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.