Halfway Review

1) I wouldn't say that I have had to be tenacious throughout the semester to complete the requirements. However, I have had to have successful planning, time management, and self discipline to ensure that I get the tasks done how they are said to be done and on time. There is a decent amount of work with the class to keep up with it and it requires you to be focused and disciplined to succeed. 

2) Being this is my fourth full time semester, while still running my companies at 50-60

hours a week and being the sole provider for my family, I am used to it now. There are definitely moments that I question whether it is worth staying full time. However, I realize that when you are in the middle of the fire, you shouldn't make decisions about that fire. Your best bet is to be tenacious and just stick it out until you can get through it and make an objective full perspective decision.

3) Tip 1- Understand the schedule of the deadlines to that you can properly manage your time. 

Tip 2- Do something every day. If you do something every day, you can easily stay ahead of schedule. 

Tip 3- Be involved. Invest in the effort and it is easy to produce quality work and get a value out of the class. 

Reading Review

1) I chose Steve Jobs as my entrepreneur. I was surprised by the lack of people skills and intangibles that he had. This is also the thing that I liked the least about him. From my experience and from all that I have seen your people determine your success. I think that if he had better people skills, he would have seen success faster and wouldn't have lost control of Apple initially. One of my favorite things about him is his desire for perfection. I admire how he was constantly focused on delivering a perfect product that matched the look that people wanted and the performance to stay innovative. 

2) Steve Jobs was very confident. He was very confident that he was a leader and innovator. He believed in his abilities to lead and innovate for anything he tried to do. He had an incredible attention to detail that allowed him to produce the exceptional quality that he demanded of himself and then the teams that he lead within Apple.

3) The part that confused me or that at least left me frustrated is why the board removed Steve Jobs completely from the company. While I understand the demand for success and their logic, they were not succeeding at other projects and needed new products and innovation. They brought in CEO's that did not have tech experience and only had success in marketing. 

4) If you could go back and do it all over, what is one things you would have never done? What was the one thing that you would have done more of?

5) His definition of hard work was massive focus. He was a perfectionist. He wanted the product to be perfect at any cost. I have a similarly strong desire for perfection. However, I am more focused on doing a lot of focused work. I want intense focus on accomplishing a lot at a high level. I understand that mistakes happen, so I implement failsafes to prevent mistakes, allowing my staff to compete at a high level of productivity. 

Buyer Behavior

I identified three people to understand how they make purchasing decisions for the new business industry. During my interviews I learned that I would have to run ads on Facebook targeting the island and surrounding barrier islands to ensure that the locals know that we exist. Once we are able to get them in one time and they have a positive experience, I expect a significantly high re-purchase rate.

I re-interviewed my dad, a long time resident that drinks coffee from McDonald's currently. During my interview I asked him how he makes his purchasing decisions for this item and he told me they have been the only place to get coffee for years now, so he just assumes to go there. However, if he were to see an ad online or if someone were to recommend our new coffee shop he would look up our website to get a feeling for what we offer and look like and then would try it. He said a coupon would be enticing.

I re-interviewed his roommate that doesn't drink, but likes to get out of the house during the day. He said he isn't a big coffee drinker, but would be willing to support the business by purchasing a cup of coffee in exchange for having a "hip" place to go that has good wifi and is relaxing to be at. He says he searches sometimes for places with wi-fi and most likely would find out about our location from that.

I interviewed a resident of the neighboring island, James Island, to ask if they ever visit Johns Island and if they would go out of there way to go to our coffee shop instead of stopping at Starbucks on James Island. They told me that if they knew there was a locally owned, community focused, coffee shop on Johns Island and they were passing through Johns Island in the morning, they would purposely wait until they could get to our shop. They said because there is a Starbucks on James Island, they would most likely only come to know about our location from either seeing it on Facebook or someone recommending it.

Idea Napkin

1. I am a native to Charleston and specifically Johns Island, where we will be launching the business. I have extensive knowledge of the local market and demographics. I am a current business owner in the area, so I am familiar with marketing tactics and various business items that will enable me to have success when launching this new business. 
2. We will be offering premium coffee and various espresso coffee options. We will also offer freshly baked pastries. All of this will be enhanced by a positive and desirable atmosphere of community within the coffee shop. 
3. We will be offering it to the local residents of Johns Island, SC that like coffee or that need a place to use wifi or meet others during the day.
4. They will want what we are offering because there is no option for a great tasting cup of coffee within 15 minutes. There also is no place that serves as a meeting/community hub during the day. 
5. We will use locally roasted coffee that will have exceptional taste and customer service. No one on the island currently offers this. 

I believe that I have a solid business idea. The mean income for the local population is over $40,000. There are multiple people moving to the local island from up north and other areas that will be seeking a great taste of coffee and that have a desire to plug into a local community style coffee shop. By providing a warm feeling along with an amazing tasting cup of coffee, we can provide a slice of heaven as people start or get through their day.

Testing the Hypothesis 2

As a recap, I am starting a local coffee shop on Johns Island (a Barrier Island near Charleston, SC). We will serve locally roasted coffee's and provide a location as a community hub and resource.

I spoke with 5 people that would have been in my ideal client targeting for demographics, but are not ideal clients because of preferences.

Interview 1- Starbucks Customer John R. 
I spoke with a friend that of mine that frequents Starbucks on James Island, SC that is about 15 minutes from Johns Island. I focused my questions on asking him about if he would be willing to go to what would be my new business, instead of Starbucks. He said that if he was on Johns Island and wanted coffee, he likely would not change his coffee choice unless it would be too difficult to get to Starbucks. He fits the mold of the perfect client for living on Johns Island, the age, and financial status.

Interview 2- Muddy Waters Customer Lyndsey B. 
I went to a local coffee shop on James Island, that will be the closest competitor to me, to solicit feedback from a customer. I struck up a conversation with Lyndsey that was doing homework to ask if she would be interested in the new coffee shop on Johns Island. She would be in my extended client base because she lives on James Island, within 15 minutes of my location, but not exactly on my island. She said that even though the locally involved coffee shop is appealing, it is not ideal because she has a local coffee shop (not involved in the community) and Starbucks that is closer.

Interview 3- My wife, Jennifer Thompson
I was discussing the idea with my wife, specifically because she fits into the perfect demographics, and also because she could be considered a partner on the new venture. However, she said she would not be interested in that business. She said that she thought the idea was intriguing and would be successful, but she wouldn't end up being a frequent visitor because she doesn't really like coffee unless it is like Starbucks with a lot of sugar.

Interview 4- Local Bar Owner, Paul F.
We were talking about having a coffee shop as a local community hub. He owns a bar on the island and has been involved on the island for many years. He said that he feels as though the bars on the island are already very popular hubs as the island has very unique breweries and bars. He said that people may not really care to go get coffee in the afternoon or evening because that is the time that they typically start seeing an increase in traffic.

Interview 5- Construction Worker, Chuckie W.
Chuckie works on Johns Island a lot with new home construction and renovations as the island is rapidly growing and adjusting. I asked if he would be interested in stopping by the new coffee shop for a morning or mid day cup of coffee. He said he would potentially occasionally go, but usually he gets coffee from McDonalds with his breakfast and it is too hot after 9am to drink coffee in Charleston.

In summary, I still think there is a huge market opportunity. However, I will have to face some competition from the other coffee shop on James Island and Starbucks on James Island. I think that my work that will determine our competitive edge is going to be winning hearts and minds by being heavily involved in the local community to build the love for our brand. Strong Corporate Social Responsibility from the first day will make a significant impact in our chances for success.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Johns Island Residents	Johns Isl residents that do not like coffee or that prefer Starbucks due to their options.
A community focused coffee shop on the island	An alternative to major franchises and brands.
People love coffee & there are no local places to be able to get coffee	Providing a local community venue.

90 Second Commercial

https://youtu.be/DbKAWKGPO-U