- Me: I'm James Donigan and I'm a freshman with a finance major. My talents include playing soccer and golf with interests in fishing as well as college football recruiting. I'm a very hard worker with excellent leadership and communication skills. These have led to valuable experiences such as being on the philanthropy committee and assistant treasurer for my fraternity. I've always loved entrepreneurship which drove me to take this class as well as thinking of a practical business. I'm very studious and focused on my academics which is why I'm in the library a lot and have experience. For the business I created, I think it could really take off and it would become a big part of my life as I believe in its success. If not that idea, any idea I would do, I would go all the way with it and put all my effort and energy into it.
- What I'm offering: Because people have always been complaining about the lack of outlets in libraries in general, I thought I should come up with an idea to fix that. For my company, it is actually both a product and service. First I would develop a transportable outlet that would be powered by the light through the windows and lights overhead. This is my main problem of concern and it was pointed out to me in a comment, so I'm going to need to find a way to make this work. It won't be easy but I do realize that it would be a problem if it rained for a while and the outlets didn't work. If that doesn't provide enough energy, I could possibly get a little energy from the outlets moving around (like a watch). Secondly, I would develop an app that would identify which outlets were used and weren't used on a map. I think this two-step company will solve people's problems.
- Who I'm offering to: As I'm targeting my company to first college campuses, I have to sell to the school and the students. For my product, I will be selling these portable, light powered outlets to the school so they can put them in the library. For my service and phone app, I will sell these to the students who want it on their phone. This will be my first step and as I grow, I will expand into maybe possible businesses who want my product and service. Although no one commented on this, I think this could be the more lucrative side of my business if I sold this to places such as Starbucks and Panera that have people use their wifi while they have breakfast or coffee.
- Why they care: People will definitely pay for my product and service due to their need. My product I'll sell will definitely be sellable to schools and businesses because it will attract people into their spaces making them smarter if they're at their school or business longer and work more efficiently. My service will definitely be able to attract and sell to the students because students will want to know where outlets are and if they need to walk to the library or not. Students love apps if it makes their life easier and mine will do just that. Companies such as Starbucks and Panera will like this because if people see outlets open at these shops, customers will more likely go there.
- My core competencies: I'm definitely set apart from other companies because I believe neither of these ideas have been brought to the market so I'll be alone in that category. I'm hitting a specific population that has a dire need which will bring success. Also because it's a product and service company, I'm very flexible if one idea fails and the other succeeds. Thus, I'm not solely reliant on one specific thing.
I believe that all of these elements fit together to help bring success to my business as their is a definite outlet shortage. Although, like most businesses, there are weaknesses. I think my product will be the one place that might not be as successful because I think it's going to be very hard to to not only pitch to schools why they need these portable outlets, but the ability of these outlets to work as I'd like. I think in businesses, they'll like it because they will benefit from better workers and attract more money, but for schools, they don't really have any incentives in giving students more battery power. I think the service will be very easy to market and sell as apps are the hottest thing going right now especially if it is specific like mine.
Feedback Memo: For part #1 ("Me"), I kept it the same because both of my comments said that they got a good feel for me based on this paragraph and how this business would play a role in my life. I did add that I'm in the library frequently to show people why I have an attachment and passion for my idea. Although both the comments thought the app would be successful, one of the comments questioned how effective the portable outlets would be. I addressed this because I will have to do extensive research to make sure that the lights in the building will provide enough energy, and if not, I'll have to use movement to power it a little more. For #3, I expanded who I'd be selling to such as companies like Starbucks and Panera because many people study there and use outlets. No one commented on this section, but I think this will definitely be a sellable product and service because technology is becoming an increasing part of our lives and we depend on its performance. Companies such as Starbucks and Panera will like this because it will attract more customers to their businesses. I think my core competencies stay the same because my product is definitely questionable but I still don't have any competition.
Hello James,
ReplyDeleteI think you have a great idea, this is the first time I have read one of your blog post so I am new to your idea. And I like it. Yes, it does sound like you are going to have a problem with making sure that power is available in a consistent state. The Kinetic movement idea might work, but how long would the customers need to keep it moving. I have a few Kinetic watches and did purchase an automatic winder for them. It is a box that I can put the watches in and it keeps the watches moving to keep them winded. Not sure how long they would stay wand if they stopped though.
Good luck with your semester,
-Dallin
If you would like to read my post, I have attached a link below. http://dallinj.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
James,
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking out for your fellow students in trying to come up with an idea that's is going to help us. All in all, it is a great idea. Anything that uses renewable such as solar, makes me very happy, and I think that's where we should be going as goes energy. Blog: http://camivilla10.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
Hello James,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having a portable outlet, although I'm not sure it would be that efficient if it were to try to capture energy from inside a building. I say this because lights (incandescent, fluorescent, and now LEDs) emit a very tiny fraction of the amount of light that the sun does. Your idea might be plausible in many years when solar panels become a lot more efficient. But right now, they require nearly an entire rooftop surface area to gather enough photons to power part of a house's energy demands. This means your portable outlet would have to be very large, which doesn't work well with something that's portable. I think your kinetic motion concept currently has a lot more potential than the light powered outlet. I had a portable radio that was hand powered, but the moment you stop turning, the power dies, and it gets very tiresome. Good luck working on your idea, it may be viable when solar panels become a lot more efficient. You can check out my idea napkin in the link below.
http://rogerstrobert.blogspot.com/2016/03/idea-napkin-no-2.html
Hey James,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea is unique! You have a clear targeted market and your product is essential for everyone, especially at Libraries in Universities such as UF. However, I believe that the key question to answer should be how? How are you going to do this? It is amazing how our imagination help us craft our entrepreneurial mindset and many times we fall into that ideology of thinking that we can create something from scratch, which is the key entrepreneurship, but it has limitations. It is good that you recognize that and that is the only thing I believe you should be worried about. Keep up with the good work!
Great post!
Take a look at my post and let me know what you think about it. Here’s the link: http://alejandroentrepreneurship.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-business-plan-idea-napkin-2.html