My Customer's Avatar

My prototypical customer would be a woman about 25 who is obsessed with her dog. She would enjoy jogging, hiking, and overall being outdoors. She would have a Starbucks addiction and multiple social media accounts (FB, Instagram, Snapchat, etc). She would drive a white Toyota Rav-4. She would watch everything on Netflix. No children yet, but she has a boyfriend and wants a family in the next few years. She has a steady career as a pediatric nurse and volunteers at the local humane society.

Alternative & Post-Purchase Evaluation

To be completed..

Alternative Evaluation. Figure out how customers do their picking. Does price matter the most? Does quality? Does style? Dose usability matter? Is there more than one factor that is important to your customer segment?

How/where do they use? Are users more likely to post photos or search for information? Do they use the website while at home or on vacation, or planning a trip?

Evaluation. What matters most to your customers when they think back on the 'rightness' of using the website? What helps them determine using the app was a good idea? 

Q Set 1: "When it comes to posting photos of your pet on social media, do you share on more than one source? How often do you share photos of your pet? On average, do you get more, less or same amount of likes on your pet's photos compared to other photos. On your personal social media accounts, do you post more, less or equal amounts of photos of your pet compared to other photos (i.e. selfies, scenery, etc)"

Q Set 2: "Where do you search for: dog parks, dog-friendly businesses, dog-friendly vacation locations. How do you find new toys/food/products for your dog (search, Facebook, pet-store websites)? 

Q Set 3: "Approximately how many of your close-friends have pets? How many of your acquaintances have pets? Are you more likely to take pet advice from your friends/acquaintances or from an internet search?"

Interviews. 

Interview #1

Interview #2

Interview #3

Conclusions. How would you describe this segment in terms of alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation? 

Linner

I have been using the term "Linner" for quite some time now and some people have caught onto it. Basically "Linner" is a combination of lunch-dinner, similar to "Brunch". I started using this word because on Sunday's we would have a huge breakfast as a family, but then still be too full for lunch when noon came around. So instead of waiting until 6pm for dinner, we would make another big meal to eat around 3pm and be full the rest of the day. So basically, on Sunday's we would have 2 big meals, breakfast and linner. My entire family knows my word, and I've shared it with a few of my friends and some it has stuck and some it has not. It's kind of a weird word to say and not as catchy as "brunch". All in all, one of my favorite meal times is "linner" time so you're not too full for the resting part of your day!

Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

Some behaviors that I have learned to adapt for this course are being consistent and staying on top of the workload. Also to continue developing the entrepreneurial ideas in more depth. It is one thing to have a "blue sky" idea, but to actually put it in writing and come up with some details takes a lot more effort and innovative, creative thinking. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

A moment that I felt like giving up is when it came to conducting interviews. It can seem very scary to put yourself out in the "real world" and share your ideas with strangers. Sometimes ideas that they have never even thought of and you're not sure what the stranger is thinking of you or your idea. What pulled me through was my passion for my idea. You have to believe in yourself first because anyone else can also feel confident if you. I think throughout this course thus far, I have developed more confidence in myself and my ideas. 

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

Some advice that I would offer next semester's students would be to develop and idea and stick with it. But don't stick to it so much if you come to realize that you've exhausted the innovation. If you find something you're passionate about, you will never get bored of trying to make it better and better. If you start going down one road and realize that it might not have the outcome you want, then make a change and start a new path. That's what great about this class is learning how to put your thoughts in writing and gain information without spending anything put your time. 

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. I am Kelly Hodges, a senior at the University of Florida and I have passion for animals. My talents include horseback riding, people-skills, and caring for animals. My skills and experience with animals is from owning pets and working at a farm. My aspirations for my business would be to share my love for animals with other animal lovers, specifically dogs for this business. I would like the business to be a large part of my life because it would also be my passion. 

2) What are you offering to customers? The product/service I am offering is a social media networking platform for dog lovers and owners. Customers may not realize they have an unmet need for a dog social media site until it becomes available so that they stop spamming their regular Facebook friends with photos of their pets.

3) Who are you offering it to? I would be offering this product to anyone who loves social media and is a pet owner or loves pets/animals. Ideally this website would be connected to the user's personal facebook, so facebook users with pets would be the perfect customer. 

4) Why do they care? Customers won't have to pay money for this product/service, but they will find it valuable because they can share photos and stories about their dog/pet with other dog/pet owners. They can learn about other pet information like pet-friendly businesses, vacations with pets, product/food recalls, new products for sale for their dog/pet, etc. This dog-social media website would be a source for all kinds of information for your dog.

5) What are your core competencies? My main "competitors" for a social media platform like this would be existing accounts on existing social media websites like facebook and instagram. I think if I were able to integrate these two websites with mine so users could easily share to either or both accounts people would be more likely to use it. Something my website would have that FB/Insta do not have would be the ability for companies to advertise their pet products/services. My main revenue driver would be from advertisements from pet companies, who would want to advertise with me because of our target markets. 

I think these elements fit together well for my business. I think there is a huge market of pet owners who love their dogs and want to share photos, stories, and gain information about/for their pet. There are a ton of people who have created instagram and facebook accounts for their dog. This would be a social media website specifically for these types of people. 

Thank you for any feedback! 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

This is my elevator pitch for my idea to of a dog social media website. This pitch is a bit different than the other idea I've been researching because I'd like to get a feel for what others think about this pitch. Thank you for your constructive feedback.

https://youtu.be/vcMo4n3ZccM

Tweaking the Innovation

Product Service Mix for my idea of a dog-care business.

• Revenue Drivers
• Items

• Day Care
• In-Shop Daycare - customers could drop off their dog for daycare, can combine with a grooming service and basic training
• Home Visits - customers could sign up for an employee to visit their home once or twice a day to take the dog out, play, feed/water, etc, can combine with basic training
• Basic Training - customers could pay to have their dogs learn basic commands like sit, stay, come, paw, etc either in the shop or at home.
• Overnight Boarding
• 1-3 Nights in Shop - customers who are going out of town for a short period of time can board their dog overnight, can combine with other services for additional fees
• 1-3 Nights at Home - same service as in-shop, but the dog stays home. Would be home alone overnight.
• 3+ Nights in Shop - customers could bring their dog to the shop for long-term boarding, can combine with other services for additional fees
• Grooming
• Bathing - dogs will go home clean and fresh
• Nail Clipping - basic grooming
• Body Clipping - certain breeds need their coats trimmed regularly, we would have trained groomers on staff
• Dry Shampoo - a quick way to freshed up the dog without going through the bathing process
• Pet Shop/Supplies - all of these items would be sold at the shop for the convenience
• Food - Different Brands
• Treats - Different Brands
• Toys - Kong, etc
• Leashes
• Collars
• Shampoos

A benefit of doing business with me would be the convenience of having many options of things to do with your dog. You could bring them to a physical shop location, or you can have an employee do a house visit to make sure your dog is cared for. I would only employee people who have a passion for animals and genuinely care about the well being of people's pets.