13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

Reading Reflection No. 1

I read the book Grinding it out:  The making of McDonald's.  It is Ray Kroc's story of his life and what it took to create the McDonald's empire.

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• Ray Kroc had an ability to make things happen almost thru sheer will and determination.  It surprises me that he never gave up on his ventures and always found a way to come prevail and continue moving forward.
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I admired his will and passion for whatever Ray set it mind on.  People would follow him and I think because of the confidence he portrayed in his ideas.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• What I admired least was how he allowed his home life to be destroyed.  In business according to his book, he was a man of integrity and commitment but he could not honor the commitment of his marriage.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• Yes, many times.  Ray himself was a very good creative problem solver and he surrounded himself with others like that too.  An executive team like that can accomplish anything.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Ray seemed to have an ability to see an opportunity, open doors to that opportunity and convey that  with such clarity and detail that others bought into it as well.

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

I did not find anything confusing in this book.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

1. I would ask how did you stay so confident in your actions especially in times of adversity?  I would ask this because I struggle with this.  I make a lot of decisions in my job and I don't always feel as confident has Ray seemed in the book.
2. Was his ability to compartmentalize something learned or simply in his nature?  I can compartmentalize pretty well and have a stressful job but there are times when it is definitely harder than others.  Being able to do this allows for better focus on the issue at hand.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

It is pretty clear that Ray Kroc was not afraid of hard work.  He did it his whole life and expected it out of his team too.  I do share that opinion and expect it out of my teams.

14A - Halfway Reflection

Halfway Reflection

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

• I agree that it is a competency, which means it can be learned.  Organization is one of the best things I can think of to talk about here.  I have a full time job, a wife and two young kids.  I have to organize and utilize my time very wisely.  My job takes up a lot of my time and there is a bit of travel involved too.  This means that I try to work ahead as much as possible.

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?

• If I am honest, I have thought about giving up.  My job is very demanding of my time and I am very protective of my time with my family.  So that leaves me with nights mostly to focus on school.  My experience is not a new or unique one by any means and a lot of people do this but it is very hard.  This is something that I have wanted to accomplish for a long time though and I will not give up until I have finished.  I think what pulls me through is sheer determination and support from my wife.  I don't feel like I have become more tenacious over the last two months.

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) To me it's all about how can I make things easier for myself.  Organization is the key to that for me.  Keep your schedule on track and don't allow yourself to fall behind.  Work ahead as much as you can to accommodate for any issues that may pop up.  The rest seem to fall into place for me

(2) You have to keep a positive mindset and keep the end goal in mind.  Each completed assignment is one step closer to the goal.  The old adage about how you eat an elephant I think applies here.  One bite at a time.

(3) I also think there is a level of self-confidence needed to build the tenacious mindset.  You have to believe in yourself or you will not develop this skill.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

In my three interviews I found that each one had a different time they thought of that would require this business to meet their need. 

One of them was simply when they were bored and looking for something to do.  The other was when they wanted to let off some steam from a long hard day at work and wanted to not be stuck in their own minds anymore.  They wanted the fantasy world they could be immersed in as a release.  The last one thought about it more around the time when they wanted to have a small party, birthday, or some other celebration.

When they are looking for these things online they are usually searching for "things to do around town", "local party ideas", or simply looking for laser tag/ paint ball/escape rooms.

All three did talk to their friends and family looking for ideas or suggestions.  I imagine that word of mouth would end up being the best advertising available. 

11A - Napkin Idea No. 1

Napkin Idea No. 1

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

1. I am a 37 year old father of 2.  I currently run an IT consulting firm as the Director of Operations and my skills revolve around managing people, teams and processes.  I would love to start my own business and build a company that can provide my family with financial security going forward.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

2. There are two main things I am looking to provide.  One is to the community; I want this business idea to help bring people back to an area of town that has all but been abandoned.  This would help to bring other businesses back to the area has well with new jobs.  The other facet is to provide people with a fun outlet for their lives and give them a way to be immersed into a fantasy world they can interact with.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

3. I believe that my customer base is going to be people that enjoy the excitement and safe fear of a haunted house.  They also will enjoy solving puzzles and working as a team.  Due to the nature of this service, I think I will only offer it to 18 years old or older. 

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

4. They will pay money to participate for a few different reasons.  They want to a break from their reality for a bit; to be immersed in a new and different world.  They may just want to test their own resolve.  Perhaps they are mainly there because they are bored with the existing escape room experiences and want to see who they can really perform under pressure.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

5. Something like this does not exist around our immediate area and possibly anywhere, that I have found.  I believe that this idea is a twist on what is already out there making it unique. 

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe that all five of these elements fit together nicely.  This is something that is consumable and content can be used to make money over and over again.  It offers a way to be efficient with the resources that the business would use.  There is also the added benefit of commercial realestate. 

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

This time I interviewed people that specifically like horror/zombie movies.  What I found is that there is a difference in the level of scared people would like to feel.  Some like the idea of being involved in this type of exciting game.  Others, like the idea of watching and feeling the fear with the safety of not really being involved.

It ended up breaking down in my head that people who enjoy a really good haunted house at Halloween would enjoy this experience.  They like to be involved in the action and not just spectating it. 

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is in: People who enjoy the thrill of haunted houses and live action role play	Who is not: People who find the immersive thrill too scary
What the need is: Experience the thrill of fear and fantasy	What the Need Is Not: Enjoy scary movies and TV but not being involved or physically cannot
Why the Need Exists: The fun and escape of reality	Alternative Explanations: The fun and escape of reality