Emily's Blog

This time around I decided to read about an entrepreneur that did not correlate to my major or personal-likings at all. In  Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance I read about an ambitious, groundbreaking, sometimes very odd man. I was certainly most surprised by the stories of his upbringing. I had always assumed that he was American born and raised, came from an elite family and went to private schools / Ivy Leagues before making it in big in silicon valley. I couldn't have been further from the truth. He was born in Pretoria, South Africa to an emotionally abusive father and was constantly bullied. To say the least, his early life was hard to read about and IM sure even worse to experience. He moved to Canada alone at the age of 17 and enrolled in a college there before going to Upenn to study economics and physics. From there he moved to the west coast to start of his two start off projects which sold from 22 million and 180 million dol...

1) The exit strategy I plan to make follows along the lines of selling my business in the next 5 years for a large return. I selected this particular strategy because the products I sell in this business are not what I am passionate about. I know that protective gear and bicycles/ scooters would be better fit for someone who really cares deeply about them and enjoys that field of work. I would want to find the right person to trust the business I started to. But I would also be grateful for the return so that I could hopefully start off another entrepreneurial effort after I gain that experience. 

Although I have failed a few times this semester a more prominent failure of mine occurred a couple of years ago and I felt it was more relevant for this topic. My junior year of high school I started working at a smoothie bar in a L.A. fitness. One of my best friends Uncles had owned it at the time so it was an easy job to get. I was a fairly good employee, I always made my customers smile and feel special and I remembered my regular customers orders. I made lots of tips and counted the receipts correctly everytime and cleaned up after myself after every shift. My one flaw. My friends. It was my local neighborhood gym so my friends already had memberships there. My friend Emily, who's Uncle owned the smoothie bar would always let me in the back to hangout with her during her shifts before I started working there so I thought that it was okay. I think deep down I knew that it was not acceptable but I rationalized it by thinking, if she could do it so could I. Forgetting, that I am...

What I think is next:  I think the next step for "Cap your Cap" is to venture out in the realm of B2B rather than solely B2C. I had focused so solely on the need here in Gainesville that I had no thought that if this product succeeds it could be sold in other retailers. These retailers could include local or national bike shops, moped stores, skate shops, and even meg retailers like target or Walmart. Existing Market Interview-  I interview David, a sophomore at UF whose main from of transportation is his bike  I talked to Caitlin, a senior who rides her scooter "practically everywhere."  Lastly I talked to Donald, who is an avid skateboard enthusiast.  Reflection:       This time around when interviewing my interviewees, I got some great ideas on whether or not my product could be sold in other retailers. Based off of their answers, I think it is safe to say that my product could succeed on the shelves of another business. They ...

Capabilities: Extensive Social Media Experience- I am currently the social media director for my sorority, and managed a cosmetic company’s Instagram account with over 200,000 followers this past summer as apart of my internship.  Valuable: this skill is extremely valuable in this day and age, you must understand your brand and post accordingly to your demographic to achieve the most outreach.   Rare: I don’t think this skill is necessarily rare, but some people do this better than others and I have been trusted to run some pretty important social media accounts. Inimitable: this capability is able to be imitated, as soon as someone thinks of something new and cool, many people copy it.   Non-substitutable: I could find someone with similar capabilities to do this in my place.   Social Capital: Personal Relationships with Influential Individuals- Within my network I have developed close with relationships with individuals who have significant weight in a...

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki 1) The general theme / argument for the book “The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users” by Guy Kawasaki is a guide for the most effective and efficient use of social media. I would say that the argument is about stressing the importance of the impact that social media platforms can have on the success of a company. He reiterates that it can seriously make or break your company. Guy Kawasaki is a revered and highly respected marketing and social media specialists. He is best known for his critically acclaimed books and the work he did on marketing the original Macintosh computer for Apple.  2) Reading this book was helpful for me in ways that went beyond my expectation, not only for this class but for other aspects of my life. As a marketing major, we are constantly taught about the importance of social media but never given the tips we need to optimize its use. Guy provided an easy to read and e...

1)  You.  Again, my name is Emily Patton. I am a sophomore at the University of Florida pursing a major in marketing and a minor in Japanese. I am 20 years old and from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. My talents include being a dedicated worker, a skilled dancer, and a compassionate person. My aspirations include graduating in the next 2 years with a Masters in International Business from UF then pursuing a career in Beauty or Fashion. With my plans of now, the business I have devised in this class would be more of a part time or later on kind of thing. I understand that my mentality is very non-entrepreneurial of me but I have worked really hard to accomplish my goals and would like to see them through.  2)  What are you offering to customers?  I am meeting the unmet need of protective head gear on the campus of UF for the thousands of bicycle, moped and skateboard users who risks their lives every day by not wearing a helmet. My product, cap your cap, is a styl...

Domain Expert:  Who they are and what their background is I talked to Steve from “New Scooter 4 Less ” a popular moped dealer in Gainesville. How Steve is a domain expert:   As an employee at NS4L he knows a lot about the target segment, about the suppliers, and how to interact with both the customers and his manager.   A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I went in to the store during the early afternoon this past Wednesday and he was the employee working at the desk. I kindly asked for a manager for some more expertise but unfortunately there was no manager present that day. Steve was still a great option though. The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?  The exchange between us was very conversational, I didn’t want to seem like I was only talking to him to gain insight so I asked him about his job, if he’s happy where he’s at, why...