The Amazon Whisperer

"Groceries To Go"

Revenue drivers:
Groceries To Go is a service business. Having said that, the primary way my business will make revenue is by providing top notch excellent service. Groceries will need to be delivered on time. The order items and quantity will need to be correct. As in any business, problems are bound to arise. Any problems will need to be handled correctly so as the customer is satisfied and happy in the end. We need to keep their business and attain good word-of-mouth.

The "next thing" I can imagine my customers will probably want is possibly an even faster delivery time or the option to have a larger breadth of products delivered, so products beyond just groceries such as household items, etc. Customers would probably also want a more personalized experience so maybe an option where customers can save their common grocery list items and automatically reorder them or something along the lines of that.

These next things will improve my business by enhancing the customer experience and overall satisfaction by adding more convenience and personalization. I think the new personalization aspect would definitely heighten customer loyalty by making the experience feel more personalized and making them feel special.

Unfortunately, as this is a service business, there is not really a product that would enhance my service business. I would just concentrate on my service-oriented improvements that I have already mentioned in this post to enhance my business idea.

My Venture's Unfair Advantage

Business venture: "Groceries To Go"

10 resources + their VRIN analysis:

1. Research & Development - I have already began to put a lot of thought into my business concept, what it will be, and what it still needs to operate correctly. The idea has already been born and this is valuable because it puts me one step ahead of my competitors for launching this idea. 
2. Persistence (human capital/capability) - I have a crazy amount of persistence and I always find a way to work my way around road blocks and continue on the path I set out on. This trait is inimitable because you either have it or you don't. You can't buy this trait and I can't imagine training yourself to be that way.
3. Organized (human capital/capability) - I am very organized and to-do list oriented. I always know what I need done and when. I am very aware of deadlines and what I need to do to meet them. This trait is rare because a lot of people are procrastinators. I believe being organized is even harden to attain than persistence, because it is a deep personality conflict if you are not naturally that way. It's hard to break.
4. Caring (human capital) - I am caring and believe I would be able to relate to my employees well because of this. This is rare because most people don't care about their employees very much anymore. Employers don't treat their employees well and don't practice internal marketing.
5. Empathetic (human capital) - I am empathetic and this would come in handy greatly when dealing with customers and any problems that arise. This is rare because not very many people are empathetic and can relate to others/put themselves in their shoes. 
6. Connections (social capital) - I have connections to people in the grocery and logistics industry. I could talk to people I know that work at Publix or talk to my neighbor which is a fruit delivery broker. This is valuable because I could learn from them and receive great advice and hopefully more connections to expand my network. 
7. Logistics will - I have established that I will have the ordered groceries to customer's doorsteps within a two-hour timeframe guarantee. This is non-substitutable because time is of the essence in a service business. It is very important to get the right products to the right customers at the right time.
8. Investments (financial capital) - I haven't actually asked but I strongly believe if I actually became very serious about launching my business that my family would help me out by investing in it/me. This is very valuable in being able to get my business off the ground. 
9. Help (social capital) - My family and friends would be more than helpful and supportive throughout my business venture. This is non-substitutable because it takes a village to raise a business and I would need the encouragement and relief of family and friends.
10. Market - I have discovered throughout this process that there is a market for my business idea. People are interested and would use this service, and it is currently unavailable/not being met. This is valuable and non-substitutable because without demand, there would be no reason to supply. 

I would say that my TOP resource is my persistence. I have always been this way and always work hard enough to find a way for something to work, even if the odds are against me. I'm creatively persistent and don't give up on my goals. This is a human capital aspect that cannot be taught or learned, it has to be a fire within yourself. I think my resource of persistence would be the most valuable in the success of my business venture, "Groceries To Go."

Elevator Pitch No. 3

Link to my Elevator Pitch No. 3:
https://youtu.be/kL6NOlOTmC0

I didn't receive any corrective suggestions from my second elevator pitch to apply to my third elevator pitch, but here is what I decided to tweak for myself:

• I tweaked the order of my pitch. In my second elevator pitch I explained my business solution then an "imagine this" situation. For my third elevator pitch I gave the "imagine this" situation and then the solution to it. I thought that was a more attention grabbing order.  
• I supplied the same information that my classmates suggested I go into more detail on from my first elevator pitch suggestions, including emphasizing the hassle of physically going to a grocery store yourself. 
• In general, the flow and sequence of my third elevator pitch was much smoother and I had more confidence in myself and the details of what I was going to say. It came much easier to me this time. It's not perfect but it's much much better. Practice truly does make perfect and I'm glad we did this. It really sank in after this third time.
• Also, thank you to Juan for helping me out technically. He let me know that my second elevator pitch was on the private setting on YouTube so I made sure to fix that for my third elevator pitch. 

Thanks for watching! All feedback is welcome. I look forward to watching my classmates' third elevator pitches.

Idea Napkin No. 2

My business idea: "Groceries To-Go"

1. Me. Not much has changed in this department. I am still a student and work part-time. My talents are being extremely organized and to do list oriented. I am also persistent and goal oriented. My life aspirations are to have a happy family and a successful career. If I were to start this business, it would play a huge role in my life. It would almost be all time consuming and take all of my effort. It would be a big operation and I would have to pioneer it until it was well-established enough for managers to take over. Even then, I would probably still oversee all operations and actions.

2. What am I offering to customers? 
Convenience and time savings! That is first and foremost what I am offering to customers with my service business. The unmet need of my customers would be not having enough time to run all of their errands, specifically grocery shopping, because it is the most time consuming one and it seems like you are always out of something. Plus, who wants to deal with the super congested and annoying grocery store parking lot, aisles, checkout lines, etc?? My company delivers the groceries my customers need directly to their front doorstep within a two hour time-frame, guaranteed. The fee is a small percentage of the order total amount and customers can pay securely through credit card via the website or mobile app, which is also where you select the groceries you need as well as the quantity or can simply upload a picture of your grocery list.

3. Who am I offering it to?
During the further development of my business, I have come to realize that the primary market I am trying to target is working moms of all ages, more likely in their thirties (with younger kids and well established enough to afford the service). What working moms all have in common is that they are stretched too thin and don't always have time to get everything done (read be superwoman). Between juggling kids, a husband, other family members, work, kid's sports, errands, chores, etc, etc, there just isn't always enough time and I'm sure that can be extremely stressful. That's why Groceries To-Go is here to help when it is much needed, or even when it is just desired as a luxury service.

I was lucky enough to get some really helpful feedback from my classmates. Although I believe that my service primarily focuses on working moms, my classmates said that it would also be beneficial for elders (which I mentioned) and college students (hadn't thought of that). I definitely want to pay attention to these aspects and market to them as well.

4. Why do they care?
My customers would care because it saves them time, stress, and hassle. They would pay for my service because it would allow them to do more valuable things with their time such as spend more time with their family and friends, do other errands/chores, or simply relax and enjoy themselves.

5. What are my core competencies?
What sets me apart from everyone else is that there is not anyone else that is big in this area. I can save people the fussy task of grocery shopping by doing it for them. My company also offers the option to upload your grocery list to the mobile app as well as a two hour delivery guarantee. These aspects make my business special.

I do believe that these five elements fit together well. They are all pretty in tune with one another and match up well. I don't see one that is specifically out-of-joint with the rest. The only thing at this point that I'd like to do is further research on the competition. Is there any? What is their business model? What is their service area? Pricing? Are they successful or failing?

Feedback memo:
Five main points that I took from the feedback I received are:

• Description of how the service works, what are the details.
• Clarification of the pricing/fees
• Explanation of how to pay and if it's secure
• Emphasize the hassle of congested grocery stores in order to relate to others
• Market to elders and college students in addition to working moms

I incorporated all of these feedback aspects into my second idea napkin by discussing them individually and going into great detail on them, especially in element points #2 and #3.

Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I chose to explore from the second reading list options was Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.

The reason I chose this book is because I was initially attracted to the title itself. I am a big believer in the quote, "think positive and positive things will happen." I believe your mindset can change your entire life by affecting you and influencing what happens in your life.

1. The general theme/argument of Mindset was (as said in the words of the author, Carol Dweck):
"For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt of yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life." - Carol Dweck

Dweck says that your mindset affects every aspect of your life including parenting, business, school, and relationships, etc. Your mindset affects your self-awareness, self-esteem, creativity, ability to face challenges, resilience to setbacks, levels of depression, and tendency to stereotype, among other things. It boils down to two main mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset is stuck in its ways. It desires to look smart and therefore avoids challenges, gives up easily, dislikes effort, and ignores feedback. The growth mindset is flexible. It desires to learn and therefore welcomes challenge, is persistent, values effort, and learns from criticism. The growth mindset is the one you want to achieve. Dweck says that the number one way to begin to change your mindset is to be aware of it. 

2. Mindset connects with what we are learning in class because it reinforces the entrepreneurial mindset and personality that we have been practicing. I noticed throughout the reading that the growth mindset Dweck discusses and the entrepreneurial mindset that we have been practicing have so much in common: they both value challenge, persistence, effort, and criticism. They embrace it, not run from it. 

3. If I had to design an exercise for this class based on Mindset, it would be some sort of cognitive thought process challenge that would help us to think in the growth mindset. We would have to keep a journal for thirty days and write down our thoughts, what our normal response would be, and what the growth mindset response would be. It would force us to look at the alternative perception and place ourselves in other shoes. At the end of the challenge, we would discuss whether the change in mindset helped with perceptions, actions, and overall feelings. Did the new mindset begin to become habitual? Did it grow on you? How did it make you feel? Did you like that? How did it help you to handle a situation differently? Did it benefit you or change you overall? How? Do you think you will try to stick with it?

4. My aha moment while reading Mindset was when the book reported that a mindset "limits our potential or enables our success. It often marks the difference between excellence and mediocrity."

Wow! Your mindset truly impacts every single aspect of your life. It helped me to realize that you can choose how you want to think, process things, react, etc. While you are often not in control of what happens around you and what people say to you, you are in control of your mindset and what you choose to do with these outside forces. You are in control of your life and where you are going with it.

My Secret Sauce

1. Five things that I think make me unique:

• Drive to learn more skills, get a great education and career, be successful
• Very level-minded when it comes to filtering negative influences out and maintaining who I am
• Truthful and goodhearted, honest and genuine
• Values family, people, and relationships very much. Cherishes loved ones and tries to make them feel special. Quality time and quality conversation oriented, good listener. 
• Good at staying on track, making a to do list and setting goals, achieving them. Very organized, good at being prepared and not procrastinating. 

2. Links to my five secret sauce interviews:

Travis - https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/travis-secret-sauce-1/s-AzfWj
Key takeaways: organized, smart, driven, caring

Natalie - https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/natalie-secret-sauce/s-ASkbH
Natalie said I was outgoing and good at making friends in new situations. Although I am usually bubbly it still surprised me and was nice to hear because I feel I can be a bit of an introvert sometimes.

Mom - https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/mom-secret-sauce/s-AhK2U
Key takeaway: quality person and cherish people, special relationships

Dad - https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/dad-secret-sauce-1/s-v7grs
Key takeaway: understanding, driven, smart, creative and good imagination

Ryan (brother) - https://soundcloud.com/user-752844123/ryan-secret-sauce/s-ADFEE
Key takeaway - caring towards people I really love, driven

3. I did learn some new things about myself. The thing almost everyone said consistently that made me feel the best was that I love my loved ones very much and it shows. I cherish my loved ones and enjoy spending time with them. I also learned that people see me as driven and outgoing. I do think these things are true and it was really nice to hear these things.

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!