Assignment 14A

During this course, I developed into someone who is much more responsible. What I mean by this is that all my assignments are turned in early and they are done to the best standard possible. This also shows that I am a results-oriented kind of person when it comes to this class and everything else I have to do this semester.

I felt like giving up last semester when I was taking Calculus Two. This class was the hardest math class I have ever taken in my entire life. After scoring the lowest on my first test compared to my many previous math courses, I felt lost. However, what kept me going was my determination to get my degree in finance. In the end, I was able to complete the course, and I am on my way to getting my degree.

Tips:

1) Have an end goal in mind: Why are you doing this course? Because you want to be an entrepreneur or something like that.

2) Take a look around the world. What I mean by this is you need to look at how people are living in Africa, Asia, and South America, and use your desire to be well off in order to motivate yourself. Although this is not a nice way to put it, I found myself much more determined to work hard after driving through a crime-ridden neighborhood or reading global news.

3) Develop a routine of success. Always do the best you can do in any assignment. Try to find a routine that allows you to achieve success, and you will find yourself doing better on exams and assignments.

Assignment 13A

I was surprised the most that McDonald’s was essentially stolen from the original owners of the restaurant. I most admire Ray’s determination to be successful. However, I did not like Ray gave up his family for his business. Ray did have trouble dealing with the McDonald’s brothers as they were not helpful at all with expanding the business. They were more focused on running their restaurant in California. Ray exhibited that he was able to negotiate with the meat cartels in California so that he would be able to sell hamburgers at fifteen cents each. Honestly, I found the part about the “meat cartel” to be most confusing. Why was the federal government not doing anything about these horrible suppliers that were ripping off businesses? That part definitely confused me. If I could ask Ray two questions I would ask about if he would do it again. What I mean by that is would he dedicate his life again to his business if he had a do-over, or would he spend more time with his loved ones? Also, with the foresight you have now, what would you change in your business strategy from day one? I know that Ray believed in hard work. From selling paper cups to playing the piano for extra money, Ray knew that hard work was required in order to be successful. I completely share this opinion.

Assignment 12

Choosing a segment:

I decided to choose mothers and mothers that have at least two children and a pet.

These three couples that I chose are generally all extremely busy. Both the father and the mother of each set were working full time as well. These examples are the perfect sample of the people that would most likely busy my product.

Interviews:

What I learned-

I learned that there is still a great demand for a product like mine. One father mentioned that he liked how he could have a two-in-one purchase: the dog toy and camera. The mother chimed in saying she liked being able to view from her phone a live feed of the camera in the toy. I asked the families if they found it annoying the product would require battery changes every month. One father stated he found it a little tedious. However, he said that that factor would not stop him from purchasing the product. One of the couples stated that they had a break-in recently and the robber hit the cameras in their home with a baseball bat when they were out of town. That was the moment they decided they needed a security camera that was untraceable. They tried searching online on Amazon to look for a hidden camera. I should probably put this item on Amazon and promote it on the website.

Assignment 11

You: I am a junior at the University of Florida, and I am majoring in finance. I have certifications in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. My aspiration is to own a profitable business. I believe my business will end up taking up most of my time.

What you are offering: I am offering a two in one product: a dog toy and a camera for home security. Every year, thousands of homes in the United States alone are broken into. Additionally, thousands of pet owners experience problems from animals that have separation anxiety. This device will function as both an indestructible dog toy that will save the owner from having to buy more and more dog toys and also serve as a security measure with the camera inside.

Who are you offering to: I am offering my product to younger employed pet owners and busy families that also have pets. These owners can be of any race, gender, or color. Mostly, younger people and families that are busy will be the key market segment.

Why do they care: People will pay money to use my product because of the efficiency of the purchase. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on security cameras and security subscriptions, people can spend 19.99 on my indestructible dog toy that so happens to be a dog toy too. Also, this toy will limit the number of dog toys purchased over the years.

Core competencies: Nobody else has thought of having an indestructible dog toy that also acts as an additional layer of security. I would have the entire market share for this product in the beginning.

I believe that these elements do fit together. I have a clear goal of establishing a business that will be profitable. I also have a great product that nobody else is offering at the moment. Also, I have a large market to advertise this new product to. Additionally, people will see that this one-time purchase would save them time, worry, and money. Moreover, this product has an affordable price at only 19.99, which will make it easy for people of all economic backgrounds to buy.  At the end of the day, this is a new, smart product that any American and anyone around the world would like to have.

Assignment 10A

Assignment 9A

Who: Throughout my interviews, I found one section of the population that would not want to buy my invention: older people. The toy I am bringing to the market will be for active people that are often not at their homes. Seniors generally are less active than young people with jobs and younger families. Also, this toy will require the client to be tech-savvy, which many seniors are not the most tech-literate.

What: The older gentleman made a great point. Once the dog/pet is used to its surroundings, then this destructive behavior will likely subside. While this is a fantastic point, I believe people will also get the toy as a sense of security too.

Why: The people outside and inside the boundary have a similar problem. However, the people outside the boundary are much less likely to have the problem due to their lower activity levels.

                           Inside the Boundary                                                                  

Who:            Younger-working people, busy families                                                

What:            Security, home-protection                                                                          

                                                                                                                         

                                        

Why:        Busy individuals or families may not                                               

                 have time to always be home with                                                   

                their animal.

                          

                          Outside the boundary

Who:  Seniors

What: home protection from animal damage

Why: These people are more likely to stay home

Assignment 8A

·       My invention is an indestructible dog toy that allows the owner to see and speak to their pet when they are not home. This product will have a camera for viewing, and it will be accessible through an application that can be downloaded on your phone or computer. Using advanced technology, the camera on the toy will be able to identify when the dog is in the process of destroying an object and will alert the owner through in-app notifications.

·       Every year, thousands of homes across the United States and the world are damaged as a result of pet separation anxiety, which is caused by the isolation of the animal without any other being present. I believe that my invention will save individuals thousands in damage and will also act as security when they are not home. What robber is would think the dog toy has a camera in it?

·       I believe millions of consumers will buy my product because of the two-for-one deal they get: security and destruction safety.

Assignment 7A

Assignment 7A

Animal Separation Anxiety:

·       Opportunity:

o   Every year, thousands of pet owners have to deal with the consequences of leaving their animal alone at home.

o   The Who: pet owners of all ages

o   The What: pets causing damage when left alone

o   The Why: leaving pets home alone, which causes separation anxiety and damage

Testing the who: These pet owners can be from around the world as this is a worldwide problem

Testing the what: I will interview dog, cat, and other animal owners in order to get to the bottom of this problem that impacts so many animals.

Testing the why: I understand already why this occurs. Many animals will suffer from separation anxiety when left alone, generally at a younger age.

Interview 1: In this interview, conducted with a twenty-five-year-old male, I discovered that this man ran into trouble with his pet when he had to start working longer hours. In college, he usually had to leave his dog alone for four hours at the most.

Interview 2: Next, I interviewed a female of a similar age to see if this was true of both genders. At the end of the interview, I was able to confirm that this indeed was not just a problem for newly working females.

Interview 3: Next, I interviewed a middle-aged female that had a family of five. She had never experienced this problem of separation anxiety because she never had to leave her dog alone for long periods of time due to the fact that she was a stay at home mom.

Interview 4: I talked to an older gentleman, who so happened to be my grandfather, over the phone. He had a similar response to the lady above. Due to the fact that he was home most of the time, he does not remember a time his cat damaged the house.

Interview 5: Lastly, I interviewed someone I knew had a dog suffering from anxiety. She said that she would give the dog treats whenever she got home, and the house was not damaged. When the house was damaged, she brought the dog to the scene of the crime and punished the dog.

Given your interviews, what do you know about your opportunity that you didn’t know before?

I know that I am targeting people that have busy lives. Thus, older people are not going to be one of my top customers. Also, I now know that I have a great idea. Many Americans and people around the world have pets that have separation anxiety. As a result, I am happy I am pursuing this opportunity.

Assignment 6A

Economic Trend: Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

o   Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2020-01-29/jerome-powell-federal-reserve-leave-interest-rates-unchanged

o   There is an opportunity here. The Federal Reserve of the United States has been lowering interest rates for the past year in an effort to increase market liquidity. The response to the news could cause an economic downturn.

o   The ideal customer would-be investors and Americans that have access to vast amounts of disposable income.

o   I saw this opportunity because I am extremely interested in the stock market. The average American would see this headline and think that this change is no big deal. However, with my experience, I know this one move from the Fed could end this bull market fast.

Economic Trend: Sentiment Among U.S. Consumers at an 8-Month High

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sentiment-among-u-consumers-rises-150000910.html

o   There is a great opportunity here. Looking at the results from the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey. The sentiment index is up to 99.8 from 99.3 in December. This fact shows that consumers are not worried about the state of the economy, which means they are not changing their spendi9ng habits anytime soon

o   The ideal customer would be the average American consumer. These people can be part-time or full-time workers.

o   This data would be a welcome sign for corporations wondering if they should increase investments in the United States.

o   I saw this data because I am always looking at the health of the United State’s economy.

Regulation: Fix the “Hodgepodge Cryptocurrency Regulation in the United States

https://www.coindesk.com/andrew-yang-us-has-to-fix-its-hodgepodge-crypto-regulation

o   This is a great opportunity. Although there has been no clear federal regulation of cryptocurrency, it would be beneficial to have one set of rules in the United States regarding this new currency. Clear regulation would allow businesses, scientists, and entertainment personalities to be supported by fans and others in different ways.

o   The ideal customer would be businesses across the United States, scientists, and others to get funding for their work from across the world.

o   I discovered this opportunity because I have run into this exact problem myself when using crypto. It is annoying to have to read state by state rules on this currency.

Regulation: U.S. Agencies Debut New Biotech Regulation Website

https://www.world-grain.com/articles/13132-us-agencies-debut-new-biotech-regulation-website

o   I believe an opportunity exists as a result of the creation of this new biotech regulation website. This new website, which was created as a result of an executive order of President Trump, will allow innovation to occur more easily.

o   I believe all inventors will benefit greatly here. Now that this website has been created, it will allow innovation to become more efficient and less costly as it will be easier to see all the regulation.

o   I discovered this opportunity because I always wondered how innovators knew what regulations they had to follow. It seems now that this new website will streamline the process.