Idea Napkin No. 2

DRYlivery—Dry Cleaning delivery on your time…

1.       About Myself:   Who am I? I am a former retail store manager, with over 12 years of managerial experience in the corporate retail field. I have a passion for people and am driven by meeting customers’ expectations. “It begins and ends with the customer” is my mantra. My aspirations are to develop concept services/products that customers not only will find as time saving, but will be able to easily incorporate them in their day-to-day life. The role I want to play in DRYlivery is simple…own a service that delivers not only garments but world class service, exceeding customers’ expectations creating a more streamlined lifestyle.

2.       What am I offering:  DRYlivery is an extension of your current professional dry cleaning services. Customers can arrange dry cleaning pick-ups with delivery to their home or office at their convenience through our app, for a membership fee of $20 per month. For our professional dry cleaner partners, we are offering the opportunity for their business to grow with additional amenities while being able to focus on what they do best for their clients, for a partnership fee of $200 per month.

3.       Who are we offering DRYlivery to:  Our core customers are dry cleaning business owners and their customers. The focus is to add an additional service for both groups so they can focus streamlining their lives.

4.       Why do DRYlivery customers care:  DRYlivery is about creating a need for our professional dry cleaning partners to have the accessibility to stay competitive within their market, keeping their operational cost in-line, and attract new customers through our partnership. For DRYlivery customers, they get the added benefit of delivery on their time table while saving time and scheduling inconveniences.

5.       What is DRYlivery’s core competencies:  Our core competency is all about service…creating a powerful connection to our customers is what drives our business philosophies. Our goal is to recreate a “milk man” style delivery service where our customers feel connected to our brand. Philanthropy is an important service expectation to our company. Not only do we delivery customers’ dry cleaning, we will pick up garment donations which go to local charities.

·         Feedback Memo: Five main takeaways from peer feedback…

·   Creating a membership fee structure in order to be clear about the pricing of our services.

·   Being specific as to who is our clientele. Focusing on existing businesses’ need to stay relevant to their customers and expanding their opportunities to convey on such.

·   Adding a charitable initiative to our company. Giving back to our community creates stronger ties to customers.

·   Focusing on a service competency to drive customer loyalty keeping competition in check.

·   Utilize my retail management background to drive client partnerships and customer expectations.

Idea Napkin No. 1

DRYlivery—Dry Cleaning delivery on your time…

1.       About Myself: I am a retail field management veteran with over 14 years of experience. The talents I possess are being resourceful, figuring out other’s strengths, and taking difficult situation and transitioning them into more streamlined moments. I am customer-centric focused and believe that is the root for any business model to be successful. My aspirations for Drylivery is to create a service that its focus is making the lives of its customers easier by giving their time back to them instead of running daily errands. The role the business would play in my life would be to contribute giving time back to others. Time is a valuable resource and assisting others in having more of it gives the opportunity for a simpler healthier life.

2.       Drylivery is a dry cleaning delivery service. The inconvenience of forgetting to pick up your dry cleaning, not making it before they close, or wasting a lunch break by picking it up will be eliminated through Drylivery’s services. Similar to Uber, Drylivery will us a mobile application, in partnership with local professional dry cleaners, for customer to schedule pickup and delivery of their garments to their home or work place. For the owner/operator of the dry cleaner, their partnership cuts down amount of staff making deliveries allowing them to focus on what they do best for their customers.

3.       The demographics we would be offering these services to would be all customers whose dry cleaners have established partnerships with Drylivery. The dry cleaner partners of Drylivery benefit from lower operating costs by cutting back their expenses on delivery expenditures (such as gas, labor costs, workforce management, etc.); overall supporting better Profits/Losses.

4.       Customers and dry cleaner partners would care about Drylivery because it supports their goal of having more time to focus on what they do best. Delivery customers get a friendly convenient service that is an extension of their favorite dry cleaners. With the dry cleaner being able to keep their operational costs lower through phasing out in-house delivery services, Drylivery gives them the ability to optimize their operations more efficiently and effectively.

5.       Drylivery’s core competencies are customer experience, inclusion of the community’s businesses, and utilizing technology to help streamline day-to-day tasks. Another key competency is that we do not want to start a dry cleaning business, yet offer a service that will enhance businesses that have established their reputations as a community inspired business.

Business Evaluation

                After examining the element of the business, the one area that I cannot seem to piece together is whether customer would pay a monthly fee or on a per usage basis. Both have their advantages with monthly fees, we have cash flow up front for business operating expenses, while with per usage we have the opportunity to gain more customer through a no-commitment mentality. Another item to figure out is for our dry cleaning partners. With each dry cleaners’ business operating differently how easy would it be to incorporate user friendly technologies in their business to assist and potentially grow their business through our services. I feel like the big picture of having both businesses and customers benefit from our services is realistic. However, breaking down the specifics of how much Drylivery wants to invest in partnership technology and payment options is where there is a slight blur. 

Interviewing Customers No. 2

Takeaways from Interviewing Experience

·         I think now I have a better idea of who my clientele base is for my opportunity. After the first round of interviews I do not think I was asking the right questions to have anyone think why they do not use dry cleaning services. Now asking the question and diving deeper into the root of the issue, I can gain more insight into what customers are thinking.

·         I felt like last time I did not speak to the right customers. This time I think my questions were better so I received more well-rounded answers. How I adjusted “who my customer is” was to think through every customer has a different opportunity/reason for using or not using dry cleaning services. By using better questions I was better able to figure out those reasons and allow them to tell me what I needed to hear versus what answer I was looking for.

·         The changes I made to my questions were I incorporated the use of app usage versus dry cleaners usage. The results lead this round lead to an untapped customer base because of pricing and convenience of time.

·       What is different this round of customer interviews versus the last were that I found that all my interviewees had never or rarely use dry cleaning services. With this knowledge and knowing their reasons why they have rarely/never used a professional dry cleaner, I can tailor my opportunity to capturing an untapped customer who may not normally use these services by enticing them with promotional pricing and/or limited time upgraded services to create more value in their day to day lives.

·         Three Tips for Other Students:

o   I recommend having someone come with you to hold the camera or use a tripod. The flow of conversation wasn’t as easy from my perspective because I couldn’t focus on the customer as much as I’d like.

o   Have more questions that I can ask each person. By having a variety of questions, I would have had the ability to get more responses on different areas.

o   Choose a specific day and time to do the interviews. I chose different days and times. It would have been easier to do it all at one time frame to create consistency of mindset and interviews.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Ranked Problems

1. Modernization of developing market—Shifting from a developed market to an emerging market can move jobs from one area of the world to another. With outsourcing being the main concern, preparing a developed market for this shift is imperative for continued growth and prosperity.

2. Water Pollution—Pollution of the oceans has taken a devastating toll on the quality of food sources from the ocean and the quantity of species ability to repopulate.

3. Air Pollution—Depleting the Ozone layer and increasing world temperatures, with shifts in global weather patterns, air pollution with continue to be an issue in the future.

4. Distribution of natural resources—With newer technologies and other advances, natural resources are needed to create these products. The issue is that some countries around the world control the world’s supply of specific resources.

5. Socio-political-cultural migrations—Migrations of people from their home countries to others can put a strain on their temporary hosts. These migrations can create housing issues and strain on food resources.

Top 5 Ranked Implemental Solutions

1. Modernization of developing market— Using job market research to create an education program that will impact high school students thinking of what future jobs may be exhausted by the time they graduate college. Utilizing this program can give a developing market the opportunity to prepare for those occupational shifts because of outsourcing due to technological or educational developments in emerging markets.

2. Socio-political-cultural migrations— Building in areas with ease of access to transportation and waterways in preparation for such events. Partnering experts in creating small-township like communities with convinces of their homeland.

3. Water pollution— Creating a need for change in regulations around oceanic pollutants and their clean up. The cleanup can create opportunities for job growth and development.

4. Air pollution— Utilizing cleaner technologies in developing countries first since costs are lower initially with lack of switching costs.

5. Distribution of natural resources— Creating an alternative way to produce or utilize a different resource to create these products.

Why were my first world problem and solution my first choices out of my top 5 list?

The reason I chose modernization of developing/emerging markets as the top problem I foresee is due to the increase of competition and push for lower cost labor. With this in mind, many emerging markets can come to a screeching halt if, like established markets, are not continuing to push the reaches of innovation and education. As we continue to see technology shift and mold new niches for every market set, we will find that emerging markets have the opportunity to adjust faster given their weaker infrastructure when it comes to education and job training. This is why my solution for the modernizing emerging market is the most implementable. With the right people and vision, creating an educational structure to meet market demands, while forecasting new opportunities, will ensure that outsourced jobs do not continue to become outsourced to the next emerging market because the current market is prepared for the rising occasion.

Week 3 Reading Reflections

Week 3 Reading Reflections

Through this week’s readings, I found the study of and examination of the dark side of entrepreneurship interesting. The various types of risk associated with maximizing an opportunity to create value around the solution can have risks financially, on a career track, for family, socially, not to mention the psychic risks that can all lead to stress on the individual or the other aspects of their life. The reading overall this chapter I felt was rather straight forward focusing on the pitfalls of risks and while balancing ethical dilemmas. Two questions I would like to ask the author would be:

1.       What role does the obstacle of controlling stress play in the longevity of successful entrepreneurs?

2.       How has the incorporation of ethics in entrepreneurial decisions effected the innovation and playing field for entrepreneurs versus larger corporate entities?

There wasn’t anything that I’d disagree content wise with the author. I felt as though the content in the chapter helped shape a new perspective on how things have changed since the financial collapse of the early 2000s and how that has shaped entrepreneurial decisions.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Identifying Local Opportunities

·         “Andres Oppenheimer: The future of our jobs.” –Miami Herald, Miami, FL

o   Synopsis: This article discusses the potential technology has of wiping out over five million jobs over the next five years. Data examined at last week’s World Economic Forum showed that many of jobs (like sales persons, cashiers, assembly workers) will be phasing out with the new advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology.

o   Issue: With many countries continuing to develop and utilize technology more daily, many people who do not have the technical skills cannot keep up with the job market demands. It is estimated that 65% of children entering primary school today will be working in jobs that do not exist yet. The root of the issues is how each country’s education system is going to redevelop itself in order to produce more mathematicians, engineers, computer scientists, and architects for the future job markets.

o   Whose problem: Every country around the world will face this problem. The sector that is most involved with the issue is each countries’ education system, both public and private.

·         “Misconceptionsof holes population lead to challenges for some”—Dothan Eagle, Dothan, AL

o   Synopsis: A human interest story that discusses the misconceptions of what defines homelessness. The focus of the article is centered around a man who holds a job, seeks financial advice from his local bank, and yet is homeless. Looking past his story and into the bigger picture you find that there are many misconceptions of who and what homelessness is. Also, homelessness could comprise of those who are incapable of holding a job due to mental illness, single parents that cannot afford child care or have access to child care services, and people with substance abuse afflictions.

o   Issue: Many rural areas do not have accurate counts or statistics to provide federal agencies on their homeless population to receive adequate funding to support charities or assistance programs. Without proper funds communities cannot provide the support or service needed to assist their homeless population.

o   Whose problem: In this article the city of Dothan and the Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless are the entities citing the problem; however, this is an issue for many rural cites and areas that have a misunderstanding of the new look of homelessness.

·         “Rapetest kits; Rapists must be identified”—The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, FL

o   Synopsis: The state of Florida has a back log of over 13,000 rape kits that have not been tested. With so many rape kits untested, 1,300 alone in the Jacksonville area, rapists and serial rapist can continue to commit these crimes.

o   Issue: Florida has no statutes or laws on record stating a specific time frame for when a rape kit should be processed. Also, there are no procedures on record on how to prevent future back logs of untested kits. One point the article does not bring up is what are the resources the state has available to test these kits, or is there the opportunity for the state to source an independent lab to do the testing of the kits? Another problem not mentioned in the article is funding of the testing of these kits and would tax payers pay for the processing…if so, how can the state keep costs down.

o   Whose problem: The problem lies within the state of Florida and its laws that do not require for testing.

·         “FreeParking—In 2014, Sarasota’s parking manager was prepared for a seriousconversation about the need for paid parking — so why have officials continuedto delay that discussion?”—The Sarasota Observer, Sarasota, FL

o   Synopsis: The city of Sarasota is having issues creating revenues for its parking fund, which is running a deficit. City officials are now addressing the issue once again, however not able to come up with any alternatives that make sense.

o   Issue: Since the city is having issues creating parking policies for funding, the city’s parking fund is creating a deficit. Also, the recommendations that have been made do not make logical sense according to city officials appointed to resolve the issue. For example, a suggestion to only have people pay who use the street for parking, while people who use parking garages remain unchanged.

o   Whose problem: The citizens and city official of Sarasota.

·         ” PanamaCity Beach urges court not to delay new Spring Break rules”—The News Herald, Panama City, FL

o   Synopsis: The city of Panama City Beach has provisional ordinances that would prevent drinking alcoholic beverages on the beaches during the month of March, the primary month of Spring Break. With its history of having a strong insurgence of college students ready to party off their semester blues, the city is tired of the overstretching of resources, increase in criminal activity, and increase in first responders calls Spring Break has created.

o   Issue: Locals are fed up with the excessive partying college students have during spring break and all the problems it creates. The city has created protocol to address the citizens’ concerns, but not without its objection. A number of business have entered a class suit against the city saying it is infringing on their rights and pursuit of commerce.

o   Whose problem: The city of Panama City Beach, surrounding communities, citizens, visitors, and business owners of the City of Panama City Beach

*Article titles are hyperlinks to news articles.

Bug List

Bug List

1.       The traffic light at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and 23^rd street takes too long to change if you’re trying to go across 23^rd street. If a vehicle pulls up to the traffic light on 23^rd street, the traffic light on Michigan Avenue changes almost immediately.

a.       Why: The City views 23^rd street as a main roadway to get traffic in and out of the town onto highway 98 or onto highway 231. 23^rd street would be considered more of a priority than Michigan Ave.

2.       Trying to find the right product on Amazon.com through using product reviews written by other purchasers. (Example: buying bedding)

a.       Why: Amazon.com welcomes the feedback of its customers; however, when a customer gives a review they may not have followed the care instructions properly or did through research on the product before purchasing it themselves. Also, you have customers who have never used the product giving a review being paid by the manufacturer to give a higher rating, equating to higher orders for the product.

3.       The possibility of a ban on plastic microbeads used in facial and body cleansers, like Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Exfoliating cleanser.

a.       Why: The plastic microbeads used to give a person a gentle exfoliation are leading to waterway pollution. These tiny microbeads are being eaten by fish, clogging up water treatment facilities, and do not break down in the environment; thus, leading to a ban on them being used in body care products. (I need a gentle exfoliate though…)

4.       WOW cable provider changing its channel programming creating few channel packages for customers at higher prices.

a.       Why: WOW has been having issues keeping costs lower to customers because they are saying television stations want more money for using them in their cable packages.

5.       Trying to find men’s denim that does not have stretch in it at American Eagle Outfitters.

a.       Why: The merchandise buyers foresee a trend of stretch denim being the next “big” thing in men’s since women’s denim sales have increased with the addition of the material into the denim fabric.

6.       A water, sewage, and garbage bill over $90.00 a month from the City of Panama City.

a.       Why: With the addition of adding city water to outlying areas, the City of Panama City has lost money on the venture trying to make up losses through charging citizens more.

7.       Finding help at a Kohl’s department store during the middle of the week.

a.       Why: Most retailers have been doing minimum scheduling of labor to cut expenses during the week, saving most payroll expenses for the weekends. Also, cutting positions and delegating those responsibilities among other employees.

8.       Not enough checkout lanes open at Walmart on 23^rd street during mid-afternoon.

a.       Why: The supervisors are not making the employees take their breaks during the first rush of customers, so when an unexpected rush of customer come through multiple cashiers are on break creating longer check out times.

9.       Trying to remember to bring loyalty cards to retailers when shopping.

a.       Why: There are so many different stores I frequent and keeping them all in one place is difficult because some are so small.

10.   Collared shirts becoming too tight in the neck, yet fitting through the body of the shirt.

a.       Why: The fit I need is slimmer through the body of the shirt, but a wider neck size because of having board shoulders.

11.   Keeping up with all my email accounts.

a.       Why: Between work, school, and personal email accounts, there are so many that I have to check. Always wish it was easier to check them all at once.

12.   Trying to dispose of paperwork with sensitive information.

a.       Why: I always let paperwork pile up that has sensitive information. Home office paper shredders cannot handle the capacity of documents without overheating.

13.   Having to search for the right gift for someone you do not know that well.

a.       Why: With very few clues to go based off of, trying to find the most appropriate gift for someone, that you do not know that well, can be very difficult and stressful.

14.   Bags inside of cereal bags

a.       Why: They are not re-sealable bags, which makes the cereal stale quicker over time.

15.   Chrome by Google has stopped supporting internet Flash.

a.       Why: Google stopped the use of supporting Flash because of the lack of internet security that software feature offers.

16.   Breaking in uncomfortable men’s dress shoes.

a.       Why: Men’s dress shoes are typically made with hard leathers or structured with plastic shapers making them uncomfortable, not to mention no traction on good leather soled dress shoes.

17.   Grocery shopping at different stores to find the better deals.

a.       Why: Grocery stores offer different deals or have better pricing on particular items. By the time you go from store to store picking up what you though was the better price, your spending more time and money which makes it the same price as its competitors.

18.   Having to wait for a server to bring the bill to the table or walk off with my debit/credit card to charge the card.

a.       Why: Many times you’re ready to leave the restaurant your server may be busy with other guests or side work that has to be completed before the end of their shift. Also, not allowing a card to be within eyesight of the customer allows the opportunity for overcharging, fraud, or identity theft to happen.

19.   Paying more at the gas pump for fuel using a debit/credit card versus paying cash.

a.       Why: Many gas retailers try to offset the cost of transaction fees incurred by their merchant service provider.

20.   Not having more options for public transportation or private transportation services in the Panama City/Panama City Beach area.

a.       Why: With the lack of options of public and private transportation services increases the amount of traffic on road ways and can make it difficult for those who seek employment but cannot afford a personal vehicle. The lack of private options also leads to higher transportation rates for customers who use their services.

What I found difficult about this particular assignment was finding things that bug me that I could provide positive solutions to or create a value out of the need formed. It was quite difficult to come up with a list of 20 things that specifically bugged myself.