Elevator Pitch No. 2

YouTube link to my Elevator Pitch No. 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY6vJrYAjUc

I had a lot of great feedback from my classmates from my first elevator pitch. I took their advice and here are the things I added:

• I included more specific details on how you submit your grocery order. I explained how you can do it online or via the mobile app. I included details on how you can select the specific groceries you need and the exact quantity. As far as the mobile app, I explained that you can upload a picture of your grocery list and that will suffice. 
• I explained that you can pay with credit card because payment was a concern of one of my fellow classmates. 
• I explained what the fee is, a percentage of the total order amount. 
• One comment from a classmate was that they dislike grocery shopping because of the congestion and long checkout lines. I mentioned this in my first pitch but made sure to reemphasize it since it was affirmed by my classmate. 

Something I noticed myself after the fact in my first elevator pitch is that my foot came off the ground at one point and was in the video ha. I made sure to keep my feet out of the limelight this time, planted on the ground, except for normal movement so I wasn't standing still.

I look forward to more feedback from my second pitch and to view my classmate's second pitches. Thanks!

My Customer's Avatar

The prototypical customer for my company, Groceries To Go, is women in their thirties that are both moms and career oriented. She is a busy go getter and balances many things at once, wearing many hats. She is driven. She is married. Both her and her husband have good careers. They live in a nice brick house probably in the south. They are in the upper middle to upper class income range. She drives a nice to fancy SUV. It can be anywhere from a Ford Edge or Chevrolet Equinox to a Mercedes or Lexus SUV. Perhaps it is red, black, or white and definitely has a sunroof and all the latest safety features for their kids. She goes from work, to soccer practice, to planning personal events. She is educated. She was probably in a sorority at her four year university. She is Christian and tries to go to church regularly with her family. She is Republican. She always has nice nails and clothing and enjoys Starbucks coffee. She is great at cooking. She tries to eat healthy, e.g. juices and kale salads. She goes to Pilate classes and the occasional spin class when she is feeling especially ambitious. She loves the beach and being outdoors with her family. She loves riding her beach cruiser with her husband. She prefers reading and music over television but goes with comedies or chick flicks when choosing a movie genre. Lastly, she enjoys going out with her girlfriends to a nice restaurant with live music and enjoying a good glass of red wine.

I think what I have in common with my customer avatar is that I'd like to become her "when I grow up" ha! Some aspects of her I already have such as juggling many aspects of life at once, Christian, Republican, enjoying cooking and trying to eat healthy and go to yoga classes, love being outdoors as well as reading, music, and movies. I hope to have a family and a successful career someday. I don't think it's a coincidence that I have this much in common with my prototypical customer because I designed my company for a need I realized in my own life which is helpful for people similar to me/my situation with the same need (although I am only in my twenties without a career or kids yet. I chose thirties and career because they can afford my service).

Bachabow

My word is "bachabow."

Bachabow can mean whatever you want it to mean based on the situation and your tone. However, it's mainly a term of goofiness or endearment that you call someone. An example is: "Ugh, you're such a bachabow today," or "Hey bachabow!"

The person that most caught onto my word is my mama. At first she was kind of like bachabow?! What's a bachabow?? Whatever it is, she accepted it after a little bit because it's kind of funny and she started saying it back to me.

My dad tolerated it lol and didn't really care either way.

When I called my brother a bachabow, he said I was a bachabow lol and moved on.

Some friends ignored it, some questioned it, and some used it. Mixed reviews. Hard crowd ;)

Overall, I think it's a catchy word.

Halfway Reflection

1. A major skill that I developed throughout this course was pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and being more comfortable with talking to people I don't know. The assignments that require interviews can be a nervewracking request at first, but I have just recently gotten used to them and don't find them as bizarre or scary anymore. I have accepted them and don't think twice (as much ha). I learned how to prepare interview questions and to gather information from people about my ideas and thoughts, and to get their feedback.

2. A time I felt like giving up was within the first two weeks of this semester. I was a new student to UF and I was having a hard time adjusting to strictly online, Canvas, etc. I felt like I had bit of more than I could chew with too many classes. My advisor helped pull me through this as well as the structure of this course. The way it is laid out on Canvas is very user-friendly and easy and clear to understand and navigate. I really appreciated that. I do feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months. I have pushed through several assignments that made me uncomfortable (see question 1 ha) and am better off because of it.

3. Three tips:

1. Skills that support tenacity are just being organized and not waiting until the last minute! Keep a planner full of what assignments you need to do on which days in order to submit everything on time. That way, you will not get stressed out and overwhelmed from not knowing and you won't get bogged down. This really changed my experience for the better and helped me be more successful.
2. What most helps me develop a tenacious mindset is simply imagining my future and my personal goals. 
3. An in general tip I would like to share with other/future college students is to try to not spread yourself too thin. Make sure you are balancing your time between school, family, friends, yourself, exercise, hobbies, etc. It's important to work hard and get good grades but to also have fun and enjoy yourself as well. 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 - Need Awareness & Info Search

The unmet need of this blog post is not having the time to go grocery shopping. My solution is "Groceries To Go" which is my idea of a grocery delivery service business. I discussed it in detail in my Elevator Pitch No. 1 and Idea Napkin No. 1 blogs. One segment I will be targeting for my business is the part-time to full-time working class. The three interviews below concentrate on that segment and their opinion and need (or lack thereof...we'll find out) of my business idea.

In my interview with Ryan, I discovered that he does have the need for a grocery delivery business. He works for the U.S. Navy full-time. He is very busy working long days among all the other regular aspects of life one needs to tend to. He has a lot of errands to do and he usually tries to get them all done on the weekend when he is off from work. These errands and chores include grocery shopping (of course), mowing the lawn, washing his truck, fixing things around the house if necessary, etc. It is a lot to get done in two days when also down time and fun time is necessary too. He said he would use a grocery delivery service because it would save him time and he could get something else done with the extra time he saved. Plus, he doesn't like dealing with the crowds at grocery stores which are much worse on weekends. The parking lot is full, the aisles are congested, and the check out lines are long. He would find this service very helpful. Something he did say that would need to be find tuned is the cost. Pricing would help him decide how often he would use it, if it would be worth it, etc. At the right price he would use it often.

https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/buyer-behavior-interview-1/s-OAbyG



While talking to Mary, I discovered that she loved this idea. She does the majority of grocery shopping in her household and could definitely use the help. Again, if the price is right. She talked about set fees based on certain aspects of the order. She needs help with grocery shopping because she works and it is such a time consuming errand. It is a hassle. She said she would use this service every time (price reasonable).

https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/buyer-behavior-interview-2/s-2Oaaa



While talking to Ron, I discovered that he only grocery shops about once every six weeks because his wife does the majority of the grocery shopping. The both work almost full-time and he gladly helps when asked. This shows to me that people just don't always have the time to do it for themselves every time and need the help, which is where my business would come into play! Ron had a great idea about pricing that I hadn't thought of. Instead of a fixed fee, he brought up the idea of percentages. Ron suggested a 15%-20% percentage fee of each order's total amount. For example, if the order is $100, 15%, or $15, would be reasonable. Ron had a lot of great ideas. He also said that a larger delivery time would be acceptable, so longer than two hours would be fine. He also brought up the idea of pre-set grocery lists that can be re-submitted for commonly ordered items. It was a great interview!

https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/buyer-behavior-3/s-07VFH



In conclusion, I have learned that a grocery delivery service business would be in high demand for the working class. The number one reason working people would use it is in order to save time to do other errands and chores or for fun, leisurely time. They would also appreciate it to avoid the hassle of grocery shopping itself. Something that I do need to improve upon is the pricing. I need to gather more information about what would be reasonable and profitable, and integrate greater detail on my pricing plans. Overall, it seems like my idea would be useful!

Week 7 Reading Reflection - Reading Reflection No. 1

1. For my first reading, I chose the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

• What surprised me the most about the life of Steve Jobs is that he was adopted. He was biologically born unto a Catholic mother (Joanne) and a Muslim father (John). Joanne's parents disapproved of the relationship which led to her putting up her son for adoption. Steve Jobs was adopted by a couple in San Francisco, CA. His adoptive father, Paul Jobs, was an engine technician at the time and first introduced Steve to engineering and design. The quality skills he learned from Paul are still reflected in his Apple products today. Interesting fact: On the day Jobs was thinking of a name for his new company, he was walking back from an apple orchard, and the name "Apple" stuck with him. Apple Computers was born. Unfortunately, it also surprised me that Steve Jobs struggled with and eventually passed away from pancreatic cancer at the young age of 56.

• What I most admired about Steve Jobs was his desire to give back to humankind. He appreciated the inventions and progress that was laid out before him by others . He wanted to take advantage of it, use it, take it even further, and pump the progress back into humankind. Steve Jobs said, "We try to use the talents we do have to express our deep feelings, to show our appreciation of all the contributions that came before us, and to add something to that flow. That's what has driven me."

• What I least admired about Steve Jobs was his lack of empathy. He didn't seem like a very heartfelt or sensitive man. To him, people were either "enlightened" or an "asshole." He wasn't the best family man, not the best father. In fact, he said he wasn't ready to be a father when his first daughter, Lisa Brennan, was born and was not present in her life (only financially). He would go to work at 7am in the morning and not return home until 9pm at night. By then his kids were already in bed and he was too exhausted to even talk. His career, Apple, was his family, his baby.

• Steve Jobs encountered a lot of adversity and failure throughout his adventures. He faced failure with some new ideas and products (lack of sales for the new super fancy professional NeXT). He faced adversity with partnerships (such as Atari and Pixar) and when he felt people had stolen his ideas (Windows, Android, and Antz as a spin-off of It's a Bug's Life for example). Jobs just kept fighting in the face of these challenges. He stood up for what he believed was right. He never gave up and always kept moving forward. 

2. The best competency that Steve Jobs exhibited was his fearlessness to go against the grain, to come up with wonderful ideas and to own it fearlessly. He wasn't afraid of having off the wall ideas and opinions and standing up for himself. On that note, he wasn't afraid of being off the wall himself and never changed his quirky personality and ways.


3. I suppose a part of the reading that was a little confusing to me was just following all the business connections and roles of different people.


4. If I was able to ask Steve Jobs two things, they would be:
When did you realize you were hitting it big and what did it feel like?
Did it change you? How so? Better or worse?
One more question to make it three: Do you have any regrets? If so, what would you go back and change?


5. I think Steve Job's opinion of hard work was to never give up, if you fail get up and try again, keep pushing, and don't be afraid to be different. I do share that opinion and greatly believe in that.

Idea Napkin No. 1

Piecing It All Together

This blog has to do with the idea I pitched in my Elevator Pitch No. 1, called "Groceries To Go"

My idea is that some day groceries can be ordered online, or a photo of your grocery list can be uploaded via mobile app, and the groceries will be delivered to your front door within two hours. 

1. Me. 

I am a student, a part-time employee, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. And so much more, those are just some of my titles. My talents are cooking, yoga, and caring about people. My skills are being driven and creating goals that I go after. I am very organized and have the fire inside to be a go-getter. "Groceries To Go" would play a huge role in my life if I were to really launch it. I would be very busy as the founder and would find if very useful as a consumer. 

2. What am I offering to customers?

I am offering a time saving and very convenient service to customers, having groceries delivered  straight to their doorstep. They can do this two ways: online, by searching for the groceries they need, selecting them and the quantity of each, and placing the order. Or via mobile app by uploading a picture of your grocery list. There would be a two hour delivery guarantee. 

3. Who am I offering it to?

I am offering it to anyone that is busy and needs to save some time via eliminating this very time consuming errand. Although, I think a lot of people would find my idea helpful, I think there are especially two types of people that would find my service extremely useful: moms and elders. Moms don't always have the time and energy to go grocery shopping, among all the other jillion things they have to do. It's an even more difficult task if they have to pack up the kids to go along with them. 45 minutes to an hour of boring grocery shopping is a long time for young kids to not get bored and cranky. Elders is another group that I believe would find my business extremely helpful. A lot of elders live alone (perhaps widowed, nursing home, etc.) and cannot drive and need this service. For example, my grandma (that lives far from me) has to schedule a taxi service or friend to pick her up once every two weeks and take her to the grocery store. It's sad and it's difficult for her to meal plan that far ahead and to not run out of something or need something unthought of in the meantime. 

4. Why do they care?

They care because going to the grocery store for themselves is sometimes (a lot of times) not worth the time and hassle. Not only that, but for example for some elders, it may not even be a viable option. I believe this is why potential customers would care.

5. What are my core competencies?

What sets me apart from everyone else is that I don't believe there is anyone else. I have not heard of a business that offers this service or does anything like it. If I am wrong and it has been invented, then it is not a good business model because I have not heard of it or know anyone that has used it. My service would be great because it would be quick, a two hour delivery guarantee.

I believe that my business model does connect well. What I am offering, who I am offering it to, and why they would care all align. This is definitely a great service for people that need to save time, want convenience, or are just unable to go to the grocery store for themselves. I think that covers a lot of people, as long as the price is right. That is something more that I would have to cover more and get greater details on. The pricing would need to be reasonable enough that it is a realistic service for the average household, but at the same time, realistic for me to make good profits. I would have to get a great team to help my infiltrate my business idea. There's no way I could do this on my own. Also, lastly, I would need to do some extensive background research to see if there are any pre-existing companies similar to mine and what their numbers and market share are. What does their business model look like and is it working our for them. How would I overcome the barrier to entry if there was one and how would I be different/better.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My Elevator Pitch 1

My elevator pitch is pitching my idea of "Groceries To Go," my grocery delivery business. My idea delivers the groceries you need right to your doorstep when you need them, saving you so much time and convenience.

P.S. - Sorry for the recording taking place in my kitchen, but my iPhone just happened to balance at the perfect height on my Keurig, and I figured it goes along with the whole grocery theme right ha ;)

Tweaking the Innovation

My innovation is a grocery and product delivery service company that works through Walmart, called "Walmart To Go."

Product/Service Mix and Description of Innovations:

Departments - the customer pays varying costs depending on which departments the employees must go to in order to fulfill the order. For example, a visit to the garden department may be more costly that a visit to the toy department because five bags of mulch are much heavier and more difficult to handle than a small box of Legos.

Items include:

• electronics
• food
• home 
• baby
• sports & outdoors
• clothing 

Number of employees needed in order to fulfill the order in a timely fashion - pay more per employee needed

• 1 employee
• 2
• 3+

Time it takes for employees to fulfill the order - the bigger the order, the longer it takes, the higher the cost

• up to 15 minutes
• 15-30 minutes
• 30 minutes - 1 hour
• 1 hour+

Refrigerated vs Non-refrigerated Truck - higher cost for refrigerated truck

• refrigerated truck for groceries
• does it even need a freezer? perhaps an extra fee for that if necessary for profit
• non-refrigerated truck for non-grocery deliveries

 Truck size - the bigger the truck size, the higher the cost

• car size
• small truck
• medium truck
• large truck
• extra large truck

Delivery distance - the further the delivery distance, the higher the cost

• within 1 mile
• 1-5 miles
• 5-10 miles
• 10-15 miles
• 15+ miles
•  OR charging a set fee per mile
• Also, an upfront delivery fee + one of the two options above

Map each item (benefit, tangible, augmented):
department items - needing certain items from certain departments. Are the items tangibly pleasing once delivered? Does it match expectations, fulfill needs?

number of employees needed - a customer would purchase the service of more employees in order to get order fulfilled and delivered more quickly.

refrigerated vs non-refrigerated truck - a customer would choose one or the other based on if they are having food delivered, and of course they want food delivered still cold, not melted and soggy.

truck size: benefit - fitting all groceries and/or products being delivered. tangible: having everything you need. augmented: having all groceries and/or products ordered delivered at one time to fulfill need.