Week 4 Reading Reflection

I was surprised to see that the author mentioned that the creative mind needs to be exercised. Most people assume that you are either creative or not, so it was refreshing to see this point of view in an Entrepreneurship book. I was confused in the discussion of the left and right brain and other cognitive functions. I'm not familiar with that subject and was easily lost during that reading. If I was too ask the author 2 questions, I would first ask for more information and clarification on everything to do with the left and right brain, as I was particularly confused while reading that. Second, I would ask if they think people are born more naturally creative than others, or if creativity is strictly something you have to work towards and constantly exercise. Lastly, I did not disagree with the author in anything from this reading. Although I was confused for a portion of it, I still immensely enjoyed reading more about the creative process.

Interviewing Customers No.1

       I realized this opportunity completely out of the blue this past week. My parents were in Dubai on vacation, and I started missing them more than usual since I couldn't simply call and chat. I then started thinking about how often other college students not only miss their parents when they're away, but also the perks that come with them. I then got to my apartment and saw my massive pile of laundry being neglected in the corner of my room, and wished again that I was home so my mom could do it for me. At that moment, I had my big idea. What if there was a restaurant that had wonderful home cooked meals, and also did your laundry while you ate? You could even FaceTime your parents during your home-cooked meal so it was really like you were back with them.

       Obviously the idea needs fine tuning, but I think there's something there. The questions I had were:

1. How often do you visit home?
2. Do you wish you could go home more often?
3. When you are home, what are your favorite perks that you get (besides seeing your family)?
4. How much would you pay to have your laundry done for you?
5. Do you miss home cooked meals?
6. Do you set a time aside to skype or FaceTime your parents on a regular basis?

       After conducting my interviews, I learned that there is definitely a market for home cooked meals, but maybe not for the laundry service as well. I think I should have attempted to interview specifically college freshmen that are still not used to solidarity and would have use for a service like that. For the future, I think I'll focus more on the home-cooked meal portion, and less on laundry. I personally enjoyed interviewing people. Though I got denied many times, I never got too discouraged. Most people on the streets were very polite in both their interviews and in rejections. 

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Most Serious Problems:

1. Terrorism
2.War
3. Poverty
4. Starvation
5. Pollution

When ranking these problems, I struggled between putting terrorism or war first. Some might consider them interchangeable, but they are not. I decided to put terrorism first because while war is horrible, it is usually soldiers of one army fighting against soldiers of another. In terrorism, the terrorists go out of their way to torture and persecute innocent civilians and bystanders. Next, I put poverty above starvation because people not being able to provide themselves means that they also cannot eat. If there was no poverty, starvation would also cease to exist. Lastly, While pollution may not seem like a pertinent matter right now, it is incredibly serious because of the future implications for the world if we do not do something about it.

Top 5 Solutions

1. Pollution - laws to make it illegal, and implementing more modern technology that eliminates air toxins
2. Starvation - programs to encourage selflessness with food, better awareness of the major problems
3. Poverty - same as starvation, with programs that focus on shelter and providing jobs as well as encouraging selflessness with food
4. Terrorism - working on international relations with a focus on religious and racial tolerance
5. War - promotions of international relations

Unfortunately, it was difficult to rank these solutions because I do not see any of them as easily implementable. The reasoning behind the ordering was based off of what required the most work, although they were all close calls. I find it extremely telling that my ranking of most important problems and ranking of most implementable solutions are almost exactly reversed. It shows that the smaller problems are usually the easiest to solve, and it takes more work and more critical thinking to solve the big ones.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

After reading Chapter 2 “The Entrepreneurial Mind-Set in Individuals: Cognition and Ethics”, the biggest surprise of this particular chapter is psychic risk. Psychic risk is described as being the greatest risk to the well-being of the entrepreneur. It occurs when entrepreneurs are not able to bounce back after suffering financial catastrophes. I had never heard this term before, and it was shocking that a psychological block due to one failure is such a risk to entrepreneurs. A confusing aspect of chapter 2 was in the section about “The Grief Recovery Process”. I’m particularly confused about why it states that ignoring and pushing aside a specific failure is a better process. I had previously thought that addressing you failure head on was healthier, but apparently I was wrong. If I were able to ask the author Donald F. Kuratko two questions, the first question would be “Is the Grief Recovery Process the most effective approach for every entrepreneur's failure, every time?” The second would be "How can an energetic drive be a potential dark side of entrepreneurship?” Overall, I do not think that the Kuratko is incorrect about anything mentioned in this reading. I do not disagree with anything, but would rather prefer he delved more into the dark side of entrepreneurship.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Rock Gym faces unstable ground, buoyed by locals' support

 http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7E65B287302D0?p=AWNB

Description:
Due to the unfortunate recent discovery of cracked and sinking concrete slabs, The Gainesville Rock Gym has temporarily been forced to close. The gym previously had plans to expand their gym due to it's enormous popularity and success, but those plans are paused for now. The 400 active members and its 10,000 monthly customers will receive free or reduced climbs from other rock gyms in surrounding areas until the foundation is fixed.

Problem:
The main problem in this situation is the forced laying off of 20 employees at Gainesville Rock Gym. Another issue is that rock climbers in Gainesville have to go to a different gym until the necessary $100,000 is raised to fix the foundation.

2. GPD video goes viral: Police officer's response to kids playing basketball a slam dunk

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E38FB89DA700?p=AWNB

Description: I'm sure you've heard this story already, as it has gone national thanks to a follow up from Shaq. Two weeks ago there was a dispatch call to GPD about a group of kids causing a disturbance in an Alachua county neighborhood. Upon arrival, Officer Bobby White discovered three African American kids playing basketball. It has been inferred that the race of the boys was the reason for the call. Instead of stopping the kids, the officer joined their basketball game, and then even more kids showed up to play. The video concludes with a statement that people need to stop calling about "kids being kids" and let the officers worry about real crime.

Problem: While this story is great for publicity for GPD, there is a problem with officers being dispatched in non-emergency situations. If this continues, there could be a real issue with officers not being available in case of a real crisis.

3. Vellos closes, Buffalo Wild Wings opens

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A6696306A50108?p=AWNB

Description: This article is about a new business coming to downtown Gainesville. Buffalo Wild Wings is opening its doors at the location where Vello's has been for six years. The article also mentions stories about other locations in Gainesville that are either expanding, relocating, or completely changing into something else.

Problem: The problem is with restaurants in Gainesville that seem to be popular are closing their doors for common chain restaurants. The owner claims that he simply had the wrong concept in that location.

4.  Gainesville man gets 270-day jail sentence in puppy death

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A9388B69AA9488?p=AWNB

Description: A Gainesville man was sentenced to 270 days in jail for animal cruelty. After having his pit bull mix puppy for only 2 days, Meldwige Gregoire returned the animal to Animal Services, but this time it was dead. The puppy had evidence of severe abuse including stomping on the puppy's back and hind legs, and kicking the dogs ribs. Gregoire claims the injuries were the result of"discipline".

Problem: The problem here is that this man should have never been allowed to adopt this puppy. There needs to be background checks with a waiting period before someone is allowed a puppy.

5. Dogs patronize Gainesville restaurants, never pick up tab

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A88EA81308DD20?p=AWNB

Description: This article explained the increasing popularity of restaurants allowing dogs inside during operating hours. However, these establishments do not have the proper permits to do so. Only 5 businesses in the Gainesville area have these permits, but others are trying to join the dog-friendly trend in an illegal fashion.

Problem: The problem is that theses negligent businesses can face a hefty fine for allowing dogs into the establishment without the proper permit. This can cause sanitary problems and risk hefty fines if the restaurants in question do not either stop this practice or go through the proper procedure to allow dogs inside.

Very Short Interview No. 1

I interviewed my boyfriend's father, John Moor, for this post. Mr. Moor owns his own orthopedic surgery practice in Sarasota, Florida. He started Advanced Sports Medicine Center about 25 years ago, and the practice has been extremely successful ever since.

I called Mr. Moor while he was in between surgeries on a regular afternoon full of breaking bones and putting them back together. He was on speaker phone with me while Jordan, his son/my boyfriend, was sitting nearby, constantly interrupting my questions with humorous quips of his own.

Question 1 : What do you think is the most important thing for an entrepreneurship class to teach?
       Mr. Moor: "Accounting. It's often overlooked by people just starting out. All the self-made guys will tell you that everything is based on accounting. You need to know how you're doing and where your going, and the numbers will tell you everything you need to know."

Question 2 : What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
       Jordan Moor (trying to be funny): "Oh he didn't have any clients when he started. He hurt people just so they'd need him to give them surgery."
       Mr. Moor: "Actually, no. Government was the biggest issue. Their overhead costs are non stop roadblocks when I was trying to get things started, and even now they sometimes get in the way. And for the record, I've never injured anyone to get their business, but thanks for that Jordan."

Question 3 : What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur?
       Mr. Moor: "Being an entrepreneur means that I get to do things my way. I get to select the best and do things the easiest, most efficient way. It's better than being in a group making decisions, I get to make the important snap decisions that I want. I am considered to be in the 99% of my peer group, and that is only because I work for myself."

This interview, while very short, was quite eye-opening for me. When creating these questions, I couldn't help but thinking of the answers I assumed Mr. Moor would give. I was surprised that his answer for the first question was accounting, when I assumed he would've said perseverance and dedication. I also learned a lot about Mr. Moor and his pride for what he's made for himself. I never knew how important is is to be able to make your own decisions in the medical industry, but it makes a lot of sense. When someones life is on the line, you need to make snap decisions and not have to worry about clearing the decision with a board of directors. Overall, I'm very glad that I decided to do this very short interview on Mr. Moor. It just goes to show that this class and the blog posts are opening my eyes to things I never would have known otherwise.

World's Biggest Problems

1. Terrorism - One of my first memories is of 9/11. Terrorist attacks have been a normal thing for my whole life, but that should not be the case. This global problem causes too many senseless deaths and destruction. With all of the easy access to weapons and technology, this problem has the potential to keep escalating until World War III happens. I think a solution could be to improve religious and racial acceptance. Until everyone starts to understand and love one another, there will continue to be senseless violence.

2. Racism - Similar to terrorism, this problem is worldwide. It has recently escalated particularly in this nation. People hating other people solely on the color of their skin is causing a rift that ends only in violence. The only solution is for everyone to practice tolerance, starting from teaching children at a young age that everyone is equal. Stopping this senseless prejudice will take time, but is for the well-being of everyone.

3.Gender Equality - This issue may be seen as not as important in comparison to the others on this list, but it is a big problem still. Sexism is seen is multiple aspects of modern culture.The most significant aspect is based upon gender expectations. No one should be told what they should and shouldn't be. To solve this issue, society needs to change. Once again, humanity needs to teach children from a young age that everyone was equal.

4. Starvation - While this problem is not in the forefront of society, it's one of the worst. Many Americans gorge themselves on a daily basis while millions around the world are dying from getting nothing to eat.  This issue isn't exciting or controversial, so people don't talk about it. Awareness is key here, people need to know that they can help if they try. The first step to solving this problem is teaching people to simply give more and take less. Selflessness is the only solution.

5. Big Game Hunting - This problem is only relevant because of a select number of horribly inhumane people. Hunting the world's most powerful and beautiful creatures is not only terribly cowardly, but it affects the ecosystem and balance of the food chain. There needs to be a worldwide ban on any hunting of protected or endangered species, with consequences that are extremely harsh. If the hunters don't think they'll be punished, they will continue.

6. Poverty - Poverty is everywhere in the world. You could travel to the most wealthy city in the world and still see people begging on the streets. The definition of poverty differs worldwide, but it highlighted by not being able to fulfill the basic human needs of food, water, and shelter. The only solution has to start with less selfishness, and continue into the future with helping hands for those who need it.

7. Pollution - This is the one problem that truly does affect everyone globally. Not only are we damaged by pollution, all future for this world is potentially damaged. There are places where citizens cannot enjoy being outside or even commute properly without risk of lung damage from smog. This world is the only one we have, and we need to try to keep it clean for ourselves and the future. Creating new laws and regulations to stop pollution is the probable solution.

8. Suicide - This problem is not advertised enough as being something solvable. Society sees it as a tragic occurrence, but isn't doing anything to stop their ridiculous standards that tend to cause suicide in the first place. The only solution to this problem is to teach love and acceptance. Loving yourself and loving others would do wonders for cutting down on the senseless suicides in the world.

9. Rape - This problem is very personal to me. Rape is a significant problem, especially in the college culture. It is not condemned or taken as seriously as it should be. Rape also doesn't mean just to women, rape of men needs to be taken much more seriously. People may joke about it, but it is not a laughing matter at all. We need to publicly condemn rape and institute harsher punishments for those who commit it.

10. War - This problem is as universally recognized as they come. War has always been around, and will probably never stop occurring. The only solution is to try to resist as much of the senseless violence as possible, so that not as many wars break out in the first place. Promoting world peace and universal love is a step in the right direction.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

This post will be answering some questions regarding Chapter 1 of the textbook: Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice.

1. While the first chapter had lots of information that was new to me, I was most surprised with how responsible new and small firms are for creating jobs all around the world. I always assumed that large corporations like Walmart and Target would be accredited with creating the most jobs, but I was pleasantly surprised to have been wrong in this instance. 

2. The portion of the reading that confused me was when the author started explaining dynamic states approach. I understand that flexibility is a major issue with the dynamic state, but I did not get much else, or how this approach differences much from the integrative approach. 

3.  If I had the opportunity to ask the author two questions, the first would be to clarify why so many start ups fail in the first year. I feel like 85% is a rather large percentage, so there must be an underlying problem that they all could not recover from. My second question would be to clarify his experience with this topic. I would love to know if the author had been involved in any entrepreneurial ventures in his life, and, if so, what approaches he personally used on them. 

4. Lastly, I do not disagree with the author because I do not have any previous knowledge or experience in being an entrepreneur. However, I might have a bit of an issue with his statement that entrepreneurship is something that is not innate. I believe that there has to be some sort of personality trait that leads to wanting to be an innovator. I don't entirely disagree with him, but I do think there is some innate personality that leads to being a true entrepreneur.

Bug List

1. The way my roommate walks through the house like an elephant after she comes home from drinking, which always wakes me up no matter how many times I ask her to be quiet.

    Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because I have early classes and have to go to sleep at a reasonable time, but she goes out almost every night and gets drunk.

2. People riding their bikes through Turlington Plaza at full speed in between class periods, nearly knocking over the hundreds of other people walking through.
    Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because bikers assume that they can maneuver properly through the walkers and aren't causing any problems.

3. When my roommate doesn't clean up the common rooms after herself or when she has friends over.
    Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because she knows that I'll give in and clean it up eventually.

4. People making insensitive cancer jokes.
    Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because people don't realize or care what experience other have when it comes to diseases or other triggers.

5.  When my roommate uses my toothpaste and squeezes from the top instead of the bottom

    Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because she assumes I won't notice if it's a little toothpaste here and there

6. When girls grab my boyfriend's butt when he is out without me.

    Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because girls think that sexual harassment is a one-way street, rather than being something that anyone can be a victim of. 

7. People commenting on my breasts being too revealing when I try to wear anything other than a large shirt.

Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because people don't realize that if you have large breasts, it doesn't matter what you wear: everything looks vulgar and revealing.

8.  Starbucks iced coffee tastes too chalky.

Why does this bug exist? - This bug might exist because they don't mix it enough, I'm not entirely sure.

9. When people call me Katie right after meeting me, when I clearly state that my name is simply Kate.

Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because people do not take the time to listen clearly to names, and that I don't explicitly state that my name is NOT Katie.

10. Rubberneckers driving slowly past accidents when there is already loads of traffic behind them.

Why does this bug exist?  - This bug exists because everyone thinks they are above the rules of the road and want a chance to look at something dramatic.

11. The overheating of UF classrooms when it is cold outside.

Why does this bug exist?  - This bug exists because UF is trying to be helpful by warming us up when it is cold outside, when in reality they are making us regret wearing boots and scarves.

12.    IPhone chargers that stop working after a couple months or only work in a couple positions.

Why does this bug exist?  - This bug exists because Apple knows people will continue buying their products even if the chargers are unreliable.

13. Companies that send a ridiculous amount of emails to you about their products.

Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because companies know customers will be too lazy to remove themselves from email lists, and if at least one person purchases something because of an email, then it was worth it. 

14. My major at UF requiring 2 internships before I graduate, and not including the internship I've already been working for the past 2 years.

Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because UF believes it is their responsibility to make sure I have experience before I graduate. 

15. It bugs me when people ask my why I'm so pale / why I don't get a tan.

Why does this bug exist?  - This bug exists because people think they are being funny and that everyone likes being tan.

16. People that don't tip servers properly.

Why does this bug exist?  - This bug exists because they have never served before and don't realize how hard it is being payed practically only in tips.

17. It bugs me that tampons and bras are so expensive.

Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because it is an easy profit for large corporations, since it is pretty much a required purchase for females.

18. It bugs me that the Internet is unreliable at my house.

Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because my room and the living room are far away from where the router has to be plugged in.

19. My phone will sometimes randomly turn off when I know that the battery has not reached 0% yet.

Why does this bug exist?   - This bug exists because sometimes technology fails for unknown reasons, such as perhaps my phone being too old or overheating.

20. Not being able to find parking or study spaces in the library during exam weeks.

Why does this bug exist? - This bug exists because everyone else is also trying to park on campus and study in the libraries during exam week. 

I found this exercise to be both easy and difficult. It was incredibly easy to come up with things that bug me when it is in reference to people being the bug. I get easily annoyed by people on a regular basis, but rarely voice my annoyances. Having this outlet to voice what bugs me what incredibly satisfying. However, I noticed about halfway through my list that I should try to focus more on products and services that bug me, and less on the flaws of humanity. These bugs were quite difficult to come up with, because if I am bothered by a product or service, I do not purchase the product again or use that service again. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

My Entrepreneurship Story

My Introduction!

Hi everyone! I'm Katherine Andersen, but everyone calls me Kate. My major is tourism, events, and recreation management. I'm from Orlando, Florida, and have lived there practically my whole life. I have worked for Orlando City Soccer Club for almost two years on their Street Team. In this internship, I work various events on behalf of the club to boost brand awareness, do marketing tasks around the office, and, most importantly, work every game day trying to improve fan experiences. I've never played soccer competitively, but my father raised me to be a huge fan of the sport. I am incredibly close to my family, which consists of my mom, dad, and older brother. Along with always having a fun home-life growing up, the four of us have traveled all over the world together. My favorite places include Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Japan, France, and England. I'm not sure what I want to do with my life in the future, but I know that I need to have the ability to continue my passion for travel.

Entrepreneur's Mantra

First Post!

Can't wait to get started on this blog. This is just a test post, more will be coming throughout this semester!