Elevator Pitch No. 3

Assignment 22A

Drive-Thru Grocery Store 

The feedback I received from my elevator pitch indicate that I bring the audience in a little more and personalize my pitch. This time, I made the my audience feel like both them and I share the same problem and that I am in their same boat. I felt more comfortable this time around because I didn't script what I was going to say and simply wrote my ideas down and let it flow naturally, which it did and I am very content about.

Reading Reflection No. 2

Assignment 21A

"How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big"

The general theme of this book consisted of the first-hand advice and counsel from the author about the trials and tribulations of his life and how he managed to over come them and finish with success. The author wrote about all the trials and errors of his life, and culminated this message into an ultimate grand scheme of success. ENT3003 this semester has been slowly and surely teaching us to take leaps even if they are scary or uncomfortable, enabled us to perfect our imperfections, taught us to embrace those imperfections, and to also trust the process of growth. The author of this book showcased in one way or the other some form of each of these examples. The book taught us to embrace the errors and learn from them, just as this class has been teaching us every day, by having students create better versions of their ideas and pitches. If I had to design an exercise for this class pertaining to this book, I would suggest students think of something they wish they could improve on, whether it is a sport, an athletic goal, an educational aspiration, and work on it until they saw results. I would then ask them to reflect on their process of working towards success, and have them take a look at their mentality from when they started, and where it is now that they have gained positive results. My biggest takeaway from the book is to trust the process. I am, along with many other students, are in the middle of processes that will eventually lead us to the successes and triumphs of our lives. Being a pre-law student, to me, the life of a successful lawyer seems so far away and unattainable. However, this book has taught me to remain patient, accept the trials and tribulations, never give up, and eventually, my hard work will pave the way to my well-earned success.

Growing your social capital

Assignment 20A

Expert in the industry: The industry in which my idea lies in is the groceries industry. My main idea is simply drive-thru grocery stores, so simply combining convenience into the normal grocery routine of individuals. The expert I initially planned to seek was anyone involved in this industry. However, I realized I wanted to make it a little more specific to Florida so I chose publix, and more specifically a publix manger. The Starbucks I work for is very close to a Publix, so I find myself attending that particular one more than the rest in Gainesville (on Newberry road). The managers of that Publix are almost always present during the day, greeting customers and asking them if they need assistance, so finding one to talk to was not very hard. I asked to speak to the store manager and was quickly introduced to him. He was very knowledgeable about the industry, and described the kind of learning he had to do about the market in order to operate a successful chain. When I introduced my idea, he initially giggled and told me it’d be a hard one to pull off. However, he did agree and say that the idea was definitely one to fix a lot issues pertaining to convenience. I asked him who i should speak to next and he suggested an expert on drive-thru management.

Expert on the market: I took these proceedings over to my own job, Starbucks. I chose to interview my store manager, who has been with the company for 9 years and has seen it go through numerous stages and changes. When I asked him what kind of customer he believed the Starbucks customer to be, he replied with “the busy adult who needs a quick way to caffeinate themselves.” I told him to expand a little more on the convenience side of Starbucks, and he expressed how over the years, Starbucks has changed to better appeal to the busy working man/woman. He says that busy mothers and working people find the most pleasure from the convenience, and Starbucks has transformed almost every Cafe-store into a drive-thru Starbucks because the company finds they’re better able to achieve a higher profit when also catering to the individual on the run. My store manager then advised that I speak to the district manager next, because he is best knowledgeable about the drive-thru market. 

Important supplier to the industry: I took my store manager’s advice and decided to speak to our district manager as the expert in supplies. In my case, knowledge of convenience and drive-thru operations are extremely important to the service. My district manager comes once a week to my store to touch base with my store manager, so this is how I was able to catch a chat with him. Before proposing my idea to him, I asked about his knowledge about drive-thru technicalities and he provided very interesting information. He emphasized the importance of convenience and time efficiency, and how these two factors went hand in hand in drive-thru operations. He said that a successful drive thru meant that individuals would arrive and collect their goods in a matter of less than 3-5 minutes. For Starbucks, that is closer to 1-2 minutes. He emphasized how 30 second times are encouraged and how there are numerous techniques available for achieving this kind of time. He said that it is important to match the pace of the customer, and that sense of urgency was crucial to low drive times. I then introduced my idea of a drive-thru grocery store, and he posed that to make it a fast service would be something new to the fast service industry, because are a number of difficult factors to deal with-such as order amount, produce, and budget. I agreed with him and told him these were all things I considered when expanding this idea, however, I strongly believed in the possibility of it happening. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

Assignment 19A

All my life I have always wondered what I would grow up to become. Still, I am in the process of figuring that out. However, throughout the years I have come to learn more and more about myself as I experience and partake in different activities that expose me two different things. For a while, I saw myself aaa business owner, or a CEO. However, going to college and exposing myself to different electives has changed the other I want to take in my life. I am now an aspiring lawyer and hope to achieve a fulfilling life doing this work. In recent years, I have exposed myself to law-based environments, where I get glimpses of what life as a lawyer looks like. Doing this kind of work has enamored me with the field, and strengthen the passion I feel in wanting to achieve this kind of life. I am still in the process of discovering what kind of law it is I wish to practice, because while I do want to practice a law that genuinely interests and captures me, I do also want to be financially practical. In terms of my idea, I believe knowing the ind and outs of the way the government works would benefit me in the legal process of business and also aid my business learning process. 

The idea I propose is a service. Specifically, this service will be a drive-thru grocery store. The future of commodities has turned into a a big competition for convenience. Which product or service is more convenient. Convenience is exactly what I intend to provide. This service is specifically aimed for people with busy lifestyles who find themselves in need of a faster way to do groceries. Some people opt out of getting groceries because they believe it to be a hassle, and then then to fast food and restaurants to replace meals that can be cooked at home. So not only does this service allow for more convenience, it also promotes a lifestyle that encourages home cooking. More detailedly, the customers I aim to target are parents, because these seem to be the line of people with the most hectic schedules. Between kids, work, chores, and hobbies, parents find themselves juggling a lot. Raising a family is no easy task, and all parents wish to raise their children in a home where homecooked meals are a norm and are prioritized. Nearly every parent with good intentions will see the value in making sure their children receive good, healthy, well-balanced meals. Drive thru grocery stores could tremendously aid the parents who find themselves juggling too much. 

I feel like my personality sets me apart from everyone else. I was raised in Puerto Rico and I have developed many traits and personality quirks that I find are unique to the way I was raised and brought up. I love talking about my culture because it makes me feel like I have somewhere that I truly belong. I talk about my business ideas with the same fervor, emotion, and excitement. 

I feel like my personality and my interest in a law career mesh very well together. However, I do have doubts about how my career interests may coincide with prospective business ideas. Grocery stores and criminal proceedings do not have much in common, which is where I fear a divide exists. 

Create a Customer Avatar

Assignment 18A

The segment I have developed throughout the semester involves drive-thru grocery stores. The prototypical customer I described in my past assignment was a working woman with several children of varying ages and an active lifestyle. Whether she was married or not was not specified, however, I wanted to get it across that my prototypical customer was someone with an extremely busy schedule and that had children. 

In this assignment, I'll specify exactly what I am picturing.

Her name is Stephanie Schumer, and she is a full-time dentist with her own practice. She has four children, all in elementary and middle school. She is extremely family-oriented and would sacrifice man things for the happiness of her children. She's married to someone whose busy schedule matches hers, however, they always find a balance and make it home by dinnertime to spend time with their children. On some days, dinner is late because of the children's athletic practices and because one of the parents has to run out to grab groceries. Groceries are one of the biggest problems for this household, because between four hungry children and extremely busy schedules, finding time to pick up groceries throughout the week seems nearly impossible. However, a drive-thru grocery store could convene this family in more ways than one. On her way home from work, Stephanie realizes she needs spaghetti sauce to make her infamous spaghetti and meatballs that she promised the kids she would make. However, she is also running a little bit behind on picking her children up from sports. Stephanie thinks it will take too long to go pick up the one item before it becomes too late to pick up her children, however, she also know going to the grocer's with four children is not an easy task. She's conflicted on what to do, however, she realizes a new drive-thru grocery store opened up down the block and a 20-minute grocery stop suddenly turned into five minutes. Stephanie pulls into the drive-thru, marks the spaghetti sauce to pick up, pays, and then leaves to go get her children. This process only took her 3 minutes and she did not even have to get out of the car. Stephanie is a happy customer and makes it to practice on time, and the dinner turns out immaculate. This is one satisfied family.

Elevator Pitch 2

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Pt. 2

Assignment 15A

The segment I interviewed last time were parents with children who worked 40+ hours a week and were in need of a faster way to accomplish grocery shopping.

The three people I interviewed met at my job, Starbucks. I am constantly running into people who come in with their children and are rushed for their coffee, or come in by themselves and I catch myself having a conversation with them about their kids. The three people I interviewed were regulars at my location, and they all agreed to sit down with me for 15 minutes and talk about their grocery shopping behavior. I had to explain that these interviews were for an idea I was investigating. I asked them what the most important aspect is when it comes to grocery shopping, and all of them said price, and two said convenience. I asked them about their regular buying behavior and they said they go to the grocery store at least once or twice a week to pick up small items like snacks and milk for their kids. This answer was the same for all three of my interviewees. I asked them about when they buy in bulk, and they discussed how this only happens about 2-3 a month and usually, they have someone looking over their kids so that they don't have to bring them along because it would lengthen the process. I asked them if they wished there was a more convenient way to grocery shop for the smaller items, and they all said yes. I then introduced my idea of a drive-thru grocery store for the little items like eggs and milk. At first I got some smiles and giggles, however, all three interviewees came around to liking the idea because of its convenience. They mentioned it would benefit them greatly when they are running errands with their children and do not want to go through the hassle of getting them out and back in.

I saw this segment as being in great necessity of this need. They are unaware that this need would benefit them because it is viewed as a very first-world innovation. However, all three participants emphasized the notion of convenience, and that is exactly what my service offered. This segment is particularly busy and is in need of this service because they have children who they must tend to. Although a college student would also benefit from a more convenient service, they do not need it like the segment I interviewed does.

What's your secret sauce?

Assignment 16A

Some skills and assets I believe are unique to me have to do with my background and the way I was raised. I was born in Puerto Rico and was raised by very strict parents that taught me the value of education and hard work through my adolescent years. I believe that my work ethic stands out among the rest, and that I can show someone what true hard work looks like. I also believe that my bilingualism helps me stand out among the rest. It is not necessarily a unique asset, however, is is unique to me as Spanish is my first language and English has been something I have come to learn along the way. Additionally, I am creative and have extensive knowledge on certain things, such as the correctional system (odd, but it's true!). This knowledge does not help me with everything, however, it does wonderful contributions to the work that I am interested and that is what matters. 

During my interviews, I had a variety of people that all said the same thing about me: That I was very nice. I interviewed my two roommates, my mother, my father, and my boyfriend. They all agreed upon one thing, and that was my niceness and how it is often taken for granted. It was heartwarming to learn that about myself, however, I was hoping to hear more about my entrepreneurial assets. My mother, father, and my boyfriend did say I was a very hard worker, and then proceeded to gush about their pride over me (which was also great to hear). Graduating from UF in three years was something neither I or my parents ever dreamed of me accomplishing. I come from a small island where many opportunities for a successful career are not present. Moving to the states has given me the drive and motivation to seek out every opportunity that is presented because I know that at one point, they didn't exist. My roommates told me I was very giving and very smart, which I pride myself to know. Knowing that these are my assets as seen by others suggests that I have been accomplishing what I have always wanted to: let others know my good intentions. My intentions are always good, and for that to be misjudged is truly heartbreaking for me. These interviews were a great point of assurance. I think all of the assets that were described of me are pretty true of myself. I wished my family and friends saw a little bit more creativity and entrepreneurship in me, however, that is hard to come across when it is not necessarily something I express in an environment that is not school-oriented. My roommates saw more of it than my parents did, however, I will now make it a point to express that side of myself more around my boyfriend and family.

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