Good or Bad. Just Market It

I'm not going to lie. I don't recall our last speakers name. I believe it was Evan Graham? Something like that. He made it very clear that it does not matter what invention it is, just market it. Marketing is key when it comes to selling anything. He made a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." It might be true back in the day but that's not the case now-a-days. If people don't know about, how do they know if it's the "best" mousetrap. Graham also mention there's three ways inventions are made.

Ideas	Marketing	Cost	Income
Good	Bad	Low	None
Bad	Good	Low	Short-Term
Good	Good	High	Long-Term

What he means by this is, someone can have the best idea but if there's little cost of marking involve  you want get any money for it. When you have a bad idea but spend a pretty penny on marketing, you'll have short-term income (such as the snuggle: what I mention in my earlier blog). Last, but the best way is to have a good idea, put a prettier penny in marketing and in result you have long-term income. Graham also mention that a company like the very first Amazon Kindle was a good idea but the product itself wasn't want they really wanted to put out. However, the marketing was incredible and people were interested and bought it. That short-term income can be invested into the idea again to make it better. Put even more money into marketing and the short-term income becomes a long-term one.

So, from what I learned from this presentation the most is. MARKETING! MARKETING! MARKETING! 

Speaking Of...

Erik Hanberg was our class guess speaker last week. Erik is an entrepreneur/ author. He writes books like mystery novels to how-to books. He's how-to's like The Little Book of Gold, is a step by step to help small non-profit business, or what Andrew likes to call it surplus profit business. It suppose to be a key staff in charge to help fundraise the business (because every business needs to make money even if it stated that it's a non-profit). He gave up his nine to five job to be an entrepreneur and work with his wife because he loved the freedom he gets because him and his wife are in charge. He almost mention that it's hard and that he had to work endless hours for a period of time, but he felt that it all paid off in the end. 

What spoke to me the most of his whole presentation was the three questions to ask yourself when it comes to finding or accepting a job offer. He mentions that there is always opportunities knocking at your door, but you don't have to take it if you really don't want to. You're not going to like what you do if you do it that way. The questions: Is it something you want to do? Will you get paid what you want to get paid? Will it better your career?

Two out of those three should say yes to those questions. It could be that the job is something you want to do but the pay isn't want you want. However, it can better your career because it may not be the pay you want but you can learn from that job and move on to a job that pays better. There can be any combination of those three questions, at least two of these questions need to be a yes. It's great that it's all a yes, then you would love your job. 

Another topic Erik touched base on was that he even had to go to an business advisor. Every quarter he goes to see a business advisor to see where he stands and what to do. The business advisor is more of an accountability. Even professionals ask for help and there's no shame in it. 

Not a Entrepreneur: Here goes nothing

I was told to come up with three business plan and to be quite honest, I was having the hardest time coming up with something, anything. I felt all the ideas I came up with was either lame (for the lack of better words) or already taken. Now-a-days it's hard to come up with an "original" idea. Internet and social media make it easier to become entrepreneurs. Just the other day I was watching Shark Tank, and a lady invented a potty training for cats and a man made a cologne called money and it smells like money. Both got the deal! Not to mention the a blanket with holes they call the snuggly blanket making millions. What else can you ask for....

Here goes my attempt for business ideas. 

Check In & Out Kiosk

I don't travel a whole lot but when I do, there's a few things I would like to fix. Like checking in and checking out of the hotel is a struggle. Waiting in line on top of dealing with the front desk clark that's slow or new so they're in training. What if I was a business person and I had to wait 15 minutes to check-out but I don't have time to wait because I need to be at work in that 15 minutes. Won't it be easier to just "cut of the middle man" to do the job. A kiosk that can check you in and check up out and even sends you via text messages notifying you with just a few touch of a button/ screen. 

So with this Kiosk is the step by step

I'm a customer at Blah Blah Hotel, I come in and there's three kiosk and the traditional front desk clark. I'm going to go to one of these kiosks to checkin. I'll slide my credit card and request how many days I want to stay, lets say three days. There will be an option of sending me my receipt and friendly reminders of hotel events and one hour notice of checkout time. Lets say I click on both options. There's also an option if I want two card keys or one. Once the kiosk receive my information and I completed the transaction, the kiosk will spit out the card keys for me and I'm ready to go in my room. Lets day on the second day, my workplace wants me to stay an extra two days. I can then text Blah Blah Hotel through an app that I already click that option on the kiosk to extend my checkout day and if my room is still available or move to a different room. Since the kiosk already has my information all I have to do is text and YES to the kiosk and my new receipt will show up either through my phone via text messages or email. Quick and Easy. Maybe this kiosk is not just for hotels, motels, inns and so one, but it can also work for daycare. checking in and checking out their children off to daycare can be a hassle. That will be another idea though. However, knowing my luck it's probably already invented. I Googled online about this kind of system and they already have a couple of them running in Amsterdam and in New York.

Flash Tab  
This is not so much a business plan or even a business, just an idea. The idea to have a digital expiration tab on the car so you just pay online and it automatically changes the month or year of the tabs for your car.

Robot Windows
I never liked cleaning the outside or even inside my house windows, especially when the windows are so high up. Or even those skyscraper windows. Wouldn't it be cool to have a robot window cleaner, just the like Romba

Virtual In Store Shopping 
Like in Korea and Japan, they already have something like a virtual convenience store. How about retail shopping? I'm sure average teenage girls love to shop. I like to shop. I just hated trying on the clothes. It takes so long and tiring to try so much jeans and shirts. What if you can do it virtual. I use to play this app on my phone and I just take a picture of my face and it lets me put on different hairstyle, cut, color, etc. Like the xbox connect live. It's motion sensor so all you have to do is wave your arms.
Just a Thought.

In it for the Competition not the Entrepreneurship

On January 21, 2014, a guess speaker talked to the class about a business plan competitions. Amy Sallin is the Assistant Director and BPC Program Manager. This business plan competition is created by the University of Washington's Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship. Basically, what it is -is a competition for young student entrepreneurship to seek out their ideas into a plan and make it happen. There's levels in which the group goes into, screening round, investment round, sweet sixteen (only sixteen groups will make it), and then the final round. Jones + Foster Accelerator funds for start-ups coming out of the Business Plan Competition.

My thoughts?

I think it's great for students who want to be entrepreneurs, but honestly, I'm not an entrepreneur. I think it experiences to be involved and I would like to join a group of has entrepreneurs because I'm more have a planning person. I like to organized ideas and make realistic goals. I'm the person who always ask how, when and why would the ideas would work. Some say I might be a negative person because I'm skeptical of ones ideas but I think I'm the person who challenge entrepreneurs of the "what if" questions. For example, "What if this [something bad] happens?" or "What if it [some plans] do not go as plan?" I like planning and finding answers to these questions.

So in other words. Entrepreneurs isn't me. I do not have original ideas for that matter. However, I can be the one who can help those entrepreneurs see their plans happen with strategies, questions and analyzes, step by step "how to's" and so on.

I am interested in joining a group that already has an idea for a business in next year competition.

Carpe Diem

To be honest, I'm not a tech savvy person. I do know the basics of the internet and I pretty much google everything. So when I come out of this class (TINST 475), I would like to be more efficient and effective when I use technology as a business advantage. Technology haven't been a friend of mine, but communications is my enemy. Here's where the issue of communications when it comes to me; casuals and slangs. See, I surrounded by friends and family that converse with me in an informal manner and where I work is a fashion retail, which is basically the same way I socialize with friends and family. So what I really want out from this class, you ask? To Effectively communicate the business concept in a formal manner. Don't get me wrong, I'm listing on my "bad" traits but I understand concept and I believe I have great business ideas - academically writing those ideas on paper (not so much). To sum it all up and to make sure I'm clear, there's two main outcome of the expectations of this class besides making it a fun course, of course. One: understand how to use technology as a business tool and makes my life simple (or at least a little bit simpler) than the first day I came in this class. Two: to be able to articulate my thoughts and ideas in a business concept in a professional/formal manner. I would like to leave this on a positive note and say I'm sure I'll accomplish both these goals and even more.