Assignment 11A Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You: 

• For starters, my name is Brooklyn Nave and I am a sophomore. I just transferred to the University of Florida and I am a General Business Major with a minor in Economics. I'm hoping to either be in the MIB program or graduate and then pursue a MBA after graduation. My skills have always been in communicating with people and being able to contribute strong leadership abilities in groups and situations. I have always had a gift when it comes to talking to people and being able to negotiate and settle disputes. Being able to talk to people and settle disputes would come in handy with my service of parking garages that I am providing. When negotiating items such as price, land, location and other details in a contract with landlords it could potentially turn into an argumentative conversation, this is where my skills of settling disputes would help in a situation like this. This business could give me an opportunity to put my foot in the door when it comes to negotiating business sales. 

2. What are you offering to customers?

• I am offering a service to citizens in Gainesville, FL and students attending University of Florida. My parking garage will meet the unmet needs of citizens whose parking is limited during the school year due to students parking in the spots that are normally empty. My service will also provide a need for the students by creating parking garages for people living off campus so that they will have safe and affordable parking spots. This in return helps the citizens of Gainesville because they will have more parking spots open up as a result of less students parking on the streets. 

3. Who are you offering it to?

• I am offering my service to two main groups: off-campus apartment landlords and city hall with regards to downtown Gainesville. Apartment landlords would include any of the following: L3 Campus Gainesville, Trimark, KLM, etc. This service would most likely primarily be targeted towards this group of people since they would provide the most beneficial outcome for my unmet need that I am looking to solve. This group of people would probably be the most problematic in terms of successful negotiating, since they would have to contribute their time and money into the service as well but in the end would end up making the most profits out of the two groups I would be offering my services too. Gainesville will be my trial city and the first college town I would start with for parking garages before eventually moving to other college towns such as FSU, UCF, USF, and many others!
• My second group that I would be offering my parking garage services to is City Hall. This group of leaders would be offered the opportunity to have a parking garage centered in downtown Gainesville. This parking garage instead of the monthly rates that the garage for the apartments would be offered, would charge parking residents hourly rates to park in the garage.  

4. Why do they care?

• I am confident that people will buy my service because of how large of an unmet need there is for this service in crowded cities and especially college towns. My service of parking garages has numerous attributes to it that make it appealing to consumers in the market, such as, the locations of the garages will be very convenient to all main attractions, off-campus parking garages will be located in a centralized area between all agreeing apartment complexes included in the garage making it safe for the students, and the rates for the parking garage will be fair and reasonable. Consumers will actually pay money for this service because it is relevant and there are not a lot of other competitors in the market that provide this service, at least in Gainesville speaking. 

5. What are your core competencies?

• In my own personal knowledge, I do not know of any other company around here that offers services like these --- without insanely expensive rates. My only other 'competitors' would be the apartment complexes that opt out of signing onto a combined parking garage, and offer residents their own personal spots, but those spots are usually outrageously overpriced and sometimes not in the best locations either so I am assured that my core competency of offering affordable and safe parking spots in a great location will be more than enough to sway the consumers into renting a parking spot from one of my parking garages. 

Do these elements fit together?

• I do believe that all of these elements work together and would be great, however, I do feel that there are some important parts of this opportunity that are weaker than others. First, I am not sure what it would cost me personally to get this business up and running and where to begin looking for a credible and safe contracting and construction crew to hire to work on the parking garages for me. Secondally, I am not sure how to go about getting my name out there and the services that I provide. This is due to a lack of connections and people to spread my business around to people in the community and area. Other than these two details I feel that all of these elements that I have work together to make this a great opportunity!

Elevator speech URL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZm0cyyVZaA&t=3s

Assignment 9A Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

• Who?
• After conducting my interviews with five individuals who I thought might have the need that I have presented in my opportunity for an unmet need, I was surprised to find that there are people whom I thought would need this opportunity that actually did not. These individuals are people who have either not brought their cars down to school with them therefore do not need to worry about finding parking spots and are also people who do not care about finding a good spot that is close to their apartment for not only convenience reasons but for safety reasons as well.
• My first interviewee is a female from a neighborhood over from mine who informed me that she does not have a need for this opportunity because she is an out-of-state student and her parents did not allow her to bring her car down from New York so she does not have a vehicle. However, she thought that having a parking garage would be a great opportunity for her roommates who do have their cars down here at college with them. 
• My second interviewee is a male who surprised me a little bit, seeing that he had a car that is at college with him I assumed he would have an opportunity for this need but he informed me otherwise. He said although he sees how parking could be annoying to some he just simply does not care enough about his parking spot to have an opportunity for this need.
• My third interviewee informed me that although she does have a car with her at college and that sometimes parking can be quite frustrating, she would not purchase a parking spot in a new parking garage because it is "cheaper to pay one price yearly for street parking versus paying monthly."
• My fourth interviewee was a senior in high school who plans on attending the University of Florida in the fall of next year, she told me that she will be staying off campus with her sister. Although, her apartment will be in the area that I felt my opportunity would meet needs, she told me that she would be sharing a car with her sister and that her sister lives at an apartment (one of the few) that have designated parking spots for the residents of their apartment complex. Therefore, she would have no need for the parking garage. However, I decided to interview her sister as my fifth interviewee who told me otherwise, although she does have parking at her apartment complex it is a first come first serve basis when it comes to finding a parking spot. She can see a need in my opportunity but says that "knowing gainesville landlords they would find a way to increase the parking garage prices" and therefore, she would not be purchasing a spot in the parking garage.
• What?
• I learned through talking to the people that i interviewed that although this would solve some people's parking issues in Gainesville, one parking garage would not satisfy the needs of every student and resident in the city of Gainesville.
• Why?
• I do not believe that the need is different rather people are influenced by different factors whether it be money, family or culture. All of those factors contribute to whether they see my opportunity for their as a priority or not.

Inside the boundary                          Outside the boundary

Who:                       College students that have                     College students who have not brought

                                 brought their cars to college.                 their car to college.

  

                                 College students who do not                  College students that live in an apartment

                                 live in an apartment complex                 that offers parking spots for them.

                                 that offers parking spots.

 

                                 College students who would be              College students that would not pay for a

                                 willing to pay monthly for a parking        parking spot monthly.

                                 spot.

What:                     To help cut down on the lack of parking  To eliminate parking issues in the city

                                for off campus students.                            all together.

            

                               To provide safe and close parking spots    To make it mandatory for all apartment

                               for students living in off campus                complexes to have parking available

                               apartments that do not provide parking        for all their residents.

                               spots.

Why:                     The city of Gainesville does not have enough parking spots for their residents let                                   alone their guests and students that are here. 

                               People can not afford some prices that apartment complexes charge for their                                         parking spots. 

                              

Assignment 8A- Solving the Problem

• My service has to do with the prevalent need for more parking spots in the city of Gainesville, FL

• Some off-campus apartment complexes have tried to implement their own parking lots or spots that are available for the residents of their apartments to rent monthly but for a very expensive rate. The problem with this however, is that there are only limited spots that the apartment complex even has to sell to the residents. I would like to provide a service that can come in and find land in Gainesville as well as other college towns that have parking issues and find ways to put in parking garages for the residents of off campus apartments. 

• There are a few ideas that I have to provide this service:
• Get with landlords and have them form a committee that can bring in companies to provide parking garages so that they can work together to build a parking garage for the residents of their apartment complexes.
• Meet with city and town commissioners to find ways in the city's budget to incorporate money to build a parking garage for students that live off campus.

• Both of these options would provide accessible, close to their home, parking for off-campus students for a reasonable monthly or yearly rate.

• I want to first implement this service in Gainesville and see if it is possible to find a way to work with the landlords or the city to provide this for off-campus living students just like myself. If this was a success and I saw that it was not only pleasing residents of apartment complexes but also generating a revenue for the people involved I would look to expand this service to other college towns across America.

Assignment 7A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

Parking Shortage in Gainesville, FL

• Opportunity:
• In the city of Gainesville, FL there is a huge shortage of parking for students living in off-campus apartments. Every day students are faced with the constant struggle finding a parking spot, often the parking spots are far away from their apartments posing a potential threat to students. 
• The Who: Students living off-campus in Gainesville, FL 
• The What: Potential safety threat when students have to park far away from their apartments
• The Why: The shortage of parking spots available off-campus in Gainesville

• Testing the who: University of Florida students are not the only "who" that have this need. This need would expand to all college students in college towns that have a shortage of parking spots for their off-campus students. Although, I have not been to many other college towns to know if this need is as bad as it is in Gainesville, I do believe that there are other students that would have a need for this opportunity.
• Testing the what: Parking is not just an issue around the apartments directly off campus and near sorority row, it is a problem around downtown and places surrounding Archer Rd. This creates a parking problem for not just the students at the University of Florida but for the local residents in the city of Gainesville as they are using those parking spots as well. 
• Testing the why: I believe that the shortage of parking spots in Gainesville is due to the fact that it is a small town and was not very expanded or commercialized before the University came into town. The amount of parking spots that were available for the residents of Gainesville were probably plenty enough before UF came into the town, but after it created a huge shortage of parking for the city.

• Interview #1: 
• This first interview that I conducted was with a student who lives directly off campus by 12th street. He informed me that he has spent "countless hours driving up and down the neighboring streets surrounding his apartment complex looking and hoping to luck up on a parking spot." He agrees that there is a serious problem with the parking for apartment complexes off the University's campus. 

• Interview #2: 
• This next interview that I conducted was with a student who does not live directly close to campus but finds herself commuting to sorority row quite frequently throughout the week. When asking her how she felt about the parking she told me that during the hours she usually is visiting sorority row and the streets surrounding directly off campus she is in "constant competition" with the residents of that area to find parking. She told me that she is typically traveling to this area between 5:00-6:30 pm, she informed me that finding a parking spot is especially bad during this time and she would "most definitely like to see an improvement in the parking." 

• Interview #3:
• My next interview that was conducted was with a student who currently lives in my apartment complex that is located directly off-campus and just a few streets over from sorority row. When asking her, her opinion on the parking shortage in Gainesville she was more than happy to tell me her opinion on the current situation. She told me that not only is finding a parking spot the first issue that she has, but finding a parking spot that is big enough for her car. She owns a jeep and tells me that "often I find open spots when looking for a parking spot but then realize that it is too narrow or there is not enough room for her car." She feels that if they do expand the parking that they need to make spots that accomodate for all types of cars.

• Interview #4:
• The next interview that I conducted was with a friend who lives in an apartment complex down the street from mine. This student is currently renting a parking spot from his apartment complex and pays a monthly fee. When asked his opinion on the current parking situation in Gainesville he told me that he identified the shortage "right away" and quickly contacted his apartment complex to purchase a parking spot from them. He feels that without this parking spot he would not be able to get around as easily and that leaving his apartment to go places would not be very practical. But, he does have concerns with renting parking spots from apartment complexes because of the "extremely overpriced rates" at which they sell the spots for, but, believes these high rates are due to the shortage of parking spots the apartment complex has from the city as well. 

• Interview #5:
• My fifth and final interview that I conducted was with a student who lives at what I believe to be one of the closest apartments located near campus. This student currently has a car at school with her and has a scooter. When I asked her on her opinion about the current parking situation in Gainesville she told me that she has been using only her scooter to get around the town because when she drives her car she is "unable to find any parking close to her apartment complex." She also informed me that after this semester is over she will be leaving her car at her parents home and only using her scooter because of how "difficult" the parking situation has been recently this year.

After conducting these interviews...

• These interviews with every student that I was able to interview helped me gain some insight on my opportunity and was truly made aware of how dire the need for more parking spots and spaces are in Gainesville, especially around the off-campus apartments that are relatively close to campus. 
• Each person that I was able to interview helped me to realize that this is a huge part of the students lives and that the need for more parking spots would help to ease the danger of parking away from their apartment complexes and having to walk alone especially at night which increases the safety threat that students would face.
• Before conducting these interviews I knew that there was a need for more parking spots to become available around the off-campus apartments just from my own experience and the struggles I have faced trying to find parking for my own car. But, after talking to five different students I learned that I am not the only one who would have a huge need for my opportunity I am seeking to supply. 

6A Assignment Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

• "U.S-Mexico trade deal may allow Trump to put tariffs of up to 25% on Mexican auto imports"
• https://globalnews.ca/news/4415594/us-mexico-trade-deal-trump-tariffs-auto/
• This suggests that an opportunity may exist because if this high of a tariff was imposed on imported auto parts from Mexico into the United States it would increase the costs of cars that aren't manufactured in the U.S.
• The most likely customer to have a need for this opportunity is any consumer that is going to be purchasing a car or having to have any parts replaced or ordered for their car, if their car manufacturer is based in Mexico. I think this opportunity might be difficult to exploit because you would be up against major car companies that are manufactured in Mexico and will not want to move their companies to America because it is more cost effective for them out of the country. For example, Ford Fusion's, RAM, Chevrolot Silverado, Nissan Sentra (http://www.toledoblade.com/Economy/2017/02/09/Made-in-Mexico-popular-on-U-S-roads.html.)
• I saw this opportunity because it has been all over the news about the proposed tariffs for imported goods from President Trump but nobody has really casted light on opportunities to fix it.

• "NYU makes tuition free for all medical students"
• https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/16/health/nyu-free-tuition-medical-school/index.html
• This opportunity may exist because there are a lot of college students pursuing a degree in the health care field but do not continue onto medical school because of the cost of medical school and the amount of student loan debt that they would accumulate upon graduation.
• The most likely customer to have a need for this opportunity is any current college student that is looking to attend medical school after graduation. I think this opportunity may be an easy one to exploit because Americans have known for decades how increasingly expensive medical school is to attend, so the news of the free tuition offered at NYU for medical school should not be very difficult to provide the opportunity to people. 
• I saw This opportunity because I know that from personal experience people in my family have attended medical school and I know how expensive the tuition can become and there is a need for people with this profession in the United States, so this opportunity was a very easy one to see and hopefully exploit. 

• "Army Corps to increase Lake Okeechobee discharges"
• https://www.wptv.com/news/region-martin-county/army-corps-to-increase-lake-o-discharges
• This opportunity exists because the discharges that have been occuring in Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie waterways have caused harm to not only wild and aquatic life that inhabit those waters, but to the residents living around the contaminated waterways as well. 
• The most likely customer to have a need for this opportunity are the residents and business owners living in this area surrounding the St. Lucie waterways that have been contaminated by the green algae blooms due to the discharges from Lake Okeechobee. I do think that this opportunity will be hard to exploit because a lot of other citizens of these areas agree with my opportunity but the Army Corps of engineers, the controllers of the discharges, are hard to negotiate with.
• I saw this opportunity because this is happening in my hometown along the St. Lucie waterways and this summer I saw my beaches and rivers become corroded with this toxic green algae and it has had a huge effect on the economy in Martin County.  

• "Arizona company to make 27 million paper straws per day"
• https://www.wptv.com/news/national/arizona-company-to-make-27-million-paper-straws-per-day
• This opportunity exists because it sets an example of what every company and restaurants should be doing to contribute economically to the environment in getting rif of plastic straws.
• The most likely customer for this opportunity are the people who care about the environment and want to end the era of plastic straws littering beaches, streets and cities causing endangerment to animals. I think this will be a hard to exploit opportunity because people can be very set in their ways and not willing to make changes, especially if those people do not care about the environment.
• I saw this opportunity because living by the beach I am exposed first hand to the danger that plastic straws can pose to the animals as it floats into the water and the animals think that it is food. 

Assignment 5A Identifying local opportunities

• "Brevard restaurant owners upset by DoorDash delivery service; say they are being misrepresented" by Suzy Fleming Leonard and Wayne T. Price
• https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/2018/09/11/brevard-restaurant-owners-upset-doordash-delivery-service/1254196002/
• In this article, restaurant owner Darci Kropp, of Darci's Bacon Blues, tells of a local problem her restaurant has had with the chain food-delivery service DoorDash.
• Darci Kropp tells the TCPalm that she initially had no problem with the delivery service and did not pay much attention to DoorDash when they began rolling into her town. That is until the delivery service began picking up the orders from her restaurant and NOT delivering them to the customers. Kropp explains "She got calls from angry customers who had placed orders that were never delivered." adding that "Before I could handle it, I'd had two other people call...These people were upset."
• This was not the only problem that sparked a conflict with Kropp and DoorDash. Kropp explains that the most bothersome part of the whole ordeal is that she never established an agreement with DoorDash and their services. Kropp explains that there has been "numerous other restaurants that have run into the same problem as me with establishing no relationship with DoorDash." Some of the other restaurants in the area included Islands Fish Grill, whom the owner, John R. Williams IV, claims that "More than an hour later, a driver arrived to pick up the food. Neither the driver nor the original caller identified themselves as being with a delivery service." 
• The Problem: Local restaurants reputations are being sacrificed for the cost of a new food delivery service DoorDash who has failed to complete the delivery of orders from the restaurant. 
• Who Has The Problem: Not only the customers who are supposed to receive the orders have the problem but the restaurant owners as well, as they are the ones who take the heat from this second party not being responsible. 

• "Stuart considering Brightline station to be considered Monday" by Lisa Broadt
• https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/growth/2018/09/10/stuart-considering-brightline-station-hold-public-workshop/1252789002/
• In this article, the city of Stuart, FL is looking to introduce a Brightline train station into the area.
• This is been a recurring problem for this city as there have been numerous protests in the past years to keep big train stations like this out of the city. The article explains that city of Stuart officials "Immediate response to Brightline's offer was mixed with Interim City Manager Dave Dyess saying the city continues to oppose the train and City Attorney Michael Mortell urging commissioners to at least put together a proposal." 
• If this proposal was to be accepted and the building of the Brightline train stations were to come into the city of Stuart numerous of business would be upset and would cause an uproar in the town. Many business owners expressed their concerns about the Brightline and the type of chaos it would bring "to their quite town."
• The Problem: Local business and city commissioners worried about the introduction of Brightline train stations in the city of Stuart, FL.
• Who Has The Problem: The main people that have the problem are the local business owners and citizens of the city that do not want this train station to come into their city.

• "Double Whopper: Port St. Lucie City Council OKs plans for two Burger King restaurants" by George Andreassi
• https://www.tcpalm.com/get-access/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tcpalm.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fshaping-our-future%2Fgrowth%2F2018%2F07%2F24%2Fport-st-lucie-city-council-approves-burger-king-drive-through-service%2F825969002%2F
• In this article, we are told of a unanimous decision that was made by the City Council in the town of Port St. Lucie, FL. This decision did not sit well with the rest of the towns citizens though.
• Citizens of the town of Port St. Lucie all expressed their concerns with these two new Burger King drive thru's coming to their town for numerous reasons. Such as, the article stating that "Several neighbors told the council they are concerned the drive-through will increase traffic on Cary Street and generate noise late at night." The exit from the drive-thru backs up right next to single-family houses.
• The city commissioners have tried to make a compromise with the citizens of this town by "requiring a drive-thru curfew of 2 a.m, required deliveries made after midnight be done in the front or side of the building." This helped to address some of the citizens concerns about the traffic backing up to single-family homes.
• The Problem: Citizens concerned with the approval from city commissioners of two new Burger King Drive-thru's
• Who Has The Problem: Not only the citizens have this problem but the city commissioners as well, since they approved the building of the chains it is their responsibility to now make compromises and please the citizens.

• "Private parking spaces on Vero Beach streets? City to let beachside businesses buy their own meters" by Colleen Wixon
• https://www/google.com/amp/s/amp.tcpalm.com/amp/1199926002
• In this article, City lawmakers are making the decision to let businesses purchase their own parking meters outside of their businesses on the streets of Vero Beach, FL.
• City lawmakers have voted to allow businesses to purchase their own parking meters for their customers to have parking outside their businesses. TCPalm states that parking down "Ocean Drive has had city lawmakers grappling for years about how to solve the parking problem" 
• Some businesses agree that having the parking meters would be a great solution to the parking problem. Such as Cathy Padgett, owner of Veranda she told the council "she would pay for a parking kiosk in front of her store... Spaces in front of her store are often taken up by beachgoers or hotel employees." But not all employees are as willing to the parking meters, Caeser Mistretta, owner of J.M Stringer Gallery states "Our parking problem is not one solution...There have to be many different solutions that have to be explored." 
• The Problem: City lawmakers approved for businesses to purchase their own parking meters outside of their businesses on Ocean Drive which has sparked conflict with local business owners on this street.
• Who Has The Problem: Business owners who are opposed to the parking meters that have already been approved.

• "Good-bye $49.5 million: Port St. Lucie Council OKs $14.5 million deal for VGTI building" by George Andreassi
• https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/growth/2018/09/10/port-st-lucie-city-council-oks-14-5-million-sale-vgti-building/1253132002/
• This article is about the city of Port St. Lucie offering for the former Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida Building.
• The City Council of Port St. Lucie voted "4-1 Monday to approve an agreement to sell the high-tech laboratory and office building for $14.5 million to RER ventures LLC, a distressed real estate firm based in Coral Gables."
• Christopher Kallivokas, the chairman of RER Ventures states that "This is a good opportunity for us. I hope we will stabilize the building and create some good jobs for this community and I look forward to being a part of this community." While this sounds fine and dandy not all people of Port St. Lucie have this same mindset. Mayor Greg Oravec added that certain aspects of this deal bother him and that he will "not be supporting this deal."
• The Problem: A big therapy institute coming to Port St. Lucie, FL and the mayor will not be supporting the deal.
• Who Has The Problem: The people who stand by the mayor when he says he does not support this deal, if the deal gets approved those citizens and the mayor will be affected.