ENT3003 BLOG!

Contact #1 Mr. Leiheiser  This person owns a small ice-cream shop that offers drinks. As the owner of this small business, he is familiar with the supplies he requires and the laws he must be in compliance with. As such, they fill my domain expert bucket. I found this contact as he is an old school mate's father and his shop is in my home town. I contacted him by going to the shop. His favor was providing me with feedback. For now, our hometown is plastic straw friendly. However, Ponte Vedra is a beach town and I anticipate that a ban is in our future. I returned the favor by recommending the shop on my Instagram story, which around 500 people see. Mr. Leinheiser is a friend of our town and is friends with many of the important execs that take up residence in PVB. Contact #2 Mr. Murphy Mr. Murphy is a high up exec of a distribution organization. He is an expert on supplier relations and the process of sourcing and distributing materials. As such, he fills the important ...

My name is Kelly Shields and I am a freshman at the University of Florida. I am a Finance major and hope to one day work in the financial sector. I enjoy swimming, the outdoors, reading and meeting new people. I consider my skills to be helpful in this course, as I am a people-person and enjoy networking and listening to people. I am offering a biodegradable plastic lid with a unique key-hole design that allows for the use of your beverage for both sipping and securing paper straws in the lid. Previously, paper straws would degrade quickly due to outside pressure of the traditional, pronged lid. That traditional lid was made to function with a plastic straw, and as the straw evolves, so must the lid. I am offering this product to businesses that sell drinks in areas with a plastic straw ban. They care because straws are convenient. When customers lose this convenience they're used to, it could reflect poorly upon their business. For this reason, they want a solution to paper straw...

Based on the feedback of my last post, I was more interactive. Because of the COVID-19 diaspora,  I was unable to locate proper clothing and had to make do with the most unobtrusive shirt I had. In the future, I will dress in a business fashion.

If I can imagine a prototypical customer for my product, it would be either be a mom and pop shop with a more nutritious/eco-friendly mentality or an eco-warrior Millenial/gen z. What do  you  have in common with the customer avatar? Although I am a zoomer, I am unfortunately not very environmentally proactive. I am conscious of my own impact on the environment and my pollution contribution.  If you have anything in common with the avatar, do you think that is a coincidence? Why? It's not a coincidence. We are similar because we faced the same customer need. If I experience this discrepancy on a day to day basis as a young person in a single use straw banned county, then others have too. 

In being an entrepreneur, I think there are several factors that are advantageous. Of these advantageous traits, I believe that I am a hard worker, engaging, personable, resourceful, and curious. Willingness to put in the hours is necessary to be a successful entrepreneur and provides many advantages moving forward. Without drive, nothing gets done and the wheels of the business don't turn. Furthermore, being able to listen to those around you and make them feel heard is a great way to get people to listen to you in turn. Investors and potential customers appreciate someone who isn't just going through the motions but is actively participating in and enhancing the flow of dialogue. When I asked my friends, peers, and family members what traits of mine they thought were advantageous in being an entrepreneur, I received a mixed response. My father detailed upon hard-work and resourcefulness, as these were traits he instilled upon me and all my siblings since we were young. My fr...

In this instance, I further investigated the customer opinion toward my product and the behavior process surrounding this segment. From these three interviews, I was able to assess the attitudes of potential buyers as well as the attractiveness of the product. I inquired to each person how they approach the plastic straw alternative issue. Two out of three conveyed that they would not bring around a metal straw, because it is a nuisance and is unsanitary. The third elaborated on concerns of cleanliness. A reusable straw alternative being toted around by an individual can easily become dirty and unsanitary. Following recent concerns surrounding COVID-19, cleanliness and sterile products are of utmost necessity, especially with a straw or lid that comes in direct contact with your mouth. Under these conditions, a disposable product is optimal, considering the single-use need and sanitary packaging. Other alternatives include simply not using a straw for sipping. Upon ques...