The End: I Still Can't Spell "Entrepreneur"

Is it August already? I can't even believe I mapped out an entire business in 13 short weeks. I've learned, I've grown, I've stress cried...but it was well worth it.

I think my most formative experience was when I took a class on health disparities that taught me about rural health which was the inspiration behind my entire idea. It's something that often goes overlooked and I liked researching it more in depth throughout the semester. This is definitely a topic I will continue to learn about in the future.

Honestly, after this semester, I do not see myself as an entrepreneur. But that is okay! We don't all have to be the same, business driven people. I can make a difference in a different way.

Dear future students,

You will be okay. I promise. I know it seems overwhelming and Friday nights might be spent frequently calling friends for an interview, but you will grow from this. Stay ahead, stay focused, stay passionate. Also do not forget the cupcakes

Also learn how to spell entrepreneur. I still cannot but you really should give it a shot. You'll write it a lot.

Love,

your favorite non-entrepreneur,

Megan 

the people that supported me through my breakdowns <3

(PS if you are in IA apply for ambassadors!!)

Venture Concept 2- 29A "FreshFood Trucks Co."

    As students, when we're in need of food, the answer is simple. A quick trip to Publix will do the trick. However, this is not the case for everyone in America. This innovation would attack a lack of access to fresh, healthy, and convenient foods and food sources. Its purpose is to change this in order to fight rural health disparities. Other factors including health literacy also play a part in these disparities, which would not be impacted by this nonprofit. This innovation would help people living in food deserts in rural counties. However, people that never leave their house would not be able to access the portable farmers markets as they would be at particular events. Additionally, since there are so many churches in several Florida rural counties, I would have the markets often form there. If people do not attend these services, they would not be able to access this particular one. Differing underlying causes could be a lack of education, choice to live a rural lifestyle, live on a farm and have access to ingredients     I believe the type of person that would benefit most from my product is someone from a rural county. After speaking to several people from nearby rural counties including Bradford and Levy counties, both of which are only approximately half an hour to an hour away from UF. I found that most interesting because of the abundance of options we have so close to campus compared to food deserts in rural counties only a short drive away. I have recently taken a trip to Levy county for my introduction to health disparities class, so I was familiar with the options or namely the lack of options for affordable, accessible healthy fruits and vegetables, but it was very interesting to hear about what it was like to actually live there. My interviewees in the past have described rural life as a simple one, with only a few convenience stores and what seems like more churches than houses. They described the landscape as very open with sometimes miles of space between houses.      After conducting various interviews for this project I can conclude that there is definitely a need for more accessible and affordable healthy options in rural areas. It would be important to establish a proper schedule for the portable farmers market in order to ensure accessibility for the ideal consumer.      My ideal customer is proud to live in their rural town: a low income, small town family, that frequently attends church and enjoys the simplicity of their day to day life. My customer probably lives in a small family, possibly two or three kids, maybe homeschooled. Politically they are probably more conservative as they live in a rural area and are quite religious. They probably watch the news and focus on more local events as they are very in tune with their community. 



The feedback I received on my first Venture Concept was really good. Students were able to relate to my idea, especially those from Rural communities.

Their critiques encouraged me to change my introduction a little bit, especially when catering to certain audiences. I feel like this will help get investors more intrigued and eager to hear more about my ideas.

Reading Assignment 3

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Coco Chanel

• What surprised you the most? Coco Chanel went through a lot more tragedy that I had originally expected. Her mother died when she was quite young. Additionally, as a child her family did not have very much money. I had assumed she'd come from a more wealthy background. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? Coco Chanel was extremely resilient and well adjusted. I think this quality is extremely admirable and super useful as an entrepreneur and honestly a general person. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? I genuinely cannot think of anything I don't admire about Chanel. She really built her business from the ground up and stayed strong in times of distress. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Absolutely. She struggled from an early age, losing her mother and living in poverty. She learned to make the best of her situation and found success through hard work.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? I would consider Chanel to be resilient and tenacious

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. Chanel's controversy during the Second World War was a bit confusing. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I would ask her where she found inspiration and what her main purpose was because I know these things are what drive progress. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I absolutely think that hard work was crucial to Chanel's mindset as an entrepreneur and this is an opinion that I share

Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

I think my innovation is definitely sustainable, I will just need to pass it along to students or other organizations that can keep it going. The first way to do this would be partnering with on-campus organizations concerned with sustainability. I don't think I would consider selling the business. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I have selected this as my exit strategy because the need will continue to grow without the service I am providing. While my project does not fully eliminate food deserts, it helps to offset difficulties related to them. I also think this could be a great opportunity for students. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I think identifying new opportunities, such as more suburban communities, has helped me create a strategy that is mobile and can continue. 

Failure: Failing to Fail

1. I've never been a "math person." I'll admit it, I don't necessarily have a flair for the mathematics, but I always try my best. As a journalism major, this is no big deal, I typically take and excel in my English classes and have no practical use for the Pythagorean theorem...until I was required to take Math for Liberal Arts Majors. This class, specifically Exam 1, wrecked me, to say the least. After hours of studying, I received a 50%

2. My first thought was to panic. How will I ever recover from this? After recovering from my initial stress, I knew I needed to go over the material I had missed, seek extra help, and prepare even harder for the other exams in the class

3. I think failure is important to recognize. We absolutely cannot be good at all things. Failure is also how we learn and it's important to not be afraid to ask for help when we need it.

FreshFood Trucks Co. (24A)

This innovation would attack a lack of access to fresh, healthy, and convenient foods and food sources. Its purpose is to change this in order to fight rural health disparities. Other factors including health literacy also play a part in these disparities, which would not be impacted by this nonprofit. This innovation would help people living in food deserts in rural counties. However, people that never leave their house would not be able to access the portable farmers markets as they would be at particular events. Additionally, since there are so many churches in several Florida rural counties, I would have the markets often form there. If people do not attend these services, they would not be able to access this particular one. Differing underlying causes could be a lack of education, choice to live a rural lifestyle, live on a farm and have access to ingredients

I believe the type of person that would benefit most from my product is someone from a rural county. After speaking to several people from nearby rural counties including Bradford and Levy counties, both of which are only approximately half an hour to an hour away from UF. I found that most interesting because of the abundance of options we have so close to campus compared to food deserts in rural counties only a short drive away. I have recently taken a trip to Levy county for my introduction to health disparities class, so I was familiar with the options or namely the lack of options for affordable, accessible healthy fruits and vegetables, but it was very interesting to hear about what it was like to actually live there. My interviewees in the past have described rural life as a simple one, with only a few convenience stores and what seems like more churches than houses. They described the landscape as very open with sometimes miles of space between houses. 

After conducting various interviews for this project I can conclude that there is definitely a need for more accessible and affordable healthy options in rural areas. It would be important to establish a proper schedule for the portable farmers market in order to ensure accessibility for the ideal consumer. 

My ideal customer is proud to live in their rural town: a low income, small town family, that frequently attends church and enjoys the simplicity of their day to day life. My customer probably lives in a small family, possibly two or three kids, maybe homeschooled. Politically they are probably more conservative as they live in a rural area and are quite religious. They probably watch the news and focus on more local events as they are very in tune with their community. 

25A

Existing Market:

What’s Next: In regards to my particular innovation, the next step would include more research, gathering volunteers, and finally implementation. Obviously I would need to figure out how exactly I am getting the food together. I think it would be really great to work with universities, starting with UF to gather volunteers. 

Customers: After speaking with my ideal, typical customer, it is clear that my next step is gathering volunteer. Additionally, supplies are a must. This would also include transportation and how exactly I would set everything up. 

The first step in the future path would be finding volunteers. After that I would follow typical protocol for building an event and using the connections I have within the community to start gathering supplies. From then on it would be scheduling the different events for the “food desert truck” to appear in commonly frequented events. 

New Market:

I can identify a more affluent part of society, one that’s filled with resources and transportation opportunities. 

Perhaps if I put the food truck at more local suburban events it could be more like a delicacy rather than a way to support basic necessities. 

After talking to one of my family members I actually think my innovation would fit in really well in a more affluent community. It would have the “farm fresh, farm to table” idea and aesthetic that is really popular. It could actually be trendy! This was actually a really interesting concept in brainstorming for this innovation. 

I was really surprised after applying my ideas to a different type of market. I had really only thought of my project as a way to bridge inequality gaps and help struggling communities combat health disparities. However, due to current social and health trends, I think a lot of people in other communities might enjoy having a supermarket fresh food truck at community events.