This week's reading can be found here, and I highly suggest you read it. I guess after all the Kuratko and theory-based reading, the biggest surprise this week was the article itself. Real-life, altruistic entrepreneurship. And it's really working. It's working for the customer, it's working for investors and it's accomplishing what it set out to, providing microloans to "the base of the pyramid."
I'm not sure I can do the article justice.
How did the author, owner of SKS Microfinance Vikram Akula get the drive to pursue so specific a business model? He's targeting women in India, mostly rural communities. How did he conduct his research? He mentions that women are more likely to reinvest, but where is that information from? And his structure of lending to a group of women whose loans are tied together...how was that prospect not terrifying? I imagine Akula has a lot of research to back up his practices.
As long as his business is functioning and serving its purpose, I can't claim Akula is doing anything "wrong." How could it be wrong when it's oh so right?!
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Saturday, April 23, 2016
It's the final reflection
Uh, yes, it is. International Macroeconomics is over, only a few more grades rolling in for International Business and Principles of Entrepreneurship--we're almost ready for summer. I'm ready to reflect.
Our blogs are HUGE. Not Donald Trump (or Fuccillo Kia, if you're somewhere between Cape Coral and Wesley Chapel) yuge, our blogs are full. I'm tempted to throw everything in Word and see how many words I've typed. I'm a little more wordy than most, but even if you've been doing the bare minimum, you have so much work to show for this class.
I dreaded anything involving video of myself and/or recording interviews. I wasn't sure how people would respond in the beginning, and I think that contributed to the awkwardness of interviews. You have to project confidence. That being said, trying to chase people down with my camera and/or voice recorder ended up being something I enjoyed. It became a game of picking targets and trying to execute my plans. Oh, man, let me tell you about plans. Planning is paramount to success in this course. When I didn't plan thoroughly, I came up short. When I planned sufficiently, things went smoothly, and I didn't stress.
My first elevator pitch is what I'm most proud of. It came to me naturally, it was a little lengthy but captured the audience and kept them. As far as what brought me the most joy, it may be "My secret sauce." I had a lot of fun composing the post and giving it a little flavor.
I still don't see myself as an entrepreneur. It feels like I've taken steps in that direction, developed those tools, but I'm not committed. Still, I suppose you could say I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset. I go around recognizing problems, opportunities, and it's a new way of thinking for me. There's more of a conscious process going on now.
Dear future students,
Let go of your preconceived notions of what a class should be, how it should function and the role a professor should play. Become your own driver. Fall back on resources when you need them. Plan. Plan. Plan. And plan. Then plan again, for good measure. If you're thinking this is bs or busy work or stupid, let that ish go, or you're going to be stuck sulking on square one the whole semester. For those who open themselves up to the opportunity, and tackle at least half of the assignments, you'll notice the entrepreneurial mindset unfold. I would say it takes little effort on your part, but the reality is that we put in a ton of effort--it just didn't seem like work. Isn't that the best part?
Very truly yours,
Kelly
No more words are needed. I'll leave you with these.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Venture concept no. 2
Opportunity
Florida is gifted with beautiful weather year round; we have very few cold days. However, we have a long rainy season, particularly in the Tampa Bay area where storms frequently come in over the water, and when it rains, parents lack options for indoor fun. We are either forced to create indoor activities at home, which only amuses the kids for so long, or to go to the same few crowded places (i.e. the mall, the aquarium) over and over again.Parents want more options. There are more than 100,000 children under the age of five in the Tampa Bay area with many more tourists. It's hard to say how long the window of opportunity will be open for a facility like 1, 2, 3 Play, but as of now, there just isn't a place to support parents of young (<5) children and their play.
Innovation
Other businesses and nonprofits have targeted older children, but no one has gone after the Pre-K and under crowd yet. Developmentally, they have different needs. I think there is a general consensus that children under five can derive value or have fun with activities and displays created for older children whereas older children cannot engage with something designated for younger children--"that's baby stuff"--so in order to capture the most people possible, places have aimed for the elementary and older market and assumed those parents will bring their younger children along, parents of younger children have no other options so they'll test it out and possibly add it to their rotations and overall, they'll end up capturing the entire market.There is a large enough market to focus on children under five and their caretakers. Local businesses centered around moms and babies, like stroller exercise classes, are thriving because stay at home parents have the need to get out and participate in activities with their children. If you have children, especially if you've stayed home with them for any length of time, you know you have to get out in order to stay sane. Creating routines is key to happiness. I used to go to the library for story time on Wednesday, a mommy group Tuesday mornings and strollga Fridays--there was never enough to fill our schedule. We would go to the zoo, aquarium, mall, Grandma's, play dates and I still craved a place I could safely put my baby down, let him crawl, play, socialize.
Only $5 for a day pass means it will be affordable for most people to go to 1, 2, 3 Play. You pay per child rather than per adult; I know I've been irked by paying $50 for myself and another adult then an additional $15 for my child for something only my child will get any value out of. I am tabling the idea of an annual pass right now. While I know my customers would appreciate the annual pass, I'm not yet sure how profitable the business could be with that option. It will take some time and research to determine what impact an annual pass at $125 would have.
Venture Concept
Parents need places to bring their littles. I want to provide a place that not only meets but exceeds their expectations. 1, 2, 3 Play is an indoor facility with over 100 exhibits. Activities cater to all the developmental needs of children under five, like a "farm" where they can harvest crops, tend to animals and drive tractors and a touch wall of different textures.All aspects of the business have been designed with kids in mind and would be reviewed by child development professionals. There is no direct competitor. The closest businesses would be Great Explorations and the Glazer Kid's Museum, neither of which is geared toward children under five and largely lack incentives for the age group I'm focused on. In order to foster loyalty, customer experience is my top priority.
As a parent, the best experience, for me, means it isn't too crowded, there aren't a wealth of older children running my child over while he tries to play and everything is clean and SAFE. If I have to walk around patrolling my son(s) because I can't trust my surroundings, that diminishes the value of the experience for me. I would limit capacity, though I think it would take a little time to figure out how many people is too many people in the space. The biggest trouble with the crowd-limiting concept is whether to look at the number of children, the number of adults or both. A gradual roll out, rather than over-marketing, would help curb the crowds. I want word of mouth to be what brings people in. Promotions would take place during the week rather than on weekends, which would be peak times. Would some customers complain about discounts being during the week when they're working? Perhaps. But I don't foresee that being a sticking point for people, meaning I think those patrons would still come to 1, 2, 3 Play.
Hiring would be modest at first. Admissions, janitorial staff and employees to supervise play are all necessary. And of course there's my fat manager/owner's check. (I'm kidding.)
And the fine details
I think 1, 2, 3 Play would be hard to replicate primarily because of a high barrier to entry. For those who lack the passion and are strictly looking at the venture from a business perspective, it doesn't look like the biggest profit margins are here, and there's not a fast turnaround. After securing a building through either purchase or lease, everything has to be outfitted and people have to be hired--there's a high set-up cost. A business-minded person would then feel it necessary to have a blow out opening with a goal of filling the place with customers. The problem with that strategy is that customer experience would suffer, leaving people with the first impression that 1, 2, 3 Play is too packed and chaotic to enjoy.As I mentioned in my Amazon whisperer post, the next move for me would be to incorporate food service into my business model. After that, I would build out an exterior play yard, provided I had the space and financing. And then? Well, as much as I love the business, I would sell it and find my next love, the next unmet need I can help solve.
Feedback!
I asked for feedback on the pricing, and you gave it. $5 for a day pass was considered a very reasonable price, and I think based on your feedback I could probably raise it, but I have a strong desire to keep 1, 2, 3 Play affordable. I would even consider incorporating scholarships or partnering with Community Health to bring in more kids who need the service. I'm still on the fence about the day pass pricing. As Analeis Bain mentioned, $125 seems like nothing when you consider the day pass is $5/day, but I think charging $200+/year is steep. My pricing is based on the model of similar businesses, the Lowry Park Zoo, MOSI, Florida Aquarium and even Busch Gardens Tampa, and I think the idea is to partly to encourage spending on other products/services. For example, if we followed our "What's Next" concept and opened a restaurant, people would mentally think "I didn't pay to get in so why not?" Convenience is clearly key to the restaurant. Maybe a gift shop is a better example. If I didn't spend $5 on entry, I would be more amenable to buying my son a book for $2 or a stuffed animal for $8. It also means 1, 2, 3 Play wouldn't be empty, which is a big plus.I also mentioned that I *may* be falling into a booby trap by mixing my idea into the "Opportunity" section. No more! I tailored the first section to strictly describe the opportunity (thanks, Kristine). Actually, I tried to go through my entire concept and streamline it because it seemed a little wordy to me the first time around, which is why I threw up my venture concept in GIFs. It's still totally valid so you should check it out.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Week 14: reading reflection
I'm a dork. Ethics fascinate me so I've been waiting for this reading, particularly after reading some of Farrukh Siddiqui's blog. How many of us have thought about ethical considerations, social responsibility, while developing our ventures? Dr. Pryor has framed our venture creation through the lens of problem solving, but aren't we all thinking about potential profitability?
We'll get back to that. Right now, I want to know why Kuratko used the term bootlegging. What does it mean to say you should "expect clever bootlegging of ideas?" I don't think "secretly" working on new ideas on company time (as well as personal time, as if that makes it okay) qualifies as bootlegging, nor do I think it should be expected in an innovative environment. Isn't collaboration encouraged? Anyway, I understand what he was doing there--cute, Kuratko--but bootlegging didn't have to be brought into this. Are all innovative environments to be anarchal?
And did anyone else get the sense that Chapter 3 helped form the backbone of our course? Promoting intrapreneurship through experimentation and developing collaboration between intrapreneurial participants? Check out the mission and vision figure and tell me it doesn't ring a bell.
We're still on the topic of failure. I think the section on learning from failure is a nice reminder and encouraging.
I was a little surprised by the think big start small concept (EBO rules). I think my surprise lies in my inexperience. Throughout school, we talk about big business. This is the first course that's touched on start-ups, and obviously with a start-up you start small with big dreams. Duh.
Kuratko brought up hiring the right people. I want to take the opportunity to ask Kuratko what process he would use to vet employees for a) socially responsible business and b) innovative business. It seems like all the pieces are there for him to address this unless he already did, and I'm brainfarting. All my classes are starting to blend together, which is great and awful.
In Chapter 4 I found more support for the reading creating our class. I wonder if we were intended to be social/civic entrepreneurs or influenced in that direction.
Oh! One final note, was anyone else offput by Kuratko's ethics of caring, saying that caring was a feminine alternative to traditional masculine ethics? Why did things have to be gendered, Kuratko?
We'll get back to that. Right now, I want to know why Kuratko used the term bootlegging. What does it mean to say you should "expect clever bootlegging of ideas?" I don't think "secretly" working on new ideas on company time (as well as personal time, as if that makes it okay) qualifies as bootlegging, nor do I think it should be expected in an innovative environment. Isn't collaboration encouraged? Anyway, I understand what he was doing there--cute, Kuratko--but bootlegging didn't have to be brought into this. Are all innovative environments to be anarchal?
And did anyone else get the sense that Chapter 3 helped form the backbone of our course? Promoting intrapreneurship through experimentation and developing collaboration between intrapreneurial participants? Check out the mission and vision figure and tell me it doesn't ring a bell.
We're still on the topic of failure. I think the section on learning from failure is a nice reminder and encouraging.
I was a little surprised by the think big start small concept (EBO rules). I think my surprise lies in my inexperience. Throughout school, we talk about big business. This is the first course that's touched on start-ups, and obviously with a start-up you start small with big dreams. Duh.
Kuratko brought up hiring the right people. I want to take the opportunity to ask Kuratko what process he would use to vet employees for a) socially responsible business and b) innovative business. It seems like all the pieces are there for him to address this unless he already did, and I'm brainfarting. All my classes are starting to blend together, which is great and awful.
In Chapter 4 I found more support for the reading creating our class. I wonder if we were intended to be social/civic entrepreneurs or influenced in that direction.
Oh! One final note, was anyone else offput by Kuratko's ethics of caring, saying that caring was a feminine alternative to traditional masculine ethics? Why did things have to be gendered, Kuratko?
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The very short interview, part 2
Okay, if you didn't hit play above, you should. Mark's laugh is absolutely hilarious. He's honest and real and relatable.
For those of you who missed round one, ahem, I'm talking about Mark Bradeis, the owner of A Change for the Better Painting and Power Washing operating in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Both of our conversations have been brief, but answers came easier this time. What was different? Well, I switched methods from "random assault" to "here are some questions, you have a week to answer." He spoke more freely when recording himself, though Mark is still a straight to the point kind of guy.
I know that I'm much more comfortable speaking with people about their businesses now. I have insight and, in some cases, knowledge/theory the practicing entrepreneurs only know abstractly through their work. A lot of things become illuminated when you apply "book learning" to "real life."
You can't see me, but I'm giggling at my use of quotation marks right now.
Let's wrap this up. Has it only been three months? For anyone else in the business program, this course is a continuation of what you'll learn throughout your time at UF. If you can exploit this course to get comfortable speaking and interviewing, do it! The skills are invaluable. We have to market ourselves every day, which is a reality I'm only now coming to terms with, and the ability to speak off the cuff, to project confidence about a concept you aren't 100% sure of, to develop that idea in the first place...what a semester.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Google gold medal (deliberately) not won here
Hear me out, viral marketing is great, and if you don't show up at the top of the results list in Google, someone else is capturing your clients, but for the purposes of this course, I didn't want to go for Google gold.
Aren't we all a little protective of our ideas? I chose the concept I've been working on this semester over my initial idea because I knew it would be difficult for anyone to implement and highly unlikely that it would be picked up and replicated in the Tampa Bay area specifically. We're vulnerable in this situation.
That being said, I did try to use "interactive indoor playplace" and "children under five" or variations thereof weaved inconspicuously through my posts. From my past experience as a freelance content writer, I can tell you I didn't use keywords nearly enough to top Google. My employers would request a word be used at least 15 times in 90 words. Yikes. It's like they don't realize how that's going to read.
Not very sporting of me, is it? Let's say I were trying to get the word out about my business. My keywords would stay about the same "indoor play," "interactive," "children under five," "developmental play" and maybe "air conditioning." There would have to be something about the facility being relatively weather-proof. Parents can bring their children any time, woo!
Social media would have to play a role, but I'm guessing Facebook would be the extent of it. Snapchat could be brought in, but that's really only impactful once a following is established. I'm not a big fan of social media; I find it invasive. After much apprehension I've jumped on Instagram and, as of yesterday, Snapchat, but I deleted my Facebook account three years ago and haven't looked back. So no shameless social media self-promotion has happened so far, though every post I publish I consider sharing via Google+. Friends would come check out the blog if I asked, but I don't think they would engage.
My secret sauce is my most viral post, but Idea napkin no. 1 is a close second, only one view short of a tie. Any post with the Swedish Chef is going to be hot.
Should I admit I couldn't find my blog in Google results? No? Okay, let's forget about that bit then.
Aren't we all a little protective of our ideas? I chose the concept I've been working on this semester over my initial idea because I knew it would be difficult for anyone to implement and highly unlikely that it would be picked up and replicated in the Tampa Bay area specifically. We're vulnerable in this situation.
That being said, I did try to use "interactive indoor playplace" and "children under five" or variations thereof weaved inconspicuously through my posts. From my past experience as a freelance content writer, I can tell you I didn't use keywords nearly enough to top Google. My employers would request a word be used at least 15 times in 90 words. Yikes. It's like they don't realize how that's going to read.
Come to Dr. Joe's pediatric dentistry for kid-friendly service. The practice made to be kid-friendly, calming and just for kids. Kid-friendly, pain-free dentistry. Did I mention dentistry or kids? Kid-friendly, kid, kid, dentistry.That's exaggerated, but some employer requirements did have obviously keyword heavy end products. As a writer, I hate producing work like that, which suits my strategy of foregoing SEO in favour of privacy.
Not very sporting of me, is it? Let's say I were trying to get the word out about my business. My keywords would stay about the same "indoor play," "interactive," "children under five," "developmental play" and maybe "air conditioning." There would have to be something about the facility being relatively weather-proof. Parents can bring their children any time, woo!
Social media would have to play a role, but I'm guessing Facebook would be the extent of it. Snapchat could be brought in, but that's really only impactful once a following is established. I'm not a big fan of social media; I find it invasive. After much apprehension I've jumped on Instagram and, as of yesterday, Snapchat, but I deleted my Facebook account three years ago and haven't looked back. So no shameless social media self-promotion has happened so far, though every post I publish I consider sharing via Google+. Friends would come check out the blog if I asked, but I don't think they would engage.
My secret sauce is my most viral post, but Idea napkin no. 1 is a close second, only one view short of a tie. Any post with the Swedish Chef is going to be hot.
Should I admit I couldn't find my blog in Google results? No? Okay, let's forget about that bit then.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Week 13: reading reflection
Kuratko, bae, tell me about the valuation of entrepreneurial ventures.
Except you kind of already have in previous chapters. Did anyone else feel like this chapter was an accumulation of other things we've read so far? We've been manipulated by semantics. Previous chapters may have touched on many of these concepts, our bias about our ventures for example, but because this chapter is specifically titled "Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures" we're meant to change our perceptual context to receive the information differently. I'm on to you, Kuratko.
Although this chapter was reminiscent of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, I will say the regurgitated ideas were thrown together in a different manner, or rather, for a different purpose. I don't think Kuratko writes to surprise me. You could probably gather from what I've written so far that if there is any deviation from what I've come to expect from Kuratko it would be the Groundhog Day effect; when I set out on this Kuratko journey, I didn't peg him as the redundant type.
Kuratko, do you think there's a more efficient way to present the information in Entrepreneurship? Could the book be shorter? Is there a way to synthesize?
The text is right in so many ways that I can't say Kuratko is wrong, but as a guidebook of sorts, I think something could be done to either meaningfully expand or simplify our book. For what a student's opinion is worth. Tune in next week for our last foray into Kuratko's Entrepreneurship. Who knows what we'll find!
Except you kind of already have in previous chapters. Did anyone else feel like this chapter was an accumulation of other things we've read so far? We've been manipulated by semantics. Previous chapters may have touched on many of these concepts, our bias about our ventures for example, but because this chapter is specifically titled "Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures" we're meant to change our perceptual context to receive the information differently. I'm on to you, Kuratko.
Although this chapter was reminiscent of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, I will say the regurgitated ideas were thrown together in a different manner, or rather, for a different purpose. I don't think Kuratko writes to surprise me. You could probably gather from what I've written so far that if there is any deviation from what I've come to expect from Kuratko it would be the Groundhog Day effect; when I set out on this Kuratko journey, I didn't peg him as the redundant type.
Kuratko, do you think there's a more efficient way to present the information in Entrepreneurship? Could the book be shorter? Is there a way to synthesize?
The text is right in so many ways that I can't say Kuratko is wrong, but as a guidebook of sorts, I think something could be done to either meaningfully expand or simplify our book. For what a student's opinion is worth. Tune in next week for our last foray into Kuratko's Entrepreneurship. Who knows what we'll find!
The most spectacular failer celebrating failure
Oh man, this post is my jam. I'm going to have to spare details if I
want to keep people from tuning out. Failure is something I have done A
LOT of. In the eyes of some, I've failed even more than I think I have
due to differing perspectives; I often reframe failure as progress. The
whole "every failure is a lesson" thing is cliched, but hey, the
philosophy has always worked for me.
Insert additional cliche about not fixing what's not broken here.
This semester has had less failure than my previous semesters at the University of Florida. I think now that my career here is coming to an end, I'm perfecting the art of being an engaged off-campus student...which is awfully convenient. Why couldn't I have figured it out sooner? I suppose the answer is that I needed to learn the lesson again and again in various shades and only in time for graduation. Boo.
So what have I learned this semester? Engage, engage, engage! I've coasted through higher education. I'm not proud of that fact. I have to push myself every day to engage with course material, and the problem is exacerbated by my status as an online student. I thank professors for everything they do to help (jokes, gimmicks, passion); I do see and appreciate the effort.
Let's get painfully specific. I just failed an International Business exam. Technically it was only a fail by my standards--I didn't get an "F"--but it was a fail all the same. It was a fatal combination of general discouragement--unfortunately the professor's insistence that everyone does poorly on the second exam and has to study twice as hard to get the grade they had on the first exam had the opposite of intended effect on me--and life stress brought on by work, school, kids and the death of my grandmother.
It makes me facepalm. This is not the first test I've taken unprepared, and I imagine I'll repeat offend in the near future. When I do something as careless as blowing off studying altogether (then do poorly) the inner dialogue is highly self-deprecating and always turns to "why am I in school, subjecting myself to this added stress anyway?" Stress does not look good on me, and it has become a much more regular force in my life since having children, so stress management is an extremely important work in progress.
Am I more likely to take a risk now than I was four months ago? No. I think I've always been on the extreme end of risk taking and that each subsequent failure has drawn me closer to calculated risk and away from impulse. I'm impatient and impulsive by nature. Since that's not going anywhere, the name of the game is control, and oh, lucky day, I just so happen to be a control freak. Yay, for Type-A personalities!
What about you? Yes, you! How do you deal with stress? What failures have you endured recently, and how do you use them to grow?
Insert additional cliche about not fixing what's not broken here.
This semester has had less failure than my previous semesters at the University of Florida. I think now that my career here is coming to an end, I'm perfecting the art of being an engaged off-campus student...which is awfully convenient. Why couldn't I have figured it out sooner? I suppose the answer is that I needed to learn the lesson again and again in various shades and only in time for graduation. Boo.
So what have I learned this semester? Engage, engage, engage! I've coasted through higher education. I'm not proud of that fact. I have to push myself every day to engage with course material, and the problem is exacerbated by my status as an online student. I thank professors for everything they do to help (jokes, gimmicks, passion); I do see and appreciate the effort.
Let's get painfully specific. I just failed an International Business exam. Technically it was only a fail by my standards--I didn't get an "F"--but it was a fail all the same. It was a fatal combination of general discouragement--unfortunately the professor's insistence that everyone does poorly on the second exam and has to study twice as hard to get the grade they had on the first exam had the opposite of intended effect on me--and life stress brought on by work, school, kids and the death of my grandmother.
It makes me facepalm. This is not the first test I've taken unprepared, and I imagine I'll repeat offend in the near future. When I do something as careless as blowing off studying altogether (then do poorly) the inner dialogue is highly self-deprecating and always turns to "why am I in school, subjecting myself to this added stress anyway?" Stress does not look good on me, and it has become a much more regular force in my life since having children, so stress management is an extremely important work in progress.
Am I more likely to take a risk now than I was four months ago? No. I think I've always been on the extreme end of risk taking and that each subsequent failure has drawn me closer to calculated risk and away from impulse. I'm impatient and impulsive by nature. Since that's not going anywhere, the name of the game is control, and oh, lucky day, I just so happen to be a control freak. Yay, for Type-A personalities!
What about you? Yes, you! How do you deal with stress? What failures have you endured recently, and how do you use them to grow?
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
My exit strategy
I've alluded to it in recent posts--even though I see 1, 2, 3 Play as my baby, I have mentally prepared to let it go. After all, isn't...
...the end game? I'm a poor entrepreneur because I have a hard time viewing 1, 2, 3 Play as a cash cow or as an investment to cash out later, but the bottom line is that once I've implemented all my plans, it will be time for someone else to step in and run my baby so that I can move on to the next venture. As for time line, I think I would be in and out in 1-2 years. That may seem brief but once the business is up and running, it will be ready for its new owner.
I'm a wanderer and a problem solver; put those two together and I'm a wandering problem solver (which is pretty accurate). Although I love 1, 2, 3 Play, my passion lies in fleshing out the idea, not running the business. I'm passionate about creating solutions, and I would like to replicate that over and over again. I hate admitting it, but the thought of running day to day operations is terrifying.
My intent to sell has made it easier for me to be objective and pull out potential problems with the business. I'm also well aware of the marketability and profit potential of 1, 2, 3 Play--it's a passion project but could be valuable to someone who doesn't intimately understand the struggles of parenthood.
Hey, it's a joy, too, but kids are hard work. The little guy pictured above keeps me on my toes. What having kids has taught me is invaluable for venture work. Ventures are kids. You slowly build them until their birth, they go through infancy and the toddler years onward toward teenagerdom and maturity; ventures take patience and planning and flexibility. I have the skills to create, develop to a certain point then release. Motherhood is my guide, and I'm down for the ride.
...the end game? I'm a poor entrepreneur because I have a hard time viewing 1, 2, 3 Play as a cash cow or as an investment to cash out later, but the bottom line is that once I've implemented all my plans, it will be time for someone else to step in and run my baby so that I can move on to the next venture. As for time line, I think I would be in and out in 1-2 years. That may seem brief but once the business is up and running, it will be ready for its new owner.
I'm a wanderer and a problem solver; put those two together and I'm a wandering problem solver (which is pretty accurate). Although I love 1, 2, 3 Play, my passion lies in fleshing out the idea, not running the business. I'm passionate about creating solutions, and I would like to replicate that over and over again. I hate admitting it, but the thought of running day to day operations is terrifying.
My intent to sell has made it easier for me to be objective and pull out potential problems with the business. I'm also well aware of the marketability and profit potential of 1, 2, 3 Play--it's a passion project but could be valuable to someone who doesn't intimately understand the struggles of parenthood.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Death
This post will be as simultaneously simple and complex as its title.
Each day for the past week I have sat down to work--whether it be for work or school--and come up blank. My grandmother, Barbara Nordstrom, is dead. It seems she's temporarily taken my drive with her despite my efforts to use the event as inspiration to work harder.
So I made the executive decision to give myself a break. I'm notorious for running myself into the ground, beating myself up for failing to meet the ridiculous goals I set, and I want to respect my feelings. One thing I've learned in this class is that I share many of the potentially destructive traits common among entrepreneurs, but I have self awareness and the strong desire to avoid self destruction.
Above is my awesome grandmother with Jonne Järvelä of folk metal band Korpiklaani. She was of unparalleled strength and open-mindedness, and she won't be soon forgotten.
Each day for the past week I have sat down to work--whether it be for work or school--and come up blank. My grandmother, Barbara Nordstrom, is dead. It seems she's temporarily taken my drive with her despite my efforts to use the event as inspiration to work harder.
So I made the executive decision to give myself a break. I'm notorious for running myself into the ground, beating myself up for failing to meet the ridiculous goals I set, and I want to respect my feelings. One thing I've learned in this class is that I share many of the potentially destructive traits common among entrepreneurs, but I have self awareness and the strong desire to avoid self destruction.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
My venture concept in GIFs
1. You're a parent of one or more children under five.
2. You need a safe place to bring your baby/toddler. A place you can go regardless of the weather and a place you can, perhaps, conference with other parents. You need to get out of the house.
3. 1, 2, 3 Play is a wonderland of indoor play for babies, toddlers & Pre-K'ers. It's made for them.
4. You are relieved and mystified.
5. So, less this...
...and more this.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Venture concept no. 1
Opportunity
Born of the need for fun places to bring children under five, 1, 2, 3 Play is intended to help parents and their babies, toddlers and Pre-K'ers by providing a safe, stimulating and weather-proof environment. Florida is gifted with beautiful weather year round; we have very few cold days. However, we have a long rainy season, particularly in the Tampa Bay area where storms frequently come in over the water, and when it rains, parents lack options for indoor fun. We are either forced to create indoor activities at home, which only amuses the kids for so long, or to go to the same few crowded places (i.e. the mall, the aquarium) over and over again.Parents want more options. 1, 2, 3 Play is an indoor facility with over 100 exhibits to keep kids busy. There are more than 100,000 children under the age of five in the Tampa Bay area with many more who flow through because of tourism. It's hard to say how long the window of opportunity will be open for a facility like 1, 2, 3 Play, but as of now, there just isn't a place to support parents of young (<5) children and their play.
Innovation
1, 2, 3 Play is inherently innovative. Other businesses and nonprofits have targeted older children, but no one has gone after the Pre-K and under crowd yet. Developmentally, they have different needs. I think there is a general consensus that children under five can derive value or have fun with activities and displays created for older children whereas older children cannot engage with something designated for younger children--"that's baby stuff"--so in order to capture the most people possible, places have aimed for the elementary and older market and assumed those parents will bring their younger children along, parents of younger children have no other options so they'll test it out and possibly add it to their rotations and overall, they'll end up capturing the entire market.There is a large enough market to focus on children under five and their caretakers. Local businesses centered around moms and babies, like stroller exercise classes, are thriving because stay at home parents have the need to get out and participate in activities with their children. If you have children, especially if you've stayed home with them for any length of time, you know you have to get out in order to stay sane. Creating routines is key to happiness. I used to go to the library for story time on Wednesday, a mommy group Tuesday mornings and strollga Fridays--there was never enough to fill our schedule. We would go to the zoo, aquarium, mall, Grandma's, play dates and I still craved a place I could safely put my baby down, let him crawl, play, socialize.
Only $5 for a day pass means it will be affordable for most people to go to 1, 2, 3 Play. You pay per child rather than per adult; I know I've been irked by paying $50 for myself and another adult then an additional $15 for my child for something only my child will get any value out of. Rather than incorporating an annual option right off the bat, I would like to test the market for 3-6 months. I tend to think a family pass for $125 would be on target, but I'm not sure yet. I would really like feedback on the pricing!
Venture Concept
Well, I don't want to be redundant, and I think I've explained how 1, 2, 3 Play will meet the needs of my customers. Parents need places to bring their littles. I want to provide a place that not only meets but exceeds their expectations. 1, 2, 3 Play will have activities that cater to all the developmental needs of children under five, like a "farm" where they can harvest crops, tend to animals and drive tractors and a touch wall of different textures.I can't divulge all the company secrets, but all aspects of the business have been designed with kids in mind and would be reviewed by child development professionals. There is no direct competitor. The closest businesses would be Great Explorations and the Glazer Kid's Museum, neither of which is geared toward children under five and largely lack incentives for the age group I'm focused on. In order to foster loyalty, customer experience is my top priority.
As a parent, the best experience, for me, means it isn't too crowded, there aren't much older children running my child over while he tries to play and everything is clean and SAFE. If I have to walk around patrolling my son(s) because I can't trust my surroundings, that diminishes the value of the experience for me. I would limit capacity, though I think it would take a little time to figure out how many people is too many people in the space. The biggest trouble with the crowd-limiting concept is whether to look at the number of children, the number of adults or both. A gradual roll out, rather than over-marketing, would help curb the crowds. Promotions would take place during the week rather than on weekends, which would be peak times. Would some customers complain about discounts being during the week when they're working? Perhaps. But I don't foresee that being a sticking point for people, meaning I think those patrons would still come to 1, 2, 3 Play.
The roles available in the business are many, but due to lack of capital, hiring would be modest at first. Admissions, janitorial staff, employees who supervise play are all necessary.
And the fine details
Is there a secret sauce? I think 1, 2, 3 Play would be hard to replicate primarily because of a high barrier to entry. For those who lack the passion and are strictly looking at the venture from a business perspective, it doesn't look like the biggest profit margins are here. After securing a building through either purchase or lease, everything has to be outfitted and people have to be hired--there's a high set-up cost. A business-minded person would then feel it necessary to have a blow out opening with a goal of filling the place with customers. The problem with that strategy is that customer experience would suffer, leaving people with the first impression that 1, 2, 3 Play is too packed and chaotic to enjoy.As I mentioned in my Amazon whisperer post, the next move for me would be to incorporate food service into my business model. After that, I would build out an exterior play yard, provided I had the space and financing. And then? Well, as much as I love the business, I would sell it and find my next love, the next unmet need I can help provide.
Booby traps?
I may have fallen into some of the booby traps described by Dr. Pryor in the write up guide, but I like to think I've written this concept in a way that's easily readable and digestible. I would be happy to listen to any suggestions for the future and can't wait to see what others have done with their concepts. Leave a link to your post...with your constructive feedback, of course. I'm planning to read more than my allotted share of these this week so I'll be searching the blogroll for concepts to comment on.Sunday, March 27, 2016
You, too, can be an Amazon whisperer
1, 2, 3 Play is an indoor interactive play zone for children under five. What drives revenue? Simple. Admission is where the majority of the business's revenue comes from, but what if we expand that pool? I realize our goal this week is to come up with the next product offering but what my customers want next is on-site, healthy dining. Well, on-site, affordable, healthy dining.
As a parent, I run into this problem all the time: we're out playing some place and need to eat more than the snacks that I've brought. If there isn't a snack stand/food truck/restaurant, or worse, if everything is gross and/or ridiculously expensive, we have to leave, and it's often too much of a hassle to go back, which means we spend the rest of the day at home or running errands. The kids miss out on additional play time they could have had.
Adding a quick service restaurant to 1, 2, 3 Play would drive revenue, but more importantly it would solve a problem for customers. Although I can't compare my business or new addition to anything on Amazon, I can relate it to dining at the aquarium, zoo and current kid's museum. I've found there is an emphasis on accessible food (peanut butter and jelly, chicken tenders, fries, yogurt), which is great, but quality is lacking in hot items/items prepared on-site. I think given my current business model, it would make sense to bring in a local restaurant, but because I want to maintain full control of the restaurant and offer a variety of options, it would be delicate to have a sponsor/restaurant partner. Bringing in some juice from SoHo Juice Co. and getting other products similarly represented would be a great compromise.
In case you're the kind of person who likes sifting through Yelp reviews, you can check out the Lowry Park Zoo's and Florida Aquarium's. You'll note most people who mention food simply say it's overpriced, but as someone who has eaten her way around all their respective food offerings, I'll add that the zoo over-seasons just about everything--inedibly so--and, as I said, the quality is lower than what I would like to offer. I realize I won't have a high enough volume to benefit from economies of scope, but I feel responsible to present something to my customers that I would happily accept myself as a customer.
1, 2, 3 Eat - the next step in customer happiness.
As a parent, I run into this problem all the time: we're out playing some place and need to eat more than the snacks that I've brought. If there isn't a snack stand/food truck/restaurant, or worse, if everything is gross and/or ridiculously expensive, we have to leave, and it's often too much of a hassle to go back, which means we spend the rest of the day at home or running errands. The kids miss out on additional play time they could have had.
Adding a quick service restaurant to 1, 2, 3 Play would drive revenue, but more importantly it would solve a problem for customers. Although I can't compare my business or new addition to anything on Amazon, I can relate it to dining at the aquarium, zoo and current kid's museum. I've found there is an emphasis on accessible food (peanut butter and jelly, chicken tenders, fries, yogurt), which is great, but quality is lacking in hot items/items prepared on-site. I think given my current business model, it would make sense to bring in a local restaurant, but because I want to maintain full control of the restaurant and offer a variety of options, it would be delicate to have a sponsor/restaurant partner. Bringing in some juice from SoHo Juice Co. and getting other products similarly represented would be a great compromise.
In case you're the kind of person who likes sifting through Yelp reviews, you can check out the Lowry Park Zoo's and Florida Aquarium's. You'll note most people who mention food simply say it's overpriced, but as someone who has eaten her way around all their respective food offerings, I'll add that the zoo over-seasons just about everything--inedibly so--and, as I said, the quality is lower than what I would like to offer. I realize I won't have a high enough volume to benefit from economies of scope, but I feel responsible to present something to my customers that I would happily accept myself as a customer.
1, 2, 3 Eat - the next step in customer happiness.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Week 11: reading reflection
First, a link! You, too, can read this week's reading without the hassle of off-campus proxy.
I'm enrolled in GEB3373 International Business this semester with Dr. Amanda Phalin, and the Capsim business simulation is kicking my team's ass. I mean really burying us. What happened? We performed reasonably well in the practice rounds, and it looked like we were poised to capture a fair market share in competition. Our stock plummeted to $1.00, if that helps paint a picture.
Innovation strategy is what happened, a lack thereof. We were swimming in the performance pond but failed to present a product that delivered the speed and accuracy those customers need. We're still struggling with innovation, and as CFO, it's causing crazy anxiety for me. We're sinking, still failing to pinpoint what our customers care about and how to meet their needs.
Like Polaroid or Kodak, we aren't adapting fast enough, and if we can't catch up to our competitors, we'll be dead in the water.
And this week's reading dovetails perfectly with our Capsim disaster. Corning's strategy has notes of what we've been working on, namely avoiding outsourcing, but let's move away from my troubles.
My biggest confusion this week is about the author's examples, which all seem rocky. Is there solid proof, or is every business's strategy a 50/50 shot at success? Corning, for example, has had success and failure over the years with their strategy so is the goal simply to have more successes than failures?
The reading also touches on VRIN; where there is a valuable process/good/service, imitators will appear.
I'm a little confused about the notion that routine innovation is suicidal, but I think that is based on a humdrum "okay, let's keep innovating without a clear goal or strategy" scenario rather than a sincere desire to continue to progress.
There is no one magic answer, I get that, but bringing that note to a discussion of crowdsourcing? Crowdsourcing is innovative, I suppose, and it does demonstrate the trade-offs the author is trying to explain, but it's a whole separate issue I would have left out of this article. Then again, maybe I'm wrongly hating on Pisano because of my bias against wishy-washy.
What do you think? Gary Pisano doesn't say anything I can clearly call out as wrong. Can you find a loose thread? Do you agree "You Need an Innovation Strategy" isn't particularly innovative?
Give me your words below!
I'm enrolled in GEB3373 International Business this semester with Dr. Amanda Phalin, and the Capsim business simulation is kicking my team's ass. I mean really burying us. What happened? We performed reasonably well in the practice rounds, and it looked like we were poised to capture a fair market share in competition. Our stock plummeted to $1.00, if that helps paint a picture.
Innovation strategy is what happened, a lack thereof. We were swimming in the performance pond but failed to present a product that delivered the speed and accuracy those customers need. We're still struggling with innovation, and as CFO, it's causing crazy anxiety for me. We're sinking, still failing to pinpoint what our customers care about and how to meet their needs.
Like Polaroid or Kodak, we aren't adapting fast enough, and if we can't catch up to our competitors, we'll be dead in the water.
And this week's reading dovetails perfectly with our Capsim disaster. Corning's strategy has notes of what we've been working on, namely avoiding outsourcing, but let's move away from my troubles.
My biggest confusion this week is about the author's examples, which all seem rocky. Is there solid proof, or is every business's strategy a 50/50 shot at success? Corning, for example, has had success and failure over the years with their strategy so is the goal simply to have more successes than failures?
The reading also touches on VRIN; where there is a valuable process/good/service, imitators will appear.
I'm a little confused about the notion that routine innovation is suicidal, but I think that is based on a humdrum "okay, let's keep innovating without a clear goal or strategy" scenario rather than a sincere desire to continue to progress.
There is no one magic answer, I get that, but bringing that note to a discussion of crowdsourcing? Crowdsourcing is innovative, I suppose, and it does demonstrate the trade-offs the author is trying to explain, but it's a whole separate issue I would have left out of this article. Then again, maybe I'm wrongly hating on Pisano because of my bias against wishy-washy.
What do you think? Gary Pisano doesn't say anything I can clearly call out as wrong. Can you find a loose thread? Do you agree "You Need an Innovation Strategy" isn't particularly innovative?
Give me your words below!
Monday, March 21, 2016
My unfair advantage; or, ha, HA!
The
Livia Soprano GIF "What makes you think you're so special?
It's all a big nothing." That's me. It's not that I'm rolling
around casting negativity over everyone but rather encouraging those close
enough to share their work woes to push harder and find something meaningful to
do. Someone I've known for nearly ten years was recently expressing futility
and disappointment about their job being a glorified salesperson of
poison--their words, not mine--and I've heard what feels like the same story
over and over from nearly everyone I know.
The unfair advantage of starting your own business has to be choosing something you believe in. Unfortunately this isn't the kind of post I can end with my simple, prophetic answer. I have to show my work.
THUS
My unfair advantage isn't one of the aforementioned resources, it's a lethal combination of all of them. I have the experience of being a mother with kids who can test 1, 2, 3 Play as well as a sister with kids who can test the facility and a mother who is a pediatric nurse with specific knowledge of childhood development and countless resources across the board in early childhood education, community resources and local government. I'm working on a degree in business and have that background but I also have the insight of a former liberal arts student who took courses in design and visual aesthetics.
As a Realtor, I not only have knowledge of local markets and prices, I have the network to consult. Although they seem silly to list, common sense and organizational skills help when building and creating from the ground up. I have collateral I could use to secure a business loan, and with the combination of business knowledge, experience, common sense and organization, I could also write the business plan to present to lenders
In short, it's the whole, not one individual part, that gives me an unfair advantage.
The unfair advantage of starting your own business has to be choosing something you believe in. Unfortunately this isn't the kind of post I can end with my simple, prophetic answer. I have to show my work.
THUS
Here's
a list of ten resources I have to put in to 1, 2, 3 Play:
1) Mother - Being a mother is not inherently rare, but I am the only one to give birth to my children and raise them in our unique circumstances. As such the experience is extremely valuable and inimitable. I don't like to think about a substitute; if I die, their lives will go on, but they will only ever have one mother.
2) Realtor - Again, the simple fact of being a Realtor isn't rare--there are 1,150,141 Realtors--but the service I offer my clients is unique to me. I am the only me with my own perspective and insights. Woot woot. Is it valuable? In terms of this venture, yes. Is it imitable? Maybe, if someone tried awfully hard. I can't refute substitutability. My clients could go out and find a passable agent that would get the job done.
3) Community connections - I like to wander into small businesses. I'm addicted to SoHo Juice, for example. My connections are authentic, or I like to think they are, and I know there are people with larger networks, but I don't think they're as in tune as I am. VRIN score = 0, Real life score = invaluable
4) Design knowledge - Valuable, yes, rare, no, inimitable, no, non-substitutable, no. I still view my design knowledge as a strong asset because I could save money on building and exhibit design costs, but other people, particularly those with more financial capital, could be on par or better than me with respect to sick design.
5) Education - I'm about to become repetitive. Yes, there are millions of other people out there with college educations. I guarantee you there aren't many people who have taken the path I have taken and have the Renaissance, inter-disciplinary background I have. My education is valuable--I've defended that time and again--it isn't rare or inimitable, though no one would want to traverse the rocky road I've left behind, and the jury is out as to whether it's non-substitutable. Many would argue there are substitutes for education, namely experience, but I'm not sure I agree.
6) Kids - Let me be clear, my kids have a perfect VRIN score. The service they would provide to 1, 2, 3 Play as testers does not. It is valuable to have my littles, and my friends' littles, to run around and provide feedback about what works and what doesn't, but there are thousands of other small children I could rally to try 1, 2, 3 Play so they aren't rare or inimitable or non-substitutable. What my boys say and do, however, is all of those things. Kids are awesome.
7) Organizational skills - My organizational skills are a product of military upbringing, teachers stressing planner use and my severe, Type A personality. I crave planning. Crossing chores/events/assignments off my list brings me great satisfaction. I bet one of you reading this is thinking, "me too!" Organizational skills are valuable but strike out on RIN.
8) Support system - I want to defend my support system; they're one-of-a-kind. One of the best things about them is something that may sound odd: they question EVERYTHING. They would not following me into a dark, murky swamp at two in the morning. They would collectively put a stop to my shenanigans until all inquiries are answered. Their feedback and support is valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. Our relationships wouldn't be what they are if we hadn't spent our formative years together.
9) Financial leverage - Any schmuck can come up with financial capital so is financial leverage valuable, sure, but it isn't rare, inimitable and non-substitutable unless I'm looking to argue semantics (and I'm not).
10) Common sense - I've been told recently that common sense is rare and valuable. It isn't an inimitable or non-substitutable resource, but there is something to be said for this underappreciated advantage.
1) Mother - Being a mother is not inherently rare, but I am the only one to give birth to my children and raise them in our unique circumstances. As such the experience is extremely valuable and inimitable. I don't like to think about a substitute; if I die, their lives will go on, but they will only ever have one mother.
2) Realtor - Again, the simple fact of being a Realtor isn't rare--there are 1,150,141 Realtors--but the service I offer my clients is unique to me. I am the only me with my own perspective and insights. Woot woot. Is it valuable? In terms of this venture, yes. Is it imitable? Maybe, if someone tried awfully hard. I can't refute substitutability. My clients could go out and find a passable agent that would get the job done.
3) Community connections - I like to wander into small businesses. I'm addicted to SoHo Juice, for example. My connections are authentic, or I like to think they are, and I know there are people with larger networks, but I don't think they're as in tune as I am. VRIN score = 0, Real life score = invaluable
4) Design knowledge - Valuable, yes, rare, no, inimitable, no, non-substitutable, no. I still view my design knowledge as a strong asset because I could save money on building and exhibit design costs, but other people, particularly those with more financial capital, could be on par or better than me with respect to sick design.
5) Education - I'm about to become repetitive. Yes, there are millions of other people out there with college educations. I guarantee you there aren't many people who have taken the path I have taken and have the Renaissance, inter-disciplinary background I have. My education is valuable--I've defended that time and again--it isn't rare or inimitable, though no one would want to traverse the rocky road I've left behind, and the jury is out as to whether it's non-substitutable. Many would argue there are substitutes for education, namely experience, but I'm not sure I agree.
6) Kids - Let me be clear, my kids have a perfect VRIN score. The service they would provide to 1, 2, 3 Play as testers does not. It is valuable to have my littles, and my friends' littles, to run around and provide feedback about what works and what doesn't, but there are thousands of other small children I could rally to try 1, 2, 3 Play so they aren't rare or inimitable or non-substitutable. What my boys say and do, however, is all of those things. Kids are awesome.
7) Organizational skills - My organizational skills are a product of military upbringing, teachers stressing planner use and my severe, Type A personality. I crave planning. Crossing chores/events/assignments off my list brings me great satisfaction. I bet one of you reading this is thinking, "me too!" Organizational skills are valuable but strike out on RIN.
8) Support system - I want to defend my support system; they're one-of-a-kind. One of the best things about them is something that may sound odd: they question EVERYTHING. They would not following me into a dark, murky swamp at two in the morning. They would collectively put a stop to my shenanigans until all inquiries are answered. Their feedback and support is valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. Our relationships wouldn't be what they are if we hadn't spent our formative years together.
9) Financial leverage - Any schmuck can come up with financial capital so is financial leverage valuable, sure, but it isn't rare, inimitable and non-substitutable unless I'm looking to argue semantics (and I'm not).
10) Common sense - I've been told recently that common sense is rare and valuable. It isn't an inimitable or non-substitutable resource, but there is something to be said for this underappreciated advantage.
My unfair advantage isn't one of the aforementioned resources, it's a lethal combination of all of them. I have the experience of being a mother with kids who can test 1, 2, 3 Play as well as a sister with kids who can test the facility and a mother who is a pediatric nurse with specific knowledge of childhood development and countless resources across the board in early childhood education, community resources and local government. I'm working on a degree in business and have that background but I also have the insight of a former liberal arts student who took courses in design and visual aesthetics.
As a Realtor, I not only have knowledge of local markets and prices, I have the network to consult. Although they seem silly to list, common sense and organizational skills help when building and creating from the ground up. I have collateral I could use to secure a business loan, and with the combination of business knowledge, experience, common sense and organization, I could also write the business plan to present to lenders
In short, it's the whole, not one individual part, that gives me an unfair advantage.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Growing my social capital
The lowdown
This is where I deviate from the plan. Normally, I wouldn't be anxious about veering off course--it's kind of my M.O.--but with the zero-tolerance policy, and somewhat mixed messages about whether we can use different activities for different concepts, I feel like I'm stepping out onto wobbly rocks in molten lava...that's redundant, but I was going for parallelism, and most of the applicable adjectives I could stick on "lava" are redundant. Hot lava, molten lava. #formerlitmajorproblems
Anyway, opportunity presented itself in the form of two monthly networking events, and I knew I could exploit this exercise and make valuable business connections. So I did. I think the successful real life application justifies my temporarily stepping out on 1, 2, 3 Play.
Background information: I'm a Realtor and a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) and Pinellas Realtor Organization (PRO), the last of which hosts a number of events and classes each month. There is every opportunity to connect with people in the business, and I make every excuse to avoid networking. For the longest time--as long as I've been in the business--I've known about the monthly marketing session, with other Realtors and affiliates, and PRO Connect, which is a happy hour, informal, chillaxing social. It just so happens both of the aforementioned events fell on the Tuesday before this assignment was due. Score!
But the actual players I'm using here are people I was introduced to through other connections. I'll talk about that more later.
The players
1) Bill Wall, Broker-in-Charge at The Property Shop (Domain Expert)
In real estate, in Florida at least, you start out as a sales associate (Realtor) and can progress to Broker through additional experience and education. I have been asked over and over whether I'm going to pursue becoming a broker and the thought terrifies me. Enter Bill. All Realtors work under a Broker, and I have a relationship with my Broker, Mark Schmitz. He's always at my disposal. Still, it's nice to have an outsider whose brain I haven't picked yet. I referred a listing to Bill--you can check it out here--and so our relationship has a separate cadence from my relationship with my Broker.
To break it down to basics, I called him one day out of the blue and asked if he wanted a referral. I'd never given a referral before so I wasn't sure what the proper etiquette would be. Have you seen Superbad? How things went down somewhat resembled how Jonah Hill is with Emma Stone. Or maybe it was more like Michael Cera and his ladylove Becca. At any rate, I nervously asked if he wanted a referral, he asked what, I loudly, quickly blurted out "DO YOU WANT A REFERRAL LISTING?" To which he replied yes, and I went silent. With referrals, the referring agent (me) receives a fee for the referral if the other agent gets the listing and it sells. There's associated paperwork. So there I was on the line with Bill, him asking, "well, what's the listing?" and I was unsure whether to just tell him the address and sellers or make him sign papers first.
I trusted Bill would follow-through and gave him all the information. Obviously the house is listed now, and when it sells, he and I will both benefit. Beyond this transaction, I now have a resource in the area I can refer other clients to. I went up to North Carolina to meet Bill--did I mention this was an out of state deal, which is why I can't be the agent? We walked through the property together, I gave him my pitch, showed him I did my research and we sat down together to decide the price and strategy. It's satisfying to have another professional appreciate your opinion.
And Bill asked the same question many others have, whether I'm going to become a Broker. I'm warming up to the idea.
2) James Watson, Branch Manager at Universal Mortgage and Finance (Market Expert)
James was referred to me through my mentor, fellow agent John Egger. I was in a tough spot where another lender was telling me they couldn't close by contract date, and John said to give James a call, explain the situation and see if he could help. I called James and ran him through the details, and we're set to close the file next week. It's a sale I likely would have lost and a buyer who may have gone to someone else if I didn't come up with a solution. It's not a closed deal, but James is pushing us through. He's encouraging about my career, noting that I should do well, particularly with common sense on my side.
3) Errol Ayuso, Ayuso Surveying (Supplier)
There's a common misconception that surveyors have an easy job. Errol helped a buyer of mine, getting his survey done quickly and for a good price--it wasn't in a plated subdivision so not all surveyors will accept the survey--and I referred him to another buyer who is a price conscious first time home buyer and needed a survey done ASAP. Here's where the popular idea of what a survey is, what kind of work it takes to complete, comes into play. Like others, I figured Errol and his associate, Chris, would be in and out in less than 30 minutes, but I asked him to give me a call when he was headed to the property so I could grab some of his business cards for my desk. Yes, we really still use business cards! Anyway, Errol called me and said I had at least three hours to get there. Three hours. Once I arrived on the scene, Errol ran me through his process and the after-party of filling out forms and creating the paper survey we receive.
Errol appreciated my interest; I really do want to learn about all aspects of the real estate business, even the side jobs, like inspecting, appraising, surveying, that I don't personally do. The more I know, the better I can serve.
The conclusion
All of my contacts for this project and beyond emphasize the importance of connections. Not only do you need to connect with buyers and sellers, you need to have a good rapport with lenders, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, surveyors and other Realtors. It's a simple concept. We all hear about the benefits of networking, but I had become numb to it. When you begin to see the real relationships forming, and how those relationships benefit your clients and your life, networking moves away from the concept of that thing you're supposed to do if you want to be successful toward becoming second nature.
Purposeful networking, growing my social capital is inherently different from the shallow mingling I've forced in the past. I'm building something real now, and that is why it was important for me to do this in the context of my current profession, using people who I have more than a surface acquaintanceship with. Will I venture out to PRO social events more often? Reply hazy, try again, but I am going to continue to meet people and foster work relationships. I went to a community connection for Realtors in Largo and signed up to take a class next week so maybe I'm turning a new leaf on this networking business.
This is where I deviate from the plan. Normally, I wouldn't be anxious about veering off course--it's kind of my M.O.--but with the zero-tolerance policy, and somewhat mixed messages about whether we can use different activities for different concepts, I feel like I'm stepping out onto wobbly rocks in molten lava...that's redundant, but I was going for parallelism, and most of the applicable adjectives I could stick on "lava" are redundant. Hot lava, molten lava. #formerlitmajorproblems
Anyway, opportunity presented itself in the form of two monthly networking events, and I knew I could exploit this exercise and make valuable business connections. So I did. I think the successful real life application justifies my temporarily stepping out on 1, 2, 3 Play.
Background information: I'm a Realtor and a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) and Pinellas Realtor Organization (PRO), the last of which hosts a number of events and classes each month. There is every opportunity to connect with people in the business, and I make every excuse to avoid networking. For the longest time--as long as I've been in the business--I've known about the monthly marketing session, with other Realtors and affiliates, and PRO Connect, which is a happy hour, informal, chillaxing social. It just so happens both of the aforementioned events fell on the Tuesday before this assignment was due. Score!
But the actual players I'm using here are people I was introduced to through other connections. I'll talk about that more later.
The players
1) Bill Wall, Broker-in-Charge at The Property Shop (Domain Expert)
In real estate, in Florida at least, you start out as a sales associate (Realtor) and can progress to Broker through additional experience and education. I have been asked over and over whether I'm going to pursue becoming a broker and the thought terrifies me. Enter Bill. All Realtors work under a Broker, and I have a relationship with my Broker, Mark Schmitz. He's always at my disposal. Still, it's nice to have an outsider whose brain I haven't picked yet. I referred a listing to Bill--you can check it out here--and so our relationship has a separate cadence from my relationship with my Broker.
To break it down to basics, I called him one day out of the blue and asked if he wanted a referral. I'd never given a referral before so I wasn't sure what the proper etiquette would be. Have you seen Superbad? How things went down somewhat resembled how Jonah Hill is with Emma Stone. Or maybe it was more like Michael Cera and his ladylove Becca. At any rate, I nervously asked if he wanted a referral, he asked what, I loudly, quickly blurted out "DO YOU WANT A REFERRAL LISTING?" To which he replied yes, and I went silent. With referrals, the referring agent (me) receives a fee for the referral if the other agent gets the listing and it sells. There's associated paperwork. So there I was on the line with Bill, him asking, "well, what's the listing?" and I was unsure whether to just tell him the address and sellers or make him sign papers first.
I trusted Bill would follow-through and gave him all the information. Obviously the house is listed now, and when it sells, he and I will both benefit. Beyond this transaction, I now have a resource in the area I can refer other clients to. I went up to North Carolina to meet Bill--did I mention this was an out of state deal, which is why I can't be the agent? We walked through the property together, I gave him my pitch, showed him I did my research and we sat down together to decide the price and strategy. It's satisfying to have another professional appreciate your opinion.
And Bill asked the same question many others have, whether I'm going to become a Broker. I'm warming up to the idea.
2) James Watson, Branch Manager at Universal Mortgage and Finance (Market Expert)
James was referred to me through my mentor, fellow agent John Egger. I was in a tough spot where another lender was telling me they couldn't close by contract date, and John said to give James a call, explain the situation and see if he could help. I called James and ran him through the details, and we're set to close the file next week. It's a sale I likely would have lost and a buyer who may have gone to someone else if I didn't come up with a solution. It's not a closed deal, but James is pushing us through. He's encouraging about my career, noting that I should do well, particularly with common sense on my side.
3) Errol Ayuso, Ayuso Surveying (Supplier)
There's a common misconception that surveyors have an easy job. Errol helped a buyer of mine, getting his survey done quickly and for a good price--it wasn't in a plated subdivision so not all surveyors will accept the survey--and I referred him to another buyer who is a price conscious first time home buyer and needed a survey done ASAP. Here's where the popular idea of what a survey is, what kind of work it takes to complete, comes into play. Like others, I figured Errol and his associate, Chris, would be in and out in less than 30 minutes, but I asked him to give me a call when he was headed to the property so I could grab some of his business cards for my desk. Yes, we really still use business cards! Anyway, Errol called me and said I had at least three hours to get there. Three hours. Once I arrived on the scene, Errol ran me through his process and the after-party of filling out forms and creating the paper survey we receive.
Errol appreciated my interest; I really do want to learn about all aspects of the real estate business, even the side jobs, like inspecting, appraising, surveying, that I don't personally do. The more I know, the better I can serve.
The conclusion
All of my contacts for this project and beyond emphasize the importance of connections. Not only do you need to connect with buyers and sellers, you need to have a good rapport with lenders, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, surveyors and other Realtors. It's a simple concept. We all hear about the benefits of networking, but I had become numb to it. When you begin to see the real relationships forming, and how those relationships benefit your clients and your life, networking moves away from the concept of that thing you're supposed to do if you want to be successful toward becoming second nature.
Purposeful networking, growing my social capital is inherently different from the shallow mingling I've forced in the past. I'm building something real now, and that is why it was important for me to do this in the context of my current profession, using people who I have more than a surface acquaintanceship with. Will I venture out to PRO social events more often? Reply hazy, try again, but I am going to continue to meet people and foster work relationships. I went to a community connection for Realtors in Largo and signed up to take a class next week so maybe I'm turning a new leaf on this networking business.
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