Final Reflection

Coming into this class I was excited to see how the course work would affect the way I think about the market and innovation and business in general. Coming in, I was already pretty experienced with the entrepreneurial spirit and knew what this class would entail overall. However, this class provided these unforgettable experiences that I will always remember. The fact that we were forced to make three different elevator pitches has made me more confident than ever before. It was also enjoyable to make that video countless times until I got it right. Also I loved being able to get to see other kids ho have the same mindset as me and would be open to partner up in different projects.

I am most proud of not one thing in particular but as myself as a whole throughout this class. at the beginning I was reluctant to do the projects and participate in most things because I thought I knew everything. Extremely wrong of myself. As soon as I let myself take in and truly dissect the culture of this class my mindset developed and jumped exponentially.

My biggest recommendation for the ones taking this class is to take it Bec tase you want it. If you enjoy this class and take it seriously and not just for a grade it'll teach you things about yourself that most classes do not. Most classes teach you content about a certain area of study, entrepreneurship is a mindset. It is a way of thinking that allows you explore every idea possible surrounding a product or an idea. Even if you do not plan to become an inventor of an idea or product at this moment in time, someday you may wake up or find yourself in a position of a brilliant idea and this class will help. Be open to the coursework, do not delay it till the last minute, and listen to the feedback, everything is for a reason.

Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity I’ve seen for my business is the ability to help people with an unsought need, but one that is actually needed. For example, people with families and finances used to support others, can benefit from life insurance to keep supporting others if anything life threatening were to happen to them. I classify this as an unsought need because people do not wake up and go out and look for life insurance. It is a need one must make aware to them. In my dealings with potential customers, I’ve come to the realization that once they are made aware of the potential benefits life insurance will offer them, it practically turns into a necessity. 

I’ve also identified my potential customers as a wide age range. Life insurance does not cover just those in good financial position who have something to lose in a life-threatening situation. It covers everyone just because the premise of this idea is that “everyone is in denial of their mortality’. That expression so clearly identifies the target audience, because at any point in your life, something can happen that renders you incapable of taking care of yourself. If you are a young teen who has recently become independent with a job and an income, the last thing you want to do is have to become dependent on your parents for the remainder of your life. Without a proper compensation plan to be careful about the future, how can you be prepared. However, this opportunity also becomes equally important to those who have an income and have dependents upon that income. Examples of this include husbands, children, wives, parents, and just relatively anyone that depends on you. Those that depend on you cannot afford for anything to happen to you, which is where life insurance plays a role. Basically means, expect the unexpected. 

This market is opened for life. The window of opportunity will never close because no matter what people will need to be insured for the rest of their lives. Unless there is an alternative to insurance in which people can protect themselves from these unexpected accidents, I believe life insurance will be here to stay. As for the geographical context, I plan to stay in America. Expanding to international areas brings too many problems and changes I believe I’m not ready for, until my business has reached the maturity stage of its process. America is the biggest economy in the world, so to be able to market and sell my product in an economy of this scale, I believe my profit margins are going to be well over enough. 

Figuring all this out has given me an amazing opportunity that most don’t understand. People try to find opportunity in things that consumers seek out on a daily basis. My idea has formed by thinking just a little bit outside the box. 

After discovering my opportunity, I have been able to be innovative with the product. The biggest problem in finding customers is the fact that life insurance policies become to unexpected. Most consumers have the mindset of not wanting to pay for something they don’t directly reap rewards from. Car insurance is a necessity if you want to drive a car, but sometimes most don’t even offer to pay for that. Consider the fact that this is a legal requirement to even drive a car. To bypass this barrier, I have formed a plan create customizable insurance plans that become affordable to every age range. The purpose of this is the idea that it appeals to every age range and that not everyone wants to have the same life insurance coverage. But why would a younger person pay the same price as an older person who is well into his/her career and is already financially stable? This is where my company truly elevates the game to the next level. 

Creating these customizable plans will lower my commissions deeply. The plan is having cheaper commissions but bigger quantities of customers. Kind of taking a Walmart style approach by appealing to a larger clientele is another form of innovation. Walmart was a pioneer in the field of grocery and wholesale who completely changed the game. This is my idea. It will take a lot of work but being an innovator is where the true entrepreneurs really become successful. 

I have defined my innovation and my opportunity, so the next step is my venture capital. Customers would switch to my idea for the fact that they get a personalized plan based on finance, age, and expected growth. This way they can pay for a plan that offers similar coverage for the price they are able to, not just one that is a standard rate for everyone. This is going to involve heavy collaboration and relationships with life insurance companies to be able to get these plans but expected profit and payout will be enough to provide incentive. In every fair market there is always going to be competition, but that Is the only way capitalism would work. Obviously, my main competitors will be well trusted agencies that have been around for a long period of time. These agencies have a giant customer base and have well established relationships with the life insurance companies and their customers.

The great thing about this service-based industry is that we don’t need packaging or distribution in terms of materialistic areas. However, distribution is important in this area. We must have proper distribution with life insurance plans and keep a standard system for keeping customer database in check. Also, setting a proper business is the biggest step in making this big. I love this because my business can start with just me and as profits and clients grow so can my business. Bringing on a second employee would be an assistant to keep track of my customers to be able to keep expanding. After having a good database of customers I can begin to bring in another salesperson and continue gradual expansion.

          Feedback: I got very positive feedback from my peers in all the peer reviews we did. They said they liked my work and that I have a great idea going. As far as my Whats Next I think this venture concept was able to capture all that. I changed it by grasping the advice from others and instilling it in my new venture concept. Although I was told my idea was pretty full proof there is ways room for progression and for improvement. Anytime Im given a new idea I take it and develop it which is one of the greatest qualities I perceive as an entrepreneur. 

Exit Strategy

1) When I thought of the life insurance business and my idea I planned to make an empire out of this. I planned to make this my mark in the world and thats where people would remember me as. As appealing as that sounds, if in 5 years a company offers me a lucrative deal on my company, I would be more than happy to sell it. Not to sit on a pile of money, but continue other endeavors that would lead to greater rates of revenue.

2) I don't have a set in stone exit strategy, but I chose this one that will allow me to diversify and do more with my life than just keep it at this level. I don't want to just focus all my time and energy on one company, I want to be able to maximize my sources of revenue and get in other businesses. Life insurance is not my true calling, but it is my vehicle to explode into the entrepreneurial world.

3) My exit strategy definitely has influenced my growth within the company. It has helped me identify how I want to grow and what I want to do when the company develops. It has showed me the route I am willing to take my business to.

Reading Reflection No.3

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

For my third reading reflection I chose to read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. I chose this book because I have always been a fan of Elon Musk and what he does, he goes against the grain and does what he wants. 

The thing that surprised me the most was that he was bullied in school. I see that being smart and an introvert pushed him against the other children. As you can see he faced those troubling times, but pushed through because he understood that his work was much more important than a couple kids calling his name. He never allowed this to stray hi away from what he wanted.           

 The thing that I most admire about Elon Musk is that he questions everything. If there's anything I learned from the most successful people is that they do not do what the normal 97% of society does. Doing this would lead them to the same lifestyle, so that's why they're in the position they're in right now. They had the power to fight every normality and one of these was Elon Musk. Without this mentality he would not be paving the way for science innovation as he is today. 

The thing I least admire about Musk is when he went off on an employee who was there to show their support at the birth of his child instead of attending a work event. He could have handled the situation differently, especially since they were there to support him and his wife. 

            

Musk encountered a lot of adversity in his childhood with bullying at school and the separation of his parents. He overcame this by becoming a great entrepreneur and starting two very successful tech companies that he used to finance his other passions in life, helping make the world a better place.

           

 Musk had many competencies about him from what I read. From his photographic memory to his desire to see things differently and ask questions that weren’t being asked to help solve his problems. One of, if not his biggest competencies is his desire to change the world. One of my favorite quotes was “if the rules are such that you can’t make progress, then you have to fight the rules.” 

            

One part of the book that was confusing to me was his mindset about putting all of your projects under one roof to make a lasting impact on the world. I feel as though there are other ways to make a lasting impact and that they can wear many different hats and live under many different roofs.

            

If I could ask two questions they would be: What impact on your professional and personal life has smoking weed with Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience had? And What are other little projects like the flame thrower are you working on or can we expect in the future? I would ask these because I know a lot of other information is out there on him because he is so famous, and I think it would be cool to get to know him and see what other cool ideas that aren’t going to save the world he has.

            

I think Musk’s opinion of hard work is that it is the most important thing. He has created so many successful things and those don’t come without hard work. I share Musk’s opinion or at least what I think his opinion is on hard work, I feel it has helped me get to where I am today.

Celebrating Failure

1) I have failed numerous times this semester and classes are one of them. I am very capable of passing each class, especially when its one with no exams and just deals with writing posts and what not. The only problem is that I am not school inclined. Meaning, my number one priority is not only in school, so I struggle with keeping track of hw for classes that repeatedly post a lot like this one. I have experienced failure with this class, but Ive learned to accept it and move on with my work. Ive gotten on track and I have not missed one since. The key is to just keep pushing forward and accept responsibility for that you've done.

2) Ive learned that the only way to learn from failure is that you must take responsibility for it. You must acknowledge what you could've done better to avoid this failure for the future. Ive learned it is my fault from most things that happen, so we must be smart and learn the cause to avoid it for the next time.

3) I believe failure is one of the most important things in life. I believe it defines you as a person. People can be perfectly fine when everything is okay. It is times of hardship and adversity where others show their true character. However, their true character may be one who prevails or one who shuts down and go backwards. I also think failure is how people achieve success and without it, people would not/could not reach success. The most successful and famous people in this world have had to go through an immense amount of adversity before achieving their final destination.

Whats Next?

Existing Market 

1. I believe the next step for my service is speaking to potential life insurance companies to figure out who would be open to collaborating with me in creating these customizable plans for customers. I believe it's an amazing idea and could be open to extreme profits. However, I believe that innovation is the hardest thing to convince these well known established companies. The best thing to do is create a relationship with another startup company that believes in innovation. It will be hard, but the fact of the matter is that to be a successful entrepreneur you must take risks.

2.
Customer 1:

I asked my first customer about what they thought I needed to do next. Their primary response was that I needed to establish a certain client base. The idea itself is great, but I need to expand my network and develop a business plan with more customers. Companies want to invest in startups that have already done their research and created a client base so they can get off the ground running.

Customer 2:

My second customer suggested I begin talking to big companies that have already made their mark in the life insurance world. Even without trying to gain relationships or partnerships they could offer key insight to the new world I'm trying to enter. Understanding the way your competitors think will give you a great edge to getting better insight on the way clients in this industry work.

Customer 3:

My third customer told me that I needed to focus on the big picture things. He thinks I've gotten the basics down, but I need to focus on how I can develop the company into a bigger one. After the profits start rolling in, how will I keep my customers, how will I expand into a bigger company, will expansion hurt my profits or cause me to lose my base.

3. What makes the most sense in expanding my venture is to definitely formulate a business plan and present it to existing competitors. Not to just create relationships and finding partners to work with, but to get friendly insight on how this world works. I've done my research but the best way to get concrete insight and great feedback is to talk directly to those people.

After that really dive into my venture and start my business plan. After using the feedback to adjust my work, I can finally begin what I've been working at for the past months. I have the financials all i need is my concrete plan to get the business up and running. First step get feedback, second, get some office space, third, create the market and explode.

Venture Concept No.1

The opportunity I’ve seen for my business is the ability to help people with an unsought need, but one that is actually needed. For example, people with families and finances used to support others, can benefit from life insurance to keep supporting others if anything life threatening were to happen to them. I classify this as an unsought need because people do not wake up and go out and look for life insurance. It is a need one must make aware to them. In my dealings with potential customers, I’ve come to the realization that once they are made aware of the potential benefits life insurance will offer them, it practically turns into a necessity.

I’ve also identified my potential customers as a wide age range. Life insurance does not cover just those in good financial position who have something to lose in a life-threatening situation. It covers everyone just because the premise of this idea is that “everyone is in denial of their mortality’. That expression so clearly identifies the target audience, because at any point in your life, something can happen that renders you incapable of taking care of yourself. If you are a young teen who has recently become independent with a job and an income, the last thing you want to do is have to become dependent on your parents for the remainder of your life. Without a proper compensation plan to be careful about the future, how can you be prepared. However, this opportunity also becomes equally important to those who have an income and have dependents upon that income. Examples of this include husbands, children, wives, parents, and just relatively anyone that depends on you. Those that depend on you cannot afford for anything to happen to you, which is where life insurance plays a role. Basically means, expect the unexpected.

This market is opened for life. The window of opportunity will never close because no matter what people will need to be insured for the rest of their lives. Unless there is an alternative to insurance in which people can protect themselves from these unexpected accidents, I believe life insurance will be here to stay. As for the geographical context, I plan to stay in America. Expanding to international areas brings too many problems and changes I believe I’m not ready for, until my business has reached the maturity stage of its process. America is the biggest economy in the world, so to be able to market and sell my product in an economy of this scale, I believe my profit margins are going to be well over enough.

Figuring all this out has given me an amazing opportunity that most don’t understand. People try to find opportunity in things that consumers seek out on a daily basis. My idea has formed by thinking just a little bit outside the box.

After discovering my opportunity, I have been able to be innovative with the product. The biggest problem in finding customers is the fact that life insurance policies become to unexpected. Most consumers have the mindset of not wanting to pay for something they don’t directly reap rewards from. Car insurance is a necessity if you want to drive a car, but sometimes most don’t even offer to pay for that. Consider the fact that this is a legal requirement to even drive a car. To bypass this barrier, I have formed a plan create customizable insurance plans that become affordable to every age range. The purpose of this is the idea that it appeals to every age range and that not everyone wants to have the same life insurance coverage. But why would a younger person pay the same price as an older person who is well into his/her career and is already financially stable? This is where my company truly elevates the game to the next level.

Creating these customizable plans will lower my commissions deeply. The plan is having cheaper commissions but bigger quantities of customers. Kind of taking a Walmart style approach by appealing to a larger clientele is another form of innovation. Walmart was a pioneer in the field of grocery and wholesale who completely changed the game. This is my idea. It will take a lot of work but being an innovator is where the true entrepreneurs really become successful.

I have defined my innovation and my opportunity, so the next step is my venture capital. Customers would switch to my idea for the fact that they get a personalized plan based on finance, age, and expected growth. This way they can pay for a plan that offers similar coverage for the price they are able to, not just one that is a standard rate for everyone. This is going to involve heavy collaboration and relationships with life insurance companies to be able to get these plans but expected profit and payout will be enough to provide incentive. In every fair market there is always going to be competition, but that Is the only way capitalism would work. Obviously, my main competitors will be well trusted agencies that have been around for a long period of time. These agencies have a giant customer base and have well established relationships with the life insurance companies and their customers.

The great thing about this service-based industry is that we don’t need packaging or distribution in terms of materialistic areas. However, distribution is important in this area. We must have proper distribution with life insurance plans and keep a standard system for keeping customer database in check. Also, setting a proper business is the biggest step in making this big. I love this because my business can start with just me and as profits and clients grow so can my business. Bringing on a second employee would be an assistant to keep track of my customers to be able to keep expanding. After having a good database of customers I can begin to bring in another salesperson and continue gradual expansion.

Your Ventures Unfair Advantage

List of the Resources:

1. Salespeople
- Valuable: You only need 1 person to run this thoroughly and keep everything in check. Even if you want to expand your business you only really need 2 or 3 people in the firm to sell efficiently.
- Rare: Most companies and ideas need a giant work force to even be able to get off the ground
- Inimitable: Having a small workforce is basically unseen in todays world
- Non-Substitutable: Human capital is the center of this area. Insurance has to be sold by a person to another person. It is done so best by the word of mouth.

2. Financial Capability
- Valuable: As a person already heavily involved in the financial sector, this company does not need a big amount of start up capital, however I easily possess the money to start the business
- Rare: Most companies take a lot of money to begin but with mine, we dont need that much startup money to be able to do things.
- Inimitable: Using a small amount of cash allows me to do other things within the company and develop other ideas to keep expansion and keep things flowing.
- Non-Substitutable: Finances cannot be substituted by anything else in the world.

3. Customizable Insurance Plans
- Valuable: it is the premise of the company. It is extremely valuable and cannot be replaced for any other resource.
- Rare: Having customizable insurance plans makes this extremely rare to find with many life insurance salesmen or brokers
- Inimitable: being a pioneer in this area, this is very copyable, but thats what happens in a pure competition is all about
- Non-Substitutable: Without customizable insurance plans the company or plan does not exist

4. Office Space
- Valuable: Having an office space gives a presence of being the real deal in the business world. A lot of people view companies by materialistic viewpoints. Being a company with an office would boost sales by just having some concrete database
- Rare: Not too rare, but a basic resource that most places depend on
- Inimitable: Most big businesses have office space in order to work
- Non-Substitutable: Being a business which takes little work force or little human capital, you can easily work from home or in an area much smaller

5. Company Website Outlining the Purpose, Mission Statement, and much more
- Valuable: Having a website is the easiest way to convey information to the general public about what it is you're doing.
- Rare: In an ever-changing environment the internet is the fastest growing sector in the world. Every company or growing industry must be involved in the internet race. It is not a rare platform but it is crucial.
- Inimitable: every company should have their own, so having a website is easily copyable
- Non-Substitutable: Instead of having a website I could push for word by mouth messages to convey the platform of my industry as well as my idea.

6. Assistant
- Valuable: Aside from salespeople, an assistant provides ridiculous support in enhancing the efficiency of the company. Having an assistant can keep track of all records, appointments, meetings, and other busy work salespeople do not have the liberty to do.
- Rare: Most companies or offices have assistants to keep track of the day to day tasks that the salespeople cannot do without help. Although it is not a task that takes a lot of education to do, Assistants/Secretaries are crucial to the development of any good work.
- Inimitable: Most companies have assistants to keep track of work
- Non-Substitutable: I can take on the workload without an assistant but it will prove inefficient to my work.

7. Marketing Tools
- Valuable: How are people going to decide if you are the right agency to use for their life insurance needs? The marketing of the company will prove the most valuable asset as a a startup. With negative views on life insurance agencies, most people will not hear or be interested in this new company. Life insurance is an unsought product most do not seek.
- Rare: Every company, business, or industry needs to be efficient in marketing to get their product known. Without it, most companies would fail just like most do.
- Inimitable: Every company needs to market, but it's not easy to copy the marketing tools and ideas of other companies.
- Non-Substitutable: You cant replace marketing without risking the failure of your company.

8. Client resource Companies
- Valuable: The whole premise of the company resides in obtaining clients that create commissions for the company. Using a Client Resource Company will give you access to a database filled with client information to narrow your search in the target market you are trying to attract.
- Rare: Using these companies is not rare because most service related industries pay these companies to locate specific clients in order to be more efficient.
- Inimitable: This is easily copyable by other companies because they were invented for this specific use
- Non-Substitutable: The method of finding customers can be substituted in many ways and can be done using a thousand other methods.

9. Liability Insurance
- Valuable: It is essential in the legal aspect of the company to protect yourself against liabilities that could happen, by either the insurance plan to give you false information or by the person to commit insurance fraud.
- Rare: Every company in most sectors needs insurance to run to be protected by any case scenario.
- Inimitable: Every company needs it
- Non-Substitutable: You cannot substitute this for anything because it is an essential resource.

10. Cybersecurity/Personal Security
- Valuable: In modern day area cyber security has grown as an increasing need. With so much information being available online, the personal security of a client should be number 1. Apple has faced major problems in the past with their lack of security.
- Rare: Having good cybersecurity is essential to most companies but it is rare for it to be good. Most will settle for adequate because it costs less and for the most part it does their job.
- Inimitable: Most companies will copy but it depends on what type they get.
- Non-Substitutable: Cybersecurity cannot be substituted for the fact that everything nowadays is transitioning into the biggest necessity for worldwide business that hold client sensitive information.

Reading Reflection No. 2

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

1.) The book is about the Wright Brothers who invented the first functioning flying machine. While it discusses the personal life of the Wright brothers and their family, the main purpose of the book focuses on the over ten-year pursuit of the development of the airplane. The biggest theme of the book is endurance and the burning desire to succeed at all costs. The Wright Brothers faced ever lasting challenges because they were pioneers within their field, not only in marketing but in technology. To be a successful entrepreneur you must have a burning desire to make it. 

2.) The book helped me in this class because it showed how other entrepreneurs were able to be successful.I saw the adversity these two went through, in a time where the available resources were limited, and still came out on top. Because of their determination they were able to be known through eternity. 

3.) If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, I would have students create a structure using only uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. Each group would be timed and have to create the tallest structure without falling or breaking. The task is more difficult than it sounds and is a great way to prove that you will fail many times before a good outcome takes place.

4.) The biggest 'aha' moment that I took from reading this book was the amount of patience and determination the two brothers had. It took them over 10 years to become successful, in that amount of time the normal person would have already called it quits. To become successful you must be patient and have the will to be someone with your idea. 

Elevator Pitch No.3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0SVvIyhTXk

In this pitch I received positive feedback from my last one. People told me it was basically all set in stone and that all I needed to do was be more fluent with my words. In this last one I practiced my speech a little better and was able to do it without stuttering and able to get my message across much more clear. As a very extroverted person I am always comfortable being in front of the camera and being able to speaking my mind with what I have to say,

Growing Your Social Capital

1. Person Who is an Expert:

Mr. Brian Shey is life insurance agent in his own firm in SterlingWyatt. He was my boss and the man who made me interested in this business. He grew up in Gainesville and worked for a a big corporate job in the field at the start of his career. He then decided the corporate world was not for him. He opened up SterlingWyatt a his own company. I met him through a friend in which I applied to be his summer intern. I worked with him for about a month and learned a lot about the industry. Working with him in my industry will expand my knowledge about everything. With more years of experience under his belt, Mr. Shey is able to teach me many things and expand my knowledge on things I didn't know about.

2. Expert With the Target Market

My fathers friend Chris is a financial advisor. As a man who deals with peoples finances on a day to day basis he is the expert in the target market. He is able to talk to people on a daily basis and understands those who are financially in need and able to have customized insurance plans. Chris met my dad at a cigar shop where he was able to get close to him. Later on I spoke to Chris myself and he gave me great tips on how to be successful within the market. He showed me who I should speak to and how to understand if a person is financially adept to taking this on.

3. Someone who is A supplier:

Mr Williams is an executive of One America, a company who has one of the biggest client databases in the world. Their supply necessities of giving me all available client information to secure my clients. As a life insurance provider I do not necessarily have a supply, other than securing clients. The clients become my supply because without them I have no business. I met Mr. Williams through Mr. Shey while I was interning and we were able to have a talk and network greatly.

Final Reflection:

I am a great networker. Using this assignment has shown me how well I can be with people and how I can talk to them. Networking for this project has been similar to networking in the past with numerous clients. Being able to talk to people and gain experience through their value is extremely important for my future endeavors. 

Elevator Speech 2.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0SVvIyhTXk

From the feedback I received from the original pitch, I realized one of my strong suits is the ability to create a strong presentation. My ability to be dynamic and explosive gives the elevator pitch the niche most are looking for when doing one of these. I believe the most important aspect of getting a new product out there is the communication of what it does, and the ability to entice others to mine, is what will blow it up.

Idea Napkin No.2

1) YOU: I am a person who is very confident and ambitious with the things I want to accomplish in the future. I am easy going, laid back, very easy to talk to, which is why one my talents and skills is handling people. I am a complete people person and am able to speak to any type of person and easily understand what appeals to them to stay interested in what I have to say. By being able to speak to people extremely easy, this business would have me in contact with numerous amounts of people on a day to day basis. Any job in sales is something I aspire to be the center stone of my life.

2) WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING: I am offering a Customized life insurance plan for people in age of their life. IT is created to help those at risk financially (which is anyone at any age) for whatever kind of plan they need in order to fix it for the feature.

3) WHO ARE YOU OFFERING IT TO: I am offering it to those who are at risk financially. I am offering to anyone that could use protection for the future.

4) WHY DO THEY CARE? : everyone is always worried about their future and how money is going to play into it. Especially if an accident means affecting people around you in a life altering negative way.

5) WHAT ARE YOUR CORE COMPETENCIES? What sets me apart from competitors or others is that no one in the life insurance game has a this type of customization plan.

These elements create the foundation for the success needed for your product. Figuring out yourself and then figuring out the problems your product is solving makes this combination dynamic. To be successful in this world you need combninations so by linking these in you have your starting way.

Create A Customer Avatar

The problem with my idea is that it is available to everyone because of its tailor made characteristic that is easily customizable for every person who seeks insurance. However, there is always a certain customer the aspect of life insurance appeals too. 

Now to be more descriptive, my ideal customer would be someone in a good financial position with dependents on the salary. This would be a man with a family, whose salary is extremely important in keeping the household maintained. With this aspect he needs to be prepared for anything that could happen to him in the financial aspect. This would include death, injury, or any unforeseen tragedy that could happen that would damage the household and make them change their lifestyle.

"Mid 40s Man who supports a household of dependents"

- His hobbies include fishing, cooking, watching sports, and playing sports with their children

- He would drive a nice car like either a truck of the year or a a suburban dad vehicle like ford, dodge, or lexus. (Black, white, or silver)
- He likes to watch the history of the USA, World Wars and the local news.
- He loves to spend time with his kids and do things that please them
- Hes very comfortable with his finances and loves to reward himself with luxuries.
- He has a boat and goes fishing at least twice a week with friends.
- A tiny bit overweight but gives himself the dad bod. 

As far as us having anything in common not really mainly because of the age difference and stages in your life. But i think having many things in common is the fact that you can relate to their needs and understand the desires the consumer has. 

Elevator Pitch

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: Through my interviews I realized that although people have common factors that should bring them together to create the market for this service, people will always fall outside the boundary. People will always rely on the government and social security for their future. The 'American Dream' has fashioned peoples sense of thinking into one that relied on the government for their future of health causes and their future as a whole. I interviewed two millennials who were both in the same stage in their life. One of them obviously so hard headed in her political views on governmental aid, she completely denied the facts about social security and the horrible connotations faced with 401ks that people don't feel the need toss till later date. The other millennial was focused on her independent future and any tragedy that could happen at any moment. Clearly they were the same type of person, but have different ideologies on life.

What: With many interviewees I realized this stretched farther along than just ideas and what not. The need I have identified is mostly monetary and planned for the future. However, some have different priorities and would rather focus their assets into going out, paying for more expensive cars, better lifestyles, and different things that wouldn't allow them to get life insurance that would ultimately benefit them.

Why: I believe the reason people are outside of the boundary is because they do believe in something different. When it comes to money and having to pay a monthly premium or a one time premium that is a large compromise, people would rather scare away unless they believe in extremely hard.

Inside the boundary:
Who: Any Age range of people who believe in the need to protect their future from fiscal torment, death, or horrible tragedy that would affect them for the rest of their life.

What: The need is an insurance policy that is customized to help people who are in risk financially. By being at risk financially, it means to not have a stable plan for the unpredictable future.

Why: The need exists because of people being in denial of their mortality. People do not feel that any given moment something tragic could happen to them, and financially they are not prepared for the high costs it comes with.

Outside the Boundary:
Who is not: People with the ideology that government will provide for them and they do noted to worry about their future because they are so young. As well as those who believe they have enough money saved up without having to opt in for a life insurance plan that could secure the for the res of their life.

What: The need is not a savings plan designed to put money away for a while. It is not a social security plan or a 401k designed to put a certain portion of their paycheck in.

Alternative Explanations: People believe social security is able enough to help them in the future  and they can rely on their own saving methods to protect them from catastrophic events.

Solving The Problem

The Problem

In my recent blog posts I mentioned there is a problem in how people are in denial of their mortality. By saying this, people do not feel the need to protect their assets or their hard earned money. This is a growing problem for the gigantic growing population of retired baby boomers and the big amount of millennials finally entering the work force. Both have the same problem but at different times in their life. At any moment, even 50 years apart, either one of these class of people can have something as tragic as death happen to them and everything they worked for in their lifetime is dropped into the abyss, as if they never did anything. 

The Solution

I have though of offering a service of life insurance that is affordable for every age and truly aims to help people other than offer a commission to the agents selling it. One of these examples would be for low-middle income household with a married party with children. One of the questions for their customized plan would be to ask both working parents how much they would need for the rest of their life to live as if, if anything happened to either one. This is how my service would impact their life completely and change their view of life insurance completely. 

However, if the plan was for a millennial, the idea in their head would be they had a 401k and a social security to get them by if anything happened or if they had a loved one to help. The fact of the matter is that even with social security, which is dying out with these huge amount of baby boomers retiring 10000 a day, and with their 401k if anything tragically happened to their health they would not be able to afford it. Now the burden falls on their parents and the people who worked all their life to protect their future have to focus on their child they have already voted 18 years of their life to. Understandably, millennials are already struggling to pay normal bills, but with the proper prioritization in what they need and planning for their future, they will be able to prevent tragedy fiscally and emotionally not as bad. 

The life insurance policy is not to offer whole life, ammunizations and boring old policies that people have negative connotations, but to be the broker and provider of customized insurance for everyone. Because in reality, everyone needs it. 

Opportunities in Gainesville

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F173C04C03483B9C0

Rental measure would funnel poor people into poor housing

In this article, the author basically emphasizes Gainesville's desire to renovate the housing community by destroying poor housing, not physically, but through meeting current codes and regulations that need to be met by each house, such as being green or energy efficient. This is putting landlords out of business throughout the city because of not being able to meet these needs. This problem can be solved by establishing a company that is geared towards helping landlords meet these requirements to be able to rent or sell their houses on their property.

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F173C04BF9615F610

City commissioner files for bankruptcy

This city commissioner filed for bankruptcy because of bad spending habits and inability to foresee further problems down the road because of student loans and credit card debts. Almost all of their earnings goes towards paying these expenses yet it is still not enough. This is an opportunity to open a business that is tailored towards helping families with their personal finances and advising them towards better financial decisions.

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F173C04BF81A67C40

Bubba Raceway Park north of Ocala faces foreclosure

This park went out of business because of its inability to stay on top of its property taxes and maintenance fees. There were also lawsuits against this park that forced it to close because of not being able to pay the fees imposed on it.

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F172F269A20DEA858

Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 latest retailers to announce store closures

Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the many chain stores that is facing trouble when it comes to keeping many of its stores and franchises open. This is ultimately because of poor store performance that is driving financial gains and resources down.

 https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F172C38F199E67A58

Credit card vs. debit card: Wow Air's recent shutdown highlights why one is better than the other.

This airline ceased all of its operations out of nowhere because of financial and managerial instability within the company. But the problem this article highlights is the inability of those who used debit cards for purchasing their tickets on this airline of getting a refund. People need to be educated on how to correctly use debit cards/credit cards because of the ability to dispute transactions in case of an emergency such as this one.

Forming an Opportunity Belief

The Opportunity and the Belief:
People in America have become accustomed and inclined to lean on the government for aid and assistance. They have the idea that the government will support them in times of need and when they cannot afford and try things. This idea sprouted through the installation of social security and medicare, which offered to use a chunk of others hard earned income to supply for those who can't afford the retirement life and the insurance life. However, almost 70 years after the beginning of social security, the money is running out. With 10,000 people retiring every 24 hours, there is not enough money to supplement every individual with these needs. The opportunity I see here is to start the push of helping those who are at risk financially, not just now but for the future. Everyone is in denial of their mortality and don't tend to look into the future. I believe insurance is going to be the next big boomer because of the needs they have. Everyone wants to manage assets and invest money, but nobody wants to prepare for the unexpected. Sooner or later people will realize that without the same government aid, they must prepare for the future on their own.

 Prototypical Customer 1:
Nancy Baker, Age: 64, Was a government worker in Child Services for over 35 years

Iteration #1:
What is the exact nature of the need?
- Nancy described the nature of the need as one which is not recognized fully right now, but will be in a couple of years.

Who would have the need?
- Nancy believes that every person has the need. Except for those who are already close to the end of their lifespan. Especially those beginning to work now, who can start very young and be better prepared.

When did you become aware of the need?
- Most people think of getting financial insurance when its too late. Once they realize the government can not fund them for the remainder of their life they will try and get insurance, but its too late.

How long have you had the need?
- Nancy believes that people don't have the need for long time, once they have it they try to do it as soon as possible. It is the only safe haven they have of keeping their finances secure for the remainder of their life.

How satisfied would you be with the solution?
- Nancy thinks that no one is seriously satisfied with paying a premium, but the security of having your life and your money safe is one of satisfaction. She believes that if they ever do have to use it, the feeling of satisfaction will be the least to describe it.

How are you currently addressing the need?
- As of right now Nancy is 3 years away from retirement and ready to start leaning on the aid of social security. However, with this opinion brought to mind, she is thinking of getting insurance to back herself and her future.

 Prototypical Customer 2:
Trey Snyder, Age 22, Graduating from College and ready to head into the workforce

Iteration #1:
What is the exact nature of the need?
- Trey believes the nature of this need is yet to be found. He believes coming out of college people should be smart enough to realize that they are going to retire and not stay 22 for the rest of their lives.

Who would have the need?
- Trey believes those who did not save from young and plan ahead, will obviously have the need to insure their finances and their life. He also believes this can spread even farther. What does one do with all the hard earned money they made, if they ever just happened to get extremely hurt or die?

When did you become aware of the need?
- Trey was never aware of it, just because of the fact that he was prepared and believes he has his own style of preparation and saving. He doesn't need someone else to help protect him.

How long have you had the need?
- Trey has never had it

How satisfied would you be with the solution?
- trey thinks people don't focus on problems that are to current, but if its another thing they can get out of their chest for the future.

How are you currently addressing the need?
- He is starting the work force and is ready to take on this challenge for the rest of their lives.

Reflection:
After discussing the opportunity with these two people, I have realized we need it more than we thought. To get better results I was able to take the opinions of someone getting ready to eave the workforce and start retirement and the other doing the exact opposite. It was a good way to get a very general but somewhat accurate representation of the population were dealing with. I realized my opportunity is in more need than i realized, but to the older population. The new kids haven't been able to realize the dilemma they are facing with lack of social security. The most surprising thing I found was that people are still in denial about social security. I was able to branch off into what their two friends thought and believed.

Summarize:

How Much of the original need is still there?
None of the original need has left, because its vital for all age ranges and needed with changing economic conditions. People may not see it now, but those who are focused in protecting their future will definitely see this through.

Do You believe the new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?
No

How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback? 
I believe entrepreneurs must value and pay very close attention to their opportunities based on customer feedback. Entrepreneurs thrive off their customers and if they purchase their products or their services. Without consumers and their needs, there is no place for entrepreneurs in this world.