21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

I read the book "Innovation and Entrepreneurship". I personally think the theme of the book is to talk about some innovative ideas in new business and how they achieve success. There a lot of cases and key ideas, the useful experience that we can learn from.

 

I think the book mainly tells us to be more creative and keep on innovating. Even if a successful company should also be innovative because there are a lot of competitors outside. We should always keep on the trend because the technology and society change every day. The book was really related to our class. In Ent 3003, I think I become more creative than before since we have to write the business idea, interview, reflections every week so I felt like I am always come up with new ideas from myself or other people. Because of interviewing some people, I got more valuable suggestions and my idea of online delivery service can actually be a business. Thanks to "innovation".

 

I will design an exercise of creating a draft strategy for our own business. What are the type of people we want to work with, what kind of material, equipment or furniture that we need, how much profit we want to earn for each year, etc? Although it is hard to estimate and most of us do not have the experience, I think we can just set a goal and pursue it.

 

The book surprised me when I read the shoe retailer took the advantage of "baby boom" (after the Second World War). There are more and more teenagers so the demand actually arises. I have never thought of it before. I guess food or house or other daily commodities will be rare or more valuable but not shoes. 

 

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

 

1. Teng Ma, one of the employee in Hemafresh (an online grocery delivery company, popular in China now). Although he is just an employee in this company, he is one of my father's friends so I can come to talk to him easily. I just simply called him and discuss it with my new business idea. After hearing my idea, he says it is actually hard to start a new delivery business now. Hemafresh is now the biggest and successful company in China now and people already formed the habit in Hemafresh so they may not want to try something else. It is like a person used to buy apples he may not turn to buy Android. If I really want to start this business, I should give people an opportunity to try my products. For example, providing offline tasting seafood activities can be a great solution. In this way, people can know my business always provide fresh raw groceries. Advertising is always important for a new business. I think he gave me a framework of the current grocery delivery market situation and provided me with a great solution.

 

2. Jianjun Wang, a leader in a product delivery group in my neighborhood. Since it is very very common for people to buy online, not only groceries but also commodities, clothes, furniture, etc, the delivery market is prosperous these days. He said if I want to start a new business, it is important to cooperate with a delivery company to make sure the delivery speed and protection of the products. Most of the delivery companies are focus on commodities but groceries tend to use their own delivery person. I think the online delivery service should make sure the delivery quality so the suggestion is fair.

 

3. I came to the offline grocery store that nearby my neighborhood. Many people still buy groceries in offline store but most of them are retired so they have time. I came in the afternoon so the store is not that busy. The store manager told me that they can be suppliers to Hemafresh or other smaller delivery companies. The major problem they usually met is about seafood. Normal stores can help people to cut and wash fish, however, the fish will not be fresh any more if it sends to home. Some people like live fish but it is hard for the delivery person to send a whole live fish home.  Other vegetables or meat can keep fresh for a longer time. After hearing her concern, I realize if I want to start the new business, seafood can be my strong selling point since some companies have not figured it out.

 

Reflection:

I think this assignment provides me with a great opportunity to interview people and I realize the market is already here but there are still some concerns that can not be fixed. It is important to do advertising when starting a new business to attract more people and seafood can be my selling point. 

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCSD_3dloTtrUpUb9Zp1n2uA/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1. I am a person who alaways like to make plans before starting a work. I do not want to waste single time so I prefer to make plans in advance. I want to learn how to invest so I choose finance major but I also like advertising and market selling so I also choose to take some marketing elective courses. I like to come up with some creative ideas and think in different persepctives.

2. I want to provide the online grocery delivery service to my customers so they can stay at home and get fresh food in totally same price as shopping in store.

3. So my customers will be Chinese since I am a Chinese and I want to start my business in my own country. The customers are a group of people who want a more healthy lifestyle but do not want to waste time in shopping groceries. 

4. My customers want the grocery to be fresh and list the same price as the store. The delivery service should also be quick so they do not need to order one day in advance.

5. The main advantage of my business is I offer quicker delivery service and fresher groceries. Some stores always give customers bad groceries and charge more than the strore or charge for high delivery service fee. But I want to make less profit per order but more orders in the future. I also want my customers can get better food and save time and money at the same time.

evaluate:

I think the business can be successful since people really have the need, especially in the future. People will be busier in work so they really want to save time. After reading the peer reviews I also think it is a great idea to start the delivery business. 

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

I firstly think most of people need the deliver grocery service not only during COVID epidemic but also in the future. Since all of people need food, I can not figure out their favorite habbits, cars, TV shows, etc. But after considering the interview with my barber and neighborhoods before, I realized not everyone need delivery grocery. There must be a group of people refuse cooking and would rather eat something unhealthy. So I think the person who choose to cook but do not want to waste time in shopping groceries must be someone who is busy with work but want a healthy lifestyle. I still can not make sure what their favorite cars, TV shows or books but most of them may married or have kids so they want the lifestyle be more healthy. If a person is single he or she may just eat food for "full" and does not care too much health problems. 

I believe the last generation like my parents may not choose to order grocery online because they think the food is not fresh. However, there must be more and more people choose to order online in this generation since we grow up in a more technological century. 

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

My personality:

1. I like to be a leader when I am in a group work. I can always organize the whole group to do an assignment or presentation.

2. I have critical thinking when I face a problem. I can always give my friends different ideas or suggestions toward a problem.

3. I have a strong time consciousness  since I never pass due or late for a meeting.

4. I am creative because I can always give my friends or groups some creative ideas.

5. I love studying since I like reading some psychological related books. 

interview:

Since all of my friends are not native speakers so they give a short speech. My nick name is Ella so they just called me Ella sometimes. 

My friend Sandy Dai thinks I am very independent and always compare cons and pros before making a decision.

My middle school classmate Lei Zhang knows I like reading. 

My high school friend Jessie says I am a good friend since I always listen to her concerns. I am patient to comfort her all the time.

My boyfriend says I have a strong time consciousness because I like to make plans.

My friend Selina says I am funny. I am the kind of person who is only outgoing with close friends. I do not have too much friends but all of them are sincere.

I think some of appraise are fair and I can realize ver quickly, like I like to make plans or always want to be a leader, love reading, etc. Some of characterstics that I did not notice but my friends notice, like I can always comfort a friend when she is upset. The reason to cause the difference is because I ignore how I treat others so I did not realize I am always funny and comforting. 

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

 

For this assignment, I find the barber that I used to interviewed and asked him a few questions. I also came to my friend Sandy and my grandparents. 

 

I tell them that they can also buy snacks or meals from restaurants, or just physically come to the grocery stores to buy food. However, we can not sure if the meals are healthy, and most restaurants make oily food that make people fat. Buying groceries from stores really cost time and it is truly inconvenient. After I offer these disadvantages of alternative solutions, they agree that online grocery delivery service is better since it is healthy to make food for themselves and the service saves a lot of time. In the future, the barber said he will learn cooking because he realizes how unhealthy he was to only eat snacks or instant food for nearly two months. My grandmother and Sandy also said they do not want to waste time anymore. 

 

In China, people less pay with cash but using Alipay or WeChat pay more. These two methods are similar to using a credit card. After ordering the food they prefer to scan the two-dimension code or log in their Alipay account to pay. 

 

My customers believe health and convenience are really important. People can not only eat at restaurants although it is convenient; in the long run, cooking by themselves is the safest method to keep healthy. The grocer stores are always crowded and open very early every day. If people come to the store late, the fresher food all is gone. My customers thought they can not drive to buy grocery stores since it is always hard to find a parking lot in China. They do not want to carry the food by themselves. The online delivery service addresses all their concerns easily.

 

In conclusion, people want a healthier and more convenient lifestyle. They do not want to waste too much time on cooking. I think the delivery service is really good business ideas since people in the future generation want a more rapid lifestyle and fewer people want to spend time on chores. 

14A – Halfway Reflection

 

1. The behavior I developed is to read other students' assignments first so that I can get some ideas and make sure I do not misunderstand the question. I felt like coming up with the ideas of "opportunity" or "business strategy" are easy for me, and I am not sure what extent should the "opportunity" to be. I need some ideas first so that I can develop my idea. 

 

2. I want to give up because I think there is too much writing in this class. I felt like I have to write 1000 words per week, and the class last three months so I really want to drop. However, I find the course interesting. There are not many restrictions in writing; I can create my own work and come up with my own ideas, and I can also read other's work and find other creative ideas. Truly, I did not like writing; but I do think the course pushes me to write and think so I did not think it is hard for me eventually. 

 3.three tips:

1. do not think writing is only about boring; it will be interesting if the course really teaches you something.

2. you can read other's assignments and get new ideas. It really helps.

3. The lectures from the professors are also helpful for you to complete the assignments. 

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

I read “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. I think apples’ products are expensive but always have good quality. The revolution technology invented by this company really changed the world.

 

What surprised me most was Raskin once suggests Steve sell products at a low price to masses but Steve refused him. I admire Steve always want to keep the products high quality. Once he had this idea and determination, his thought will not be changed. It is important for a new business to set the position. If apple company wants to sell at a high price, it should satisfy the customers with high quality. Although Raskin insists to sell the product under $1000, Steve says the quality should be high no matter the cost. I admire him for the firm determination. However, I did not admire the CEO who did not listen to other employees. Steve wants to control all of the people that everyone should follow him. I think it is not a good characteristic because employees or other managers may also come up with great ideas so the CEO actually has to get more suggestions. Steve also had a failure. He divorced with his wife and many people thought him “awfully naïve and childlike”.

 

I think the entrepreneur should always pursue one thing and insist on his determination. When Steve starts to charge a high price for Apple products, he also tries best to keep the best quality. For example, “high-resolution color display, the printer, color page, unlimited access to the ARPA net” etc, Steve insists on high quality and said, “no matter the price”.

 

So I am confused that why Steve “likes people to jump when he says jump”. I think the entrepreneur should have the power to control and manage employees, but since people have already criticized him, why he not change?

 

I will ask Steve:

1.      How do you come up with the idea of apple?

2. What is the biggest selling point of apple in your opinion?

 

I think it is important for an entrepreneur to be hard-working. In any business, it is necessary to observe the current trend or the competitors will develop a comparative advantage. No one is ever smart enough to be successful unless he is hard-working.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

For this assignment, I interviewed my friend Sandy, my uncle who is always busy with his work and a neighborhood. They all used the online grocery delivery service before but they did not very satisfied. However, they did not like to physically go to the store because it is time-consuming.

 

It is not possible to always eat delivery from restaurants because some of them used too much oil (not healthy). In China, the grocer stores always open start from 6:00 A.M. so if you go too late, the fresh groceries all gone. However, both of them can not go to the store before work or school. They realized the need for a long time because they always do not have enough time to pick up fresh food. However, the online service sometimes just give customers bad groceries and always charge more than the stores. They did not very satisfied with the service although it is true convenience. When they first realize the unmet needs, they ask their parents (retired) to buy groceries for them. They did not trust the online delivery at first because they think the delivery person will mess up their orders, but the tried later. 

 

I believe in the future, people will rely on online delivery service more.  The service will not only popular during the COVID situation but also popular in the future. People will have less time doing chores, and the service can give them more free time. 

 

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. My name is Yile Li, and my major in Finance. I really want to make a new business that can make people's life more convenient. The grocery delivery service is not only useful in the epidemic situation but also useful in the future. I am good at finding people's unmet needs and provide more creative ideas and solutions for them. I also love to communicate with people to find out what their concerns and suggestions. In the first year in UF, I joined CSA public relations department and signed contracts to some companies to sponsor CSA. The experience in CSA really provides me with the opportunity to communicate with my "customers" and find out what their concerns, what I can do to help them, and achieve a win-win result.

2. I am going to offer my customers with grocery. Some companies already offer this service now, but the food is always limited to the store and the price is really high. During the epidemic situation, the existing companies can not make sure the delivery persons are safe and the food is safe. So now I will check every delivery person's body temperature every day and provide the data to customers to make them feel safe. In the future, I will provide more categories of groceries and keep the price the same or even lower than the store.

3. Customers care about health and money. Because of COVID, people want to make sure food is clean so my business have a competitive advantage. In the future, people also do not want to spend more money if the order food online. Some people just hate to do grocery shopping or some people do not have time. We can not charge different prices on the same product.

4. When people ordering online, they may have some specific needs. For example, some people want the beef to be cut into small pieces rather than a big slice. However, in many grocery stores, they do not offer that service. So in my business, I would allow customers to leave notes under their order and make clear their specific needs. The employee is told to be more patient and try their best to fulfill the need. Instead, some food in grocery stores is not fresh, so the pick-up person just gives customers bad groceries. In my business, employees are required to get rid of bad groceries every day and make sure customers get the best. If people are not satisfied, they can check the food before the delivery person leave and get refunds. I want people to get the most high-quality product and service as well as the lowest price. 

I think elements fit together. I believe my business provide competitive advantages comparing to other exsisting companies. 

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

I talked to my two neighborhoods, my two net friends, and a barber when I went to a barbershop. Although most of them told me the food delivery service is necessary during COVID circumstance, a small amount of them told me they did not order groceries for nearly two months and they only eat instant noodles and snacks. 

 

who:

The net friend and the barber told me that they did not know how to cook. They never make meals before. Ever since they graduated from high school, they stop live at parents’ homes so they can not eat food made by their parents. However, in the university and work, they refuse to cook for themselves. Instead, they just order delivery food from restaurants or eat at friends’ homes. Truly, they never make food themselves; they only know how to cook instant noodles. However, during the epidemic, all of the restaurants were closed and people are not allowed to go outside, they can not get any food at all. Obviously, everyone needs food. So they have to eat instant noodles and snacks for nearly two months. I cannot believe in ears.

 

What:

So I believe everyone needs healthy food, not only food. Healthy food means using fresh groceries to make a meal, not snacks. If a person only eats snacks for a long period, the nutrition will be inadequate. But some young adults never learned to cook and they do not want to spend time to learn. They would rather play video games than making a meal. Some young people do not care about their health. They think the only function for food is to make people not hungry. They do not care about the nutrition problem at all. Another important reason is that some people believe they cannot make delicious meals in a short period of time so they rather eat snacks. Snacks taste better than the food they make.

 

Why:

I think the underlying cause for people not buying groceries but only buy snacks is they do not care about health. They think health is not important so they do not want to spend any time in making a meal. However, everyone needs food, but not everyone thinks highly of nutrition in the food.

 

Inside the boundary:

Who is in: people who like making meals by themselves; people who want healthy meals; people who think highly of nutrition; people who want food that taste better.

What the need is: Meals are full of nutrition and taste good.

Why the need exists: Most people can not stand to eat snacks for a long time and they think health is really important. So they want to spend more money to buy groceries and make healthy food.

 

Outside the boundary:

Who is in: people who are too lazy to make food; people who do not want to spend time on cooking at all; people who do not trust they can cook so they just eat snacks; people who refuse to learn to cook.

What the need is: They also need to eat so they choose to eat snacks so they do not have to cook at all.

Why the need exists: they just do not think highly of nutrition.

8A – Solving The Problem

During the COVID epidemic, people hardly go outside to buy groceries and many of them order delivery. However, we can not make sure all the groceries we buy are not infected by the virus. If one of the employees in the grocery store is actually suffering from the virus, everything he touched or people he contacted maybe infected. The reason for people to stay at home is to avoid of being infected, so we should eliminate the opportunity of being infected.

  

The main solution is to keep all of the employees and customers in-store are safe. Checking all of the employee's body temperature every day before work and asking them to wear a mask and gloves are the first steps.  It is important to keep every employee safe so the food and customers can be safe. If the employee's body temperature is too high, he or she should stay at home. It is a very simple solution since checking the temperature is easy and quick. Wearing a mask and gloves are also easy. Also, employees should keep themselves with other employees or customers with 2 meters distance. If the store is not crowded, it is also a good idea to check the customer's body temperature before they enter the store, and the customers who do not wear the mask can not enter. 

 

It is not hard to defend ourselves in this special situation; the store just needs to do a few things to keep everyone safe.