Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Assignment 23A

1. Combines both groceries and drive-thru operations
1. This is especially important because many companies find themselves struggling with managing just one of these operations, but my venture dives into both. This gives me an advantage into the convenience realm.
2. Staffing dedicated to drive-thru operations
1. This is important because it allows my venture to focus on making the drive-thru scene easy and convenient, smoothing out any technical difficulties that may incur.
3. Efficient and updated floor-plans
1. This allows for drive-thru operations to remain on one side of the building and regular grocery store lay out to stay out of drive-thru's way.
4. Well-planned out order of food items
1. There will be a surplus of food available at all given times, so that no one item is sold out and so customers do not feel like they wasted their time going through a drive-thru that did not have what they were looking for.
5. Efficient lay out of drive-thru
1. There is a lay out of up to 10 lanes, allowing for quicker drive-thru times. This enormous lay out will be pre-planned in the floor plan. The property will resemble the size of Costco's or Sam's Club.
6. Bulk availability
1. Buying in bulk will be available through drive-thru, something no other grocery operation besides Costco has available.
7. Customer service at drive-thru
1. This is probably the most important advantage my operation has. At each drive-thru lane, there will be staff assisting patrons with their order if needed. This allows for a smooth sailing and quick-fix assistance.
8. Order online, pick-up in drive-thru
1. This is another tremendous advantage to our operation. Patrons will be able to order online and pick up their orders through the drive-thru instead of having to order at the drive-thru box.
9. Express Lanes
1. Express lanes will be available to customers who want to purchase less than five items, so that they do not have to wait in line behind a larger order when they simply want to order paper towels and cheese.
10. Memberships
1. Rewards and VIP memberships will be available to those who find themselves using the drive-thru facilities more often than the general public. This motivates people to go through the drive-thru to acquire points/visits for having used the service.

The most important advantage of my venture would have to be the amount of flexibility that I have with having a variety of assets available to me. Among these, customer service and large staffing are among the most important. Although not unique, my venture will focus on having a big enough budget to make these aspects a main priority.

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