18A- Create a Customer Avatar

Assignment 18A- Create a Customer Avatar

For this assignment, I will focus on individuals who my product can be sold to.

My customer is 20 years old and she lives in Florida, where the weather is hot and humid. She attends the University of Florida as a junior and majors in pre-med. She has a busy schedule and is stressed due to her course load most of the time. She does not have a lot of time to have a skin routine every morning and night. Her hobbies include watching Netflix, playing volleyball, reading, playing the piano, and going out with friends. She enjoys watching Grey's Anatomy. She drives a Lexus but walks around campus. She does not have any children.

What do I have in common with her?

I also attend the University of Florida and I get stressed from having a busy schedule. I used to not have time to do a skincare routine because I was so busy. I also enjoy watching Netflix, reading, and playing the piano.

I don't think it is a coincidence.

A lot of college students are stressed because of academics. Also, a lot of college students watch Netflix. Acne is a current issue among young adults, especially students in school.

17A- Elevator Pitch No. 2

Assignment 17A- Elevator Pitch No. 2

Reflection of feedback: Based on the feedback, I was able to make my product more specific and marketable to potential consumers. Some useful feedback I got was too use meaningful hand gestures. Gestures can be as powerful as the speech itself, so that was a very important tip that I was given.

What I changed, based on feedback: I did try to add more meaningful gestures to my elevator speech to help convey my information more properly. I also added that there were 4 ingredients that are in the original formula and the added ingredients are the ones that are used to fit a consumer's specific skin type after they take a survey. I think this advice helped me make my product seem more solid and specific rather than vague.

15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Assignment 15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Report findings and Draw conclusions:

• In each interview, I learned which products are more desirable amongst consumers. My interview with Daniel helped me a lot. He said that making the product different from other skincare products would help me stand out, such as making the packaging more stylish or attractive. If popularized, the product could be sold in stores like Walmart.

• My second interview also helped me gain insight into the buyer behavior. This interviewee is most likely to buy products online since Amazon makes shopping more convenient, although they would also buy a skincare product in a store. He also likes skincare products that are a reasonable price but high quality. He stated that consumers would not want to buy a product if it is too expensive for them.

• To summarize, this segment helped me realize the alternatives to my product and what I can do to make my product more marketable. My interviewees agreed that my product would be good if it had something to set it apart from the competition. My products would work if I had added a unique touch to them. 

14A – Halfway Reflection

Assignment 14A – 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 had to utilize my time management skills whenever I complete work for this class. I try to watch the lecture on the day that they are recorded in order to stay on track for the week. I also have honed my social skills in order to interview the required people nearly every other week.

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? 

• Once when I was having a bad week, I felt like giving up. I did not want my assignments to pile up on me, so I had to pull through. Knowing that I will be helping myself if I do my assignments pulled me through. I feel like ENT has helped me develop a tenacious attitude in general. Having a heavy workload that needs to be done in a short amount of time has contributed to my tenacious attitude.

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'?

• 1. I will tell you to do your assignments as early as possible and don’t wait until the last minute. Do your work ahead of time so that you have more time to do the things you really enjoy.
• 2. College is hard. I suggest developing a study plan and an overall schedule of your life so that you do not stress and have a breakdown. This will definitely develop a tenacious mindset that is needed at this university.
• 3. I would suggest networking and getting to know a variety of people. In this class, you’ll meet many people who are business students or are interested in business. You will have someone to keep you accountable for your work.

13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

I read the biography on Elon Musk. Here are my thoughts:

• What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most is that whatever company Elon ventures in, he has a serious passion for it. He sets impossible deadlines in order to get the most out of his workers. Musk has a fierce persona whenever he leads a business and likes things ran his way. Elon Musk once said that "If there was a way that I could not eat, so I could work more, I would not eat." He has an extreme schedule and lives by it. One thing that I did not know is that Elon Musk is a co-founder of Paypal. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? One thing that I admired the most about Musk is his strong work ethic and way of dealing with business. He has failed many times but he has also had successes. He had a dream since younger of coming to America which he achieved. Moving from Africa to Canada then to California, Musk had visions of changing the world around him.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? What I did not like about Musk is that at times he could come off as really aggressive and stubborn. With Musk, it is very hard to sway his opinion or perspective. Another thing that I did not admire is that he treats his top workers horribly sometimes, almost verbally abusing them. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? Musk has encountered a lot of adversity and failure. He was bullied for being a nerd when he was younger at school in South Africa. He also did not have a good life at home. Musk's parents divorced at a young age due to his father. His father had a strong, overbearing personality. Although the father taught him a lot, Musk experienced some form of psychological torture from his dad. No one gets along with Musk's father. Also, Musk moved to Canada at age 17 in order to fulfill his dreams, knowing little to no family in Canada.
• What competencies did you notice the entrepreneur exhibited? Musk was intelligently smart during a child and often studied encyclopedias and whatever he could get his hands on. He excelled at universities in Canada and in the United States. Musk majored in Business and Physics. These two areas have deemed to be the most used in his career. 
• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. One part of the reading that was confused was the part where the author started talking about when he first came to Silicon Valley and how the Silicon Valley did business. This part confused me because it did not have anything to do with Elon Musk, but rather entirely about the author's beginning in Silicon Valley.
• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I would ask Elon Musk how I could start a successful business and what I would need to continuously generate revenue for it. I would also ask how did Musk manage to organize his schedule so specifically that he got the most out of productivity and efficiency.
• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I think what Musk thinks of hard work is never quitting and dedicating your life to what you are working on. Musk thinks that pulling an all-nighter to make a deadline is hard work. I do share his opinion, yet I would not go through the effort of pulling an all-nighter. I would rather sleep on time while getting the project done still.

12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Assignment 12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Choosing a segment: 

• For this assignment, I chose a segment of college students between the ages of 18-22. All three of my interviewees were college students at UF with acne problems. Carlos is an upperclassman at UF who studies Civil engineering and says that he has had acne problems ever since he started high school. Another is a biology student from FSU who uses skin care products but hasn't found one that matches her skin. The last one is a nursing student from UF who does not use skin care products but wants to start.

Interviews:

• Interview # 1
• Carlos proved to have this unmet need. He seems to have this need whenever he breaks out or tries to look for products for his skin and cannot find it. He does not have this need whenever his skin clears up or he is not stressed.
• Interview # 2
• Kaitlyn, a biology student from FSU has this need as well. Although, she already uses skin care products to control her acne. The issue is that her products have harmful chemicals in them, which causes a need for Smart wash. She does not have this need when she buys skin care products that are made from natural ingredients.
• Interview #3
• Julie, a nursing student from UF, has similar experiences to Carlos'. Her need is the most salient whenever she is stressed and has acne outbreaks. Her need is the least salient whenever she has a healthy diet and is not stressed by schoolwork.

What I learned:

• The findings were exactly as I expected. There is a need for the acne product whenever acne is caused randomly by stress, hormones, or other factors. There is not a need whenever the consumer is not stressed or their acne is not triggered. One of my interviewees talked about using a different product with natural ingredients. The need for my product may not be as strong for her.

How I would describe this segment: 

• I would describe this segment as very insightful. I will be able to use the information gained from the interviews in order to improve my product and see if there is strong enough of an unmet need for it.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin No. 1

 

1. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

• My name is Ramar Huntley. I am a General Business Studies major who intends on joining the MBA program. I am taking public speaking classes in order to improve my speaking skills. I aspire to help different people across the globe. I see the business playing a role in my life. I would feel good about people with skin acne because it is something that even I have experienced.

2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

• I am offering customers a business product that helps prevent and stop skin acne. For individuals, I am solving the unmet need for a skin care product that fits their certain skin type. Although there are many skin care products in the market already, there are still products that use harmful chemicals and that are made only for a certain skin type.  

3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common? 

• I am offering my product to one group: teens and adults. The individuals will range from 12-24, the age that is mostly affected by acne. The product will be marketed to both women and men. This includes middle school and high school students, college students, and young adults that need the product. The products that are not specifically for your skin will be low priced. The high priced products will be the ones that are specifically made to fit your skin.

4. Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service

• I believe that individuals will pay me money for my product because there are a lot of skin care products that irritate and harm your skin. Most people have to extensively search to find the perfect match for the skin type. With Smart Wash, there will be a product already made for any skin type. My product is valuable because of the use of natural products and customization.

5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

• I'd say my leading competitor would be Proactiv. Proactiv is well known and popular due to its commercials. For some people, Proactiv dries their skin out. To stand out, I have connections in marketing and also I know chemical engineers who could possibly help me develop my skin care product. Having marketing connections would build up my product's consumer base rapidly. Also, Proactiv uses a lot of unknown ingredients. My product would only use natural ingredients that are gentle on the skin.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.  

• I believe that all of these five elements work together. I believe that one element is weaker than the rest. I do not many connections that would allow me to fully develop this business and product. In order to carry out the business, I would need to make more connections. Besides that, I would make a good business leader for Smart Wash and have no trouble selling its skin care products.