Reading Reflection No. 3

Ray Kroc, Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald's
1) What surprised you the most?
Ray Kroc worked for McDonald's until the day he died.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
I admire his business philosophy. An example of this is a quote where he said "If I had a brick for every time I repeated the phrase "Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value", I think I'd probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them."
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
I did not admire that he valued consistency rather than meat quality and health.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Ray Kroc was faced with many challenges but persevered. He was not happy with the formulas of the McDonald brothers so he bought them out and took control.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
He definitely embodied drive. He did not let anyone slow him down, he knew what he wanted and had big dreams he knew he would accomplish. He had a brilliant sales and marketing mind.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused to learn that the McDonald brothers cared less about the business than Ray Kroc did. He had much bigger aspirations for McDonald's than they did.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
I would ask how he knew that McDonalds would be successful I would also ask why he didn't just start his own business when he started clashing with the brothers. I would ask these because it intrigues me.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I definitely think Ray Kroc can attribute his success to hard work so he definitely reveres the quality. I do share that opinion.

Venture Concept No. 2

The need that I see as my opportunity is people who want to be healthier and do not get enough nutrients. This market ranges all ages and demographics. There is a small portion of people satisfying this need because it is hard to be healthy and get all the daily nutrients you should be getting. I think the opportunity is big and it will be open for as long as people care about their health.

It is a fruit and vegetable popsicle with nutrients and vitamins that you should be consuming daily. It is delicious and can be ordered in bulk and sold to hospitals and doctors offices or in smaller packaging to be sold at Whole Foods and other grocery stores. Depending on the size of the package the price will vary, I am still researching the best price.

My innovation will help the people in my opportunity segment by giving them a delicious and easy way to get nutrition. I think customers are already on the browse for delicious and healthy snacks. My competitors are the smoothie health craze going on right now. Their weakness includes no variation, they just do smoothies. Packaging, price, distribution, customer service are huge in defining my success in this business concept. My business would be small and focused on customer service and continued innovation. This will ensure we stay alive and keep thinking of new opportunities.

      

     The feedback I received made me refine what I truly wanted out of this concept and made me think about what I should be accomplishing.

Final Reflection

1) After reading through my blog from this semester I have come to the conclusion that  I had a lot of ups and downs. The times I dreaded the most were the interviews. I did not mind the reading reflections. I liked getting to see other's blogs.
2) What sticks out to me is my perseverance. In the beginning I struggled with assignments but by the end I just pushed through. I am proud of myself for this.
3) I think I am closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset.
4) I would recommend that students schedule time to dedicated to this course and to try your best and push through.

Making it Real

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ooy2k12Ye5vX0hsVynQvhVu5E10ojKL8Sb74Ik0Dg_Y/edit

Exit Strategy

I plan in selling the business for a large profit within 10 years of it launching.

I chose this because I would like to move on and not stick with the same thing my whole life. I believe change is good.

I think this effected my choices so far because I have not been thinking very long term and I have been playing with other ideas.

Celebrating Failure

This past semester I had to drop a course because I wasn't prepared for it to be as challenging as it was. I was embarrassed but I just prepared to take it the next semester and I know I will do better. I learned to not underestimate classes and to try your best at everything. This class has made me think about failure in a more positive light.

What's Next

Existing
My potential customers and I think that the next step would be an at-home formula to make popsicles at home. Based on the interviews I conducted and my thoughts on the business this would be profitable and easy to market since things these days are all about the convenience of home.

New
The market I am not planning on targeting is people who don't wish to be healthy. I think I could make a chocolate or other flavor but still put healthy stuff in it as a kind of hidden bonus so people who aren't looking for something healthy could buy my product. Based on my interviews this isn't the most attractive market for me to pursue. People who don't want to be healthy see healthy options as embarrassing.