Final Reflection

Reflect on this semester and assignments: Highs, lows?

• Throughout my experiences in this class, I have experienced a variety of emotions. Some feelings of discouragement from missing assignments or forgetting to declare assignments. Also feelings of happiness and satisfaction once you receive positive feedback on ideas that you once did not feel were important. Some high points were definitely the lectures, interacting with others and getting a chance to use research (both primary and secondary) to build an original concept from the bottom up. Some low points would definitely be keeping up with all assignments. 

What stood out as my most formative experience? Most memorable and joyous?

• Out of all of the experiences I have had during this semester, I would have to say my most favorite, memorable and joyous experience would have to be the interactions I had while conducting customer research. There were some assignments that I did not get to complete that would've allowed me more customer interactions, however from the ones that I did complete, I found these to be the best. I was able to break out of my comfort zone, which is something that I have always had trouble with. Also, it allowed me to meet new people, gain new perspectives on ideas and concepts as well as enhancing my communication skills. 

Do you see yourself more as an entrepreneur now?Do you think you have moved closer to developing your own entrepreneurial mantra?

• I would definitely say that this class has helped me see myself more as an entrepreneur and move closer toward developing my own entrepreneurial mantra. I say this because with all of the assignments and experiences that I have had the chance to encounter throughout this class, I never know how much work it entailed to actually be an entrepreneur. One must put in ample amounts of work to even get their concept positively acknowledged. Therefore, through assignments such a customer interviews and elevator pitches, as well as more research based assignments, I would definitely say that I see myself more an entrepreneur now than I did four months ago. 

Recommendation to future students? What do you recommend for best performance and a focused mindset?

• My best recommendation for future students would be to put forth as much effort as they possibly can into completing this class and all of the required assignments. There were some that I did not complete and I feel as if it took away from my full experience of being an entrepreneur through my venture. I feel like since there are no exams and this class is now more hands-on, in order to get the full experience from it, you should put forth as much as possible to get into the mindset of an entrepreneur. I would say having an open mind, not being afraid of criticism or rejection and being tenacious will be what gets you through this class not only successfully, but with real-life experience. 

Venture Concept No 2

Opportunity

Who has the need? What is the nature of the need?

For my business concept, the customers that have the need for my services would be customers with businesses that are not doing as well in spreading awareness about their services. More specifically, my company would deal with small-business owners, usually within college towns like Gainesville that are trying to spread awareness and to draw crowds into their businesses. This would apply to not only restaurants and small food stores, but to entertainment hubs such as bars and small clubs within college areas that just need more help getting business in their direction. Customers are currently satisfying this need through promotions teams for clubs and entertainment establishments, however for the food locations, usually local advertisement is what is drawing in customers. 

Innovation

For this business idea that I have had throughout the semester, I wanted to create a public relations company, possibly named Inspiration PR, that would be able to assist these small businesses in spreading awareness through promotional campaigns and really getting the public involved and engaged in their cause. What it would do is find out the specific problems that are leading to the failures and highlight what is already currently successful. Once this is determined, some qualitative and quantitative research would be conducted to help figure out what the customer’s customers want from the business. These research methods are of little to no cost because surveys can be conducted online for free and if focus groups are held, the major cost would involve incentives for the participants. After the research is conducted and the problems are identified, we would work to find a specific programming plan that, once put into play, would be evaluated to see how affective it was for the client. Essentially where the money comes in would be actually conducting the programming necessary for the campaign to take place. For example, if we wanted to implement a social media campaign or to shoot a video, the client would essentially pay us for these things to get accomplished at a better quality and for a larger audience. Social media is also a huge component in what we do. We not only use social media for research purposes, but to assist those on a larger scale. 

Venture Concept

Essentially, my public relations company would help spread awareness of these small businesses and establishments in ways that will attract more customers and get the name of the company out. It would also help to establish not only brand awareness but also trust between the customers and our clients. They want to go to places that are trusted and well known, usually through word of mouth. Through utilization of our services, we can help these companies get ten steps ahead. It would be rather hard to probably try and get customers to come because for small businesses to spend money on things they may not feel is necessary would be an issue. However, these businesses trying to tackle these things on their own actually end up costing more money than they probably expected. 

• ·      A few things that I believe will make my venture more unique is the fact that I have traveled and lived in different places, therefore I have had experience with all different types of people and have seen what appeals to them. This also allows me to bring in multiple influences that can give me ideas toward campaigns for clients.
• ·      The next opportunity that I would want to tackle with my venture would probably be to broaden my services to not only small businesses but to medium or larger ones. More opportunities however would essentially include more staffing if this were the case.
• ·      In five years with this venture, I hope to see myself successful and possibly with multiple PR facilities throughout college areas. Over the next decade, I would like to see this venture grow into a company similar to Ogilvy. 

In all honesty, the feedback that I received from my last venture concept as well as my "What's Next" assignment was all positive. There was not much constructive criticism given as far as how my concept could be changed. There were comments about how others would utilize my services to assist them with their own venture concepts, as well as the uniqueness of creating a PR firm as opposed to creating a product or brand. However, the one piece of feedback that I did take into consideration when completing this assignment again was the mention that social media would be one of my biggest competitors. Therefore, in this venture concept, I decided to address that concept by incorporating the usage of social media for PR purposes as well.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

Something that I found interesting about the reading for this week would be the definition of a social entrepreneur and the two types of innovation that was mentioned in the chapter about corporate entrepreneurship. I found these two to be interesting because firstly, the term "social entrepreneur" was not one that I had heard of before. However, after  reading the section and finding our that these are people who adopt missions for social values, I do see more social entrepreneurs these days than before. As for the two types of innovation, I did know that there was radical innovation however I did not know that there was a specific term in relations to incremental innovation. Something that I was confused about was mainly within the corporate entrepreneurship chapter since I did find the reading about social entrepreneurship more interesting. I found the whole concept of intracapital confusing because there was only one sentence in reference to it, however I want to know more. This leads me to one of the questions I have in regards to intracapital: in what circumstances would you need to use it? Meaning an example of this kind of behavior. My other question would be why the author chose to mention the concept of I-teams well before defining what it meant? I feel like this is just a style issue, however I was slightly confused when I first read the section and later saw the definition. I do not disagree with the author in regards to the content and organization of the chapters in themselves because the information was very enlightening and I do appreciate that the first chapter dealt with corporate and then it transitioned into social entrepreneurship.

Going For Google Gold

During this class, I have done certain things within each assignment to ensure search engine optimization. Firstly, with the weekly labels that are included, this does bring attraction to my blog.  I used keywords such as entrepreneurship, innovation and I also included words related to my business concept that included public relations and firms. I selected these keywords because they are ones that I thought should be highlighted the most throughout my posts and these choices remained the same throughout the semester. The only social media platform that I used that has influenced my blog was YouTube. Including links to YouTube videos helped not only direct traffic toward my blog, but toward my actualYouTube channel as well. I would say it was generally ignored because my views on YouTube were minimal, however there were views, leading me to believe that there was some activity taking place. According to the number of views on each blog post, my very first Elevator Pitch was viewed the most. I believe that this one has the most views because not only was it done earlier in the semester but it was also most viewed out of the videos that I have posted this semester. After doing a search on Google, I did not end up on the first page for my keyword's results, and once I reached about page 10 on each search, I still did not find my results. Honestly, looking back on it, I feel as if I should not have used such generalized keywords because if I would have had more specific, unique ones, the results would have showed up on the first page.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

When I look back at the initial interview that I had with Mr. Mastrangelo, I asked three questions: what does it mean to be an entrepreneur, what should I learn from an entrepreneurship course and what advice is there for me while taking an entrepreneurship course? When I first initially asked these questions, and received the answers that I did, I did not expect the answers to be so true. From where I stand now, two weeks from the end of the semester, I did not expect to see what this man has seen in the last 10 years within four months of a class.

Unfortunately, same as first interview, I was not able to record the interview. I understand and respect his decision to not want to be recorded, however the three questions that I asked were: How much growth do you see in me as a person compared to the first time we spoke, What advice would you have for me as far as the business world upon graduation, and what does entrepreneurship mean to you? The answers that I received were a lot more elaborate compared to the first interview, and Mr. Mastrangelo did mention that he did see growth in me as a person, therefore he felt as if he could speak and I would relate more since now I did know what it was like to think in an entrepreneurial mindset. He was also surprised to see that this is what I learned from a class because in the initial interview he was skeptical as far as how much I would actually learn from a class instead of actually creating a business. I definitely enjoyed our second conversation much more because I felt as if I were talking to an equal rather than someone who knew something versus someone who knew nothing.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

Something that surprised me about the chapter was learning more about due diligence and how it applies to the entrepreneur and his or her ventures. Due diligence involved a thorough analysis of every facet of the business, which is pretty in-depth. This applies not only to business ventures but for analyzing aspects of one's own life. Knowing what key questions to ask are essential because without asking the right questions, how does one identify those parts of their venture that need work or that are doing particularly well? Something that I found confusing about this chapter was how elaborate the examples were, however I think they should have been placed after the explanation of each component. For example, the book shows you examples of methods for venture valuation and then breaks it down. I feel like it would have been easier reading the information and then going through the examples.I only really had one major question for this chapter and that would have been for more explanation on performing due diligence through the example that was provided in the table in 14.1 as well as the methods for venture valuation. I saw the examples and read the sections however, I was still a bit confused by the information presented to me. I did not think that the author was incorrect with any information provided because this is all relatively new information for me, therefore I feel as if I cannot say that something is wrong. The information was insightful.

Celebrating Failure

Failure is something that I have come to realize as something that is necessary in life to teach you how to be a tenacious person and to get back up after you have been shot down multiple times. Throughout the semester, there have been plenty of different times in which I have experience failure, however one incident that I can remember clearly off of the top of my head would be when I was most recently trained at my current job on a new market of customers. From October 2015 until about February of this year, I had only dealt with customers in Georgia and gas related services. In February, I was trained on how to now answer calls in both Georgia and Texas and now I was dealing with gas and electricity related services. This was a failure for me at first because the level of confusion I faced, along with jumping between two different markets and also being a bilingual customer service representative, it was overwhelming. My scores at work were declining because it would take me longer to resolve issues since I was still learning how to manage all of these responsibilities and remembering the specific rules related to them. What I learned was that failure can sometimes make you break out of your comfort zone to get to the ultimate goal: success. I spoke with my supervisor to see what I could do to help me adjust to the new pressure and took steps within myself to become better adjusted. Sometimes when I fail, I tend to get down and I feel as if everything that I try will never work. However, it has taken me some time to realize that some things will just never work. It is okay to fail and I am fine acknowledging that. This class has impacted my perception of failure in a positive way because it has allowed me to accept that failure will happen. It has also shown me that taking risks is essential. We cannot predict the future, therefore if we fail we must get back up and keep moving toward the better goal ahead.

My Exit Strategy

As for my public relations company, I feel as if the exit strategy I would take when leaving this venture would probably be to stay with the business for 5-7 years and sell the company. The reason why I would choose this exit strategy is because in those 5-7 years, many changes in the external environment can take place, therefore I could potentially be in a position in which I am not receiving as much business. My biggest threat would be the growth of technology and the opportunities that will most likely arise in the future that will make PR services mostly virtual. Therefore, I would most likely sell the business and try and venture onto a more virtual PR platform for client services. I do not feel as if my exit strategy influenced my other decisions because it took me some time to actually figure out which exit strategy I would want to choose. I tried my best to weigh the pros and cons before doing this assignment therefore I don't really think it has affected prior thoughts and opportunities I had for this venture. 

Week 12 Reading Reflection

Something that I found interesting about this chapter was the section on fatal visions in strategic planning. I am currently enrolled in a management course in which we learn about strategic planning and this was not something that I initially learned about until I read this section. These are very fatal visions and some see them as achievable but it is key to know when you are pushing your limit and being unrealistic. I didn't find anything confusing about the chapter because since I have had exposure to this material through a different class, I did have a great idea of what I was going to read through in the section in order to fully understand what is going on. One question I probably would ask would be in relation to the managerial and entrepreneurial mindset. I just want to know how they work intertwined. I would only probably change the way the chapter is divided simply for clarification purposes, however this is just an opinion.

Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity

Who has the need? What is the nature of the need?

For my business concept, the customers that have the need for my services would be customers with businesses that are not doing as well in spreading awareness about their services. More specifically, my company would deal with small-business owners, usually within college towns like Gainesville that are trying to spread awareness and to draw crowds into their businesses. This would apply to not only restaurants and small food stores, but to entertainment hubs such as bars and small clubs within college areas that just need more help getting business in their direction. Customers are currently satisfying this need through promotions teams for clubs and entertainment establishments, however for the food locations, usually local advertisement is what is drawing in customers.

Innovation

For this business idea that I have had throughout the semester, I wanted to create a public relations company, possibly named Inspiration PR, that would be able to assist these small businesses in spreading awareness through promotional campaigns and really getting the public involved and engaged in their cause. What it would do is find out the specific problems that are leading to the failures and highlight what is already currently successful. Once this is determined, some qualitative and quantitative research would be conducted to help figure out what the customer’s customers want from the business. These research methods are of little to no cost because surveys can be conducted online for free and if focus groups are held, the major cost would involve incentives for the participants. After the research is conducted and the problems are identified, we would work to find a specific programming plan that, once put into play, would be evaluated to see how affective it was for the client. Essentially where the money comes in would be actually conducting the programming necessary for the campaign to take place. For example, if we wanted to implement a social media campaign or to shoot a video, the client would essentially pay us for these things to get accomplished at a better quality and for a larger audience.

Venture Concept

Essentially, my public relations company would help spread awareness of these small businesses and establishments in ways that will attract more customers and get the name of the company out. It would also help to establish not only brand awareness but also trust between the customers and our clients. They want to go to places that are trusted and well known, usually through word of mouth. Through utilization of our services, we can help these companies get ten steps ahead. It would be rather hard to probably try and get customers to come because for small businesses to spend money on things they may not feel is necessary would be an issue. However, these businesses trying to tackle these things on their own actually end up costing more money than they probably expected.

• ·      A few things that I believe will make my venture more unique is the fact that I have traveled and lived in different places, therefore I have had experience with all different types of people and have seen what appeals to them. This also allows me to bring in multiple influences that can give me ideas toward campaigns for clients.
• ·      The next opportunity that I would want to tackle with my venture would probably be to broaden my services to not only small businesses but to medium or larger ones. More opportunities however would essentially include more staffing if this were the case.
• ·      In five years with this venture, I hope to see myself successful and possibly with multiple PR facilities throughout college areas. Over the next decade, I would like to see this venture grow into a company similar to Ogilvy, a force that is not to be messed with J

The Amazon Whisperer

Since my service is more so of a business-to-business, the revenue makers for my business is essentially my campaign services for customers. Also, I gain revenue through the research I conduct for the clients. There aren't many other ones that I see since my business does not have any products. I feel like if my business were to offer a product, it would be a book that would essentially showcase the basics of how Public Relations work since there aren't many actual physical products that PR companies offer. This would be essential to my business if customers wanted to know more about the foundations of PR if they are skeptical. The product I found on Amazon was a book named "Planning and Managing Public Relations."

http://www.amazon.com/Planning-Managing-Public-Relations-Campaigns/dp/0749468734/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459122155&sr=8-2&keywords=pr+campaign+book

This product on Amazon actually had no reviews yet, which I thought was weird. What I would change would just be the design of the book, it would not be as dense and it would have more information in regards to the PR process. This would be great for our business because since there aren't many products that can be made available.

My Unfair Advantage

My top 10 resources
1) Bilingual: While there are many people who speak more than one language this day in age, it is something that is valuable because it allows me to communicate with others in a different language. However, this is not something that is rare or inimitable.
2) Seeking a degree in Public Relations from the University of Florida: This is something that is valuable, somewhat rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. I say this because UF has one of the best programs when it comes to public relations and the training and  classes I have taken here places me at an advantage. Considering I also attended UCF and saw the program that the school offers, I can say that I am at an advantage with the training I received from UF.
3) Internship experience: This is something that is valuable but not so much rare or inimitable. I have interned with a performing arts non-profit organization and I know some of the things necessary to keep the appeal within the community for these things.
4) Living abroad and in different cities:  I feel like having this cultural experience is valuable because I have had experience around varieties of people therefore I have a pretty great sense of how many people think and act. Living abroad in Italy, as well as being from New York City, there is a lot of experience seen with different cultures and personalities.
5)My age: As a millennial, this is valuable to my Public relations service is pretty valuable because I know what people of my age category are looking for in regards to entertainment and it would help me better service my clients.
6) Potential location: I think something else that is valuable to my business of a public relations campaign would be the potential location. Most public relations locations are usually located in big cities and mine would be located in a college town because my target clientele are small businesses in college towns.
7) Technical skills: I have experience with Microsoft Office and with Adobe creative cloud, which is valuable and puts me at an advantage because there are not many who have this kind of experience unless it is in a field in which they are pursuing. Also, surprisingly, there are public relations professionals that do not have this experience.
8) Photo/Video experience: I have had experience with Photoshop as well as with editing and producing videos not only for class but for personal use. This gives me an advantage because it can also help me with my clients in helping with promotional material.
9) Research skills: I have experience with conducting research through classes in my major that
10) Outside organizations/networks: Being an ambassador for my college, as well as a member of a business fraternity and a sorority, my networks have definitely increased and opened up which has put me at an advantage.

My best advantage, even though after completing this list I feel like my idea is terrible, would be the fact that I have had experience in multiple living situations. This is the most important because I believe that having this experience with living in multiple states, cities and even another country, I have a great idea of how different people think and have also experienced nightlife. So I have seen how many different people like to have fun and this would assist me best when it comes to assisting clients with their businesses.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

Something that I found interesting about this chapter was the breakdown of each plan and statement. For example, the section on the income statement is broken down into five major sections and they are all explained. This, for me, made it easier to understand how they flow together and the several components that need to be part of each statement.
Something that confused me in this chapter was the section on break-even analysis and the section on the operating budget. The reason this was so confusing to me was because the formulas incorporated in those sections made me nervous. Math was never my subject so when I initially read the sections, I was confused in remembering what variable stood for what and how it tied into the sections. After rereading the section, I was able to somewhat better understand it, however it did leave me rather confused still.
One question I have is: Would the entrepreneur create these financial plans on their own or would they have assistance? Seeing all of these elaborate plans and layouts for budgets makes me wonder if the entrepreneur has a financial team member or is the entrepreneur doing all of the budgeting themselves?
I did not find anything wrong with the chapter considering the fact that I did not know much about financial preparation for entrepreneurial endeavors. Being a public relations major, I do not get much exposure to financial aspects of things or deal much with numbers. Reading this chapter was much of new information therefore there isn't anything that I would change.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

When looking back on the feedback I received from my last elevator pitch, the feedback did get a bit more constructive. I received plenty positive feedback in regards to my communication skills as far as how I speak and present myself. The constructive feedback that I received was still in regards to specifics about my business and what I can offer. So, for this elevator pitch, I tried my best to provide more details within the sixty seconds allotted to me for this pitch. I maintained the same pace and communication style since it was something that was favored by many. But this time, I decided to try and spend more time on details rather than a leading introduction.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

One thing that I was surprised to read about was the section on social media marketing mainly because I did not expect to come across this section in the chapter. Social media marketing is something that I know a good deal about due to the fact that I am a public relations major, and social media is key to our field. I also enjoyed the control versus contribution differences between social media marketing and traditional marketing because it shows how social media marketing influences audiences to become more engaged rather than controlling the content seen by the audience.
One thing that I am confused about is the concept of guerrilla marketing. I am not really confused about it, I just wanted to know more about it. For example, what is a good example of this tactic in use within the business world? Which would also be one of the questions that I would ask. The section on guerrilla marketing was informational as to how the plan works, however maybe an example case study would've given me more clarity. One more question I would ask would be directed toward the concepts involved in pricing within the social media age. The differentiations of the models are a tad confusing. The main thing that I would change about this chapter would only be to add more examples to the chapter so that way I can see how the information would be applied in actual scenarios.

Idea Napkin No 2.

Me... Again :) 
My name is Breyenne Flynch, but I most often just go by the name Brey. My skills include great time management, organizational skills, great communication and I am a self-starter when it comes to completion of tasks. My experience includes over two years of retail and customer service experience, therefore I know what it takes in order to heighten the overall customer experience. I also have over a year of supervisory experience, therefore giving me necessary skills to lead a large team of people in high stress situations. My aspirations, as far as with this business venture and in my own personal goals, I would one day like to own my own public relations firm that will be able to help clients meet their organizational goals or help them in times of crisis. I see this playing a huge role in my life because this is something that I care about, something that I can see myself doing long term and it aligns with the skills that I currently possess and will continue to grow. 


What can I offer to customers?
With my business, Inspiration PR, I am offering customers a chance to reach out for the help they need for their businesses to grow and maintain their businesses. We want to help businesses, whether they are in a crisis or just want good publicity, get and keep their flow of customers through means they may not be able to access themselves. Inspiration PR is a great way for businesses to have high quality campaigns for their needs at a cost that is beyond affordable. We would provide campaigns that target key problems that companies face such as awareness, creating and maintaining relationships with not only consumers but with other businesses, as well as protect the image and vision that companies believe in while still being successful.  


Who am I offering to?
Considering my concept for a business is a PR firm, my consumer target audience is more toward small business owners or small firms that would need promotional/campaign help for crises or to spread awareness about their businesses. This would not be on an individual basis because it would allocate many resources and not be nearly as successful with maintaining relationships. 


Why do they care?
I feel like customers would use my services if they are in a place where they cannot advertise their businesses, are facing some sort of crisis that may affect business or just want to spread awareness about services. This would help build their customer base up to a substantial point and I feel like businesses that have no where else to turn could want to use this service. 


My core competencies?
What sets me apart from other PR firms would be that Inspiration PR is targeted more toward small businesses and firms compared to other agencies being more specialized in specific industries and for larger businesses due to receiving more money. The goal of my company is not necessarily to get the most income, but to provide quality service for a reasonable price. 

When I look at this "idea napkin" again,  I still feel that there are some components that I can work on. I also feel like I still question the direction that I would want to take with the business. However I feel like with more input, I can develop my idea more.



Feedback Memo

From the first Idea napkin, there were some things that I took away from the feedback. One thing that I did see was confusion with my "Inspiration PR" term. This was an idea for a name of the company, not necessarily a selling point. Another thing I noticed was having more specifics with what I was offering. This time around, I added more specifics to what I have to offer as a public relations firm. Also, I noticed that many comments pointed toward my passion for public relations and related fields, so I decided to keep that passion evident within this idea napkin. Another comment was becoming more specialized, and I'm not sure if this means more specialized within a specific field of businesses, therefore I would like more clarity on that before I make any changes.  Lastly, one big thing I noticed from the feedback was how supportive others were of the idea, which gave me more confidence in what I was creating. When I went through this idea napkin, I was less worried about the negativity and more accepting of comments that criticized the work because I knew it would only make the concept better!

Week 8 Reading Reflection

Reading this chapter, one concept that stood out to me was the concept of social lending, also known as crowd funding. One reason why it stood out so much to me was because this was a phenomenon that I have heard about before however I did not know how it worked exactly. Now seeing that it is something that is mostly internet-based and provides people with alternatives for funds when commercial lending is unavailable.
Something that I am still confused about is the section on venture capital market. I understand the generalities of the concept however, some of the material within those few pages on that section still left me a bit confused. Possibly because the information is still so new for me.
I only had one question for this section that I wanted to ask:
1) Do "sophisticated" investors work alone or do they work in teams? I just wondered since when I read the section it seems as if it were one knowledgeable person who did the investing, but it could be a team.
There is not much that I would change about this chapter because I did not know much about how these sources of capital worked and for what situations they applied to. Therefore, there is not anything that I would change.

Halfway Reflection

Image by Michael Coghlan, CC BY 

https://flic.kr/p/93Coc9

Reflecting back on the past few weeks of this class, I can definitely say that time management was a skill that I had to use mainly to get many assignments done. Managing the time to complete assignments in which I am solely responsible for my own grade pressures you to get the job done. However, now that the course seems to be a lot  more hands on than in previous semesters, finding time to record videos and get these interviews done is the key to success. I would also say I stick to my schedule that I created in regards to completing this course this semester because it helps me plan when I will accomplish certain assignments and that way I can allow myself more time to get complex assignments done. Around Week 6, I started to feel as if I were losing track because I did not complete a few assignments due to poor planning on my end. It was harder than I expected gathering respondents for customer interviews therefore I could not complete the assignment. However one thing that I can say definitely got me through is the fact that even when there is an assignment that is difficult and points are lost, there are more opportunities to make up those lost points which is something that has helped me. Also, getting back on track and being more proactive with assignments has helped me bounce back from what I went through.  I do feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude this semester due to me trying to accomplish many things before graduation, however I can admit that this course has contributed to that as well. 

Three tips I would give students after me in regards to fostering skills for tenacity and developing a tenacious mindset would be:

1) Stay organized and plan ahead

Having a plan can minimize stress with other classes and can help you prioritize assignments. Since we are in control of our own grade, it is best to have some sort of established order in which you accomplish them!

2) Even when it gets annoying, keep going!

Sometimes it can get rather repetitive, going out and interviewing people and uploading videos, however when you think about the experience you get from actually doing the assignments rather than the information you forced into your brain for an exam, it's way more valuable. I think that it is wonderful that we are actually treating the course as if we were entrepreneurs rather than just another class where you study for exams and that's that.

3) Know that there is always hope!

If you missed a couple of assignments because you could not figure it out, or you simply did not have time, there is always hope! With YellowDig, there is an opportunity to make up credit that you may have lost before. 

Free Money

Strategy
For this assignment, I figured that I would go either to the main campus of the University of Florida, or the parking lot of a shopping plaza, such as Butler Plaza or the Winn Dixie Plaza on 34th Street. I feel like these would be highly populated areas that would allow me a better success rate of giving away the dollar. I plan to approach more college-aged students because I feel like I can come across with a relatable point of giving away the dollar to help another college student out. I feel like in this instance, the best way for me to get the conversation started to to simply approach the person with a shock element of just asking them if they would like a dollar and see where the conversation goes from there. Some people may just say "sure!" and the conversation could very well be over. Some people may want to know more about why they are receiving the money. I feel like it is hard to predict how the conversation is going to go because no matter how well you plan for something, things always go unexpectedly. I believe that I would be able to give away at least two dollar bills in this assignment.


Reflection
Giving away the dollar was actually a lot easier than I expected it to be because I guess I was more afraid of approaching people than the actual conversations themselves. My predictions ended up mostly correct because college-age students were much easier to attract, public areas were much easier to find people and the shock element brought an element of happiness along with it. The assumptions I had of the conversations were correct too because I did not know what to expect during the conversations and I mostly tried to get a feel of how the participant was behaving toward me and fed off of that energy.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

Biggest Surprise from reading?
 The biggest surprise for me from the reading would be that I did not know how much went into market segmentation. As a public relations major, I hear more about market segmentation as how it applies to advertising. I did not know that there were so many listed approaches as to how people are targeted and that was a shock to me. One fact I also saw surprising was that even though market segmentation still shows disappointing performance, about 59% of businesses had reported using it and market segmentation is still widely used. Usually, in the business world, when there is disappointing performance, the method is not used. However with market segmentation in this case, it is a practice that is still around.
One part that was confusing?
As far as confusion, I feel like the article was not that confusing, there was just a lot of information packed into the article.
Two questions and why: 
1) With new CMOs, is it common practice to completely change the segmentation plan when the CMO changes too? -- I guess my reason for asking this is because I want to know if the segmentation plan is more dependent of the individual's beliefs or is it to completely start a new strategy over?
2) Is there any difference between "conjoint analysis" and focus groups? -- They just happen to sound the same when I was reading the article.
Was there anything I thought was wrong? 
There was not anything that I particularly thought was wrong because I felt like I learned more from the article than I expected. Much of the information was new to me, therefore I can't pinpoint things that I believe are wrong because they were things I did not know about.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

The feedback that I received on my original elevator pitch were mostly positive, however there was one that was a bit apprehensive about the idea. The positive feedback mainly suggested that a firm that would help small businesses stay open through campaigns would be a good idea. However, during my Idea napkin assignment, I myself started thinking of other ideas to pursue due to the apprehensive comment. I decided that for this assignment, I would give the Inspiration PR another chance, maybe explaining a bit more in detail what it can do and maybe explain the low cost of the service to see what kind of reactions I get and see what I can do to better the concept.

Idea Napkin No. 1

Me.
My name is Breyenne Flynch, but I most often just go by the name Brey. My skills include great time management, organizational skills, great communication and I am a self-starter when it comes to completion of tasks. My experience includes over two years of retail and customer service experience, therefore I know what it takes in order to heighten the overall customer experience. I also have over a year of supervisory experience, therefore giving me necessary skills to lead a large team of people in high stress situations. My aspirations, as far as with this business venture and in my own personal goals, I would one day like to own my own public relations firm that will be able to help clients meet their organizational goals or help them in times of crisis. I see this playing a huge role in my life because this is something that I care about, something that I can see myself doing long term and it aligns with the skills that I currently possess and will continue to grow.


What can I offer to customers?
With Inspiration PR, I am offering customers a chance to reach out for the help they need for their businesses to grow and maintain their businesses. We want to help businesses, whether they are in a crisis or just want good publicity, get and keep their flow of customers through means they may not be able to access themselves. Inspiration PR is a great way for businesses to have high quality campaigns for their needs at a cost that is beyond affordable.


Who am I offering to?
Considering my concept for a business is a PR firm, my consumer target audience is more toward small business owners or small firms that would need promotional/campaign help for crises or to spread awareness about their businesses.


Why do they care?
I feel like customers would use my services if they are in a place where they cannot advertise their businesses, are facing some sort of crisis that may affect business or just want to spread awareness about services. This would help build their customer base up to a substantial point and I feel like businesses that have no where else to turn could want to use this service.


My core competencies?
What sets me apart from other PR firms would be that Inspiration PR is targeted more toward small businesses and firms compared to other agencies being more specialized in specific industries and for larger businesses due to receiving more money. The goal of my company is not necessarily to get the most income, but to provide quality service for a reasonable price.


   When I look at this "idea napkin," I definitely feel that there are some components that I can work on. It makes me question the direction that I would want to take with the business and I feel like I would either make changes to who my customers are and possibly having a more specific service.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise when reading this section I would have to say was seeing the section about legal structures for entrepreneurial ventures. More specifically, reading the sections that appealed to sole proprietorships and partnerships. Mainly because when I took Microeconomics, I remember these topics. Seeing how all of the classes that I have taken all blend together and seeing how they work in their individual ways was actually surprising to me.

One section that confused me, I would have to say, was seeing the intellectual property section. Last semester I took a Mass Media Law course in which we spent a good portion of the semester discussing intellectual property and even then the topic was not too clear to me because I did not find the information as interesting as other topics covered in our class. Now that I see the information again, I understand the concept however I know if I were to have to answer questions in regards to specifics about intellectual property, I know it would take me more time to answer those than other topics
Two questions that I would have to ask would be:

• What are some big examples of L3C companies?
• What is the reasoning for different types of bankruptcy?

I would want to know the answer to these questions because I have never heard of L3C companies and I do not know much about bankruptcy, therefore by natural curiosity I would want to know what they were about. 

There is not much that I would change about the chapter considering that I didn't know much about the legalities that go into entrepreneurial ventures, however I did find the information to be interesting because it was all new to me.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

As a public relations major, it was only right that by nature my elevator pitch would be catered around a public relations agency for small businesses. My company, Inspiration PR, is an idea that I have as far as helping new businesses spread the word out about their businesses. Most small businesses fail and living in Gainesville, I see many businesses struggling to stay open due to fading popularity with the college crowd, lack of promotion and just not the right tools to create a better image for their brands. That is where Inspiration PR comes into play. We help companies promote themselves in a positive manner and develop promotional campaigns for new small businesses.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

    One thing that I did find surprising about this reading for the week was the section that included the most common idea killers as well as the creative exercises that were integrated into this section. Up until this week's reading, there has not been any creative exercises added to the chapter so I did find this to be surprising. It gave me a chance to see how creative I really was because I consider myself as a person who is not extremely creative because I can focus more on the serious aspects of the job. Actually seeing that I can come up with some creative ideas myself somewhat changed my mind about how creative I consider myself. The list of common idea killers was interesting to me because I have been told several of these before and I can say that they have worked! It was just different actually reading the list instead of hearing it.

    One section that I found a tad confusing was the section about the innovation process mainly because of how wordy and technological it got. This was a brand new concept to me that I have not previously learned therefore when I started reading the section, I found myself somewhat struggling through it because it involved a lot more than I was expecting. If I were able to ask the author two questions, I would ask:
1) How did you gather that information for your list of most common idea killers? Survey?
2)  How effective are the principles of innovation? Will all of these rules combined guarantee innovation?
I would ask these questions specifically because I want to know why some idea killers are up there and some are not because there are a few that I can think of however, were these results based on a survey? Same thing with the principles of innovation. Was this list compiled from a panel of entrepreneurs? Just curiosity. As far as what I think the author was wrong about, I found myself agreeing with the material in this chapter.

Top 5 World Problems

Image by sunshinecity, CC BY

https://flic.kr/p/2v76ZB

When ranking the top 5 of my World's biggest problems, I found these to be my top 5 issues:

1)International Terrorism

2) Armed Conflict

3) Unsafe drinking water

4) Police Brutality 

5) Women's rights

These were my top 5 solutions to these problems in order:

1) Stronger gun control laws to minimize armed conflict between civilians and to prevent mass shootings.

2)Stop ignoring the problem of unsafe drinking water and share technologies that we have already implemented to first fix the water issue we have in Flint, MI and then other places.

3) Stricter laws preventing women from being punished for seeking education, denying marriage, etc.

4) Retraining police forces to minimize police brutality 

5) Calming tensions between countries, however easier said than done. 

     I chose International terrorism as a top world problem because many countries are facing this issue and living in fear due to this, therefore in my mind, this goes first. Second would be armed conflict because there are numerous stories day after day in many countries surrounding a mass shooting of civilians. There is usually conflict that is unnecessary and people end up dying for pointless reasons therefore I ranked it second. Third would be unsafe drinking water because it still blows my mind that this is still a problem not only in our world, but right here in our own country, where we can genetically modify food to grow in ridiculous amounts but we cannot even have safe drinking water? Fourth would be the police brutality issue because around the world this is an issue that I feel needs to be addressed more, especially here in the US. Although last, I felt it was very important to rank women's rights because even though our country has made strides toward improving this, not all other countries have and more efforts should be made for women's equality in my opinion.

     My first ranked solution was stronger gun control laws because I felt like this could help two of my top problems: armed conflict and international terrorism. It is also a popular topic here in our country due to mass shootings reaching extremely high number and I feel like this is the most implementable solution on my list.  Second, I felt like fixing the unsafe drinking water with existing technology would be next because it is a shame that right here in our own country we have this issue due to pure negligence. We have the means and technology to fix the issue, yet it was not fixed. This is also a widespread issue around the world that is affecting families and children. Something as simple as water is causing illnesses. The next two, I was not 100% sure as to why I ranked them in this order because I feel like they can be interchanged. I ranked calming tensions last because I felt like out of all of my solutions, this is the hardest to implement because it is not something that happens overnight. Resolving tensions and removing terrorist groups from being a threat is easier said than done, therefore I ranked it last. 

Week 3 Reading Reflection

    As I was reading this chapter, I noticed that this chapter was very heavy in characteristics that one should have and how to deal with ethical crisis. However, one part of this chapter that surprised me or was not something that I was expecting to happen was section that Kuratko wrote about the grief recovery process. Usually when you do hear about grief recovery we do always hear the traditional process: focusing on the particular loss and construct accounts as to why it happened. This "restoration orientation" was a concept that I was surprised to read about. Distracting yourself from the failure and focusing on essentially becoming better. This, in my eyes, should be what the traditional model is all about.
    One part of this chapter that I did find particularly confusing was when the shift changed from ethical dilemmas facing the entrepreneur to ethical dilemmas facing corporate entrepreneurship. I see corporate entrepreneurship as falling under the management category, and I am currently taking Management as a course this semester as well, therefore I see similar themes. I would say my confusion was mainly in the way the wording was, not so much the context of the section.
    There was no section in this chapter that I specifically disagreed with, as most of the information presented about the entrepreneurial mindset was new to me. I did not know that some of these characteristics were classified as being under the entrepreneurial mindset and a few were some that I would say I possess.
    If I were to ask a question to the author I would want to know how exactly this list of 42 characteristics of an entrepreneur was compiled. I want to know if it was based off of a study, survey, research, etc. Outside of that question, the chapter was insightful and I was thrilled to see I possessed these characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Opportunity #1
Title: Dogs patronize Gainesville restaurants, never pick up tab
Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A88EA81308DD20?p=AWNB

•     This article explained the increasing popularity of restaurants allowing dogs inside their establishments here in Gainesville. However, the problem here is that only 5 businesses here in Gainesville have the proper permits to do so and other businesses taking part in this new trend do not. 
• The problem here is that businesses can face a hefty fine for allowing dogs into the establishment without having a permit to allow dogs. This is an issue due to sanitary conditions and the business owners who are unaware of this permit or who do not have the permit are the ones suffering from this problem.

Opportunity #2

Title: Rock Gym faces unstable ground, buoyed by locals' support 

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

• This article explained the growing popularity of a local Gainesville gym. The location was growing in membership and popularity and thoughts of expansion were halted due to the location closing last month and continues to remain closed due to much needed repairs that were discovered. The community has responded to this business's attempt to raise funds and have donated money, as well as organized three fundraisers to help the business return back to normal
• The problem here is one of serious misfortune. Rock Gym was a growing business that was looking to continue its growth and has been closed since December due to much needed repairs and now needs help with ongoing finances. The support of the community in this case is extremely wonderful, however the business still faces serious financial troubles outside of the almost $10,000 they have received in donations. 

Opportunity #3

Title: Vellos closes, Buffalo Wild Wings opens

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

• This article discusses the introduction of a new business to the Gainesville area, while a location that has been open for six years has closed its doors. The article also mentions stories about other locations in Gainesville that are either expanding, relocating or completely changing into something else.
• The problem here is what we see happen with most businesses when they initially start up, they eventually fail. In this case, Vellos, is the one suffering from that problem. Originally known as Urban Flats until its parent company went out of business, Vellos faced a similar fate because as mentioned in the article, the business owner says he has the wrong concept in that location.

Opportunity #4

Title: CareerSource executive director resigns to pursue real estate work

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A598DEF3C49428?p=AWNB

• This article primarily describes the resignation of a the executive director of CareerSource North Central Florida, that will be effective January 29 in pursuit of new career ventures. After the executive's decision to resign to follow more personal life ventures, CareerSource will have someone else step into the position until a permanent replacement is found.
• While it is amazing that the executive director has chosen to follow her own path in life and accomplish a greater goal in her own life, CareerSource is presented with the problem of losing a top manager at the company. They now need to find someone to fill the position because as I have seen in many businesses, without proper top level management, things can get chaotic. 

Opportunity #5

Title: Dunnellon store manager arrested after video camera found in women's restroom

Link: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A442A3C029A428?p=AWNB

• This article discusses a case in which a women went to use the restroom at a business and found a fake plant on a trashcan in the bathroom and found a camera inside the plant. When she reported it to authorities, the manager threw the camera plant into the storm drain and was arrested. 
• The problem that took place was that a serious crime was committed. Someone was violated and possibly many more people. Gator Smokes, the business involved in this incident, has to not only deal with the issue of replacing the manager who was arrested, but they now need to attempt to rebuild their business due to the horrible public perception it has now. 

Very Short Interview No. 1

So this week I wondered "Who in the world can I interview that has been an entrepreneur for over 10 years?" and I could not seem to think of anyone. Then it hit me! I used to help out one summer at a beauty supply store in New York City that my father was manager at, and the owner of that beauty supply store is an entrepreneur! Jimmy Mastrangelo, one of the founders of Ray's Beauty Supply in New York City's Midtown. The establishment was one of the most well-known beauty supply stores in the city, with random celebrities appearing to purchase hair products. The business closed down for good in 2013, however there's so much to be learned!

1) What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

•  "Well one thing's for sure, you aren't gonna learn how to run a business. That's something you learn on your own because no class can teach that in my eyes. I do think you'll learn how to think like an entrepreneur though, which is a great way to think!"

2) What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

•  "It means you have passion, drive, motivation. You aren't scared to push boundaries and fight for what you're passionate about. You want to do something new, you want to take that risk of failure for what you love. That's what it's all about. Sometimes it's a hit, sometimes it's a miss. But in the end, that's what it's all about, at least to me."

3) What advice do you have for me while taking this entrepreneurship course?

•  "I say, have an open mind. Take in the information you get and apply it. There's no way you can get the most out of it, I would say, unless you have an open mind."

I was surprised to see how much insight he was able to provide me as far as entrepreneurship and how I should approach the class. I knew that I would understand more about the entrepreneurial mindset, however I didn't think I would get as much information and knowledge from three simple questions as I did. It was definitely a great conversation and I look forward to a later interview at the end of the semester!

World's Biggest Problems

Image by Judy van der Velden, CC BY

https://flic.kr/p/bd6TeP

In 2016, the world we live in is still faced with challenges everyday. Identifying some of these larger challenges are essential if I can list 20 things that bother me in my personal life. So, here is my list of what I personally believe are some of the world's biggest problems.

1) Unsafe drinking water

• This is an issue that has been headlining news all over the world, and most recently right here in our own nation with the lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan. Many families and countries live daily with unsafe drinking water conditions and this is negatively affecting their bodies, especially the children.
• I feel like a practical solution, especially for our problem right here in the United States, would be first to stop ignoring the problem. Secondly, I feel like the technologies we already have implemented to keep water safe should be widespread. In 2016, water should not still be a threat to life. 

2) World hunger

• Many third-world countries are faced with the struggle of finding ways to provide meals to their families. Children in Haiti, for example, eat dirt cookies (made from dirt, water and butter) to keep their stomachs full until the next meal comes around. It is a problem that has not been taken serious enough.
• I believe sharing the technology, resources and teachings of agriculture can help at least make a difference in changing world hunger and ending it.

3) Armed Conflict 

• This has become a serious issue, especially with the turmoil in the Middle East, and the mass shootings happening here on our own soil. Innocent people are dying daily due to gun related violence that could be prevented.
• Stronger gun control laws are definitely key into minimizing this issue.

4) Police Brutality

• This is an issue that has become more prevalent in our country over the last few years, however the brutality of police forces around the world are far worse than the tragedy we witness here in our own country. 
• In order to help fix this problem, I feel like changes need to begin within the existing police forces in countries. They need to undergo some serious re-training. But, this problem does become more difficult when the police departments in several countries are directly influenced by higher government decisions.

5) Women's rights

• This issue has led to terrible acts performed against women in several different countries. Women have been mutilated, embarrassed, murdered and are held lower in comparison to their male counterparts. This issue is much more widespread than the inequality that women face here in America.
• This would have to change as far as stricter laws in countries preventing these actions from being carried out against women without punishment.

6) International Terrorism

• We have a huge problem here in our world where every day now it seems that more and more people are fearful of an international terrorist attack. From the bombings in Paris, to even 9/11 which still replays in my mind since I lived in New York when it happened, this is a problem that we face. 
• Ideally calming tensions between countries would be a way to change things, however it is easier said than done.

7) Homelessness rates increasing 

• The number of families without adequate shelter or living conditions in this world are increasing daily. Here in America we have a rising number of families and people becoming homeless and an increase in homeless veterans.
• I feel that instead of ripping down buildings for new Walmart's and big businesses, I feel that more affordable housing be built to help low-income families. Also, I feel like there should be more efforts for shelters to be created. 

8) Illegal drugs

• This is a problem that has taken not only our country by storm, but has affected the would drastically. The sale and use of illegal drugs has become an epidemic and a trade that brings in more money than selling diamonds.
• This is something that can be changed through reducing the availability of these drugs however more and more people are learning how to create new drugs everyday. 

9) Infectious diseases

• Many diseases and illnesses, such as AIDS and even diarrhea, are killing millions of children and families around the world. 
• These countries need better access to healthcare and some education needs to be shared as to how to prevent these things from spreading further. 

10) Climate change (global warming)

• Our climate is definitely an issue and it is affecting us.
• We need to do our best to bring less hazardous toxins into our environment and become more efficient with our resources, but this is not easy.

These are not all of what I feel the world's biggest problems are, however I feel that these are 10 that affect us the most currently. Where can we make a change?