14A - Halfway Reflection

Assignment 14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is certainly a competency. I have been tenacious throughout this class by working ahead on assignments. Instead of waiting until right before the assignments are due, I work ahead on the assignments so that I can then focus on the other class that I am currently taking.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. It is my personally-held belief that being optimistic and persevering is a choice. This choice may be more difficult for some than others to make; however, I believe that everyone is capable of being optimistic and persevering. When I first started taking Spanish (during my freshman year), I felt like giving up. I found the class to be very difficult at first. Instead of giving up, I chose to persevere and to dedicate as much time as necessary to ensure that I learned the material. By the time that Spanish 2 came along, I found Spanish to be one of my favorite classes that I had become good at. That persevering helped me to develop a tenacious attitude that has helped me throughout the past two months in this class, Principles of Entrepreneurship.

3) I offer the three following tips to next semester’s students:

(1) Work diligently and dedicate sufficient time to all your classes. This will set you up for success.

(2) Give 100%. A wise man once told me, “Give 100% at everything that you do or don’t do it.”

(3) Stay positive. When others complain, choose to stay positive and motivated. Decide to find solutions to complaints rather than just to complain for the sake of complaining.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1) What surprised me the most:

I found Elon Musk’s perseverance through hard times to be astounding. He not only survived but also managed to through the hardest of times that he experienced.

What about the entrepreneur did I most admire:

I most admired Elon’s perseverance. When his ideas and entrepreneurial ventures failed or faced adversity, Musk stayed strong and overcame that failure and adversity.

What about the entrepreneur did I least admire:

Regarding Tesla, I least admire that Tesla is not actualizing profits. Although Tesla has still been somewhat of a major success, it has not been a financial success as I believe businesses should be.

Adversity/Failure encountered by Elon Musk and how he handled it:

As stated above, Elon Musk faced aversity and failure head on. He persevered and thrived through hard times. He did not concern himself too much with the negative thoughts and opinions of others.

2) What competencies did I notice that Elon Musk exhibited:

Elon Musk exhibited the competency of being innovative. Musk’s entrepreneurial ventures are founded primarily on his innovation and actualization of the said innovation.

3) One part of the reading identified that was confusing to me:

I found the majority of the reading to have been simplified and easy to understand. I do however have a hard time comprehending how Elon Musk actualized his vision so efficiently. I have a hard time understanding Elon’s entrepreneurial spirit.

4) Two questions that I would ask Elon Musk and why?

I would ask Elon Musk where he sees Tesla 10 years from now. I am very curious where Tesla will be 10 years from now, and I am curious as to what Mr. Musk envisions.

I would also ask Elon how important it is to him that Tesla yields profits or if economic responsibility is not one of his major concerns. I am unsure as to how important it is to Elon that Tesla makes money and how big of a concern to him it is that Tesla has failed to make money thus far.

5) What I think Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is and do I share that opinion?

I think that Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is working an excessive number of hours per work to actualize one’s goals. I believe that Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work may be oriented slightly more towards white collar than blue collar work. I share this opinion of what hard work is; however, my opinion of hard work is oriented slightly more towards blue collar than white collar work.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Assignment 12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1) Choosing a Segment: For this assignment, I chose a segment of Marines on the same base as me and of no higher rank than E-4.

2) The first person who I interviewed is my friend Chris. Chris is 24 years old, and he is an E-3 in the Marines.

The second person who I interviewed is my friend Alex. Alex is 21 years old, and he is also an E-3 in the Marines.

My third and final interview was with a guy named Jacob. Jacob is 21 years old, and he is an E-4 in the Marines.

3) I was lucky enough that all 3 of my initial interviewees had the same unmet need that I identified. Throughout the interview, I was able to collect the following data regarding the awareness of their unmet need:

They all said that they have the need to get a haircut every single week. Chris and Jacob both said that they prefer to get their haircuts during the weekend, and Alex said that he prefers to get his haircut on Mondays. This is a regular need that they have, and they must go off base every week to get their hair cut, but they all said they would prefer it cut on base. They all even said that they would be fine with getting their hair cut on any day of the week if they didn’t have to go off base to get it done. It was more of a matter that they prefer to go off base on their respective days than that they prefer their hair cut on those days that they told me.

4) When my interviewees become aware of their need throughout the week, their first thought is along the lines of, “We need to get a taxi to go off base so that we can get our weekly haircuts.” Two of my interviewees said that they know there are a few Marines, whom cut hair, but they don’t know those Marines personally and have always just chosen to go out in town. The third interviewee said that he’s had one of the Marines on base cut his hair a couple of times, but that that guy is usually too busy to cut his hair every week.

5/6) The interviews went as expected. The information that my interviews yielded was similar to the information that I received in past interviews. They had a good awareness of their need, but they had not done a great job doing information search and finding alternatives to going out in town every time they needed a haircut. My services were of interest to them and met their unmet needs.