Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity:

The opportunity in my venture is the fact there are over 50,000 students plus more faculty and staff at the University of Florida and only a select group can find parking on campus, despite if they have a parking decal or not. I want to expand parking on UF's campus so that whoever paid for a parking decal, can actually park with no worries. The potential consumers of this service are faculty, staff and students of the University of Florida. The opportunity is huge because of the magnitude of people on this campus, now with the growing number of commuting students that attend universities. This window of opportunity is now and will be ever-growing, as long as our campus keeps expanding.


Innovation:

This innovation, which is really just an expansion of an idea, will help thousands of UF faculty, staff and student. By creating more parking on campus, whether this is adding on to existing parking places, or building completely new ones, will create more ease for those who need to commute to work or class. This also will solve problems for students who actually live on the campus and need a place to park close to their dorms or campus housing. Our goal for this venture is to keep parking prices relatively the same. We believe that people are willing to pay the money for decals if they will actually find a parking spot. From this payment, we will be able to take a portion out to maintain the new parking garages and facilities.


Venture Concept:

With the addition of the parking available on this campus, peoples worries about moving their cars, buying scooters, or even walking places will be lifted. The competition to this expansion of parking includes the rise of students who now travel around campus via scooter. I believe that there is still enough people who will need to park their cars, whether it be because they live on campus or they do not want to spend the money on a scooter. This expansion will also heighten security at the university. No longer will people have to park far from where they live. If people get home late at night, they do not have to worry about being unsafe walking home in the dark. The problems and worries that the expansion of parking are limitless. This will heighten the attitudes of all who are affected by the parking issue on campus. As for finances, my initial goal here is not to makes as much money as possible. It first and foremost is to correct the problem that is on our campus. Once it is corrected, when I will look into turning a larger profit from what I will be making in the meantime.


I believe that the most important resource I have is the support of so many people. People are aware of the issue and need a solution to fix it. This venture could be around for a long time. With the continuous expansion of our campus, there will always bee a need for more parking. After UF's campus, I would love to expand my services to other places that struggle with the same issues.


Reflecting on my first post, I had a lot of support in the comments that were excited and supportive of my idea because of their personal experiences with parking on UF's campus. One question asked is how I will make money. I addressed this in my updated concept. My first goal is to correct the problem, then I will look into turning a higher profit once things have been corrected. In regards to my whats next post, Many agreed that my expansion was a great idea. I think once finding the right person, the expansion of parking in places other than college campuses is a great investment.

Final Reflection

Reading through all my past assignments in this class I can see growth in myself and the concept I have created this semester. One of my favorite assignments was interviewing 5 friends, and having them tell you what they think of you. This was really eye-opening for me because it made me what great relationships and friends I have in my life. I am most proud of the concept I have created and the ideas that have come up through my posts. I also appreciate all of the feedback that my classmates have given me, as they have helped shape my experience and growth in this class. 

Being a public relations student with a little business background, I think my mindset has definitely grown to be more of an entrepreneur. I now think of things with a more business point of view and am able to ask questions that I never would have asked before. I know that I do not fully think like business professionals, but I feel like this class has brought me one step closer to being like-minded with them. 

For a future student, my advice is to stay organized and on top of assignments. It is easy to procrastinate and get behind, so time manages and create a plan for how you will successfully complete this class. Actively responding and trying to understand other peoples business concepts is something that I think really enhanced my learning experience in this class. Lastly, be creative with your concept. The more creative, the more fun you will have with your weekly assignments. 

Your Exit Strategy

In five years, I would consider selling my business concept. This is something I would consider because while parking is an issue that I encounter right now in my college career, it is not one of my main passions. I aspire to help people and make a difference in lives. This is why I would consider selling, not because its not an important issue, but because I have other things I want to accomplish in my life.

I don't think that this exit plan has affected any aspect of my plans. I still believe my concepts and strategies can be used on other campuses to help students and faculty with their parking issues. I believe that someone with a better-related degree and passion could take the concept over and make it even more successful. I still hope that the concept is successful and grows beyond UF's campus and I would encourage whoever takes over the company to do just that.

Reading Reflection No. 3

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc was an entrepreneur who didn't take no for an answer. He was a true salesman, selling whatever he thought would be useful to people, for a large amount of his time, he sold paper cups. What was surprising to me about Kroc was that he was not actually a McDonald's brother, but just someone who discovered them and their business. Something I admire about Kroc was his drive and passion. He never gave up. Something that I don't admire about him was how he treated his relationships. I am a big family person, so knowing that he valued his business more than his family is something I do not agree with.

Kroc demonstrated determination and drive. He was set out to sell people things and be successful no matter how many failures he had. Nothing in the book confused me. For the most part, the book was easy to follow and understand. If I could ask Kroc a question, I would ask him if he regretted valuing his business more than his family and relationships. I would want to know if he was really happy where he ended up. I think Kroc's opinion of hard work is not giving up. He poured everything into every endeavor he set out on, and I think that says a lot about him as a person and as an entrepreneur. I share this opinion to some extreme, but I think that relationships are key to every success in life.

Celebrating Failure

At the beginning of the semester, I failed in one of my classes. Because it was the beginning of the semester, I thought I had all my due dates and assignments planned out, but in the midst of trying to get organized, I missed a date for an assignment. I did the initial portion of it but forgot to reply and participate in the discussion post. This resulted in me receiving a poor grade on one of my first assignments and making a bad impression on my classmates and teacher. I only discovered that I missed part of my assignment when it was graded a few weeks later. This failure has motivated me to be even more diligent in my studies this semester. I am lucky that it was not a larger assignment worth more points that would have affected my grade even more. This class has helped me realize that failures can always be turned into a good thing. I am able to Take my failures and grow from them, not sit and wallow about them. Failure is definitely a hard part of life, but I think it is important to not let it get you down. Everything in your life should be a learning experience - the good and the bad.

What's Next?

Existing Market:

Parking will always be an issue on UF's campus due to the ever-growing nature of the campus. Even when we expand the parking, they will admit more students and hire more faculty and staff. It will keep growing. My market will be around and alive on UF's campus for a long time.

After speaking to 3 people on UF's parking services team, they agreed that the expansion is a great idea. They also said no matter what, someone will complain about not having a spot to park in. I challenge to change that by only selling a certain number of decals, or creating enough spots for students in the area.

I think what makes the most sense in expanding my venture further is analyzing the effects of the expansion and fine-tuning it to what works best for locations on campus. Our ultimate goal is to make students, faculty and staff live easier by this expansion.


New Market:

A radically different market than a college campus would be parking in a downtown area of a city. Parking in downtown areas of cities is always a hassle, so the expansion of parking by building more parking garages would be something that man people would benefit from.

My two uncles run a successful parking business in the Tampa area, so I interviewed them about this business idea. They informed me that dealing with cities and getting permits is much more complicated than just dealing with a university. They said I would need a great team to work with me to make sure I would succeed.

I appreciate the honestly that my uncles gave me about the parking indusry! After research, I think I would be more intrested in expanding my services onto other college campuses who also have similar parking issues to UF.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

The opportunity in my venture is the fact there are over 50,000 students plus more faculty and staff at the University of Florida and only a select group can find parking on campus, despite if they have a parking decal or not. I want to expand parking on UF's campus so that whoever paid for a parking decal, can actually park with no worries. The potential consumers of this service are faculty, staff and students of the University of Florida. The opportunity is huge because of the magnitude of people on this campus, now with the growing number of commuting students that attend universities. This window of opportunity is now and will be ever-growing, as long as our campus keeps expanding.


Innovation:

This innovation, which is really just an expansion of an idea, will help thousands of UF faculty, staff and student. By creating more parking on campus, whether this is adding on to existing parking places, or building completely new ones, will create more ease for those who need to commute to work or class. This also will solve problems for students who actually live on the campus and need a place to park close to their dorms or campus housing. Our goal for this venture is to keep parking prices relatively the same. We believe that people are willing to pay the money for decals if they will actually find a parking spot. From this payment, we will be able to take a portion out to maintain the new parking garages and facilities.


Venture Concept:

With the addition of the parking available on this campus, peoples worries about moving their cars, buying scooters, or even walking places will be lifted. The competition to this expansion of parking includes the rise of students who now travel around campus via scooter. I believe that there is still enough people who will need to park their cars, whether it be because they live on campus or they do not want to spend the money on a scooter. This expansion will also heighten security at the university. No longer will people have to park far from where they live. If people get home late at night, they do not have to worry about being unsafe walking home in the dark. The problems and worries that the expansion of parking are limitless. This will heighten the attitudes of all who are affected by the parking issue on campus. 


I believe that the most important resource I have is the support of so many people. People are aware of the issue and need a solution to fix it. This venture could be around for a long time. With the continuous expansion of our campus, there will always bee a need for more parking. After UF's campus, I would love to expand my services to other places that struggle with the same issues.