Final Reflection

I have had plenty of new experiences during the course of this semester. I have never had a class that was run like this before and it required me to stay on top of all of my work. There were plenty of times I felt like not doing the work and really dreaded some of the assignments. There was a lot more moments of drudgery than fun but the class taught me a few things for sure.

The most formative experience this semester was interviewing random people about whether they would use my product and what they thought of my idea. I will remember doing these interviews for a while because it made me think on my feet and take criticism. I have to say I enjoyed doing the elevator pitches because all the attempts taught me how to progress when giving pitches. I am definitely most proud of not giving up. There were a lot of assignments in this class and it took a lot of effort to keep up with it all.

I don't see see myself as an entrepreneur yet. Although I learned a lot and definitely developed an entrepreneurial mindset I still think my venture has to come into fruition to consider myself an entrepreneur. I want to be still and am striving to be but I don't believe I am there yet.

 My biggest recommendation would have to be to get ahead of the schedule for when work is due. I found myself rushing assignments too often and it made me stress and not produce the best assignments. I would recommend to finish assignments a week or two before they are due so you don't have to stress. To foster this mindset of getting ahead I recommend jumping on the assignments from week 1. Do not wait at all and just start working hard from the start. Tell yourself that you will never get behind and that you will not rush your assignments.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

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

I was surprised by how the base of the pyramid is so successful and how it is profitable. I can definitely see the top of the pyramid being able to be profitable but did not realize that the bottom can make just as much.

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

I found the description of how the base of the pyramid can be so profitable confusing. If they are working with people with no money how does that equate to success.

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

1. What are the success rates of startups that cater to the poor vs the ones that cater to the wealthy? I would want to know this because there are more poor people but I would want to have clients and customers that have money.

2. Do you think micro financing is a form of exporting the poor? Business models that try and make large amounts of money form the poor can be seen as unethical.

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

I do not believe the author was wrong about anything in this section of the book. I agreed with most everything he had to say and actually found this section more interesting than mist others.

Elevator Pitch No.4

Again, I took the feedback from my last pitch and applied it to this one. This time I spoke much slower , because last time I went way too fast and I also decided to sit down, because one commenter had mentioned that my camera was moving last time and that I was swaying. I definitely progressed from my first pitch to my last but I still have a lot of learning to do. Im glad these are over now, but I hope I have to do many more in the future.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

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

 I was somewhat surprised to hear how important social entrepreneurship and having social support was. I knew social support is important and has been mentioned previously but the author stressed it more than normal in this section.

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

 Although some of the vocabulary was new to me, I took my time reading it and nothing was very confusing to me in this section. The charts and explanations were good enough to make things seem clear.

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

1.) In today's age do you think a new business should create a strong social support system before other support systems, especially if there is only enough time to create one quickly?    I would ask this because today many things are social but not everyone has the time and capital to support a social team.

2.) Do you believe ethical dilemmas are becoming more frequent in today's age or have they always been around?  There are more people and ideas now and more people that your business may affect.

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

I don't think the author was wrong about anything in this section. He explained most concepts thoroughly and really didn't have many strong opinions that differed from my own. I would say I agreed on most things mentioned in this section.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

Looking back at my first short Interview with entrepreneur Frank Howell, I think it went real well and I can say that his answers to may questions made me think more about what being an entrepreneur means. The first question I asked Frank was what advice he would give to a young entrepreneur. He told me to take risks. After everything this course has taught me, I still think that nothing will ever come from anything unless you take risks. I knew this already, but I'm glad I could here it from another entrepreneur during that interview. 

For this second short interview, I talked with Frank on the phone and asked him a few more questions. This time my questions were based around being an entrepreneur and not about becoming one:

Me: How do you keep yourself motivated and wanting to grow your business?

Frank (paraphrased): Its not hard when this company is what I like to do and is what pays my bills. I am not just working for myself, but since I am the owner, I am working for my employees, my family and my employees families. Knowing that they enjoy the company they work for and that my customers enjoy the services we provide makes me happy and motivated to keep doing what I'm doing.

Me: Do you ever have other business ideas or concepts that you know could work but are too busy with your current company that you can't pursue them?

Frank (paraphrased): Yes, I have had several concepts that I would have loved to pursue during my career. When I took the risk and started my fencing business I was committed 100%. I am still committed fully to my company now and we are doing well enough to where I don't have to start another business. I think it would have been fun to run with some of my other ideas, but I am happy where my company is now and am glad I didn't give up on it.

Me: What is the biggest perk of owning and running your own company?

Frank (paraphrased): I never liked listening to other people and being commanded to do things. The best part about being the boss is having no one tell you what to do. I end up working harder because I don't have a boss. Because the company is mine, the success of it is directly correlated to how hard I work. So I work real hard, but i work for myself and my family.

Over the course of this class, I have definitely gained some good communication skills. I have realized that entrepreneurs must be good listeners but not let any opinion get in the way of them reaching their goals. Communicating with people and gaining knowledge from others takes some guts and I think I am more willing to reach out to people now than three months ago. Frank did not mention anything about me progressing from the last time I spoke with him, but he told me stay motivated. I personally think I am progressing and am glad where I am at. 

Reading Reflection

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

The Roll Up Frenzy story was surprising. I have not heard of those stories and deals before and did not know that had happened.

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

One part that was slightly confusing was the section on valuation and pricing techniques. I have studied how business are valued before, but the way the author explained it in this section was different and a little confusing.

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

Is there a way to know what valuation method to use based on what type of company is being valued?

- I would ask this so I know which method would be best at valuing my business.

What is the average difference in the valuation price from in house valuations and third party valuations?

- It would be an interesting thing to know, and to see by how much people over price their businesses.

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

I do not think the author was wrong about anything is this section. He explained everything pretty clearly. I just wish he went into more detail on the valuation methods and when specifically they are used.

Celebrating Failure

This past semester, I failed to get into the shape that wanted to at New Years. At the beginning of the year I set a goal for myself to workout consistently and get get into great shape for the summer. Although I worked out frequently, I did not reach my goals for the body I wanted at this point in time. I did not get in worse shape but simply did not get to where I wanted to be. The main reason I didn't reach my goal was because I would find excuses for not going to the gym and would not push myself hard enough to diet correctly. From this failure, I learned that it is hard to push myself sometimes and sometimes I need a little motivation to help me.  I also learned that it is very hard to keep a strictly healthy diet and that I must change my habits if I want to see results. 

Failure is hard to come back from sometimes. When you expect to succeed yet fail, it is hard to get back up and keep pushing forward. Failure can halt you from progressing and reaching your goals. Personally, I do not like to fail at all and I admit that sometimes, I will avoid failure. Avoiding failure is not a good thing to do and I have to work on this trait. If we recognize failure, it can have many teaching points. Learning how to accept failure and keep moving in stride is a great trait to have and can help you reach your goals faster. 

Over the course of this semester, this class has taught me that big ideas come with big failures and that if you want to achieve many goals in life there will be many obstacles that try and make you fail. Starting a business takes a lot of guts and accepting that failure is part of the process is the right mindset to have.

My Exit Strategy

After thinking of all the options for how to exit the venture, I can see myself selling the company down the road to a mother company who would make it grow more in the future. I can not say how many years it would take to get to the point of a sale, but the business would have to be worth enough money that would allow me to start my next venture. The main reason I would sell my venture would be to get cash to start my next venture. I hope that in years down the road I will still be very dedicated to being an entrepreneur. 

The exit strategy, I believe has not influenced the decisions in my concept too much. The main goal of the venture is to create the best possible product that can be used by the most people possible. The exit strategy does affect how the concept is marketed, because if I wanted to exit earlier, the company would need to have more users earlier. Deciding the timeline of the exit strategy and not so much the strategy itself is very important for making decisions now. The overall growth plan of the company should be to grow at a steady but string pace and keep users on board. Exit strategies are very important to have early on and I hope I get to go through with one one day.

What's Next

I think what's next for my business concept is a sure way to make the service more useable for a wider range of people. The target market I had been trying to hit was local neighborhood communities with houses that have room for people to grow fresh produce. I am trying to expand to more and bigger markets so I can reach a larger audience. The new market I concluded would be people in densely populated cities that do not have neighbors that can feasibly grow fresh fruit and vegetables.

Existing Market:

So as mentioned, my existing market is one consisting of people living in suburban neighborhood communities where houses have yards with enough room to grow produce in.

Based off the feedback I got from these interviews, I think the best way to make this service useable for the most amount of people is to make it easy enough for older people to use and make it actively help the users find fruit they want, even when they are not using the app. Older people have more free time and are more able to grow fresh gardens in their yards, however they are not always tech savvy and could not use a sophisticated app or website to sell their fruit. Fixing this problem would create more sellers and more buyers.
Also, making the app help the user, even when the user is not using the app, it would push users to check the app more often and drive more sales. The convenience of having the app help you would also be  a great addition that would get more people to download the app.


New Market:

As mentioned above the new market that I investigate in these interviews is one consisting of people living in densely populated cities that do not have neighbors who grow produce. The cities make it unfeasible to grow fresh vegetables and fruit, but with some help, I think I can get this market to still use the app. In one interview I spoke with a women who is does not care about how fresh produce is or whether r not it is organic. These type of people are also part of a new market that I could potentially hit.

So non of the people who I interviewed for the new market wanted to be visually recorded. I wonder if that has any correlation to the market they are in or their living situation? After these interviews I concluded that the app and website should have features that would be able to show not only local users who are selling fruit, but local farmers markets and produce stands that are willing to be listed. In cities there are plenty of produce stands and shops and not any individual sellers, so buy listing these shops, I could reach people who have historically shopped in these stores and are looking for new options.
Another good idea that came from these interviews was one that would compare the asking price to the local grocery store price for the same piece of produce. By letting users see where they can get their produce from for a cheaper price, it would create an incentive for them to use the app and shop locally, assuming the local prices are cheaper than the commercial store prices.


After all of these interviews and speaking with these individuals, I really think some great new ideas came forward and I'm looking forward to what's next!

Week 12 Reading Reflection

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

It surprises me to hear how many times entrepreneurs fail to make time and take the effort to create a thorough strategic plan. A goo strategic plan is key and yet many people do not put as much effort into this.

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

 The entrepreneur Strategic Matrix was confusing at first glance. There was a lot going on with the strategic strategies. It just took time to understand what it all meant.

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

1. What is the biggest reason that entrepreneurs do not make a good strategic plan and run out of time? Since so many people make the mistake, I would like to know why and how they make the mistake.
2. How much should the Strategic plan be shifting and changing arms over the course of the first few years of a company? With changing products and markets, I would like to know when and how to change the plan.

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

I did not think the Author was wrong about anything in this chapter. He explained every concept pretty thoroughly and made it easy to understand.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

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

It was surprising to read about the different types of innovation. I know innovation can come in many different forms, but I was not aware that there were names and and real structure to the different types. Each type of innovation can affect the business in different ways while also affecting the businesses around them.

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

I was slightly confused by how companies or outsiders would distinguish the difference between a great and innovative business plan and an innovation plan. New companies are always innovating to get ahead so what separates the two?

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

How would large companies know whether to make a new innovation strategy or just change their business plan if things need to progress?

What types of innovation plans are most used by small service based companies that provide basic services?

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

Nothing in this reading seemed to stand out as wrong. The author made clear points and made the section easy to understand.

Amazon Whisperer

Current Revenue Drivers for the concept: Since the concept is an app that connects buyers to sellers, the main revenue driver is a small transaction fee that occurs when certain sale amounts are processed. Additional revenue drivers would include paid advertisements that would appear on the app, such as banners and pop ups. This would allow revenue to come from multiple sources and be consistent and reliable. Some more revenue could also come from the sale of the emails of users to marketing firms. When user sign up, they would provide their email, and these emails could be compiled and so in various ways to firms looking for leads.

Next Thing: The next thing my customers would want would be perks for using the app, such as coupons to local places and discounts. Customers also like to have feedback from using apps, so they would also want some type of edge or reward feature for using the app.

This reward and perks service would foster customer loyalty and reward active users. By doing this more customers will be willing to use the app and keep using the same app.


Since my concept is an unique app idea and is not a particular type of product, I will chose the a product from Amazon that is relatable to the industry but  I can not promise it will compliment my existing business concept.

The product I chose is relatable to my fresh produce app concept. The product is a set of reusable bags specifically designed to hold fruit and vegetables. They are also designed for storage and can easily be washed and reused. They allow customers to be environmental friendly by saving plastic bags, while getting superior produce storing abilities.

The customers love  the quality of the mesh the bags are made and love how easily they wash. They can be machine washed and customers love that. Customers also mentioned how they love the draw strings on the top of the bags. They are very secure and stay closed once locked down. The size of the bags also allowed customers to fit a good amount of fruit in them. 

Some customers mentioned that the bags were actually not made with quality fabrics and complain that they tore easily. One customer even mentioned how the produce she kept in the bag went bad faster than the traditional plastic bags.

If I could change this product I would suggest making one big mesh bag with several different compartments so the customer would not have to carry around so many bags. The multiple compartments would allow for the separation of different produce while also making it easier to carry.

 This product would not necessarily make a good addition to my app idea but I think reusable bags are a great idea and it is important for consumers to be environmental friendly as much as they can. 

My Unfair Advantage

• Conduct a "VRIN" analysis for each resource. That is, describe, for each resource, how it is valuable, rare, inimitable (how hard it is to copy by others), and non-substitutable (are there other resources that can provide the same benefits?). 
• After conducting the VRIN analysis, determine what your top resource is. Explain why it's more important to your venture than all of the other resources.

1. Human Capital
1. V- The people that surround me and my ambitions can help me and the company push forward and stay on track. The personality of me and the people I will work with have positive attitudes and much knowledge on the product.
2. R-The people that surround me are all intelligent and dedicated people in which not very venture can say they have. Some people and companies will have people that hold them back but i will not.
3. I- It is not hard to find intelligent and hard working individuals, but it is harder to get them on board with your idea and work with you.
4. N-No other substitutes can take the place of a great human worker.
2. Education
1. V- Education is extremely valuable. Having an education on technology, finances, and how to manage people is the most valuable thing an entrepreneur can have. Being in college I feel I have adequate education to start a venture.
2. R-Education is becoming less and less rare. More and more entrepreneurs have a good deal of education.
3. I- It is not hard to find educated professionals that are willing to work on a new venture.
4. N-There are no other resources that could take the place of an adequate education.
3. Emotional Support
1. V- Having emotional support by friends and family is extremely valuable when starting a new venture. I have family that will support me in anything i do and friends that will back me up on my ideas.
2. R-Many entrepreneurs lack family and friends that are willing to do anything for them to succeed. Many families push their children to get a "normal job" and not start a business.
3. I-No one can imitate the family and support I have for my ideas.
4. N-Nothing can replace a strong emotional support system
4. Financial Support
1. V- Money is probably the most valuable thing for new ventures. Money is what makes the business keep going.
2. R-Having enough money to start a business is very rare and is the reason most business don't succeed.
3. I-Money can be found in many places and can not be imitated
4. N-Nothing can replace cash
5. Physical Capital
1. V- I have computers to create apps and that is the most valuable part of creating the idea
2. R-It is not rare to have enough physical capital in business
3. I-Computers are not imitate able and are always needed
4. N-Computers can be replaced by outsourcing your tech building.
6. Social Capital
1. Having friends and family that will support and use the product is valuable and can not be replaced
7. Nothing to Lose Mindset
1. Being a student, I have nothing to lose but a little money and time. This mindset is very valuable and cannot be replaced by other mindsets
8. Time
1. Being so young, I have time to grow my ideas and gain more capital in my ideas. time can never be replaced and can never be substituted.
9. Constructed Social Capital
1. The idea of my venture would create new human connections and create a sense of community for the people that use it. This can be obtained with other products and many social media interfaces can do this.
10. Natural Capital
1. With the whole world turning to mobile apps, the time and place for this venture to launch is now and the social and tech environment right now is not replaceable for an idea like mine. The time is perfect to push forward.

The most important resource is my emotional support. The support of my family and friends is what will push me and allow me to continue forward and will allow mw to see the future clearly.  A supportive family is key to a successful venture, and I know I would have no problem dealing with my family and friends.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

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

There was nothing very surprising in this section. I understand how important finances and budgeting are to growing business and how if you do not handle your finances correctly there are great chances that your company will fail. Knowing how to budget your business and handle the finances is just as important as knowing how to create the product or provide the service.

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

Nothing in this section was confusing to me since I have already taken all the basic accounting and finances courses. Most all of the concepts presented in this section were simple ones and did not go above the concepts presented in previous finance courses.

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

1.) If an owner has to bring in help for accounting and finances early on in the business life cycle, how much information, ideas, and responsibility should be shared with the outsider?

2.) When is it typically acceptable for the owner to start running his/her personal finances through their company?

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

Since the chapter was mostly about technical and conceptual information regarding company finances, I could not find anything to disagree with the author about.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

After reading the feedback from my last Pitch, I believe I made some good changes and have made a much better pitch this time around. Some feedback that helped me was that I should try and stay still and not move around too much and that I should try and keep my unnecessary hand gestures to a minimum. I also dressed better and tried to speak slowly and more clearly than my previous attempt. I was also more dynamic in this pitch in that I was not on a webcam and I was outside.

My Secret Sauce

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

1. I am able to think big and outside the box when it comes to problem solving.
2. I am very caring of others even to those I do not know that well or have just met.
3. I am able to take control of a situation or group and lead others in a group setting.
4. I am very diligent and careful during projects and pay attention to details.
5. I am able to work well with many other types of personalities and get along with others easily.

2) Interview the five people who know you the best. 

This interview was with my friend and roommate Cory. I really appreciated what he said about me and I believe everything he said about me was correct. 

This interview was with my good friend Hannah. I think she was correct in saying that I like to have a good time and am not too serious. I hope I come off as a good guy to others as well.

This is my friend and roommate Ramon. He talked about the first time meeting me and his first impression of me. I am glad I left a good first impression.

This is my other friend Lauren. She did not want to be shown on camera. She said I was supportive and was willing to lend a helping hand. 

This is my other roommate and friend Devin. He talked about how I am dedicated and am a hard worker because I work a lot. The interview was brief but I think he mentioned a few good characteristics.

3) Reflect on the differences. 

After conducting the interviews with my close friends, I can say that what they said about me was accurate and that they see me in a way that I would like for them to see me. Assessing myself, I would say I am everything my friends said I am however I also believe I can be very harsh sometimes on myself, but that does not show when I am with others. I would not make any corrections to my list in part one, and I stand by any characteristics I listed there.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

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

The part that stood out the most to me was the section on marketing research and the many different consumer characteristics and classifications. There were many more characteristics than I thought there would be and the amount of detail of each was definitely surprising.

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

The concept that was most confusing to me was the idea of secondary data. Why is secondary data used over new data and how exactly is the data captured and stored.

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

1.What marketing strategies can be used on social media that would be long lasting, since social media platforms are changing almost everyday?

2. Which marketing strategy would be best for a tech company with very little to no capital to work with?

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

I think the author was wrong to say that many entrepreneurs do not know much about their markets and how to reach them. True entrepreneurs would have taken the time to research the market and they should know who they are going after.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) My name is Thomas Murphy and I am an junior studying finance here at the University of Florida. I have always been interested in finance and business and this class is helping me see how it all starts and how I can become a business owner myself. I aspire to be successful. That may sound vague but I know if i work hard success will follow. I do not know where I will be in 5 or ten years and I like it that way because anything I want will be in reach. The business concept I have talked about so far, I believe, is a great one and can truly change my life and many others if it is pursued. I would love to have my life consumed buy a growing business that is mine.

2) The service I am offering is a an app/website that would connect customers looking for local fresh produce to locals who grow and sell produce themselves. It would allow people to buy cheap produce from their neighbors or households near by for cheap prices instead of buying at the grocery store.

3) I am offering this service to anyone who likes fresh, local produce for cheap prices.Many people like organic produce and to know where the food is coming from. Well if you can buy the food from your neighbor's tree in their back yard, then you know exactly where it is coming from and where it has been. 

4) Customers care because they like to feel a sense of community and they also like to eat foods that they know are local and fresh. They will also care because, the service can save them time and money.

5) The core competencies of this business concept are the easy-to-use website/app- interface and the ability to sell your own produce while also being a customer. this service does not exist anywhere yet and that is what makes it exciting.

This blog post does not cover ever aspect of the business concept but I believe it is a strong plan. But, like every business there is always room to improve on the idea and I still have to figure out a lot of the logistics of how sales would take place and security risks.

One main point i took away was how I would initially get customers to use this service. With some isight it would have to start small in buy own neighborhood and move outward. I also got feedback on security risks and how I should approach those because customers would be interacting with sellers. The app interface was also brought up and there are many ideas that need to be improved. keeping customers using the app will be difficult too but I plan on getting more feedback on that. If you find this idea to be a good one, please comment and provide feedback to this blog and any following blogs.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

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

The biggest surprise during this reading assignment was the amount of ways start up companies can obtain capital. There are so many more ways than just loans and venture capitalists.

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

No part of this section was confusing to me. The author clearly described the content and made it ver understandable.

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

1. Do you believe that who your investors are is more important than how much they give you?
2. Are there certain types of investors that are better for certain types of companies than others?

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

I do not think the author was wrong about any of the material in this reading. I agreed with everything he had to say.

Half-way Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

I have definitely used my time-management skills more than anything so far to keep up with this class. With so many assignments that are due every couple of days, it takes a lot of time to know what assignments are due next and which ones take more time to complete. I have also been more outgoing since starting this class. For many assignments, I need help volunteers for, so I have gained communication skills asking for help from others.

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?

I definitely think I have gained some tenaciousness over the paste two months. When I don't want to go on anymore, I tell myself that my grades really do matter and that with every assignment I am bettering myself. I definitely felt like giving up during the customer interview assignment but pushed through and told myself that talking with strangers would help me grow.

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. Just trust yourself that you will do a great job on every assignment and that your ideas will eventually work out.
2. Go out on a limb and act outside of your comfort zone. 
3. Talk with people who are tenacious.

The Twenty Percent

I talked with Frank again, the same business owner I spoke with for the "Very Short Interview" blog post. Frank owns and runs a fencing company.

1) Who do they think their target customers are? Where do they find their customers? What are their customer's demographics? What kinds of media do their customers consume? Etc.What are their customers' problems? What are customers currently doing to fix their problems? How big, on a scale of 1-10, is this problem in their customers' lives? What are some of the bigger problems their customers are dealing with? Do their customers have a budget allocated to fix this problem?

Frank believes the company's target customers are private households. They find their customers in many neighborhoods that require fenced in yards or house that has larger back yards. The demographics of the customers varies but they all fall under the category of house owners. Customers of Franks company usually have old, broken, and moldy fences that need to be replaced and since replacing fences is expensive the customers normally wait until they cannot wait any longer, so the problem is severe. Many customers' budgets are enough for the projects but sometimes the projects have to be altered for customer needs.

2) Next, go and talk to 3 'target customers' -- using the demographics/psychographics the entrepreneur described. Ask these 'target customers' the questions in the paragraph directly above.

After asking three customers about the questions mentioned above I got similar answers from each. All three customers said they believe a company set up like Frank's should target customers on a household basis. One customer even mentioned the company reaching out to parks fro larger projects and  agree with this idea. The customers agreed that since replacing a fence is expensive they too normally wait until they absolutely have to replace it to call for service.

3) Reflect. Does the entrepreneur adequately understand their customers' problems? Where are the differences? Why might these differences exist. 

Believe the owner understands all of his customers needs and has created processes that can solve their problems. Differences in opinion on how many customers the company reaches out to and what customers believe a similar company should do arises from Frank knowing what the company has the capacity to do and customers not understanding the entire business plan.