Halfway Reflection

I missed a few assignments in the beginning of the semesterso I decided to develop a couple ways to keep up with the coursework. I set aside thirty minutes each weekday to complete the assignments. I typically finish before Friday, which gives me more time to study for my other classes. I also set a reminder in my phone about the cupcake each week. It’s easy to forget about it since it’s due at noon instead of midnight. There were a couple of times this semester that I didn’t want to complete an assignment. In fact, there were a couple of times this semester that I didn’t complete an assignment. I haven’t given up yet, though, and I plan on heading into the rest of the semester with a more tenacious attitude. If I were to give next semester’s students tips, I would tell them the most important way to stay determined is to complete the assignments early. I would also tell them not to get discouraged if they accidentally miss an assignment, because all you can do is keep going and complete the next one. Finally, I would tell them that in order to develop a tenacious mindset you must stay engaged with the course material. 

Reading Reflection No. 1

Steve Jobs was a visionary and one of the most important entrepreneurs of the twenty-first century. He created the apple cult that we all know and some love. The thing I admire most about Jobs, after reading his biography, is that he wasn’t after money. Despite becoming filthy rich, his motivation was to “make great products.” He had a genuine passion for creating valuable products. Something I don’t admire about Jobs, though, was his style of communication. He tended to be brutally honest and even harsh at times. Although this was a way to drive excellence in his company, I believe anything you want to achieve can be reached through kindness. The most surprising thing I read in his biography was that Jobs was booted out of his own company by a man he hired. This was probably his biggest “failure” in the process of creating the apple empire. He eventually took back over and made his epic comeback.

I would narrow Jobs’ three top competencies down to preparation, determination, and showmanship. Jobs obsessed over all the tiny details of product design. He was always extremely prepared, especially for sale calls.  He was determined to accomplish his goals, and always found a way to take his company to the next level. Above all else, though, Jobs was an incredible showman. His presentations inspired the world and allowed him to sell millions of devices. 

I didn’t find anything confusing in the biography, however, I do think it’s odd that Steve Jobs wasn’t a very kind person. I didn’t know him but I didn’t picture him as being a rude person. If I could ask him a couple questions I would first ask where he saw the future of apple going. Since he was constantly coming up with new ideas, I’m curious to know what he might’ve been planning. Also, because space seems to be a big interest for companies nowadays, I would ask him if he saw Apple creating some kind of space technology. I think Jobs believed hard work and determination were necessary to achieve greatness, and I would agree. 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

The segment I have chosen is college students who take care of themselves financially. I interviewed three students that attend the University of Florida and asked them about their situation. First, I asked whether they have to purchase textbooks for their classes. Obviously, since they’re all college students, all three interviewees said yes. Next, I inquired about their textbook buying process. One student said they rent most of their textbooks from Chegg and return them at the end of the semester. Another student said they’ve purchased some textbooks at full price because they weren’t available on any renting services. The last interviewee told me they check UF Facebook pages where some students will sell their old textbooks. I think an app that allows students to sell or swap textbooks would be extremely beneficial for pretty much everyone that fits into this segment. All three interviewees said they wished there was a cheaper way to obtain textbooks, so this kind of app seems like it could benefit a lot of people. 

Idea Napkin No.1

1)   I’m a health-conscious individual who is always looking for natural products. I work at a health food supermarket, so I’m constantly exposed to these products. I’ve always wanted to create my own product, specifically something involving aromatherapy, since that’s something that almost everyone enjoys. I believe starting a business that delivers natural aromatherapy products monthly could potentially change my life.

2)   I am offering customers a monthly delivery service that provides them with either incense, wax, or essential oils. Your first month you choose whether you want a wax melter, incense tray, or oil diffuser (or all three), as well as the scent of your incense, wax, or essential oils. You receive refills monthly and can customize your scents to your liking. 

3)   My ideal customer is the type of person that shops at Whole Foods. People who are always interested in new products that are marketed as all natural and organic. Most millennials fall into this category. 

4)   Customers will want to buy this service because there isn’t anything like it on the market already. People love monthly delivery services, as shown by the steady increase in these services over the past couple years. I believe people will find a monthly aromatherapy box interesting and worthwhile. 

5)   What this company has that no other service provides is the actual wax melter, incense tray, or oil diffuser in the beginning. There are monthly candle and incense services, but my company would go the whole nine yards. 

I believe these five elements fit together quite nicely for the most part. I do believe that I could spend more time figuring out how to set my service apart from the rest of the services on the market. I know there are plenty of people out there that would be interested in a company like this, I just want to make sure it’s the best it can be. 

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Based on my interviews, I can conclude that there are people that fall outside the boundary despite their similarity to people within the boundary. For example, one interviewee loves using natural, organic products, however, they don’t like aromatherapy products because they find it overwhelming on the senses. Another person said they enjoy aromatherapy, but they only use a particular brand of candles. These people may have a need for a candle, but people within the boundary have a need for something more interesting than just a candle. I think this difference comes down to a difference in personality. Some people are simple and don’t care about how interesting a product is, they just want a candle. Other people, on the other hand, are intrigued by products that go a step beyond.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
People interested in an innovative new aromatherapy product	People who either aren’t interested in aromatherapy products or are completely satisfied by their current ones
A need for an aromatherapy product that goes a step beyond what is already on the market	The need is not a product that is already made by several other companies
There aren’t enough interesting aromatherapy products available	Some people don’t like aromatherapy and others are content with their current aromatherapy products (I.e. just burning a candle)

Solving The Problem

My solution to the lack of new and innovative aromatherapy products is a monthly service that delivers assorted wax, incense, and/or essential oils to your door. You start by choosing between a wax melter, incense tray, or essential oil diffuser for your first delivery. There would also be an option to receive all three products (wax melter, incense tray, or essential oil diffuser) for people who really enjoy the service. Each month, you receive refills (wax, incense, or essential oils) that vary in scent. Ideally, there would be a website where you could customize your deliveries each month and choose your favorite scents. New scents would be released often to ensure customers don’t lose interest in the service. I think this is the perfect solution because it's interesting, there's plenty of variance in the products being provided, and it would generate consistent profit from customers rather than just being a one-time purchase.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

There has been a recent wave of organic/natural products on the market. I have noticed, however, that there aren’t a lot of new and innovative aromatherapy products available for health-conscious people. Sure, there’s plenty of essential oils available online and at healthy supermarkets, but I think there’s an opportunity to create something more enticing. 

The who: Health conscious people, the kind that consider Whole Foods their second home

The what: They aren’t offered an interesting aromatherapy product

The why: Candles, essential oils, and oil diffusers are staple aromatherapy products that people seem to be satisfied with, but I think there’s a way to take these products to a new level

I believe this opportunity exists, and more people will realize they have this need if an interesting product is created. After all, who doesn’t like good smells? I’m aware there are a lot of aromatherapy products on the market already, but I always see the same things over and over: candles, essential oils, and oil diffusers. There’s also a lack of organic products, which is perfect because the target customer would want an organic product. 

I talked with five different target customers to see what they thought about aromatherapy. Five out of five interviewees said they currently use some form of aromatherapy, either candles or essential oils. I asked whether they’d ever tried anything outside of these two products. One person said they have lotion and soap infused with essential oils for aromatherapy purposes. Another person said they have a coconut papaya spray that they love spraying all over their apartment. I also asked if they were interested in a new aromatherapy product, possibly something they’ve never seen before. All of the target customers seemed very interested in this potential product. One thing I learned about the opportunity from the interviews is that variance could make a potential aromatherapy product more intriguing. One interviewee mentioned that they love essential oils, but they are expensive so they only have a couple different ones. I realized I could create an alternative that has more variance in scent but is still reasonably priced.