18A Create A Custom Avatar

Who is my Avatar?
My business plan is to innovate on the Publix hiring process, primarily in Gainesville, which is a college town. My prototypical customer is a college student, living off of grants and loans. My customer works hard and time manages well, but needs a good job that will work with his schedule. My customer played sports in high school and was a bright young student. My customer would drive an average car that he payed for himself, nothing too flashy just enough to get him from A to B, a 2003 Gold Hyundai Elantra. My customer only has time to catch up on Netflix shows from time to time like Breaking Bad and 13 Reasons Why, not very up to date on television. My customer will not have children, he is a college student trying to make ends meet during his time in undergrad.  My customer is 20 but feels 30 with the amount of work he puts in, he needs a job and has applied to Publix before and never received a call back. All he needs is a job that fits his schedule, he maintains schoolwork, extra curricular activities and is starting an engineering internship in the summer.

What do I have in common with my avatar?
I see my avatar as a close representation of me, a hardworking person that funds his own life and needs to sustain, all while trying to have fun and meet new people. I built my avatar to be a close representation of me because I understand the college struggle and my business plan is a product of my experiences with trying to find part time work.

https://mybluerobot.com/avatar-checkout/?avatar=5bcf446013301&rnd=519569

15A Figuring out Buyer Behavior #2

Alternative evaluation:
The segment that I chose last time was college students and I conducted three interviews with previous classroom partners of mine that I got in contact with. One alternative to my idea, is to simply apply to other locations, according to one of the interviewees. One of the biggest factors was time and if applying to a new store is easier than fixing the problem of Publix's application process then that is what the applicant will most likely choose.

How and Where to buy: Considering that Publix application is only available in each individual store, online applying is not an option.

Post Purchase Evaluation: After applying, the end goal is to get the right applicants hired and one of my interviewees stated that just getting a call back is nice so making sure Publix gets in touch with all qualified applicants afterwards is important.

Interviews: The interviewees gave me similar answers compared to the last set of people I interviewed. The business idea is plausible considering that everyone has heard of Publix and likes the idea of fixing their outdated application process. One interviewee stated that my idea was weak in terms of implementation because it is hard to get this passed by corporate and would require years of petitioning.

Conclusions: My biggest takeaway from these interviews is that getting a callback is so important, and at the moment, Publix is not very transparent with their applicants.

13A Reading Reflection 1

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

1. Elon Musk's character surprised me in this book because prior to reading I had assumed he was extremely confident and never second guessed his decisions, but the author of this book described him as "tends to be almost sheepish". Which surprised me because as I continued reading, my image of Elon began to change. One thing that I admired about Elon is that he was not at the top of his class in academics, which should inspire hope for any entrepreneur. Elon states "What grades do I need to get to where I need to go?". Musk also disappointed me because he was against joining the military due to war affiliations. Which leads to Musk's struggles of being born in South Africa and the apartheid regime, that was definitely a hardship he overcame, I know firsthand how tough it is growing up in a war torn area.

2. Elon's tenacious in his ability to never give up despite the circumstances, once he developed coding skills he began to push his limits on jobs, which further increased his knowledge and experience, which I personally found admirable.

3. The text was very straightforward in describing Elon's journey to becoming the mogul he is now, but one part in the book that was vague was when it would describe Elon's search process for new jobs, such as when he finished becoming a millionaire and moved on to new projects, I was confused on how he stumbles on new projects so quickly and the book did not go into detail.

4. a) Did you think Tesla would get so much hype behind it or did you expect it to be a niche product?
   b) Do you feel that being born in South Africa gave you a better perspective on business considering the poor economy of Africa?

5. Personally, Elon Musk admires hard work and patience but I noticed trends in the book about him wanting to find the quickest way to solve problems and it leads him to set backs. I also struggle with patience but I know how vital it is to success.

14 A Halfway Reflection

1. Behaviors that I have used when it comes to keeping up with the requirements of ENT3003 include constantly checking canvas. The Canvas app became a must to have on my phone and computer because making sure I was on top of each assignment and not missing a cupcake or response due was so important because each point does hold value. I missed a cupcake the first week of class because I assumed it was due at 12am not 12pm and I regret it.

2. When it came to creating a business idea, as the assignments began to build on one another I began to feel immense stress because there were some aspects of my business that were weak. This problem helped me develop tenacity, I tried my hardest to not think about quitting and try to push through with the pros of my idea rather than overthink the cons.

3. Tips to foster tenacity in ENT3003
    a) Always check Canvas.
    b) Do not overthink your business idea, there are cons to       
        everything.
    c)  Start thinking about your blog post early, even if you
         procrastinate the assignment itself.
Me throughout the semester^^

12A Buyer Behavior

My business plan is to improve the hiring process, more specifically, the Publix hiring process. So for my interviews, I targeted undergrad college students with no jobs, that are financially reliant on FAFSA and Bright Futures.

The three students I conducted interviews with gave me a lot of relative information to one another about part time jobs they desired. The hardest part about working during college is most companies are not flexible with their tight schedule, which makes a lot of jobs unobtainable, although Publix is extremely flexible with students, which makes the company that much more desirable. During fall and spring semester is the most particular time where they need a job, because they need to make up for all the spending on food, rent, and utilities. One student stated that they looked at Publix because of mutual friends that worked there, and applied to three stores in every department and never heard back. Other students looked at firehouse subs, jobs on campus, etc. but the pay was too low for their needs.

One thing all my interviewees had in common was that they searched for jobs on indeed and through UF 's online job sight. Mostly online efforts were made to find a job, although one student found out about Publix through mutual friends. The most searched inquiry was "Part time jobs, Gainesville FL" which is a relatively broad search, but they still could not find anything that met their four most important needs, flexible scheduling hours, decent pay, few job requirements, and to get hired.

In conclusion, the interviews I conducted really helped me see that their is a market for what I am doing, because Gainesville has a lot of Publix stores, and a lot of students looking to work with them. I concluded my interviews by asking all three of my guests the same question, how would you feel about working with Publix? and they all responded with no hesitation, yes! So innovating the Publix hiring process and working to get more students hired is a goal I still feel is realistic to work towards.

11A Idea Napkin No. 1

1. My talents, in regards to my business idea, which is basically innovating the Publix application process through new terminals with updated and in depth applications, in order to weed out applicants that simply should not be hired. My talents include years of experience in the grocery food business, which I feel is why I noticed this issue in the first place. My aspirations for this idea is to see it play out in all 1,100 Publix's in America, Publix is a company known for having a good relationship with families and young adults, and when it comes time for people to apply to Publix, and their application is overlooked for someone with a disability that makes the corporate side of the company look better, even though disabled employees are treated the same once hired and more often than not can not handle the job, it wastes time. This business will play a huge role in my life knowing I am helping more people get jobs.

2. Customers unmet need in this case is very specific, but it is to reduce unnecessary deniability of applicants over other applicants for Publix. What this basically means is, people that are more qualified to work for Publix get overlooked by special needs applicants because they benefit corporate Publix.

3. This business is projected towards teens and young adults that want jobs with Publix, any race or ethnicity, and education level is usually high school or college.

4. I am projecting my idea to receive funding through fundraisers and Go-Fund-Me's through local communities in Florida. People should help fund because it is going to create more jobs once implemented. So many instances regarding a perfectly qualified teenager, or young adult looking to make extra money, gets overlooked.

5. My biggest core competency is the knowledge I have regarding my business, I worked at Publix, know a lot of people that have and still work there, and more importantly I know special needs employees that have a lot to say about their experience. My knowledge and drive to fix this issue could potentially increase jobs heavily when it comes to hiring in Publix.

All five elements do not exactly fit together in my business plan, I might need to adjust my core ideas. My plan to create more in-depth applications is generally marketable, especially if the goal is to increase jobs, even if it is just in a small part of Florida. But my funding for the Publix application process could be tough to start, although I know a lot of people that have gotten denied from Publix unnecessarily and I feel there is a market for this product implementation. Although my funding and demographic seem weaker compared to my core competency and overall experience, I might need to readjust some goals for my business.