Final Reflection

1) Read through your blog from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had along the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.

- When I look back into all that we have experienced in our class this semester, I think it was mostly all positive moments. I learned a lot from this class and I really enjoyed the way the class was setup. Learning about entrepreneurship was enjoyable and different from any other class I have taken here at UF. There were definitely times where I wanted to give up (the lows) but when I think back on it now, it really helped me learn from them and I believe those traits will follow me beyond this class. I especially dreaded assignments that involved interviewing others outside of the class but I began to like those as the semester progressed. It really helped me get out of my shell and become more vocal. This class was definitely positive and I would take this class again if I could.

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

- For me, I think the most formative experience was the interview assignments with random UF classmates. It was challenging and was something I have never done before.  Out of those social interacting assignments, I think I’ll remember the dollar challenge the most. To me, it was the most difficult. Getting others to listen to what you have to say was challenging. Throughout this course I think the one thing that I felt most accomplished is the social interactions. I am not that social and a little bit shy so when those assignments were finished, I felt proud and relieved.


3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

- I definitely think I see myself as an entrepreneur. I have become more aware and informed of what a true entrepreneur is and how to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur. I believe it is something that you can keep on developing and become better as well so I am excited to see how much better I can get down the road.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?
- I think for those who are trying to go along this journey, the first thing they have to do is think about what they want. Being confident and knowing their own skillset will help them perform well. Also, learning how to manage your time will help students become successful in this course. I definitely recommend keeping an open mind as well and go out there and be confident in everything that you do.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 
- In this week’s reading assignment, the part that stood out the most was the section on reducing costs and limiting errors. Vikram explains in the article of how most microfinance organizations record their transactions (passbooks, collection sheets, and back-office ledgers). However, being aware of mistakes that can be made in the manual entries put forward by low-skilled workers, he decided to digitize everything. I think it was a very smart move by Vikram to reduce mistakes by his employees.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
-  I don’t think I had anything that was confusing in this week’s reading. However, if I think if the setup of the article had a timeline of the things that Vikram had to go through, it would really help people see the progression of SKS.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
- I think if I had to ask two question to the author, I would first ask about the bonded labor system of India. It sounds like readers would love to hear about that.
- Secondly, I would ask about the living wages averages in India. I think it’s important to know when reading about micro-finance loans in India.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
-  I don’t think there was anything the author was wrong about in this article. Vikram sounded like a very smart man and a philanthropist that helped many people from rural areas in India.

Venture Concept No. 2

The bullet points are answered in the paragraph below bullet points.

• ·         What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

• ·         How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

• ·         How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use   now? 

• ·         How big is this opportunity?

• ·         How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

- Flying across borders has become easier than ever before. With the world becoming a more inter related market place and with air travel becoming more accessible, the desire to experience and discover new places, new languages, new accents, new foods, and new ways of life has become significantly easier. Landmarks and sights that were only heard of and only available via photos are now easily accessible and gives people a chance to see them with their own eyes. Whether it be for fun and pleasure, or to attend conferences and meetings abroad, everyone aspires to travel more. If surveyed and asked people around the world on what they would do with their free time, traveling would be on the top of their list. I think it’s safe to say that the draw of escaping from their daily lifestyle is a huge turn on for most people around the world and is a major trend in 2016.
Now, the statistics I pulled up on travel was surprising, even for me. I didn’t expect the number to be so high but here you go. In 2015, U.S travel and tourism industry generated over a trillion dollars! On top of that, international travel to the U.S will grow by 4.3 percent annually through 2020. To me and my future business, this GREAT news. Why? In my opinion, growth is one of the most important factor there is when it comes to opportunities. If there is no growth, I believe it'll be hard to have viable business that profits year after year.

So what is my business?

Throughout this course, I stood firm on the idea of a travel agency that assists tourists with booking/reservations, translations, and sightseeing packages in the U.S. My customer base is mainly focused on tourists from Asia and accommodating to what they want and crave to see when coming abroad to the U.S. However, as the semester went by, I decided to tweak things here and there to make my business stand out even more and have more ways to bring in money. I realized that I should not limit my customer base to just Asian tourists and I should broaden the base to ALL tourists that are visiting the states.

Why will customer choose our service?

I want to make my agency a one stop shop for tourists. Providing everything from translation services, pick-up and drop off services, real estate, immigration, tour packages, and even a rental car service. Having all those aspects that international tourists look for most might entice them to pay for our services. In addition to that, having a top notch quality service can also create a customer base that is always willing to pass on to friends and peers.

In terms of our services, here are the list of things I wish to offer to customers. 

• Travel and tour packages: Offer several destination around the states that customers can choose from. Major landmarks and sightseeing are on the list and as well as customized private tours since not everyone has the same travel destinations

•  Simple Pick up and drop off services: These will be like our taxi/Uber aspect of our business. Trusted and timely can take you to places on a drop off and pick basis.

•  Real Estate: Offering realtor services to foreigners wishing to invest in the U.S and buying up land, houses or whatever they need.

• Immigration services : For those who needs help with immigration services can also reach us and we will try get our team to help.

•  Rental Car Service: This is something I put onto my list of services recently because I feel like not everyone wants to be driven everywhere. Some are adventurous and might wish to explore the roads on their own. And because I am the type to try everything on my own and experience driving on different roads.

Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 

There a lot of travel agencies out there at the moment but I believe that the weaknesses are that they are not as multi-faceted as mine. I will offer better services and MORE services than the others without losing the quality of those services. I also believe I will incorporate social media, and the drift of mobile devices to target a lot of people who are accustomed to doing business that way. Utilizing convenience, social, and spontaneity, I will try to beat out the competitors.

How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture? 

I think the workforce/employee is the most important thing when it comes to my business. Because it is a servicing job that needs a human touch, training and recruiting those who excel in customer service would be preferred. I would have to start out with a decent size of employees to station everyone accordingly to each service area. I would say around 10 to 15 is a good number of people to start out with. Their roles would vary between the departments but I would stress that friendly service and customer service comes first.

What’s next for you? Assuming you launched, where do you want to be in five years with this venture? Where do you want to be, as an entrepreneur, in the next decade, and how does this first venture help you achieve your vision?

In five years, I would love to see this agency become a force in the travel and tourism industry. Becoming a staple for in terms of travel agency for the U.S. I think the company I want to compare my company to be something that is similar to that of Triple A. Covering everything from travel services to car insurance, the way triple A is, it’s a perfect comparison to where I would like my company to be like.

I think overall, this venture will help me get into many different aspects of business and when one service performs well, I can branch that out more and spin off to a whole different company.

FEEDBACK:

- The feedback I received from my classmates were very positive. They thought the idea was innovative, and thought it could be profitable. Being a one stop tourist shop was mentioned as being a cool idea as well. Although I wish I had more feedback on how I can improve my business, I think overall the outlook of my company was pretty good.

CHANGES:

- In the "What's Next" exercise, I mentioned that in the next couple years, I would think about selling my business. However, even though I am planning to sell to a outside investor, I think my plans will still remain the same. In my opinion, you need to treat every project as if you were going to keep it. That way, the business has the same love from the owner and that way become a successful company. Investors can see how profitable and how unique the company is and this venture will sell itself.