ENT 3003
University of Florida
Forming An Opportunity Belief
Where I live in Charleston, SC, the metro area is made up of very diverse, geographically based, environments. We have a very upscale area of our city, that is separated from the other areas by two rivers on the west and south parts of the city. We have an industrial economical area that is in the center of the Metro. We have a small town community area on the northern end of the Metro. Finally, we have multiple barrier islands that offer very different living styles. One being very close to downtown with many things, and the others being very rural focused and resistant to change. I grew up on the rural barrier island, Johns Island, and we were deprived of many of the conveniences that you find in most American towns today. We had to drive over 40 minutes (off the island) for coffee, fast food, Walmart, and everything except a school, grocery store, and gas station. Since my youth, the island has welcomed several amazing quality restaurants for casual and fine dining, has had extensive residential developments, and has opened a few convenience stores (still no Walmart).
One of the things that has shocked me thus far, is there is no highly appealing coffee shops on the island. The island has a very tight knit community and is actually the second largest in terms of land mass in the United States. Yet, the only two coffee resources on the island period is McDonald's and a very bad local coffee "box" with just a drive through. I have had the idea for many years of opening a community focused coffee shop. With a small town feel and strong loyalty to local businesses, my belief is that a community coffee shop would thrive.
The customer that would frequent this store is a wide demographic. Because the island only offers two inferior options and the closest quality competitor is over 15 minutes away (requiring you to leave the island), majority of the residents and transients would be potential clients. From my discussions I believe that 30-40% of the residents or transients, on their way to work on the other barrier islands, would utilize our location for their caffeine fix. The best customer for us will be the ones that seek an escape from home life to accomplish life, or wants to be able to be involved in their community without having to go to a bar. Currently the only social option on the island are bars/restaurants. Through offering community events like fundraisers for the local little league teams, poetry, acoustic music, and being involved in the local schools, I believe that we could create a very strong sense of customer loyalty.
My first interview was with my father, he is a local resident and has been for 24 years. When discussing the idea he found that he also felt this is a substantial opportunity and has even considered partnering with me to start it. We discussed the local market and their interest in this opportunity and he stated that in his conversations when he ran a local restaurant, this topic came up several times with customers expressing their desires for a great tasting local coffee shop. He felt that a coffee shop with a quick drive through that offered competitive drinks to Starbucks or other franchise coffee shops before those brands come to market is a very unique opportunity that could be sustainable for a long time.
I then interviewed a friend that has opened a business of the same type in Summerville, which has a similar community culture to our island. When discussing how he built his business into a highly influential community resource, we found that there is a parallel opportunity on our island. He faced local coffee shops and your franchise brands as competitors and was still able to build a very substantial business that is incredibly sustainable despite the franchise brands being in the market years before he is. His recommendation is to ensure the coffee is premier and locally roasted to ensure the actual product is unique in the market.
My last interview was with one of the longest generation residents of the island. He is a local farmer and his family has been on the island for several generations. Despite he being the leading force behind resisting change to the island, he also agreed. He shared in the concerns of not having a local place to be able to just go and hang without having to drink alcohol. There are no locations on the island for anyone to meet others during the day for business or professional reasons, no where to just go and enjoy fellowship without having to compete for a table at a packed venue at night, and there is no place that has been deemed as "the community hub". By having a coffee shop that is well ingrained in the local community, he also feels that you have an opportunity to provide the community a significant resource for multiple reasons other than just a great cup of coffee.
Through my research, thoughtful analysis, and extensive consideration, I have come to the realization that I believe this is a potential business opportunity to pursue. From this simple project, I plan to start discussing lending, locations, and vendor options to see what difficulty lies ahead in exploiting this opportunity with a valuable solution. While I figured there would be a decent amount of positive support, I have been impressed with the overwhelming encouragement and apparent desire to fill this need. I believe that there is more opportunity than I originally envisioned and that I am sitting on a very large opportunity. I think that involving your customers is critical as an entrepreneur. A start up is an ever changing and evolving organization and the first 12 months of planning and opening present significant opportunity to determine the long term success or failure of a brand. By adapting offerings to what the community and customers request, you are able to provide the exact item that customers want, creating better value and a higher chance of significant success. On the contrary, ignoring your customers request for adaptations or the evidence the originally estimated need doesn't actually exist will result in failure and significant loss.
Your interviews were extremely detailed and helpful. You hit three main points of views, you got your father who is a local resident who had shared interest in your idea, a friend who has done the same in another location, and a local resident resistant to change but looking for a comfortable setting that isn’t alcohol related. You have a great opportunity and you are going to take advantage of it. In my interviewing process I learned that my idea, although having potential, it was not well thought out. I had two interviews that expressed concern into what I am pursuing. And not being discouraged, instead I am looking to adapt and evolve my idea.
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