14 - Halfway Reflection

1.) I have developed the behavior of looking ahead at the future assignments so i can think about them in advance. I think this is important for me because I am normally a huge procrastinator and these assignments are not easy to do when crunched for time.

2.) I felt like giving up quite a lot during the first half of this course, primarily because I would read the assignments and think "I have literally no idea what to do for this" or " I can't think of any ideas that aren't stupid". I missed a lot of assignments because of this. the main thing that has motivated me to push through and turn things around is the knowledge that this is the final elective I will take in order to meet my degree requirements, and that I absolutely must earn a passing grade. I do not feel tenacious as of now because my participation so far has been low, but that is changing and I may feel differently by the end of the semester.

3.) My three tips for future students are this:
           - Make sure to keep up with the assignments in the beginning so you will have a well-developed product/business idea to work with for the later assignments.
           - Take notes on the lectures even if you feel like they don't contain much substance, especially when the professor is talking through hypothetical business situations. This will help a lot on cupcakes.
           - Don't worry too much over how realistic your idea are at first. This class is more about going through the brainstorming and idea development process than it is about actually producing a winning business proposal. Take things seriously, but not so seriously that it stresses you out.



I don't know what kind of image they expect for this, but here is a fairly anatomically accurate depiction of a horse that I drew. For anyone who doesn't know, horses - as well as all other ungulates and lots of other animals - walk digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes and their heels do not touch the ground. Horses take this to the extreme, because they have lost all of their toes except for one: the middle one. Hooves are just modified toenails. Essentially, horses go through life walking on just their toenails while giving everyone the middle finger. This just goes to show that even common animals that are familiar to us can be full of weird and wonderful traits.

13 - Reading Reflecton 1

For this reading assignment, I read "Grinding it out: the making of McDonald's", the autobiography of Ray Kroc.
1.) I'm not sure why, but the thing that surprised me the most to learn was that Ray Kroc, while he deserves most of the credit for turning the business into the global monster it is today, did not come up with the idea for the fast food restaurant. He simply saw potential in the unique operation of a single store that was run by the actual McDonald brothers and decided to jump on the opportunity. Previously, Mr. Kroc was a salesman for paper cups and milkshake machines. The quality I find most admirable about him is his ability to spot opportunities and take massive risks without worrying too much about the possible consequences. A quality I dislike about him is that he seemed to value chasing his business dreams over ensuring his family stability - he jumped on opportunities without consulting his wife and there was a period of time where they barely scraped by. He also divorced his second wife the instant he found out the other woman whom he loved more but hadn't seen for 5 years was divorcing her husband. Kind of a dick move, since it seemed like his marriage was working out just fine, but whatever I guess... it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth because I got the impression that he didn't respect the women in his life as much as he should have. Whenever he encountered adversity, he rarely gave up on his goals. he kept pushing forward as if he could already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

2.) Ray Kroc's competencies include the ability to know (most of the time) when an idea was good or bad, excellent salesmanship, and perseverance.

3.) The most confusing part of the book was the later chapters that described his life after McDonald's made him rich. I think it was confusing to me because I, being a lower middle-class person, do not understand all the ways money works when you have so much of it. I barely understand the basics of the stock market and I'm not totally sure what exactly "shares" of a company are, other than that they are worth some amount of money.

4.) If I could ask Mr. Kroc two questions, I would ask him what he thinks of the stereotype of McDonald's being a crappy place to work, and if he thinks the quality of McDonald's food has changed since the company became so massive. He painted a vivid picture of McDonald's being this clean, professional, and strict operation that prioritized food quality and service above all else, but that's not what I grew up understanding about McDonald's, or fast food in general. I've always thought of McDonald's as a cheap place to eat when I'm on a road trip or in a hurry where I can get a lot of food quickly for a low price and I don't have to even go inside. I've never viewed it as anywhere close to being a classy place to eat, and I'm pretty sure most people would agree. I've also heard the phrase "you don't want to end up working at McDonald's, do you?" as an example of a bad future for people who don't do well in school. I would be curious to know what Mr. Kroc thinks of these things.

5.) no question about it, Ray Kroc believes that hard, honest work is the only way for people to amount to anything. I think that's true for most people, but there are certainly people who are privileged to belong to a well-off family and therefore have many more opportunities presented to them and are able to follow their dreams easier than others. One of the worst atrocities of the modern day is how many brilliant and talented people are chained into poverty because they literally don't have time to pursue anything other than their current job that only covers the bills and leaves them unable to save. I think America has changed a great deal in the last century, and we no longer live in a society where "hard work" is enough.
 

12 - figuring out buyer behavior 1

Segment: parents who throw parties for their kids

1.) The first person I interviewed was interested in the idea. She said it sounded like a much "cooler" alternative to the magician who appeared at her daughter's most recent birthday. This mother appreciated the educational aspect of the animal presentations since her child's school does not take many field trips anymore and our idea seemed like a fun supplement.

2.) The second person was a father of two kids, ages 6 and 8. Both of his children are very much into Pokemon, and he thought it would be most engaging for them if our animal presentations could connect to that theme somehow, since "Pokemon are like animals". I told him his idea was very interesting and definitely possible. He was concerned about how much it would cost to book an Animal Discovery appearance, as he and his wife try to stick with inexpensive activities for their kids. Because of this, he said his family would be unlikely to hire our service, but thought our business idea was worthwhile for people who can afford it.

3.) The third person was a mother who home schools her son. She expressed concern over the safety of having certain types of animals interacting with children, but admitted that her son would probably love it. This person does not throw large parties, but does enroll her son in summer camps and educational programs offered by her local library and said our presentations would be a nice thing to include in a science-themed program. She mostly covers english and social studies topics when homeschooling her kid, so she has to hire tutors for math and science. Her need awareness for supplemental biology education was high.

In summary, not everyone I approached was likely to utilize our service directly. They all said it was a good idea and that they would like to see something like it included in things like summer programs or school events so their children could experience it without them having to foot the bill, though the first parent I spoke to seemed willing to seriously consider it. I do not yet know what I would charge for a presentation appearance, so it is hard to say how serious an issue this would be for most private clients. It does suggest that I should focus more on marketing this service to schools and summer camp programs.

11 - Idea Napkin 1

1.) My name is Kailey Hart. I am a zoology major with hands on experience working with several exotic and domestic animal species, and I consider myself to have fairly good public speaking skills. I've decided to focus my career on the spread of information about the creatures we share the planet with, as well as pushing the message of wildlife conservation. My proposed business, Animal Discovery, would be a non-profit organization dedicated to this mission, and would allow me to personalize my message and cater to a wide audience.

2.) The primary service I will offer would be educational and interactive animal presentations. These can be tailored to various types of audiences, from elementary aged children to adults. The presentations will include live ambassador animals and can be designed to fit a specific theme if the client so desires. The secondary purpose of Animal Discovery is to function as a rescue for displaced exotic animals in need of a new forever home, though we would have to be selective and would only take in animals that we have the resources to care for. As the business grows, so would our ability to take in more rescues.

3.) This service will be offered to both private and public clients. Our presentations will serve to fill the needs of people organizing events who are looking for engaging family friendly content that their audiences or guests will be sure to remember. The types of events I currently have in mind include birthday parties, school events, and summer camp programs, though I'm sure there are other opportunities as well. I expect the most common type of audience to be kids and teens.

4.) The thing that gives our service value to the clients is the unique experience of seeing exotic animals up close outside of a traditional zoo setting. The exact species that would be used depends entirely on what we are able to house and rescue, but in general they would be various birds, reptiles, and medium or small mammals. It's valuable because it's interesting and entertaining content that can appeal to people of all ages.

5.) My core competencies lie with my formal and hands on education in the subject matter. While my presentations would likely be tailored to young audiences, I have the knowledge and ability to answer questions with information all the way up to the college level. I have experience and practice with this. In addition to simply having lots of knowledge about animals, I also have a good amount of public speaking practice that can directly translate into a presentation-like environment.


I think these elements work together pretty well, although there are definitely gaps and shortcomings. One huge issue is that I currently don't have enough experience or qualifications to actually start an organization like this. While everything I've outlined about my experience is true, I'll need more. Thankfully, I already plan to gain that experience over the next several years after I graduate. I will also spend that time attempting to grow my presence on social media, hopefully enough to get Animal Discovery some decent initial exposure if/when it becomes reality. Another limitation on this business idea is that it would be bound to a specific geographical region, since there is only so far I could travel for regular presentations at the start. Overall, I know this general organizational model can work because it's not novel: there are other organizations like this already in existence. To avoid direct competition, I would simply choose to operate in a region that lacks one.