15A Figuring everyone out

                

15A Figuring everyone out

                The information I gathered in the interviews gave me a great deal of different things to consider when thinking about how the customer chooses which gas station or restaurant to go to. The number one consideration is overwhelmingly price, but also some circumstances that will change some people’s minds are size and visibility at night of gas pumps. Security was the second big issue it seemed for travelers at night. Also, a third consideration is the cleanliness of the gas station. That is the least of the top 3 concerns. Most customers will buy with card whether that is debit or credit. One interviewee suggested credit due to her increased points she will earn purchasing gas.

                The two items people seemed to evaluate post purchase is cleanliness and service of a gas station and/or restaurant. Everyone interviewed were very confident in their expectations in service stations and fast food restaurants. When the station or restaurant is dirty they will think that their food is unhygienic in some way.

                The customer segment I am looking at judges first on price then security depending on time of day, and cleanliness. Everyone interviewed looked at gas stations more like a commodity, they really expected the same out of all of them. Everyone interviewed judged gas stations and fast food restaurants on cleanliness and service.  

14A Advice from a Pro…Sort-of

14A Advice from a Pro…Sort-of

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

Reading the assignments ahead of time helped me out a bunch. If you read the assignments ahead of time, then you can guess how much effort each will need. This will help you prioritize these assignments and other classes assignments. Some of the assignments do not require as much time and effort and others require a good deal so knowing that ahead of time gives you a great advantage.  

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

At the beginning of the semester I took in two puppies to take care of so in the beginning adjusting to the high work load in this class, other classes, and the puppies was a bit much. Honestly, I missed one of the first assignments during the adjustment. Being so busy and having a goal of graduating with honors at the end of the semester has helped push me through the hard times.

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

- Have a goal for the semester and focus on it intently.

- One thing at a time. What’s right in front of you that needs to get done right now? Do that.

- If you trip don’t fall, catch yourself and carry on.

13A Andrew Carnegie

13A Andrew Carnegie

-          What surprised you the most?

That he did so many other things besides just business. Like writing and playing politics.

-          What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

That he was able to wear so many different hats and do them all very well.

-          What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

How he started off to be pro-worker rights then shifted and struck down unions and kind of drove his workers without regard for their own predilections.

-          Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure?

If so, what did they do about it? Yes he did most notably his efforts to create peace in a time of The Great War. Andrew Carnegie disliked war but no matter how hard he tried he could not foster peace between the waring nations. He did not handle this very well he pretty much went into exile for the remainder of his life.

-           What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

 Andrew Carnegie was very passionate about everything he did, and he never rested on his laurels. He challenged himself continuously.

-          Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The fact he switched from being so pro-worker to almost totally against the worker. Especially so against unions.

-          If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

How did you find those opportunities to seize? I would ask this because it seems like he was always in the right place at the right time. What was the most important thing to you? I would ask this to be able to see how he prioritized his life

-          For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

This is kind of funny because he expected so much out of his own workers but only worked a few hours of a few days on his main business. He delegated most of the work to other executives. This allowed him free time to pursue other endeavors he was interested in.

12A Trucker Behavior

12A Trucker Behavior

                The segment I targeted where professional drivers that included 2 semi-truck drivers and 1 professional transporter who drove a large pick-up truck and was hired privately to move certain objects for customers.

                The semi-truck drivers stated they used highways other then the interstate very often depending on if it was closer to their destination. They both also eluded to the fact they do have certain stations they like to stop at and do build a loyalty to certain stations. They did not have brand loyalty, but the loyalty was to the station. They both expected to have enough parking to sleep and a maintenance person to work on the trucks.

                The transporter did not have the same loyalty to certain stops and frequently used the interstate system over the highway system. As well this person did not have a routine like the semi-truck drivers did. The transporter was less scheduled and only ate and filled up when needed. The semi-truck drivers would fill up and eat at mostly designated times unless it was a must.

11A Gas Station Napkin

11A Gas Station Napkin

ME

                I am a very passionate about safety and helping people out. I have used that passion as a solider in the U.S Army and as a Firefighter/Paramedic. Even being a paramedic in Bradford County where Starke, FL is. I love connecting people, getting to know people, and building productive and positive relationships. If I were to start these stations I would focus all my time to them in the beginning. Then I would like to hire someone to run them in the long run to give me more free time to explore other ideas.

Our Offerings and Who will buy them

                We aim to satisfy the need most drivers have the need for gas, food, and other convenience store items. As well as meeting the needs of the professional drivers needs such as new tires, repairs, and showers.

                We will do this by having a mix of full service stations and smaller restaurant/gas station combos along the new US 301 route.

Why

                Everyone get hungry on the road and everyone will eventually run out of gas and along the new US 301 route there is not currently any places to correct those problems.

Differentiator

                We will offer the same product most gas stations and restaurants do but we will have the location that is what sets us apart from our competitors.

10A Escalator Pitch.......or is it Elevator Pitch???

9A Stress testing the hypothesis

9A Stress testing the hypothesis

Who: The main customers for my idea are hungry, need items in a convenience store, and/or need to use the services of a full-service gas station for semi-trucks. In my idea I am thinking of fast service restaurants for the traveler. Some of the businesses that would not fit into my boundaries are sit-down restaurants. While some drivers might want that I believe the majority would mainly want fast service. Customer who are like mine but fall outside of the boundary are ones who have already satisfied their thirst and/or filled up their vehicles.

What: The point that differs in my idea comes with the quickness of the service for the restaurants. In deed there are other kinds of restaurants out there, but my idea focuses on fast service restaurants.

Why: There are restaurants and gas stations to the north and south of Starke so some potential customers could have already stopped at before reaching the area for my idea.

                In my interviews most of said that the reason they would not stop at my restaurant or gas station is if they already stopped at one earlier in their travels. They also mentioned the ease of accessing the locations. If they are easy to access then they would be more inclined to stop. If they need to go off the route a great distance or u-turn then they would not want to stop either.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Travelers using US 301	People who live near who do not like the food being served. Travelers who have already stopped.
need food, need gas, need items from a convenience store, and/or semi-truck drivers that need a rest or their truck serviced	The need is not for a long sit-down type meal
Since US 301 will now bypass Starke it will no longer be a convenient place to stop	Some people might want to take an extended break and have a nice meal. Those are in the minority.

8A No convenient stops on the new US 301 route

8A No convenient stops on the new US 301 route

                The opportunity I have selected is about exploiting the new change to US 301 and placing restaurants/gas stations on the new route. Currently most of the gas stations and restaurants are located in Starke which the new route is bypassing. When the new route is complete those vehicles will not have easy access to those restaurants/gas stations in Starke.

                Since these service stations would be used by people traveling they need to be oriented to quick service. Also accommodate the large amount of semi-truck traffic that uses that highway. I would be thinking of building full service stations with a restaurant in them. This one would also have  the option of showers and such for truckers. This will give the customer the ability to only stop once for all their needs.

                The locations could be one full service station at one of the ends of the new route and gas station/restaurant with a different restaurant option on the other end.

7A Hypothesis for locating new Restaurants and Gas station for the new US 301 bypass

7A Hypothesis for locating new Restaurants and Gas station for the new US 301 bypass

                People driving on US 301 have usually stopped in Starke, FL to ease hunger pains and refill their vehicles with gas, with the new US 301 bypass these vehicles will no longer have that convenient opportunity.

Who

                I have identified the who in my hypothesis as the people driving on US 301. Other possible customers are the people that live close to the new route. The residents that live close to the new route will have gas stations and restaurants closer to them now, so they might frequent these establishments.

What

                What gas stations and what restaurants to open is the big questions here. Obviously, speed is important to the customers that are making a pit stop on a road trip. As well, we must service the customer that live in the area. As well as what service level do the gas station need such as truck stops or just convenience store and gas stations. As well as the service level of the restaurant i.e casual dining, fast food, and/or sit-down restaurants.

Why

                This need has arisen from the change in route of US 301. They created the bypass to relieve congestion in the small town of Starke which has many stop lights and a railroad crossing that is active. Most people agree with the bypass being built even the Bradford County commission voted for the bypass over just widening the road through Starke. Some businesses feel threatened by the bypass others do not. Like Powell’s Dairy Ice Freeze stand which has been around for 40 years. Freight traffic is estimated to increase from 25,000 semis a day presently to 31,000 by 2040.

Interview Summary

                I interviewed people who worked at those businesses along the present US 301 about the change and if they were to move the restaurant what would be some concerns and advice they would give. It seemed as the residents around the area frequent the sit-down more full-service type restaurants. Also, they suggested something I did not think about and that is placing the restaurants near points of congestion where traffic is moving slow. This gives those people driving the opportunity to pull off and not zoom right by. Some of the restaurants were concerned with the change and felt as if their restaurant was going to make a massive hit in revenue.