Week 4 Reflection

1. The biggest surprise to me in the reading was how traditional management could hinder entrepreneur innovation.
2. I found corporate  venturing and strategic entrepreneurship to be confusing because they were similar.
3. How many people are in the I-Teams in a large company?
4. On pg.83 I disagree with the corporates innovator's commandments. I believe one can be innovative and still perform their job.

Interviewing customers No.1

1. I found that a lot of people in my dorm complained about the dining hall food and the dining hall was close to my dorm so I thought it would be an easy opportunity to investigate.
2. The people that had the unmet needs were the students eating in the dining hall.
3. "Do you have a meal plan?", "What do you think of the pricing of the meal plan?", "What improvements can be made to better your experience?, "Would you get the meal plan again?"
4. I interviewed people in other halls and the dining hall.
5. I think the dining hall has an opportunity to improve and attract more customers. They can improve by increasing the quality of staff, better quality food, and more variety. 
6. I learned a lot interviewing people for this assignment. Just approaching random people increased my confidence and this assignment helped my interviewing skills as well.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 problems

1. War
2. Terrorism
3. Climate change
4. Clean Water
5. Poverty

Top 5 solutions

1. Resource depletion- The world should use alternative energy sources like nuclear, electric, and solar.
2. Terrorism- Collective efforts from major nations to fight terrorism.
3. Epidemics- To prevent epidemics from spreading, countries must invest in research and use preventive measures in the time of an epidemic.
4. Pollution- Increase strength of pollution laws and spread them worldwide.
5. War-Changing the mindset and educating the younger generations.

I choose war as my top problem in the world because it has been around since the beginning of civilization. This problem is persistent and ugly part of our culture that needs to be taken out. It kills innocent human beings every year and the benefits don't outweigh the cost.

My top solution is for resource depletion. By using alternative energy sources, it will make the world cleaner and use energy more efficiently. This solution is the most implementable because we have a foundation for this technology already we just need to improve it.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. I hate my ‘double chin’ - Is there anything I can do safely to correct it?

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8CDEDB7FE2AE0?p=AWNB

The article main focus is to target people that want to get rid of their double chin. Kybella is a type of acid that "melts" away the fat in the chin area and gets rid of the patients double chin. The sessions cost between $800-$1600.

The problem is for the people who have double chins and want to get rid of them.

2. Homes selling, but at a slower pace Tampa area sales in December are up just 3.3% from a year ago - Tampa area sales in December are up just 3.3% from a year ago
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8CDEDAB7CC060?p=AWNB

The main focus of the article is on Florida's housing market in the month of December. In the month of December the housing market only grew 3.3% from last year so analyst are predicting a slower 2016 market.

Problem is properties are taking longer to sell and returning less profit.

This is effecting real estate companies and private investors.

3. Pig functions as therapy animal? Hogwash, one neighbor says
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8CDF27A8A1968?p=AWNB

In a St.Pete neighborhood, a resident claims to have a pig a therapy pet but it has caused trouble in the neighborhood by charging at people walking their animals. The neighbor then took this issue to court to settle whether the animal is a therapy pet or not.

The problem is the pig is causing problems and is not a therapy pet.

The people living in the neighborhood is effected by the pig being disruptive. 

4. Bob Graham calls for Gov. Rick Scott to veto sweeping water reforms
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A83B0A1DF407A0?p=AWNB

Bob Graham a former senator and governor ask for a people to veto the water policy because it weakens the protection of the ocean and water ways in Florida which will cause more pollution.

The problem is Gov. Rick Scott's bill to reform water policy will cause increase pollution of the water in Florida.

Everyone living in Florida including the animals will suffer.

5. Could Obama's proposal for more background checks help reduce gun violence in Florida?
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A3F22C207B1BF8?p=AWNB

Obama wants to pass a law that will increase the security on guns by having people get background checks before they purchase a gun.

The problem is 30,000 people a year in the U.S are wounded/killed from guns.

People effected are the families of those killed and the innocent people.

Week 3 Reading reflections

After reading chapter 2, I now know the qualities that an entrepreneur must learn or have to be successful. None of the traits of an entrepreneur surprised me because they were all straight forward and essential for most businessmen. However, the stress that an entrepreneur has to deal with did surprised me. They can become stressed in many ways such as, financial problems, career issues, family and social issues, and even their own well being. A confusing topic of the chapter was the issue on ethics. I see many business not follow the code of ethics like going to other countries so they don't have to follow some standards of pollution or employee safety. Furthermore, many companies that start off as a good idea like Facebook, have strayed away from connecting people and went towards making money with advertisement. Facebook has stopped listening to what the people want and work in the interest of the company. Someone questions I have for the author are, "What are the top 3 most important traits for an entrepreneur?" and "Which risk of being an entrepreneur has the biggest impact?"
Thanks for reading!

Very Short Interview No.1

Hello guys,
I interviewed Tin Nguyen. He is a friend of my brother in Austin, Texas and he started his own phone repair shop.  Here are some questions and responses from a Skype interview.

1. What made you come up with the idea of a phone repair shop? "I saw that many people were breaking their phones and places like Apple were charging high prices to fix their phones, so I came up with a solution to fix it at a lower price than the official stores. 
2. How did your company start? "It started with myself and a couple of friends working out of my mom's tailoring store. We began working small and working on phones in the area. We received customers through walk-ins because were in a central area of down town. Eventually by word of mouth and advertisement we expanded our customers and grew from there."
3. What have you done to expand your company? "In order to grow we had to sell products for phones and fix a variety of phones. We receive phones through the mail and we also sell products online."

After the interview, I saw how looking for a problem and solving the problem could produce a company. I can now see how creating a list of world and personal problems can really help us think like an entrepreneur. Additionally, I saw how one must expand on one idea and make it even bigger. Tin went to fixing phones and took it to another level by buying cell phones and fixing them, selling phone products, and selling phone parts. It really shows how entrepreneurs see opportunity and take them. Thanks for reading my post and let me know below what you guys think of my interview and reflection.  

World's biggest problems

1. Terrorism- This problem is effecting people all over the world in various ways. It kills hundred of innocent every year and is an increasing problem the world is facing today. To solve this problem we must increase security and nations need to join together to collectively fight terrorists.
2. Climate Change- We are experiencing the hottest winter to date this year and it will only continue. Climate change is the result of excess use of products that release green house gases causing our planet to retain more heat. We need to revolution our transportation system to cleaner sources to slow down climate change.
3. Pollution- Pollution effects our world in many ways. One it makes our world ugly to look at and destroys the environment by killing the plants and animals within it. Stronger laws should be placed world wide to stop pollution everywhere.
4. Epidemics- New diseases form every year and old ones come back in different strains. Some spread fast and kill many such as the ebola epidemic. While others are incurable such as HIV/AIDS. New research and preventive measures can be used to fight these diseases and take prevent them from spreading.
5. Heavy reliance on technology. Although, technology is extremely beneficial we have integrated it into every part of our life and it has "taken over". People of all ages are clued to their phones or smart devices and classes are migrating to an online format. While this may be a first world problem I believe it is an issue that will get worse overtime so, we need to balance our lives and communicate with one another in real life rather then the virtual world.
6. Clean water- People in third world countries do not have access to clean water. Causing the spread of diseases and malnourishment. First world countries should help by creating a filter system in the waterways.
7. Poverty- People in poverty seem to be in an unless cycle. The work for cheap and are required to buy essentials that use up most of their income. The solution is education... By educating people they have the ability to get better jobs and lift the spell of poverty from themselves.
8. War- People are constantly at war with one another. Whether its on a large scale or small scale basis it needs to stop. The spillovers of war are innocent people getting killed and the land being destroyed. The solution to war now often causes more bloodshed before there is peace. War can be prevented by changing the mindset of the younger generations to have a better future.
9. Resource depletion- Resources such as, oils,gases, trees, and coal are all non-renewable and will eventually run out. This will cause chaos in the world. To prevent this we must improve are renewable resources like solar, electric, and nuclear energy to have energy that will sustain life for generations upon generations.
10. Prejudice- People are so quickly to judge one another causing close mindedness. If people talked to one another with an open mind the we can remove the idea of race, sexuality, and gender. 

I hope you found my problems interesting and relevant to our world. The problems I listed are in no order but they all have an impact on our world. Thanks for reading!

Week 2 Reading reflection

After reading chapter one I have gained knowledge on what an entrepreneur really is. I always thought entrepreneurs were people who owned business but the book has showed me that they are people who come up with new ideas in the business world.  I somewhat disagree when the author explains the differences between a entrepreneur and a small business owner. I believe small business owners can be entrepreneurs as well by using new techniques in their field of business to improve and make their business thrive. 

When reading on the topic of "gazelles" I was confused on how they account 10% of job growths but only account for 1% of business. It also confuses me on why these companies don't last longer then 3-5 years and why the smaller firms never transition to larger proportions.

Questions for the author

• To be a entrepreneur, how does one start an idea with minimum funding? It seems that many people want to create business or have ideas but to take it into action one must have some kind of funds to get the idea really going.

Thanks for reading my reflection on chapter one! 

Bug List

1) A lot of my classes are online
A: It is easier for a professor to teach one time and be recorded, then students can watch the lecture online rather than a full classroom.
2) High school test scores and GPA overshadow the people who are smart but lack test taking skills
A: GPA and test scores help see the top students in the class and ensure the university is getting smart students.
3) High school ranking is determined by test scores
A: Test scores show how "smart" students in the school.
4) College professors ask students to buy books and online access codes that students never use
A: Required books are often only use for a little or the professor's plan has changed for the course.
5) Fraternities look for certain people that fit their stereotypes
A: To continue traditions in the fraternity and have people with the same qualities
6) At UF, bikes ride on the sidewalk and get in the way of the people walking.
A: Bikers don't want to get hit by cars or the sidewalk is a better route.
7) iPhone chargers break after a couple months.
A: The charger endures a lot of bending from people using the phone while its on the charger.
8) People don't pick up their dog's number 2
A: They are lazy or don't have a bag to pick it up with.
9) Florida's weather will be cold one day and hot the next day
A: Florida's weather experiences cold fronts and after the weather heats back up.
10) Traffic in Tampa in congested from 3pm-6pm
A: Construction of new roads have changed traffic patterns and the high doesn't support amount of people using it.
11) Car dealerships will charge you the highest price they can and a the highest interest rate
A: They are maximizing their profits and using the knowledge the buyer doesn't know.
12) Cars are being made with cheap material
A: Car companies want to maximize profits by using cheaper materials.
13) T-Mobile has many drop calls and areas with no service
A: They don't have as many cell towers and what you pay is what you get.
14) The class good life that is mandatory at UF
A: The class is designed to help students see what college is really for.
15) Online classes cost more than regular classes.
A: The websites and technology used to have online classes are more expensive.
16) Publix sandwich line is packed around lunch time
A: Publix only has 3 sandwich makers and everyone wants a delicious pub sub for lunch.
17) Students resell their football tickets for a high price
A: Students are want to make money on tickets they got for $15
18) Car insurance is expensive for people under 25
A: Insurances don't trust young drivers as they more likely to be involved in an accident.
19) High schools don't offer classes that prepare you for skilled labor jobs.
A: High schools encourage students to go to college because they receive funding.
20) People are getting married older and having less kids.
A: The cost of living has increased and women are more educated.

Coming up with the list of things that bug me was at first challenging but it got easier as the list went on. I tried to use things that bothered me personally and on a larger scale as well. I hope you enjoyed my list of bugs and sorry for it being unorganized. Thanks for reading!

My Entrepreneurship Story

My parents are from Vietnam and they came here after the Vietnam war. My father helped build a boat that traveled to Malaysia and was able to immigrate to the the United States because he fought against North Vietnam with the U.S troops. After a couple of years my mom worked as a nail technician and my dad was a handy man fixing things in people homes in the area. Overtime my parents were able to save enough money and expand their craft to build their own businesses. My mother was able to open up her own nail shop with the help of my extended family and my father pieced together a construction company working for the government building homes. My parents came to America with nothing but with hard work and thinking like an entrepreneur they were able to succeed in their business and provide for themselves and my family.

Introduction

Hi,
My name is Peter Pham and I am from Tampa, Florida. I am studying Finance and also interested in expanding my parent's businesses. My mother owns a nail shop in a mall near USF and my father runs a construction business all over Florida. I enjoy going out to eat or hanging out with my friends on my time off. I also like to buy and sell items on Craigslist for fun and a little bit of money. I just recently got a job at a small car lot as a car salesman off of Hwy 441. I haven't traveled much but i am interested in going to Vietnam to see my homeland. Other places I am looking forward to visiting one day are Hawaii, Japan, and Europe. Thanks for reading my post!

Week 2

The Entrepreneur's Mantra

Testing the post on my blog.