What's Next?

Existing Market: At first I wasn't quite sure what might be next for my venture but I think I figured it out. Since I created a service that was all about bringing books to people for a low monthly cost we should expand into audio books, magazines, as well as DVDs to bring to people. In the interviews I conducted I explained my prior venture and everyone seemed thrilled about the idea. When explaining what I intend to do next they thought it would be a good idea but they also said that not many people rent DVDs any longer since streaming has become such a popular option. This made me think about how I could improve even more to bring my customers the best possible experience. One interviewee suggested we pair with a candle company to send a candle in each box because who doesn't love the smell of a candle while reading. This was an interesting idea that could be useful if we were to expand and partner with other companies.

New Market: My prior market included people of all ages not necessarily a single group of individuals. If I were to target a certain group it would be children in impoverished areas that don't have access to books. We would figure out a way to make the books even more affordable for low income families and partner with local schools in the area to bring books to all of the children in the surrounding area. This way we could change children's lives just by offering them books to read so that they might expand their vocabulary, increase their analytical thinking skills, improve memory, and reduce stress. These are just a few of the health benefits seen by reading a book. When conducting interviews with a few local schools it seems like this is something that would benefit a ton of children in low income neighborhoods for the better.


What surprised me the most was the new market and how important it is to give children the access to books while they are developing. Reading has so many health benefits that could change these kids lives just by picking up a book and reading for a little bit each day. An idea from the existing market that I found interesting was an interviewee suggested we add magazines to our subscription service. I thought that this would be something worth considering for the future.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: The opportunity I have identified was created to meet the unmet need of many Americans throughout the country when it comes to reading. There has been a decrease in the use of public libraries and book stores across the country. This is something that effects everyone from young children to the elderly. More people need to take the time and read so they can reap the positive benefits that they have on your mind, body, and intellect. Reading has been proven to have many benefits such as stress reduction, vocabulary expansion, memory improvement, and stronger analytical thinking skills. These are just a few of the reasons that reading is beneficial to your health.  For kids, reading is a way to start their journey into learning and education. This business will be very useful for parents with children who want to encourage their kids to read. The best thing about our business is that it is marketed for people of all ages. This way we can reach out to everyone and find books that our just right for them. Customers are currently satisfying their needs through the use of public libraries, book stores, and online stores. For many people that is all the options for attaining books, but we are trying to change that. Customers should not need to spend about $20 per book to only read it once when they can subscribe in our service for a low monthly cost and receive up to 5 books per month. They will all have to be returned by the end of the month in our easy to return book box to help with the troubles of shipping them back. Then the next month will arrive shortly after to start the whole process all over again all the while getting more people to read. This opportunity has the ability to spread all around the country to those who are looking to expand their minds and vocabulary to better themselves. If everyone in the country started to read at least one book a month we would be able to improve the literacy rate in our country all by picking up a book and reading for a few minutes each day. This window of opportunity will not close because as long as we continue to make history, history will need to be written about. This is how we pass down knowledge of our past present and future to other generations to come. Reading will never go out of style because it is how we connect to all areas of the world.

Innovation: The service I am offering is a book subscription service that allows customers to receive up to 5 books per month that will be delivered right to their door for a low monthly cost. We will have the option for customers to select from a list of interests for their likes and dislikes to help us create a customized list of books for them to chose from each month. This way we are helping them so select books that they might be interested in because for many people they feel overwhelmed with the vast selection of books. By doing this we are able to help them make a selection for the books they would like to order for that month. With each subscription box you receive there will be a box that you will send the books back in so it is easy and there is no need to go to the post office each time to return the books, just stick them right in your mailbox. The book subscription will vary on price depending how many books you would like to read each month as well as the length of time you would like to have the subscription for. The basic membership that comes with 3 books per month is $24.99 and members will receive discounts after they have been with us for 6 months continually. We hope to encourage as many people as we can to start reading by bringing books fright to their door each and every month.  

Venture Concept: The service I have identified will address my opportunity through bringing books to people right at their doorstep for a low monthly cost. Our main goal is get more people to start reading again so they can reap all of the important health benefits associated with reading. Such as; stress reduction, vocabulary expansion, increase in analytical thinking skills, and memory improvement. These are just a few of the added benefits to picking up a book and reading for a little bit of time each day. The business also wanted to help cut down on the prices that people would pay to buy a new book each month. Our service is designed to basically rent books each month and then return them for new ones that you will have selected on the suggested list of books for you that month. Customers will be likely to switch because we are offering multiple books each month for a low cost that are easily accessible and returnable. The hardest part to getting people to switch is how they will hear about us. We will need to have a great marketing team that will be able to push this company to the top. Our competitors will be public libraries, book stores, and online websites. We will be cutting down the prices for books unlike book stores ad online websites who charge about $20 per book. We hope this will incentivize people to subscribe and save using our website. The whole operation will be run out of a large warehouse so they we can keep all of our inventory together and accounted for. Location is not necessarily important since we are shipping all around the country. We will try to reduce cost and make things as efficient as possible to reduce the amount we have to pay in distribution and packaging. Once we get started we will have a better idea of the number of books and employees needed to get the job done in a smooth and efficient manner.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1) My Idea

• V- Specifically designed business that brings books to your door each month 
• R- People have the option to select their interests when signing up 
• I- Not hard to copy but will be making improvements to make it better
• N- Yes, but as a company we pride ourselves on creating a personalized list for every customer to enjoy

2)  Feedback

• V- Allows me to hear raw intel of what people think so we can improve
• R- It gives an inside look into the customers thoughts about the products 
• I- Feedback is a necessary part to growing your business
• N- Asking customers how we can better their experience on the website 

3) Delivering books to your doorstep 

• V-Allows subscribers the ease of receiving books at their door without having to leave the house
• R- Helps those who can't go to the bookstore as often as they like have the option to receive them  at home 
• I- Not difficult to copy seeing as we are a subscription service
• N- People could utilize their local libraries instead of this service

4) Customers of All Ages

• V- Allows us to tap into an entire market of people from all ages giving us the ability to have a vast selection of books. 
• R- Not many companies can say that they can market to people of all ages 
• I- Not hard to copy but would require a product or service that would be looking to market to everyone 
• N- Yes there are other subscription services that have the same concept 

5) Management Experience 

• V- Being able to lead a company with good management skills will inspire our employees to work harder 
• R- Able to connect with employees to make sure they are happy so they can work hard for the company they are passionate about 
• I- It is easy to be a good manager you just need to exude confidence, compassion, and be empathetic to others
• N- Being a good manager is about being able to work well with others and still lead them 

6) Connecting with schools and other companies

• V- Able to see the insight into other companies to better ours
• R- Gain valuable knowledge into the ins and outs of having a book company 
• I- Not hard to imitate but it is very useful 
• N- Talking with competitors  

7) Working with local schools 

• V- Able to see what types of books children are interested in 
• R- Helps us to see what selections we should have on file 
• I- Anyone can work with local schools so it's not hard to imitate 
• N- Companies such as the scholastic book fair would be very helpful to talk with 

8) Working with the elderly in assisted living facilities 

• V- Able to see what elderly folks are interested in reading
• R- Helps to see how many different selections of books we will need 
• I-  Not hard to imitate just need to find people to work with
• N- Yes but I feel like most people don't see the elderly as a huge market to tap into 

9) Personalized list of books each month to chose from

• V- Easier for the customers to select books for that month
• R- Personalized to each customer 
• I- Not hard to imitate just need to see what each customer likes and dislikes 
• N- Yes but they way we use them is to help us create a list of suggestions for each customer 

10) Low monthly cost

• V- More people will be inclined to subscribe if it is a low monthly cost 
• R- People enjoy subscription service so why not create one that will help them expand their vocabulary and minds
• I- Easy to create a low monthly cost if you have the right suppliers and ways to expeditie processes 
• N- Yes amazon offers 2 day shipping for all its prime members

After conducting the VRIN analysis I feel like the top resource is the feedback we receive from our customers and business associates. Everything we get back we go through so that we can improve for our customers and make it a seamless online experience that will keep them wanting to resubscribe each month. It is just so valuable to hear what customers think and new ideas they create so that we can continue to grow. 

Reading Reflection No. 2

1. For the second reading reflection I decided to read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck. I found this book very interesting to read because it pertains to what I am majoring in. The general theme throughout the book is that the view you adopt of yourself will profoundly affect the way you live your life. There were two main classifications of mindset, fixed and growth. A growth mindset is one that believes your  basic qualities are ones that you can cultivate and grow overtime. Whereas a fixed mindset is one that says your basic qualities are engraved in you and you are who you are. 

2. I felt as if this book helped me to expand my insight into my own mind in a way that will positively enhance my learning throughout this class. The main point of Carol Dweck's book is that a growth mindset is beneficial because you are more open to new ideas and concepts. Carol Dweck believed that you need to confront your challenges and keep working on it which is exactly what a growth mindset sets to accomplish. This is extremely important to an entrepreneur when they are going through trials and errors to find the perfect product. 

3. If I were to design an exercise for the class based on Carol Dweck's book, I would create a questionnaire for everyone to fill out. This would help to determine which mindset each person in the class has. It would be a similar questionnaire to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator which helps people to decide which type they might fall into.  That being said that doesn't mean that someone can't fall towards the middle of the spectrum. 

4. Something that shocked me about Carol Dweck's book is that your mindset you adopt of yourself can be seen as early as four years old. It amazed me to think that your personality can really begin to show at such a young age when children's brains are still developing. 

Elevator Pitch 3

Reflection:
I received positive feedback on my previous elevator pitch, therefor my main focus was building off those strengths in this video. I attempted to appear straightforward and direct while avoiding hesitations and pauses. I also tried to have a similar tone / attitude as the first elevator pitch. Thanks for the helpful feedback, I hope this video more effective than the last.

Growing Your Social Capital

At first I struggled with who to talk to as a domain expert in my industry but then I thought of one in the local community that has a similar service. The Alachua County Library is open to the public and allows those to come in and check out books all year long. Even though they are not the same subscription service that we are trying to create they do have very similar ideals and goals when it comes to reading. I spoke with Cheryl at the library and she told me she has worked there for over 10 years. She has spent over a decade of her life devoted to books and encouraging kids as well as adults the importance of reading. Cheryl will be my domain expert for this assignment, she has valuable experience that will be useful to my business. Since she has worked with books for over 10 years Cheryl has come to appreciate the wide array of literary work that can be found in her library. This massive assortment of books sometimes makes it hard to find the right one for someone. So Cheryl uses a website online that catalogs all the books in the library so you can easily go online and select genres you might be interested in. This will be helpful for my business to create a template for people when they go online and select their preferences. I found Cheryl by calling the Alachua County Library and we spoke for about 15 minutes as I gathered important information. I did an over the phone elevator pitch for her and she was very impressed. Even though it was over the phone she said it was like I was right in front of her giving the pitch.  By talking with Cheryl I gained pertinent information that will be used to grow my business and enhance my networking abilities throughout the literary community.

The expert on your market was one of the hardest of the three to find but after some research I was able to find someone to help. My friend volunteers at a local Elementary school in the area with after school care. I went with him one day to see if I could speak with the school librarian regarding how she selects the books for the students in the school. Elaine has been the school librarian for 7 years and still enjoys seeing the children explore new books. I explained to Elaine my idea for the business and she said it would be a great tool for parents to utilize for their young children. When asking her about how she chooses the books that will be found in the library she said, "We go through a book company that will give us a list of the best books out this month and I usually select from there. But we also have a station where students can write in book suggestions that they have. " I thought that the book suggestions area was a great idea to add onto the website. By talking with a school librarian like Elaine I was able to see how she makes the selections for the books in the school. This was a valuable exchange because I learned what kids are interested in these days which will help to select books for them.  This has been a very beneficial encounter that will help me to expand my networking  abilities.

The last person I spoke with was the supplier for the local elementary school that Elaine referred me to. The man on the phone I spoke with was named James and he was very helpful answering any questions I had regarding the suppliers role of the business. I explained to James a little bit about what my business was and how I intend on seeing it through. He was impressed and had a ton of helpful information that I could use for the future. I was curious as to the number of books he would think I would need to have on file so that I can support all of the customers. He said it would take a warehouse full of books to keep things running smoothly. After hearing this I realized it would take a vast system to be able to keep all of the inventory on file and up to date. This was something I had not considered before talking with James. There was a whole other side to the supplier that I had known nothing about until my interview with James. This has been one of the most productive conversations I have had  with someone in the industry and it has benefited me in ways that will allow me to expand my networking capabilities.

I have to say that this was one of the harder assignments we have had to complete this semester. I struggled at first finding the right experts to help me in each field but after research I was able to find people to help. Since I did struggle a bit with this assignment it made me work harder and dig deeper to find the answers I was searching for. It was a very valuable assignment that will help to shape the rest of this semester in ways that taught us how to network within the industry. It was different from past assignments when it came to networking but it was the most valuable to me.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) Hi, my name is Will kutash and I am trying to change the way that people obtain books and start a community that is dedicated to seeing more people pick up a book and start reading. I have always been a very resourceful guy that can come up with a solution to a problem when no one else could.  My innovative thinking will allow me to create new ideas and expand the bounds of my own creativity for the benefit of others. I hope I can impact thousands of lives in a positive way.

2) The business I have created is an online website that will allow people to start a book subscription service. This service will bring you up to 5 books per month based on the amount that you would like to recieve. We hope that by doing so we will be encouraging people to pick up a book and dive into  a new adventure. When signing up we will have a list of options so they can input their preferences so the books that we will recommend each month they will be interested in reading. This business is available to  people of all ages from young children all the way to senior citizens.

3) This business is targeted for people of all ages to dive back into the world of reading and find authors that they can connect with. By having such a wide age demographic we are opening ourselves up to a huge selection of books.  This will help to bring in more people that are interested in the service we are providing. All of our customers will have the desire to increase their vocabulary, expand their minds, and dive into a world full of adventure. \

4) Reading has been proven to have many health benefits such as stress reduction, vocabulary expansion, memory improvement, and a stronger analytical thinking skill set. These factors alone should be persuasive enough to the customers as to why this business is a necessary expense. A business such as this one will be very beneficial to parents of young children because they can get their children interested in reading at an early age.

5)  The difference between us and other competeros is that we will deliver up to 5 books per month right to your doorstep for a low monthly cost. Our goal is get people interested in reading again so they can obtain many of the health benefits associated with reading. The website we will use will be very user friendly so no one will have issues navigating the page regardless of age. We hope that the personalized book suggestion list will help customers make a decision on the books they would like to select for that month.

Based on everything I have gathered above I think all of these elements will help contribute to the success of this business. There will definitely be things that we will have to improve upon but we will find those as they come along. I hope to have a group of talented employees that are dedicated to the same goal as I am. This will help to ensure that we our putting our best effort into the company so that we can spread the reading bug to all those who wish to dive into a new adventure each month.