Reading Reflection No.2

The main argument in this book is that it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve failed, you can still be successful. The author, Scott Adams, had gone through many jobs and failed startups. He didn’t give up, though, and that resilience paid off when he created the famous Dilbert office cartoon. 

This book talked a lot about taking risks and seeking opportunities, which connects with what we’ve been learning in class. 

If I had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book, it would be a series of “idea napkin” exercises. They would be short and timed to allow for plenty of mistakes. You would get to choose each time whether you want to revise your previous idea or start fresh. The main idea of the exercise would be that making mistakes is part of the process of becoming successful.  

When I first read the title, I thought this book was going to be about finding success after failing many times. It is, but it focuses more on staying motivated and happy through the failures. The biggest surprise to me in this book was the perspective of the author, which wasn’t what I expected. 

Growing Your Social Capital

1.

1) Merrilyn Sawyer, a senior executive at “The Honest Company”

2) Domain expert 

3) I found this contact through my aunt, who used to work at a holistic company called “The Honest Company.” She called Sawyer and set up a phone interview for me. Sawyer has worked for this company for three years and knows a lot about creating healthy, organic products. 

4) Sawyer gave me a lot of valuable information about how the company she works for operates. She also offered to give me a tour of their headquarters in California. 

5) Sawyer’s information gave me insight on what it really takes to run a successful, health-conscious company. Having her as a contact will be extremely important in figuring out how to start business operations. 

2.

1)   Carol Lennie, who has worked in advertising for eight years 

2)   Market expert

3)   I found this contact through my cousin, who works at the same advertising company as Lennie. My cousin brought me into work with her, which is where I was able to speak with Lennie. 

4)   Lennie gave me information on what parents look for in a product, since she has experience targeting customers with children. 

5)   Lennie’s information would allow me to create the product customers want, rather than the product I think they want. Her insight helped me connect better with my customer base, and I think I have a clear idea of how I will sell my product. 

3. 

1)   Rodney Walt, a farmer at Red Oak Farm 

2)   Supplier 

3)   I found this contact through the internet. I was researching farms in Florida where I could buy milk from. After finding Red Oak Farm, I called the farm and ended up speaking with Walt.

4)   Walt gave me some estimations on what it would cost to purchase milk in bulk from the farm. He also told me what the cows are fed, so I could make sure the milk is safe to consume.

5)   Having Walt as a contact would be very beneficial when starting my business, because I would have a reliable source for the main ingredient of my product. 

This networking experience was different from experiences in the past because it felt more serious. Rather than reaching out to family and friends, I was speaking to workers in the business industry. In the future, I will try to do more “targeted networking” in order to receive “targeted feedback.” 

Idea Napkin No.2

1)   I am a college student who possesses creative thinking and interpersonal skills. I have an interest in buying, as well as creating, healthy, organic products. If I were to start a business selling a product like this, I would put my heart and soul into it because it’s something I’m passionate about. 

2)   A lot of people are unaware of the toxic ingredients found in almost every baby formula. Perchlorate, melamine, and other toxic ingredients pollute the food we give to infants. I am offering an alternative, a formula created with all clean ingredients. This formula will be organic, as well.

3)   The obvious thing all my customers have in common is that they have a baby. More specifically, though, these mothers and/or fathers are health-conscious and want their baby to consume the safest products. 

4)   Since most people value the health and safety of their child, I think people will pay money to ensure their baby isn’t being fed harmful toxins. 

5)   What sets this product apart is the ingredients. No other company on the market has as clean of ingredients as this baby formula will. 

I believe these elements fit together quite nicely. The unmet need is justified by the fact that people care about what they’re giving their child. Overall, I think this business idea is solid.

Someone left a comment on my first idea napkin about broadening my customer base. I didn’t realize that I left out a lot of potential customers the first time around. I kept this feedback in mind, however, I don’t think the baby formula customer base can be extended beyond people who have a kid. You have to have a baby to need baby formula. I didn’t receive any other feedback on my first idea napkin, but I’m hoping I will be given more on this post. 

Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer is a twenty-five-year-old female yoga instructor. She enjoys yoga (obviously), as well as volunteering within the community. She often participates in 5k runs for charity. Environmental protection is very important to her, and she tries to reduce her carbon footprint whenever possible. She drives a Prius because it’s more eco-friendly (she can’t afford a Tesla). She’s not married, nor does she have any kids. For the past five years, she has been a vegetarian. She buys produce from a local farmers market, which is her favorite part of the week. I have a lot in common with this prototypical customer. I enjoy yoga, as well as going to the farmers market each week. I also care deeply about the environment, as everyone should. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I have a lot in common with this avatar because I am the one that created her.

Whats Your Secret Sauce?

I have more work experience than most college students my age, because I’ve been working full time the last three years. I consider myself a hard worker, as well as very consistent. Another human capital I possess is my ability to communicate with people. I participated in musical theatre growing up so I’m not a shy person at all. I’ve never had any trouble talking to people because of this. Also, I’m a very practical and realistic thinker which allows me to make decisions that aren’t influenced by emotions. I consider this my most valuable human capital. 

Interview #1- Mother 

Me: What makes me different in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities, and emotions?

Mother: You’ve always been a very independent and determined person. I believe there’s nothing you couldn’t accomplish if you set your mind to it.

My mother gave me a very mom-like response, but she is right about the independent part. I’ve always been self-motivated and determined.

Interview #2- Father 

Father: You’re a very self-motivated person and that’s one of your greatest abilities. It makes you a productive achiever. You’re also very logical in your thinking.

I was glad my dad pointed out my logical thinking because that’s what I consider to be my most valuable human capital. He also said I was self-motivated, which I agree with. 

Interview #3- Grandma 

Grandma: You have a unique mix of creative abilities and analytical thinking. You’ve always been great at math and science, but what you’re really best at is talking.

I think what my grandma said about talking was a backhanded compliment, but I’m still going to consider it a skill. I do think my left and right brain skills are pretty equal, which is what she meant by creative abilities and analytical thinking. 

Interview #4- Friend 
Friend: You’re always unaffected by negativity, which I’ve always been jealous of. You’ve also always wanted to move to another country and never look back which I think shows how much of a fearless person you are.

I never thought about how unaffected I am by negativity because that's just always how I've been. I wouldn't consider myself fearless, but rather brave.

Interview #5- Friend 
Friend: You have the best people skills I know, like you never get scared to talk to employees or order food at a restaurant. You also never take crap from anyone and have really tough skin. 

For some reason this friend thinks my ability to talk to workers is incredible, which I find hilarious. I agree that I have tough skin, because I don't let other people get to me. 

I think others see me as better than I see myself, but that rings true with pretty much everyone. I’m much more critical of myself than I am of other people. I think everything my interviewees said was correct, though. I didn’t add self-motivated to my list of human capital, but after conducting the interviews I would add that. 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

My segment is college students who purchase their own textbooks. All three of my interviewees consider price to be the most important consideration when purchasing textbooks. Everyone wants to obtain books in the cheapest way possible. Most of the time there is only one book option to choose from, so quality doesn’t play a huge role. Convenience is the only other factor that my interviewees consider. Two of the interviewees typically purchase their books on the internet, while the other one goes to the UF bookstore in person. I believe my segment is more likely to buy online because that’s where cheaper prices can be found. I also believe a lot of people buy their books with credit cards because it can be very expensive to pay upfront. All three of my interviewees used credit cards to purchase their books this semester. Students must buy textbooks in order to be successful in class, so these purchases are almost always a good idea. Occasionally a student will buy a book and never actually use it, which happened to my second interviewee. In this case, the purchase was a bad idea. Overall, I would describe this segment as being dictated entirely by price.