14A - Halfway Reflection

1. I have personally kept up with this course by looking ahead at my assignments. At first, I would start looking at them and even starting them a day before they were due, but now I know that that is not always enough. It's also good to know at least a week in advance if a larger assignment is due, like the reading reflection due this Friday. If I hadn't known that I would need to read an entire book until the night before it was due, I'd be pretty stressed. Because I already looked at this assignment last week, I was able to begin reading the book I chose. In this class I have also developed my way of thinking as a result of some of the assignments. Some of the guidelines are so specific that they require you to think differently than you might normally think to complete them.

2. This past fall semester I took the hardest class I've probably ever taken in my life, and I ended up not doing too well in it despite the relentless effort I had put into it. This made me so upset and I almost gave up the minor I was taking the class for. I think what pulled me through is my motivation to succeed. I couldn't just accept the fact that I didn't receive credit for the class towards my minor, and so I decided to retake the class during a later semester and try to do better in it. I'm not sure how much of a tenacious attitude I have developed during these past two months, as I feel like I have always had a tenacious attitude. I have always been very motivated by my goals to complete tasks.

3. Tip #1: Find motivation for doing your work. I think "This assignment is contributing to my grade, which is contributing to the completion of my class, which is contributing to my degree, etc." This is the number one thing in my opinion to develop a tenacious attitude, because if you are motivated you won't want to give up.
Tip #2: Plan out you study/homework time. I have personally found that if I plan out time to do my homework, I get more of it done than if I hadn't planned time for it.
Tip #3: Set clear goals, so that you can work to achieve them. I find that when I set smaller goals that will work to achieve bigger goals, I can achieve them more easily.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc

1.
- What surprised me the most about Ray Kroc was his unbelievable work ethic. From the time he was young he was always working. In the book he talks about how most people say "Work hard, play hard," but for him work was play. He sought out work in many different areas: real estate, music, sales, and eventually franchising. He always wanted to live comfortably and have more than enough money to live with him and his family.

- The thing I most admire about Ray Kroc was his tenacity. There are several stories he shares in his book in which the average person would've wanted to give up, but he didn't. I also admired how he was always taking leaps of faith. In one story he shared about his life, he talked about how he had heard business was great in Florida. He moved down for an entire winter in search of something different in Miami, because his paper cup sales dwindled in the winter. Although the move was relatively unsuccessful, at least he had still tried it, which is something most would not have done.

- There are a couple things I did not admire about Ray Kroc. He didn't seem very interested in the things he was selling or offering his customers, and he didn't seem too passionate about his products. He seemed more interested in the business and selling aspects of his businesses. When he talked about his many jobs as a pianist, there weren't any times that made me feel like he even enjoyed playing the piano that much. Even when he first saw the McDonald's restaurant, he wasn't intrigued by the products themselves, he was intrigued by the sales of them. I guess he seems to me sort of money-hungry. Another thing I was not the most fond of was the fact that he fought over control so much with the McDonald's brothers, even though they were the ones that founded the first restaurant.

- In his book, Ray Kroc did share his encounters with adversity and failure. When he was in the business of selling paper cups, his sales would go down in winter because people didn't want to buy as many in winter. One winter, he went to Miami in search of work. He failed as a real estate agent, but then moved on to play the piano in a band. He ended up making a decent amount of money, but moved back to Chicago shortly before winter was over after being arrested along with everyone in the band because some violated the prohibition law.

2. Ray Kroc had many competencies as an entrepreneur, one being the fact that he was even able to see the huge potential of that first McDonald's restaurant. The McDonald's brothers, who were the first owners of the company, didn't really want to add to the business because they didn't really care much to have more and more responsibility. Ray Kroc took this opportunity and it turned him into a millionaire. Another competency he had was that he took risks. He took a risk by franchising these restaurants, and it ended up being a huge win for himself. In my opinion, Ray Kroc had just about every quality that a great entrepreneur would have.

3. What was confusing to me in this book is his passion of selling. Many people become salesmen because they want to make a lot of money, and they want to find new ways to make more sales in order to make even more money. However, it seemed that Ray Kroc wasn't just in it for the money, he actually found business fun. You can tell by the way he talks in his book that he was passionate about selling. When he was in the paper cup business, he wanted to come up with more ideas about how to sell paper cups because he enjoyed it, not necessarily because he wanted to make more money. Not many people have this passion for business like he did. Although somewhat confusing, this passion for selling is what made him into such a great entrepreneur.

4. If I was able to ask Ray Kroc questions, the first would be: What motivation did you have to take all of those risks that you took? I would ask this because I want to know if it was the money that was the motivation, or the thrill of success, or possibly something else. Another question I would ask would be: What made you want to seek out even more opportunities even when you were in a comfortable financial and business situation? I would want to ask this because it seems that there are many times in his book in which he was living comfortably and didn't necessarily need to look for other work or business opportunities. I'm curious to know what exactly he what need he wanted to satisfy by doing this.

5. I think that Ray Kroc would have a very similar opinion about hard work to mine. I think that he would say that hard work is all about putting in all of your effort into your work. Time and time again in his book, it seemed that his work was so interesting to him and that he put in so much effort, not just the bare minimum. Ray Kroc didn't just want to get the job done, he wanted to get the job done well. Another thing I think he would say about hard work is that you have to innovate in order to make your work more efficient. He was always working on more ideas about how to sell his products, whatever they were at the time. In fact, in his paper cup business, he made so many sales that the business had to hire a new secretary. Even after this he probably could have kept selling the same about he had been selling, but he still wanted to boost his sales and think of new ideas to sell more. I think that Ray Kroc would say that hard work is important for success. He would say that you can't get far without it. I would agree with this, because hard work is more often rewarded.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1. I chose to interview people who currently attend a public high school.

2. Interviews
Interview #1: I first interviewed my cousin, who is currently a junior in high school. When I discussed my belief that the need for better quality teachers existed, he agreed right away.
- He says he experiences this need almost daily because he feels as if his teachers couldn't care less about his education. He told me a story about a time where one of his teachers was literally so fed up with a class she said the words, "I don't get paid enough to do this job." He constantly wishes his teachers did better at teaching.
- When asked what he does to solve this need, he drew a blank. He said he honestly just deals with it and just tries his hardest in the class anyway, but this method doesn't always work.

Interview #2: I interviewed one of my friends who is still a high school senior, and she goes to the same high school I went to.
- She says that she experiences this need on a daily basis because of "how bad the teachers are" at the school she goes to. She says she has had several classes in which almost no one passed a test or assignment because the information was either not covered or was not portrayed in a way that the majority of the students could comprehend.
- When asked what she does to solve this need, she gave a very similar response to my cousin's. She said that she just ends up having to learn the material by herself through other resources, even though this method does not always end up working and providing a quality education for her.

Interview #3: My last interview was with my friend's sister who is a freshman in high school.
- She says that she experiences this need all the time. Because she had just gotten done with being in middle school the year before, she had such high expectations for high school education and high school teachers. She ended up being disappointed because her expectations were not met at all. She says that the quality of education and teachers should be high, because high school is preparation for college.
- When asked what she does to solve this need, she said she likes to ask questions. She says that when she doesn't understand something, she will work with her teachers to understand it better. She says that the reason this doesn't always work is because no matter how many times she asks questions about the material, a lot of teachers only provide one way of explaining the topic, not catering to her way of learning. She also said it's impossible to ask a detailed question about something you don't even know existed because it had never been even introduced in class.

I learned a lot from my interviews. The story my cousin told in my first interview really shocked me. The fact that a teacher felt that unmotivated and cared so little about her students' education is sad. These interviews only prove to me more that this need is a really important need, because so many people have it. Also, the solutions that the people I interviewed came up with by themselves are not sustainable and most don't work a majority of the time.

The need for a solution to this problem is high because so many people have this need. So many people experience bad teachers, and many agree with me that something needs to be done to improve this. People who are a part of this segment experience this need on a daily basis according to my interviews, which tells me that this problem is in need of an urgent solution. I think that many people who value education would agree that something needs to be done about this.

11A Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I'm studying music, and I'd love to teach music one day. Even though I'm studying something some might consider "non-academic," I truly value my education and think that others should, too. I was always the friend in high school checking up on my friends to make sure that they were staying on top of their grades, so I try to influence others to value their education. My strong belief that education is so important is what motivates my business idea, because the quality of education is also very important. Quality of education begins with teachers. I think that my business concept could have impacted my life greatly back when I was in high school. I might have had a better educational experience overall if this idea had been in place in my school.

2. My business idea is a program that could be implemented into schools. This program could be managed online. The program would include effective training for new teachers before classes begin. It would also include a probationary period for however long the school chooses. This means that there would be a supervisor overseeing all of the new hire's work for their probationary period. The program would also include supervisors checking over all regular employees' work. The program would include wage bonuses and penalties. Basically, the teachers' salary depends in part on their performance. Employees would be able to check their performance online and receive feedback on how to improve in order to reduce a penalty or increase a bonus. They would also do better work because they would be watched a bit more closely and be provided feedback on how to improve their work.

3. My customers would be school districts and possibly private schools that feel they need more help with strengthening the quality of the education at the schools.

4. I think that people would use my service because education is important to so many people in our country. I feel that there are always new ideas implemented into curriculum to help students receive better education, but I also feel that the best way to do this is to begin with having better teachers.

5. Like I mentioned above, there is a constant inflow of new curriculum to help students achieve more success at school, but they never seem to work all that well. This is because they are focusing on the material rather than the actual person communicating this material. My idea is set apart from this because it would be focusing in on the teachers.

I think that all of these elements fit together very well. I value education and I want others to, as well. The best way to do this in my opinion is to make sure that the quality of education is up to par. One part of my business idea that may be weaker is that it would be difficult to transition it into schools, because people won't be used to it. Also it may require many changes to be made to be implemented, because my program is so specific. It needs to be approved and accepted into schools, which may require having to go through many people to get it approved to be implemented into schools.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/ZqtntR0NZJs

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Need/opportunity: There is a lack of quality in public schools' education partially because of improper funding and lack of incentives to do better as employees.

Interviews:

Interview #1: Hallie, my friend who went to private school
Hallie says that she hasn't really experienced this need because she went to private school all her life, but she can see why many people would have this need. She thinks that a huge reason that her education might have been a bit better is because her teachers had incentives to do better at their jobs and provide a quality learning experience for their students.

Interview #2: Dani, my friend whose mother worked as a teacher at a private school
Dani says that she understands this need by putting herself in the shoes of a student who goes to a public school, but because she's only ever been to a private school, she hasn't really experienced this need firsthand. Her mother is a teacher at her old private high school and she says that her mother got bonuses and plenty of incentives, which made her want to do a better job. She also says that her supervisors paid a lot more close attention to her work than supervisors at a public school might have.

Interview #3: Juan, my friend who attended public school
My friend Juan says that while he agrees that this need exists, he has little experience with having this need. He says that his public high school was relatively great. He says that it was the best school in his school district. He wasn't aware of whether or not teachers at his school were being given incentives to do a better job, but he does know that the supervisors kept a close eye on teachers at the school. He thinks this is why he received a quality education at his school. He does admit that he did have a bad teacher here and there, but for the most part he had a good experience.

Interview #4: Alexi, a friend who was homeschooled 6th-12th grade
Alexi says that she hasn't experienced this need because she was homeschooled. She says that she definitely agrees the need exists, and this need is part of the reason she switched to home schooling after 5th grade. Her mother didn't want to put her into any of the middle schools in their area because of how poorly they were rated educationally and how bad of a reputation they had. She says that maybe if there had been a reform of the quality of public education, she might have gone to a public school.

Interview #5: Kiran, a friend whose uncle is a private school principal
Kiran says that he didn't attend private school, he attended public school, so he did experience this need. However, his uncle who lived a couple hours away is a private school principal. He knows that his uncle provides many opportunities for teachers and provides many incentives for them to do better, and because of this, the school is ranked among the best in the state. He keeps a close eye on his employees and is not afraid to penalize them for bad performance.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who: Students who are not receiving quality educations because of teachers who are not doing their jobs well enough. Teachers need incentives and supervisions to be better.	Who: People who go to private schools and schools that provide more incentive and supervision than most public schools do.
What: Teachers need more incentives to do better jobs and need more supervision to make sure that they are on track.	What: They don't need much more incentive and supervision because they already have it.
Why: Teachers don't have much incentive to do a good job so they perform poorly, resulting in poor educational experiences for students.	Why: These teachers have enough incentive and supervision to be able to want to do a good job, which results in a better education for the students.

Summary:
I have found through these interviews that not all teachers and students have this need. Mostly teachers and students at private schools do not have this need. I think that this is because they have better supervision and more incentive. I think that my interviews still support my opportunity belief.

8A – Solving The Problem

My opportunity:

Many schools have low quality employees due to lack of incentives and lack of proper training and supervision. While this can stem from not having enough funding, it can also stem from simply putting funds in the wrong places, or places that might not need it as much. 

My solution:

My idea for a solution to the problem I mentioned above is a program that could be implemented into schools. This could be managed online. The program would include effective training for new teachers before classes begin. It would also include a probationary period for however long the school chooses. This means that there would be a supervisor overseeing all of the new hire's work for their probationary period. The program would also include supervisors checking over all regular employees' work a bit more briefly. The program would include wage bonuses and penalties. Basically, the teachers' salary depends in part on their performance. Employees would be able to check their performance online and receive feedback on how to improve in order to reduce a penalty or increase a bonus. I think that if schools redistributed their funding in order to pay for a program like this, teachers would have more of an incentive to do better work. They would also do better work because they would be watched a bit more closely and be provided feedback on how to improve their work. 

7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity:
Many school districts in America are unable to properly fund salaries for their employees and provide proper conditions for learning due to lack of government funding.

The who: School districts, their employees, and students.
The what: Teachers are not paid well enough and students don't have proper learning conditions.
The why: School districts can't fund well enough because of lack of government funding.

Testing the who: More than just the students, teachers, and school district has this need. Students being improperly educated affects their futures, which in turn affects everyone involved in their future. Teachers being improperly paid can affect their families that they have to provide for.

Testing the what: Not all schools and school districts have this problem. In fact, some schools are overfunded in my opinion. The extra effort and funds could be applied to schools that actually need it.

Testing the why: I do think that the why exists for everyone affected. The only reason it might not is if people think that the why isn't that there isn't enough funding, there just isn't funding in the right places. However, I still think more funding would solve this why too.

Interview #1: My friend Kate
When interviewing Kate, I explained my opportunity and beliefs to her that I mentioned above. She agreed with me that teachers in many areas are underpaid. She shared some of her high school experiences with this with me. She said that once when she was a sophomore in high school, a teacher in her grade walked out in the middle of class on a school day and just never came back. She apparently told the school she walked out so abruptly because the job of being a high school teacher was way too much for such little pay. Kate said she thinks that if that teacher had been paid more, she might have not only stayed in her position as a high school teacher, but she might have performed better at this job. Kate also agreed with me about there being improper learning conditions. She says she has experience with overcrowded classrooms.

Interview #2: My grandma, a retired teacher
My grandma agreed with my beliefs about schools and their improper funding. She really experienced this firsthand, as she was a teacher for most of her life. She says that the work she and her coworkers did deserved way more than the pay they received. She says that she often worked more than 40 hours a week with all the work she would have to do outside of the workplace like grade papers and answer emails. She also says that dealing with teenagers is hard, no matter what the situation is. She thinks that teaching high schoolers is the hardest level to teach. She was disrespected many many times throughout her career and said that the pay was not worth the behavior of some of her students. She also agreed with me about improper learning conditions. She said that the facilities were often trashed and not cleaned regularly enough. She often had overcrowded classes, too. She also mentioned that she doesn't necessarily think it's the lack of funding that's totally the issue, but the lack of funding in the places that need it the most. She thinks that at the school she taught at, they put way too much funding into sports teams and not enough into actual education.

Interview #3: My friend Carson
Carson went to school in south Florida, and I was interested to get his perspective because I don't really know what schools are like there. There are many stereotypes about rich schools in south Florida. Carson agreed with me that the opportunity exists. However, he definitely had not experienced the need like the other people I had interviewed had. He says that he never really had experience with overcrowded or dirty facilities like I had. He does think that teachers need to be paid more, because maybe then more qualified people would be incentivized to pursue a position in teaching, resulting in better quality education.

Interview #4: My friend Francine, who attended a private school
Francine attended a private high school, but a public middle school. She said the difference between her high school and middle school experiences are like night and day. She said that the teachers at her middle school, were not nearly as good at their job as her high school teachers were. Her neighbor was a teacher at her private school, and her mom was friends with her. Her mom told her that her pay was probably way more than what a public school teacher would receive. Her high school teachers seemed actually interested in the success of their students, partially because their pay depended on it. Her middle school teachers seemed to show little interest in their students' success because they had very little pay and did not have very many supervisors who cared to oversee them anyway. She also mentioned the differences in facilities. Her high school was always very clean and had small classes, but her middle school wasn't as well-kept and had larger classes.

Interview #5: Hailey
Hailey also agreed with my beliefs about school and their improper funding. She said she, like Francine, also noticed that many of her teachers always seemed to show little interest in her and her classmates' educations. She mentioned that the bathrooms and classroom were always "disgusting" and that things like desks and chairs were always broken. She said that it was not an uncommon experience to walk into high school classes on the first day and not have a seat because there were too many students in the class and not enough desks. She said that she thinks it's unacceptable considering she and her classmates were legally required to be there. She thinks that if education is going to be enforced with laws, it should at least be desirable to show up to school every day and expect clean facilities and nice and helpful teachers.

Summary:
I did not expect all of the people I interviewed to agree with me, especially my grandma. Usually she is always on the school district's side in these types of debates. It was interesting to get her perspective, as I have only ever experienced a student's perspective because I have never been a teacher. I didn't realize quite how many of my friends had similar experiences to me, and how many of them saw the problems that I saw. It's also amazing to me just how much can change when something is funded more, like Francine's private school. I know that a teacher's performance in their job depends on more than just their pay, but it's shocking to me how much I now think that factors into it. I believe now way more that this opportunity exists than when I first started. I also realize now that it's not necessarily the lack of funding, but it's the lack of funding in the places that need it most. It's this realization that is causing me to change my opportunity belief a bit: Many schools have low quality employees due to lack of incentives and lack of proper training and supervision.

6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic trends:

1. The coronavirus is affecting the global economy negatively.
A) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/business/economy/SARS-coronavirus-economic-impact-china.html
B) Several companies have mostly shut down in China because of the coronavirus and to prevent it spreading. Major retail and food companies have closed temporarily and their factories have halted production. International airlines have also canceled flights to China.
C) The customers and business owners are affected by this. The customers can no longer consume products being produced by these companies that are closed down, and the business owners cannot profit during this time.
D) I think that this opportunity creates a need for consumers to be able to consume, and for business owners to be able to make more money. Consumers are always looking to consume, and business owners are always looking to profit, so I think this opportunity is easy to use to good advantage.

I saw this opportunity because I realize that this outbreak leaves many people's needs in many different situations unmet. The consumers are not able to consume in the way they were once able to, and the business owners are not able to profit like they once had.

2. Unemployment is still an issue.
A) https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/04/trump-touts-his-economy-best-ever-data-is-more-mixed/
B) Even if Trump has improved unemployment rates, it is still a problem. People are still left without jobs and without a way to provide for themselves and their families.
C) People who are unemployed are the ones affected by this need for jobs. They need a job to provie for themselves and their families.
D) I think that this opportunity is very real, but while the need is easily found, it is not as easily solved. Because this problem is so widespread, if there was an easy fix, it would be solved already.

I saw this opportunity because so many people experience unemployment and it affects their lives in such a negative way. They need to be able to provide for themselves and their families, so they need jobs. Unemployment has always been an issue, and while it may not be an issue that can ever be completely resolved, I believe that it can be minimized.

Regulatory changes:

3. Legal age to buy nicotine products raises to 21.
A) https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2020/02/nicotine-21-ban-0206
B) People aged 18-20 no longer have a way to purchase nicotine products. If they are addicted to nicotine, they will need to have something to ease the cravings. Nicotine business will also need a way to replace the profits that were once made by selling products to people aged 18-20.
C) The prototypical customers are people aged 18-20 and nicotine businesses.
D) The opportunity should be easy to exploit; people aged 18-20 no longer have a way to obtain nicotine, so there is a need there that many of them go to extreme lengths to meet. Nicotine business have probably lost a huge portion of their profits as well, so they are probably desperate to replace those profits.

I saw this opportunity because I am 20 years old, so I see this need in people around me every day. Several of my friends have been affected by this age raise, and they can no longer purchase nicotine products. A lot of them still find ways to obtain them, but they definitely have a need that can be satisfied with other things.

4. States' marijuana dispensaries are being differently regulated.
A) https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/state-reps-vote-on-regulatory-changes-to-states-marijuana-industry/
B) I think that an opportunity exists because this affects many people. If marijuana is harder to sell it will be harder for consumers and businesses.
C) The prototypical customers are consumers of marijuana, businesses that sell marijuana, and people that are incarcerated for illegal distribution of marijuana.
D) The opportunity should be easy to exploit because consumers need to purchase marijuana, businesses need to sell marijuana, and people who are selling marijuana in an unregulated fashion need to be regulated.

I saw this opportunity because many people are becoming incarcerated for illegal distribution of marijuana, but if it was easier to sell legally, the incarceration rates would go down. Also many people need marijuana for medical reasons, so they will need a way to obtain it relatively easily.