How To Find Your Best Customers - The Twenty Percent: Boca Fiesta

80-20 rule is a rule of thumb that states that 80% of outcomes can be attributed to 20% of the causes for a given event. In business, the 80-20 rule is used to help managers identify problems and determine which operating factors are most important and should receive the most attention based on an efficient use of resources. In this occasion, I went to the heart of Downtown Gainesville and interviewed the owner of one of the most popular Bar/restaurants in town, Boca Fiesta. My interviewee was Jacob Ihde, owner of the restaurant. He didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of video-recording him during the interview, so I based my interview on the following format and I wrote down the answers that he provided me during the interview.

Find a business owner and talk to them about their customers:

Interview to Jacob Idhe, owner of the restaurant Boca Fiesta

1.      Who do you think your target customers are?

Jacob Idhe: I believe that our target customers are based on families from the east-side of Gainesville. This is a bar/restaurant that is not only focused on college students, but actually, I believe that our target market is focused on families in general from the east side of Gainesville.

2.      What do you think are your customers' unmet needs?

I believe that my customers are looking for a place to have fun and hang out with friends. We are more like a local place in which we try to make the customer have fun and feel comfortable during his or her visit to our restaurant.

3.      Where do you find your customers?

We don’t do any advertising. We focus on other people from restaurants close to ours. More precisely, we focus our market on customers who are often around the downtown area of Gainesville. The reason why we don’t do advertising is because we didn’t have positive results on previous experiences, and in fact we believe that our method actually works for us.

4.      What are your customer's demographics?

I believe that our customer’s demographics are diverse, but mostly white people. We are accessible to any race/gender/sexuality and I think that what makes us unique is that we have a different style and that’s why our customers choose us.

5.      What kinds of media do your customers consume? 

I believe that my customers are able to find us by using internet and social media like Facebook, etc. We know that we have some customers reading magazines, but I think that most of our customers are more used to the use of internet.

6.      What activities have you done to actually discover and understand your 20 percent?

I know and I can assume and name the 30 customers that represent 20 percent of our business. I am aware of their loyalty to us and I am confident that they represent a significant portion of our sales.

7.      How often do they actively solicit feedback from customers?

We are focused on having feedback from customers. I personally go around and ask them if they think there is anything we could improve in the restaurant.

8.      What kinds of questions do you ask when you ask for feedback?

Most of the times, I go around asking them questions to uncover the unmet needs of customers. I base my research most of the times on asking atmospheric surveys to my customers. For example, last week I approached to different “loyal” customers and I could find out that they think it is a little dark inside sometimes. And now we are working on that matter.

Interviews to potential customers

Reflection

Based on the interviews to both, the customer and the owner of Boca Fiesta, I was able to realize that the owner adequately understand the customer needs. The customers provided answers that were similar to the objectives of the ideal target customer that Jacob Idhle described. It is amazing how popularity and the physical location of this restaurant has made this business so successful in Gainesville. I believe that not too many restaurants share the same advantage as Boca Fiesta, which is by far a common place to go for many people that visit the Downtown area of Gainesville. I believe that the fact that the owner has a clear idea of the customers that represent the 80 percent of his business’ sales is really important for the restaurant, because in this way he can exploit this sector of the market and make sure they are served as they want to be served.

Sources of Capital for Entrepreneurial Ventures - Week 8 Reading Reflection

1)    What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

 What surprised me the most about this reading was the Financing Continuum was that I didn’t thought that there were that many options for startups to obtain finance. In other words, I was not aware of all the investors that actually invest on new ventures. I thought that only the really promising ideas where able to receive a significant investment from investors. I believe that this should be a significant aspect to have in mind for entrepreneurs as they  decide to run a new business because one of the most important characteristics for new ventures is to have the necessary resources as they might face different obstacles throughout the growth of the business.

2)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I was confused by the Figure 8.2 on page 222 where the author includes a chart describing the Venture Capitalist System of Evaluating Product/Service and Management. I believe that the author could provide a better description of this graph as it could be important for readers to have the information included on this page.

3)    If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

If I could ask the author two questions I would ask him the following:

·         Is there any relationship between the type of financing that an entrepreneur is able to get based on the culture and/or country in which the new venture will take place?

·         Is the Financial Continuum applicable all around the world, or it only works on that structure in the U.S?

4)    Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

It was hard for me to find something that was not explained in the right way or anything that I thought the author was wrong about. However, I believe that in page 212 the author states three disadvantages of debt financing that should be reviewed.

·         Regular (monthly) payments are required.

·         Continual cash-flow problems can be intensified because of payback responsibility

·         Heavy use of debt can inhibit growth and development.

         I believe that the three points above should not be considered as disadvantages of          debt financing, in fact, I believe that they should be considered as obligations                that are required in exchange of the financial assistance.

We are in the middle of the Season - Half- Way Reflection

1)    Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

The different behaviors that I have used or developed for this class are based on having confidence and being able to talk with different people without being ashamed or fearful. As I was born and raised in another country, I had to develop my interpersonal skills in order to be able to talk and communicate with people that don’t talk my native language. I believe that this class has a great impact on the way the student feels confidence when trying to reach potential customers and develop a new business venture. In other words, I believe that these class has helped me develop my communication skills up to a point in which I am able speak to anyone about anything that

2)    Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

Over the past two months, I didn’t experience any moment in which I felt I was going to give up. However, I believe that I have developed a tenacious attitude in the way that I am not afraid of doing the activities related to the coursework of this class. Going out and interviewing people, potential customers and/or owners of businesses was not easy at the first time, but I realized that as I was completing all the exercises related to interacting with random people, I was able to find what they are looking for or what they need, which is something really valuable for any type of business. I believe that the interviews are the most unique and essential assignments of this class because they help you to build a stronger attitude towards negative feedback or failure. Another aspect of this class that I really like and that I really value are the guest speakers that provide their advice and guidance for future entrepreneurs. These people have already experienced circumstances that can be avoided and the fact that they are teaching them to us is really valuable.

3)    Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1.      I would suggest future students of these class to go out and do the assignments with people they don’t know. This would be the only way in which you interact with strangers and learn how to approach them without any difficulty. This is very important if you want to start a new business from scratch!

2.      Take some time and try to do the assignments early on the week so you don’t end up stressed on the weekends trying to submit all the assignments before the end of the day on a Sunday.

3.      Be bold and brave and don’t be afraid to fail. This is something that I learned from this class and I think that future students will also learn as they move on in this class. As some people say, “You miss a 100% of the shots you don’t take” 

Rediscovering Market Segmentation - Week 7 Reading Reflection

What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I was surprised by the different ways in which a customer can be segmented. The author of the article describes a type of segmentation that influences a customer up to a point where he or she starts thinking in detail about a particular brand. Daniel Yankelovich, the author of the article states that nondemographic segmentation could be used to create advertising that can influence consumers, but that it should be used in different ways in order to make an impact on consumers. Another part of the article that impacted me was how the author describes the “gravity of spectrum behavior” as an essential tool that could help marketers know the importance that a consumer place on a product or product category.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was when the author is trying to describe how psychographic segmentation can improve the way marketers segment the customers. I believe that D. Yankelovich should use some other examples when trying to describe this point which is essential for the readers to understand the sense of the article.

If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask the author the following questions:

•        The nondemographic segmentation should be applied at what stage of the market segmentation within a company?
•         Are there any points that a company requires to have in order to utilize nondemographic segmentation? Is it compatible to all companies in any industry?

Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I believe that the author should recognize that the market segmentation process that he proposes is not always effective. D. Yankelovich and D. Meer indicate that the predictive power of marketing studies based on demographics was no longer strong enough to serve as a basis for marketing strategy, which I believe is not true in all cases. I believe that both authors should include circumstances specific scenarios in which their theory can be applied.

The Gator Spotter - Elevator Pitch No. 2

The pitch

 A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

The feedback that I received from the last pitch was most of all based on congratulating me for the elevator pitch. I was not able to solve any misunderstood information or inconvenience that I presented on the last pitch since the feedback I received was mostly positive. However, I wanted this pitch to be a little more creative and I decided to go to the actual place where you really feel the frustration of not catching the bus! I decided this to grab viewer’s attention and to give the elevator pitch a more realistic aspect. I will be waiting for your opinions about this pitch, so please take a few minutes to leave a comment. Thank you very much.

The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy - Week 6 Reading Reflection

What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

After reading this article, I was surprised by understanding many aspects that drive competition within an industry, but what amazed me the most was understanding the Five different forces that Shape Industry Competition in any type of industry. I thought that companies in different markets and industries would have to focus on completely different aspects, but after reading this article, I realized that most companies coming or being part of completely different industries are similar in a certain way. I believe that it is essential for an entrepreneur to understand the different types of threats and opportunities in a given industry, because with that knowledge, the entrepreneur would be able to realize if his or her unmet opportunity would be successful in a given industry. This article is without any doubt an essential tool for entrepreneurs to understand how competitive forces are influencing companies’ behaviors in any type of industry.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part that was a little bit confusing for me was when the author mentioned the seven major sources of barriers to entry. I tried to understand the difference between these aspects but I had to read this part three times two have a clear image of what the author was trying to explain.

If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

If I were able to ask the author any question I would ask the following:

•       Is this model accurate in all types of industries? Or is there any point or aspect in which some industries would reveal something different?
•       What do you consider is the most important and significant aspect of the article that an entrepreneur should always have in mind before setting his or her path as an entrepreneur?

Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

Given the fact that the Michael Porter is a well-known professor due to all the years of experience, and the different research projects he worked on for the benefit of the Business and Economy students all around the world, it is hard for me to find any aspect that was not described in the right way in this article. However, I would recommend him to describe a little bit more the influence of Government decisions and how they impact the different industries and competition. I thought that the Government played an essential role when talking about competition due to all the regulations that government policies that affect any industry in a positive or negative way, but Professor Porter states that: “ Government involvement is neither inherently good nor bad for industry profitability.” 

Meeting My Customers - Customer Interviews #3

Describe your interviewing strategy

As we are moving on in our entrepreneurial path, I’ve been able to build and develop skills that are helping me to approach my potential customers with more confidence and self-assurance. In this case, my interview was focused on letting five UF students know about my business plan. I handled them a short paragraph with a brief description of my product and I recorded their immediate reaction.

The main question that I asked was based on their getting to know their opinions about my products. The question I asked is: “What do you think about it?”

The short paragraph that I handled to my interviewees was the following:

The Gator Spotter

I’ve discovered a new way of helping UF students manage their time when taking the bus. The Gator Spotter would be a smartphone App that would work with a GPS system and it would contain a map that describes if he or she is late for taking the bus. The app will send you notifications varying from 15, 20 to 25 minutes before the bus gets to your bus-stop. The app would let the students configure their own settings in the following order:

•     You will set what bus route (bus number) you often use.
•       You will set the bus stop where you usually wait for the bus.
•       You will set the time in the day when you frequently go to the bus stop.

Once you set up all this, you will be able to know that the bus you always take is approximately 15, 20 or 25 minutes away from the bus stop you always use.
It is plain and simple!
Say no to getting late to the bus again!

Conduct the interviews

Reflect on what you learned

The results of all the interviews were very positive. I showed my business plan to my potential customers (who are UF students) and I caught their immediate reactions to it. I figured out that the question I asked lets them express themselves freely and that was very important for the interview. I included a couple of extra questions to try to make the student a little bit more confident with the interview. However, I believe that the only aspect that I would have to fix for future interviews is to ask more question about their reaction, this would definitely give me a better perspective of what they really think.

My Business Plan - Idea Napkin No. 1

You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are.

As some of you may already know, my name is Alejandro Arteaga and I was born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia. Ever since I was a kid I was surrounded by two complete opposite realities that crafted and developed the way I see the world. By one side, I was part of a private school where I met all of my best friends and where I had the opportunity of learning at a high level of education. But in our surroundings it was easy to see perceive something completely opposite, where there is struggle and poverty and where really young kids have to start working to provide their families with some additional resources. As I continued to grow up, I became aware that there is something I could do to help the people that need our help. All in all, I developed entrepreneurial skills since high school, consider myself a really organized person who is not only focused on achieving deadlines, but I also believe that it is really important to develop communication skills in order to be successful. I love soccer and my aspirations are based on contributing to the development of soccer not only as a sport, but also as an opportunity for my country. Specifically regarding my business plan, I believe that we are in the first stage of the business plan but I like to see this business concept more as a unique experience by the moment. I think that this class and the business concept that I developed would be crucial and would play an essential role in my life for future endeavors.

 What are you offering to customers? 

I am offering my customers the option to better manage their time. We all got the same time, but the only thing that makes us different id the way we use that time, and I believe that my business plan would help UF students to have a better and more adjustable way managing their time when thinking about transportation. Students should be focused on developing their knowledge and skills rather than thinking when the bus would come again. But as described in the previous point, I prefer seeing my business concept as an amazing experience from which I will learn how to approach and know the unmet needs that exist all around the world.

Who are you offering it to? My customers are all students at the University of Florida, who live off campus and have the struggle of either arriving late to the bus stop. There are approximately 50 thousand students in the University of Florida, and a significant portion of this number live off-campus. But I think that this business plan could be offered especially to the RTS Corporation. I think that this could improve the type of service that they provide and it could also be seen as an example for other cities.

Why do they care? The people who care about my business plan are based on two components:

·         The students care because they want be able to manage their time in better way, and they are volatile to the use of technology and smartphones applications, so they would not find this product to be something hard to manage.

·         The RTS should also see my business plan as an opportunity because they are focused on providing the best service to the people that ride the bus in the city. if implanted in the right way, they could be an example for another cities and they would have a competitive advantage among the other competitors in other cities.  

What are your core competencies? 

I believe that what sets my business plan apart from every other bus smartphone application is the fact that it is strictly focused on providing the customers with innovation that was not yet implemented anywhere around the country. The customers would feel that they are exclusive and unique, and I think that Gainesville is a place where innovations occur in a daily basis (a clear example is Gatorade), and it is our job to keep this pace as Gators. I will always strive for customer satisfaction, but I think that another attribute that makes my business plan unique is the fact that it will be based on the opinion and acceptance of students. Even though there are surveys about different events that are happening on campus, there are very few surveys and questionnaires regarding the evaluation of the transportation services in Gainesville, and this is definitely something I would implement on a daily basis for this business plan.

Meeting My Customers - Customer Interviews #2

As my entrepreneurial path continues, I see that challenges makes us dig deep into what we are really looking for. In the past interviews, I was able to find that there is certain discomfort with the RTS Smartphone Application and people showed that something could be improved. Even though the results were not the expected, I found out that two out of five students that live off campus would find my entrepreneurial opportunity as being useful. But after analyzing the results of the past interview and after reading the comments of my classmates, I realized that my objective should not only be focused on notifications that could help you manage your time and get to the bus on time. I figured out that my essential objective should be to provide the best transportation service in Gainesville, focused on facilitating the students and the citizens with notifications that could help them manage their time according to their needs.

In this case, I wanted to ask some other questions that can also give me some feedback regarding the service of the Bus (including the driver and the cleanness inside the bus). My main potential customers are still focused on UF students and I asked the following five students the following questions:

1.       Do you go to UF? (see if they are students)

2.       How do you get to your class?

3.       Have you ever been late to the bus stop? Tell me about that experience.

4.       Do you think that the service can be improved?

5.       Do you find the RTS App. Helpful?

After looking at the results of the interview, I see that the unmet need is still there, but that I still have to work on my questions in order to have the answers I am looking for. I feel that I am getting closer to the real unmet need, I just have to keep working and interviewing potential customers. I feel much more confident with respect to the previous interviews, but I know that one of my weaknesses is on asking the right questions and I have to work on that to have better results.

Week Five Reading Reflection - Assessment of Entrepreneurial Opportunities

1)      What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

What surprised me the most about this chapter was the description of the three major cause for failure on new ventures which are based on the following:

•      Product/Market Problems
•      Financial Difficulties
•      Managerial Problems

  I was not aware of this components and I thought that failure was common in the first stages of a “new born” business.

2)      Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part that was a little bit confusing within this chapter is the description of the failure prediction model on pg.268. In fact, it was hard to understand the table 9.3 which describes the determinants of new-venture failures. I believe that if the author included example in this part it would be helpful for the students to understand the concept.

3)      If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would like to ask the author if there is a relationship between failure and new business, in other words, Are new businesses vulnerable to failure more than any other businesses? Is it something common that has to be avoided, or is it a necessary step to be successful in the future?

4)      Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I believe that in the table Facing your Fears! on page 273, the author could have also added one key aspect that an entrepreneur has to have in mind anywhere he or she goes, which is the fact of realizing that failure is the common denominator of success. In other words, I think that the author should have included one more aspect that describes how to overcome failure to be successful.

The Gator Spotter - Elevator Pitch No.1

The unmet need that I believe is affecting most of the students that live off-campus is the bus and its schedule. Not because the bus is in bad conditions or because there is no bus at all, but because everyday someone suffers from that stressful moment of arriving late to the bus stop. I believe that with the help of technology we would be able to solve this issue with no problem. 

The name of my business is “The Gator Spotter” (I accept other name proposals) and it is based on a smartphone application that focuses on providing the student the necessary resources to be able to manage his or her time more efficiently with respect of transportation. Gainesville offers free buses for all the students that live in the city, but there are somethings that have to be improved. The Gator Spotter app will offer the student or the person that downloads the app with the opportunity of basically scheduling his or her bus. 

The app will send notifications 25, 20 or 15 minutes before the bus actually gets to the bus stop he or she usually uses. You just have to set up the following:

•         Where do you take the bus (what bus stop)
•          At what time you usually take the bus
•          What Bus route you usually use (Bus number)

That would be it. It’s very simple and helpful at the same time.

Please let me know what you think and thank you very much for watching. I accept all kind of critiques.