27A – Reading Reflection No. 3 Submit Assignment

The book I selected to read for the final reflection is, How to fail at almost everything and still win big, by Scott Adams.

The general theme of the book is to present the idea that failure is a part of life that is needed and you will often encounter. However, the book foreshadows failure as a good thing because it presents individuals who have failed drastically, but have managed to become very successful once reflecting on their failures. The book explained that one should set systems opposed to goals because goals have inherent flaws. Also, the book went into details about some methods in how to approach life based on the characteristics of the person you are. Overall, it explained that failure is inevitable, therefore, you cannot lose hope when its presented, but find a way to learn a lesson from the failure.

The book connected and enhanced what I am learning in ENT 3003 because it emphasizes the idea that failure is an obstacle along the road to success, and that the most successful people encountered many forms of failure before reaching success; practically the content of what we are learning in class. It also enhanced the fact that success does not come easy, and that in order to be successful, you must learn to bounce back from failure because it would present itself much more often than success.

If I had to design an exercise for this class, I would design an exercise that ask people to reflect on their most successful moment in life and to identify the feelings and emotions they felt at that time of success. Then, I would ask these same individuals to reflect on a moment where they failed and also identify the emotions they felt at that time of failure. Now, I would make them compare the two and distinguish the difference in each emotion. After completing the exercise, they would practice presenting the same emotions for success or failure. The reason for this exercise is to get individuals to learn how to keep a stable level of emotions when encountering success or failure so that they can learn how to reflect from both actions. This will help individuals deal with failure and keep themselves together in hard times.

What surprised me the most about the book was their idea on goals. I always thought goals was an important part of reaching success and it is what drives people towards something. However, the book presents goal setting as a flaw and promotes setting a system instead of goals. This very much surprised me and made me rethink my form of reaching success. Should I set goals or should I set a system? After reaching the book, I understand this concept more and think I would reevaluate my goals and set a system instead of goal setting; I think this would help me better than setting goals can.

28A – Your Exit Strategy Submit Assignment

When selecting an exit strategy, it is important to consider a strategy that continues the success of your business, as well as expand my business deeper into its industry. Following the next few years, I would continue to remain with my business towards retirement and hopefully build a legacy through my business. My plan is to expand in the market and work my way towards being top in the market, eliminating competitors. I do not intend to sell my business, as I hope to pass it down to my children and allow them to continue the legacy. I believe that my business would allow me to reach financial stability and build a foundation.

I have selected this particular because I am proud of the business I am investing in. I believe that once you invested so much time in something, it is always important to continue driving towards making that investment better. Obviously, the older I get, the more help I would with my business, which is why I am passing the business down to my children, who would continue the legacy. I believe my children generation would have much more resources to make the app better and drive it within the market. Also, technology is rapidly evolving so that would also contribute making the app better and more practical.

Lastly, I do not think my exit strategy has influenced other decisions I have made in my concept. This exit strategy is just a way for me have an avenue for my business in the long term. It pushes me to work harder and strive towards a purpose. However, my exit strategy would not influence any particular decisions or anything I have identified. Also, it has not influenced my growth intentions or how I plan to acquire and use resources.

26A – Celebrating Failure

Failure, something very common to the human species. Without it, who would we be? Nobody, failures makes us who we are. Through failure, you experience growth because it gives you an opportunity to reflect and understand how not to perform or react. In many cases, we face failure and think that it is the end of the world; but its not, it is the start of a new path as you embark on a new journey to discovering a common goal or objective you set for yourself. Without failure, we would not learn to expand on our basic knowledge. Failure gives you a chance to mess up and correct that mess up. Many of the most successful people to this day, would not be where they are without having experienced some type of failure along their path to success.

In my case, I have experienced many failures. Some have broke me, but most have made me who I am. This past semester, I was lucky enough to have expereinced failure in a way that opened my eyes and made me realize that I needed to do better. Towards the beginning of the semester, I was slacking extremely hard in my courses and failed my first exam. However, understanding that I was about to graduate and needed to maintain a GPA above a 3.2, I knew that I had to re-evaluate myself and devote more time to my studies. Having realize this, I held myself accountable in devoting at least 3 hours of studying each day and working ahead in all of my courses. Because of this moment in where I failed and realized that I had to do better, I am now on track to receiving all A's for this semester. From this occasion, I learned that procrastination is our worth enemy, and that when procrastinating too much, you lose focus of the prize at hand.

In this class specifically, my perspective on failure has changed in the sense that I understand that everyone fails and that how we bounce back from that failure is what determines our future. Taking Steve Jobs, for example, he dropped out of college and failed drastically, however, he never gave up and was able to develop Apple and become very wealthy. Seeing stories like these inspire me to continue working hard and to never give up because you never know when your time is next in discovering the next big invention; therefore, I do not shy away from risk and I am more willing to take risk now.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

Obesity has become an issue within our nation due to the lack of education on the importance of fitness and how to live a healthy lifestyle. People of all ages, demographics and sex who suffer from obesity or are simply uneducated on how to properly workout and what to eat to achieve their personal goal fall under my prototypical customer but specially young college students since they are the ones who mainly put aside their health because they're always busy on campus and do not have enough time to work out or meal prep which results in them eating out almost every day. Most college students live on a limited budget which means when they're eating out it is not the healthiest meal but rather some cheap fast food. As a college student myself I can understand how it can be hard to manage both but we need to remember and take care of our health and bodies. Others just lack the motivation to be more careful about what they eat and be more active because they do not possess the knowledge. There is currently multiple apps that provide what I will be offering but many of them are too expensive for my prototypical customer which is why mine will be different from most. Not only will the price of my services set me aside but my drive to actually help others become healthier will set my services aside from all the existing ones. 

Innovation

The service I have created is an app that will help those with little to no knowledge about fitness and a healthy lifestyle become healthier and improve their health. My app will be available on smart phones and it will provide customers a nutritional section where they can learn all about healthy eating. It will also create a fitness plan and a nutritional plan customized differently to every customer depending on their age, health, and goal. As I mentioned above one thing that will set me apart from my competitors will be the accessibility to my app. As a college student I know we sometimes have to limit our spending and for someone who may just be starting their fitness journey it may be hard to spend a lot of money on something they may give up on a few weeks after they begin because they lack the motivation so my app will be a $20 monthly subscription which is relatively cheaper than most apps out there, a gym subscription or services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. My app will not only customize a nutritional and fitness plan for each customer but it will also provide some helpful tips on where and how to do groceries to get the best food at the best price. 

Venture Concept 

My app is meant to help people become healthier. Eating healthy and working out is a huge part of living a healthy lifestyle but it only works if it is done correctly. My opportunity comes from the lack of education which is exactly what my app will provide, knowledge. As I previously mentioned there are a lot of different apps similar to mine and it will be hard at first to gain customers but I feel like once they see the quality of my service they wont be hesitant to switch over to my app. I will be providing my customers with a free one moth trial and although it usually takes anywhere from three to six months to see a difference in your body I feel like people will want to continue using my service even after the free trial because they will like how personalized it is to them and their goals instead of a general idea of what they should do like most of the existing apps. I feel like my customer service will play a big role in the success of my business because I am offering to work with each and every customer individually. For my business to be successful I believe I am going to have to partner up with different trainers and nutritionist to provide the most effective advice to my customers. 

As previously mentioned, my most important resource will be my customer service skills. I am offering to help each f my customers reach their goal by personalizing their fitness and nutritional plan which means I will have to work with each individual personally. I will have to give everyone my undivided attention while setting up their plan and organizing their routine. 

 The next step will be to go international. I would like to be able to help people worldwide and not just Americans and college students. Obesity and the lack of education on fitness is an issue all over the world. I would also like to open my own gym to be able to be more connected with my customers and help them in person rather than through a screen on their smart phones. 

In the next five years I would hope to see myself providing my service internationally already and beginning to create a blueprint for my gym. Expanding my services locally and maybe also be able t work with celebrities personally as their personal trainer. My goal is to be able to be as connected as possible with my customers. This venture will help me towards my long term goals by opening the doors to clients and people that  may have not met otherwise. I will be able to network with not only customers but other professionals who may be able to help me in the future. 

ReplyForward

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market:

I think making my product international is what's next for my venture.
Interview 1: I think that your product is a good idea, but I believe that health is something that impacts the world as a whole. So you should make your product available worldwide opposed to just college students and Americans.

Interview 2: I think this is actually a great idea, not everyone has this resource available to them so this puts you on a different level.

Interview 3: It sounds like a great idea, but you have to think about catering to those who speak a different language as well.

New Market:
I think it would be a radically difference in marketing my product B2B opposed to B2C
Interview 1: I believe this would take your product to another level. B2B is one of the best ways to evolve and expand a product. It will help your product grow.

Interview 2: B2B is a great idea, not only would you be catering to customers, but you would also be established in a large industry where could potentially take your product very far.

Reflect: Something I learned about this market is that it gives me an advantage over competitors in the fact that I will be selling to other businesses. This is something that will help my product grow and build a good reputation within the market. I was not really surprised about anything as I am a business driven person and understand the potential of B2B selling. The expectation and assumptions that I had were correct and were confirmed by the people I interviewed. Therefore, this makes this market attractive to my existing market and would only act as other opportunity for advancement within my industry.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Nutritional Knowledge
• Valuable: This is valuable in the sense that it makes me credible for the product I am selling.
• Rare: This knowledge is quite rare as most people lack knowledge on proper nutrition and health.
• Inimitable: This knowledge can be easily learned if studied. 
• Non-substitutable: cannot be substituted for the fact that it has to be acquired. 
2. Social Capital: contact with gym members
• Valuable: I have potential customers who have a need for my product.
• Rare: This is rare because not many people have a pipeline already developed.
• Inimitable: This can be imitated as building relationships is not a difficult task.
• Non-substitutable: This substitutable because people can still become customers.
3. Customer Service
• Valuable: This is valuable because it gives me the ability to interact with others on a professional level.
• Rare: This is not rare as many people already have this skill
• Inimitable: This can be imitated as others can also present good customer service
• Non-substitutable: This is substitutable because customers can still receive service.
4. Social Capital:Personal Trainers
• Valuable: This is valuable because I have connections with people who can benefit customers.
• Rare: This is rare because not many people have connections with personal trainers. 
• Inimitable: This cannot be easily inimitable as it takes time to build good connections.
• Non-substitutable: This is substitutable as customers can consult others for information provided by personal trainers. 
5. Public Speaking Skills
• Valuable: This is valuable because it allows me to present my product to the public.
• Rare: This is rare because not  many people are comfortable with speaking in public.
• Inimitable: This inimitable as others can present the product.
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable as I would have to present the product in order to generate revenue. 
6. Social Capital: Popularity
• Valuable: This is valuable because my popularity brings me a lot of connections
• Rare: This is not rare as many people already have connections.
• Inimitable: This can not easily be imitated as it takes time to build connections.
• Non-substitutable: This is not substitutable as you need to build good rapport in order to advertise product. 
7. Social Capital: Student organizations/ Greek Life
• Valuable: This is valuable because it gives me an opportunity to connect with people within my organization. 
• Rare: This is rare because not  many people are involved in student organizations that act as a resource/connection.
• Inimitable: This is not very inimitable as not many people have this type of advantage.
• Non-substitutable: This is substitutable as it can be done through other sources
8. Social Capital: Contact with potential customers
• Valuable: This is valuable because I have contact with people who need my product
• Rare: This is rare because not many people already have contacts.
• Inimitable: This is not very inimitable because it is difficult to find potential customers with an already developed app.
• Non-substitutable: This is substitutable as you can use other resources. 
9. Physical Exercise Experience
• Valuable: This is valuable because it makes me credible
• Rare: This is not very rare as there are many people with experience
• Inimitable: This is not very inimitable as experience takes time
• Non-substitutable: This is not substitutable as it is needed for the function of the product. 
10. Lack of competitors
• This is valuable because it limits the amount of competition I have to compete against.
• Rare: This is rare because most markets have a lot of competitors in which they have to outperform.
• Inimitable: This is inimitable as not everyone has this opportunity.
• Non-substitutable: This is substitutable but it acts as a leverage. 

After complete the VRIN analysis, I think the having the knowledge and experience that makes me credible in selling my app, makes it my most valuable resource. I think experience is extremely valuable and rare as it separates you from competitors and gives you an advantage in making your product better than others. 

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/rvLI4uzrfHc

Reflection: 
What stood out to me the most was the fact that my first pitch was a little dragged out and repetitive as specified in the feedback I received. This was very important to me as it allowed me to understand how to narrow my pitch down to where it can be concise and better understood. This also gave me an opportunity to cut down on being repetitive and highlight more important aspects of my product. 

Change based on feedback: 
Based on the feedback, I made sure to be concise and straight forward in the information I provided. I also tried to speak from the perspective and standpoint of the customer in hopes of promoting emotions so that they can be more intoned with what my product actually does and so that they can feel a need for my product. I realized that my pitch was almost memorized and that I was more comfortable in front of the camera than I was during the first pitch. I strongly believe that this pitch is better than the first two as I was able to use the feedback I received to my advantage.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

The reading I have selected to write about is the Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki

1) The general theme of the book an insight on how to use social media to promote a business or a product. This reading drove deep into the best ways to use social media to your advantage and gain success in doing so. 

2) This reading helped enhanced what I am learning in the class by giving me a better understanding of how driven social capital is in the essence that any successful business needs social impact. This reading also helped me understand how important it is to properly use social media as it can be a determining factor between success and failure. 

3) The exercise would involve having individuals looking through their social media and determining if based on the content they have posted up to date, would they hire themselves? If not, why so? and if yes, then what factors determined that?

4) The biggest surprise I got from reading the book was how much of an impact social media has become. Before the reading, I understood that social media was very important in today's society, but I had not come to realize how impact it was to business and hiring recruiters. Today, social media is our brand and the way we use to advertise our brand can impact the rest of our life. 

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Interview #1:

1) Darius Neal is a personal trainer at Baileys Health & Fitness and has been in the fitness industry over 5 years. Darius currently trains over 15 clients a week and has grown his client size from 40 to over 200 people since making a profession in this industry.

2) Domain Expert: Darius is an expert in the fitness industry with over 5 years of experience, where he has gained valuable knowledge in nutrition, fitness, and exercise. Darius also has experience in working with a vast majority of individual and fitness levels.

3) I am a regular member at Baileys Health & Fitness who attends Darius fitness classes. Through this, I was able to collaborate with Darius and build a connection.

4) Being that I attend Darius fitness classes, I am able to learn a wide majority of exercises and how to run fitness classes and train people individually. In having conversations with Darius, he provides me with knowledge on nutrition and different types of exercises, and how to perform them with proper form. The favor that he did for me was making me a credible source with connections from personal trainers on all levels. There were no return expectations because Darius is always willing to help educate others.

5) Including this person in my network will provide a resource that I can utilize as tool to help improve my product. He is able to provide advise and tips that can help take my product to the next level. Not only that, but I will always have someone to learn from and that will hold me accountable in offering the best fitness products.

Interview #2

1) Michael Bolder. is a doctor who works at Shands Hospital and has a great knowledge of the market of people who most need my product.

2) Market expert: Michael knows the type of people in the market that I need to cater to and understands exact issues that are impacting people from bettering themselves.

3) Michael B. is a colleague of a fraternity brother. I got his information from him and email Michael of a good time where we can meet and discuss.

4) Michael provided me with sufficient important on the types of people that best fit the need for my product. He also informed on some potential issues that might arise as time goes on. Through speaking to Michael, I was able to start thinking of future improvements that I can offer in my product. There were no return expectations.

5)  Including Michael in my network would give me the opportunity of acquiring customers as Michael is willing to refer individuals to my product who are looking for ways to improve their health through exercise.

Interview #3: 

1) Matthew Peoples works at GNC Live Well which supplies nutrition supplements to customers.

2)Supplier: Matthew has knowledge in nutrition and sells nutrition to customer in my industry.

3) I found Matthew because I shop at GNC and he always helps me find good products that help with my nutrition level. Through noticing Matthew great knowledge on nutrition, I asked him for the ability to interview him.

4) Matthew provided me with great information on nutrition and offer me resources that can help increase my knowledge. He also informed me about some great products that I can offer to customers to help improve their fitness. There was no return expectations.

5) Including this person in my network would be another way for me to build customers. Matthew would be able to recommend my products to customers and advertise it in the store.

This experience has shaped my future networking events by understanding how to approach people and get the best knowledge out of them. Often times, not everyone is willing to take time out and offer help, however, being that I now understand how to make these events relevant to experts, I can overcome that hesitation. This experience was different my networking experiences in the past because I was talking to actual experts who had a lot of information pertaining their field.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

You: I am a self-driven, energetic, and motivational leader who is passionate about equal opportunity and the betterment of those and me and the environment. I strive in problem solving, decision making, and the ability to find suitable solutions. I am well skilled in nutrition, fitness, and exercise with a background in sports that has given me the ability to serve customers from an athletic standpoint. My aspirations are tailored around making the world a better place for future generation and bring awareness on the importance of nutrition, that aligns with long term good health. I envision my business as a potential strive towards accomplishing my aspirations and educating more people on the means of good health.

What are you offering to customers? I am offering customers reliable tools that offers them the ability to learn, adapt, and challenge themselves in improving mentality and physically. This tool offers customers knowledge on nutrition, fitness, and exercise with a specification on the importance of health.

Who are you offering it to? I am offering this product to individuals with a desire and hunger for self-improvement. Also, individuals who want to gain knowledge on nutrition and fitness and learn how to implement exercise into their daily routine. This product is offer anyone from any background or level of fitness. The need is the only factor required to make the most use out of this life changing product.

Why do they care? I believe the number one reason why customer care is for the fact that America's obesity rate is extremely high. There are a great amount of individual who want to improve themselves, but they lack the proper resources and motivation to take that first step. This product will instill a sense of pride in customer to want to go out and challenge themselves, as well as accomplish their fitness goals.

What are your core competences? The core competences that sets me apart from everyone else is the emphasis on fitness, nutrition, and the ability to cater to customer's preferences. Many products already on the market do not give customer the ability to utilize a tool based on their level of fitness or circumstances. My app includes everything a customer can ask for and will be easily accessible at their finger tips.

I believe that these elements fit together well. They align together in passion and vision for what I want to accomplish. Also, the elements demonstrate a need for why the product is important, making sense in the desire for why the product is needed. Being the individual that I am, I am able to understand how this product can make a difference. Not only will it bring awareness, but it will make a bring attention to an issue that is ongoing in America: poor health. Through these elements, I am able to put the product into vision and learn more about the market.
Two main points that were given to me in feedback were my focus on helping others and having a passion for what I do. I incorporated this feedback into this idea napkin by demonstrating why I am so passionate about this product and putting more emphasis on how this product would help make the world a better place.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Pitch:
https://youtu.be/a6pkQdIp-G4


Reflection:
 I did not receive any feedback on my last pitch. However, I am decided to tailor my pitch differently. My first pitch was a little longer and touch around the basis of my app. This pitch I decided to tailor it more to the customer, putting them in my shoes. Therefore, I made the pitch more thought provoking and straight to the point. I gave ideas that would draw emotions and interest. Also, I was description in describing my app as a solution.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

The prototypical customer that best describes the segment I have selected is male between the age of 21-25, who is either still in college or a recent graduate. The customer is someone who is into fitness and has a well develop physique, but not at his peak state yet. He works out regularly and eats on a moderate level; meal preps when he has the chance, but eats out when busy. Being that the customer is not on a consistent schedule in his nutrition intake, he has certain aspects of his body that he wants to change. For example, his body fat composition is not at his desire level. He has belly fat that prevents his abdominal from showing, making him a little insecure in taking off his shirt. This customer is not a bodybuilder or a power lifter, but he aims on getting stronger in the gym and shredding down on unnecessary body fat. He also has set a goal of reducing the amount of times he eats out and remaining consistent with his meal prep. However, this customer does not have much knowledge on nutrition, which often times discourages him from meal prepping.

Aside from working out, the prototypical customer enjoys other hobbies that are part of his daily or weekly activities. He devotes his time to studying as he is still a college student and also applying for jobs after graduation. Also, he enjoys sports, therefore, he is part of an intramural football team at his university. The customer also watches sports on television on his free time, preferably Football and Basketball; Lebron James is his favorite player. The customer enjoys reading self-development books before bed to clear his mind and believes that sufficient sleep is important for any development. Because of this, he ensures to get at least 6-8 of sleeps daily and wakes up at 5 AM each morning for the gym. On the weekends, he enjoys social times with friends and going out for drinks. He does not have any children and does not intend on having any before he is well established in his career. The customer drives a brown mustang and loves sports cars.

In comparing the prototypical customer to myself, I believe we have a lot in common. In describing the customer, I actually categorized a lot of characteristics that embody me. For example, I am a college student between the age of 21-25, and enjoy reading, playing/watching sports. I am very active, waking up at 5 AM every morning for the gym. Although, I am consistent with meal prepping and have an ideal physique, I was once like the prototypical customer. In being able to share this past experience with the customer, I am credible in understanding how the customer feels and being able to identify resolutions that helped me reach my goals, because I have been at that stage one point in my life. With any entrepreneurs, the products you develop are often a mirror representation of you because you are share the same experience and motivates that lead you to investing in your business. 

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

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

1. My ability to lead and stand out is one of my most unique qualities. It is something that has allowed me to build connections and gain opportunities. 

2. My drive and determination is another quality that makes me unique. I have a strong mindset with a desire to be successful. Because of this, I work extremely hard and dedicate my time to reaching my full potential in order to be successful. 

3. The ability to be optimistic and positive is another quality that makes me unique. In hard times I am always able to keep a smile on my face and not allow the negative energy to bring me down. With being optimistic, people see me as a positive influence and always count on me for advice. 

4. Another quality that makes me unique is my independent mindset. With this quality I am often seen as someone who is not easily influenced by the common trends or falls subject to originally ideas. This makes me very analytical, always digging deeper and asking for a better understanding on beliefs, values, and even facts. 

5. The last quality that makes me unique is my charisma. Being charismatic makes me a peoples person and allows others to easily trust and believe in me.This quality has brought me lot of friends and allowed me to get along with people of all backgrounds. 

Interview the five people who know you the best.

From this video, I learned that people see me as a self-driven person that always aims to achieve his goals. I also learned that when I set my mind on something I get tunnel vision. 

From this interview, I learned that people see me as an influence and as a hold that holds characteristics of someone who bound to be successful. 

From this interview, I learned about how people can identify my drive and think my drive is different from most people. 

From this interview, I also learned that people see me as a very driven and determined person that can accomplish anything he sets his mind on. 

From this interview, I learned about my determination from the perspective of my sister who is very close to me. Although she is older than me, she see me as a person who she can count on and who is great a motivation because of how determined I am.

Reflect on the differences

The ways in which people see me and how I see myself are pretty much the same. In all of the interviews, everyone had a similar description of what made me unique; my drive, determination, and focus. These are characteristics that align with how I already see myself. I believe to be a very self-drive and determined person and when I set my mind on accomplishing something, I will do whatever it takes to get it done; overall, I am a very hungry and motivated person. From my interviews, I was glad to see that everyone sees me in the same light.  

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

For this assignment, I am using the segment of what motivates buyers to want to pursue a healthier lifestyle in order to get a more depth understanding of buyers' behaviors.

First Interview

Alternative Evaluation:
In interviewing this interviewee, I was able to determine different ways in how they do their picking when it buying his products and services. This person is a college male student. He explained that the first thing he considers when purchasing a new product is price; he made it clear that he is a little frugal and likes to stay within a budget. Therefore, if a product or service he is interested in is not within his price range, then he does no further research and moves on to a different product. In this being the case, price seem to play a major factor in whether this particular individual purchases a certain product. Another factor that he included that matters is credibility on the market, this is product actually worth it's price. He explained that he does research on the product by reading reviews and seeing that people are saying about the product.

How/where do they buy?
This interviewee explained that he does most of his buying at stores in person because he likes to ask as much questions as he can before purchasing the product or service. He explained that he does this because he believe that if he is going to spend money on a product, he wants to make initial contact with who he is buying from so that if there are defects in the product, he knows who to contact. He explained that he does not do much shopping online because he does not feel comfortable shopping from an unknown buyer. He made it clear that he would much rather pay with cash than to finance a product because if he is financing than that most likely means he cannot afford the product.

Post-purchase evaluation:

This interviewee explained that what matters most to him on the 'rightness' of the purchase is whether or not the product perform its duties to the standards promise. Also, he explained that lifespan of the product is another factor that determines product 'rightness'. Lastly, some sort of things that make him think the product was a bad idea are defects in the product and the product not performing to its standards.

Second Interview

Alternative Evaluation:

In the second interview, I decided to interview my advisor who is a doctor and makes a large amount of money. The reason I decided to interview him because price would not be a factor, he explained that the quality of the product is the only factor that he analyzes when purchasing a product because price is never an issue. He explained that quality is a very important factor for him because he likes to purchase the best product possible, no matter the price. He said that this is because being that if it is a service he is purchasing, he wants the job done right the first time and if it is a product, he wants the product to perform to its standards.

How/where do they buy?

My advisor explained that since he is a doctor and is often busy, he does most of his purchasing online because he does not have the time to go shopping in stores. He also told me that shopping online allows them to get an idea of the quality of the product through customer ratings and reviews. Also, he explained that shopping online gives him full access to the product in where he can analyze the product through various online resources. He also stated that he often finances products to help increase his credit because he knows he can pay off the amount owed.

Post-Purchase evaluation: 

In comparison to the first interviewee, my advisor explained that what helps him determine the 'rightness' of the purchase is the whether or not the product performs to its standards and satisfy his needs for buying the product. Also, he said lifespan is another important factor because if he is paying top dollar for a product, he wants the product to last over 5+ years. On the other hand, in deciding if a product was a bad idea he explained that if the product does the exact opposite to 'righteous' then it was a bad purchase and he wants to not buy from that supplier again.


Third Interview

Alternative Evaluation:

In my last interview, I interviewed my mother. She explained that when purchasing a product, price is very important factor in deciding if she should purchase the product or not. She explained that price matters because often times, people overpay for products or services that are not worth its price. Also, she prioritizes other necessities that important so when purchasing a product, she wants to ensure that she is purchasing a product a a reasonable price. After examining price, she explained that she looks at the quality of the product or service next. Since she is not willing to pay much money for a product, she makes sure that the product she is paying for, gets the job done.

How/where do they buy?

Being that my mother is a old-fashioned and older individual, she explained that she does her shopping in stores. She explained that shopping online can be a hustle and 9/10 you do not get the product you wanted. Therefore, she would much rather shop in stores where she can decide between different products at her finger tips. She explained that she is more likely to use cash because she does not like being in debt and owing anyone money, which can potential impact her credit.

Post- purchase evaluation:

My mother explained that what she thinks on the 'rightness' of a product being a good purchase is determined by the product meeting its standards of performance and being durable. She explained that lifespan of a product is something that she really pays attention to because she wants products that she can use for multiple years without causing her problems. She explained that what makes her think a purchase was a bad idea is if the product presents defects and is not durable in performance.

Report the findings of your research:

From these interviews, I was able to get a better idea on potential factors that play a role in motivating people to buy a product. I noticed a similar trends from all of my interviews as they found price to be a very important factor when deciding to purchase a product or service. Also, the quality and lifespan of a product is another important factor because people want to ensure that they are getting a bang for their bucks when purchasing products. Some people take into account the performance of the product as they want the product to be worth its value.

Draw Conclusions:

From what I know about this segment I  was able to study similar trends in the way people approach products or services when making a purchase. Seemingly, everyone values price the most as some want to ensure that they are either buying the best quality product or paying a reasonable price for a product they need. Although everyone has a different approach, they are the same in the end results no matter what product they want to purchase. Through this research, I was able to determine and analyze that everyone has the same goals in their way of motivation in buying a product and for the use of the product.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency.
In keeping up with the requirements of this course, I have been tenacious in understanding that no one is going to do the work for me, therefore, I have to be responsible and put forth the effort. Also, I was able to become a better time manager as this course forced me to work ahead in order to remain on track with the weekly deadlines. With being tenacious in this class and developing more tenacious, I was able to transcribe that tenacity into other areas of my life because I gained motivation. This course has taught me that in order to be successful, you have to put your ideas into action and in order to advance, you have to work day by day with a purpose to complete a mission. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 
A moment when I felt like giving up, was when I had three exams in one week to study for and also had multiple assignments I had to complete for this class. I was extremely overwhelmed and felt like everything was falling apart. However, I reevaluated myself and built the tenacity I needed to overcome this obstacle. I inscribed in myself the idea that no one is going to give you handouts, you have to work for it. This pulled me through and developed a tenacious attitude in me to be successful and overcome any obstacle that is put in my way. The experiences that most contributed to this was when I had a talk with my mentor who is currently making 100k a year in a field I would like to pursue, and he advised me that I would also face similar scenarios so I have to began preparing myself now if I was to be successful and make as much money as him. 

 3) Three tips.

• Work ahead!!!
• Always understand that if you want something, you have to work for it because nothing is going to be handed to you. Therefore, if you want to be successful, you have to approach every opportunity or obstacle with a mindset that you will nothing will get in your way.
• Understand that there are other who are struggling with tougher situations, so don't complain and be grateful in having the opportunity you have to even take this course. Learn and use the resources as a driving force in life. 

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

The biography I am writing about is Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The biography was very informational as it gives reader a deeper insight into Steve Job's life. It touches basis on his childhood, upbringing, education, career development, and his final stages of life. The biography was very helpful in providing more information about Steve Job that I did not know before. For example, Steve Jobs was given for adoption by his biological parents who were University of Wisconsin graduate students. The book also explained how Steve Jobs was directionless and lost during his early stages of life experimenting different pursuits before becoming the co-founder of Apple with Steve Wozniak. Steve Jobs is inspiration to me as he overcame adversity and manage to become the founder of a multi-billion dollar company.
What surprised me most about Steve was his early stages of life, where he struggled through various obstacles that I would have never thought he endured from the image he presented to the media. Also, although this is a common trend in today's society, I was surprised to read that Steve Job dealt with drugs during his high school years; something that you would not think because of his appearance. Moreover, something that I truly admire about Steve Jobs, was his tenacity and perseverance to overcome the obstacles and distractions he encountered. Something that is often hard to do. He was able to become an important figure in the technical world, although he dropped out of college. On the other hand, there isn't really much I do not admire about Steve Jobs because he demonstrated true resilience in his ability to overcome failures and strive towards success. With reading his story and learning that he was given up for adoption and dropped out of college, you can see how he has experienced failure and how he has overcome adversity. Some competencies that I noticed that Steve Job exhibited was his vision and how he was able to make other see his vision from his perspective. I believe this was something that made him innovative and distinct in his work. However, something confused me when he said "'good artists copy; great artists steal' -- and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." However, after doing more research on what he actually meant by this saying, I came to understand his insight on the quote. I was also confused to hear that he had a difficult time making mends with people which caused him to lose opportunities in some projects with Apple. This is confusing because as an innovator, you would think he would be respectful in his way of dealing with others.
If I was able to ask Steve two questions, I would ask him: What inspired him to pursue a career in technology after dropping out college, being that it is a difficult industry to succeed in? Also, I would ask him: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
Lastly, I think the entrepreneur's opinion of hard work is working through obstacles even if you don't have a clear road ahead. I agree with this opinion because I believe that as long as you work hard, you will always reach success, even if you don't have a clear understanding of where you are heading.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

I have the selected to use the segment of what motivates buyers to want to pursue a healthier lifestyle in order to figure out buyers' behaviors.

Interview #1:
Need Awareness: 
For this interview I spoke to a colleges student that felt like she has never gave much attention to her health ever since starting college, and has gained a significant amount of weight. She first became aware of the need when she realized that her clothes were becoming too tight and that she struggle walking long distances on campus. There was a situation in where she started taking account of the meals she consumed in the past month, and she realized that the majority of her meals were particular fast food and unhealthy meals like ice cream, pizza, etc. She also started noticing that her craving for fast food was becoming irresistible and often relied on unhealthy foods as a form of reward or to cope with stress. Lastly, she explained that her need awareness really occur when she noticed how many of her peer leaders had also gained a significant amount of weight and how they never care for their health by exercising or consuming healthier meals.

Information Search:
 Our conversation shifted terms to figuring out solutions that she used to resolve the problem. She explained that she started setting goals for herself by holding herself accountable to attend the gym at least 3 times a week. Also, she began eating healthier meals and limited her fast food intake to one meal per week. She also started searching information on how to meal prep and workout plans that best fit her level of experience in the gym. Some of her google search term included, ideas on how meals to meal prep, how to lose weight, and whats the best exercises for fat lose. Lastly, she began gathering information from friends who worked out on ways she can become healthier and better on exercising.

Interview #2:
Need Awareness:
 For this interview, I spoke to a gym collegiate who enjoys working out. He explained that the needs became relevant when he started noticing that results in his fitness after being consistent in the gym for over 3 months. Different times when he thinks about the need is when he sees people who are fitter than he is, something that he says motivates him to continue increasing his workout intensity.  He also explained that he is still learning about nutrition so his need for this is evident in understanding that he is not at this healthiest point because he still consume meals that are not the best. Therefore, his need awareness increase as he wants to invest more into his fitness, not just by working out, but also by consuming the best foods that match his workouts. The last questions I asked was where does his need awareness occurs, he explained that it usually happens when he is attempting to meal prep and he has no idea on what meals to consume or how to combine variations of foods so that he won't get tired of eating the same foods everyday.

Information Search: 
The very first thing he does to find a solution to his problem is watch videos on YouTube on how to meal prep. He said that he looks for ideas on different food combinations that he would enjoy. Also, he searches on Google information about nutrition and has been trying to learn how to count his macros and stick to it; he explained that he has been trying to find a way to track his calories per day but find it difficult to do so. He also talks to family and friends for ideas on foods that he can consume.

Interview #3: 
Need Awareness:
This individual explained that his need awareness is evident in his daily lifestyle. He made me aware that the need has gotten stronger as of recent with his desire to want to become healthier and exercise. His responds to the times that the need awareness becomes evident is when he is playing video games or watching TV and feels like he should be doing something more productive. So he thinks of ways or things he could be doing opposed to sitting around being inactive. Lastly, the question about how the need awareness occurs, he claimed that his best buddy is very fit and into eating healthy, whenever he is around him, he feels like he needs to start doing the same and managing his lifestyle for the better.

Information Search: 
The first thing he decided to do was begin working out with his buddy and using him as a resource to be healthier. He explained that he has also began tracking his meals and prepping for three days in advance. He added that he decided to cut out unhealthy food completely and focus more on eating meals that are more natural. He also began reading journals on google on nutrition and learning more about the human body. Lastly, he explained that his friend have been keeping him accountable as he told them about his fitness journey in hopes of getting support. 

Report finding:
From these interviews, I was able to learn more about how evident the need awareness is and how often people realize that it is something they need to manage. Also, I was able to learn about different factors that makes people aware of the need and how they go about it. Through the interviews, I was able to gather information on solutions people use to resolve these types of problems. Lastly, I concluded that not too many people know how to meal prep and that a lot of people have a need for learning about nutrition. Although, everyone has different how, where, and when of their need awareness, they all tied back to the same desire of wanting a healthier lifestyle.

Conclusion: 
Based on what I have learn, I would describe this segment as diverse but relatable in the sense that although everyone shared different stories and need awareness, they all had the same objectives and desires. 

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://voicethread.com/share/13041875/

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

You: A passionate and motivated individuals who strives for the betterment of those around him and the environment. Possessing the talent of being able to identify problems and finding a suitable solutions. I am skilled in nutrition and well experienced in fitness and exercise. I aspire to make the world a better place to live and bring awareness on the importance of good health. I see my business opportunity since a first step to accomplishing my aspirations of making the world healthier.

What are you offering to customers? I am offering a reliable and easy to use product that will impact customers lives in a positive way.

Who are you offering it to? I am offering my product to anyone with a desire to better themselves and gain knowledge on the basis of nutrition and fitness. This product is also being offered to people who want to take a further step into their fitness journey and further increase their potential of being as fitness as possible.

Why do they care? They care because America's obesity rate is extremely high. Also, there are a lot of people who want to take the initiative of bettering themselves but they do not have the proper guidance to help them take that first step.

What are your core competencies?  My core competencies include an emphasis on fitness, nutrition, and knowledge on both of these aspects. Also, I drive to cater to customers in providing a products that meets their needs and desires. My product is unique in providing aspects that are not provided by anyone else and having a full step by step breakdown on everything the customers will need to know to make their use of my product easier.

I strong believe that these elements fit together well in all aspects of what my business concepts pertains to. With providing a service that everyone can utilize and making the service easy to use and reliable allows for a high demand of my product. The features and guidance that my products brings separates my product from any product already on the market. The high quality and knowledge of fitness and nutrition will drive for a great production. Customers will be happy and feel like they can always rely on my product.

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

WHO: In conducting my interviews, I was able to draw positive feedback in knowing more about the who, what, and why of my business opportunity. With fitness being a common thing and although not everyone cares to do it. There are people who fall outside the boundaries of my opportunity for the simple fact that they possess prior experience with either weight training, body building, or playing sports and involving themselves in physical activities. Therefore, they find no need for the use of my app to help increase their level of fitness. However, although some of these individuals were educated on the knowledge of exercise, they were not as educated when it came to nutrition; they did not know much about measuring their macros (fats, carbs, and protein) pertaining to their age, body weight, and goals. Therefore, my app was still useful for some of them, excluding weight trainers and bodybuilders who possessed some knowledge. With each interview, I was told that my opportunity was a good investment and that they can benefit from using it for nutrition based because although they exercise, they did not know how to diet based on their weight. Some admitted that they have been trying to lose or gain weight, but have not been able to because they do not know how to properly eat.

WHAT: Everyone that I interviewed made it clear to me that although this is a great and smart opportunity, it would fall in the hands of the people and how they want or care to tend to their health. The success of the opportunity is to be determined by how bad people want to better themselves and improve their level of fitness. Also, with existing apps already in the market similar to mine, the success will also be determined by how appealing people find my app. In all, it would all be determined by how  much of a drive people have to learn more about fitness and nutrition.

WHY: People who fall outside needs are different in the sense that although they exercise, they do not possess knowledge on proper dieting and nutrition. Because of this, my app is useful to them and gives them an added benefit to their level of fitness. They do not need to use the app for exercising, but they can use it to educate themselves on nutrition


                  Inside the Boundary                                                    
Who: Individuals who want to improve their level of fitness and increase their nutritional knowledge

What: To improve people's level of fitness and educate people on nutrition

Why: To help educate people on fitness and nutrition and improve the overall health of individuals in hope of decreasing America's obesity rate. Also, to provide a friendly and use to help app that can be useful to an individual that urges the need to improve themselves physically and mentally.

Outside the Boundary
Who: Weight trainers, bodybuilders, and people who do not care about their health

What: To educate those who regularly exercise but do not possess much knowledge on nutrition

Why: Some individuals exercise and care about their health but are not educated on nutrition, therefore, they cannot meet their fitness goals because they are not consuming proper nutrition

8A – Solving The Problem

My product/ service has do with providing college students and people with knowledge and education on how to stay fit and physically active pertaining to their preferences of exercise, body weight, and age. I will do this by providing an app on smart phones that allows users to read everything about nutrition and creates an exercise plan for them to utilize at the control of their finger tips. The app would calculate everything they need to know in regards to exercises, eating based on their Marcos (fat, protein, and carbs), and also a log where they can track their daily weight and exercise plan.

Currently in the market, there are some apps that people use that do similar things to what my specific app would do. However, my app would be more specific and customizable to the user. With the current apps, they more so pertain to dieting and tracking their weight but does not include a section with exercises that would pertain to their specific weight and age, let alone their preference of exercise. My app would include everything they need in one app so that they can be solely focused on one application and not have to spend much time on their phones; something that is part of the current problem with the America's high obesity rate.

With the production of my application, I want to make it affordable to everyone, even those who are just getting into fitness. My app would be based on one's level of knowledge on fitness so that it can best suit them. Most apps nowadays are tailored towards one specific group rather than being open to everyone. Therefore, I want to change that with my app and allow everyone to learn and use the app how they would like. My app would also give everyone a weekly goal to achieve so that they can be challenged, this is something that I have never seen on any fitness app, so implementing it would make my app much more interesting.

I am confident that people would be interested and willing to buy and use my app as it would be a different experience from what they are used to. The app would allow them to express themselves in any goals they are attempting to achieve: losing weight, putting on muscle, or just staying fit overall. The most important thing about my app is that it would educate them on the importance of health, exercise, and proper nutrition. My overall goal with my app is to help decrease the obesity rate in America.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1 Submit Assignment

Opportunity: There are many Americans, especially colleges, who struggle with obesity and suffer from depression and security because they are not properly educated on the means of proper nutrition and importance of exercise/being physically active.

The Who: American and college students
The What: Struggle with obesity
The Why: They lack the properly educated on the means of proper nutrition and the importance of exercise/being physically active.

Testing the Who: Americans and college students are not the only ones who deal with this problem, there are many people across the world who suffer from obesity and live a low beat life because of their depression and insecurities. However, we are going focus on Americans because Americans suffers from the high obesity rate.

Testing the What: This is an issue that is felt every where in American and in other countries across the world. America is a more developed country where fast food chains and eating out is more popular who it impacts Americans more.

Testing the Why: With Americans being so focused on social media, fashion, and technology, people do not invest in their health. There are many Americans who do not care to exercise or be physically active because their attention is all invested in staying inside playing video games or being on their cellar device. Because of this, many Americans shy away from educating themselves on the importance of health.

Interviewee #1:
This person I interviewed is a personal trainer at Baileys Health and Fitness. He believes 100% with the problems as he thinks that Americans rely too much on social and technology nowadays. He explained how growing up, everyone would be outside after school or all day during the summer time, but ever since technology has evolved, people spend more time inside playing videos or communicating through their cellar devices. He also explained how he believed that this issue is what has caused American's obesity rate to increase so much. He feels as if Americans do not care much about their personal health during their younger years and realize that their health is not good once they get older and their body begin to show the effects. He also explained how he tries his best to tell his customers about this issue as there is a need for action.

Interviewee 2:
In this interview, I decided to interview someone who is a little overweight, but has taken the precautious to take care of his health and has began exercising. He explained that before he did not care much about his health and did not exercise much. He made it clear that he ate extremely poor and sometimes did nothing but ate out at fast food restaurants. He explained that he began to feel insecurity about his weight about the age of 21 when he saw how everyone around him was so fit and in shape. Because of this, he started to understand how important exercising and being active meant to a good health. Therefore, he explained that he began exercising one day at a time, first starting out doing 3 days a week and later increased it to 5. He told me how excited he is about the gym now because it makes him feel good and like he is doing something meaningful. He noted that he was once one of those people who was caught up in the social media trend and would rather use technology than exercise. But he explained how he had to change his life style because he plans on living a long healthy life.

Interviewee 3:
This interviewee is a freshman female in college. She explained that since she been in college, she has gained over 15 pounds; what made call "the freshman 15." She noted that she understands the importance of exercising as she used to play sports in high school. However, she knows that it is a problem in America because people do not make time for it, she includes herself as one of those victims with the fact that she feels as like she is often overwhelmed with work that she does not prioritize exercising. I asked her what she does on her free time, and she explained that she is often catching up on social media once when she gets a break from studying opposed to exercising. She explained that this issue is something that we choose to deal with because we do not understand how important exercise is since we are always so caught up in the social media trends.

Interviewee 4:
I wanted to interview this person because she hates exercising. However, she exercises with simply running. I asked her why does she feel like she still needs to run although she hates to exercise, she stated that she learned from her parents how important exercising is. She was educated by her mom who is a nutrition coach that proper nutrition and staying active is very important. She explained that although she does not go to the gym that she runs because it exercises her heart and keeps her blood flowing. She also eats healthy because it makes her feel better about herself. Running is a part of her life and she loves to run although she hates to exercise.

Interviewee 5:
This interviewer is a college male, who is a senior. He explained how he has never exercised a day in his life, especially in college, because he did not see the importance of "getting sweaty." Ever since starting college, he has gained 300 pounds and struggles with being overweight. I asked him if he ever thinks of beginning an exercising program, he explained that he thinks its too late for him now as he is almost 250 pounds overweight. However, he has started to realized the importance of exercise and wishes that he would have taken it more serious at a younger age. He believes that Americans do lack the education on the importance of being physically actives and thinks we rely on social media too much.

Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?

The interviewees helped me realize that the problem is much more bigger than I thought it was. It gave me an insight on how some Americans look at exercising. The last interviewee gave me the idea that there are many people like him, people who are now overweight and don't have the courage to start exercising because they believe it is too late. Knowing this, I can target people like that and help encourage them and understand that it is never too late that its about your effort and willingness to be a better person and get fit.

Through interviewee 4, I was able to gain a little motivation in understanding that there are also other people out there who hate exercising, but understand the importance of being active. Through this, it gave me ideas on how to attack this issue in understanding that everyone is different and that what might work for one person, might not work for the other. Therefore, I know that the opportunity exists, its just about properly approaching the individuals with things that they enjoy.

Lastly, what surprised me most about these interviews was the fact that many people understand the importance of exercise but do not care enough to do it because they are to reliant on social media and technology; an issue that is affecting American's health. Therefore, it is extremely important that we put forth the actions towards educating Americans on the importance of health because the issues get even bigger.