30A final reflection

I think one of the better experiences I’ve had this semester was the whole business model concept. I had a good time coming up with an idea and going through the process of creating the business. I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself as an entrepreneur put, I have the mindset of one. for any future students taking this class the best advice, I could give would be to relax and take a deep breath. When first reading the syllabus and seeing all the assignments you may get flustered at first but take it from me who went through that exact experience. It isn’t that bad.

28A your exit strategy

I think my exit strategy for this business would be to keep it and build it into a franchise that can support my family and possibly pass it down to my kids or grandkids. I have had a lot of interest in this item and feel like it would be an easy sell to many different demographics. I don’t think my exit strategy effected any other part of my business plan so far because when I came up with the idea I came up with it in mind to keep it and build it into a possible frachise.

26A celebrating Failure

I have failed at many things in my life before. This instance happened this semester while playing semi-pro football. I play on a semi-pro team based out of land o lakes, Florida. We have been the most successful team in the area the last 4 years and played in the championship game 3 years in a row. This upcoming season we played in the game once again and ended up losing.



What I learned from this instance is myself and my teammates need to work harder to achieve what we want.



Playing sports my entire life, I have failed a bunch. At this point I am likely more used to it then others as it is a part of the game. Typically, emotionally I am okay depending on the circumstances with how I felt I performed, not statistically but effort wise. This class hasn’t particularly changed my view on failure.

27A- Reading Reflection 3

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

     1.  The theme of the book is that your mindset can impact the way you react and grow in different situations. People with a fixed mindset believe that they can either do something or not because of their talent. People with a growth mindset believe that through hard work and practice anything is possible. The author believes that a person’s mindset and how they view their self affects the way they lead their life. 

     2.  The book connected with what we are learning in ENT 3003 by teaching our brains how to succeed. The learning process and the failures of our early assignments is teaching us how to grow through the process of evaluation and change. With our product idea and in establishing and promoting the products through our elevator pitches and interviews with potential customers, then taking the suggestions of others and adapting what we thought was a good idea. Through this process we are embracing the growth mindset belief. 

     3.  In considering mindset, I would design an exercise for the class in which we focused on businesses or products that failed versus ones that were successful. With the growth mindset in learning what others did that did not work, could be more beneficial than learning about products that did. 

    4.  The biggest surprise to me after reading this book was in realizing that most people have a fixed mindset, believing that talent is more important than anything. If we focus on learning from our failures and embracing them as a part of the growth process, we can become more successful and accept future failures more gracefully. It is within each person to decide whether to be positive or negative throughout their life. Through positive living, we can lead by example, teaching others that their struggles and failures do not define them but how they overcome, learn, and move past them is what os important.

25A whats Next?

Existing Market



After speaking with 3 sperate members of my target audience or target market, they expressed to me that either looking to target potential buyers outside of my targeted audience or looking for other ways to personalize them and make them easier to carry then a water bottle for hikers or travelers.



 From the feedback I have received from both fellow classmates and customers already in my market I have decided to make the product easier to travel with. Upon ordering the bottle you will also receive a free clip that you can attach to a belt loop or backpack strap. The clip can extend so you can just pull it up or down and don’t have to clip it on or off every time you want a drink. Another change I will make to the product is a band that you get free with purchase. The band doesn’t do anything special other then you get to wear it. What the band does for the product is free advertising for the product, any time someone sees the band the customer can tell them about the water bottle and how to purchase one. if the existing customer gets 10 referrals from a new buyer then we will send a personalized water bottle to the existing customer free of shipping as a thank you.





New Market



A potential new market I would like to target would be people who tend to work inside most of the day either at a cubicle or a desk.



After speaking with a few people who fit my potential new market, I broke down for them exactly what the product was and all the details about tithe both expressed interest in it, but also mentioned making a koozie for the mini water bottles or Fiji water bottles.



After my interviews with new clients I have decided to look at possibly making more products for other water bottles, or even a koozie that works the same, but is flexible to fit all types of koozies. The new market does seem to be appealing and something I would like to take a stab at to se if its worth my time. I would need to talk to more then 2 potential buyers in the new market.

23A Your Venutres unfair advantage

1.       Car – this resource is valuable because it allows me to travel where I need to, when I need to. There are other items that Can get the job done but may not be as quick or efficient.

2.       Self-drive – this trait is very valuable because it shows that I am driven to get or do whatever I need to in order to complete my task. It is rare because a lot of people don’t possess this trait

3.       Kindheartedness – having compassion for others is valuable. In todays society yes, it would be considered a rare trait for someone to have.

4.       Flexibility – by flexibility I mean I can perform many different types of tasks. Being flexible is an important trait to have because it can help you in your future life depending on what sort of career you pursue.

5.       Communication skills – being able to comfortably speak in a public setting is very valuable regardless of what career you work in.

6.       Awareness – always being aware of your surroundings in different types of settings is important. You always need to make sure your aware of your surroundings.

7.       Self-respect – resecting yourself in todays world is very valuable and rare. Not much can substitute for it.

8.       Compassion – truly caring about others and their personal feelings is as important and value as any. This is a good way to gain trust from people who know you truly care about how they are or what they think.

9.       Trustworthy – having people know you’re a trustworthy person is very valuable and even rarer in today’s world

10.    Goal oriented – being goal oriented can be valuable. If you have certain goals, it’s important to know what it will take to achieve them and how to get there.

In my opinion I would my top resource would have to be being goal- oriented. There are some traits or items up there that are obtainable or can be taught. Being goal oriented is a very rare and unique trait that not everyone processes in this world.

Reading Reflecitions #2

1. The biggest theme to me of the book was that "goals are for losers. Basically, if you set goals you are setting yourself up for failure and won’t achieve true success. once you accomplish your goal you have nothing to work towards. His most impactful example of this was having a goal of losing 20 pounds vs the system of eating right.

2. This book connected with that we are learning in ENT 3003 by the fact that he enforces the idea that you got to be in it to win it. The author mentions how to be. This kind of goes with the idea of entrepreneurship because to be successful in your own business, you need to be motivated and hardworking and just go after what you want. 

3. My favorite part of the book was the part on being mediocre at many things and how power can rise from that (mostly because I relate to it). Because of this, I would design an exercise that coincides with this idea. It would involve writing down all the things that an individual is mediocrely good at and then with that, trying to come up with how you they could use that to their benefit. 

4.  As I mentioned above, in one part of the book Adams mentions that he is good at a bunch of different things, but he isn't great at them. He has the power of "leveraging multiple mediocre skills." I connected with this instantly because this very much describes me. I always thought that this was a bad thing, but he made it look so positive. He pointed out all the good things that can come from being mediocre at a wide range of skills, and it made me feel better about who I am.