Friday, April 20, 2018

30A-Final Reflection

I can honestly say this class was unlike any class I have taken in the past and was a really cool experience. Looking back at the past assignments, the only one that really stood out to me that I can say I dreaded was the elevator pitch and then when we had to interview people for the social capital assignment. The elevator pitch was just intimidating because it's always weird to hear yourself talk on a recording and then to have other people see it, I thought it would be weird. But after doing it three times and getting used to it, I felt way more comfortable and confident in front of the camera and kind of liked it towards the end. The other part that I somewhat thought I wasn't too sure of was when we had to go out and interview people for our social capital. It was just a unique experience to go out and talk to entrepreneurs in the community and get a different take on what it means to be in a start up and what it takes to run a start up. I am generally a very out going person but I just thought that assignment would be intimidating but overall in the end it was a cool experience. This was also what I'll remember for a while because I am originally from Gainesville and I didn't know that there were so many unique businesses here and I just really enjoyed talking to and getting to know these people and it will just stick out to me for a while. I think towards the end I started to develop and entrepreneurial mindset for the simple fact that now when I am out and about, I am constantly looking for new ideas or opportunities that I could turn into potential business ideas and that was different from when I first started this class. Plus I have a better understanding of starting a business and how to exploit opportunities and I think this has shaped my entrepreneurial mindset. For students that take this course in the future, I would say to just go into this class with an open mind and don't be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. You get what you put in with this class and you can get a lot out of it if you're willing to do something different and have an open mind with this class.

29A- Venture Concept No.2

For this opportunity, there is a market in Gainesville of customers that have an unmet need of trying to do better in their classes and have tried various ways around UF and just need another way to try and do better. This opportunity presents a nature of need that many students have tried getting help in their classes and are just at a dead end and don't have the social ways to try and get help but with Study Buddy, this would help with that by giving students access to other students in the classes that they are in and being able to post or reach out to other students to see if they could help in the class. This would also provide a way for people to find tutors and reach out to individuals to try and get help in their classes. My market right now is defined to university population of Gainesville and consists of students ranging from ages 18-25 both male and female. Customers are currently satisfying this need by reaching out to their professors but my thought is that if you aren't getting the material in lecture then going to your professor wont't help much more. Then students are also using local tutoring places but they are kinda pricy and only do some of the entry level classes and not much of the higher level classes where some students can struggle. I feel like this idea can grow into something big and the window of time I feel like is somewhat open for a while as most of the tutoring places in Gainesville have been open for a while and you can enter that market if you have the means. As far as innovation, this is not "ground breaking" by any means and more or less just adds on to current methods of getting help in the class room but in a way that most people my age would feel comfortable with. And this being a social media app that I would develop and put out. Here students can post of class walls looking for help in certain subject areas, they can look for tutors in other areas and also try and reach out to other students in their classes for help and see if they can learn the material in a new helpful way. I would not charge people to pay for the app because I don't think many people would pay for it up front but I would have ads on the app and make money from that and then later down the road see if I could charge a monthly fee or some sort of access fee if demand is high enough. Then onto the venture part of this assignment. I think it would be kind of hard to get people to switch just because they are so used to the learning methods they have now, but I think once they try it out and see that it could help them, then I think it would make for an easy switch. My competitors are the local tutoring businesses around Gainesville and I think the major weakness of them is how expensive it is. For some students this isn't a problem but over times these costs can add up and students don't like this. Plus they only offer entry level classes and once you get to your major level classes you must do everything on your own and I think my app would be a way for these students to connect and have a way to try and do better in their classes. As far as developing the business, I think I could run the business side of things and marketing and things like that, my biggest hurtle would be to just develop the app and for this I would try and assemble a team that would make this very easy to do. We work on the app and develop it to meet all the business needs and then put it out for customer use. My most important resource would be the social capital that I have around me as there are many start ups in Gainesville and I can learn a lot from these people on how to run a start up and run it successfully. After we are successful in Gainesville, I would want to try and branch out to other campuses around the U.S. because I think if we can work at UF, we can work anywhere. In five years, I want to have moved to a couple different campuses and ready to sell because I feel like another company or someone can scale this business better and hopefully make some money off of it. As far as what I changed, I just put more focus on how I wanted to end and also put more emphasis on the venture part of this concept. I needed to focus more on my competitors and how I was gonna make money and all those things and I think I did a better job in this one with these.

(So easy, a dog could use it)

28A-Your Exit Strategy

As sad as it is to think about what I would do with this company that I have created over the last semester, it is good to think about what the long term goals would be and how it would come to an end. Hopefully it would be successful enough here at UF that we would be able to expand Study Buddy's to other campuses across the nation. With this increase and growth and potential to be a successful app used around the country, it is a great opportunity however, I would see myself selling the business if it got to this level and hopefully it would be for a large return. I would do this because I don't think I would be able to manage a large company that expands that fast and I don't know how to scale a product like that if it took off and was used around the nation. I feel as though other companies would be able to manage this more and make it more user friendly to a larger base of people. I think this strategy has made me think about how far I'm going to grow up until a certain point. I would use the resources that I have available, whether it be social or physical or monetary in Gainesville to scale my project and make sure it will be as successful in the Gainesville market. Then once I am able to master this market, then I believe we would be able to move onto different markets then once it reaches a certain point to where I don' t think I could manage it any better with the resources I have, then I would sell it at that point, but I don't think it would influence any of my factors in the early parts of the venture. 

Friday, April 13, 2018

27A-Reading reflection 3

For this reflection I decided to do "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson. I have always been interested in Steve Jobs as he has been a true innovator of technology and has changed technology forever. I was most surprised that Jobs was considered a Hippie. Also even though he was one of the original founders of Apple, he was forced out of Apple in 1985. I thought I had known this before but reading about the details of it was interesting. I admired Job's work ethic and his "genius" brain.  I am firm believer that this is what made Apple what it is today. Job's had the mind to think of the future and what would be innovative and cutting edge. Along with this, he had the work ethic to back it up and make it possible that these innovations and changes were put into action. I least admired Job's attitude towards some people. Job's was not polite to a lot of people and often cut a lot of bridges before they were made. Job's of course faced much adversity in his life. One of the biggest ones would be of course when he was fired and forced to leave Apple, but he then joined another company called NeXt, which would later then be bought by Apple and Job's would go onto becoming the CEO of Apple again. When it come's to competencies, Job's just seemed like he felt superior to everyone and was hard on rules that he set. He didn't bend the rules for anyone and if you went against what he said, he looked down upon you with almost disgust. If I could ask Job's two questions it would be how to he kept Apple so innovative and on the cutting edge of technology. Then I would ask him the hardest part of the initial start up process. Just because I am at that point with this start up idea for this class. I think like every great entrepreneur, Job's believed you need hard work to be successful. I am 100% confident Job's was the first one in the office and the last one out and worked harder than everybody in the room to be successful. I believe in this as well and I want to instill this work ethic early in  my working career to try and make sure I am successful.

26A-Celebrating Failure

This assignment was an easier one for me as I just went through multiple interviews for internships this summer and have an answer for the time I failed. For mine, it was in my freshman year and I had a great opportunity of getting a position as a student manager on the football team in the equipment room. So I got to help with the team and their practices, help sort out gear, be on the sidelines for all the games and travel to some of the away games. I did this for about 3-4 weeks and then I started to fall behind in my classes. This opportunity was a great one but it ended up being almost a full time job and I was not prepared for that. Mind you this was my first real semester at UF so I was still adjusting and then throw this on top and I was not doing great. But the moment of failure came when I just went to my boss and told him I was going quit with out asking anybody for advise or trying to get help. I didn't talk to my parents about it, my friends or people around, I just dropped it when it started to get hard. When I told my parents they were extremely angry that I just gave up and didn't get help or anything and pulled the "we're not mad, we're disappointed". The failure in this was that I just gave up when it got tough and when I was doing something new, which is not like me at all. From this I learned that even when it gets tough or you're not in a position where you're comfortable, you can't give up. You have to get going and it will eventually get better. I have this mind set now which is great because I will be doing an internship this summer and I will be put out of my element and it will be challenging and different, but I know I will learn from it and won't just drop it when it gets tough. As far as I handle failure, I mean for everyone it is embarrassing, but you have to learn from it and be able to move on. If you don't, you won't be able to learn a lot in life. I am firm believer that you learn more from your failures than you do when you are successful. This class has shown me that it's okay to fail even in business and entrepreneurship but it's how you rebound from failure that defines the type of person you are.

Friday, April 6, 2018

25A- What's Next?

Existing Market:
In terms of whats next for in terms of product and services for my next venture, I think the best move for me would be to expand to other campuses around the U.S. I think if this venture was successful here at UF, it would be successful at other campuses. When talking to customers this week, I interviewed Sean, a student here at UF and he said what you should be doing now, is focusing on the content that you will have on the app such as classes and such, and then the user-ability of these functions on the app. He said you should be trying to develop an app that is as easy to use as possible so users can use it easily. Rachael then said, she agrees, but mainly needs to focus on getting a customer base and the ways that you will grow that base. Whether it be advertising on campus or doing different promotional deals or advertising on social media. "Right now, growth for you is crucial and getting your name and product out right now is how you will grow the fastest". Hunter said when interviewed, that he thinks customers would want maybe a more interactive Study Buddy, where you could help on different topics from students all around the country. This would just a cool way to get a different perspective on the topics you are learning and see how other students who are just like you are learning them.

New Market:
I think most of my current market would be students out of Greek life, but if I have try a new market, it would be Greek life. This would be a challenge because I feel like a lot of the students already have a lot of connections to where they wouldn't have to branch out and try to find students in their classes for help when they are all right there. However, with Study Buddy, this could reach all across Greek life and help connect the students from there and this would give them an even bigger realm of students to get help from. I interviewed Rob who is in ATO here at UF and he said if there was a way to organize it to make it easy to connect with people, he thinks it would do well in Greek life because he said it's so big, it's hard to make connections sometimes and this would be a way to stream line this process. Then I interviewed Olivia who is in KKG and she said this would be beneficial for some of the students in Greek life who aren't as involved and would be an easy way to connect with students just like them.

I was surprised to hear that this new market would potentially be a place to sell. The fact that some people would maybe be interested makes it in intriguing into what other markets are available out there. I still think my original market would be more attractive and easy to sell in, but once students started to realize that my product works and it doesn't matter how many people you may know, I think it would start to spread to new markets like the one described. If it shows results and people see that it's working, they will give it a try.

24A-Venture Concept No.1

This semester has been a new challenge for me in taking this class, as this class has really stretched my mind into finding a new business idea that I have come up with. This will be my first Venture Concept for Study Buddy.
1. To start off with, I will dive into the opportunity section of the Venture Concept. My opportunity stems from groups of students around campus that feel like they have reached a dead end or are having trouble in their classes and haven't found a way that they can try and help their grades. This group of students also feels like they don't have the "social capital" that others around campus do and may not have the biggest group of people around them to try and help them with classes. The un-met need is just a way that someone could connect with their fellow students in their classes and try and form study groups or try and help find tutors or get help and ask questions to other students as well. More specifically around UF, a lot of students are involved in Greek life which is great, but the students who aren't don't have that great amount of people around them, who some of them are most likely in the same classes as they are, which gives them an easy way to get help outside of the classroom. The students who aren't in Greek life, don't have a way to really branch out and look for help outside of the classroom because they don't have this large group of students around them like others do. I am firm believer that you should learn the material in your classes from multiple different sources, especially if you are struggling and a great way to do that is through study groups or even tutors. This way a student can see the material in a different way and then hopefully do better in their classes.  I think this market could stretch and be seen in many of the large Universities around the U.S. So the markets could be spread out through the U.S, but would be more defined to college campuses and not really anywhere else. I also think that this opportunity will be around for a long time as technology is always changing and we are getting better tech everyday, students will always have this need to get help outside of the classroom no matter how far tech has advanced. So I think an opportunity like this would last for a while.
2.My innovation for this idea is only slightly different than things that are out there right now. My idea is to develop Study Buddy just like a social media app that would allow students to just download on their phone and use it from there. The idea of apps is not "innovative" but having a way for students to connect with their classmates in social media type manner, that is made to help students outside of the classroom I believe is innovative. Every student now a days feels more comfortable on their phone and so trying to reach out and form study groups or post on a wall about questions or even looking for tutors, doing this on a smartphone in a social media app would make students feel more comfortable. At first, I would make money by trying to sell ads on the app itself that students would see while using the app. I would charge a small upfront fee of 5 dollars to download the app, and then try and have promotions on the app to try and get the user to get their friends to sign up.
3.I think my customers would buy my product because of a couple reasons. One, they have tried everything in their power and haven't found successful ways to try and get help outside of the classroom. Study Buddy is a great way for them to turn and lean on their classmates for help. Two, students feel comfortable with meeting people over social media now a days, so giving the app a try and finding out that there are students who could help you do better in school would be a reason they stay. My competitors are the local tutoring places around Gainesville and while they offer a lot of entry level courses, they don't do a lot of upper level classes that students struggle with and so we would be able to try and help where our competitors couldn't.

Minor Elements:
My biggest resource I think would be the social capital that I have around me to help and develop my app. I have a lot of resources and people that are very technical that can help me develop my app which I believe would be one of the biggest challenges of this venture. I can tailor the business model or my market I am going for, but to sit down and develop a full functioning app is a huge challenge in itself. My next venture, if successful would be to try and tackle other campuses around the U.S. I think if successful here, it would be a great resource to have at other campuses. Then as far as what's next for me, I would want to keep trying and developing new apps, as I am fascinated at the tech start up of the worlds and have always wanted to start my own or be apart of one.

Friday, March 30, 2018

23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.Lap top-This is the foundation for my startup idea because it is social media based app so I would need my laptop to start the coding process. This resource is pretty run of the mill and is not rare or anything so its a normal resource.
2.GatorTech-This is a great resource to me because it a tech club that has people who have coded big projects before and can be critical to the success of my code. This is very valuable, pretty rare because not everyone has access to a large group of people with coding experience. This is a non-substitute.
3.Small startup investment-Currently right now, I have a small amount of money set a side that if I was truly invested in this idea, I would invest it in my idea. This could cover costs such as paying people to help me with my coding project. This is pretty valuable because every company needs money to start. So this another run of the mill resource that is easy to copy because like I said every company needs it.
4.UF ISOM department-This is a great resource just like GatorTech, however these are professors who have worked in the tech industry and can give me advice of how to build apps. This is also beneficial because they can give advice of how to be professional and how to act in a tech company, which I can foster and take into my company and use that as a basis for my company culture. This is extremely rare and not many people have. This wouldn't be too hard to copy because anybody can go and ask for help, but it is extremely valuable to have and I think something that helps me stand out.
5.Determination-This is a self trait that I think would be a resource. I am a hard worker who has great determination and a will to do something and finish things I start. This is a valuable resource to have and I don't think everyone has it. It's hard to copy because people can say that they have the determination and drive but that doesn't mean they actually do.
6.Local Entrepreneurs- This is a resource that I have locally that I can get start up advice about, particularly about starting a business in a college town. Many of the local businesses know a lot about the market of selling to college students which is crucial to my business idea. This idea is extremely valuable as it helps me get to know my market better and also get start up advice and how to run a small business.
7.My dad- He is a great resource as he owns his own business and can be a helping hand in starting a business. He owns a pharmacy, which is clearly different than what I want to do, but he still is there to lend advice and be a helping hand on how to run a small business. This is very valuable to have and not everyone has this resource available to them. It is easily copiable but having a personal relationship with someone who owns a business is kinda rare I feel like.
8.Randy Hunziker- This is a great resource to me as he is a lawyer and can help me and give me legal advice if need be in starting a business. This is helpful when starting a business to make sure you jump through all the legal hoops correctly. This is very valuable and somewhat rare to have a personal relationship with a lawyer. Other people can copy this but it would be hard.
9.Family for investment- If I needed more money to help the startup, I would ask my family to see if they would be able to help me out. It costs a decent amount of money to own a business and I could use as much money up front as I can. This is pretty valuable to have but there's no guarantee that I would get any money. This is copiable because most people can do the same.
10.Social Media-This is my marketing tool that I would use to get the word out about my product. My market would be college students and most of them already use social media, so to reach out to them, I would utilize sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This is valuable because thats a major way I would get my name out there and my product. This is copiable and can be substituted with out marketing techniques, but I feel like social media is the best route.

I think the best resource I have is GatorTech. This is so because it helps me with the technical side of my business idea which would be the hardest part. At the same time, I would be surrounded by a group of people, always ready to help and lend a helping hand whenever need be. Some of them have also seen what it's like to work in a star up and a small business, so they would be a great resource for that as well.

22A-Elevator Pitch 3

https://youtu.be/FpvlB_bFjwg

For this third elevator pitch, I tried to take the feedback that I got last time and the time before and make this one even better. To start, I stood up and was more comfortable in front of the camera which I think helped a lot. The more we move on with this class and the more we flesh out our business idea, I am getting more comfortable with the material I am talking about and I think I portrayed that in this pitch. I know what my business idea consists of and can talk about it comfortably now. I was also told to try and memorize more of my content and that stood out as impactful to me. Simply because if this was a real world situation, you need to have your pitch memorized and ready to go no matter where you are. I tried to focus on the positives of my idea which I believe are the true selling point to any service or idea. So I think the main take aways from this pitch is that I am getting more comfortable with my business idea and getting more comfortable in front of a camera giving a pitch to present my business idea. 

Friday, March 23, 2018

21A-Reading Reflection 2

For this reflection, I chose "The art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users". I first picked this one because I really love social media and it is such a huge part of our culture and generation now, I was very interested to read this book. I am also basing my idea for this class off of social media so that goes hand in hand with this book. The general theme of this book was how to use social media to better your business and also how to use your personal social media and to make sure you are not looking bad online. The book is filled with tips on how to treat social media and how to treat your social media like a business. This book helped enhance my experience in this class because we take social media for granted now a days and put everything online and this can come back and bite us if we are not careful. This book made me want to become more aware of what I do on social media to make sure I am not perceived in a bad way. This book also gave great tips on how to grow your business through the use of social media which is great in todays society because like I said, it is just apart of everyone's daily life.  In order to reach a broader market, you have to have a positive social media presence for brand awareness and then you can also use it as a selling tool. I would design an exercise for class to try and set up or have an experiment where you try to use social media and sell a certain product. Then define things like your market that you would sell to, or what type of stuff would you publish or what specific social media would you use. My biggest "aha" moment was when I made that the connection that you should treat your social media almost like a business and treat it seriously. Everyone can see what you are posting and what you post can be critical to you and how other perceive you. Then when you are on social media for a business, taking the right steps and planning for action is crucial, just like planning for success in a business requires planning and taking the right steps.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

20A- Growing Your Social Capital

1)The first person in my new social capital experiment is a friend of mine named Steven Malanati from a club called GatorTech here at UF. Here is a very hands on technical person with a background in coding and tech. He has coded many websites and even an app for a small company here in Gainesville. This person is my domain expert in the field I want to go in. He is able to give me advice and technical help on building my app. I had his phone number and contacted him and I had actually talked to him before about my idea and said he was always up to help me with technical problems. Then I contacted him again this week and he told me the most relevant stuff that I would need to start an app as far as data and information. This is my way of getting technical help which would be one of the hardest parts of starting this business idea.

2)Another person who is now in my social capital experiment is a person named Landon Everitt. He works at Study edge and works closely with the owner on many aspects of how the business is run. He sees hundreds of students a day, all flocking to this business to get help on their classes. Which in part, is my goal for my app. So he sees this unmeet need of students wanting to get more help outside of the classroom. Landon is my expert on the market that I am trying to get in. I have known him for a long time and I just contacted him and we had a conversation about the market that comes to study edge and how he thinks I could capitalize on that market. He offered good tips about what he hears students complaining about or what other tutoring places lack which is very helpful in starting a business. Landon is a great tool to get me closer to my target market and gives me an inside to the people that I want to sell to before I sell to them.

3)My last person in my social capital experiment is my new friend Ryan from the UF Heavener IT help desk. He is another very technical, hands on person who helps deliver technical support to other start up apps just like mine. Even though these apps my not be directly in my market, he is offering the same "supply" or advise to make these apps better. He has hands on coding experience and is very knowledgeable when it comes to coding. I tried to think of someone who would give hands on technical help and someone referred me to him and he just so happens to work at the help desk. He is a very nice guy always willing to help. He said he would help me get started by supplying helpful advise when it comes to tech. He is just another great tool that I can use when it comes to developing and starting an application.

This one was different because you had to go out of your way to find the people you needed to network with. While other networking events I have been to, they were all people that I could talk to because they were there for that reason. Plus these you have to go out of your way and explain yourself and you ideas while with networking in the past, I just had to kind of sell myself. This gave me confidence to go into a room and just start talking to anybody about mostly anything.

19A- Idea Napkin 2

1) I am a third year student here at UF majoring in information systems and operations management. I love tech and the way it is revolutionizing our world, specifically in the business world. I also find it fascinating how much social media has shaped our world in such a short time frame. Everyone's phone is attached to their hip no matter where they go and I have always wanted to create an app that utilizes this market. I  just think it would be a cool idea to start and get some background in the technical aspect of the app for my potential career plans.

2) My product is a social media based app that connects students to their fellow classmates. This is an area where students can search for tutors, or post on a class way about homework assignments or problems they are having, or a way for students to form study groups while they are at the library.

3) I would be offering this to either students individually or potentially selling my products in schools that then would use them in their classrooms. This would be a great opportunity for teachers to use this product for their students to use and be able to connect with their classmates in an almost effortless way that so many people in our generation are used to. Most of my customers I feel would have this mindset that they want to get help, but they don't know how or are too afraid to ask for help either directly to the teacher or in person to other classmates. This app would take the stress out of this and potentially give kids a little more confidence to ask more questions or get help outside of the class room where they generally wouldn't before.

4) They should care because it would be an easy way for them to meet friends and at the same time have a chance to better in their classes. Most people tend to do better when learning material in two different ways. One would be the traditional route of the learning in the class room then while connecting outside of the class and learning and reinforcing what they learned in a different environment would be beneficial to them even more. 

5) I think I know my market very well and can pinpoint  the types of students or classrooms that I would want to pinpoint. This is a fun and unique way for people to get out their and potentially get better grades while at the same time potentially meeting new people and friends.

-I think most of the elements fit together however, the one that definitely lack the most is trying to get people to care about my product. Initially, I could see a huge challenge of trying to get people to try this idea, but once people would start to see results of higher grades in the classroom and then a potentially better social life outside as a side bonus, I think it would start to sell better. People are always hesitant to things they are unsure about, but after time has gone by and results start to show, I think the business would start to grow.
-Two main points I incorporated in this idea napkin from feedback was the idea of the new potential wider market of selling into classrooms. With teachers and universities having this product available in the classroom, it would make it more accessible for students and there for would potentially be used by more students. The idea was trying to focus more on why students would want to care. With this, if my idea started to show results, students would care because then it would mean their grades would improve in a new, fun way. 

Friday, March 16, 2018

17A- Elevator Pitch 2

https://youtu.be/cyuA7SK3s1o


In this pitch, I received feedback stating that I need to include facts or other selling points in my pitch to hook the listener a little bit more and I think I did that by stating the positives of studying in a group. I was also told that I should memorize more of the pitch which I did, instead of trying to go off the top of my head like I did last time which seemed okay at the time but looking back, it was not the best. So I tried to make these changes and hopefully came out with a better pitch.

18A-Customer Avatar

If I had to make my customer avatar, I would start simple and say that they are more of an introverted type person. They are using my app to branch out and hopefully meet other people to try and help with their school work. They are college level aged ranging from 18-22. I would say they drive a decently new car, but nothing fancy. I think they would prefer and stay inside on a Friday night and not go out or if they did, it would be something low key with a small group of friends. On the other hand, the other side of the market could be out going side and want to go out and do some fun stuff on a Friday night. I think they would enjoy funny comedies like The Office, or Parks and Rec. I think they want to feel older, but they don't know how yet. These would also be students that have semi decent grades to the point where they are okay, but they just want another way to get help to hopefully bump up their grade and get the grade they are hoping for. I say this because the really smart students don't need to go and get help and they student's who are doing poorly probably don't care and don't want to get help. I think I have more in common with the out going side of the market. I like going out and doing things on Friday nights and meeting new people. I am also on the side of the market with okay grades. If I got a little more help, they would be really good, but for now they are pretty good. I also drive a decently new car and then love the shows The Office and Parks and Rec. I think this is not a coincidence as many people try and look for problems in the world and try and capture problems that you your self are facing. Then when trying to branch out and think of a market, you kind of see your self in that market as I do with my study buddy app.

16A-What's your secret sauce

5 Ways that I think I am unique.

  • I am very much a people person! I love meeting new people and connecting with new people on a regular basis and a lot of the time, I am not afraid to go out of my way and meet new people. 
  • I think my drive in anything I do sets me apart. Once I get my mind set on something, I make sure it gets done in the best of my ability. Whether it be in my schooling or work, I always strive to be the best.
  • I am also not afraid to take the lead on things and be the first person to try something. I think a lot of people look up to other people who aren't afraid to take the first leap, and in most things, if it means that other people will follow, I will take that first leap. 
  • My organization skills are another thing that I think set me apart. I am always on top of my school work and things outside of school that need to get done, and I am very rarely ever late on anything. 
  • My positive attitude in anything I do also sets me apart. I really try to go into any situation with an open mind and try to stay positive for the duration of the situation. Even when things get tough and I can't stay positive, I catch myself thinking positive in a short time frame and rebound quickly back to my positive mind set.
5 Interviews:
-Blake: He stated that I was a very compassionate person who cares for others and will go out of the way for other people. He likes my sense of humor on situations and thinks I'm a good leader.
-Kyle Horner: We were teammates in high school and he said he always liked my positive attitude in situations. "If we were down in a game, Austin would be there to bring us back in it with his attitude and not let us keep our heads down and keep us in the game."
-Kyle Hunziker: Kyle stated that he has known me since middle school and has seen my work ethic inside and outside of the classroom."Austin was always the 'nerd' who showed up to class early and was the last one to leave, but that work ethic is paying off and his success is showing because of it."
-Sean Ahmadzadeh: Sean stated that I always was one to make friends anywhere I went. "He is extremely outgoing and can really make friends anywhere he goes."
-Jackson Mckaig: "We were teammates in high school and Austin was always a leader on and off the field. He took initiative when other people wouldn't and other players always looked up to him cause he took charge."

Reflections:
I think me and my interviewers have the same points and thoughts of my "sauce". I think we both have the same mind set that I am a hard worker and my outgoing attitude and draw towards people set me apart from others.

Friday, March 2, 2018

15A-Figuring out buyer behavior 2

For this week's assignment, after conducting my three interviews with my friends Hunter, Jackson, and Cassidy, I believe I have been able to define a clearer picture of my buying decisions for my customers. With my app idea, customers would seek help or assistance with homework needs, it also provides away for students to connect with other students and try to form study groups based on the classes they are taking or help find students tutors who are looking to help other students. When it comes to alternative solutions, the answers were mostly the same across the board. With RJ, he get his study help from Study Edge, however he pays the monthly fee of 50 dollars a month. At that point, he is willing to pay a fee to get help that he is confident will work. Jackson also uses Study Edge and pays the 50 dollar fee. Cassidy on the other hand just relied on normal study methods and visiting teachers office hours. However, sometimes the professor can only help a certain bit and he said she thinks he would benefit from another person tutoring her and teaching her in a different style than the professor. The factor that stuck out the most was just the availability of resources that each person had. Study edge is an easy alternative that you pay a fee for and every professor holds office hours. When it comes to actual transactions, Cassidy prefers to buy things in person and then the other two prefer online shopping, while all three mainly use their cards for transactions. Jackson said he feels like he made the right purchase if he doesn't feel buyers remorse after a purchase like sometimes he will buy product and pay to much money for it and then not use it as much as he intended. Cassidy said she knows she made the right purchase or wants something when money isn't a deciding factor and at that point, she knows she will be making the right choice. RJ said he knows he made the right choice when he actually use the product more than anticipated. My market for this product would be defined as people who want something on the go with an easy and fast method of payment. Plus my alternative would be cheaper and just another way that students can get access to getting help in school.

14A-Halfway Reflection

To start off, I have really enjoyed taking this course so far. It has been an interesting class unlike many of the other business classes we are all almost required to take. As far as behaviors I have used in this class is to stay organized and stay on top of the work. The work in it self is not that difficult and the material isn't hard to pick up, but if you get behind, it can be rough to try and catch back up. I would also say that I look at the assignments at the beginning of the week to give them some thought of how I want to approach them. Then about mid-way through the week, I try and knock them out and then take time to reflect back on them and try and turn them in by Friday.

As far as experiences that I have felt like giving up on, would include my search for a summer internship this summer. It has been a struggle and I have put a lot of time and effort into my searching and nothing has panned out yet. But I know, it is just the hoops we all have to jump through and when I finally land that summer internship, I know it'll all be worth it. This has helped me in my classes to just keep going and keep pushing because in the end, I know it will all work out and be worth it in the end.

3 Tips:
  • Stay on top of your work and always try to be a step ahead.
  • If you are over stressed or times seem tough right now, just know it gets better and it is all worth it in the end.
  • Stay focused and determined in anything you do.

Friday, February 23, 2018

13A-Reading Refection

To start off with, I knew a little about Elon Musk now a days but I did not know he did some much before his career with Tesla and SpaceX. I found it surprising that he started one software company, then went on and co-founded x.com which he would eventually become PayPal which was later acquired by eBay for a huge amount of 1.5 billion dollars. I admired his tenacity to never give up and his drive. As someone going into the tech field, I love technology and I admire some of the work that Elon is doing and attempting. He is never satisfied and always wants to be groundbreaking on something new. In the tech industry, tech is always changing and you should always being wanting to strive to learn all you can. From the authors perspective, he kind of makes Musk seem dark and cold sometimes and it seems like it would be stressful to work for him. As great of an innovator as he is and as smart as he is, you need to be able to be a CEO that people would wanna work and that would get a long with you. He defiantly saw failure, most the beginnings of his projects were failures and then after multiple tries, he would be successful. Then even in his personal life, you could consider his marriages were a failure as he had three different marriages. But with these failures, he never stopped and kept persevering and now he is one of the greatest CEO's in our world right now. As far as competencies go, like I said he just lacked that nurturing boss feel and seemed cold and dark sometimes to his workers, especially if there was a deadline approaching. I was confused personally on how solarcity part of the book where it talks about the startup he helped his cousin produce. If I could ask Musk 2 questions, one would be if you had any advice for a young adult going into a technical field, what would it be? And then was all the work you've done so far in your life worth the effect it has had on your private life? I think Musk would say hard work is anything that complexes your mind and makes you think outside of the box. He is always being an innovator and changing the way things are done, so I think anything that makes someone think hard and use their analytical skills is hard work. 

12A-Figuring out buyer behavior

When I did my three interviews, I decided to pick a segment that I highlighted earlier in an assignment and that is a segment in the UF student body that are not in fraternities or sororities. My solution is creating an app that would connect people around campus to help in their studies, form study groups or even search for tutors. I first interviewed Blake who is a student here at UF.  He said he has this need when he is at the library either either during the day or at night and does not have anybody to study with. Sometimes he feels like he needs help in a specific class, but he doesn't have anybody to help him right then. He sometimes get frustrated at problem and just needs a little help and that is where study buddy could come into play. I then interviewed Rachael, who said she has the need when she wants to form study groups with her classmates, but does not have a way to do unless she posts on Facebook or something and she said that never helps. She said she also is in the library when she has this problem and just wants and easy way to see if anybody else would want to help her study. Then I interviewed RJ, who had a combined problem of both Blake and Rachael, where he wanted to ask his classmates a question on an assignment but didn't have an efficient way to do so.  All three subjects had the same response when they thought about how they handled the problem now. They either just forget about it and work through it with out getting any help or they just post on Facebook or some sort of social media, if they even do that, and they said they normally don't get any responses. They also make friends in the classes they are in, but they never get in contact with their classmates outside of class, so they can't get help aside from the teacher. If I had to summarize what I found, it just seems like the segment I have found just want a quick and easy way to link or connect with classmates on a social media based platform outside of Facebook so they can get help with assignments and such.

Friday, February 16, 2018

10A-Elevator Pitch 1

Elevator Pitch 1

11A-Idea Napkin 1

1. Who am I? I believe I am an outgoing, driven individual who won't stop until I achieve my goals in life. I love meeting new people and connecting with individuals. I am great with customer service as I have worked for Publix for almost five years now. I have a technical background in computers as I am an Information Systems major and I have a passion for technology. I would love to make a product that helps someone. If I were to make this app and it help one person, I would have met my aspirations of helping someone.

2.What am I offering to my customers? I am offering an app that would promote a different channel of communication and connection of your fellow classmates. If you have a problem on a specific homework or need a quick tutor lesson from a topic in class, you could find that in my product. This is promoting learning the right way on campuses and can help kids branch out and get help in subjects that maybe hard to find around campus.

3. My customers may not have the means or ways  to connect with other students as easily as others do, so this would be a great way to help with school, at the same time, try and make connections with your fellow classmates. My demographic would include College aged individuals seeking an easy alternative to finding help outside of the classroom. Also, people who have taken certain courses may sign up as tutors to try and provide help and assistance to those in need.

4.I believe my customers would care because they're tired of the normal ways of trying and reaching out to get help in school and coming to a dead end. This would be an alternative that may help people and with an end result of hopefully higher grades in the classroom and with that comes a whole lot of other added benefits like increased confidence and etc.

5.I think I stand apart because I want to see students connecting with their fellow classmates and also more importantly, doing better in the classroom. I don't think their is an app out there like the one I have an idea for and I think students would respond well to the app.

I think getting students to care would be the hardest point for me. I would think a majority of students have ways to connect with other students but convincing them that this app would help them if they used it would be a challenge. But I do believe that what I am offering could help. I know who my customers are and what I am offering, it would just take sometime to really get across to students and show that even though it's a different approach to the common way of getting help in school, it could really help.

Friday, February 9, 2018

9A-Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

After interviewing five different people, I have come across these ideas and thoughts when it comes to try and setting my boundaries for my opportunity. My opportunity is developing an app that connects students in similar classes to try and help better their grades in those classes. After interviewing the five people, I have been able to define the boundaries and find a more clear a set of people who fall outside of that boundary. For the Who, it is students who are in similar classes but already have ways to branch out and meet other students. In a college town, most of the students in this case fall into greek life, where they have hundreds of friends in their fraternity or sororities that chances are someone else is in the classes they are in, so they have an easy way to connect and try to get help. My friend Rob who is in ATO here at UF who I interviewed said it is easy to find someone who is in the same class as you or someone who has taken the class to try and get help. Olivia, who is in a sorority said the same thing and it makes easy to get help or form study groups with people you already know. It is also other students who use the tutoring services in town to help them study and with that, they do not need to go and try and find other students to help or ask questions to other students because they have the tutoring service at their finger tips. Justin said "I used to Studyedge for my harder classes and I never had reach out to other students because Studyedge provided everything I needed".  The need for my idea differs from other needs when a student does not have the opportunity of joining or paying for such organizations or groups and just wants to branch out to their fellow classmates for help with their classes. Some kids are like that, that they just don't wanna join a fraternity or sorority and don't wanna pay for a tutoring service, so they just do it all on their own. Well with my idea, they would not have to do it on their own anymore and they can reach out to other kids who are in similar situations as they are. The outsiders have access to multiple channels or getting extra help outside of the classroom where someone in the boundary does not.

Inside the Boundary: 
-A student who wishes to get extra help in school who does not have the ease of access to other students.
-The need is to connect with other students for help in school.
-The need exists because someone wants to do better in school.

Outside the Boundary:
-Someone who has the ease of connecting with students through multiple channels.
-They have a way to reach out and get help with their classes because of organizations or clubs they are in.
-They feel as though they don't need someone else help or they don't like the idea of connecting with other students who they don't know.

8A-Solving the problem

The opportunity I have found the through the previous exercises is an idea to connect students in a way that would help them in the classes they are in and also branch out and meet other students like themselves. The solution to this would be to make an Application that is phone based. This would be a platform like most social media apps but students input what classes they are taking for that semester and then it is like an open chat where they can ask for help with homework or try and form study groups with fellow students or even have a way where someone can sign up to help tutor other students in that specific class. I think this would be a great way to connect with other students and I would actually enjoy the process of making an app as I like to code. With it being on an app a mobile phone, I feel like most students would be up to trying it and using it, as it would work just be like the other social media that a lot of students are so used to using.

Friday, February 2, 2018

7A-Testing the Hypothesis1

-University of Florida students can sometimes face a challenge of connecting with classmates in the same classes or have trouble with a problem or assignment and not have anyway to ask their classmates in a fast, social media type setting outside of say Facebook. With my opportunity, I want to create an App that connects students at UF to other students in the same classes as you are to help with anything from homework problems, to assignments, to linking with tutors, or creating study groups for classes.
-The Who: UF students wanting to connect with other students
-The What: Connecting students together in a social media type way
-The Why: Some students may learn better that way or helps students with certain assignments or classes.

After doing interviews with five people, I have found some interesting things about my potential opportunity. When interviewing Rachael and when asked about the why, she stated that she thinks most students wouldn't see this as a "need" but something as a way to better help them study or do better in their classes. Kyle stated that the who were the kids I stated in my hypothesis, but also kids who were more out going but maybe don't have a channel or way to reach out to other students for help. Another Kyle also stated, it would be good for students who are in smaller classes but with more advanced topics , instead of a chem class or stats, because there is already ways around that to help kids study. With this, I would need to try and find out how many students would actually be willing to try this idea. When asked about the what, Sean A. stated that he thought it was a good idea to do it more in a social media type way because that is what kids are so used to now a days and they would feel more comfortable using it, if it felt like a social media app. I still think this idea could work, I just need to flesh it out more and try to adapt to the problems or kinks that my interviewers are pointing out.

6A- Economic and Regulatory Trends

1. For my first economic trend, I found an article on Forbes that states, experts are expecting consumer spending to rise in the near 2nd half of the year. With this, I see an opportunity for companies to grow as more and more people will be spending their money.   This is a very broad opportunity but I see an opportunity for a marketing company that would help get clients products out to the public. With consumers spending more, there will be a need for companies to market their products and even though this is already being done, I think there could be ways to better this process. I believe this leads to an opportunity that exists because smaller companies will want to get their name and products out to the public but with more than just in house advertising. The typical customer I believe would be a small company that does not have the capital to higher a big marketing company, but wants to get their brand recognition up. I think this would be very hard to exploit because you would have to convince a company that marketing their products would increase their sales, at the same time convincing them that consumer spending is going up. When seeing this opportunity, I just thought that smaller businesses would want the same marketing techniques that big companies use but on a smaller scale, as my dad owns a small business and he has always wanted to advertise and market his products, but there isn't a viable way to do so.

2. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is at a very low 4.1% in the US. Right of the bat, I see opportunities that entail doing some job or task for a person because so many people have jobs. This entails walking dogs, babysitting, house cleaning, etc. Just certain jobs that people can't take care of because they are at work. I think the typical customer would be someone who is always on the run because of work and just needs someone or a company to do a task for them that they would not be able to do because of work. I think this idea would be relatively easy to exploit. You would just have to do some research and some testing and see how many people would have a company do a service for them because they don't have time and then try and narrow down what service is the most popular among ideas. I saw this opportunity because I have seen other companies exploit this, like shipted, who deliver groceries to people and everybody is just on the go 24/7 now a days and I just feel like the next big "service" company is out there yet to be discovered.

3.It maybe small, but there is a regulatory change going on right now under the Trump administration that would lift certain fishing regulations in certain areas as stated in a New York Times article. I am a huge fan of fishing so I see an opportunity here to sell better fishing equipment for those fish that are being deregulated. I see an opportunity because it gives people who want to fish a wider range of fish to catch and a wider time of the year to catch these fish. The typical customer would be someone who enjoys the outdoors and likes to fish. I think this idea would be relatively easy to exploit as you would just have to do research into what fish and areas are being deregulated and then figure out what equipment and such would sell best in certain areas. I saw through this opportunity because again I am a fan of fishing and this deregulation could open up more and potentially better fishing for other people who would like to participate.

4.In the same NY times article stated above, there is also a deregulation to stop discouraging plastic water bottles sales in national parks. I see this as a great opportunity to develop or sell reusable water bottles in these parks. The typical customer would be someone who enjoys visiting these national parks and either forgets to bring a reusable bottle or doesn't have one and doesn't want to litter or use plastic in a national park. I think this would be a little harder to exploit because there are already companies that sell really good reusable bottles but getting them into national parks would be a great idea for people who would want to use them. I see through this opportunity because I want to cut down on my waste  and use of plastic bottles and I see a great opportunity to sell them in these national parks.

Friday, January 26, 2018

5A- Local opportunities.

1. "-Point-in-Time survey tallies Alachua County's homeless"
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169AC974AAF87918?p=WORLDNEWS 
-In this article, it is describes a survey done by the county where they try and get a count of the homeless population in Alachua County. It not only aims at getting a count of the homeless population but also the supplies and materials they need. It gives data on what the survey has found in the past and what type of patterns they are finding in the survey.
-The biggest problem in the story of course is the homeless people living on the streets, but I see an opportunity to look into ways that have not been done before to try and help the homeless population in our community. 
-The problem extends to the individuals that homeless affects and the families involved in such a horrible predicament. 

2.Cyberbullying: 2 Florida kids arrested after girl's suicide
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169A751FAB8FD330?p=WORLDNEWS
-In this article, it is talking about a case where two teenagers are being charged with cyberbullying another teen who eventually committed suicide. It talks about the details of the case and what the kids were being charged with. It interviews parents involved and the parents stress how more must be done in schools and the community,
-The problem presented in the story is not only cyberbullying but how there needs to be more awareness in communities and more students being educated on the harm that the internet can do to other people. 
-Young children in todays society have this problem but it is also a problem for the families involved, especially for the parents having to deal with these situations.

3.Study finds nitrates not only problem affecting springs
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/16977BB2347C1C88?p=WORLDNEWS
-In this article, it was explaining how out local springs around the Gainesville area are being affected by rapid algae growth and blooming from local run offs in our area. It examines what is happening and the science behind the algae blooms. It expresses how there are ways that people are trying to reduce the nitrates and run off currently but there still is a major problem.
-The problem in the story is the rapid algae growth and nitrate runoff that is occurring in our springs around Gainesville.
-Technically the problem falls of the parks and people who own the springs but as concerned citizens, it should be all our problem as we should want to cut down on the destroying of out local ecosystems. 

4.Memorial to Tom Petty on 34th Street defaced
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/1694859D10838230?p=WORLDNEWS
-In this article, it is describing how the newly famous 34th painted wall, Tom Petty tribute, was vandalized. The painting paid tribute to the great Tom Petty who was a Gainesville native.
-The problem was that an important piece of art in Gainesville was vandalized and someone defaced the painting that someone worked very hard on.
-The problem falls on the city of Gainesville as technically the act was not illegal in anyway because the 34th wall is frequently painted, but it is just an unwritten rule that some of the spaces are to remain untouched.

5.Crisis center volunteers needed
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169433D51E66CE70?p=WORLDNEWS.
-This article was stating how the local crisis center needs volunteers. It stated details of the job and what the requirements were and what type of people they were looking for.
-The problem associated with this story is that the center needs help and they are reaching out to the local community to find help.
This problem affects the crisis center and then externally the people who rely on the crisis center as they call and need help.

4A-Forming an opportunity belief

1. Ever since I have started here at UF, I have had this thought that there was an opportunity to start a company or build an App that connected students with other students in the same classes in a more user friendly way outside of Canvas.

2. In my belief, I think there is an unmet need for students to reach out to other students in their classes to try and connect with each other and help one another in the classes they have together. Students wishing to branch out and connect with their classmates in a less formal setting have the unmet need. I feel as though this has always been around, but with technology now a days, there are more ways to able to meet this need. What people are doing now are they are either just posting things in canvas or posting on UF class pages asking for help. With my idea, I could consolidate all of this into one application where a student can put up their class schedule and match with similar students to form study groups when at the library or connect with other students who may be able to help other students with the classes they are taking.

3. Iterations: For my 3 interviews, the prototypical customer was a student here at the University of Florida.
-Customer 1: When asked about the nature of the unmet need, Rachael stated that she had never thought of the idea of connecting students who needed help but she thought that an opportunity like that would be one that could work for students. She thought that the need would be there for students who don't have an easy way of connecting with other students. Right now, Rachael addresses the need of connecting with other students in helping with her classes by reaching out to people in the clubs and organizations she's in. She said she would try out such an opportunity and thinks that it would have an impact on certain students.

-Customer 2: Sean is a Poly Science major here at UF and when asked about the nature of the unmet need, he stated that it would work for students who are in classes that are challenging that don't have a lot of the tutors that many of the major classes like calculus or chemistry would have. For him, he said he faces this unmet need quite often because his classes are so specific, that he can't find help in them with outside tutors because they don't know the subject material. So connecting Sean with other classmates that are in the class with him would help him with the material at hand. He said he first became aware of this need when he got into his upper level classes that started to get more specific and more challenging but with less help outside of the professor. He is currently addressing this need by trying to talk to some kids in his classes but sometimes kids aren't responsive or aren't willing to help out. He thinks an alternate solution would benefit him greatly.

-Customer 3: Hunter is a Psychology major here at UF and he said it would work for students that maybe more shy, like himself, and help break the ice in asking for help over an app instead in person. He said he comes about this unmet need often because he sometimes has trouble in his classes and wants to ask someone in his class for help, but he is often too shy to do so and then he must figure out the stuff on his own. He said he has had this need for a while. He is also currently addressing the problem now by either posting on Facebook again, or just simply now asking for help outside of talking with the professor if he even does that. Hunter stated that he would be up to try the idea in the hopes that he would be able to reach out to his classmates and get more help with his classes.

5. In my interviews, I was surprised that 2 of the 3 customers had trouble reaching out to their fellow classmates. For some people that is a hard thing to do because either their personality doesn't fit that mold to do something like that or they are not as involved as other students are. Such as the case with Sean and Hunter, they want to reach out to other students and try and get help or offer help, but besides Facebook or Canvas, they don't have a way to do that. But it was also surprising to see that students, such as Rachael, who are involved with other students, would still be up to trying the idea and branching out even more.

7. I still think a majority of the opportunity is there, given that the 3 customers were willing to give my idea a shot and I believe with a little more planning and getting down to details, my opportunity would be more accurate. Entrepreneurs should do a little bit of both when coming up with ideas and opportunities. If you feel as though you have a great idea, you should try and stick with it but at the same time, you have to adapt to the customers that you are trying to sell to because at the end of the day, the customer is the one who matters the most. If they don't see your idea as an opportunity that could improve upon, then they won't use your product and you won't be able to see your idea.

Friday, January 19, 2018

3A- My Entrepreneurship Story


     My entrepreneurship story would have to begin with my dad. I am proud to say that my dad is an entrepreneur.  He is an entrepreneur in that he, along with a close friend of his, started a local small town pharmacy in a small town outside of Gainesville(I am originally from Gainesville, just a small fun fact about myself). This has been a cool experience growing up because I have seen what it has mean't to own and operate a small business. Just from the outside of it though, I can tell you, it is a lot of hard work that a lot of people don't get to see. However, seeing the pharmacy grow into what it is now, and seeing how proud my dad is of it, is really empowering. An upside is that my dad is his own boss and that was a major reason why he wanted to open his own business. For me, it made me not want to go into pharmacy as a career because I saw how much chemistry you needed to know and let me tell you, I am awful at chemistry. I would consider my dad an entrepreneur because he is always looking for ways that the pharmacy can grow and he is considering opening up a new store sometime in the future.

     I enrolled in this class because I have always had a small interest in entrepreneurship and I wanted to find out what it was all about more than just starting a business. I hope to gain skills that I hope I can transfer into helping find a career down the road and maybe even learn a thing or two that I can help my dad with in his entrepreneurship voyage. 
     

My bug list

Austin's Bug List:

1. Students being distracting in class with other students around them such as surfing on Facebook or watching Netflix in the middle of class.
-This exists because students now a days cannot stay focused on a task, such as paying attention to an hour lecture because of all the technology that we have available to us. I am of course guilty of this but when I realize what I am doing, I try to think of how this affects other students and I try to stop.

2. It bugs me when car driver's are not considerate of scooter drivers.
-This is simply just car drivers getting irritated with the pace that which scooters go and everybody in todays world thinks that their time is better than everyone else and they need to get everywhere they are going in as fast time as possible.

3.It maybe weird, but when Chick-Fil-A says my pleasure after every sentence.
-They do this to obviously make you feel comfortable and to seem that they are there for you for any convenience and to increase their customer service which they are known for.

4.When people are rude to retail associates, such as cashiers at Publix, when that associate has nothing to do with the situation at hand.
-I believe this occurs because people will take their anger out on anyone who they think that maybe linked to a problem and in todays world, "the customer is always right". This saying has given rise to the customer having a false sense of power and always thinking that they know more than the people who work at such places.

5.When my roommates don't take out the trash or recycling and leave it on me to do it.
-This occurs because I took out the trash our first week in the house we'd since then, they have not touched it because in their mind, if they don't have to do it, it is not their problem to deal with.

6.It bugs me when people smoke around children or in public and don't try and be considerate with the smoke.
-I think this happens just because people are so wrapped up in the their own world, that they do not take the time to think about how their actions affect others and they don't care either.

7.It bugs me I call a business, such as the county court house and I want to speak to an actual person but I only get a machine answer.
-This happens because the company has to have an efficient way to answer all the calls without having to hire someone to do it.

8.I don't like it when the garbage man throws my trash can in my yard, as if he or she was in such a hurry they couldn't just put it up right.
-This is so because they are in a hurry and have a lot of houses to get to.

9.When people are not considerate drivers and drive dangerously around other cars.
 -People just feel as though their time is more valuable than other people's time and will swerve in and out of traffic to get around cars just to shave a minute or two off of their trip.

10.It bugs me when parents don't look after their kids and just let them do whatever they want such as crawl around on the floor or climb over things in a store.
-I believe this happens because the parents just get fed up with the kids behaviors and they don't want to discipline them for everything they do, so they just let it happen without and consequence.

11.It also bugs me when parents don't discipline their children in anyway and just let bad behavior goes unnoticed.
- Some parents just have that philosophy that punishing a child in any form is bad for the kid, but you have to at least let a child know when he or she is doing a wrong behavior.\

12. I hate it when people leave trash on a table at like a fast food place such as Chick-Fil-A, and don't pick up after themselves.
-I would assume that people that do this just think that the employees will clean it up and yes they will, but you should always try and clean up after yourself.

13.It bugs me when kids are incredibly disrespectful to their parents and are rude to them.
-Some kids just have that type of attitude where they will be rude to anybody including their parents and they don't care.

14.I do not like it when someone is talking on the phone when they go down a line at a grocery store and totally avoid the cashier.
-People just think that their conversation is better than talking to someone else and they don't care that they are being rude by not even acknowledging the cashier.

15. It bugs me when someone does not say thank you when I hold the door open for them when we are entering or leaving a building.
-I think this occurs because depending on where you were raised, some people just weren't taught that you should say thank you after a simple act like that.

16.It annoys me to no end when someone talks or their phone goes off in a movie.
-This happens because again, people are not courteous to the people around them and do not think about how their actions might affect other people.

17.It bugs me when there is an event of some sort like a class and it is a full class and someone is saving a seat for someone who either isn't there yet or doesn't show up at all which leaves someone else left out that could have sat in that seat.
-People want to sit next to other people they know in things, and they just want to save a spot for someone they know. 

18.I hate it when I can hear other peoples music in quite places such as Marston or Library West.
-I am going to assume that the person doesn't realize that their music is as loud as it is but still, you should be conscious of it if you are playing music.

19.It bugs me when people don't pull all they way up in a scooter parking place so if someone wants to park in that spot, they have to go all the way around and the sidewalk just to park their scooter.
-People do this so they have an easier time to get out of a parking spot.

20.It bugs me when people on bikes don't watch out for people walking or crossing the street.
-This happens because just like in a car, a person on a bike thinks you'll move out of the way for them and if not you will get hit.

-In all honesty, I did not really have trouble finding it hard to come up with this list of things that bug me. I had to give it some thought because I normally don't think about these things but once I had a couple, they just started to flow and I had an easier time coming up with the list. Most of these things I brush off and don't think about, or if I see it, I won't say anything about and I think that was the hardest part about coming up with this list.

Sunday, January 14, 2018