As I Sit Here and Reflect

     This class really helped me to be more creative and look for those opportunities to try to seize. I have not always been the most creative person so this helped me to develop those creative juices and really open my mind to different possibilities. I rather enjoyed handing out dollar bills. I got to hand out a few to homeless people that need it more then I do. So it is always nice to give something away. Also a more academic topic is the Discovery Planning Process and developing Pro Formas and the reverse income statement. I am going into corporate America and plan on staying there unless something more appealing comes along. To see the process of Discovery Planning Process will be great in my future endeavors when I launch new products.
     Some recommendation for future students is to stay open minded and plan ahead there are a lot assignments here. There is some slack built in but there assignments can get away from you if you do not stay on top of them.
    After taking this class I see myself more of an entrepreneur then before. That has never been my goal to start my own company but that does not mean having this new outlook will not help me in the future.
    Thank you everyone for your great feedback and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Remix.......Bristol's Stations LLC

Venture Concept

            Building a gas station and restaurant combo is not ground breaking or new by any means. The reason to exploit this opportunity is the strike while the iron is hot. There is a customer base that has been proven and the opportunity is fresh and will succeed most likely by the first person who can execute the plan properly.

Opportunity

            The people that will be satisfied by my concept are the drivers and passengers riding on the new US 301 bypass around Starke, FL. These potential customers include families on vacation, business travelers, and professional transport drivers. Their needs that I plan to fulfill include both gasoline for their vehicles, food for their bellies, and other convenience store items.

            This need arose really over 20 years ago when the state of Florida and US Department of Transportation proposed a new bypass around Starke. The local government voted for this new road. It has only become a reality over the past year when they broke ground and started construction on the new bypass.

                      

               

            This market is made up of a very diverse set of customers. Some being professional drivers and others being people driving for vacation. As well as it varies from affluent people to middle and low-income earners. As well as many different age groups. Currently there are around 20,000 vehicles that drive through Starke on a daily basis and the state expects that number to grow to approximately 30,000 vehicles by 2025. So, this opportunity is very large. If only 5% of the vehicles stop by to use the gas station and restaurant that will mean around 1,000 customers per day. The window of opportunity for this is very small because land around the new route is scarce and needs to be acquired immediately to assure the best location.

            The great thing about this new route is the customers are isolated to the road traveling north and south. Loyalty to the old locations will be very low because to get to those old locations would take a considerable effort to get off the new route and drive over to Starke. Some customers may be loyal to certain restaurants and gas station brands.

Innovation

            This idea is not very innovative as there are hundred of thousands of gas station restaurant combos across the U.S. The idea here is to capture an already existing market that is being moved due the new route of US HWY 301. This concept will make money by selling gasoline/diesel, food, and traditional convenience store items. All the items will be sold at normal market value unless price competition requires us to sell it cheaper.

            The focus on my stations will be about cleanliness and service. Through my interviews I found people care most about the cleanliness and quick service they receive at these types of stops. I will use both nationally recognized names for the gas station and restaurant, such as a franchise. This was the customer can reasonably assume the level and service and the type of products we will carry.

Venture Concept        

            The new US HWY 301 bypass reroutes that highway to a new area that has no gas stations or restaurants. So, I intend to fill that need by placing stations there. I think the vehicles driving by will be customers due to convenience. Most people driving along the highway do not go out of their way to eat or buy gas they chose what is most convenient. I do not think it will be hard to get them to switch because my gas stations and restaurants will on the route and will not take a lot of effort to get to.

Changes

            I received some great feedback from my classmates. Some of that included describing my customer base more in my concept and also including a bit of my growth plan in there as well.

            My customer would choose me over the competition for two main reasons location and cleanliness. I learned in my potential customer interviews that cleanliness is a big factor when people chose gas stations and restaurants. So, having my employees focus on organization and cleanliness would be a major point I would include in my mission statement.

            As well growing my business would include buying an additional plot of land that could be used either purely as an investment to be sold if the first store did not do as well as hoped or to build another one if growth was strong.

            My exit plan focuses on my family but I would like to provide my family money more than a specific asset, so my kids could do what they want. If they wanted to continue to run the stores they could but if they wanted to branch out to something else, then they could as well.

            I learned through the feedback that I got to make my venture concept more rounded and include growth, customer preferences, and something about my employees as well.

Make that Free Money Rain!!!

My strategy here was to find homeless people and give them the dollars. I figured I could give away all my dollars this way. I thought they would get the most value out of the dollar. I did find a few but it was hard to find them when they were walking or on their phone. Most of them were just kind of hanging out asking for money. I did find 2 homeless people one was walking and the other, video included, was on the phone. My plan to start the conversation was to just give them a dollar.

After trying this strategy, I just approached people walking on the street to save time. One of the guys that took the dollar mentioned giving it to someone who needed it more. Which was a nice gesture. I learned I need to be more creative with my ideas. I did not really have any plans for the conversation since I shifted tactics in the middle, and had a hard time coming up with a story. I just kind of “stronged armed” them into taking my dollar.

27A The Art of Social Media

The general theme of this book follows very nicely with the title it is all about how to maximize your social media presence. That means connecting with people, creating content, and some do’s and don’t’s. I found this book very useful as I do not come to social media naturally. It is not something I have been able to utilize very effectively that is the main reason I chose this book.

This book really helps to enhance the marketing side of the class when you are going out to get your customers. Social Media is a very cost effective and efficient way of connecting with your customers. This book really helps one maximize that potential.

The biggest Aha moment I had when the author explains content curation. He talks about creating really great original content is very time consuming. He mentions a company can only create and post 2 original content messages a week that is of high quality. So one way to maximize connecting with your customer is curation, or summing up other account post.

28A Get Out While the Gettin' is Good

Ideally my exit strategy would be to build the business and sell it when I can realize a healthy return on my investment. Since my idea requires a large capital investment this might take quite a few years. After selling my business I could invest in other things that require less time commitments such as land, real estate, stocks, or other people businesses.

I think I have picked this particular strategy because I like variety. When I have accomplished one of my goals I like to set new ones. That way I always have something to strive for that will keep me hungry.

This strategy has influenced my plans slightly. I would like to buy two parcels of land and just use one first. Then is growth is good I could invest in another gas station. This would help overall growth of my company so I could sell much sooner.

26A Failure Tastes Sweet and Sour

I failed early on in the semester. My failings cost me one of the very first assignments. I failed to plan properly and fully take into account something that would change my schedule drastically and that was having a new puppy. Well two puppies to be exact. I did not fully appreciate what it takes to take care of two five week old puppies. My friend's dog had a litter and the mom was not the nicest mom so they had to be separated. I took care of the pups. 

Due to not fulling appreciating what it takes to care for such young puppies I became a bit frazzled in those first days and missed one assignment. From that point on I had to ask for help. My friend is a dog trainer so I asked for his advice and he gave me a wealth of knowledge. So I could reorganize my schedule so that I would not miss anymore assignments.

This did help me with the thought of failing. My schedule has always been very precious to me. So the shock was a bit overwhelming but it taught me to be a bit more flexible.

25A What is Next

Next Stop

Existing Market

            Currently we are selling to anyone who is driving down US HWY 301 after the new route opens. We are starting with 1 store and 2 parcels of land one at each end of the new bypass. The 1 parcel of land is for growth. The first station will be just a normal gas station and restaurant it will be name brand franchised stores. We will be selling gas, food, and normal convenience store items.

            After interviewing people that would already be in our customer segment I found that a lot suggested opening up a full-service store for semi-trucks or at least opening another store that is similar but has different business names to diversify my offerings. I would have to see what the franchise contract would say about opening a different kind of restaurant. One customer also mentioned opening a gas station that sells food itself like Wa-Wa.

New Market

            This new market would kind of a B2B market since I would target professional drivers. Opening a full-service station aimed at the professional driver’s market with a diesel mechanic shop, trucker accessories store, showers, and laundry facility.

            After interviewing a few professional drivers this market seems very attractive. One interviewee told me the industry is always growing and the number of drivers is always increasing. Everyone I talked to said that they like going to clean and quiet places where they can relax. As well as the normal customers cleanliness is a high priority for them. Also having a store that sells accessories for their trucks as well as a place that can fix tires when they lose their treads is important.