Final Reflection

As our time comes to an end in this semester of Principles of Entrepreneurship, like anything you do in life, it is so important to reflect on your time. I used to not be a good self-reflector. During my time here at UF I have made it a goal of mine to do everything with the intention of learning, growing, and adapting. So reading back on all of my posts from this semester was a great way to do this, and even gave me a bit of nostalgia (even though its only been a few months). Anyway, there was one particular experience that really stood out to me from this course, and that was the Secret Sauce assignment. This one was particularly enjoyable, not because I got a lot of my friends and family to speak nice about me, but it really gave me a confidence boost. One of the things I struggle with the most is my confidence, and this assignment really forced me to look at the experiences, talents, and characteristics that I bring to the table in any situation. It really increased my idea that I am able to do anything I put my mind to and rather than inflating my ego, I think it humbled me even more.
At the beginning of the semester we wrote about having an entrepreneurial mindset. When I was first posed with this question, it was difficult for me to come up with an answer, but after working through this course and its various assignments, I think I have a grasp on what it means to be an entrepreneur. I don't have to be the next Elon Musk or Steve Jobs, but it is all about the way I think. There are opportunities surrounding us in our everyday lives, and people who have needs and wants that can be exploited. This course has helped me to open my eyes wider to the world we live in, and got me out of the little bubble that I live in. For incoming students to this course, my biggest recommendation would be to try. Give this class a good effort and you will be surprised as to what you can get out of it. Stay on top of your assignments, get out and talk to people, and give this class your best shot. The grade will be there at the end of the semester, so if you really want to gain something from your time at UF other than a degree, you owe it to yourself to give it your all, it won't kill you.
 

Venture Concept #2

Opportunity:

Throughout this course, and more so towards the beginning, we worked a number of assignments that assisted in the opportunity identifying process in order to begin with a venture idea. After analyzing my own needs by identifying the things in my life that bug me the most, or that I wish there was a solution to, I was able to identify an opportunity based on these realities. Simply put, through these activities, I identified that there was an opportunity with students who are currently seniors in high school and getting ready to go to college, as well as first and second year college students who are taking out student loans. It was easy to identify this need because it is something that is close and personal to my heart, considering I am a current college student who has to take out student loans to pay for my higher education. I identified that this particular group of people have this need because I am familiar with the process of obtaining student loans and paying for school. The process is very confusing with terminology that nobody has taught us, and when asked to explain, we get a vague answer that doesn’t really make things any clearer. This customer market also is not aware of the alternatives. When entering college, we are presented with the idea of FASFA and accepting the federal government’s loans they have for us as really the only option as to how to pay for school. The nature of this need can be described in part by the forces in the environment that are really creating this opportunity. The force of the rise in tuition and expenses of college is what is making this need more evident in more and more student’s lives. Statistics show that the average cost of attending college is increasing each year, with no signs of slowing down, which creates the opportunity now more than ever for this customer market. This market has a very large demographic and geographic market, given there are colleges and universities all across the country and the world in which students are taking out loans in order to attend. The customers in this market are currently satisfying this need by seeking advice from the universities financial aid departments, as well as any information they are able to find online regarding their questions and concerns. I believe this opportunity is very large given the amount of people that could benefit from a service that is focused on this need that is affecting the lives of millions of people not just in college, but beyond their college years. As long as the cost of attending a university like the University of Florida continues to be as high as it is, the window for this opportunity will remain open.

Innovation:

As you can see, there is a clear opportunity in the area of student loans for students who are just about to enter college, or who are already in college, looking to salvage any hope that they have for a debt free future. So where do I come in with this opportunity? Well the innovation or business idea that I have developed, and proposing is a simply an advising service, that meets with the students and their families, informing them of the exact information, details, processes, and alternatives that come with taking out federal student loans in order to pay for school. From personal experience, I know that there is a lot more information available for this opportunity than what is presented to the students, as well as alternatives that can save these students thousands of dollars in debt after college. How it works is my service will gather all information that is unique to our customers’ situation. I have learned that not all student is in the same financial situation and they are different variables that can be taken advantage of if done so properly. This is why we will look at each person’s situations separately, assess the potential alternatives and processes, and advise each student on what the best plan of action is for their remaining years in college. What this will do is give each student a holistic view of their financial situation and how they can utilize them to their full potential in college, while not being stuck with thousands upon thousands of dollars in student loan debt. The tricky part with this service is how I am going to make money. Since it is a service attempting to help students save money, it will be difficult to make money. A positive is that there is low cost in order to fund this business. Because of this, I will be able to charge my customers a low price of $10/hour of meeting time, along with a flat rate of $25 for the research, analysis, and preparation of a financial plan/guide for each student.

Venture Concept:

Simply put, I believe this service will address the opportunity identified, because it provides a personalized assessment that is not easily available, if available at all, in the alternatives or current methods for satisfying this need. Because of this personalization, I truly believe student will be willing to pay the low price in order to save themselves potentially thousands of dollars in future debt. It is clear that the main competitor to this service is the already established financial aid departments within the colleges. These are typically free departments that are willing and able to provide similar advice, but I believe they do not provide ample information and it is too vague and not personal enough. My most important resource for this venture is my personal experience within this subject and the information that I already have available. I will be able to connect with my customers and provide them with information that will actually be useful to them and their financial situations. In order to kick start this service, I will first do a little trial run on people I already know have this need. From there I will be able to assess and revaluate and hopefully turn this into a full-scale business, helping students across campus and across the country.

Feedback:
The feedback I received from my first venture concept was generally positive. It is clear that there are a few things that I need to be aware of and adapt my business idea to these things. I also asked some people outside of this class to provide feedback on my venture, and the results were similar. I believe I am on the right track with this business idea, but there is still a lot of customer market research that needs to go into it as well as a lot of other information gathering if I want to make this thing legitimate.