Assignment 14 - Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

For me personally, I find that it is best to stay ahead of the game. The first week or two I was trying to submit things a little bit more last minute, but it is so much less stressful to start my work on Monday and work on it little by little throughout the week. Overall, I am much happier with my completed assignment as well!

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I have pretty bad anxiety when it comes to public speaking, even though I took a public speaking class. Although the videos are not equivalent to speaking in front of a crowd it still made me very nervous knowing that other people would be watching them. I almost did not submit anything for the assignment, although I had recorded for it. I don't know if I would say I have developed a tenacious attitude, but I did get over my fears and realised that it is not as big a deal as I was making it. What pulled me through was recognising I would sacrifice my grade somewhat if I did not become more confident about my post!

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

I think that being organised within your class, job, whatever it may be really supports whatever tenacity you start out with. However, if you do need to develop that mindset (like I am doing now), I think that it is also a good starting point. Being organised makes you more sound of mind throughout the semester and gives you more time to come up with genuine ideas for the assignments. This, ultimately, supports the development of a tenacious person.

Assignment 13 - Reading Reflection No. 1

I read:

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

What surprised you the most?

When reading the book, I was most surprised about his unstable mental state and resulting drug use. Most people do not generally associate drug use and dropping out of college with financial success, so it was interested to read about someone who was so successful that broke almost every stigma that we associate with attaining financial wealth.

What about the entrepreneur did you admire?

 I completely admire his perseverance. Even when fired from Apple, he never stopped being an entrepreneur and wanting to innovate technology. It just goes to show what can happen if you never give up on your ideas. It can be extremely difficult to push through when you feel like nobody believes in you.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I do find issue with his lack of work/family balance. Family is a very important aspect of life, and I don't believe you should make your family suffer or have to choose between work or family in order to be successful. Specifically, he would not claim his child as legitimate for many years. 

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Steve encountered failure time and time again throughout the book. He was even at one point fired from Apple. However, in this time he focused on other projects and in turn became even more successful. This eventually led him back to working with Apple, and he did so until he passed away.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

He was extremely focused on his goals and had huge amounts of perseverance, more than most other people. He was constantly innovating and wanting Apple to be on the forefront of technology, from adding color screens to creating new font types. 

Identify at lease one part of the reading that was confusing to you?

Nothing about the structure of the book or something such as that confused me. However, I was confused and baffled about how people successfully worked with him. He definitely had vision and was ultimately successful, but his personality seems to have clashed with many in the process.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask:

• Does he have any regrets about how he handled his family life?
• How would his vision of Apple today differ if he were still running the business?

Family is very important to me, and my dad passed away when I was very young. I can't imagine how I would feel without having all those pleasant memories of him from before he passed and the only reason I have those is because he did put family first. Also, I think that he was more innovative than most other people in the company. Due to this, I think it would be interesting to see how he would change Apple's image or products today.

For fun: What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I believe he put a lot of value on hard work and never giving up on your dream. I also believe that. Although it can be very difficult at times, you will never see results of anything if you give up. 

Assignment 12 - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Choosing a segment: 

For this assignment I chose the segment of students who are interested in a healthier lifestyle. For the interviews, I chose my friend Naomi who has been trying to maintain her health with working out and eating healthier. She is a Psychology major in her last year of undergrad and hopes to be a double gator for her Master's. Second, I interviewed a peer from one of my classes, Marcel, a student from Denmark who is here for a semester and is a student focusing in Finance. Finally, I spoke with my roommate, Emily, who is an Anthropology major who is looking to be pre-med and finds it difficult to balance work/school life with health.

Interviews:

Out of the interviews that I conducted, two of the three interviewees agreed that they would be interested in the app. Marcel stated that growing up in Denmark, it was not hard to afford healthy food regardless of the amount of money you make. His parents were not wealthy by any means, but they always had fresh food on the table and were able to buy things like fruits and vegetables with little issue. However, being here he has seen the difference in food quality that many people consume and he believes that there is a market for the app in the U.S. Naomi was the only one who said she would probably not use the app, because she has been going to the gym and watching her food intake for a while now. She said that the app probably would work better for those just getting into health. Emily also had interest in the app and mentioned that she would probably find something like it helpful for her daily life, because it provides many options that she felt would be good for students with busy schedules.

What I learned:

I learned that not everyone who I believe would be interested in my product would necessarily have need for it. Not all students want to eat healthy, and many have already maintained a healthy diet and routine for a while. That being said, I do agree that ReFresh probably would be best marketed to those who are interested in being healthier, but find it difficult or are not sure where to start.

How I would describe this segment:

This segment would be best described as beginning health enthusiasts. ReFresh would be good for those who have interest in being healthier for various reasons but feel they can't afford healthy food, or don't know where to start on their health journey.

Assignment 11 - Idea Napkin No. 1

• Who am I?
• My name is Arielle Bloom, a 4th year Business Marketing student at UF. I also have a huge passion for food, whether that cooking, baking, or just eating. That being said, I love coming up with creative ways to make healthy food taste amazing, and that was a large part of my inspiration for the app concept that I have created, ReFresh. 
• What am I offering to customers?
• Within the app I am offering a database of healthy food recipes that take under 30 minutes to make and cost $20 or less for 4 serving sizes. I also plan to offer a map feature which uses the users locations in order to direct them to the closest quick eating locations that have cheap, healthy food options. Each location will then offer options based on calories, macros, vegetarian options, and overall "clean" eating options. This will give people who are on a budget but looking to eat healthy a good range of options based on what they want with their diet. 
• Who am I offering it to?
• My product will be marketed towards those on a lower or tight budget but are looking to have healthier options than just eating at fast food or frozen meals. 
• Why do they care?
• The app that I am suggesting has a pretty good range of offerings for people who do not want to cook or do not have time for it. However, they will also have access to an array of recipes that could provide them with easy, quick, and healthy options. Most apps for health food do not specifically cater to people who are looking to stay within a certain budget. ReFresh provides users with a budget-friendly experience for people looking to change their lifestyle.
• What are your core competencies?
• As explained, most health apps do not have budget-conscious users in mind. ReFresh is extremely budget friendly and works with many different preferred diet plans, making it extremely versatile.

• I believe that I do have a pretty good foundation for my app idea, but I do need to still work out some kinks. For instance, if the app will be free to users with some features that would be a small monthly fee or if we should charge a small fee initially.

Assignment 10 - Elevator Pitch No. 1

Assignment 9 - Testing The Hypothesis, Part 2

Discussing the interviews:

• I was able to speak with five people for this portion of the assignment. My good friend's mother is a stay at home mom, and rarely eats out or has need for eating healthier because she is able to cook at home. Second, my single friend who works a 9-5 shift every day and has weekends off. Third, a nutritionist/personal trainer who keeps healthy for a living. Fourth, a college student who has their groceries paid for by their parents and finally, a wealthy man living in Miami that has someone prepare his meals for him. All of these people make more than the average lower or middle class worker, and/or have opportunities that people in my previous set of interviews did not have. Due to this, they are able to keep a good monitor of their daily diet and make sure that the majority of food that they eat consists of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, unprocessed carbs, and other aspects of what generally makes up a healthy diet. As expected, none of them was particularly interested in the product, because what the app would do is not as helpful to them. The guy in Miami and my single friend both expressed that they liked the idea and thought it would be useful to many people, but both said that they personally would not need it. 

Who:

• The main targets for my product were lower and lower- middle class people within the United States. Here lies an opportunity, I believe, to provide them with knowledge and accessibility to healthier foods for themselves and their families.
• People who fall outside of the boundary of this need include the upper class, and many people that fall within the wide middle class. Many people that make larger wages typically can afford to eat healthier without as much struggle or planning.

What:

• Everybody has a need for healthier food, but many people in poorer areas lack the same resources or education about what is healthy.

Why:

• Overall, all people have the same need for healthy food to fuel their bodies. The difference is that many people who make less wages believe they cannot afford healthy food, so we would like to show them that they can.

Inside the boundary:
Who: people with low wages who believe they cannot afford healthy food
What: eating healthy, having options for "healthier" restaurants and fast food, plus simple, cheap recipes
Why: healthier lifestyles and a better quality of life

Outside the boundary:
Who: those who have more time to cook & make more money
What: do not need help finding cost affordable healthy options
Alternative Explanations: other people simply have no interest in eating healthier

Assignment 8 - Solving the Problem

Selected Opportunity:

The opportunity lies with those who are lower and middle class income-wise within the United States. Due to busy schedules and low pay wages they often find themselves eating what they believe are their only cheap, quick options that are close by.

Solution:

I propose creating an app specifically for healthy food options, organized by location and price. I think that it should also include nearby grocery stores and maybe even a database of quick, healthy meal options that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, possibly including ingredients that are on sale nearby. This could really help families that are in a time crunch but want to provide healthier meals for their kids, or even for themselves. It is not that eating healthy is impossible with a low budget, but it does take time, planning, and effort. All of these things might not be doable with someone who works many hours on a small income, so basically I would like the app to do as much as possible for the app users. Even if they really do not have time or are just too tired to cook that day, I want to be able to show them that there are healthier, cheap options that they can choose from at some fast food places or take out.

Assignment 7 - Testing the Hypothesis

• Many people in the U.S. who make under a certain amount of money do not have ready access to healthy, nutritional food for themselves and their families. This is partially the reason why we have such a high obesity rate in our country.
• The who: Lower/middle class Americans and their families
• The what: They lack access to healthy food, like fruits and vegetables
• The why: The wages that they make cannot afford them these options
• Testing the who: As mentioned, this mainly affects lower/middle class Americans, but it can also affect many students who feel like they do not have time to balance working and studying.
• Testing the what: It may not affect all people in this category depending on where they live, local prices, and if they have access to fresh produce some other way (if they have a garden, etc.)
• Testing the why: I believe that the majority of people who have this need may blame the minimum wage, which would make fresh foods inaccessible. However, for other people it may also have to do with lack of time to cook healthy food due to long work hours or something similar to this. This still normally ties back into wages, however. If they are working long hours to make better money, this would give them less time in the day to provide meals for their family. 
• Interview #1: Melony
• Melony is my roommate and has been for the past two years. She not only grew up in a low-income household, but has had to support herself independently since she has moved to Gainesville for college. To afford rent, food, car payments, and more, she has has to work full time throughout her entire college career in addition to being a full-time student. Not only does she find that her budget is still tight even with her less healthy, processed diet, but she is rarely home to make healthier meals for herself. She does not have the time to eat healthier because of her income. 
• Interview #2: Natalie
• Natalie is one of my friends that I met in class almost 4 years ago now, and she has some support from her mother as far as money. However, her mom cannot provide her with much due to being a single mother. Natalie works part time and is a student at UF, and her mom bought her a meal plan knowing that she is usually either on campus or at work. Natalie feels that most meal plan options could be healthier, and she frequently finds herself eating fast food because of convenience and affordability. 
• Interview #3: Jacqui
• Jacqui is my boss at my place of work, and has been a manager for 2 years now. She luckily makes decent income for someone in her upper 20's, but she has a large family back home that she has to help provide for. Not to mention, she is usually in the office from 8 am to 7pm. She tries to go to the gym after work, but then arrives home at around 8:30 - 9 PM, leaving her exhausted after her 13 hour day. The financial stress that she has having to support other family members leaves her with these long work days, after which she has less money and time to provide herself with healthy options. 
• Interview #4: Ryan
• Ryan is a manager at a local fast food restaurant that is in his low 30's. He is going back to school at Santa Fe, but also has a baby and a girlfriend that he provides partial funding for. With the cost of classes combined with the expenses of a young child, as well as a spouse, he finds it very difficult to plan healthy meals for everyone. He usually ends up eating pre-packaged foods, or fast food when he is at work. 
• Interview #5: Marco
• Marco is a maintenance serviceman at my apartment complex. He works long hours, often being on property at 7am and leaving at 6pm. He lives an hour outside of Gainesville with his wife and kids, but makes $35,000 a year. This living wage does not provide for feeding five people healthy food on a daily basis, so he frequently gets his kids cheap fast food and things like Lunchables. 
• I have found that people's situations are often more complicated than it just being how much money they make. The lack of nutritious food in their diets is often related to food and time, but each person usually has their own situation which is unique to them.