive that not everyone have access to it, this is something that has to changed. Governments should implement ways for people to go to college and in some cases kids that can go to school.

2. In third world countries, governments should make campaigns to give free breakfast to people who needs it.

3. This solution is number three because it goes hand in hand with numbers one and two. If we have more educated population and well fed population, the percentage of violence is going to decrease. Hunger and ignorance are two big factors that increment violence.

4. I don't think religions have to disappear, what I do think is through education, people most understand that everyone is free to practice the  religion they want. Being able to respect the other's religion is a right that we all have. Religions does not have to be the subject of arguments.

5. What we need in this world is more selfless people. How do we do that? I believe we establish that at home. Raising kids in a nice environment

full of respect and love, each of us can contribute to have more selfless persons.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

Week 3

This week's reading was very helpful for all of us that some day would like to start our journey as entrepreneurs. This second chapter mentioned something that really caught my attention. "Perseverance and Commitment", those two characteristics are often not taken seriously. Future entrepreneurs have to understand the importance of those two characteristics. The example given by the book was admirable and having the chance to read it, makes me think about the journeys that most of entrepreneurs have to face. Sometimes, it is not enough to fix one problem, there is a time in live where one is going to face a difficult journey but there is when the real entrepreneur is challenged, and that is the point when the real entrepreneur has to keep going and believe in himself/ herself by being self-confidence and optimistic because entrepreneurs are always going to be exposed to obstacles. On the other hand, it is important to have a "Team Building". Well prepared people that will help the entrepreneur to handle any obstacles.  This chapter also presented the most common characteristics presented by already successful entrepreneurs.

Very Short Interview No. 1

Week 3

Gaciel Santana Photography, this is the name of her company. Gaciel is a very good friend of my mother. She is from Dominican Republic and she is a photographer. She started this carrier as a hobby that later on became a profession. She takes the most beautiful pictures of weddings. she perfectly captures every single moment of joy and transmits nothing but the best of her subjects. Now, her company has growth tremendously  and I am so happy for her.

Natalia: What encores  you to start your own photography business?

Gaciel: " As the unofficial photographer of family and friend's functions, many times people told me that I had an eye for photography. Then I decide to take it seriously and there is nothing that gives me more pleasure than to witnesses those instants of sheer  in a couples faces when they are getting married".

Natalia: what do you wish you had been taught in school before out on your own path as an entrepreneur?

Gaciel: well, First of all, I consider that I would like to had some basics such as, managing, marketing your own business etc. but I truly believe that being an entrepreneur is more about put yourself out of your comfort zone and try to be the best at what you are doing. In my case, I have had the luck to choose only one path in this profession which is being a weddings photographer.

Natalia: What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur?

Gaciel: Being an entrepreneur is being able to take a risk for what your passionate about. I feel so blessed to have turned my passion into my livelihood; as I always says to my two kids. I breathe, I dream, I love photography. So, educate yourself, be the best in what you do and enjoy it.

Natalia: Thank you so much for your time. I love your work I know you already know this but some day you will be the photographer of my wedding.

Gaciel is one of those women that makes you want to be her friend. She is passionate about life and she live it as intense as she can. I known her since forever and she inspires everyone that is close to her, including myself. Her company it is going to keep growing and i wish her nothing but the best in her journey.

PS: Gaciel took those two picures of my friends and I a couple of years ago, I hope you guys like it.

World's Biggest Problems

week 3

I believe we are living in a era where humanity is becoming more indifferent to all kinds of situations.

1. What I think it is the number one problem is selfish people and when I say people I am including myself. I am from a country where safety it's not something easy to maintaining. Societies are full of inequalities which, make the least fortunate person act differently. By saying, different I meant that we are used to judge people for what they do but we do not take the time to look at what's really going on. I am not saying that I agree with criminals behaviors or terroristic attacks. What I want people to see it's that sometimes we just have to look at out the box and realized where is the real problem. If is people? if is society? or is it both?.  What I think humanity needs, is a cup a tolerance, respect and kindness to start building a better future for the coming generations.

2. Governments.  We need people that want to rule a country without nothing in return besides the people's well being.

3. Excesses. We live in a society where is more important what you have (things you own) rather than what you are as a person. It's time to do a brain wash in today's society about what it is really important.

4. Racism. Although, humanity has overcome a lot in this area, I think that some recent terrorist events have to do with racism. If we learn how to love each other no matter what color your skin is, or where are you from. I believe we can coexist way better.

5. Religions. I have to clarify that I am not against to any religion actually I consider myself catholic but I do believe that everything that you do you have todo it with respect to the others that not share that same believe that you do. Practice a religion in high intensity can turn people to act in manners that cannot be described. I do think religions are necessaries but with respect and tolerance.

6. Waste of our natural resources. Planet Earth is our home and sometimes most of us forget about that or maybe we think that it's going to last forever. We all should be aware that it's the time to take care of our planet if we want to left something to the future generations.

7. Egocentrism. Our history through the ages has showed us  that we only care for our own good. If we were less selfless and more kind to others, I think we can make a change as a society.

8. Uneducated people. In third world countries the rate of uneducated kids is unbelievable. I think it's necessary to give give education to the majority of any country population.

9. violence/war. we as humans need to think of new ways to resolve our conflicts. Violent acts are not the way to make thing work.

10. Hunger. we have a planet full of resources that sometimes it's such a shame to se how some people is suffering of starvation.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

week two


The biggest surprise that I found on this week's reading was the myths of entrepreneurship. It was very interesting reading about myths that I was not even aware of. For example, entrepreneurs are born, not made is a huge misunderstanding that most of people have. This first chapter really made me want to start working on my goals and showed me well enough to material to keep going. However, there was a part that confused me. "The entrepreneurial assessment approach" developed by Robert C. Ronstadt, was not very clear to me. I would like the author to give more examples of this because it did confused me a little bit. Overall, this first chapter was interesting enough that it made me want to keep reading. The way the author of the book break down the chapter and give examples was very easy to read it and not get bored easily. I am looking forward to see the rest of the chapters.

Bug list

Week Two

Here are 20 things that bugs me.

1. Why is it that almost during the entire day the Starbucks on Marston library at UF is always full. To order a cup of coffee it will take you no less than 7 minutes. it really bothers me.

2. For the last couple of years I have been moving from one apartment complex to another one. I can say that in the past four years in every single complex that I have lived the laciness is incredible. I do not understand why I have to call the office more than three times if I want to get something fix at my apartment.

3.Why is it with people (including myself) that the new years resolution is has something to do with lose weigh. It is very annoying how the South West gym at UF it is always packed. It does not matter the hour because I have tried almost every single hour of the day, the gym is always full. Let's hope half of that people give up on their resolutions and the gym can go back to normal.

4. Why is it that during rush hour 20th street is full of traffic. Trying to get home during that time it will take me more than an hour.

5. It really bothers when I am having a good productive day. Sometimes, I don't understand the need of some people to ruin your day. For example, negativity, laciness and just disrespectful people can turn a good day into a bad one.

6. why some employees do not care about their jobs and just treat customers very bad. It makes me mad that some employees at the Wallmart on Archer are very disrespectful.

7. When you pay for a service you want that service to be as good as possible. Sometimes the Chipotle at Archer don't serve good food.

8. Why is it with deliveries from Bento that takes forever? almost every single tame that I order something from Bento it do not take lass than an hour to get it. It is very disrespectful with the customer to take that long.

9. Taxis service in Gainesville have a bad reputation.

10. I don't understand why when you go to the emergency at the hospital it takes too much time to get a doctor to check you out.

11. When you go to eat out you expect a good service and delicious food.Well, one day  I had a terrible experience at Outback restaurant.

12. When you buy fruits at the supermarket and you get home to find out that they are not in good shape and sometimes they are not even ready to eat.

13. Nissan at Gainesville do a very bad job with customer service.

14. Why is it that the Internet at UF sometimes is very slow.

15. Why do I have to call my landlord twelve times in order to have a respond from he/she. The lack of availability it really bothers me.

16. When ATT&T try to give you extra bills that you didn't even know.

17. Why is it that every single time that I try to call to att&t customer service, they never really help me with what I need.

18. Why always happens that you buy an electronic from Best Buy and you also buy one kind of insurance and when that insurance expires that is the time when your electronic get ruined. so, you never got to used the insurance.

19. When your delivery takes forever.

20. The old system "saki" was very annoying. Sometimes I had to submit homework twice if I wanted to be sure to send them.

This exercise was a real challenge to me. It was not easy at all to find twenty things that bothers me. But I am glad I had the chance to complete it.

My Entrepreneurship Story

Week two.


I believe I have been surrounded by entrepreneurs my entire life. My dad's family were the first families in Cali, Colombia who start the public transportation business and when I said Transportation, it meas that they were one of the first families that  built a company of public busses for the city. However, my entrepreneurship story is going to be about my cousin. 
My cousin, Monica went to a school where besides the normal academic stuff, she was thought ballet. So, by the time she graduated from high school she also became a Ballet dancer. On her college years she had a part time job teaching little girls how to dance  ballet. When she finished college, she open her own dance academy. Those times were not easy at all for her. She had to sacrificed lots of things but it was worth it, since 12 years later today, Petipa Dance Academy, is one if the must prestigious dance academies in Bogota, Colombia. She is a great example of perseverance and passion. Her journey was not easy, she had been through so many obstacles but today she can say that she has her dream job and her dream of having her own dance academy came true. Monica, is a remarkable example to me. She is one of those people who inspires others. I want to follow her steps and take intelligent risks in order to achieve my own dreams. On the other hand, I wanted to take this course because some day I would like to be an entrepreneur. 

Introduction

WEEK TWO

Introduction

Hello, my name is Natalia García and I grew up in Cali, Colombia. I did high school there and came to Santa Fe College (Gainesville, FL) in fall 2011. I started as a Phycology major and a year after, I changed to my actual major: Telecommunication Management. I transferred to the University of Florida in Spring 2015 as a junior.  In my free time I like to stay at home and spend quality time with my family; I really like watching movies and reading. I also, like to travel. I believe traveling is the best way to learn new cultures, its values, manners, and ways of living. Therefore, I try to travel every chance I have, I like going to places I have never been before. I can say that. On the other hand, my family is very important to me. I have such a good relationship with them. My father is the funniest guy I have ever meet. Well, at least to me, my mother is very smart and passionate, and my little brother who is fifteen years younger than I am, is such a good kid. As Colombian I can say that family is one of the most important mottos in our lives and I am glad I have such a lovely one.  I have to say that one of my favorite places that I have been is Rome, Italy. I had the opportunity to go to Italy and France in summer 2012 with Santa Fe College, and I have to say that it was one of the best experiences of my life. I just fell in love with Rome, it’s definitely a magic city. Full of history, delicious food, and charming people.