30A – Final Reflection

First, I’m grateful for this class and what it has taught me throughout the semester. This semester provided challenges, both academically and personally. Going into this class, I went in with the mindset to just do the work and get the grade. I had zero desire to be an entrepreneur, and no one was going to change my mind about that, or so I thought. I’m not going to lie, having to talk to complete strangers about this crazy idea of mine was not easy. I didn’t like it at first, until I started seeing a pattern. I wasn’t the only one who could use a service like this. My mom friends weren’t the only ones who could use a service like this. There really is a problem, and I was able to see beyond my little circle that we weren’t the only ones with it.

Unfortunately, what sticks out most for me this semester was the pandemic that rocked all of our worlds. The most joyous experience throughout this course was knowing the lectures were not going to put me to sleep. Even after a long day, I didn’t mind sitting down to watch them because I knew they would be entertaining, and I would learn something. I think I’m most proud of reaching out to Professor Chris to explain my situation regarding work, home and school. I’m the type of person that doesn’t seek help, or acknowledge I’m drowning. In my head, I felt I had no right to have a discussion with him about it, but a friend of mine pushed me to do it, and I’m grateful she did.

Today, I can say that yes, I have an entrepreneurial mindset. I didn’t realize it was developing until the pandemic happened and I started to see problems and find solutions to those problems. Do I think I would ever move forward with this business idea that I created for our assignments? If you would’ve asked me this 45 days ago, I would’ve told you no. Today, however, it’s possible I just might go for it.

Future students here is the best advice I received for this course…“You don't get it, if you don't ask for it!”~Professor Chris 

If each student remembers that quote, they will do just fine in this course.

29A Venture Concept No. 2

My Idea: My idea is a ride sharing venture that assists working parents with getting their children to and from their activities, events, etc. Mom-Assist is a one of a kind business that is specifically developed to help working parents.

Opportunity

As my daughter continues to build her activities and social life, I realized it’s almost impossible to get her to everywhere she needs to be when she needs to be there. As I talk to other moms about my hardships (and my gratefulness for the help I receive from family), I learned that I am not the only one struggling with this. In fact, I learned some of my mom friends do not have any help at all. Some of my mom friends risk losing their jobs to get their children where they need to be. Some of my mom friends pay people to drive their kids to where they need to go. Some of my mom friends beg friends to help them. It’s not easy, and we all need help. The saying is true…it’s take a village to raise a child. We live in a society where it is almost a necessity for family to have two incomes. With both parents working, it’s hard for parents to meet the needs of their children. Working parents need help, and it’s not always so easy to get it. As long as homes require two incomes, the need for help will always be there.

Innovation

Light bulb! What if there was a ride sharing type business specifically to help children get to and from their destinations? What if there was a company parents could trust to transport their children to all of their activities? My idea is a ride sharing business specifically for helping working parents. It’s an innovative service that will provide much needed assistance to parents. Parents would no longer have to juggle a schedule to get their children where they need to go. They can now rely on a safe, ride sharing service to help them. Safety and security are the priority, and because of this, parents will; be able to watch the entire ride to ensure 1) the child is behaving; 2) the driver is behaving; and 3) the child arrives safely (and on time) to their destination. At less than $1.00/mile, parents would be able to afford a service that allows them to ensure their child(ren) are able to get to their activities, events, etc. It’s a winning service for both the parents and the children.

Venture Concept

As a mom who needs this service, I believe parents would use this service to help alleviate the stress of having to get their child(ren) to different places. It would also be beneficial to parents who have more than one child that need to be at different places at the same time. It will also allow parents to give their children more opportunities to participate in activities to find their path in life. At this time, the only competitors I can pinpoint are nannies and other ride sharing services. It will be hard to persuade a family that has a nanny to try this service as they have found someone they trust to care for their children, but for the parent who does not like using Uber to get their child to their activity, this service would allow them to have a safe and reliable method of transportation for their child(ren). Employees will need to go through rigorous background and driving checks before they are accepted as a driver. Each driver will set their own schedule at a minimum of one week in advance to allow parents the opportunity to plan transportation needs at least one week in advance. Ideally, we would have up to 50 drivers per day to support the needs of working parents.

Three Minor Elements

The most important resource I have are my mom friends. They are the ones giving me honest feedback, suggestions and recommendations to ensure this service is safe, secure and desired.

After Mom-Assist is up and running in Palm Beach County, it is my desire to have this service up and running in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties as well. If the service is successful in this tri-county area, I would look into expanding in other metropolitan areas of Florida, and surrounding states. If the service continues to gain momentum, I would look to expanding it to all major metropolitan areas nationwide and monitor the need for the service in surrounding areas.

In five years, I would like to see happy parents and children enjoying their best lives because this service provided more opportunities for them to succeed. If the service is doing as well as I believe it will, in two to three years I would look to add more services like Driving School for new drivers, tutoring services, and a secure online video conferencing platform for children to interact with friends.

Being an entrepreneur was never my intention, but if this idea does work, it would be my one and only entrepreneurial adventure.

After reviewing this with my husband, I decided to add the additional services by year two or three. Being that I would sell the business by year five, I should have all benefits of this service up and running before I sell it.

28A – Your Exit Strategy

How do I plan to exit this venture? After contemplating this, it’s my opinion that I would most likely sell the business after five years. In all honesty, I’m not the type of person to do the same thing forever. I like to find new adventures and new challenges. I think if I were to stay with the business for more than five years, I would get bored and the business would suffer as a result of that. I don’t mind starting something, getting it off and running and then selling it to the highest bidder.

My exit strategy does influence the decisions I make for the business. For instance, the expectations I have set, and the new ideas I have come up with are all a result of not wanting to be around too long. It’s also providing the best product to a potential buyer who can then take the business further.

27A Reading Reflection No. 3

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

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

The theme of the book focuses on the two systems of thought processing. System I is intuitive thinking. It’s fast, unconscious, automatic, everyday decisions, error prone. System II is rational thinking. It’s slow, conscious, effortful, complex decisions and reliable.

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

In Part IV, it talks about bad events. It was interesting to see written in a book that we work harder to avoid losses than we do to secure gains. I had to stop and think about this for a minute. Do I strive to avoid loss or secure a gain? Do I strive to not get an F or get an A? My comments when discussing this with others is, “I cannot get an F,” which makes me see the point the book is making. I’m trying to avoid the F instead of securing the A.

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

If I were to design an exercise for this class, I would ask the class a series of questions, and I would like to see if they use System I or System II to process the decision. I think we would be surprised to see who uses which System of thinking for each scenario. I’ve noticed when making decisions with my husband, I will use System I for the decision, but he will use System II. It drives me insane because although he comes to the same conclusion that I did with System I, I have to wait a little bit longer for him to reach the same conclusion as he goes through System II.

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

The ‘aha’ moment in this book was Part II: Overconfidence. In reading this part, I learned I can be overconfident about a lot of things. I have never really thought about myself in this way. I like to believe I have a great intuition (I’m a woman after all) but being that this could be chalked up to overconfidence was eye opening to say the least.

26A – Celebrating Failure

Failure. It’s a term I struggle with more than anything in this world. Not only did I fail this semester, I had to admit defeat and wave the white flag. FIN3403, Professor Banko’s class. It did me in. It wasn’t for lack of trying or busting my butt. It took me down, it took me down hard, and I had to hang my head down as I admitted failure. Professor Banko states during each class, how hard the class is and how hard it is to pass the class. It’s difficult to hear that every day from a professor, but I became numb to his words as I studied and did my best to get through each lecture and assignment. During the first exam with 15 minutes left, my computer lost the connection to ProctorU. I had never experienced this before, and I almost lost my mind. I had studied for days, drank more energy drinks than I could count and then the unthinkable happened. I was able to get back to the exam with minimal time remaining, but my head was scattered and I lost complete control over my emotions. Professor Banko gave me points for questions I did not answer, but it didn’t help. I still failed miserably. He told me not to worry, the second exam was coming, and I would be ok. Um…not quite. The second exam happened to coincide with quite a few work issues: Fiscal Year 21 Budget Cycle, upgrade to our vendor registration platform and the onset of COVID-19. It was a trifecta of circumstances that I refused to let get in my way of passing Business Finance. I was wrong. No matter how hard I tried, how hard I studied and how hard I worked, I failed again. It became evident I was not going to graduate in December like I had planned. The light at the end of my tunnel was no longer visible. I even questioned whether or not I was good enough to be a UF Student. I didn’t understand it then, but I see now, it was a blessing in disguise to fail both exams and drop the class. Why? Because shortly after Exam 2, Palm Beach County went to a Level 2 Activation, which meant I was going to be working 6-7 days a week (8-10 hours per day) for the foreseeable future. What else happened? School was cancelled. I have an 8-year-old daughter in second grade, which means I now have to homeschool her, and work. What happened after the schools closed, I could not have made up myself. For starters, an employee of mine tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23rd. For the record, I have three employees who work under me. Due to the positive test, I was required to send another employee home for two weeks to self-monitor. My last employee, fearful for her life, decided she needed to go home as well. As of March 23rd, I have done my job, the job of my employees and my fulfilled the duties of my County Activation position. In addition, due to the Governor’s Safer-At-Home Order, our staff of 30 was down to 10. Between April 1st and April 3rd, our department watched 20 staff members get approved for 30 days of administrative leave under this order. The last nail in the coffin was one of my employees submitting their two weeks’ notice after they accepted a position with another Department within the County. I told you I could not make this up.

We have 10 people working in our building, and we had to figure out how to keep operations afloat. How did we do that? Prioritizing. We had to prioritize everything. Second, we had to make announcements and send out correspondence to other County Departments and vendors stating the status of our operations and what services would be available to them for the month of April. Next, we cross trained staff to ensure any one of us could complete an assignment for either section of our Department. Finally, we had to modify our current practices to complete our processes and procedures. The ironic part in all of this…our operations have maintained. The downside in all of this, managers are seeing which employees are doing their jobs, and which ones are doing just enough to get by. No longer are the stronger employees carrying the weaker employees. Although as managers, we already knew we had weaker employees, we did not know the extent of their weakness until now. It has been an eye-opening experience to say the least.

In the middle of experiencing failing business finance, I thought my college career was over. I thought I was just not meant to have a Bachelor’s degree from UF. I felt like I was not good enough. However, hindsight is always 20/20. Today, I can sit here and say withdrawing from business finance was the right thing to do. I could not imagine trying to keep up with two classes while going through all of this. Failure does not mean you lose. Failure is a teachable moment. You only lose if you do not learn the lesson.

25A – What’s Next

Existing Market

In the existing market for my idea, parents commit themselves to a nanny or negotiate with friends to assist them with their child(ren)’s transportation needs. By giving parents an option that does not require a long-term commitment or jeopardize friendships, they are able to take care of their child(ren)’s transportation needs with the click of a mouse. What’s next is to actually start putting this business in to motion. I’ve networked this idea with every mom I know. Now, it’s time to get it up and running. It’s time to get an audio/visual person to install the camera in a car; a website developer to set up the website; an app writer to create the app that allows parents to watch the entire transportation process; and set up a business account at a bank that has favorable terms for small/women-owned businesses.

My expectations are high. I expect to have at least 20 drivers within the first 45 days of operation. I expect to have 100 drivers after 180 days in operation. I expect to have at least 10 repeat customers within the first 30 days of operation, and 50 repeat customers after 90 days of operation. In an effort to bring in first-time customers, I would drop the base fare and service fee for the first five rides within a 30day period. I expect the business to grow mostly through word of mouth and social media advertising. The advertising would focus on the safety of the service, as well as, the care your child(ren) will receive during the entire transportation process. It will be a difficult road in the beginning, but any business worth starting is going to have labor pains. It’s all a matter of whether or not I really want to make this happen.

New Market

In addition to the transportation needs I’ve discussed with my mom friends, we have also discussed how COVID-19 has flipped our world upside down. No longer are we worried about how our child(ren) will get to their next activity, but rather we are now worried about how our child(ren) will adapt to distance learning, social distancing, maintaining contact with their friends, and their mental health as they adapt to this new normal they were forced in to. In a way I feel my daughter has a head start on distance learning as she has watched me for years complete school online, but what about parents who do not have help during this time, especially essential-employee parents? How do we meet the needs of our child(ren) during this time? Being that this is a web-based business, I was inspired to consider adding tutoring services, a secure online group chat platform similar to Google Meet and Zoom, and mental health counseling (or similar type counseling) to help children adapt. How did I come up with these ideas so quickly? I am living this with my own daughter. With a Thanos snap of the finger, my daughter’s world changed. She shut down. She became depressed. She lashed out. She was miserable. My daughter is 8 years old. Her father and I recognized it immediately and got her the help she needed. In a perfect world, these options would be available in one platform for our children, but they aren’t.  Giving the parents a platform to have a one-stop shop for assistance, especially during times like these, would be beneficial to both he parents and the child(ren).

As we have learned this entire semester, find a problem and look for a solution. I never expected to find the problem and the solution in my own house.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

My Idea: My idea is a ride sharing venture that assists working parents with getting their children to and from their activities, events, etc. Mom-Assist is a one of a kind business that is specifically developed to help working parents.

Opportunity

As my daughter continues to build her activities and social life, I realized it’s almost impossible to get her to everywhere she needs to be when she needs to be there. As I talk to other moms about my hardships (and my gratefulness for the help I receive from family), I learned that I am not the only one struggling with this. In fact, I learned some of my mom friends do not have any help at all. Some of my mom friends risk losing their jobs to get their children where they need to be. Some of my mom friends pay people to drive their kids to where they need to go. Some of my mom friends beg friends to help them. It’s not easy, and we all need help. The saying is true…it’s take a village to raise a child. We live in a society where it is almost a necessity for family to have two incomes. With both parents working, it’s hard for parents to meet the needs of their children. Working parents need help, and it’s not always so easy to get it. As long as homes require two incomes, the need for help will always be there.

Innovation

Light bulb! What if there was a ride sharing type business specifically to help children get to and from their destinations? What if there was a company parents could trust to transport their children to all of their activities? My idea is a ride sharing business specifically for helping working parents. It’s an innovative service that will provide much needed assistance to parents. Parents would no longer have to juggle a schedule to get their children where they need to go. They can now rely on a safe, ride sharing service to help them. Safety and security are the priority, and because of this, parents will; be able to watch the entire ride to ensure 1) the child is behaving; 2) the driver is behaving; and 3) the child arrives safely (and on time) to their destination. At less than $1.00/mile, parents would be able to afford a service that allows them to ensure their children are able to get to their activities, events, etc. It’s a winning service for both the parents and the children.

Venture Concept

As a mom who needs this service, I believe parents would use this service to help alleviate the stress of having to get their children to different places. It would also be beneficial to parents who have more than one child that need to be at different places at the same time. It will also allow parents to give their children more opportunities to participate in activities to find their path in life. At this time, the only competitors I can pinpoint are nannies and other ride sharing services. It will be hard to persuade a family that has a nanny to try this service as they have found someone they trust to care for their children, but for the parent who does not like using Uber to get their child to their activity, this service would allow them to have a safe and reliable method of transportation for their child(ren). Employees will need to go through rigorous background and driving checks before they are accepted as a driver. Each driver will set their own schedule at a minimum of one week in advance to allow parents the opportunity to plan transportation needs at least one week in advance. Ideally, we would have up to 50 drivers per day to support the needs of working parents.

Three Minor Elements

The most important resource I have are my mom friends. They are the ones giving me honest feedback, suggestions and recommendations to ensure this service is safe, secure and desired.

After Mom-Assist is up and running in Palm Beach County, it is my desire to have this service up and running in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties as well. If the service is successful in this tri-county area, I would look into expanding in other metropolitan areas of Florida, and surrounding states. If the service continues to gain momentum, I would look to expanding it to all major metropolitan areas nationwide and monitor the need for the service in surrounding areas of major metropolitan areas.

In five years, I would like to see happy parents and children enjoying their best lives because this service provided more opportunities for them to succeed. If the service is doing as well as I believe it will, in ten years I would look to add more services like Driving School for new drivers and tutoring services.

Being an entrepreneur was never my intention, but if this idea does work, it would be my one and only entrepreneurial adventure.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Social Media Advertising experience: My experience with social media and reaching people comes from my time volunteering at church on the social media team. Each week I was challenged to come up with posts to keep people engaged. Learning how to combine a photo with the right phrasing is a trick I will not soon forget. It only takes one post to get noticed.

Networking abilities: I’m the type of person that looks for opportunities to network. I do my best to not make it so noticeable, like crack a joke or casually talk about a topic the person I am networking with knows about. It has lead me to different places, and I’ve met a lot of people who continue to help me on my career journey. I believe this skill will beneficial when discussing this venture.

Network of Mom friends: As a mom, I had a network of mom friends. We discuss different topics associated with being a mom – the good, the bad and the ugly. We also discuss how difficult it can be to meet the demands of life, our families and our careers. It was talking with my network of mom friends that this idea came to be.

Determination: Once my mind is set, I don’t stop until I achieve my goal. Sometimes, I get tunnel vision, or even become obstinate while trying to achieve my goal(s).

My husband has the financial smarts: In all things that are financial, I seek my husband’s input about what to do, or if I should even bother. At one time, I considered having a cupcake side business. After he did the numbers, I would be operating at a loss. He would be the guy to help me figure out the costs versus the profit to decide whether or not to pursue this venture.

Efficiency: I’m all about efficiency. It’s work smarter not harder. I don’t like doing more than what is necessary to complete a task. It’s a skill that would come in handy in a transportation type business.

Customer Service experience: After being in retail for many years during my youth, I learned the value of the customer. In any business, you want customers to keep coming back. In order to keep them coming back, you must treat them well and give them a product they cannot refuse. Learning how to treat customers was a great lesson which I apply to every encounter I experience today.

Knowledge of the customer base: As a mom, I understand moms. I understand the demands that come with the title. I also understand that although we want to give our children every opportunity we can, we need help to do it. Because I understand this, I am able to give moms a product they would rely heavily on.

Relatable: As a mom, I need help. I need help getting my daughter to dance class, soccer practice, play dates, and every other activity she is involved in. Although I have help, there are moms out there that do not have it. If I didn’t have help, I would look for a service like this one to help me.

Rare: It’s not every day you find a service that can drive your child everywhere they need to go. Parents would have to commit to hiring a nanny to do this, however, with this service, there is no commitment to a nanny. You don’t have to hire a full-time driver either. All you must do is choose which day/time you need your child to be picked up and dropped off and it’s done. One simple step. Even better, you can watch the entire ride on your phone to ensure you’d child is behaving, the driver is behaving and your child makes it to their 

destination safely.

I believe my most important resource is my network of mom friends. By consistently speaking with them about this venture, I am able to get honest feedback about this idea. I am also able to get honest suggestions and recommendations to ensure this service is something every mom will use.

21A Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams

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

The general theme of the book, in my opinion, is self care. If I’m not taking care of myself, I’m becoming a problem for some else. I have to take care me, my health, my financial stability, my everything. Aft3er that is taken care of, then I can take care of my family. Can I really expect myself to perform well if I don’t have my cup of coffee for the day?

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

The book enhanced what I’m learning by teaching me it’s ok to fail. I’ve struggled with this my entire life. I don’t like to be wrong, and I despise failing. However, it really is not failure if you are learning from what went wrong and moving forward in the right direction.

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

The exercise I would design is a Happiness Exercise. This exercise would consist of everyone doing one thing to make themselves happy each day. Each day would consist of a theme such as a skill they have mastered; favorite exercise; favorite healthy meal. Through this exercise, a person can develop their sense of self, learn what’s in their best interest for self-care, and how to properly take care of themselves.

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

My ‘aha’ moment in the book came rather quickly – passion is bullshit. We’re taught from a young age that passion is what drives us to be successful but after reading this book I have to disagree. Mr. Adams says it best: “Success caused passion more than passion caused success.” He’s right, in my opinion. I’m passionate about things, but I know I could never be successful at them. I love baseball. I’m passionate about the game when I am watching it at the stadium or on TV, but I cannot play baseball to save my life, therefore, no matter how much passion I have for baseball, I’m not going to ever play shortstop for the New York Yankees.

20A - Growing Your Social Capital

Expert Industry: Travis Kalanick, Uber Founder

Mr. Kalanick is the founder of Uber, a ride sharing platform that makes transportation reliable for everyone. No matter where you travel to, you can always find an Uber Driver to take you where you want to go. At first, I was a little hesitant to use this service. My mom always taught me to never accept a ride from strangers, but there are times when it is necessary to find a ride to where you are going. After using the service a few times, I realized this idea was brilliant. It’s a great way for people to earn extra money, and I can get to where I need to without any hassles, except for traffic of course.

Expert Market: Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Care.com Founder

Care.com connects families with caregivers. It’s a service that provides a safe and reliable network for families to choose from. Several friends of mine have found nannies using this site. The site vets all of their caregivers and finds caregivers within the specified requirements the person sets when they are looking for a caregiver. Whether they are looking for a sporadic caregiver, or a daily care giver, my friends trust Care.com to find that person. In a similar way, it is my hope to vet drivers as best as can possibly be done to ensure parents have safe drivers taking their children to and from their destinations.

Industry Supplier: Trevor, Uber Driver

Trevor has been a driver for Uber for quite some time. People trust him to drive them to their destinations. Trevor is one of my favorite Uber drivers. Because I’ve come to rely on him, and his safe driving so much, I usually text him to see if he’s in the area before I submit my ride request. If he is, he will immediately grab the request and take me where I need to go. Building the relationship with him has allowed me to become more confident and comfortable with him as my driver. In this very way, it is my hope that parents will come to rely on their favorite drivers to transport their children to and from their destinations.

19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

1. My name is Stacey Garced-Serrano. I’m a wife, mother, student, professional, volunteer and jane of all trades. I’ve put my life on hold for the last few years to finish my degree and further my career while trying to be the best wife and mother I can be. My talents include creative writing, looking for ways to operate more efficiently and seeing the bigger picture and ability to multi-task. My aspirations are to FINALLY finish my degree at a reputable establishment and inspire my daughters to do the same. If I were to move forward with this business concept, the role it would play in my life would be significant, especially during the birthing stages of it. Earning the trust of my customers would be the hardest obstacle to overcome, but IF I were able to, I believe this business would allow me to be self-sufficient.

2. The service I am selling is opportunity. It’s an opportunity for parents to give their children access to opportunities. Working parents need help, and it can be difficult to rely on friends and families to help all the time. By having a safe and affordable transportation service available to them to use, it allows parents an option to get their children to and from their activities and events.

3. Working parents, single parents and elementary/middle/high school students are my identified customers. It can be difficult for working and single parents to get their children to every activity and/or event. Work schedules, custody schedules, and other factors can prevent parents from fulfilling obligations for their children. It can make them feel as if they failed their child in some way. As a working mother, who is also a student, often times I have felt like I have failed my child. It is my ability to connect with parents that allows me to understand their needs, and the daily balancing acts they perform in order to meet the needs of their children while also meeting the responsibilities of their jobs.

4. Parents want to afford their children every opportunity to find their path in life. By having an option to get their children to and from their activities and events allows children to build their confidence, character and paths to pursue their dreams and aspirations. This service will allow parents to meet the needs of their children while also fulfilling their professional responsibilities. In many ways I understand this as I have to find ways to get my daughter to her weekly dance classes, soccer practices and gymnastics classes. Although I have more help than most of my mom friends, it is still not always easy to continue to coordinate getting my daughter to and from her activities.

5. What sets this service apart from others are the safety features which gives parents a sense of relief when their children are being transported to their activities and events. By having a security camera in the car, which the driver cannot turn off until the transportation process is complete gives this service the safety edge over Uber, Lyft and other car sharing service companies. In a perfect world, we could all use Uber and Lyft to get our children to different places, however, the world we live in is not as perfect as we would like to think it is. I’m not comfortable placing my child’s safety in the hands of a random Uber or Lyft driver, but if I had the ability to select the driver of my choice AND have the ability to watch the entire transportation process, I would use this type of service for my daughter’s transportation needs.

It is my belief this concept will work for the identified customers. Based on the working parents I interviewed, this type of service would be a welcome relief to ensuring their children can get to their activities and/or events. Some of the weaknesses I perceive is finding reliable drivers in the beginning. It will take time to build a fleet of Mom-Assist drivers to meet the needs of working parents. It will also take time to build a trusting relationship with parents. Some parents may be hesitant to use this service, while others will jump on board from the start. By ensuring safe and reliable services to those who immediately use this service, it will help hesitant customers give the service a chance.

Unfortunately, I did not receive feedback on this post. In an effort to get some type of feedback, I asked a few mom friends to review this Idea Napkin. After they reviewed it, they felt I didn’t connect myself to the customer enough to show I understand the everyday struggles and why this service would be beneficial to not only my customers but for myself as well. I updated my responses to reflect a better connection to the customer, as well as, ensure the customer this is the type of service I need in my life as well.

18-A - Create a Customer Avatar

The Mom-Assist customer is the Jane-of-All-Trades Mom. Our customer has children (biological or adopted) which they will move mountains for. Her hobbies would include: reading, book clubs, puzzles, working out, running, yoga, coffee, cooking, baking, crafting, photography, journaling, and gardening to name a few. Our customer is driving a gray, white, silver or black sports utility vehicle or mini-van. They watch docu-series, comedies, reality TV shows and movies. Their favorite books are mysteries and love stories, but what they won’t tell you is their love of romance novels too. Favorite politicians are strong women in politics that use common sense when making decisions. They do not like politicians that go too far left or right. They prefer moderate politicians that understand the everyday lives of the people they serve. Our customers’ age range is 27-45 years of age, but mostly feel like they are about 5 or 6 years older than what they are. Majority of these moms started their families later in life because they chose to build their career and travel before getting married and having a family.

What do I have in common with these moms? Well, it was a lot more than I thought I did. I love coffee, puzzles, baking and photography. I’ve tried gardening, but I cannot keep a plant alive if my life depended on it. I don’t drive a sports utility vehicle or a minivan, but I do drive a black 4-door sedan. My favorite books are mysteries; I love docu-series (Snapped is my favorite); and my favorite type of politician is definitely a moderate. Too far left or too far right and I will ignore them. I’m 39, but there are days I feel like I’m 45, but every now and then I wish I was retired so I can finally get a break. I don’t think it’s an accident I have a lot in common with my customer, because I am my customer in a lot of ways. I’m a working mother, soccer mom, student mom and git-r-done mom. It’s not easy, and sometimes I feel like I fail my child, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

17-A Elevator Pitch No. 2

Unfortunately, I did not receive feedback from the first pitch (it's ok, my feelings are not hurt), however, after watching the lecture where the pitches were critiqued, I used those tips to improve my pitch. I removed unnecessary words, added a price and hopefully did a better job than the first time.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

What makes me different:

1. Determined: People can take my way of getting things done offensive. I’m not rude or mean, however, when I’m zoned in on an assignment, it can be perceived that I am that way. I don’t like to fail, and I have a hard time accepting when I do (it’s not often but it happens). Failing is the best way to learn, it’s just a hard pill to swallow, especially when I have my mind set to achieve something.
2. Hardworking: I work hard for my achievements. My attitude is, no one is going to achieve them for me so I better get it done.
3. Analytical: I cannot take anything at face value. I have to read and analyze the information being presented to me before I can make a decision. There are times it has taken me a few days to figure it out, however, by analyzing the issue, I am able to come up with the best solution.
4. Realistic: I don’t believe in happily ever after. I’m all about the facts, not the rainbows and butterflies and unicorns type of person. Everything in life is what you make it, so make it your best life.
5. Competitive: I hate to lose and refuse to give up (even when I know it’s the right thing to do). Asking for helps has always been an issue for me as well.

If you ask other people what makes me different, their list tends to be different from mine. Some of the things said that are different than the five I listed are: generous (time and money), passionate, perfectionist, creative, a planner, thoughtful, obstinate, procrastinator and a walking ESPN. My husband said it best, “when she’s on a mission, don’t get in her way.” However, he and everyone else for that matter, all agree I’m very hard on myself and I do not give myself enough credit for the things I have accomplished.

It’s difficult to hear people give you honest feedback about yourself. I felt offensive at times during the conversations, but at the same time they were enlightening. All in all, I think their assessment of me was on point. I don’t think they held back and they let me have it. I do agree with their points, maybe not 100% agree on all of them, but I agree with them. If I were to re-work the list above, I would probably add creative and passionate to it. I tend to find creative ways to get things done because not everything is so straightforward.

It’s not easy being a wife, mom, professional, student, and Jane of All Trades every single day, but this is who I am. As we discussed these traits about me, I learned there are some things I need to work on. It doesn’t make me a bad person, it’s just an improvement. Everyone was definitely in agreement that life will be easier for them when I FINALLY graduate.

15-A Figuring out Buyer Behavior

In a world full of options, I can definitely call myself the bargain hunter. Paying full price for anything makes me cringe, which is why the conversations I had with this past week almost had me thinking twice about my picking habits.

As I spoke with the three mothers, it was clear price really doesn’t matter much when it comes to their children. They will pay top dollar for what they believe is in the best interest of their children. One mother decided to only have organic foods and products when she found out she was having her first child. Another parent begin looking for college prep courses when she began family planning and another mother decided a vegan diet was in the best interest of her family. Crazy I know, but it was eye opening to see what other mothers do.

As far as the products they purchase, quality is what really matters to them, even if it mean paying top dollar for the items. One mother did say sometimes she had to decide between price and quality of some products she buys, but usually she goes for quality.

For the most part, the mothers I spoke with do a mixture of buying in store and online. All three of them refuse to shop at Walmart (and made sure I knew this). Amazon, Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Target were the stores they most frequented. They also preferred to use their credit cards instead of cash because of the benefits they receive by using their credit cards, i.e., airline miles, cash back, free hotel nights, etc.

In justifying their purchases to themselves (and their husbands), they simply lay out what they believe to be the facts of the purchase. As they shop, they find items, they think about the item and then wonder how the item(s) will benefit their everyday life, or the lives of their family. One mother will place an item in her cart and walk around the store with it, if she doesn’t take it out of her cart by the time she gets to the register, she keeps it. One mom follows a group on Facebook that constantly posts deals, and discount codes for random items that she knows she doesn’t need but for the price she buys them. Her husband cringes when he sees Amazon boxes at the front door.

Overall, it seems like these moms are on the same page. Quality over everything, and they look for what is in the best interest of their children.

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? 

In order to keep up with this course, I learned I must work ahead. It’s not easy to catch up after you have fallen behind. I’m also taking Business Finance (Banko’s class) this semester. Trying to keep up with both courses can be a bit difficult. Each week presents new challenges, so I must adapt my schedule to meet the demands of both courses, the responsibilities of my family, and the responsibilities of my job.

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?

The week I thought about giving up was the week I missed three assignments. It wasn’t intentional. It was a difficult week academically, personally and professionally. It killed my ego to miss those assignments. After moping about it for a day, my daughter came and hugged me. She told me I was the best mommy and that calmed me down, and got me back in the “zone” to get through the rest of the semester.

I’m not sure if I’ve developed a tenacious attitude these last two months, but I’ve been told by several co-workers I am feistier than normal, so there may be some correlation between the two.

What contributed most to the feistiness is feeling like the solution I have come up with would really help people. As I continue to have conversations with the other moms in my department, I’m learning more and more this solution could be beneficial to more people that I imagined. Does it make me want to actually start this business…um…no. But seeing a solution I came up with that could possibly be beneficial to so many people is a bit of an ego boost.

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'?

Three tips for next semester’s students:

1.     Work ahead. You won’t regret it.

2.     Think outside the box. Not every solution is black and white.

3.     Watch the lectures. You won’t be able to pass a Cupcake if you don’t.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

·        What surprised you the most?

What surprised me most about Steve Jobs was his ambition. He knew what he wanted, and he was determined to make it happen.

·        What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

What I admired most about Steve Jobs was his ability to see what the next best thing was. He could see what we needed even before we needed it. I was an iPhone doubter at first. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to walk around with a computer in my pocket. After research and learning more about the iPhone, I finally got one and I’ve never looked back.

·        What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

What I least admired about Steve Jobs was the jerk he could be. He was not easy to work with, and he was not the nicest person.

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

Steve Jobs experienced adversity and failure throughout his career. He learned from his mistakes and found new ways to be innovative. As he continued to grow, he was able to be innovative.

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

The competencies I noticed in Steve Jobs are: risk taker; thinker; visionary; perfectionist; and determined.

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

What confused me was learning that Steve Jobs actually presented ideas of his employees as his own. I had always heard Steve Jobs was not the nicest guy, but as brilliant as he was, he still felt the need to steal the ideas of his employees and not give them credit.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

If I had an opportunity to ask Steve Jobs two questions, I would ask:

Do you think it was necessary to keep the workplace competitive between yourself and your employees?

Do you regret not treating your employees better? Do you believe more innovation could have happened if you worked better with your employees?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Steve Jobs valued hard work. He did not rest until the creation of a product was complete and it was perfect. I, too, am the same way when I am creating.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: Single, working parents

To complete this assignment, I had to opportunity to meet with three (3) single, working mothers. During my conversations with them, we discussed the difficulties of meeting the demands of their children and meeting the demands of their employer. It’s hard to prioritize between the two as they need to meet the demands of their employer in order to meet the demands of their children. All three of the moms felt there were days they failed at meeting the demands of both. We discussed the difficulties of getting their children to their activities and events. We discussed how some days, they just cannot be in two places at the same time, and it’s on those days they feel they failed their children the most. They are quick to say their children understand the difficulties their moms face, but it’s the moms who feel they are a disappointment.

The awareness of this need was recently felt by one of the moms I spoke with. She was called in to work early which left her in a bind. She had to make arrangements for her son to be taken to school, however, the people she depended on most to assist her were not available to help. She brought her son with her to work and continued to desperately try to find an alternative means to get him to school. The Uber App was not working and she felt the pressure from her manager building to get her child to school. In discussing this situation with her, she was uncomfortable putting her son in an Uber Car alone because she didn’t know how safe he would be. She also knew if she didn’t, her boss would not be happy if she had to leave to take him to school. After taking a few deep breaths, she was able to calm down and get the Uber app to work. She met the Uber car outside, took a picture of the driver, and sent her son off to school.

After she shared her story, the other moms explained some instances where they faced challenges in getting their children to their activities and events. Although for the most part they can rely on friends and family for help, there are days they have no one, and it becomes a mission to find a way to get their children where they need to be. Uber and Lyft are options for them, however, they are not comfortable placing their children in the care of those drivers.

Most single working parents in this situation always look to friends and family for help, but what happens when they are not there? They look to Uber, Lyft and Google. Some of the searches we discussed are private car services, private transportation services, child transport services, public transportation service, safe transportation services and nanny drivers. All are valid searches within Google to assist parents with finding a way to get their children to where they need to be.

Single working moms may not able to afford a nanny, which means they are forced to find alternative means to transport their children where they need to go. If there was an affordable transportation service such as Mom-Assist, where they could watch their child throughout the entire ride from Point A to Point B to ensure their children arrived safely at their destination, they would consider using it. The trust factor would be the hardest part to overcome for them, but if they are willing to use Uber or Lyft, they would be willing to try Mom-Assist too.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. My name is Stacey Garced-Serrano. I’m a wife, mother, student, professional, volunteer and jane of all trades. I’ve put my life on hold for the last few years to finish my degree and further my career while trying to be the best wife and mother I can be. My talents include creative writing, looking for ways to operate more efficiently and designing invitation, cards, etc. My aspirations are to FINALLY finish my degree at a reputable establishment and inspire my daughters to do the same. If I were to move forward with this business concept, the role it would play in my life would be significant, especially during the birthing stages of it. Earning the trust of my customers would be the hardest obstacle to overcome, but IF I were able to, I believe this business would allow me to be self-sufficient.

2. The service I am selling is opportunity. It’s an opportunity for parents to give their children access to opportunities. Working parents need help, and it can be difficult to rely on friends and families to help all the time. By having a transportation service, it allows parents an option to get their children to and from their activities and events.

3. Working parents, single parents and elementary/middle/high school students are my identified customers. It can be difficult for working and single parents to get their children to every activity and/or event. Work schedules, custody schedules, and other factors can prevent parents from fulfilling obligations for their children. It can make them feel as if they failed their child in some way.

4. Parents want to afford their children every opportunity to find their path in life. By having an option to get their children to and from their activities and events allows children to build their confidence, character and paths to pursue their dreams and aspirations. This service will allow parents to meet the needs of their children while also fulfilling their professional responsibilities.

5. What sets this service apart from others are the safety features which gives parents a sense of relief when their children are being transported to their activities and events. By having a security camera in the car, that the driver cannot turn off until the transportation process is complete gives this service the safety edge over Uber, Lyft and other car service companies.

It is my belief this concept will work for the identified customers. Based on the working parents I interviewed, this type of service would be a welcome relief to ensuring their children can get to their activities and/or events. Some of the weaknesses I perceive is finding reliable drivers in the beginning. It will take time to build a fleet of Mom-Assist drivers to meet the needs of working parents. It will also take time to build a trusting relationship with parents. Some parents may be hesitant to use this service, while others will jump on board from the start. By ensuring safe and reliable services to those who immediately use this service, it will help hesitant customers give the service a chance.

10A - Elevator Pitch 1