15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

1) Report the findings. Simply summarize your interviews.
Interviews

INTERVIEW 1: 35-year-old woman who has just moved in her fiancee’s house.

·     Most important factors when buying led lights:

1.       Price

2.       Power consumption

3.       Brand

4.       How the light adapts to every room

·     She is most likely to buy led light in a general store. She says she won’t buy them online because she doesn’t want to wait (not even for one day). She prefers paying with cash.

·     She thinks it’s a good product when it doesn’t consume much electricity, it’s ecofriendly and it’s not that expensive.

·     She thinks it’s a bad product when the light isn't bright enough.

INTERVIEW 2: 66-year-old man who lives in his house

·       Most important factors when buying led lights:

1.       Price

2.       Brand

3.       Power consumption

4.       Lasting

5.       Watts

·       He is most likely to buy in a hardware store because there are more products there. He is not likely to buy online because he’s not familiar with computers. However, he would pay in both cash and with a credit card.

·       He thinks it’s a good product if it lasts long emitting much light.

·       He thinks it’s a bad product if it doesn’t last long.

INTERVIEW 3: Wife and mother of two

·       Most important factors when buying led lights

1.       Watts (depending on the room for which she needs the light)

2.       Saving

3.       Price

4.       Brand

·       She doesn’t mind buying lights online or at the store. However, she is most likely to pay with her credit card because she rarely uses cash.

·       It’s a good product when it lasts long, is cheap and ecofriendly and makes her save money.

·       It’s a bad product when it doesn’t last long and the light is too warm in terms of color, she prefers a light blue cool light.

2) Draw conclusions. Based on what you know about this segment and what you learned in your interviews, how would you succinctly describe this segment in terms of alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation?

CONCLUSION: The segment gives importance to price and savings. Their ideal product has a good quality/price ratio, is ecofriendly and can easily adapt to every room of their house, lasting long. They are more likely to buy a product from a producer they trust in non-online stores. I think the key thing I realized was that the customizability of LED lights and the variety are the key to finding the unaccommodated niche or segment of consumers.  

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list. 

Patience- I think I am an exceptionally patient person both with other people and in completing challenges. I see this demonstrated when I garden and often have to wait months or years to see any progress in what I am trying to create.
Resilience-  I am resilient in the face of challenges. This often expresses itself when faced with challenges and meeting deadlines.
Perspective- I provide a different perspective then most people. I think I offer a unique perspective as having been born in a different country, having a multicultural upbringing and even just through the own uniqueness of my personality expressing itself. 
Calmness- I am very calm in the face of challenge and can work through it. I see this often expressed when meeting deadlines or taking tests.
Analytical- I think of things in a very calculated and analytical way. This expresses itself most when working on projects or working with others.

2) Interview the five people who know you the best. Ask them what they think makes you different -- remember, focus on your knowledge, skills, abilities, emotions -- in other words, your human capital. Try to stay away from discussing your other types of capital (such as who you know). Record each interview. In your post, please post each interview, as well as a two-three sentence summary of each interview, explaining what your key takeaways are. There is no time limit on these recordings. As long as you cover the information asked for above, that's all you need to do. (Audio recordings are fine. You'll need to use a platform like Soundcloud to host your files.)

 She says that I am very curious and have a need to understand the world. She says that I am resilient and have a need to understand things. He says that I am confident in myself. He also says that I am sociable and a very calm person. She says that I am very self confident in my own own abilities. She also believes that I have the ability to inspire others. She says that my drive and resilience make me different. She elaborated especially on my drive to learn new things and my need to understand them.
She says that I have a different perspective on things due to my cultural background. She says that it allows me to be more creative because of the different cultural forces I have grew up with.

3) Reflect on the differences. How do you see yourself, and how do others see you? Are there differences in how you assess yourself compared to others? What do you think causes these differences? Do you think your interviewees are correct about you? Finally, going back to your list from part 1, would you make any corrections to the list? How? 

I see myself in much the same way others see me. Although there are a few differences. I think the differences are caused from differences in perspective and how only I have the complete view of my own emotions and motivations, while others have to view me through what I express to them. They only have a limited view of who I am, and vice versa. Looking back at list 1 I don't think I would make any corrections to it. It seems to reflect both the way I and others see me, in an accurate way. 

14A – 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? 

I've used my adaptability, time management, and creativity most of all for this class. The requirements for the class often require you to have to create ideas and develop these ideas. It requires a lot of time, adaptability in your approaches to it, and creativity in the actualization of these ideas for your assignments. Then you also need to start the assignments early to give yourself enough time to meet the various criteria of each assignment, which often can not be completed in one day.

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?

I felt like giving up studying for my business law exam. Due to the demand of my summer A classes I neglected to set aside time for the summer C class and had to watch 20 hours of lecture, read 400 pages of the, textbook and do 400 practice problems for the exam in 5 days. This required me to study basically all day for those 5 days, and it was stressful and exhausting but I pulled through and did it because doing well on the exam is part of a bigger picture of doing well in the class, doing well at my major, and building myself into a successful person, with a successful career in the future. This vision I have for myself allows me to persevere now and is one of my driving motivations. I do believe I have developed a tenacious attitude. The interviews I had to do for this class are the main experiences that developed this. I rarely talk to strangers and having this class made me have to reach out to them at various points in order to be able to complete the assignments. There is a certain level of discouraging rejection when getting interviews that you have to overcome.

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' ?

I would offer these 3 tips.
Starting early/Time management- There's a series of deadlines you will experience in your life and often there will be no second chances in being able to seize unique opportunities. You have to manage your time well in order to be successful and meet the deadlines of the various things expected of you, or opportunities that present themselves.
Building discipline- Motivation only does so much to produce action, you also have to have build a sense of discipline, to do things that push you out of your comfort zone. This ties into time management since it takes discipline to manage your time and not waste it on fun, but ultimately frivolous activities.
Seeing the bigger purpose- This is one of my driving motivations as a person and is what gives me the perseverance to keep going even when I feel like giving up. I think its of the utmost importance to have a vision or purpose in order to build a tenacious mindset. This is what your discipline, time, and energy are all building to.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

•Segment and people: For this assignment I picked a segment of the population who own their own home. They are 40-65. My interviewees were people who pay for their electricity bills and are interested in being ecofriendly. My first interviewee was a man who owns the house where he lives with his family. My second interviewee was a single mom who lives in her house with her children; while the third interview was a man who lives on his own and works from home.

•Need awareness: Two of my interviewees have the same needs, that is to save money and at the same time to save energy. My first and second interviewees told me their need to save money occurs the most when they have to pay for their electricity bills. On the other hand, the third interviewee has the need to stay focused and productive for long periods of time. This need occurs the most when his eyes feel tired after working for hours usually later at night due to his more variable schedule.

•Information search: When their need occurs, the people I interviewed talk to their families, friends or colleagues in search of advice. My second interviewee told me how she often talks to her sister about how to save money not only on the electricity bill, but in general. Also, they sometimes carry on using Google for research to find out easy tricks to save money and energy. The third interviewee also looks for tips that could help his eyes not feel tired anymore, and has searched for stimulants.

•What I learned: From my interviews I learned that getting the right information framed in the right way is essential. The people I interviewed told me they were aware they would have saved money and energy with led lights, but they weren't sure if it was actually convenient and if the difference from what they were paying and saving now was substantial. Also, the third interviewee told me he didn't know LED lights promote wakefulness more than CFL lights, and didn't know the latter can actually be dangerous for the human body. So, after I provided them with the right information, they seemed much more interested in being informed and potentially substituting their lights.

•Conclusion: I think the people included in my segment have thought at least once about the possibility of changing their lights into led lights and that they are more or less aware it would be beneficial for them. Therefore, I believe the demand for led lights in the segment I picked would be high if people were aware of the actual and real benefits they could get by substituting their lights. In addition to this, since information is essential, I think that by word of mouth, after experiencing the benefits of led lights, the demand for this good would grow higher.  

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am Cesar Yapura, I am an information systems student at the Warrington business college at UF. I  have mild experience in graphic design and won the power of design award at Catalyst. I have some web design experience and have set up websites before. I'm not a great public speaker but I can power through it when needed. I want to graduate and start working in the private sector and eventually start my own business after acquiring some experience and capital. I see the development of the concept as benefiting me in my future endeavors by teaching me through experience. It would likely give me experience in attempting entrepreneurial endeavors in the future and increase my future success.

2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

I'm offering to customers the possibility to be healthier, to save money and to save energy by substituting their old CFL lights with led lights in a convenient manner. According to www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/led-lighting LED's are the most efficient way to light your home using the least wattage per lumen emitted, last longer than other light bulbs, are sturdier, are safer and being easier to install in parallel due to lower wattage concerns. The service is providing information conveniently laid out, a call to action, and the convenient ability to purchase LED bulbs that satisfy your needs.

3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I'm offering it to people who own a home and pay for their own electricity bills. Also, they are willing to invest some money in this product and they are not looking for short-term benefits. They would likely be older and around 40-65. I would also like to offer it to businesses that would like to renew their image. In fact, customers are also concerned about the environment and are interested in protecting the Earth, but I found it a lot easier to interview people rather than businesses.

4. Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

People will pay money for this product because of the benefits derived from its purchase. First of all they would save money on their electricity bills. Secondly, they would save energy and reduce pollution, providing also eco-sustainability for businesses. Which seems to be a big part of modern day branding to be seen as a socially conscious and sustainable business. In addition to this, customers would the avoid mercury risks of breaking the fragile CFL bulbs, which could provide another layer of peace of mind.

5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

My core competencies are in offering a simple, convenient way to do this with information provided. Convenience, intuitiveness and ease of access above all else seems to be the core driver of behavior. I even see this reflected in myself. Where my actions are largely motivated by what is convenient to me.

6. Do these elements fit together? Are there aspects of your business concept that are weaker/out of joint with the others?

They somewhat fit together. I am competent in graphic design and have some experience in web design, and setting and hosting a website and am entering the logistics part of my information systems courses. The core competency is weaker than the others since it in itself isn't that well differentiated from the existing products as I would want it to be. I need to work on distinguishing it and finding a niche that isn't being catered to yet. Although there are existing resale businesses that seem to make that model work.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

I read Ray Kroc’s Grinding it out, the making of McDonald’s. 1. What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most was how Ray Kroc, when he was in his 50's, managed to build one of the largest fast food chains in the world despite all the adversities he faced. Accomplishing this after spending 20 years selling paper cups and multimixers. You tend to think of entrepreneurship happening at an earlier age. 2. What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admire his self awareness, as well as the trust he had in his and his employees’ instincts. His capability to take risks, even when they turned out to be failures, was also remarkable. In addition to this, I admire the fact that Ray Kroc put a lot of effort in his business, he knew his strengths and he didn’t think of money as his priority. 3. What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? While reading the book, I noticed a couple of things I did not admire about Ray Kroc. First of all, his total commitment to his business left him with no private life to be found if not within the business itself. Also, I found some of the writing self-absorbed, written to praise the success he had 4. Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? During his life, Ray Kroc encountered several adversities, but he always found an innovative way to come out of them. In fact, he often relied on his ability and previous experience, like when he lost his job in Florida and he accepted a job as a pianist, from which he earned also extra tips thank to his brilliance. Also, he was often helped by his employees and co-workers when he encountered failures. However, his philosophy was not to worry for more than one thing at time, setting priorities and relaxing until he found a solution for that problem and could think of another one. 5. What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? While reading the book, I noticed how his flexibility played an important role in the development of the McDonald’s corporation. In fact, at first he wanted to open new restaurants all over the country to sell more of his multimixers, later he understood how successful the fast food chain could have been. So, he focused on improving the restaurants and, thanks to his flexibility, planned his work consequently. Also, he knew his strengths and emphasized them. Moreover, I noticed how Ray Kroc adapted the different McDonald’s restaurants to the needs of certain territories and communities, like when the corporation initially created the Filet-O-Fish for the Christians who couldn’t eat any meat in certain days of the year. 6. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you The autobiography was very enjoyable to read, it was written with a flowing style and was simple to understand, even when talking about technical issues. However, I think the parts in which he talked about his employees and co-workers were a little confusing, even though I understand he had to mention them. Moreover, the book became a little less enjoyable towards the end, where he talked about his experience with the baseball team. 7. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? If I were able to ask two questions to Ray Kroc, I would ask him what the most important key for his success was. Of course, his intuition played an important role, but I wonder what the importance of previous experience was and if without all those years of experience he would have had the same success. Also, I would ask him to what extent a business can be controlled by one person and how much power should be delegated and when. I find this question significant because at some point it’s necessary to delegate a certain amount of responsibilities to others and I would like to know how to interact and manage this situation. 8. What do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? As he stated multiple times in the book, Ray Kroc gave great importance to hard work and persistence. He was a very ambitious man and he aimed at reaching perfection and I think that’s why he was completely immersed in his job and had no other thoughts. I share the same importance Ray Kroc had regarding hard work, because I believe it’s one of the keys to success, but I also think that after working hard you shouldn’t forget to relax sometimes.

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

WHO: Thank to my interviews, I found out that there are some people who fall outside the boundary of my target market. These people include those who do not pay for the electricity bills. In fact, I interviewed my dad, who owns a rental home which has mostly LED lights. He said that since the occupants pay the for bills, combined with convenience made it the path of least resistance not to replace the fluorescent ballasts. After interviewing a young couple that recently bought a house, I found out that they have the need since they’re aware they would spare energy and money with LED lights. However, at the moment they said they do not have enough money to replace all the lights and they plan to do it in the future. I also found out that one of the reasons why people don’t use LED lights is laziness. One of my interviewees, a 21-year-old girl, who lives with her parents in a house with both LED and CFL’s lights, said that they are simply too lazy to substitute all the lamps and that they never really felt a need to until they absolutely had to. Interviewee number four and five, similarly to interviewee number three, said they are too lazy to change to LED lights. Interviewee number four, who lives in a rented apartment, added that he believes it won’t make any difference for the environment if he uses LED lights or not, because it would be just him. On the other hand, the last interviewee, a 25-year-old girl, said she is used to CFL lights and she does not feel like changing them because she already has those and has grown accustomed to the warm yellowish color they emit.

WHAT: Although some of my interviewees show the need to save money and energy, they focus on fulfilling this need in the present and almost all of them are not interested in long-term benefits. Furthermore, the majority of my interviewees doesn’t show the need at all, as they are not interested in changing the way things are in the present.

WHY: I think that the need is the same, but some people don’t have the opportunity to satisfy it (because they don’t have enough money/are unwilling to invest in this change), while others would probably satisfy it if it was easier for them.

	INSIDE THE BOUNDARIES		OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES
WHO IS IN	·       People who own a house and pay for their bills ·       People who are concerned about the environment ·       People who want to save energy and therefore money ·       People who are informed about the advantaged of led lights	WHO IS OUT	·       People who do not own a house / who do not pay for their bills ·       People who do not have enough money to invest ·       People who are not informed enough / who are lazy ·       People who do not have the ability to change the lights
WHAT THE NEED IS	·       To save energy and money ·       Convenience	WHAT THE NEED IS NOT	·       To change people’s habits ·       To educate
WHY	·       To save money, energy and help the environment ·       To feel healthier as led lights don’t radiate heat, UV rays and don’t get eyes tired	ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS	·       People are not ready to change their habits completely as they are okay with what they already have  ·       Convenience is more valuable than small savings ·       People are not interested in long-term benefits

Summary/Reflection: I initially thought that would be easy to sell something to people that would save them money, but I didn't take into account the time value of money, the initial investment costs to get these, and the value people place on convenience and not exercising any effort which often supersedes that of the savings they could acquire over the short term. I think convenience it of itself has monetary value that supersedes relatively low savings. This really just confirmed a lot of the barriers I initially uncovered with my first interviews. I wonder if some sort of financing and installation service would appeal to them. In further questioning I would abandon individual consumers and switch my target audience to businesses using legacy light systems and see if some sort of financing arrangement for decreased electrical costs would appeal to them.