Final Reflection

Upon looking back at my previous 40-something posts, it is actually really interesting to see how much I have progressed. My very first posts, i realized, had no substance to them.  they were bland and difficult to read.  I literally wish I could go back and edit them to make them much better.  But I must give myself a pat on the back because as the semester went on my posts gained some substance and I was able to express myself much easier.   From the trivial times when I was freaking out about getting the video customer interviews done, to the weekly Sunday routine of writing my chapter reflections.  Those Elevator pitches and Venture Concepts definitely took a toll on me.  But looking back to them, they helped me voice my concept for the whole world to hear.

The most formative experience has to be interviewing an entrepreneur.  It was a great experience to talk to someone that has been such a big role model in my life.  I worked for this man, I played Little League Baseball for this man, and his son is basically my brother.  This was a very humbling experience for me.  Speaking about humbling experiences, the most enjoyable experience for me, was the time I went out to explore another market.  I came across some impoverished families and it made me appreciate what I am blessed to have so much more.

Of course I believe that I am truly an Entrepreneur now.  I think I still have more to learn about the profession but this class really guided me in the right direction.  I'm walking the pathway to more success and I am so excited to where it will lead me.  I understand that mantra now.  The mantra will help me in all of my future businesses.

One recommendation  I would have for the future students taking this course is to stay on top of the assignments and never take them for granted.  They may seem arduous and tasking but trust me they are put in place to build you up, not break you down.  I am so fortunate to have taken this course and I will use this course to continue to want to be successful at everything that I do.  

Week 15 Reflection

The most appealing  aspect of Chapter 13 of the textbook was the subject on how poorly people in these run down countries live. It was mind boggling to see how people in third world countries make their living everyday.  This is much different from what we have here in the United States.  

Nothing really confusing to me in this week's chapter.  Everything was easy enough to comprehend.  In prior weeks there were confusing charts and such. 

Question 1: Do you think that major corporations should invest their time and money to create jobs for people in these countries? 
Question 2: If you were in this position, what would you do?

I would ask these questions because this part of the reading really affected me.  It is crazy to think about how poor these people really are.  I would love to hear about the author's thoughts on the subject. 

Once again I do not disagree with anything that the author has said in this chapter.  I am beginning to see many similarities between his mindset and mine.  

Venture Concept No. 2

The driving force for creating the opportunity to bring a new, innovative way for people to express themselves was my several observations.  I was the change in the environment, a kid from New York that looked around and saw everyone dressing basically the same. Everyone basically had the same style and it was highly surprising to my eyes.  The college campus location as well as the student demographic defines the market.  My idea revolves on the energy that comes with being at UF.  Honestly, the idea wouldn’t be able to succeed if it wasn’t for a college campus.  It revolves around the concept of young, innovative minds that would love to step out of the box and start a new trend on campus.  Right now, my customers are satisfying their need by wearing name brands such as Polo, Vineyard Vines, Patagonia, and Nike.  It’s funny because everyone seems to put these items of clothing together in the same arrangement that makes everyone look like they have the same sense of style.  Unfortunately, I must say that my customers are pretty loyal to the major brands that I have just listed.  The window of opportunity is enormous I believe. I am still a freshman here at UF and I have three years to turn this idea into reality.  I can use my time at UF to continue to innovate and turn people onto my product.  Time is the key to success. With time comes the opportunity to mold my brand so that it can carry legitimacy and credibility. 

            My product is an entirely new brand of clothing called Ewear Clothing.  Ewear clothing provides apparel such as t-shirts, shorts, tank tops, sweaters, and hats.  These products will allow for innovate minds across the University of Florida campus to be able to express themselves and stand out from the crowd.  I would ideally like to create a Clothing truck experience as well so that I can have a space to sell and promote my clothes.  I would park it right by the Plaza of the Americas.  This would allow for me to be seen throughout the day.  The “experience” would consist of music playing, my clothing being promoted inside as well as outside the truck.  As of now I plan on selling each of my articles of clothing at different prices. These prices would range from $15-$45.  This price range is just based on how much it would cost to make each item. 

            I believe customers would make the right decision to switch to my product because the University of Florida is filled with young people who want to be creative and show their true colors.  I think there are people out there like me who want to be seen as different and separate themselves from the norm.  My new product will most definitely attract these people and with these people, hopefully new people will be attracted to my product.  Yes it will absolutely be a challenge to persuade people to come and at least give my product a chance.  But that is a risk I am willing to take.  My competitors are the major brands and the stores that sell these major brands.  Stores such as Forever 21, H&M, and Urban Outfitters all provide a healthy does of competition for what I want to get done.  I feel like I can beat them by having a more personable experience with my customers.  If they actually see me out there selling my product, it’ll show them that I am just like them and I’m doing this for them.  These people have never come in contact with the major CEO’s of these companies so they can’t relate to them and vice versa. The business location and customer experience play the largest role in my business.  That is why I created the idea of the Clothing truck.  The Clothing truck takes care of these points very well.  I would have to create a network of people that I trust and can work with to build up my business.  I can only go but so far by myself, I am going to need the help of my peers to help me grow my idea into greatness. 

My biggest resource has to be the fact that I am an up and coming entrepreneur.  I am a student among other students and I truly believe that I can relate to these students on a level that major corporations can’t.  I would like to expand my brand by creating a sneaker line.  The sneaker line will go hand in hand with my clothing line and I will rely on this sneaker line to skyrocket my sales.  I want to be as innovative as Kanye West.  He is a role model to me and I believe that he is the most innovative person of our generation.  I see myself in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles in ten years.  The sky is the limit for me and there is no way I let anyone push me down. 

Upon reading my feedback of my first Venture Concept, I must honestly say that all of the feedback I received was praise for my entire idea. Some quotes were, "I think students need the ability to share and express their individuality and with those prices I believe that you have a home run." or "This is certainly one of the more unique ones I have seen this semester. I also think it is one of the best."  I was surprised at all of the positive feedback that I received because honestly, I thought that there would be at least one person would provide some way that I can change my concept for the better.  Hey, I'm not complaining that I received so much praise, I loved the praise! It gave me motivation to actually keep going with my concept far beyond this semester. Due to these circumstances I did not make any changes to my venture concept.  Thank you to everyone that took the time to read my first Venture Concept. 

Elevator Pitch No. 4

The feedback that I received on my third Elevator Pitch was highly sympathetic.  The reasoning for this was the fact that during the time that I had recorded my pitch, I got into an accident.  What stood out for me this time was the same as last time.  Everyone that commented stated that they like the confidence I exude while recording.  That is very satisfying to hear, it gives me motivation to continue to get better at speaking my mind in front of a camera.

This time I made sure to change my camera angle and wore a button down to look more professional to my audience.  The last thing I want to do is be unprofessional towards the future investors in my company.

Google for Gold

When it came to my attention that we needed to create a blog for this course I sat and I pondered one what I should name it.  I tried time and time again on choosing something that will stand out from all of the rest of the blogs.  I thought about naming it "Brandon's blog" or the "The Blog of Brandon", but that would be to general and would most definitely not reflect who I am.  I eventually decided on "The Keys to Success", and I've never looked back since.

The keywords that I made sure to use in mostly every one of my blog posts were "key to success", "pathway to more success", "major key",  and "win more".  I selected these words because they are all highly relevant in today's social media world because of DJ Khaled.  He was my inspiration for these keywords ,as well as my blog name.  As the semester rolled on, I stayed true to these keywords, I had no plans to change them.

I attempted to use my Twitter account to heavily promote my blog.  I would post the link to my blog every once and while just to see if I can strike more interest in my product.  Unfortunately, it did not work out so well.  No one besides my fellow classmates went to my blog. I was pretty disappointed in the outcome of my plan but I learned to deal with it because you don't succeed at everything.

It seems to me that my "What's Next" post was the most viral out of all of them.  It received 23 views.  I guess that this post was the most viral because it marked the turning point in the venture.

Unfortunately I did not make it to the first page of Google.  I didn't even make it on to the first 20 pages which really disappointed me.  I didn't even bother to look past page 20, it wasn't even worth the time to look further into Google.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

The most appealing  aspect of Chapter 12 of the textbook was the fact that entrepreneurs "hype up their ventures and companies only due to the fact that it is "their" product.  The product does not necessarily have to be good but these people remain loyal to their business.  

Nothing really confusing to me in this week's chapter.  Everything was easy enough to comprehend.  In prior weeks there were confusing charts and such. 

Question 1: How true to the quality of your product would you be to yourself?
Question 2: If the product was failing, would you have the guts to pull it off the market? 

I would ask these questions because I would really like to see how an entrepreneur would face the fact that the product that they are producing is failing.  We would all like to think that we are invincible but sometimes it does not work that way.  

Once again I do not disagree with anything that the author has said in this chapter.  I am beginning to see many similarities between his mindset and mine.  

Very Short Interview, Part 2

Upon going all the way back to one of the very first weeks in this course and finding my first interview with my Entrepreneur, Scott Bobo, it was interesting to see how new I was at the whole concept of "being an entrepreneur".  I found that even before I knew what I wanted my Venture Concept to be I was already determined to do well in not only this course. but as an entrepreneur as well.  Honestly,  at this time I don't think my "younger self" didn't know how much work and effort would have to be put in improving my concept from start to finish.

Q: What do you think my concept, Ewear Clothing, and can you see my business progressing into a successful venture?

A: I love the idea! I'm not that much of a stylish guy myself, as you can see from what I am wearing right now, but I think if anyone can pull off this concept it's you.

Q: Can you give any advice on what I can do to make this business of mine even better?

A: The only thing I would say Brandon is just never let anyone tell you that you can't do anything.  There are going to be a lot of doubters throughout your life, just remember that you're doing this for a reason.  Never give up your dream for anyone.

Q: What improvements have you made to your business to stay fresh and new?

A: We've added an entire coffee menu! I'm really excited to get this going because I think coffee and ice cream are a great match.


I feel that talking with Scott this time, I felt a sense of belonging.  I felt like an actual entrepreneur who can hold a conversation with another entrepreneur.  Before, I was hesitant to ask questions and inquire about what it took to be successful.  Now, I felt like I essentially knew a bit of what it takes and because of that I can ask more questions.  I definitely got the sense that Scott thought I progressed.  He continued to say how proud he was of me.  He has seen me grow up from a 3 year old to now being a student at his Alma mater.

Celebrating Failure

A few instances in which I can say I truly failed in this course were the times that I did not do the video assignments.  I regret not doing these various assignments because looking back at it now, I feel as if these video interviews would've helped me engage more with the market in which I was focused on getting approval from.  It was not until the last assignment that I chose to go out and take the videos of my customers speaking with me.  I handle failure by reflecting on what I did wrong that caused me to fail.  The key is to not dwell on this too much because then you dig yourself into a deeper hole that you will not be able to get yourself out of.  Once you figured out your mistakes you make a declaration to yourself that you will never make these mistakes again.  This class has definitely taught me that failure is okay.  Even though I failed to do some of the assignments I still learned a whole lot from this course.  I learned to not be afraid to display my ideas to a large audience.  I learned to believe in my idea and stick with it.  Failure is just a stepping stone to success.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

What I found to be the most interesting aspect of Chapter 12 of the textbook was the subject of "The Worth of Business".  There are a lot of ways to value a business. There's no "right" way, though you could probably come up with several wrong ones. Ultimately, the business is worth whatever you think it's worth, based on the criteria you set forth. But you can make your estimation by using several different ways to value the business and then choosing the mix that reflects your final value estimate.


Nothing really confusing to me in this week's chapter.  Everything was easy enough to comprehend.  In prior weeks there were confusing charts and such. 

Question 1: How crucial is evaluating a business the right way?
Question 2: How would you evaluate a market? 

I would ask these questions because as you can probably determine from my past posts, I am heavily interested in the ideals of the future.  I am always looking forward to what the future holds for various companies and markets in the business world.

Once again I do not disagree with anything that the author has said in this chapter.  I am beginning to see many similarities between his mindset and mine.  

My Exit Strategy

I will most definitely be passing down this business for future generations to come.  I am a firm believer that the only way to keep the true soul of company alive, you must keep the business in the family.  I have a strong connection with this concept and I could never see myself being able to give it away for any sum of money. There would be nothing better than to see one of my sons taking on this family business and making it something better than I could've ever imagined it becoming. Honestly, I haven't thought about my exit strategy until doing this assignment.  I think that subconsciously this has always been my exit strategy.  It has influenced what I hope this company will be in the next five, ten, or hopefully twenty years.  I envision this company growing and thriving in the future.

What's Next?

Old Market
Well from the three interviews that I participated in, I took back that these customers that were highly interested in my product don't believe that a sneaker line is the way to go.  They told me that what I should be focusing on is not to create a brand new product such as sneakers but instead focus on creating new designs for my clothing line. They also thought that I should focus on my idea of the Clothing truck.  They really liked this idea and all three of my interviewees seemed interested in seeing it come to fruition.


 These interviews kind of hurt my ego so to speak because I really believed in my innovative design of a sneaker line.  I felt like my sneaker line idea could've exploded and become more successful than my clothing line.  Even though the first half of these interview did't go so well, the second part seemed much more positive and gave me motivation towards focusing on the aspects of my concept that are already put in place.



























New Market
For my "New Market" I decided to visit the lower income community of Gainesville.  My assumptions going into these interviews were that this market would not cling on to my product because the pricing that I have set in place.  The feedback I received was the exact opposite!  The three interviewees loved my product.  They loved that it was a clothing line.  I completely understood that their one concern was that the pricing was too high.  This was something that I would definitely keep in mind.

Something that stuck with me was the amount of children I observed running around in tattered clothes as I conducted my interviews.  This inspired me to possibly make my next product a children's clothing line.  I have always been someone who has been good with kids and this concept allows me to give back to the kids that don't have as much.  

Week 12 Reading Reflection

What I found to be the most interesting aspect of Chapter 11 of the textbook was the subject of  Strategic Planning . Strategic Planning is the intersection between strategic management and entrepreneurship of the integration of strategic management and entrepreneurship.  


Nothing really confusing to me in this week's chapter.  Everything was fairly easy to understand and comprehend.  In prior weeks there were confusing charts and such. This week was definitely a relief. 

Question 1: How important is Strategic Planning in the Entrepreneurship Market?
Question 2: Can one succeed in the Entrepreneurial Market if they do not have a solid strategic plan?

I would ask these questions because as you can probably determine from my past posts, I am heavily interested in the ideals of the future.  I am always looking forward to what the future holds for various companies and markets in the business world.

Once again I do not disagree with anything that the author has said in this chapter.  I am beginning to see many similarities between his mindset and mine.