14A – Halfway Reflection

1. I just make it a habit to keep up with the assignments, lectures, readings, and announcements. It's not too hard when Canvas organizes everything for you. In terms of the business opportunity itself, I just think about it a lot, and it makes doing the related assignments easier. 
2. I've never really been the kind of person to give up, but that's because I only take on things that I know I can handle. I would say this course, so far, has made me think a bit more about going beyond my comfort zone, and taking on things I'm not sure I can handle. Sometimes, that can be a good thing. Having to think through my elevator pitch, and finding details and statistics to flesh out why my opportunity will be a success, has made me realize that maybe I can handle a little bit more. 
3. Keep up with everything on Canvas, the information is all beneficial to you. Go out of your comfort zone in a way that is still safe for you. Don't be afraid to do, say, or write something embarrassing (recording the elevator pitch), because these people want to help, and you'll probably never see them again anyway.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, by Ray Kroc.

1. .
1. I did not know that McDonald's was not even really made by the McDonald brothers. The original store was, but Ray Kroc kind of took the brand from them and made it huge.
2. Ray Kroc never knew when to quit. He knew what he wanted and he got it, no matter what adversity stood in his way. Even though it took him until his 50s to make it big, he never stopped trying.
3. Kroc did not treat the original McDonald brothers very well, I don't think. He kind of bullied them into franchising and selling their name and brand. 
4. Kroc did encounter a lot of adversity and failure. He worked during the depression, and worked a lot of jobs that didn't really get him anywhere, before hitting McDonald's.
2. Ray Kroc knew how to sell - anything. He knew how to sell things and how to grow a business, no matter what the decade was, or economic climate. He made his company profitable even during one of the worst economic downturns in the country.
3. Much of the Chicago-specific nomenclature and references were lost on me, but I figure someone who has lived in Chicago would know what those mean. It did not detract from my overall understanding of the book or the entrepreneurial story.
4. I would ask Kroc what he thought of McDonald's competition which has majorly sprung up since his death. I would also ask him what other modern business he sees a bright future for.
5. Kroc's whole shtick was hard work. He worked hard from the age of 15 all the way up until his death. I usually think working smarter is better than working hard, because you can be the hardest worker on something that isn't valuable, and your hard work is wasted.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1. My market segment would be comic readers. This is fairly explicit and obvious, in my case.
2. Interviewed three people from the Gator Comics club.
1. Male, 21
1. Where they're from does not have a local comic shop. The closest one is half an hour away. This mirrors my town's problem. They wish they had a comic store they could go to when they're in their hometown. They visit comic stores in Gainesville when they're at school, but when they're at home, they have to read online. Even though it's cheaper and easier to read online, this person would still rather go to a store at least once a week because he enjoys the experience. When he first started attending UF, he simply used Google Maps to find where the comic shops were.
2. Female, 18
1. Her hometown has a comic shop, but it is apparently not very good. This does not line up exactly with my opportunity, but I think it's close enough to warrant discussion. She would go to a comic shop for big releases and for other events, but she doesn't have the regular income to buy weekly comics. She says she wants to start buying them, but as a broke college student, pirating online is the way to go for her right now. 
3. Male, 25
1. He goes to the comic shops in Gainesville, but doesn't buy things regularly. He does not have a comic shop in his hometown. He likes to make friends with the people working in the shop, and hang out in the shop. He does not regularly buy comics, but he often buys snacks, drinks, or less frequently, other merchandise. He also buys important or big event issues. He generally googles comic shops when he moves to a new place.
3. This segment feels their need often, if they're in a place without a comic shop. At least once per week. The information search is very basic, because most people would just google for a store in their area. Furthermore, most comic fans would already know about a store in their area. The main issue would be getting word out that it exists now. I would attempt to partner with some of the tabletop game shops in the area, as the segments for comic shops and tabletop game shops are adjacent, and share many people.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I am a Telecommunication - Management major. I've learned about how to run a different type of business, not a storefront, but I think many of those skills are transferable. I would see this business as my main venture, at least for the first few years. I think I would dedicate most of my time to hands-on running the store.
2. I'm offering customers a) comic books and comic merchandise, as well as other "nerd related" things to purchase, and b) the experience of being in a comic shop with like-minded individuals and employees they can become friendly with.
3. I am offering this to comic book readers and fans. The most easily identifiable group of this is males aged 18-49. This will be in a town without a comic book store, so it would be the only one, thereby catering to the whole population of two towns plus the UCF student population.
4. Customers would care because my store would be the only option in the area. If they want comics, and don't want to drive 20 minutes or more, often via expensive toll roads, they come to my store. Those who would become regulars would have a personal reason to keep coming back.
5. I honestly don't want to do anything super special, I just want to fill a niche where there is one. Ideally, there just won't be any competition, because there hasn't been a comic store in my town for at least the last 12 years I've lived there. So, I guess what I have that nobody else has, is the store itself, where there aren't any others. 

I think, for the most part, that all of these fit together nicely. My concern is that there isn't a comic store in Oviedo because there used to be, but it failed. But I have never seen one, and my research hasn't come up with anything, so I don't know if there's just never been one or if there was one but it wasn't popular. Regardless, even if there was one more than 10 years ago, the student population of UCF is big enough that I think I could sustain business from that and the people in the adjacent towns.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: The most common issue for my idea is that many comic readers in today's world simply pirate their comics. Although comic pirates fit every other criteria for my opportunity, they fall outside the boundary due to the fact that they will never pay for comics regularly. There is still the chance that these people would buy other comic related merchandise, but that is not the prime mover of the opportunity.

What: My need is specific to the area of my city. It is geographically a small area and there are no other comic shops in it. The closest thing to this opportunity would be board/tabletop game shops, of which there are a few close to UCF, and chain gaming stores like GameStop. However, while those stores may carry merchandise such as statues, figures, or apparel, they would not carry comic issues.

Why: The underlying need is different because it is unlikely that people who are not already comic fans would use the store. The boundary itself separates comic fans from everyone else. Surely, the store would still cater to non-readers, but the main opportunity lies with the population of comic fans in the area who don't have a store to go to.

I can't figure out how to make a table in Blogger, so I'm just going to type it.

Inside the Boundary
Comic book readers/fans.
The need is a comic store in Oviedo, Florida.
The need exists because there is not store closer than a 20 minute drive.
Outside the Boundary
People who are not comic fans are outside the boundary.
The need is not for a specialty game store.
There are at least 2 specialty game shops. If my store would carry some tabletop stuff, as comic stores often do, it would have to be generic or common things, which would be purchased as an afterthought at the comic store. Nobody will go to the comic store specifically for games when they could go to the game store for it.