11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Me: My name is Reece Porath. I am 20 years old, and I am a rifleman in the Marine Corps infantry. My current profession is as a rifleman, and I am very proficient at it. I have experience in entrepreneurial adventures as a teenager. Prior to joining the military, I bought military surplus/memorabilia, knives, old coins, and anything else that I could then resell for a worthwhile profit.

It is my aspiration to one day own my own company. I want to work for myself, not for someone else. I aspire to have employees under me, and I feel that by providing jobs to hard-working Americans, I will be giving back to the community. I also aspire to be financially independent. Although I don’t believe that money is anywhere near the most important thing in the world, financial independence is something that I strive to actualize in my life.

I have experience cutting hair/giving fades to my fellow Marines in the past. I have given approximately 150-200 fades and am fairly proficient at it. I see this business as something that I will profit from in the short term, while on deployment. I expect to make approximately $400 per week from giving fades. Cutting hair is not a passion of mine so I do not wish to pursue it as a source of income after returning from deployment. I simply saw the opportunity to make money from cutting hair while on deployment and decided that I want to capitalize on this opportunity.

2) What: I am offering haircuts to customers for $20 each. By offering haircuts, I am offering a convenience to my customers. By having me give them fades instead of the local barber, they will save time. They will also be saving a rather significant amount of money. In conclusion, I am offering a convenience to my customers and the opportunity for them to save money.

3) Who: I am offering this service to my fellow Marines and the Australian soldiers, whom are on the same military base as me. These men are looking for an alternative to having to spending 2-3 hours to go out in town and spend $40-50 on haircuts every week or every other week. I am providing this time-efficient and cost-efficient alternative. The vast majority of these guys only care that the haircut I give them is within regulations and don’t care if it is a perfect fade.

4) Why: My customers care about my service. They care and are willing to pay for it because it saves them money and time. There are not many worldly things that people value more than their money and their time, and my service allows them to save on both.

5) Core competencies: One of my competencies is my ability to cut hair. Not a lot of people are able to give in regulation fades. One very important core competency that I have is my work ethic. I am willing to spend hours of my free time every day providing my service to my customers. There are some people who can cut hair, but not a lot of people who can cut hair well and are willing to spend the time doing it.

I believe that these five elements fit together very well. My service is only available because of my core competencies. My service meets the customers’ unmet need, and they are willing to pay for it. I have a large demand for my services and can choose my own working hours. The major weakness of my business concept is that my business is a solution to a temporary problem. After returning from deployment, it will not be worthwhile for me to continue pursuing my business concept, unless I am able to find a way to make adjustments to my entrepreneurial venture that will make it worthwhile to me.