1) This semester I failed for the third semester in a row. Since I've been at UF I've tried every semester to make straight A's but every single semester I fail because of my procrastination and laziness. It is really disappointing honestly considering my brother makes straight A's at Notre Dame studying physics while I'm just here in J-School (shoutout J-School).
2) While I know this is stretching the prompt a bit because it says this semester, this is just something that has been on my mind recently because it means a lot to me. Recognizing it now and calling myself out on it makes me excited for next semester because that is another chance for me to reach my goal. Other than that I learned that I need to be more proactive in my life and plan ahead better.
3) Failure sucks, plain and simple. When you set your mind to achieve something and then don't, there's no worse feeling. However, failure helps us learn, about ourselves and about each other. When we fail we need to recognize it, completely. If you don't accept your own failure then you start running from it and that results in lies and cheating. Cheating is just accepting failure. This class makes me look at things a little differently now, everything is a calculated risk. I think that I will be trying to take more calculated risks from now on.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Friday, November 15, 2019
What's Next?
Existing Market
1) I think the next step for my business is to finalize some designs and start making a large amount of shirts to start selling. At this point we have developed a brand and have created a decent amount of demand, but now we need to supply that in order to get our brand to a bigger audience and create more demand.
2)
- Ben, 24 - When I asked Ben what he thought we should do next he completely agreed with what I said in the previous paragraph. Ben said that we definitely need to start pumping out shirts to sell because we need people to see what the brand is about and seeing other people wear it makes people more likely to buy it for themselves.
- Anna, 20 - Anna agreed with Ben that more shirts need to be made, but she also emphasized that we need to improve our social media. Anna said that while it's good that we have one and are using it, we need to completely revamp it and make it more professional.
- Kelsey, 21 - Kelsey actually disagreed with the two other interviews. Kelsey thought that we should wait to produce more shirts and instead work on mastering the screen press. Her thoughts were that we needed to act more professional since we are already doing everything by hand. Once we get really good at printing is when we should start mass producing.
3)
I liked the feedback that I got from these interviews, all of them were very helpful to consider with my current business plan. I particularly agreed with Anna's point about our social media. Since we've had the Instagram only one person has had the password for the account and after the split into different locations he is the only one able to post. Being part of the Tallahassee squad I am unable to influence his posts since I am in Gainesville. What I need to do is get the password and work on diversifying our media presence.
As for Kelsey's comment I actually disagree with the suggestion to get better at using the screen press because of how our brand is very do-it-yourself and making our shirts look professionally manufactured takes away from that brand. We have even talked about making our designs look more hand-drawn than they are now to add to that brand even more.
New Market
1)
The new market that I am identifying is a very trendy, designer clothing market such as Louis Vuitton. To make this new market all of the prices of my shirts will be raised significantly. Besides this there will be a much smaller selection of designs that come with each release in order to make them more rare/exclusive. Orders will still be delivered in the burlap sack but with a sticker and a pin instead of just the shirt.
2)
-Brian, 20 - Brian was not very intrigued by the new market. He said that the shirts seemed a little overpriced and he did not know "what the h*ll" he would do with a pin that's included in the shirt order.
-Liz, 19 - Liz was more of a fan of the new market than Brian was. Liz said she liked the high-class aspect of the shirts and that she would definitely buy some sweatpants and potentially a shirt. Her biggest issue was the fact that our clothes were made more towards males than females.
3)
I honestly did not expect anyone to be up for this new market. Based on the designs that we've made they do not at all match with a designer brand. That being said Liz surprised me greatly by her enthusiasm on our sweatpants and that she like how expensive they were because they made you value the purchase. I clearly do not have as much money as Liz but the fact that there are consumers for that market took me by surprise. I agree however that our market is more targeted at males and we need to improve our female clothing options.
Compared to the previous business model this one is most definitely inferior. The quality of our products simply do not match up to the quality of the designer brands. Marketing could most definitely help if we advertised ourselves as if we were real snobby and high class, but that just feels fake and snarky. I would much rather drive for hours delivering t-shirts for 15$ that they will enjoy than ship a shirt for 40-50$ that is completely overcharging the customer.
1) I think the next step for my business is to finalize some designs and start making a large amount of shirts to start selling. At this point we have developed a brand and have created a decent amount of demand, but now we need to supply that in order to get our brand to a bigger audience and create more demand.
2)
- Ben, 24 - When I asked Ben what he thought we should do next he completely agreed with what I said in the previous paragraph. Ben said that we definitely need to start pumping out shirts to sell because we need people to see what the brand is about and seeing other people wear it makes people more likely to buy it for themselves.
- Anna, 20 - Anna agreed with Ben that more shirts need to be made, but she also emphasized that we need to improve our social media. Anna said that while it's good that we have one and are using it, we need to completely revamp it and make it more professional.
- Kelsey, 21 - Kelsey actually disagreed with the two other interviews. Kelsey thought that we should wait to produce more shirts and instead work on mastering the screen press. Her thoughts were that we needed to act more professional since we are already doing everything by hand. Once we get really good at printing is when we should start mass producing.
3)
I liked the feedback that I got from these interviews, all of them were very helpful to consider with my current business plan. I particularly agreed with Anna's point about our social media. Since we've had the Instagram only one person has had the password for the account and after the split into different locations he is the only one able to post. Being part of the Tallahassee squad I am unable to influence his posts since I am in Gainesville. What I need to do is get the password and work on diversifying our media presence.
As for Kelsey's comment I actually disagree with the suggestion to get better at using the screen press because of how our brand is very do-it-yourself and making our shirts look professionally manufactured takes away from that brand. We have even talked about making our designs look more hand-drawn than they are now to add to that brand even more.
New Market
1)
The new market that I am identifying is a very trendy, designer clothing market such as Louis Vuitton. To make this new market all of the prices of my shirts will be raised significantly. Besides this there will be a much smaller selection of designs that come with each release in order to make them more rare/exclusive. Orders will still be delivered in the burlap sack but with a sticker and a pin instead of just the shirt.
2)
-Brian, 20 - Brian was not very intrigued by the new market. He said that the shirts seemed a little overpriced and he did not know "what the h*ll" he would do with a pin that's included in the shirt order.
-Liz, 19 - Liz was more of a fan of the new market than Brian was. Liz said she liked the high-class aspect of the shirts and that she would definitely buy some sweatpants and potentially a shirt. Her biggest issue was the fact that our clothes were made more towards males than females.
3)
I honestly did not expect anyone to be up for this new market. Based on the designs that we've made they do not at all match with a designer brand. That being said Liz surprised me greatly by her enthusiasm on our sweatpants and that she like how expensive they were because they made you value the purchase. I clearly do not have as much money as Liz but the fact that there are consumers for that market took me by surprise. I agree however that our market is more targeted at males and we need to improve our female clothing options.
Compared to the previous business model this one is most definitely inferior. The quality of our products simply do not match up to the quality of the designer brands. Marketing could most definitely help if we advertised ourselves as if we were real snobby and high class, but that just feels fake and snarky. I would much rather drive for hours delivering t-shirts for 15$ that they will enjoy than ship a shirt for 40-50$ that is completely overcharging the customer.
Unfair Advantage
Resources:
- Screen Printer
- Screen printers are very essential to the shirt making process, having one allows us to make our own shirts whenever we want and not have to rely on a third party to produce them which is more money and more time.
- ink/dye
- ink and dye is useful obviously but not exactly rare
- 3 different geographical locations
- Since spreading out for college the members of Tallwood have split across the 3 cities of Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Jacksonville. Having theses 3 locations makes it easier to reach a larger audience on a personal level, not just over social media.
- Connections through 3 different fraternities (and thus multiple sororities)
- There are 3 of us in Tallwood who are also in Greek life. This provides us with a much greater selection of customers since we live with 50 other people, let alone the people we meet throughout the year at various events. This allows us to show our brand to a much bigger audience and get feedback as well as purchases.
- Social Media account: Instagram
- This is nothing rare at all since its free to make an Instagram, but its important nonetheless.
- blank tees
- Another relatively simple resource to gather, just takes time and some money. Tallwood buys all their clothing thrifting and prints on them or dyes them.
- Tallwood burlap sacks
- One of my favorite resources, we ship all our clothing in branded burlap sacks. This adds a handcrafted touch to the order since it isn't completely plastic wrapped and smell like a factory.
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- We use Adobe for our designs. Being in college is very helpful for this resource because of the fact that it is discounted for people with an .edu email. However, Adobe is open for purchase by anyone.
- 5+ different designers
- While most clothing companies are going to have a decent amount of different designers, what makes Tallwood different is that we constantly look at and challenge each other's designs. In a traditional company style manufacturer there would be someone overlooking the designers, either accepting or rejecting designs, but our group analysis allows us to get the most feedback and improve our own designs before they are even released.
- Shirt Delivery
- So of course ordering a shirt from Amazon will get it delivered to you by a truck, but an order from Tallwood will get you a delivery by a car full of 19 year-olds in the middle of the night. This point is similar to the burlap sack because it adds to our quirky, homemade vibe. We make this for the customer and so we are going to make sure they get it.
After analyzing my list of resources, I would say that my top resource is the connections we have through Greek Life. While this may sound very conceited, Greek Life exposes you to so many people that you are constantly meeting new people and making new friends. Say, for example, I wear a Tallwood shirt one night at a social, every single person there is going to recognize it as a brand that they are not familiar with and potentially ask about it and therefore get exposed to the brand and the products. Wearing it myself is important too because people are interested in what other people are passionate about and as a creator I am very passionate and would express this to any interested consumer. On top of this, Greek Life is very interconnected and so every person I get interested will tell a friend who can tell a friend and then the domino effect takes over.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Elevator Pitch No. 3
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WGjv_DI74Q
2) From my last elevator pitch I was told that my main issue was the length of my pitch. While it was within the given time range my peers felt like it went a little too long for the topic. Besides this the other main concern was not to waste time introducing myself. Other than these concerns I was told that I had a good confidence and composure for my pitch.
3) The main thing that I changed in this elevator pitch is the length. Since I was told that my pitch was too long last time I decided to take out some fluff and get right to the point. Personally, I believe that my second pitch was the best but I still think this pitch is strong.
2) From my last elevator pitch I was told that my main issue was the length of my pitch. While it was within the given time range my peers felt like it went a little too long for the topic. Besides this the other main concern was not to waste time introducing myself. Other than these concerns I was told that I had a good confidence and composure for my pitch.
3) The main thing that I changed in this elevator pitch is the length. Since I was told that my pitch was too long last time I decided to take out some fluff and get right to the point. Personally, I believe that my second pitch was the best but I still think this pitch is strong.
Reading Reflection No. 2
The book that I chose to read for this assignment was The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki.
1) The general theme of this book is that social media is a powerful tool that can really boost a company's performance if used correctly or hurt it if used poorly.
2) Currently I am enrolled in Social Media and Society so a lot of the topics covered in the book were already familiar to me but what I thought really helped connect these lessons to the class were the real life examples that it provided. A big part of entrepreneurship is learning from other people's mistakes or success but you can only learn from things that you've experienced or researched/read yourself.
3) If I were to create an assignment for the class based off the book that I read, I would assign a story or some kind of business update for social media and then make the students change the format of the message to fit its respectful social media channel.
4) Honestly, I was surprised at learning how to respond to negative comments. I've always figured that unless it involves tech support or something then negative comments should be left alone, but according to Guy Kawasaki it's actually best to reply to them one at a time. This makes sense to me now because it shows that the business/company is open to criticism and willing to take the time to make the customer experience better.
1) The general theme of this book is that social media is a powerful tool that can really boost a company's performance if used correctly or hurt it if used poorly.
2) Currently I am enrolled in Social Media and Society so a lot of the topics covered in the book were already familiar to me but what I thought really helped connect these lessons to the class were the real life examples that it provided. A big part of entrepreneurship is learning from other people's mistakes or success but you can only learn from things that you've experienced or researched/read yourself.
3) If I were to create an assignment for the class based off the book that I read, I would assign a story or some kind of business update for social media and then make the students change the format of the message to fit its respectful social media channel.
4) Honestly, I was surprised at learning how to respond to negative comments. I've always figured that unless it involves tech support or something then negative comments should be left alone, but according to Guy Kawasaki it's actually best to reply to them one at a time. This makes sense to me now because it shows that the business/company is open to criticism and willing to take the time to make the customer experience better.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Growing Your Social Capital
1) Kevin Masaro - Domain Expert
Kevin Masaro is a co-founder of the clothing company Always True. The company was founded in 2015 after the passing of their brother Brandon K. Howard who rapped under the name of Always True. I went to one of their pop-up sales in Gainesville and bought a shirt and talked to Kevin about how he got started in the business and what it takes. He gave me his phone number and told me to contact him if I needed anything.
2) Josh Huey - Expert
Josh Huey is the Head Graphic Designer of Dragonfly Graphics, a company based in Gainesville. As Head Graphic Designer Josh works closely with clients and is known for being able to bring an idea to life exactly as its imagined. I emailed Josh and asked him a few questions. The best answer I got was that it was his hobby and he said that pursuing your passion is extremely rewarding.
3) Ben Hippeli - Supplier
Ben Hippeli is a Professor of Professional Selling at University of North Florida. I found him on LinkedIn and messaged him about his experience with the distribution of shirts and ink. Being skilled in market strategy, Ben told me that it really wasn't anything complex, the main thing to remember is to keep good relations with every business you encounter because you never know when they will be useful.
This targeting network experience showed me just how many businesses there are that deal with making clothes, which is slightly daunting. However, everyone that I reached out to was very nice and polite and that made me like the industry more and got me more excited for my own company. It differed from other networking experience because instead of being for an assignment it was for my own idea which gave me useful information.
Kevin Masaro is a co-founder of the clothing company Always True. The company was founded in 2015 after the passing of their brother Brandon K. Howard who rapped under the name of Always True. I went to one of their pop-up sales in Gainesville and bought a shirt and talked to Kevin about how he got started in the business and what it takes. He gave me his phone number and told me to contact him if I needed anything.
2) Josh Huey - Expert
Josh Huey is the Head Graphic Designer of Dragonfly Graphics, a company based in Gainesville. As Head Graphic Designer Josh works closely with clients and is known for being able to bring an idea to life exactly as its imagined. I emailed Josh and asked him a few questions. The best answer I got was that it was his hobby and he said that pursuing your passion is extremely rewarding.
3) Ben Hippeli - Supplier
Ben Hippeli is a Professor of Professional Selling at University of North Florida. I found him on LinkedIn and messaged him about his experience with the distribution of shirts and ink. Being skilled in market strategy, Ben told me that it really wasn't anything complex, the main thing to remember is to keep good relations with every business you encounter because you never know when they will be useful.
This targeting network experience showed me just how many businesses there are that deal with making clothes, which is slightly daunting. However, everyone that I reached out to was very nice and polite and that made me like the industry more and got me more excited for my own company. It differed from other networking experience because instead of being for an assignment it was for my own idea which gave me useful information.
Idea Napkin No.2
You:
I am a college student who is trying to get into the film industry. Lately my friends and I decided that we wanted to put our creativity to god use and started making t-shirt designs. I am Adobe certified and have used several Adobe platforms working on t-shirt designs alone. I am also capable of operating cameras for pictures and video which is relevant to the social media branding side of the company. While I don't necessarily see this being my primary focus after college I definitely think that we will continue to work on it in the future and it could potentially become successful.
What are you offering to customers?
I am offering a brand. A unique sense of style that has never been made or sold before, while at the same time staying comfortable and cheap to better draw business from the youth. The goal of Tallwood is to let people where whatever they want and express themselves.
Who are you offering it to?
My target audience is definitely 15 - 25. I am targeting this age group because I want to target high school and college kids who, for the most part, don't where uniforms. Not only is this age group the best chance at liking my product and buying it, but they will also get me the most exposure because they will wear it to school and talk about it to their friends.
Why do they care?
They care because the like the style of clothing as well as the message behind it.
What are your core competencies?
My creativity is my most valuable trait for this product. Clothing is such a subjective thing that you can't spend the time worrying about what the customer wants (besides factors like price and quality) you just have to be true to yourself and create what you want because people appreciate passion and will be more interested in things that you are passionate about.
I think all five of these elements are important to being an entrepreneur. They fit together in the way that all are important things to consider when thinking about selling a product or service. My weakest element is clearly "why do they care" because there are already a lot of clothing companies that have been made so getting people to prioritize mine over pre-existing ones is going to be my biggest challenge.
Two main points that I learned from my feedback were to be more informative and confident. My last idea napkin was not as thorough as this one and did not inform very well, however it displayed a confidence in my product that my peers liked, which is why I mentioned the importance of passion. I think this napkin is much improved compared to last time.
I am a college student who is trying to get into the film industry. Lately my friends and I decided that we wanted to put our creativity to god use and started making t-shirt designs. I am Adobe certified and have used several Adobe platforms working on t-shirt designs alone. I am also capable of operating cameras for pictures and video which is relevant to the social media branding side of the company. While I don't necessarily see this being my primary focus after college I definitely think that we will continue to work on it in the future and it could potentially become successful.
What are you offering to customers?
I am offering a brand. A unique sense of style that has never been made or sold before, while at the same time staying comfortable and cheap to better draw business from the youth. The goal of Tallwood is to let people where whatever they want and express themselves.
Who are you offering it to?
My target audience is definitely 15 - 25. I am targeting this age group because I want to target high school and college kids who, for the most part, don't where uniforms. Not only is this age group the best chance at liking my product and buying it, but they will also get me the most exposure because they will wear it to school and talk about it to their friends.
Why do they care?
They care because the like the style of clothing as well as the message behind it.
What are your core competencies?
My creativity is my most valuable trait for this product. Clothing is such a subjective thing that you can't spend the time worrying about what the customer wants (besides factors like price and quality) you just have to be true to yourself and create what you want because people appreciate passion and will be more interested in things that you are passionate about.
I think all five of these elements are important to being an entrepreneur. They fit together in the way that all are important things to consider when thinking about selling a product or service. My weakest element is clearly "why do they care" because there are already a lot of clothing companies that have been made so getting people to prioritize mine over pre-existing ones is going to be my biggest challenge.
Two main points that I learned from my feedback were to be more informative and confident. My last idea napkin was not as thorough as this one and did not inform very well, however it displayed a confidence in my product that my peers liked, which is why I mentioned the importance of passion. I think this napkin is much improved compared to last time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)