Week 4 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me was the types of innovation section. I had just always assumed that for a person to be considered an entrepreneur, they had to come up with a completely new idea or invention. However, this section showed me that improving upon an existing idea or combining multiple ideas can also lead someone to become an entrepreneur.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the incongruities section. I just didn’t really understand the definition and the example they gave didn’t help much either.

One question I would have for the author is, what do you think the next big opportunity trend will be? Another question I would ask is, what is the best way to overcome self-doubt in relation your creative ideas?

There wasn’t really anything I disagreed with the author about in this section. I’m not the most creative person, so receiving advice like what was talked about in the chapter was really helpful.

Top 5 World Problems

Ranked World’s Biggest Problems

1. Clean water.
2. Climate change.
3. ISIS.
4. Renewable energy.
5. Nuclear proliferation.

I think clean water is the biggest problem for our world because it’s something that affects every part of our world. Humans, animals, plants, the ecosystem as a whole, almost everything needs water to survive, and it’s important that the water is clean. It’s easy to ignore a problem like this because it’s not as if the world will run out of clean water tomorrow, but we need to be proactive in making sure the problem does not become even worse.



Ranked Solutions

1. Make renewable energy options cheaper and more convenient to use.
2. Enact stricter pollution laws.
3. Provide education on warning signs of human trafficking and enact zero tolerance laws for human trafficking.
4. Sending educators to countries that don’t have education systems and talk to educators on how to improve our own education system.
5. Create an invention that would allow ocean water to be clean enough to drink.

I think making renewable energy options cheaper and more convenient is the most implementable solution because the base technology is already there. It’s simply a matter of presenting the technology in a more consumer-friendly manner. If things such as solar panels were more convenient and affordable for the average consumer, there could be a hugely positive impact on the environment.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me from Chapter 2 was the psychic risk section. I had not really considered that the psychological impact from a failed business venture could be so catastrophic, but I can see now that it is a very real risk to consider. This is perhaps the one thing entrepreneurs place on the line when starting a new business that they many never be able to fully regain.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the typology of entrepreneurial styles chart. I understand the general idea of what it represents, but using terms like “activity seeking” or “risk avoiding” seem confusing to me on their own.

One question I have for the author is, can morally questionable acts in business ever be justified? For instance, if a charity engages in bribery so that they can get their supplies to those who need it? Another question for the author is, what is the most important thing (besides industry guidelines) to include in a company’s code of conduct?

One thing I disagree with is that there is a family and social risk to entrepreneurship. You prioritize what do you do in life, and if you decide the business you’re starting is more important than the family or friends you have, it is your own fault. Of course, an extra business trip or missing a party might be something that can’t be avoided, but constantly putting the business above your own relationships is the fault of the entrepreneur.

Identifying Local Opportunities

As Florida McMansions multiply, neighbors cope in the shadows
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/as-florida-mcmansions-multiply-neighbors-cope-in-the-shadows/2262310
More and more large houses are being built in Florida, which is great for the housing market but unfortunate for the neighbors that have to live next to them. In addition to dealing with construction for extended periods of time, these mansions often compromise the privacy of their neighbors since they have to be built high off the ground to comply with flood insurance restrictions. This has caused neighbors to either have to modify their homes or move to a new location.
The problem is that these new homes are invading the privacy of their neighbors.
This affects Florida homeowners and realtors.

Guns-on-campus proposal likely dead for 2016 session
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/florida-senate-chairman-bill-to-open-campuses-to-gun-toting-students-is/2262272
A proposal to allow those with concealed weapons permits to carry their weapons on public university and college campuses has not been scheduled for a hearing for 2016, almost effectively blocking a vote on the legislation. Those in favor of the idea are seeking other ways to continue the proposal, while those against it have voiced their support for the decision of Senator Diaz de la Portilla to not hold a hearing on the legislation.
The problem is that the issue of concealed weapons on campuses has not yet been solved.
This affects Florida public university students, staff, faculty, and visitors.

Uber's low fares spark backlash: drivers protest pay cuts, customers may face surge pricing
http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/ubers-low-fares-spark-backlash-drivers-protest-pay-cuts-customers-may-face/2261405
Uber has lowered their prices in order to draw more customers due to the “winter slump”, however many Uber drivers in Tampa are protesting this decision, saying the weather doesn’t affect their region as it does in other places up North. Many drivers are saying they barely make a profit driving at the new rates, and therefore have made several protests, including all drivers logging off the app at the same time. Other drivers have logged off at strategic times in order to drive up surge prices, then logged back on in order to make a higher profit.
The problem is that both drivers are becoming dissatisfied with Uber in the Tampa area.
This affects Uber drivers and customers.

Bill would allow Florida students to advance at their own pace
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/bill-would-allow-florida-students-to-advance-at-their-own-pace/2261040
A bill filed by Senator Jeff Brandes seeks to personalize the school experience of students in Pinellas and Lake counties by allowing them to move on to more difficult material before the end of the semester. This could allow more advanced students to speed up the graduation process while allowing other students who need more time to focus on the course.
The problem is that some students are advanced enough to move on to more difficult material, but can’t under current school education plans.
This affects middle school and high school students and their teachers and staff in Pinellas and Lake counties.

Mayor Kriseman pledges $1 million to fight violence and poverty in St. Petersburg
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/mayor-kriseman-pledges-1-million-to-fight-violence-and-poverty-in-st/2260747
Several recent shootings have left 8 teenagers dead. Mayor Kriesman has pledged $1 million of the city budget towards solving the poverty and violence problems that are prevalent in South St. Petersburg. This budget will be focused towards education and access to jobs. A task force will decide how to best spend the budget.
The problem is that there had been a recent increase in violence in St. Petersburg.
This affects the citizens of St. Petersburg.

World's Biggest Problems

1. Clean water is a huge problem in our world. With a growing population and increasing levels of pollution, finding clean water needs to be a priority. A solution would be to create an invention that would allow ocean water to be clean enough to drink.

2. Climate change is another huge problem. While people may not always agree on the causes, it is important to react to these changes, such as rising water levels caused by melting ice, increasingly strong hurricanes, and many species becoming endangered or extinct because they cannot adapt to the new climate. One solution would be to enact stricter pollution laws so that we don’t make the problem even worse.

3. Finding a source of renewable energy is another major concern. We cannot continue to sustain the amount of energy we use solely using fossil fuels. A solution to this is to widen the availability and effectiveness of renewable energy sources such as solar panels or windmills. If these options are cheaper and more convenient to use, more people will be likely to use them.

4. ISIS is another major problem in our world today. Many people live in fear of the possibility of an attack from them. A possible solution includes attacking their organization through the Internet. They mainly recruit through social media platforms and undoubtedly communicate online, so taking out their Internet capabilities would weaken their organization and would hopefully open up the opportunity to eliminate them completely.

5. Education inequality is another major problem. There are huge disparities not only between first and third world countries, but even within countries, states, and cities. A possible solution is sending educators to those countries that don’t currently have an education system, as well as speaking to current educators on how to improve the school system.

6. There is a huge technological gap between developed and developing countries. It is almost impossible for these developing countries to compete economically with those that are developed since so much of today’s world involves technology. A solution is to work on developing countries technological infrastructures or to use recycled technology to help them catch up to other parts of the world.

7. Nuclear proliferation is another huge problem. More and more countries are developing nuclear weapons which could lead to a disastrous nuclear war. One solution would be to set worldwide nuclear restrictions and to slowly reduce the number of nuclear weapons.

8. Another problem is worldwide hunger. Many people, even in our own country, do not have sufficient access to food. One way to solve this is through genetically modified foods that are more resistant to disease or can grow in wider range of climates.

9. Unfair labor and working conditions are another worldwide problem. Many people labor incredibly long hours for very minimal wages that barely cover food or housing. Additionally, they work in conditions that negatively affect their health. One solution is to increase workers’ wages, and another is to make and enforce stricter labor laws that will protect workers.

10. Finally, human trafficking is a worldwide problem. It allows humans to be exploited in a variety of ways. A possible solution is to provide education on the warning signs of human trafficking and for world leaders to work together to create stricter enforcement and zero tolerance for human trafficking.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

One of the things that surprised me the most was the amount of entrepreneurs in the United States. According to the book, “new business start-ups numbered nearly 600,000 per year.” I had no idea that entrepreneurship was so common, I always thought it was a very small number of people who could be considered entrepreneurs.

Something that was confusing to me was the displacement school of thought. I just didn’t really understand how it related to the entrepreneurial process.

One question I would have for the author is, what is the factor that separates the gazelles from more slowly growing businesses? Another question is, how do they think they fair trade movement will develop in the next few years? Will it gain or lose momentum?

I didn’t disagree with anything the author said, but I also don’t know a lot about entrepreneurship yet. I think I’ll have more to disagree with once I gain more knowledge about entrepreneurship.

Bug List

1. Taking out the trash at my apartment complex requires a half-mile walk.
There’s only one dumpster for the entire complex.
2. There aren’t enough parking spaces on the UF campus during 9am-4pm.
These are the times when most students have class, and many commute by car.
3. I never know how to dress correctly for the weather, I either wear too much or too little.
My weather app doesn’t correctly identify the weather conditions.
4. Scheduling things like what day of the week to get drinks together with my friends or hangout is difficult.
We don’t have the same class or work schedules.
5. My laptop will have low battery during class, but I won’t be near any outlets.
The battery is old and doesn’t work as well.
6. The surge pricing for Uber goes up a significant amount right after the bars close on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are a lot of people trying to use Uber at the same time.
7. Breakfast restaurants are packed on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Many people get breakfast on the weekends because there’s no work for many people.
8. The Starbucks line at Marston takes 15-20 minutes to make a drink when it’s in between classes.
Students are trying to get coffee before class starts.
9. Library West and Marston Library don’t have enough seats during finals week.
More students than usual need to study at the same time because all the exams are in the same week.
10. My Cox wifi doesn’t work properly.
Many people are using the wifi at the same time, and Cox doesn’t have very good service.
11. My textbooks are ridiculously expensive.
Professors and publishing companies take advantage of students who must purchase the book in order to pass the class.
12. The McDonald’s on University and 13th is only drive-thru at night.
I really don’t have an answer for this, they should have it open since they lose a lot of business this way. Maybe they don’t have enough workers.
13. I can constantly hear people walking around or talking outside my apartment.
The walls in my apartment are very thin.
14. All of my favorite TV shows are on at the same time.
Certain time slots are more popular for TV viewers, so different channels want to attract the most viewers at the same time.
15. Avocados are extremely hard to cut open and slice.
The outside skin is very thick.
16. My lipstick wears off after eating or drinking.
The formula doesn’t adhere well to skin.
17. People who cut me off while I’m driving.
They don’t know where they are going or are bad drivers.
18. My car is washed and clean, then two days later it’s dirty again.
Pollen accumulates on the car, and the white color makes it easy to see all the dirt.
19. My printer isn’t printing everything on the page, even though I just replaced the ink.
The hardware of the printer is malfunctioning.
20. My new shirt shrunk in the dryer.
The craftsmanship of the shirt is poor and I left it in the dryer for too long.

Reflection
I found it really difficult to come up with 20 items for this list, even though I think I complain a lot. It’s hard to analyze everything throughout your day and think of ways that it could be improved, or what is the root cause of what’s annoying you. I also realized how stupid some of the things that “bug” me are. It made me more grateful for the life I have.

My Entrepreneurship Story

My first experience with entrepreneurship was because of my high school English teacher. Her son was about 5 years older than me, and he helped create the music streaming website Grooveshark while he was an undergraduate at UF. I went home and looked up the website and really enjoyed the layout of the website and how easy it was to use. I actually used it regularly to stream music for a year or two, but recently it was shutdown and reformatted due to copyright infringement lawsuits from major music groups. The website is different now so I don’t use it as much, but I’m still amazed how popular the website of a few undergraduate students became.

I decided to enroll in this class because I thought it seemed like one of the more interesting business courses. I really liked marketing and learning about how to advertise to consumers, and being an entrepreneur gives you the chance to not only try to market the product or service, but to come up with the product or service itself. What I hope to get out of this class is how to take an idea and see it through to its completion.

Introduction

Hi everyone, my name is Nicole and I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. I’m an only child and overall my family is pretty small. Both my parents were Gators so I’ve always known UF would be my first choice for college. Currently I’m a junior in advertising, and I’m pursuing a combined degree in global communications. Eventually, I hope to work in account management in a major city in the Southern United States, such as Atlanta or Charleston.

Back in my younger years.

 I haven’t traveled outside of the United States yet, but I’ve been to most of the major US cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami. Some of the countries I’d like to visit include Ireland, France, and South Korea. 

Week 2- Entrepreneur's Mantra Video

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