The End of Our Journey & The Beginning of Your Journey

1. I think I had a really good experience this semester  in regards to developing my business idea. It definitely required a lot of analytical thinking that required me to apply my business background to developing my business, but it made me have a lot of confidence in my capabilities as a young businesswoman!
2. I think my most formative experience was definitely my elevator pitch. I am a very visual person and seeing me pitch my business was a great experience for me to have and gave me the confidence to carry into the business world and beyond!
3. I definitely see myself as an entrepreneur! In the beginning of the semester I felt as if I was not the right person to develop my own business, but now I have the confidence that I need to potentially open my own business one day.
4. I would definitely recommend to take it seriously. If I would have  began the semester writing about a business I did not actually care about, I would not have been able to do all of these assignments!

Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity

o   The forces: I believe that there is a growing opportunity for insurance companies to capitalize on societal trends while encouraging society to become healthier through monetary motivations. I think that with capitalism being the dominant driving force in America, there is room for insurance companies to adapt to recent trends and make money.

o   The market is filled with individuals, ranging from people that want to join the fitness community, individuals that are physically active already, or people that want to be encouraged to live healthier lifestyles through monetary gains.

·      Innovation

o   My business idea is incrementally innovative, as it would serve to improve the strategies of already existing insurance companies.

·      Venture Concept:

o   I do not believe that there are any competitors in this market, which is why I believe this idea could be so successful. Additionally, I think customers would be interested in switching to this product because it could save them money. The only issue I might run into as a company is encouraging individuals to opt-into these programs at their respective insurance companies and making them aware that this product exists. I would organize a business of 10 individuals to start up my project, with emphasis on a sales and program development team in order to stabilize the business at first.

·      Three elements:

o   Customer Service: Individuals will be able to access our company 24/7 to file any problems they may have for us to improve and work on their systems.

o   Design team: Developers will cater each business design plan to the format that they desire.

o   Sales team: I want our sales team to be extremely friendly and accommodating in order to build a trusting relationship with our clients.

·      What’s Next:

o   I think what is next for my business is to open up physical gyms with a network of doctors and insurance company consultants present in nearby areas or within the same facility.

·      For me:

o   For me, I hope to sell my business to a potential buyer to finance my children’s future and to enjoy my life with my husband gives!

·      Feedback:

o   I did not do the last venture concept assignment, so I did not receive any feedback yet.

·      How I’ll adapt

o   I will adapt my Venture Concept according to the comments I receive on this assignment.

Your Exit Strategy

1. Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
1. I think my exit strategy would definitely firstly to be to sell my business for a large return. While I think my business is a great idea, I think it would be really great to be able to sell the business to another company that wants to buy my software and then reinvest the money I make into other business ideas or to finance my children's futures with less risk of the business crashing.
2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
1. I have selected this exit strategy because, while I am willing to invest in a business and take risks in order to be profitable, i would have to worry about my family first and make sure they have a successful future that I can finance for them. That is why I would like to be able to sell my business to finance their futures and ensure they can live a comfortable life.
3. How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?
1. I do not think that my exit strategy has influenced my other decisions because I have honestly not thought about it much until now. But, now reflecting, I would definitely want to spend less time and money investing in assets like large offices or an extensive staff because these investments would not be necessary in a few years when I sell my business.

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I decided to read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams,
which is written in order to teach others how to effectively take care of themselves in
order to find a lot of success after many failures.He encourages his readers to be selfish
with their time and to spend time being active and pursuing a career.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning
in ENT 3003?

I think the book definitely enhanced what I learned in ENT3003. I think that this class
made me really stressed about all of the possibilities that could happen when starting
your own business, but this book taught me how to prioritize my health and happiness
while pursuing my dreams. I think this book reinforced the need to develop who you are
outside of your business goals.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would
that exercise involve?

I would develop an exercise that forced students to focus on their personal goals in the
future that were not business related that they wanted to develop. For example, I would
write about how I would want to continue to be physically active, I wanted to meet someone
and start a family and buy a new house.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words,
what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I think my biggest surprise was definitely regarding goal setting. He said that one problem
with goal setting is that they tend to be far in the future, so it is difficult to put in work today
for a goal that seems so far away. He encourages his readers to not set a deadline for their
goals and to accomplish them as the time is right.

Let's fail, a lot!

1. This semester I failed at this semester was definitely keeping on top of my school and not letting myself fall behind. I generally fail to fall between a happy medium of being extremely social and going out a lot with friends, or locking myself in the library for fifteen hours a day and barely seeing sunlight. It is something I struggle with a lot and would really like to improve before I enter the real world as an adult, especially because I will not have as much time to maintain friendships as I do now.
2. From this experience, I learned that I need to manage my time-management skills and become better at existing in the middle. I think I do not exist in the middle because, depending on what mood I am in, what makes me happy differs from month to month or day to day. I think I have found out about myself a lot in the process.
3. I think failure is hard, but it is a necessary part of life. All of the times I have failed or completely messed something up, I have been able to look back on and realize it was for the best or for the sake of my development in the future. I see everything as a learning curve, and I have learned to embrace life's challenges as they are.

What's next?

• Existing Market
  • The insurance market in America is extremely present and has the potential to experience a lot of growth if there were ways to make it cheaper for customers to obtain. I think there could be insurance programs in the works that are being created to capitalize on newer market trends, but they have not been accomplished yet.
  • After speaking to three people about what is next  for my company, they said that the next step is definitely working with gyms to create programs that cross-check enrollment in these types of insurance programs and to offer those individuals enrolled in these programs in special activities or get special rates on their gym membership.
  • I believe it makes the most sense for my company to take the initiative to create this type of business idea in order to capitalize on the market while I can patent my product and before others enter the market. I would need to begin developing my product and figure out how to build a database that can be shared with other individuals. I would also need to work with developers to figure out how we would be able to tailor this product to be uniquely built for every customer we track. After we have successfully exploited this idea, we can work on creating business relationships with gyms and building programs that offer unique benefits for individuals enrolled in this program with their insurance companies.
  
  
  New Market
  • I think a very different idea I could implement would be to create my own insurance company that offers benefits like lower costs if our customers exercise in our company gyms, which would basically implement gyms and healthcare all into one.
  • I think this could create value for people in the market because it would put more of their health-related activities under one umbrella of products. My company could build gyms with offices inside of it and hire doctors and personal trainers to work with in order to create an all-inclusive treatment.
  • The two people I interviewed about this product thought that this would be a good idea, but it would be extremely cost-intensive and may turn away those who do not feel comfortable having their insurance companies so invested in their  lives, since they are privatized and profit based.
  • I think this business venture is less attractive because it requires so much cost and so much time to develop. Additionally, it would require so many people to blindly follow my business  in order for it to even stay afloat or accomplish what it needs to. I definitely think that this idea, in theory, is very attractive, but it seems like it would be too invasive of a business venture for it to be successful.

Venture Concept

Opportunity

• There is an opportunity that exists within the insurance market to modernize these archaic models of insurance. There also exists the opportunity to capitalize on recent trends in the industry, such as physical fitness becoming a more popular trend in modern society. Potential customers are insurance companies that are looking to increase their cost prediction effectiveness and also increase their profits.
• I believe this market is defined within America given the current structure of our healthcare system. Americans have a choice of insurance company, if not already provided by employers. The possible consumer base is very large, as most Americans are insured by healthcare providers. I believe the window of opportunity for this product will be long-term, given the structure of the American healthcare system, but there are threats to its longevity with some individuals calling for government-owned healthcare.

Innovation

• I believe my product is incrementally innovative, as it is just a mere improvement on existing insurance companies structures/policies. My business idea is to basically form a database, that can be tailored to the different requirements of different insurance companies, in order to record the physical activities of those that opt into this program, in order for them to more accurately predict costs associated with an individual and to give them higher deductibles if they are more physically active.

Venture Concept

• I believe that customers would switch to this product because insurance companies need to modernize and capitalize on recent trends in society in order to gain more traction. Additionally, I believe that insurance companies would enjoy this program mostly for improving how they can predict the costs associated with an individual in order to make more money,
• The competitors do not exist currently. No one offers a product like this.
• Customer support and distribution play the biggest role in my business. Being able to accommodate every business and tailor my invention to different database requirements is vital to my success.
• In order to support my business, I would have at least 10 employees to control customer support, marketing, salesforce, and computer developers. I believe salespeople would have the most vital role in the business, as they will be the source of our income.

My most important resource:

• I believe my most important resource will be the fact that this business idea has not been created yet. I have the opportunity to capture the market before it even exists.

What’s next for the venture?

• I think the next idea for the venture would be to partner with gyms to give discounted gym rates for being in an insurance-partnered program. My idea could be compared to a silver sneakers, but for younger people and not completely free.

What’s next for me?

• In five years  after I launch my idea, I want to still be managing my company and have great working relationships with insurance companies in order to take my product to new heights.