There's My Elevator Pitch No. 2

The majority of the feedback I received on my first elevator pitch was very positive. The only two negatives I received was the concern about high prices since it is a boutique and that I used too many filler words in my pitch. In this elevator pitch, I addressed that my prices would be low even though it's a boutique. I also tried to use less filler words in my pitch.

There's my Idea Napkin No. 1

I am creative, witty, and particular. I love adventures, even if that just means going to Walmart at 2:00am or singing to Ben Rector in the car with my friends. I love things that are precious and thought provoking. Meaningful conversations are my favorite. Reading a Southern Living magazine with coffee in hand is simply the best. I love things that are beautiful, even if they don't have much of a purpose. I also love brownies and swing dancing. I love twirling in the kitchen, and the feeling you get when you catch someone's gaze on you. It really doesn't take much y'all. All that being said, I want to create a store (and mostly an environment) that encompasses these things, at least indirectly. I want people to feel welcomed and girly while shopping at Sweet Caroline's. I want them to find things they love and things that are beautiful, even if it doesn't have much of a purpose. This store has the potential to house all the things I love. I want to invest a lot of time, creativity, and energy into it.

I want customers to love to shop here. A fun, engaging store in hard to come by, and I think it is because ambiance and customer service don't always equal profit. But I don't care. I want my shoppers to get the feeling they get when reading their favorite magazine when they walk through my door. Just as if they were transported to their favorite place. This is an unmet need to shoppers. Shopping can often be draining and frustrating when you can't find what you want and things don't fit. I want to leave everyone better off after leaving the store than when they came in.

My customers will be people just like me. They will be 14-45ish year old women who are looking for beautiful things and who want an experience while shopping. They will also be a little bit more price conscious than the average boutique shopper.

Customers are going to love this store because it is a completely untapped group and idea combination. A few stores offer a few of the things we will to a similar group, but none of them do it all. We will combine the boutique style of store, with lower prices, a very uncommon concept. We will also sell make-up, clothes, seasonal items, accessories, and home items which is also an uncommon array of products in a boutique. It is rare that makeup is sold in clothing stores, but it is something that our buyers will love, and will therefore purchase more because of convenience.

I feel that my store will be a success because I am the customer. I have found this lack in the market, and I know what I want. People like me are our target market, so who better to cater to you than you right? Most stores for women are run by men, so how can they know exactly what we want? I am also a member of the community I want to put my store in, so I know what this community is needing.

I believe that these elements fit together perfectly. Sweet Caroline's plays to my strengths and the things that I find joy from. I believe that this passion will help the success of the store. I know what people want and I have the drive to make this dream happen.

There's Interviewing Customers No. 2

After going through my first round of interviews, I have decided that I am really liking my idea and opportunity! The people I interviewed the first time liked my concept, and gave me good incite on what potential customers would want.
Last time I randomly only interviewed women, and I think that turned out well. Since my store would be for women, they are my potential customers. I decided to only interview women for this second interview as well.
The first interview, I focused on very general questions about the shopping experience that moment want. This time, I focused more one "would you rather questions" that help me decide between two different routes or ideas.
I think that after conducting ten interviews, I have a better grasp for what customers want. I know that women prefer to shop in stores with a fun atmosphere, this means making my store a women's only store. I also know that price point is a big deal for this segment in the market.
After completing my interviews, I have a few tips:
        1. Write your questions down. If you write your questions down you will be less nervous, and       you will be able to focus on the person you're interviewing more, rather than yourself
        2. Don't walk up to people if they look like they are in a hurry. This doesn't work out well for you or them. They will often reject interviewing and therefore you will feel rejected. Reach out to people who look like they are waiting for someone or walking slowly.
        3. Give the person you are interviewing a mini elevator pitch. I felt like I got better answers when the person knew what my goal was and why I was asking them a random question.

There's my Week 5 Reading Reflection

One thing that really stood out to me in Chapter nine was the infographic on how to obtain a patent. Obtaining a patent is something that I have never really thought about before. But I see how crucial it is to knowing how to do in the entrepreneurial world. I also didn't realize how many steps were involved in it.
This part of the reading was still confusing to me however. I understand more of the steps to getting a patent, but I don't understand where you go? how you make an appointment? do you present your idea/invention to people? do you write a report and hope it gets approved? These are things that the book did not explicitly say, but would probably be things I learn through doing.
I would like to ask the author if he ever had difficulties with patents or copyrights. I would like to know if they are difficult to get approved, how long they last for different things, and how much they cost.
There really wasn't anything I disagreed with in this chapter. The only thing that took me off guard was the "Minimizing Legal Charges" section. The author wrote about how you can negotiate prices with your lawyer and to use a less expensive attorney for small transactions. I had never thought of this and it surprised me being in a textbook.

There's my Elevator Pitch No. 1

My opportunity is to build a small boutique in the town of Winderemere, Florida right outside of Orlando. Windermere is about 35 minutes away from a mall, and lacks a small town boutique. The town is very suburban and full of families so it has the means to support a store. The store will have clothes, accessories, candles, and holiday items, perfect for shopping and gift giving!

There's Customer Interviews No. 1

I have an entrepreneurial idea that I would love to start after my college. My mom and I have always dreamed of opening a boutique together in our Orlando suburb of Windermere. We find that there is an empty spot in the market for affordable yet stylish clothing for women and teens. The store would have clothing, as well as candles, jewelry, and gift giving accessories. I chose to interview young girls who enjoy shopping, as well as one who knew the town of Windermere.
While doing this activity, I learned that there really is a need in the market. The activity was out of my comfort zone, but I got a lot of good feedback.
Enjoy the video interviews!

There's a Week 4 Reading Reflection

In the Chapter 5, the author talks a lot about innovation and new inventions. He mentions on page 166 that innovation is a result of a purposeful search for new opportunities. I tend to disagree with that umbrella statement. I think that at times that is true, and that some inventors work long and hard to make new things, but I think other times people happen upon a great new thing. For example the creator of Dip n Dots froze his ice cream too long at a very low temperature and happened upon his idea. I think often times new ideas are spurred by things going wrong.

I was also confused by the idea of a good climate for creativity. I think that ideally that is good, but things don’t always happen when the time is right. I think that if you wait for the perfect time, it will never happen. I was surprised that the book recommended an innovator to wait until the perfect climate and time was right. Sometimes you don’t have everything you need and life is crazy, but it could be the start of something great.

I would love to ask the author what the climate in his life was like when he started his innovations. I wonder if it was a hectic time, or if his climate was calm and creative. I would also ask if he wished that he started it at another time or if the time he began ended up being just right.