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.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
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.
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.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Create a Customer Avatar
My prototypical customer for GMO products would be a middle-aged farmer (male or female, but for this assignment we will use a male). The reason I chose this as my prototypical customer is due to the fact that they will go into a store and purposely buy fresh fruits and vegetables (especially local) so that they can support the industry that they work in. I also chose this customer for GMO products because they tend to be informed on the matter and will buy these products vs. an organic or non-GMO alternative. Their hobbies include spending time with family, watching football on Saturdays, and outdoors activities like boating. They drive, of course, a pick up truck. They are always watching the weather channel to prepare their farm for any upcoming weather. They feel 30 years older than they actually are because of the back-breaking work that they have done their whole life on the farm. Their whole focus is making a profit from their products because if anything goes wrong on the farm, they can lose a lot of money. They devote countless hours into managing their crops and their employees.
I feel that I have a lot in common with my prototypical customer, other than the age of course. I plan on working in the industry when I am older and like them, I purposely go out of my way in a store to buy products that have been grown locally and using conventional methods. I do not think it is a coincidence that I have things in common with my prototypical customer because I have always wanted to work in this industry and picked my business opportunity based on this.
I feel that I have a lot in common with my prototypical customer, other than the age of course. I plan on working in the industry when I am older and like them, I purposely go out of my way in a store to buy products that have been grown locally and using conventional methods. I do not think it is a coincidence that I have things in common with my prototypical customer because I have always wanted to work in this industry and picked my business opportunity based on this.
Elevator Pitch No. 2
https://youtu.be/Bj3Armnk1xg
I was not able to complete the last elevator pitch so any feedback for this one would be greatly appreciated!
I was not able to complete the last elevator pitch so any feedback for this one would be greatly appreciated!
Friday, October 18, 2019
Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2
Interview 1: During this first interview, I learned that this customer takes price into consideration when buying anything from the grocery store, especially fruits and vegetables because there can be a large price difference when it comes to organic vs. non-organic and GMO vs. non-GMO and other things like that. Quality is also something that she always considers when buying fruits and vegetables because she wants the best for her family. For these particular products, she says going to a grocery store to evaluate her purchases of fruits and vegetables is the only way to go and obviously use cash when checking out. Shelf life and quality of the good is something that this customer reflects on after her purchase. When fruits and vegetables are high quality, it allows her to feed her kids the best of the best and she feels safe doing it, but when receiving low quality goods, she immediately reflects on how she could have bought something different.
Interview 2: During my second interview with one of my friend's dads who grocery shops often, he informed me that, like the first interview, price and quality are very big when it comes to buying fruits and vegetables. He does not have a preference either way when it comes to organic vs. non-organic and GMO vs. non-GMO, but instead likes to take a look at the quality of the goods that he is buying, making sure to get the most out of what he is paying for. He always prefers to buy these goods in a store so that he can look at the products he is buying with his own eye since the quality of fruits and vegetables can differ. The thing that matters most to him after he purchases these products is to get the most out of them. He does not like to waste food so using all of his purchases in the best way that he can makes it a good purchase. Whenever food goes wasted in his house is when he feels as if they were a bad purchase.
Interview 3: During my third interview with a friend's mom, she informed me that she always looks for organic and non-GMO products and that the price of them does not matter so much to her. Quality of the products is another big thing that she looks at when comparing organic products. She typically prefers to buy at a local food market so that she knows the fruits and vegetables that she is buying is fresh and have not been through a lot of processing like conventional products. What matters most to her after she purchases these products is that they are safe for her family's consumption and that they have not been genetically modified. She is very satisfied when she can taste the freshness of the goods that she buys. She says that she the purchase is a bad idea when she may have not read the labels on a product right or the product is mislabeled.
Based on this segment, I would conclude that price and quality of products is a huge factor when it comes to these customers. This would give conventional farmers a competitive advantage because conventional products tend to be lower priced than organic and non-GMO products. All of these customers prefer to buy in store so that they can evaluate the quality of the product that they are buying and I would conclude that quality of the product is what they look into most after they have purchased it (things like shelf-life, freshness when consumed, and other things). Things like wasted food, bad quality, and mislabeling are all things that these customers see as a failed purchase.
Interview 2: During my second interview with one of my friend's dads who grocery shops often, he informed me that, like the first interview, price and quality are very big when it comes to buying fruits and vegetables. He does not have a preference either way when it comes to organic vs. non-organic and GMO vs. non-GMO, but instead likes to take a look at the quality of the goods that he is buying, making sure to get the most out of what he is paying for. He always prefers to buy these goods in a store so that he can look at the products he is buying with his own eye since the quality of fruits and vegetables can differ. The thing that matters most to him after he purchases these products is to get the most out of them. He does not like to waste food so using all of his purchases in the best way that he can makes it a good purchase. Whenever food goes wasted in his house is when he feels as if they were a bad purchase.
Interview 3: During my third interview with a friend's mom, she informed me that she always looks for organic and non-GMO products and that the price of them does not matter so much to her. Quality of the products is another big thing that she looks at when comparing organic products. She typically prefers to buy at a local food market so that she knows the fruits and vegetables that she is buying is fresh and have not been through a lot of processing like conventional products. What matters most to her after she purchases these products is that they are safe for her family's consumption and that they have not been genetically modified. She is very satisfied when she can taste the freshness of the goods that she buys. She says that she the purchase is a bad idea when she may have not read the labels on a product right or the product is mislabeled.
Based on this segment, I would conclude that price and quality of products is a huge factor when it comes to these customers. This would give conventional farmers a competitive advantage because conventional products tend to be lower priced than organic and non-GMO products. All of these customers prefer to buy in store so that they can evaluate the quality of the product that they are buying and I would conclude that quality of the product is what they look into most after they have purchased it (things like shelf-life, freshness when consumed, and other things). Things like wasted food, bad quality, and mislabeling are all things that these customers see as a failed purchase.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Halfway Reflection
1) Some of the behaviors that I have used and developed to keep up with the requirements of this course is keeping up with a calendar and managing my time in a way that I put aside enough time for each assignment. The noon deadline was something that I personally had to get used to as I have had midnight deadlines for most classes, so telling myself to get these assignments done the night before instead of waiting for the morning of has helped me a lot.
2) Once the semester really started to get busy and exams started, I felt like giving up on a lot of assignments. With this being my senior year, many of my classes are tough as well as the assignments that come with them, so whenever these classes really started to get into it, I had a lot on my plate. With this class being an elective for me, it was easy to try and push aside these assignments, but the fact that I am almost to graduation and trying to keep my GPA up had motivated me to keep pushing through and completing assignments. I feel as if I have definitely developed a tenacious attitude in the past two months due to experiences like mentioned before. The past few weeks, I have had multiple exams, case studies, projects, and other assignments due on top of my work schedule, so taking everything one thing at a time and feeling the accomplishment of completing each assignment has helped tremendously.
3) Three tips I would give to next semester's students would be: Find someone that is serious about their school work and spend time with them and study with them (this really helps with motivation when doing schoolwork), keep a calendar by your bedroom door with everything you need to do for the day so you know exactly what needs to be done as soon as you wake up, and do not be afraid to ask for help from teachers or friends, this helps with your confidence when completing work.
2) Once the semester really started to get busy and exams started, I felt like giving up on a lot of assignments. With this being my senior year, many of my classes are tough as well as the assignments that come with them, so whenever these classes really started to get into it, I had a lot on my plate. With this class being an elective for me, it was easy to try and push aside these assignments, but the fact that I am almost to graduation and trying to keep my GPA up had motivated me to keep pushing through and completing assignments. I feel as if I have definitely developed a tenacious attitude in the past two months due to experiences like mentioned before. The past few weeks, I have had multiple exams, case studies, projects, and other assignments due on top of my work schedule, so taking everything one thing at a time and feeling the accomplishment of completing each assignment has helped tremendously.
3) Three tips I would give to next semester's students would be: Find someone that is serious about their school work and spend time with them and study with them (this really helps with motivation when doing schoolwork), keep a calendar by your bedroom door with everything you need to do for the day so you know exactly what needs to be done as soon as you wake up, and do not be afraid to ask for help from teachers or friends, this helps with your confidence when completing work.
Reading Reflection No. 1
I chose Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance
1) What surprised me the most about Elon Musk was that he was the founder of more than just SpaceX and Tesla. I did not realize that he founded PayPal, and that he sold it for $1.5 billion. Another thing that surprised me was how long he had been working on SpaceX and Tesla. These are things that have really made an impact recently, but I did not hear about them much growing up.
What I admire most about Elon Musk is his ability to bounce back and keep going after failing and being at the bottom. What I admired least about him was how he could get impatient with those that he hired due to his ambition. Elon Musk countless times encountered adversity and failures. He always kept pushing, though, which has lead to some of his greatest creations, including Tesla and SpaceX.
2) Elon Musk exhibits an insane work ethic and overcomes adversity when it is presented to him. He also has the ability to solve basically anything that he comes across.
3) For me, a confusing part of the book was some of Musk's jargon when speaking on things like SpaceX that would go over the ordinary person's head.
4) One question I would ask him would be how soon does he think that electric cars will replace gas vehicles, realistically? I would ask him this because while Elon Musk can be very ambitious and anticipate things before they become true, this is an important problem that needs to be addressed. Another question I would ask him is if he could take a break from everything and do anything he wanted, what it would be. I would ask him this because he is constantly working and does not take breaks or even long vacations in which he addresses in the book.
5) I believe Elon Musk's opinion of hard work is to never give up on anything and to work every day toward what you are passionate about. This is very similar to my opinion on hard work, I believe that everyone should be passionate about what they are working for and always give 100%.
1) What surprised me the most about Elon Musk was that he was the founder of more than just SpaceX and Tesla. I did not realize that he founded PayPal, and that he sold it for $1.5 billion. Another thing that surprised me was how long he had been working on SpaceX and Tesla. These are things that have really made an impact recently, but I did not hear about them much growing up.
What I admire most about Elon Musk is his ability to bounce back and keep going after failing and being at the bottom. What I admired least about him was how he could get impatient with those that he hired due to his ambition. Elon Musk countless times encountered adversity and failures. He always kept pushing, though, which has lead to some of his greatest creations, including Tesla and SpaceX.
2) Elon Musk exhibits an insane work ethic and overcomes adversity when it is presented to him. He also has the ability to solve basically anything that he comes across.
3) For me, a confusing part of the book was some of Musk's jargon when speaking on things like SpaceX that would go over the ordinary person's head.
4) One question I would ask him would be how soon does he think that electric cars will replace gas vehicles, realistically? I would ask him this because while Elon Musk can be very ambitious and anticipate things before they become true, this is an important problem that needs to be addressed. Another question I would ask him is if he could take a break from everything and do anything he wanted, what it would be. I would ask him this because he is constantly working and does not take breaks or even long vacations in which he addresses in the book.
5) I believe Elon Musk's opinion of hard work is to never give up on anything and to work every day toward what you are passionate about. This is very similar to my opinion on hard work, I believe that everyone should be passionate about what they are working for and always give 100%.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Idea Napkin No. 1
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 first started in a job that farms corn, cabbage, and beans and I am currently working at UF's Agronomy and Forage Research Unit. I would love to work in the industry after college, especially on the business side of it. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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