Week 11 Amazon Whisperer

The product I would like to offer would be a portable projector for your cellphone or tablet. People use their cellphones for so much more than just talking or sending a text message these days that it would be useful to have a way of projecting the images.

By making a product that is easily portable and with decent graphics you have a product that can be utilized by a large number of people. From business people who need to give an impromptu presentation to friends trying to enjoy a video together it appeals to a large demographic.

The similar product I found was a simple device to magnify the image being shown on your phone.

Most reviews are the same, talking about how the product doesn't live up to the qualities it was stated to have. They said that it did not produce a clear enough image and that the projected area wasn't large enough. Some stated the ease of use was a plus.

If I were to improve this product I would make it technologically based. It would increase the price, but it would also make the product much more useful. By being able to project it better lighted areas and to be able to increase the surface space that a clear image can be projected over makes for a more quality product.  

Week 11 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise from this week's reading for me was the importance of an innovation strategy towards a company. It was interesting to learn that while a company can be innovative without a innovation strategy, there will come a time when the company doesn't have the right tools to make trade off decisions.

One part of this week's reading I found confusing was how exactly you determine what area of the innovation landscape map your business is in, and how do you do it before it is too late.

Two Questions I Would Ask:
- What are some examples of trade-offs a company such as Apple have made?
- How are companies that fall into the architectural area of the innovation landscape map able to rebound and become successful again when they have to make so many changes to their company?

I didn't disagree with anything from this reading.

My Unfair Advantage

1.Business Education
- It is a skill that not all possess even though they go into some kind of business venture. To understand how to budget and create sound financials for your business doesn't come easily to all, so by having a background in finance is a big advantage.

2.Experience with running a restaurant
- I have grown up in a family that has owned and operated restaurants is a very hard resource to imitate. It also such a valuable skill to know what it takes to create a well run restaurant that has the possibility to create profit.

3.Experience with working in a restaurant
- Beyond just being on the operating side of owning a restaurant it is valuable to have worked nearly every position within a restaurant. I have been a waiter, a barback, and a bartender, I have also worked in the kitchen. This is a rare skill that is not always imitated by owners and prepares to to hire employees that have the characteristics that fulfill the needs of your restaurant.

4.Experience with ordering
- It is a rare and valuable resource to know what you need to order to not have waste and to know how to keep costs low in order to turn a profit.

5.Leadership
- It is not so rare to have the traits of a leader, but it is valuable to know how to delegate power and to know how to separate work from the personal friendships that form in small businesses. You have to be able to make decisions that may hurt your friendships with people, but that are ultimately best for your business.

6. Creativity
- May seem not so rare or that hard to imitate, but it is valuable to think out side of the box. Especially in the hospitality industry, you must always be able to adapt your business to the trends of the time.

7. Potential Start Up Money
- It is a rare thing to be able to create your business without much debt, it is hard to imitate. I am lucky that my family has been successful with their ventures and would be able to create a business.

8.A Sense of Realism
- Often times those who restaurants have to high of hopes. I know the reality is that seventy percent of restaurants will close their doors within the first year, and you must take this inconsideration and create a financially sound business model before ever investing.

9.World Experience
-I have traveled all around the world and have a sense of different cultures, which is something rare and hard to imitate. It is also valuable in an industry where people are always looking for new, creative things to try.

10.People Person
- Owning a restaurant is part of the hospitality industry which means that you better be good at dealing with people, those that are happy and those that are angry. It is necessary skill to have if you want to open a restaurant.

After listing out my 10 advantages, I feel that my experience with working and operating in a restaurant is my biggest advantage in opening my own. I don't think there is any substitute to have been raised in one specialized industry for your entire life and to have worked in every aspect that makes it up. People can pick up the other skills I possess but this is one skill that is engrained in me.

Growing My Social Capital Week 10

Domain expert in your industry.
- Anthony Sterino has owned and operated restaurants and other entertainment ventures for decades. Today he owns a corporation that operates various restaurants, nightclubs, amusement parks, and even a beach on the Jersey Shore.
- He fills the role of a domain expert of operating successful service and entertainment operations, and as another goal of mine is to open a restaurant he is an valuable contact to have.
- This person is a friend of my father, who also operates restaurants in New Jersey, and my father gave me his contact information.
- The exchange I had with him was simple, I explained to him about the idea I had for my restaurant and about the demographic of the area I would like to open it in and he offered my some advice as to how to make my restaurant more efficient and successful.
- This person gives me an option to exploit an advantage because he has been successful in a field that I wish to get into one day, and his network is much more extensive than mine so it would be an helpful to take advantage of his contacts.

Expert on your market.
- Alex Silverstein owns and operates a restaurant in the same area I wish to one day open mine.
- This person fills the slot of expert on my market as he operates a restaurant that applies to the same demographic as mine would appeal to. This is helpful because he can give me insight as to what types of ideas work with the certain demographic of the area.
- As he operates a restaurant where I live I have seem him around. When this assignment came up I made it a point to talk to him and ask him about how he appeals to the people in the area.
- We discussed how to appeal to people in the area. He gave me insight of what has been working for him over his time. I think it is a good relationship because he can help me start out and from my experience restaurants always thrive when others are around.
- I think this is a valuable contact because it is always good to know someone who has went down the same path you wish to go down and to have succeeded.

Important supplier to your industry.
- Stephen Elliot is a food supplier for Cysco and has been a supplier to restaurants for years.
- This person fills the role of supplier to your industry as he has been a supplier of food and restaurant products to various restaurants in the area where my parents own their restaurants.
- This person has been a business partner and a friend to my father for years so I received his contact information from my father and got in contact with him.
- In my exchange with this person I found out what kind of budgeting a normal restaurant needs to set aside for inventory to start out. What I can feel someone in this industry can get out of a relationship like mine, is the potential of future cliental.
- This network will lend itself to my advantage because even if I'm not within his territory he has a connection of sellers, and will be able to put in a good word for me, which result in me being able to make better deals for the supplies I need to start my business.

Reflection
- I think this networking experience made me feel able bit more mature and ready to step out and make my own connections, even if they were facilitated by people I know. I feel this event will lead me to more people I can make connections with in the future because you are always able to meet more people by those you already know. I think one of the only was this networking experience differed from mine in the past was that I had to go and reach out to the people I was trying to meet, instead of it being by association or coincidence.    

Week 10 Reading Reflection

One section I found interesting about this week's reading was the section on pro forma statements. You always hear about firm's making projections for the future, but I never truly what they were and how they worked.

One section I found confusing was the explanation of the internal rate of return used in capital budgeting. I suppose it just wasn't clear how the author explained how the irr helped create a capital budget.

Two questions
- How often should a company use a pro form statement?
- What are some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when creating a budget?

I did not disagree with anything from this chapter.

Reading Reflection Week 9

One thing I found interesting about this week's reading was how the internet revolutionized marketing. I found it interesting that the internet can improve customer service and lower costs by allowing customers to serve themselves. I also found it interesting that it pretty much eliminates the waiting period that follows a traditional marketing campaign.

One part of this week's reading that I found confusing was the section on how marketing philosophies play into developing marketing concepts.

Two questions would be:
-What turns out to be more useful to a company, primary or secondary data?
-With the rise of the internet, how important will traditional marketing be in the future?

I didn't disagree with anything in this week's reading.

Idea Napkin No. 2 Week 9

1. You

I am a finance major, who is currently studying abroad in Rome. I love traveling and seeing new places, and for the most part use apps to find the best places to go see in an area and the best food to eat in that area. I even use an app to figure out the best mode of transportation in each new area. But some times when your out sight seeing you got to use the facilities, hence why I ask my self why there isn’t an app or at least a feature of an app (such as Google Maps) that lets you look up where a near by public restroom is.

2. What are you offering to customers?

The service I’m offering to customers is pretty simple; find out where the nearest public restroom in the area you are. Why spend money at restaurant to just use the facilities when a simple app integrated with Google Maps can point you in the direction of a free one, or at least one that is cheaper. Obviously the idea is mainly tailored to larger cities, that are heavy with tourists.

3. Who are you offering it to?

Primarily targeted to people who are traveling and unfamiliar with where they are, but in reality it can be used by anyone who just can’t hold it. Mainly to tourists in heavily visited areas. 

4. Why do they care?

Cause everyone has had at least one uncomfortable moment while they were out or traveling cause they didn’t use the facilities before they left the hotel or last restaurant.

5. What are your core competencies?

I have been traveling all over Italy and when your on a day trip or just far from the hotel, and you’ve got to go, I’ve found that most Italian business owners are not to receptive of a bunch of Americans trying to come in just to use the bathroom. And due to the lack of street labeling it is often hard to find a public restroom, this is simple solution to help you find one.

I think that my experience with traveling and my experience with using apps while traveling to help me find things put me in a good position to design this sort of app. It’s a simple problem with what I feel is a simple solution, that stands to provide a little bit more comfort for people traveling to new cities. Suppose that the only element I’m lacking is a background in app developing and programming.

There were a few things that I took away from the feedback left on my original post. The first thing was whether this idea could be utilized all over the world or just select cities. I feel my idea would work best for select cities that have heavy tourist attraction. Another thing I learned from the feedback was that my idea would work best as an extension of already existing apps, such as Maps or an app like TripAdvisor. The app extension could also be developed either by going out and collecting data or by users simple adding information when they come across, similar to the way Maps and TripAdvisor already function. Users would also be able to leave ratings and comments the same as either app.