21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The book I chose from the second half of the assigned list for this particular reading reflection was "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users" by Guy Kawasaki. The general theme from that I conveyed from this book was how to treat social media like a business in order to effectively build up your personal brand.


2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

In my opinion, the book was able to connect with and enhance what I've been taught in this course as we've gone over the ways how you should put yourself out there. Self promotion and increasing your social capital are some of the general concepts we've gone over and they tie into the book's central theme of using social media to build your brand and maintain its presence. We've also gone over the importance of utilizing your resources and social media is a vital resource entrepreneurs can use to their advantage when exploiting a business opportunity.


3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I were to design an exercise based off of this book that was tailored for this class, I would make all ENT3003 students create at least one professional social media account but they would have the option to create other accounts on multiple platforms for additional credit. Students would use this account to create their brand specifically for their company or product they've proposed from the past assignments we've already done this semester such as the Elevator Pitches. Students would also interact with each others accounts. The reason why I would design this specific exercise because it gives a glimpse about the importance of using a platform to showcase your business opportunities.


4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The biggest surprise I got when reading the book was learning the relative simplicity of social media of how you don't need to display some special talent in order to gain a big following. I always assumed popular creators on social media sites had some kind of talent that made them known such as Youtubers displaying editing skills and being comfortable enough on camera to come up with new and interesting content, or you had to be talented in music to make it big on Soundcloud. What I learned was that small tips such as sharing your content across all platforms, advertising and posting content of what consumers or your audience like instead of what you like, and even the use of hashtags show it's not complicated nor requiring major talents to increase your social media presence.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert.

• Kenneth V. owns a drive-in movie theater a county away from my hometown. It's the only drive-in theater within an hour driving distance so it's a popular attraction for teenagers and young adults because of its unique novelty. The slot I chose for Kenneth was domain expert for my industry because movie theaters, even including drive-in theaters, are among the venues included in my business concept of a food delivery app inclusive off all stadiums, theater, and other large venue events. I personally met Kenneth several years ago through my grandparents as they're friends with him from church. I asked my grandmother for his number and I gave him a call. The call didn't last too long but he was able to give me useful information about running his drive-in and working with the food vendors he provides for guests to get food and drinks from. I asked him about my product and he was in favor of my idea. He followed up with mentioning how he commonly gets feedback about long waits for the lines at his concessions and would love to use my product and counter this issue for not only his business but for other venues. Having Kenneth in my network would enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because this opens up many opportunities such as securing other connections.

Market Expert

• Brad P. is somebody I know from my hometown. He went to school with my older brother and eventually got a degree in Marketing from FSU not long ago. The slot Brad will be filling is the market expert. I chose him for this slot because he used to have sponsorships and brand deals while he was in college and is now currently a marketing and brand ambassador for Instacart, a grocery delivery and pickup service. I contacted him through Facebook and he was quick to respond. He gave me an overview about Instacart and what they do. He also gave me insights about his role as a marketing and brand ambassador and his background with sponsorships about effective market segmentation and promoting a brand's image. I believe this was important information to know as he works for a company that deals with grocery delivery and my concept deals with food delivery at venues. Including Brad in my network would enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity is due to the fact that he already has a background with marketing promotions and is now working for a service that's concept is similar to my own. 

Supplier

• Michelle J. has a bachelor's degree in Business Management with a specialization in Supply Chain. She has business experience for roughly 10 years and has previously worked for services such as Tapingo which was eventually bought out by Grubhub. The slot Michelle would be filling is the supplier. She was recommended to me by a childhood friend who is Michelle's niece. I discovered her on Facebook as well, seeing that she's involved with food delivery services as well as other restaurants. I contacted her and she replied by first explaining about her job roles. She mainly deals with offering and securing partnership deals between restaurants and food delivery services, mainly in regionalized areas. I asked her what she thought of my business concept and she said that I would have to contact companies, stadiums, theaters, and other large-scale venues that would be able to promote my product. She believed that my product has potential and would be able to offer my product if it became a reality. Having her in my network would help me exploit this opportunity because she can sell directly to the consumers.

Reflection:  This assignment taught me the importance of networking and how it's vital for those who wish to pursue a business opportunity. I learned that you can gain positive networking connections from people you know and people you don't know. Even if you know someone who directly can't help you with your opportunity, they may know someone else who does so it taught me to get my name known to anybody as possible, you may never know if they or someone else can help you exploit an opportunity. It does differ from what I used to network in the past because email was my main source of communication whereas in this assignment I used Facebook and phone calls.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1)    My name is Bernard Bynum and I am a first-year Marketing major. My skills include a background in advertising, marketing, and certified proficiency in various Adobe products, animation software. My primary goal if I were to start a business so it would be to create a product that would benefit the lives of not only myself but other people. I would like to identify common problems that other people are having and come up with a solution that makes their lives more convenient. My business concept, SeatEats is an example of what I strive to accomplish as it would help to eliminate a common issue many people are facing but don't particularly acknowledge too often, long waits at food vendors at public events.

2)    What I’m offering to potential customers is a product that’ll enhance the gameday experience, movie-watching experience, concert experience, or any public-venue event experience. My product, the SeatEats app, is a food delivery app that will allow those who are attending some sort of show at a stadium or large theater the ability to order food from their phone and someone who works at the food vendor they ordered from will deliver it directly to their seat. 

3)    My target audience consists of a wide range of demographics. People of any age, race, gender, income, education level etc. would use this app as many different kinds people attend large-venue events such as sports games, concerts, plays, festivals, or movies. This product would be popular amongst the Gen Z and young millennial age cohorts as they are the most familiar with food delivery apps but my product would be designed to be user-friendly so that anybody is capable of using it with ease. I’m offering my product to these customers because they don’t want to get up to get food from the concessions because of long lines and not wanting to miss their shows. This product can also benefit those with disabilities that hinder their ability to get up and get their own food.

4)    Customers would want to use my product because they want the convenience of being able to order food from their seat and having it delivered to them. It's common already for people to order food from delivery apps and websites to their homes so that same concept can be made with stadiums and theaters with a Grubhub-esque service.

5)    What sets me apart from everyone else is being able to take an existing concept and expanding to a broader market that no one else thought of before. The concept of food delivery apps isn’t new but the ones that are being used and are popular such as DoorDash and Grubhub, are mainly for personal use. Many people have complained about long wait lines or not wanting to leave a show to get food, but nobody has come up with the idea of a food-delivery app that’s inclusive of all public-venue events. Being able to take advantage of this opportunity is what sets me apart from everyone else.

I believe my elements fit together well. One aspect of my concept that is weaker or an area of concern is my Adobe and animation experience. My technical skills don't extend to coding or extensive software engineering. To counter this, I would have start gaining experience within these areas or build a team with individuals that do have experience in these skills as not every great business concept is a solo project and would succeed better with an effective management team. The feedback I gained from the first Idea Napkin was overwhelmingly positive. Comments mentioned how they liked how my product would target a broad range of demographics and taking advantage of an existing concept and expanding the benefit of added convenience to other markets. One suggestion I did receive was to list specifics for who my target audience would consist of. How I incorporated this into this Idea Napkin was by firmly stating that this product would target wide demographics but become the most popular amongst millennials and Gen Z generations since they are more knowledgeable about food delivery apps than older generations and would be the most familiar with this service.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

I was surprised at the amount of positive feedback I received for my first pitch. I didn't think it was gonna be that good at first because of the many different takes it took me to get to the final one that I uploaded. One suggestion I received was to place my phone higher, which I did this time, so that my hand gestures were less distracting. I didn't change too much based on the feedback. I only changed the placement of my phone but I didn't change my habit of using hand gestures. I try to use them as a way to become engaged.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

1.  My ideal customer that I would sell my product to is someone that loves to go out and attend public venue events. Any public event, normally with concessions and arranged seating, can vary from sporting events, movies, festivals, shows, concerts etc. These ideal customers want something to eat or drink before or during the event to which they are attending but find themselves not going to the concession stands because of long wait times and not wanting to miss any of show or game they paid to see. They would like to have the added convenience of ordering their food from their phone and someone who works from the vendor can deliver their food to their seats. I'm not too sure what age demographic my product would be my ideal customer because a broad range of age cohorts attend the events I previously described and all would most likely have a phone to use the app. I would have to guess that my product would be the most popular among teenagers, college students, and young adults overall as they are the most familiar with food delivery services such as Grubhub and Doordash. 

2. Making an avatar of what my ideal customer would look like wasn't too easy. As I mentioned, my product can be used by a broad range of demographics so I wasn't too sure of what my ideal customer would like at first. I ultimately modeled my avatar after UF students that I've seen the most commonly that attend sporting events, movies, and concerts.

3. I practically have nothing in common with my avatar. The only thing in common (kind of nitpicky) is the blue shirt because many UF students wear blue shirts/Gator apparel which indicates that my product would be the most popular at sporting events but it's not exclusive to just that type of event.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

 Five ways in which I think I have human capital that is truly unique would be best described by a strengths test I took for my Intro to Business class during Summer B. My top 5 strengths are categorized as:

1. Harmony: someone who is willing to work with and become friendly with others, look for areas of agreement, and always willing to minimize any conflict.

2. Context: in order to get a better understanding of the current situation, any past knowledge or information is crucial in order to make future judgments.

3. Restorative: someone who is adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

4. Deliberative: someone who is careful and serious. Rather than taking risks, they identify, assess, and reduce that risk.

5. Consistency: someone who believes in fairness and treating others with equal respect. Balance is an important characteristic.

Recordings

1. https://soundcloud.com/bernard-bynum-137374712/davids-recording
2. https://soundcloud.com/bernard-bynum-137374712/jadons-recording
3. https://soundcloud.com/bernard-bynum-137374712/ians-recording
4. https://soundcloud.com/bernard-bynum-137374712/genesis-recording-recording
5. https://soundcloud.com/bernard-bynum-137374712/catrinas-recording


Summary of interviews

Everyone that I interviewed are some of the people who know me best, all each with different personalities and viewpoints but each all came to relatively similar conclusions about what makes me different or unique. Everyone mentioned that I'm an inclusive person that's easy to be a reliable friend to. I would say I agree with this because I always try to be friendly or nice with anybody as possible because there's nothing to gain by treating others harshly. Each however had their own reasons for what makes me different. David mentioned how much of a hard worker I am, Jadon said I'm always open to helping others, Ian said I'm influential, Genesis mentioned how I'm genuine and caring, and Catrina mentioned how I'm educated in not only school but with current events. Personally, I wouldn't say I'm too influential of a person or educated in every topic. I'm always growing as a person and willing to learn and as far as influential, I always try to give people the best advice possible when needed. What I think causes these differences is a matter of the perception others see of me versus myself. I never want to come off as too braggish or borderline narcissistic. I wouldn't make any changes because what my friends said fit well with each of my strengths.