Thursday, 20 September 2018
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.
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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.
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.
10A - Elevator Pitch
Hey guys, attached below is my elevator pitch.
I have found (per Madalyn Messner's advice) that uploading videos to Sound Cloud and then posting the link on the blogs is the easiest way to get this done. On the last assignment, I was unable to upload my videos directly to my blog post, due to them exceeding the maximum size limit of blogger.com.
Looking forward to watching your guys' elevator pitches !
https://soundcloud.com/user-670388815/elevator-pitchmp4
I have found (per Madalyn Messner's advice) that uploading videos to Sound Cloud and then posting the link on the blogs is the easiest way to get this done. On the last assignment, I was unable to upload my videos directly to my blog post, due to them exceeding the maximum size limit of blogger.com.
Looking forward to watching your guys' elevator pitches !
https://soundcloud.com/user-670388815/elevator-pitchmp4
9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
For my interviews this time, I interview three French Soldiers, whom were on base with us. I also interviewed two civilian workers, whom work on the base.
When interviewing the three French Soldiers, there was a major language barrier. I know no French, and they know very little English. Through both verbal communication and hand signaling, I concluded that they are not interested in my services. They are located on base with us only temporarily and will be leaving sometime in the next week. Even if they were interested, I would’ve only had them as one-time customers.
I also interviewed two on base one workers. The first worker is a guy, who works at the pool. He has long hair, and after explaining to him that the only haircuts I can give are fades, he was not at all interested in my services. The second worker is a guy, who works in the gym. He told me that he already has a barber that he goes to on a regular basis. When I inquired about what he looks so much about the barber that he goes to, he said that he likes the environment of his barbershop and that he is good friends with his barber. The gym worker was also uninterested in my services.
Although I could perhaps find other people, whom want my services, I determined that I will have enough demand for my services in between my fellow Marines and the Australian Soldiers. I found that civilians tend not to get haircuts as often and often want haircuts other than fades. The French Soldiers may be in the same category as Marines and Australian Soldiers with regard to their profession; nevertheless, they fall outside of my consumer boundaries.
Inside the Boundary:
Who: Australian Soldiers and U.S. Marines on base with me
What: The need is getting haircuts in order to keep hair within regulations.
Why: The need exists because without my services, getting haircuts is a very time-consuming, expensive venture.
Outside the Boundary:
Who: All other people, unless they come to me specifically requesting my services and are willing to pay $20 per haircut. I will have enough customers between the Australian Soldiers and U.S. Marines.
What: The need is not to get haircuts any more often than once a week at most. The need is not to be inconvenienced by getting a haircut. Convenience is a key factor that my services provide.
Alternative explanations: I am unable to give any haircuts other than fades or shaving heads.
For my interviews this time, I interview three French Soldiers, whom were on base with us. I also interviewed two civilian workers, whom work on the base.
When interviewing the three French Soldiers, there was a major language barrier. I know no French, and they know very little English. Through both verbal communication and hand signaling, I concluded that they are not interested in my services. They are located on base with us only temporarily and will be leaving sometime in the next week. Even if they were interested, I would’ve only had them as one-time customers.
I also interviewed two on base one workers. The first worker is a guy, who works at the pool. He has long hair, and after explaining to him that the only haircuts I can give are fades, he was not at all interested in my services. The second worker is a guy, who works in the gym. He told me that he already has a barber that he goes to on a regular basis. When I inquired about what he looks so much about the barber that he goes to, he said that he likes the environment of his barbershop and that he is good friends with his barber. The gym worker was also uninterested in my services.
Although I could perhaps find other people, whom want my services, I determined that I will have enough demand for my services in between my fellow Marines and the Australian Soldiers. I found that civilians tend not to get haircuts as often and often want haircuts other than fades. The French Soldiers may be in the same category as Marines and Australian Soldiers with regard to their profession; nevertheless, they fall outside of my consumer boundaries.
Inside the Boundary:
Who: Australian Soldiers and U.S. Marines on base with me
What: The need is getting haircuts in order to keep hair within regulations.
Why: The need exists because without my services, getting haircuts is a very time-consuming, expensive venture.
Outside the Boundary:
Who: All other people, unless they come to me specifically requesting my services and are willing to pay $20 per haircut. I will have enough customers between the Australian Soldiers and U.S. Marines.
What: The need is not to get haircuts any more often than once a week at most. The need is not to be inconvenienced by getting a haircut. Convenience is a key factor that my services provide.
Alternative explanations: I am unable to give any haircuts other than fades or shaving heads.
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