Final Reflection

I think my most formative experience thus far in this class would be the elevator pitches. Those assignments were very helpful for me to learn how to pitch a business idea confidently in a short period of time. This helps with public speaking skills and persuasion skills as well. My most joyous experience in this class would be creating the customer avatar. This was a really neat and creative experience that also allowed me to pinpoint what my potential customer would be. The experience I am most proud of for accomplishing would be the elevator pitch as well. As I stated before, this assignment helped with my public speaking skills and my confidence in presenting an idea.

I would say that this class has helped me become an entrepreneur. Obviously, there are a lot of skills that I need to work on that would take time, but this class has definitely helped me identify these skills and start to work on them. My mindset has shifted to more of an entrepreneurial one.

One recommendation I would have for those going down this path would be to keep an open mind. When becoming an entrepreneur, it is important to know that there are going to be unexpected events and you have to be able to keep an open mind to be able to conquer them. For this course, I would recommend staying to a strict schedule. Personally, I struggled at some points in this class with keeping up with the due date on assignments as I am not used to a noon deadline. To foster this mindset, I would say to set reminders on their phone which will get them into a habit of doing assignments on time.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: The opportunity that I have defined is the need that consumers possess to have access to safe, environmentally friendly food. Those who mainly possess this need are families who would like to feed their family fresh, safe food and those who are mindful of the environment and the effects that large, conventional agriculture can have. This need is not necessarily prevalent among all consumers, but in recent years, this need has grown to where it has affected how farmers grow their food. As more and more people are concerned about the environment and what they eat, this need has grown with it. Organic products that are perceived as both safe and environmentally friendly have become more common in stores. This need has grown mostly in the United States, specifically in urban areas that have not had first-hand experiences around agriculture. Currently, customers have been promoting these organic products and buying local to try and combat this problem. For the most part, these customers are loyal but some can stray from their efforts. This window of opportunity will be open for years to come.

Innovation: My innovation would create a way to provide these customers fresh, environmentally friendly foods and show these customers the process that goes into growing the food that they eat. Basically, instead of growing organic products that are very labor intensive and risky, I would grow GMO crops, set up local farmer’s markets, and promote all of the advantages that these products provide. These GMO products are actually very environmentally friendly because they give crops traits like drought resistance, pest resistance, larger yield, and more. The farm tours I would provide for free to start to shift the mindset of these customers who do not buy conventional agricultural products, but then I would set up local farmer’s markets where I would charge a smaller percentage higher than the average price of these products in order to make a profit (and since these are local and fresh, they would sell for more money).

Venture Concept: This innovation will help meet customer needs because it will address the problem that these customers have with conventional agriculture. By showing these customers the process that goes into growing crops and describing all of the different advantages that comes with these products, these customers will be more open to buying them and promoting them elsewhere. I believe it would be hard to get them to switch at first due to the negative mindset that these customers currently have towards conventional agriculture, but I believe that the farm tours would help with this process. My competitors would be those who partake in organic agriculture. Their possible weaknesses would include the intensive labor that goes into this and the fact that this type of agriculture also uses chemicals on their crops which is something many of these customers do not know. I believe that the customer experience would be my selling point of my concept. When customers get the opportunity to see how their food is grown and are able to have the experience of a local market (which are actually very neat), they would be more open to buying. I would start small, though, with maybe around 1,000 acres and a few employees to keep up with maintenance and to also run the market. That would be pretty much it as it does not take too many employees to run a farm that size.

Most Important Resource: My most important resource would be the uniqueness of this business. Currently, there are really not many businesses that promote conventional agriculture on a small scale and offer farm tours to customers.

What’s Next for the Venture?: I would like to expand this business into more urban communities after getting established. Obviously, I would need land to grow crops but if I could find land close enough to an urban setting, I believe that expanding to these areas would be key.

What’s Next for Me?: I would like to be growing these crops on a large scale and eventually give this business opportunity of giving farm tours and farmer’s markets to some managers instead of doing it myself. Going to a large scale farm would allow me to ship these products elsewhere.

I did not complete my first venture concept so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Your Exit Strategy

1) With my business, I plan on keeping it for years to come and retiring, eventually passing it down to the right management.

2) I plan on choosing this exit strategy because this business in agriculture is something I am passionate in and believe that I can make an impact on the community if the business is managed well. It would be something that I enjoy, allowing me to work with it full time and keep it for years if successful.

3) This exit strategy is definitely something that I considered when developing a thought process about my opportunity. When creating a business that involves farming, it is something that you might not see a big profit in for the first few years, but after a while can be successful if managed well. It is also something that is a big investment, and for those that are passionate about the industry, it is something that they keep with for years rather than moving in and out of the industry. Choosing to stay with the business has also affected my future decision to possibly grow this business to the surrounding communities. Being able to retire knowing that you made an impact on the community and grew your business to benefit the surrounding area would be a huge accomplishment.

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) For this reading reflection, I chose Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. The main idea in the book is to develop a "growth mindset" rather than a "fixed mindset". In other words, people who have a fixed mindset only believe that their talents are fixed and are simply what they are, no better or no worse. Those who develop a growth mindset realize potential talent and know that these traits can be developed on.

2) In my opinion, this book connected with what I have learned in ENT 3003 because it stressed the importance of being able to develop yourself into a better person, which has been stressed in this course as well. Everyone has the chance to develop skills within themselves and can be successful as long as they have the right mindset and dedicate themselves to focusing on their growth. This class is centered around the growth of the individual and how we can be successful, which goes hand in hand with the book.

3) If I had to design an exercise for this class based on the book, I would make one that allows students to pinpoint certain characteristics of themselves that they believe are important to be an entrepreneur and that they can work on to be a better person. These skills can be anything that would allow them to be a successful business owner and gives the student the opportunity to recognize a skill that they could develop.

4) My biggest surprise in this book would be realizing that I have sort of had a "fixed mindset" about some of my abilities. I have always believed that there are skills that I have that are just there and cannot be helped or hurt, but after reading this book, I realized that with the right mindset, I can develop anything that I want to as long as I want it bad enough.

Celebrating Failure

1) I would say that one time during this semester would be during some homework assignments for one of my finance classes. There are specific homework assignments that we have to do that are of more difficulty where the professor pushes us to do everything on our own. The very first one that we had was a huge challenge for me and it took me a while to try to figure it out. I would say that this would be one of my bigger failures throughout this semester for the fact that it took me a few tries to get this finance assignment down. I tried over and over again to understand the concepts of the assignment and failed time and time again.

2) From this assignment, I learned not to give up and to keep trying. Although it took me multiple times to get the assignment down, I did not stop trying and learned from my mistakes. Trial and error was a big part of the assignment and eventually it got me to where I needed to be. The professor was willing to help out, but also pushed us and did not give us too much information so that we could try and figure it out on our own. This eventually helped in the long run because it helped us develop our problem solving skills and allowed us to do our own research.

3) Personally, I think failure is necessary. If someone does not know the feeling of failure and what it means, then success will not be as fulfilling. Failure allows people to learn from their mistakes and correct any flaws that they have. For me, I use failure as an opportunity to better myself. I look at what I did wrong and see what I can do to correct it so that I do not make the same mistake in the future. I view failure as a positive thing for the most part. This class has definitely helped with me perspective on failure as well. I am more willing to take on risk due to the fact that some of the lessons in this class teach us that failure is necessary in order to be successful because it teaches you what not to do.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1. https://youtu.be/XCePyJuNB_Q

2. From my last elevator pitch, some of the feedback I received was to allow the pitch to flow a little smoother by practicing a little more rather than reading off of a script and to also include some sources if I am using statistics. I thought that this was great feedback because it would not only come off as a more genuine pitch, but it would be more credible as well.

3. I believe that this pitch is definitely better than my last one. I was more comfortable in front of the camera for sure. However, I did struggle with memorizing my pitch so I did end up needing to use some notes throughout my pitch to help out. This is one part about my pitch that I could have done better. I feel as if I spoke more confidently in this pitch than the last one.

Reading Reflection No. 2

For my reading, I chose How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

1.  The general theme in this book is to be selfish. I know this sounds crazy, but to go a little further on that, Scott Adams goes over how in order to be successful and help out friends and family, you have to focus on yourself first. If you are struggling personally but still trying to help out everyone else, it is just a burden to them. Focusing on yourself and your energy ensures that you are happy with the way things are going, regardless of the results, and this continued energy will pay off in the long run because you will never get discouraged. He basically breaks down this book into a bunch of different lessons he learned, including setting up systems for yourself rather than goals and focus on your energy.

2. This book connected with me and what I have been learning in ENT 3003 because it goes along with the fact that we focusing on ourselves in order to be successful. Exercises like the elevator pitch, growing our social capital, and the idea napkin all focus on what we can do on our part to be successful and focuses on our strengths.

3. If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, it would be to analyze how comfortable you were with risk and to find what kind of risk you are willing to undertake. In this book, Adams speaks on the fact that everyone has something that they are good at, when analyzing risks, a person would be much more willing to undertake risks when pursuing a career that they have beneficial skills in rather than not. By doing this and looking at the different opportunities that arise from your set of skills, you will be much more comfortable taking risks.

4. I would say the part of the book that differed most from my expectations was people should set up systems for themselves rather than goals. I feel as if most entrepreneurship stories include someone who had specific goals in mind, but Adams describes how you can become very successful by creating a system that you should follow rather than going after concrete goals. Goals are very specific. By setting up a system to follow everyday, it will eventually pay out in the long run due to consistency.

Growing Your Social Capital

1st Person: Farm Manager in Clewiston, FL
a) The first person, Trip, is a farm manager in Clewiston, FL who used to be my boss. He manages a 2,000 acre farm that grows beans, cabbage, and corn. He grew up on that farm as a kid and has worked there for about 20 years now, but has worked all over the agricultural industry.
b) He is the domain expert in this assignment and he fills this spot because he has worked in the industry his whole life and grows conventional crops that are sold in the surrounding community.
c) I found this person because we have been good family friends and I have gotten to know him and what he does on a daily basis.
d) The exchange that I had with him was very good. He is very knowledgable on the industry and had a lot to teach me on the subject. I was fortunate enough to receive a job from him the summer after my freshman year of college. The expected return is for me to help out if he ever needs it. I was able to get the opportunity to learn more about the industry so I am more than willing to help out if he ever needs it.
e) Having this person in my network helps with my opportunities tremendously. He knows a lot of people in the industry and he would give me a good recommendation to whoever I would like to try and get in touch with in the future. If I ever needed a job, he would be one of the first to help me out.

2nd Person: Chemical salesman for Helena
a) This person, who is a good family friend, is a chemical salesman for Helena Chemical Company. They grew up in a small, rural town and went to UF and got a major in horticultural sciences.
b)This person fills the slot of the market expert due to their background in the industry and their degree. They majored in horticultural sciences and work for a chemical company, so they are well versed on chemical application on crops and their effects and how safe they are for consumption after their pre-harvest periods.
c) I found this person because my dad is friends with them and they were willing to talk with me about my business opportunity.
d) This person allowed me to give him my elevator pitch for my business opportunity. He thought that community outreach in this industry would be a great idea to show the public the efficiencies of conventional methods and how cost effective it is to go this way. He thought that this would be a great way to educate people on what farmers go through in order to feed people. The expectation was to reach out to him if I were to ever go about this opportunity because he would be willing to help out in any way possible.
e) Having this person in my network helps with the opportunity of growing my business through a well-known chemical salesman. This would be a great partner in showing the benefits to conventional farming methods.

3rd Person: Distribution manager in South Bay, FL
a) My third person that I contacted, Paul, owns a packing and distribution warehouse in South Bay, FL. He grew up in South Florida and has worked for his family owned farm until he decided to branch out and start up a packing house.
b) The slot that Paul fills would be the supplier. He brings in crops from all different kinds of farms, packages them, and distributes them around the state. (you can actually find his corn in Publix, a brand called Branch)
c) I found this person through the first person, Trip, that I got into contact with. He actually sends all of his corn that he grows to this packing house. He put me into contact after I asked him if he knew a good person that could give me good input on my business opportunity from a supplier perspective.
d) Paul allowed me to pitch my business idea to him and ask him, from a supplier perspective, how consumer preferences have changed and how my business would fare in this climate. He stated that this is a great opportunity, however, the consumer preference has started to shift to organic crops, which in part has affected his business slightly because he takes in conventional crops. He did say, though, that with the right outreach in the local community and surrounding areas, that this business could be very successful, especially the farm tour aspect.
e) This would be a great networking opportunity because his status in the community and the fact that he could be a potential business partner. This would allow me to get my company's name out their from a reputable source.

This experience has shaped how I will participate in any future networking events because it gave me a perspective on what some people are looking for and how to go about gaining new connections. It is good to connect with as many people as possible in order to gain more connections in the future, opening up more opportunities. This did differ from past experiences because I was dealing with people who were very experiences and knowledgable in the industry who had great insight on to what I could possibly do.

Idea Napkin No. 2

Who: I am a senior here at the University of Florida majoring in Food and Resource Economics. I have multiple experiences in the agricultural industry as I have grown up around it my whole life. I started off during my first summer of college working down home at a farm that grew beans, corn, and cabbage and I am currently working at UF's Agronomy and Forage Research Unit. I plan on working in the agricultural business side of the industry. If starting this business, it would play a tremendous role in my life as this industry is a tough one to keep up with. Farmers put in over 80 hours a week in order to maintain their farms and ensure that they are getting the most out of their crops in order to make profit. It would be very tough to start a farm due to competition and low prices in the industry.

What am I offering?: Starting a farm, I will be offering fresh crops to local consumers, whether they are conventional or organic, to ensure that my community gets the freshest and healthiest options on the market. While doing this, I will promote sustainable agriculture and show consumers that even though a product might not be labeled organic, these products are still just as safe and healthy as other products. Along with that, I will also give farm tours to the local community to give consumers a perspective on how their food is grown and the practices that farmers use.

Who am I offering it to?: I will be offering this product to local consumers as well as people around the region around my farm. If I were to be opening up this business in the town that I am from, which is what I would plan on, this product would be offered to those that live there. It is a very small, rural town where the majority in the work force there works in the agricultural industry, so it would be fairly easy to market these products to those that live there because they like to support the industry. If successful, I plan on growing this business to the surrounding areas and incorporate different farms and management.

Why do they care?: As I stated before, the consumers in this area are heavily focused on the agricultural industry and love to support the industry whenever they can. They would especially enjoy buying products from local producers because it would help the local economy in their town and the community there is very close. This would be a good business opportunity because consumers would rather buy local than to buy from somewhere else. Consumers would also care about these services because they would be able to see exactly what is done to grow the food that they eat, ensuring a peace of mind. 

What are my core competencies?: I would offer local deals to the consumers in the area and I would offer free farm tours for anyone from the area. These farm tours would not only be appealing to the consumer, but it would offer insight as to what farmers do on a day-to-day basis and educate the average consumer on the sustainable practices that they use.

Feedback Memo: One main point that I received was to appeal to consumers as much as you can because of the growing negative connotation around agriculture. By doing this, more people would be open to buying conventional crops. Another point that I received through feedback was to try and grow the business if it were successful in my local community. While my surrounding community has a more welcoming opinion of agriculture, if I were to grow this business in urban communities, more consumers would get a perspective of how their food is grown.