5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

Identifying Local Opportunities 

Title: The battle over Lake 0 levels: Toxic algae, water supplies at forefront 

Link to article: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200131/battle-over-lake-o-levels-toxic-algae-water-supplies-at-forefront

This article is about a local debate as to how high to keep the water in Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee plays a big role in water supply, but also produces an algae that is said to be toxic. Some argue that keeping the water levels in the lake lower will prevent the toxic algae from growing, while others predict that a low lake may result in a threat to water supplies for the county I live in, Palm Beach County. 

The problem presented in the article involves the tradeoffs between keeping water levels in the lake low and stopping the algae from growing, but also threatening water supplies in Palm Beach County. 

This problem has a widespread effect on everyone living in the surrounding areas of the lake. 

Title: Here is a list of hot traffic zones during Super Bowl LIV week

Link to article: https://www.local10.com/traffic/2020/01/28/here-is-list-of-hot-traffic-zones-during-super-bowl-liv-week/

This article is in regard to the upcoming NFL Super Bowl, happening in Miami on February 2^nd. The Super Bowl has attracted thousands of out-of-town football fans to travel to Miami, resulting in street closures. 

The problem presented in this article is that the traffic in Miami is expected to be at an all-time high because of this massive sporting event. Road closures are already in effect to control the flow of the traffic. 

Local residents are most affected by this problem. They will face heavy traffic jams all weekend. 

Title: Business owners prepare for end of snowbird season

Link to article: https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/business-owners-prepare-for-end-of-snowbird-season

This article is about the effects of snowbirds coming to Florida during the Winter season.

This article presents several problems. For one, it mentions that reservations for restaurants can be up to two weeks during the season time when snowbirds are visiting from the North. Also, the article mentions that there were 15,000 more drivers on I-95 in March compared to September. This causes a major difference in travel times on the roads. 

Local residents are greatly affected by this. During the winter months, it may take one double the amount of time to travel than during the summer months. Also, it is hard to find entertainment that is not overcrowded during these months. 

Title: The future of Palm Beach County school crowding: Will kids be elbow-to-elbow in 5 years? 

Link to article: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200122/future-of-palm-beach-county-school-crowding-will-kids-be-elbow-to-elbow-in-5-years

This article goes over the growing problem of schools becoming increasingly over-populated and the distribution of the student population.

This article presents the problem of overcrowded schools in Palm Beach County. The distribution amongst the schools in the county is not even, as families are all going to specific regions and over-populating those regions. The schools in those regions are experiencing major overcrowding. 

School students are affected by this problem. With schools becoming overcrowded, it is limiting the amount of interaction between individual students and teachers and could result in hindering their learning experience. 

Title: Railroad crossing-arm problems are gumming up traffic from Miami to West Palm Beach

Link to article: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article239520088.html

This article is about the effects that malfunctioning railroads are having on locals in the Miami-Dade and West Palm Beach areas.

This article brings to light the problem of malfunctioning railroad crossing arms and the effects that the problem is having on traffic. I have experienced first-hand the malfunctioning of local railroad track arms, which results in cars being backed up for miles. 

Local drivers are affected by the malfunctioning of the railroad crossing arms. I have personally been affected by this matter, being late to work one day because of it. 

4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

Forming An Opportunity Belief

1.     One belief of an opportunity that I believe exists is in restaurants. I work at a restaurant and see a lot of people become unhappy and anxious when they do not receive immediate service. 

2.     In this case, the unmet need is the utilization of technology to its capabilities to enhance a customer’s restaurant experience.  Any customer who is in a time crunch or is hungry has this need. This need has always existed as restaurants typically rely on people to take customer’s orders rather than technology devices. I see a few big corporation restaurants put tablets on the table for customers to pay and order dessert, which is one step closer to this need being fulfilled. I am 75% sure that this opportunity exists at this point. 

3.     The prototypical customer in this case is a restaurant goer who wants prompt service.

4.     In this case, I spoke with one of the regular customers that come into my restaurant. They believed that a fully self-service experience ordering through tablets and getting prompt service would be beneficial. They become aware of this need during busy times when their server is unable to get to them as quickly as they would like to take their order. They said that this need has existed forever. They first became aware of it when they had a theatre show to attend one night and were late because they came in and were not given prompt service, having had to wait extensively for their server to take their order and get it through to the kitchen to be prepared. They say that at this time they have not taken any actions to address this need. 

5.     Upon reflection, I have learned that this opportunity does exist and would be beneficial to a lot of people. However, in talking with these customers, I also came to realize that utilizing technology to create a fully self-service experience would take from the interactive experience of dining out. For instance, regular customers of a restaurant enjoy interacting with their servers and forming relationships with them. The most surprising thing I learned about my opportunity is that there is a big downside when it comes to people who wish to go for the experience of interacting with others. 

A. The prototypical customer in this case is someone who is in a time crunch.

B. I spoke with a customer who came into my restaurant who rushed to counter to order a to-go and seemed to be in a crunch for time. I asked him if he believed there was a need for a quick option to get service without having to rely on people for taking his order      and he believed there was. He said it was in times like this where he was in a rush to get to his kid’s school event where he said it would be beneficial to having a self-service       option to getting his food as quickly as possible. At this given time, the restaurant was     not very busy, and he received very prompt service, but he did admit that he has          experienced prior instances in which he needed quick service and was not granted it. 

C. Upon reflecting on our very brief encounter, I learned that this opportunity exists but        with a twist. I believe the customer made a great point in mentioning that this        opportunity should be given as an option only for those who want it. The most     surprising thing I learned about my opportunity is that it can be extremely beneficial as an option, rather than being. set-in-stone. Now, only people who need it can use it.

A. The prototypical customer is one who is hungry.  

B. In this case, I talked with my girlfriend, who is always hungry when we go out and wants   immediate service. She is not one who goes as much for the experience, but rather for the convenience. She experiences this need quite often and became aware of it at a recent visit to a local diner, where we had to wait 10 minutes for our server to even         come over and bring us drinks. She says she first became aware of it a long time ago          when she almost walked out of a restaurant because it had seemed like she was forgotten, having to wait extensively for a server to even greet her. She now addresses   this need by ordering over the phone, so she doesn’t need to wait for her food, she   rather places the order and by the time she arrives it is ready. She is satisfied with this     solution but wishes there was a quicker way to dine out. 

C. I learned that a self-service restaurant would be most beneficial for a customer who is      very hungry and still wants to dine out while also having their food prepared as quickly      as possible. The most surprising thing I learned about my opportunity here is that this     option would really be the best of both worlds, as customers could eat as promptly or as      slowly as they wish.  

7.     There is no doubt that my opportunity belief changed as a consequence of my customer interactions. I do still believe that the opportunity is still there, however I located a lot of obstacles. In my encounters with the customers that I interviewed, the two main setbacks I face with this opportunity is that some people are not technologically savvy and may have a difficult time with sending their orders through a tablet, and that having everything be self-service would take from the interactive experience of dining out. I believe a new opportunity has arisen though, in offering tablets only to those who want them. Now, people who are in need of immediate service can get it, and those who want to enjoy an experience and want to interact can do so. I believe customer feedback is essential to locating opportunities and entrepreneurs should absolutely adapt based on it. 

3A My Entrepreneurship Story

My Entrepreneurship Story

My interest and passion for entrepreneurship began at a very young age. When I was about 14 years old, my mom loaned me $220 to buy a pair of limited edition sneakers. I received the sneakers in the mail and quickly sold them for a profit. I went on to use the money I had made from this transaction to fund future purchasing, continuously buying and selling more and more limited edition sneakers. About one year after I had started, my friend at the time who was also involved in buying and reselling limited edition sneakers partnered with me and we created a website and social media pages.   We would spend hours at the mall each day waiting for stores such as Foot Locker and Champs to release highly coveted sneakers so we could be the first purchasers and put them up for sale on our website. We would also attend local sneaker conventions, where we would set up a table with all of our sneakers for sale and interested buyers would line up to purchase them. At age 15, we had gained over 6,000 followers on instagram and a loyal customer base. We turned our passion into a business and have carried that over into other businesses that we both run today.  

I enrolled in ENT 3003 because of my passion for entrepreneurship. I have always been very intrigued by finding opportunities and meeting unmet customer needs and demands. I also believe that this class will expose me to other perspectives involving entrepreneurship, which I am always interested in learning about. 

ENT 3003 2A Bug List Assignment

Bug List

1.     Bug: On my way to work at 9:30AM, it takes me 35 minutes to arrive. However, on my way home at 3PM, the same drive only takes 20 minutes. 

Why does this bug exist? This bug exists because 9:30AM is a standard time for people to go to work, however 3PM is an odd time for people to leave. Therefore, the roads are backed up at 9:30AM, and not so much at 3PM. 

2.     Bug: My car tells me when my tire pressure is low, however does not let me know which tire. 

Why does this bug exist? My car is an older model and technology was not as sophisticated at the time of production as it is now. 

3.     Bug: Restaurants pre-season and marinate a lot of foods, making it difficult for health-conscious people to eat out. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because pre-seasoning and marinating foods makes it a more efficient process for the restaurant to serve customers in a timely manner. 

4.     Bug: In Florida, the roads are generally much busier during the Winter. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because a lot of people living up North come to Florida during this time to escape the extremely cold weather conditions. 

5.     Bug: It is difficult to purchase some of my favorite Michael Jordan shoes.

Why does this bug exist? It exists because the demand is so high and supply is low, therefore creating a shortage of these shoes. 

6.     Bug: Cruise prices are more expensive in the Summer. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because a lot of people have time off from work in the Summer, therefore more people have time to go on cruises which increases the demand. Also, the weather is more ideal in the Summer. 

7.     Bug: When doing laundry at my local coin laundry, I have to put my clothes to wash, wait for them to wash, transfer them to the dryer, and wait for them to dry. This is a very time-consuming process. 

Why does this bug exist? This bug exists because most coin laundry facilities have cheap equipment that does not have the capabilities of washing/drying clothes in one sitting. 

8.     Bug: A crack in my phone caused it to break completely. 

Why does this bug exist? The crack in my phone allowed for water to reach inside and ruin the phones functionality. 

9.     Bug: The blinds in my room still allow for sunlight to get inside. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because my fan causes the blinds to move back and forward, allowing for sunlight to creep inside. 

10.  Bug: Computers slow down when multiple different browsers are open at the same time.

Why does this bug exist? It exists because computers can only handle so many tabs at one time. 

11.  Bug: It generally takes a long time to get seated at a restaurant on the weekends.

Why does this bug exist? It exists because the weekends are a popular time for families to gather for dining out. 

12.  Bug: It is difficult to find parking on campus. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because there are a lot of students enrolled, which leaves a shortage for parking spots. 

13.  Bug: There are no other alternatives to flying to get to your destination quickly. 

Why does this bug exist? As of right now, there are no other options that can move as fast as planes. 

14.  Bug: Air Conditioning units generally do not give you any warnings as to when they will break. 

Why does this bug exist? It exists because many units do not offer signs that things such as your refrigerant levels are low and need a refill, thus resulting in more damage. 

15.  Bug: Paper straws get soggy. 

Why does this bug exist? Paper does not mesh well with liquids. 

16.  Bug: Some printers require that all cartridges be filled in order to print, even if you only need one specific color. 

Why does this bug exist? If a cartridge runs out, the printer states that a cartridge is missing, and therefore won’t allow any printing until replaced. 

17.  Bug: Off brand iPhone chargers typically don’t function after a couple of couple of uses. 

Why does this bug exist? They are not produced by Apple and may not be made properly. 

18.  Bug: I often times see furniture sitting on the side of the road. 

Why does this bug exist? Trash pickers generally do not take big items such as furniture, and people do not want to dispose of these items themselves, therefore they are left on the side of the street until someone finally picks them up. 

19.  Bug: Coffee gets cold fast. 

Why does this bug exist? In the Winter, the cold weather makes your coffee cold, and there are very few reliable mugs that will keep it warm. 

20.  Bug: There are many low signal areas where it is difficult to connect to the internet. 

Why does this bug exist? Interference from buildings and construction materials likely     causes of signal to be bad on your phone. 

I experienced little difficulty in writing this list of bugs. In paying closer attention to some of my recent experiences in the past couple of days, coming up with most of the list was easy. This assignment has definitely changed the way I look at things. In paying closer attention to detail and minor inconveniences, it gets you thinking of what the root of each problem may be. 

Test

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