16A - Secret Sauce

16A – What’s your Secret Sauce

1)    Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list. 

1.    Time Management. I am particularly good with working with deadlines and hardly ever miss them. If I have a task assigned to me, I work diligently and plan accordingly to get it done ahead of time.

2.    Pride in simple things. I have worked many odd jobs in retail and the food industry. In those jobs I have always made it a point to do my very best in the smallest tasks so that it shows I can handle larger tasks and create more opportunities for myself within those jobs.

3.    Loyalty. I do not like leaving companies. I tend to stay with companies over an extended amount of time and like to move up in the same company. Also, when it comes to family/friends I keep my group small and they know where they stand with me, always.

4.    Followership. I work well in team settings because I know how to listen and consider everyone’s ideas while contributing my own. I have been told I am a great follower which can potentially make a quality for a strong leader.

5.    Proactivity. I take initiative on tasks that are handed to me or even if I just see something that I think can be improved. I’m motived to do well myself and motivated to make my place of work somewhere I want to be.

2)    Interview the five people who know you the best. 

I will say this was a very emotional assignment to document, its always hard to hear about yourself, but it was very humbling and meant a lot to me. I could not figure out how to upload because every one of my family members sent a different file type so I did it the only way I could think of. Haha. Please excuse my brother, he lies. ;)

https://youtu.be/xb-DNkGt3b8

https://youtu.be/QFD9jyycxV8

https://youtu.be/MknoB5BXORA

https://youtu.be/IqKCfIy90Hw

https://youtu.be/H5Z4246VSQk

3)    Reflect on the differences. 

The difference that I see in myself and what my family had to say about me is the fact that they all mentioned that I was a hard worker. Its not that I don’t think I work hard but I feel like I do what I am supposed to do which is what I’ve always felt everyone tries to do. They made me feel like I was exceptionally good at working hard though.  I wouldn’t make any changes to my list even after hearing them because I feel they all mentioned the same qualities just in their own words.

15A - Buyer Behavior No. 2

15A – Buyer Behavior No. 2

Target Segment:

My target segment is people who use food tracking apps to track their weight. I have been tracking my food for years and have access to a Facebook group called Avatar Nutrition to ask questions and relate to. My three interviewees are from this Avatar Facebook group.

Summary of Interviews:

The three people I interviewed all use the same food tracking app, Avatar. However, each one of them did not use Avatar from the start. Every interviewee started with MyFitnessPal. Their reasons were because it was word of mouth, it was free, and its popularity. One person believes they begin with MyFitnessPal because its free and when you start tracking you never know if you will stay consistent with tracking, so why pay for an app? Another person said they have used different apps and each app offers the same thing. Apps that are not free might offer recipe ideas which is the only difference. When asked why they made the switch to Avatar their answers differed. The reasons were they trust Layne Norton (Power builder well respected in the lifting community who made the app), they had access to virtual coaches who answered questions, the ability to adjust carbs and fat based on your day. The app is $10/month and each of them was willing to pay for it to get the extra benefits that Avatar offers. My three interviewees have each been using Avatar for over a year! If anything showed their loyalty to Avatar it was the length of time they have been using the app. One interviewee said they are pleased with their purchase because it works and they make food tracking convenient. At this point it’s become part of their daily routine. Another said that the power to adjust the carbs and fat so easily is what has kept them with Avatar and that the features keep getting better and better, so they stick around to take advantage of any more app updates.  

Conclusion:

I was really happy about the interviews I was able to conduct and the feedback. I agree that Avatar has offered many updates that I have not seen in other food tracking apps. What I learned from conducting these interviews is that adding convenience and always bettering a product/service will keep loyal customers. I think Avatar could be potentially be a fantastic candidate to add a scannable menu feature to their app to really stand out from competitors.

14A - Halfway Reflection

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

This course has forced me to be okay with being uncomfortable. So far, I have interviewed countless people that I do not know and it has been one of the most nerve-wracking things. It has forced me to be more prepared in my questions. I have also learned more about critical thinking and being accepting of criticism to use it to make my product/service better.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

A moment when I wanted to give up is when I had two negative interviews in a row. The response to my product/service was being criticized and misunderstood. I knew to keep going however, because as I narrowed down my market and learned more about who to market to, I realized that they were kind of outside of my market. My attitude is more tenacious because it’s been hard to handle honest critical feedback, but I do keep going with the same product/service and try to think of ways around it.

3.)Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1. To foster tenacity my tip would be, be prepared. Having my questions prepared for an interview helped interviews go smoother and knowing how to explain my product.

2. To develop a tenacious mindset, be willing to listen and receive criticism. Listening to criticism will make you and your product better.

3. Don’t use friends for an interview. I got the best feedback from strangers. Friends were too nice and didn’t challenge my product/service enough. I find that asking the question, how can this product be improved helped interviewees more comfortable in giving feedback.

13A - Reading Reflection 1

13A – Reading Reflection 1

Book: Shoe Dog

1.     What surprised you the most?

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

The quality I admired most about Phil Knight was his boldness. Phil knew his passion was shoes, but his father was not supportive in the beginning and called it a waste of time. Phil pursued it anyway. He travelled to Japan by himself to pitch a shoe idea. He received a meeting with Onitsuka Co. and when asked by the boardroom what company he was representing, he made up a company on the spot. There were many times where he would be low on money to support the company, but always found a way through it. He made a bold move when he left Onitsuka and found another factory that would then make Nikes.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

The aspect I least admired was how Phil treated one partner in particular, Johnson. Johnson was one of Phil’s first employees that he brought on when he was with Onitsuka. Johnson seemed to be the most loyal of employees. He worked hard and believed in the brand throughout its stages and even opened up the first store front. However, Phil would choose to ignore his letters and failed to give Johnson a heads up that he needed him to move to run a store on the east coast instead of in California. I felt like Phil was insensitive and took Johnson for granted.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, Phil Knight experienced adversity in many parts of the book. The first may have been when he settled on a deal with Onitsuka, but did not receive the prototype shoe until an entire year later! While he did not seek out a new manufacturer during that time, he didn’t stay stagnant. He worked an accounting job to pass the time. Once he knew Onitsuka was looking for a new supplier for the Tiger shoes he took it upon himself to find a different manufacturer. Also, there was a time when he tried to promote a soccer shoe for football and it disintegrated during a game. Instead of giving up he found a different manufacturer to make sturdier shoes. He never gave up, just changed his game plan.

2.     What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

The competency that was the most apparent and admirable to me was Phil’s knack on picking out the right people to help him build his company. He was able to surround himself with loyal people who showed true interest in the brand and believed in what he was doing. Each person was interested in taking the brand to the next level.

3.     Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The most confusing part of the book was trying to understand why Phil decided to stay with Onitsuka for so long. After the first meeting with Onitsuka, it took an entire year for him to receive his first shipment of shoes. All while having very poor communication. The entire relationship continued this way. Phil would run low on shoes and need a new shipment and Onitsuka would take months. Towards the end of the relationship Onitsuka was trying to find another distributor without Phil knowing. Every time something went wrong, I was left to wonder why Phil did not seek out a different manufacturer.

4.     If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur what would you ask and why?

First question I would ask is why he stayed with Onitsuka so long despite the terrible working relationship?

There was a point in the book where he has a conversation with the CEO of Pacific Power and light, Don Frisbee. Mr Frisbee gives Phil the advice of getting his CPA and MBA while he’s young so that when he changes jobs, he won’t lose pay too. I would like to know if he agreed with this advice and if its something he would suggest to other young entrepreneurs?

5.     What do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

There are many quotes in his book that I feel speak to his definition of hard work, however, this is my favorite,

“ Let everyone else call your idea crazy…just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get ther, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”

His message of hard work is to never give up. Keep moving forward no matter what and I do share that opinion.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Target Segment:

For this assignment I have decided to focus on customers using a food tracker to keep up with their weight. I chose this segment because they are the largest segment of my market. People who are most likely to use the app and appreciate the scannable menu religiously and need to track food when they go out for a meal are those who have goals to keep a certain weight/lose weight.

Summary of Interviews:

Need Awareness:

These set of interviews went really well. Each person saw the need they have for the scannable menu. I interviewed two females and one male. Each had a unique perspective on the situations they would most like to have a scannable menu. The situations were for dinner for a girl’s night. Her favorite place because it has something for everyone was BJ’s Brewhouse. The other woman has just become more busy with taking her kids to softball games on the weekends and stops for brunch at IHOP or Snooze. The male that I interviewed had a very unique take. He eats lower calories during the week and saves extra calories for his weekends so that he can “treat himself.” He allows himself one cheat meal on Saturday and Sundays. Most of the time it consists of In-n-Out Burger which he mentioned being hard to get nutrition information from their website and NINE krispy kreme donuts!

Information Search:

There were many different answers to how they respond to becoming aware of their need to track their food faster. The male says he only goes to a select few restaurants that he is familiar and has tracked before. It makes it easier because if he has tracked it before, it is saved in his food tracker. The woman who goes out for her lady’s night says that her friends always know ahead a time where they are going. She will often look up the menu online with its nutrition facts and track it ahead of time, so she isn’t tempted on an empty stomach. The woman who takes her kids to brunch often finds herself having a cup of coffee only or eating before she takes her kids to softball so she can just order for her kids. 

Conclusion:

Each person seemed very aware of when they could find value in a scannable menu. The only issue I foresee is the need restaurants will see to implement the scannable menu. The male interviewee made me aware that once he inputs a krispy kreme donut, its nutrition information is saved and he just has to search for it and update the quantity. This makes me wonder if restaurants will see the need to implement a barcode for their menu items.

11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

11A – Idea Napkin No.1

1.     You. I wear many hats. I am a wife, mother, student, United States Airman, and avid weightlifter. The many hats that I wear contribute to many of my talents and skills. Some of my skills include time management, being self-disciplined, and leadership/followership. If I were to start my business concept, I would want to be actively involved. I have been tracking my food for years now and would like to make the process easier for the food tracking community. I would also like to educate large chain restaurants on the opportunity that exists for them with a scannable menu.

2.     What are you offering to customer? Every person is looking to make something easier in their life or save time. The scannable menu is built to cut down the time it takes to track your meals and allows you to be more present with your friends and family while also making it easier to stick to your diet. The menu would create more revenue for chain restaurants because they are making efforts to support a new type of customer.

3.     Who are you offering it to? Demographic: In 2017, 43% of people who regularly use food tracking apps are between the ages of 18 and 45. I would like to focus on this demographic because they already know the hassle that can come with eating out and needing to track your food.Also, food chains that are already required by the FDA to provide calories on their menus (any restaurant with over 20 items on their menus).  Psychographic: People who find health a priority. People wanting to prevent weight gain or loss. People training for a sport with a strict caloric need.

4.     Why do they care? Customers who regularly track their food will find this useful because it cuts down the time and manual work they must do to stay on track. It’s another tool to help them be successful in tracking. It can be used as an upgraded version of MyFitnessPal for $10.  

5.     Core competencies After researching the information for competitors in this area, there are none. This would be a new concept. Many food tracking apps already offer the ability to scan the barcode of a grocery store item and this happens to be one of the best upgrades in food tracking apps. I would like that same ease to also be available when eating out.

I believe the 5 elements do fit together. The weakest part of the business concept is what costs will be endured by the customer and what costs will be endured by the restaurants. I need to find a way to market the idea to restaurants better. Some cannot understand that healthy, fit people also enjoy eating out and are more likely to go to their restaurant if they are catered to easier.

10A - Elevator Pitch

https://youtu.be/AiLCw07lujQ

*Working from home so I need to be in uniform right now for skype meetings. :)

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

9A – Hypothesis 2

For this assignment, I found it fairly easy to find people who were just outside my boundary. The amount of people who track their food on a daily consistent basis is small. Here are the people that were included in my interviews:

Brent, 24, New to food tracking

Marlana 22, Server at her family mom and pop eatery (Sweet Yams)

Nick, Experienced Food Tracker

Gabby, 27, Tracks food but rarely eats out

Emily, 27, Experienced Food Tracker

Who: Three out of the five people that I interviewed were just outside the boundary. The people that fall outside of my boundary share a lot in common by tracking food or Marlana works for her family that could offer a scannable menu. The reasons for just being outside the boundary are because they hardly eat out so they do not see the need or benefit someone would get from having a scannable menu. Gabby said she wasn’t inconvenienced by putting in her food the way she does now. Marlana felt as a smaller establishment, she doesn’t know what kind of money that would take because they do not update their menu often.

What: My opportunity is based upon personal experience with tracking food and the effort it takes in trying to remain compliant when eating out. My goal was to make it easier for the health-conscious consumer to enjoy their meal times more when they go out. Brent mentioned he was feeling unsure about maintaining consistency in tracking his food because he often forgets or its too hard to guess how many calories are in a food if he can’t find it in the app. Marlana does not like the idea because most healthy people don’t go out to eat. (Haha) I thought this was an interesting take from her because her restaurant is geared towards gluten free, vegetarian soul food.

Why: No, I did not feel that the underlying cause of the outsiders need was different from the inside boundary.

Summary: Despite the outside boundary of my market not really liking the idea of the service/product, there is still a lot of promise for my opportunity within the fitness and food tracking market of people. Emily mentioned the market of people who track their food as being small. While I agree, that didn’t stop the success of fitness trackers themselves in the market. Therefore, I know exactly what my market is and have learned it is not for small businesses even if they do promote to be healthier.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who: Chain Restaurants and people who use food tracking apps.	Who: People who have no interest in tracking their calorie intake. Small family owned restaurants, people who cook at home, or people who track but don’t go out to eat.
The need is: Wanting to cater to health conscious customers. Consumers want easy.	The need is not: The need is not going to make people eat healthier or encourage people who don’t track their food to suddenly track their food.
Why does it exist? Today’s society is becoming more health conscious. People wanting to become healthy and restaurants are offering “light menu items.”	Alternative Explanation: Tracking your calories is not easy. Especially if you do not cook at home.

8A Solving the Problem

8A – Solving the Problem

Opportunity:

My belief is that there is still an opportunity that exists in restaurants having scannable menus that connect to a calorie counting app. While the market of people who track their food seems to be small,MyFitnessPal itself has 140 million active users. These numbers tell me there is still a large enough market for a scannable menu. Consumers will scan an item from a menu and be able to see the nutrition facts and with a push of a button be able to add that to their food log all from one page. While many restaurants have become more health conscious and have added healthy meals to their menu, their online listing of nutrition facts can often be a headache to look at due to jumbled small typing or only listing the calorie amounts. Scannable menus will make restaurants more health friendly and dieting consumers save some time.

Service/Product:

For Chain Restaurants:

I would like to offer chain restaurants to cater to their health-conscious customers who track their food, a scannable menu. The menu will be customized to the restaurant and include a bar code next to each menu item for a customer to scan and read the nutrition facts for that specific meal.

For the Consumer:

I would like to offer an app for calorie tracking that will work directly with any restaurant offering a scannable menu. In addition to offering the latest trends of your favorite calorie tracking apps, the app will work directly with restaurants that offer scannable menus, so that you can eat out and track your food with ease. Simply scan the item barcode, and the app will subtract the calories from your daily intake.