Customer Interviews No. 1

Find an OpportunityI notice that often many students at the University of Florida like to exercise at the South West Recreation Center. However, there is a time frame from 7:00 AM to 3:30 AM parking is restricted to those without a decal. This makes it difficult on students who live off campus and are unable to exercise at the gym at that time and everyone knows that the gym gets instantly crowded when parking restriction is lifted. I was trying to see if students are willing to pay for cheap meter parking if they wish to exercise at the gym during that time. I realize that many students who try to exercise and stay healthy put out the excuse that they don't have time and thus there is whole time frame where it is unavailable for them to park and go to the gym. 

Figure out who might have the unmet need
I decided to interview other UF students who exercise regularly, have cars and live off campus since this affects them directly. 

Come up with a list of questions
The questions I asked were:
1. Would you prefer to exercise during the time 7:00 AM-3:30 PM or sometime in the evening and late night?
2. How often are you restricted from exercising because of nightly time restraints
3. If on a given day you do decide you want to workout between 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM and you knew there was cheap meter parking would you go?
4. Would you be interested in Meter Parking at the South West Recreation Center? 

Go Talk to Customers

Tell us what you learned about the Opportunity
After conducting the interviews I saw that even though many people might not exercise during the time of the parking restriction, if they were given the chance they would be willing to pay for meter parking if the situation arose that they would have to exercise from 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM. This shows me that the University of Florida and its students could benefit from this opportunity.

Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers
At first I learned that it was kind of difficult finding people to interview. Many people were not willing at first. As I found people to interview I began to enjoy interviewing people and hearing their answers to my questions. I no longer saw this as an assignment but something that I really wanted to work towards. 

Week 4 Reading Reflection

1. The section of the reading that stood out to me the most was the "Nature of the Creative Process". It really surprised me when it talked about of creative idea killers. I didn't realize how negative feedback can kill a creative idea for being executed. It also surprised me when it talked about the misconceptions of creativity and how it is not a mysterious gift and how creativity is illogical. 

2. I personally did not find the reading this week to be confusing I just felt like it was hard to keep track of the reading and its content just by how the book is laid out.  

3. The first question I would ask is "Do you think that entrepreneurship concepts should also be taught at the middle school and high school level?" I wish to ask this because I was wondering to see if the author would agree with teaching these concept to those of a younger age. The second question that I would like to ask is "Is there a way to prevent creative idea killers?". I would like to see if there are ways to lessen or prevent creative idea killers. 

4.  There is nothing from the reading that I actually disagree on. I thought that this chapter was well written and thought out. 

Top 5 World Problems

LIST 1 (Most Serious to Least Serious)

1. Pollution
- I chose pollution as my most serious world problem because pollution is destroying our planet and we are doing it to ourselves. Where are we to live if our planet dies from gases and other things that we're putting out into our sources of water and air.

2. World Terrorism
- World terrorism causes fear in the minds of people all over and it pins one group of people against another. That's why I believe world terrorism is next on this list. Also people all over have lost their lives to terrorism.

3. Racism
- Racism causes a lot of tension in societies. Even though it's much better today you can definitely still see it around. To show animosity to a certain type of people will destroy a society as they eventually fight against each other.

4. Declining oil rates
- Declining oil rates can cause a lot of tension between countries as oil is a main source of power and if it is declining many countries will try to be more conservative and less willing to possibly give it to other countries that are in need. That can cause a lot of tension between countries

5. World Hunger
- World Hunger is a big problem as People in America don’t think of hunger as a problem but countries in Africa and South America suffer through this problem every day. If the correct action is not taken the hunger issue could spread into the first world countries as well.
This is a very important issue in the world! 

List 2 (Most Possible to Least Possible)

1. One way to fight pollution is to have create ways to have cleaner travel, like electric cars, and production.

- I thought that fighting pollution was the most possible to implement because it's all about individuals realizing where to throw away your trash and most countries today have the technology to fight pollution by having more cars that produce less emission or have alternatives like more public transportation.

2. I believe the solution to Racism is in our education system. We need to teach about how to love or even respect other cultures. This is easy because all people have to do, and by people I mean teachers, parents, and peers, is to teach about loving one another. 

3.  I believe the best way to fight terrorism is to band together and show that we will not be broken by terrorism. To work together to fight against terrorist groups. The only reason why this isn't higher on the list is because people don't know where to start when fighting against terrorism. Plus you do not have to be in the military to fight against it as well.

4. To fight against the declining oil rates we have to find an alternative. I find this difficult to implement because even though it probably is easy to find an alternative but many times it is really expensive to spread the alternative worldwide.

5. I believe a reduction in the demand for meat produced by factory farming would free up food that could then be sent abroad. By transitioning to a practice of farming that grows seasonal foods the health of the land can also be preserved. 

Week 3 Reading Reflection

1. The section that stood out to me the most in the reading was the "Grief and Recovery Process". The author discusses how to deal with failure which seems to be what entrepreneurs go through a lot before the succeed. This surprised me not many entrepreneurs mention their failures. The author says that the most effective entrepreneur expect difficulties and failures.

2.  The one part of the reading that I was confused about was the section that discussed risks that and entrepreneur may face. This was confusing because the author explains how to deal with stress and failure but he doesn't explain how to deal with the risks that an entrepreneur may face. It seems like entrepreneurs take so many risks in their lives so I would like to know more about their risk management. 

3. The first question I would ask is "Have you faced failure before and if so how did you deal with it?". I want to see if he used the same approach that he recommended in the failure section. The next question I would ask is "Is there any way to prevent the entrepreneurial ego?'. I want to see if he believes that the entrepreneurial ego is inevitable and if it is really such a bad thing

4. There was not anything in the reading that I did not agree on. Many of the statements were followed through with evidence.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Women Cops hope to arrest sexist behavior in GPDhttp://www.gainesville.com/article/20160123/ARTICLES/160129860?p=1&tc=pg

Within the GPD there are reports of sexual harassment and unequal treatment of the department's four female lieutenants and the police chief is investigating to fix the problem. The problem in the story is from the fact that it stems from the unequal treatment between men and women in the workforce. Not only do these female officers have this problem but females everywhere are able to be subject to unequal treatment. Hopefully this unequal treatment is solved as soon as possible.

2. GPD Basketball-Playing Officer Returns with Back-up: Shaq
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20160123/ARTICLES/160129851?tc=cr

A GPD officer was called to check out a noise complaint of kids playing basketball on the street. When he arrives instead of kicking them out or scolding them he says that he has no problem with kids playing basketball and then joins them. He said he would return with back-up and Shaq makes a surprise appearance. The problem presented in the story is the fact that someone would complain about kids playing basketball. Keeping kids occupied on something productive will keep them out of trouble which was the whole point of the officer playing with the kids. He would rather be called out for kids committing a real crime, not playing basketball. Children today have this problem of always being looked at as delinquents. Instead of trying to shut kids down we should try to build them up by keeping them involved with sports, arts, or anything else productive. 

3. More than 300 March to say: Hands off our Parkhttp://www.gainesville.com/article/20160123/ARTICLES/160129842?tc=cr

More than 300 people marched in protest to the idea of opening up Paynes Prairie to activities such as hunting, cattle grazing or other activities that can damage the environment. The problem in the story is that people who wish to use Paynes Prairie for such activities will damage the environment and it goes against what state parks are for. The residence of the area have this problem. Many people moved to the area because of Paynes Prairie but if the environment is damaged it will all for not. 

4. Community Looks to save Rock Gymhttp://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A822BD848DB9C8?p=AWNB

A local Rock Gym is now closed due to structural damage. Removing the carpet it was discovered that there were cracks in the concrete and the wall was sinking in the foundation. The problem is that the Rock Gym was a place for many people to go and have fun and relieve stress but now that it is closed all those people won't have the opportunity. The members of the community and the employees have this problem. 

5. Gator Cinemas creat GoFundMehttp://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7CE3AB99FC520?p=AWNB

Gator Cinemas a local movie theater that showed movies for $2 has closed down for renovations. They are now trying to raise $15,000 to renovate the theater. The problem presented is that a theater that was real well known in the community has shut down and does not have enough funds to renovate. This affects the people of the community. 

Very Short Interview No. 1

The entrepreneur that I have chosen to interview is my family's close friend Vi Nguyen. She is a freelance Entrepreneur who goes around various companies to offer her skills as an asset. I was able to contact her because my family keeps close contact with her and she was always there to give me advice.

Question 1: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

Answer: Being an entrepreneur means to be confident in your own abilities but always looking to improve. You must be passionate in whatever your endeavors are and you must not only be a leader but you must be able to make an impact on the people around you. You must do better but you must help other people do better as well.

Question 2: What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneur course?

Answer: You need to learn how to think like an entrepreneur. You need to learn how to think outside the box. One of the main things that you need to learn is to learn from mistakes.

Question 3: What should be my expectations be in this course?

Answer: You should expect a lot of doing things on your own. In order for this to be a good entrepreneur course you must do things by yourself. You must expect the professor to challenge your creativity.

Reflection: Through this interview I learned the qualities of an entrepreneur and somewhat the thoughts that are running through an entrepreneur's mind. I was pleasantly surprised about how enthusiastic an entrepreneur reacts to another entrepreneur in training. I guess there is a community of entrepreneurs out there.

World's Biggest Problems

1. Pollution is one of the world's biggest problems as it attributes to global warming which is greatly affecting our way of life. Pollution is caused by Carbon emission from our cars and factories and dirties the air. One way to fight pollution is to have create ways to have cleaner travel, like electric cars, and production.
2. Another issue is terrorism by groups. These terrorist groups are putting countries in fear and fear can cause countries and people to turn on others which causes overall turmoil. I believe the best way to fight this problem is to band together and show that we will not be broken by terrorism. To work together to fight against terrorist groups. 
3. Body Shaming is a big social problem in the world today. It seems that anyone and everyone is willing to say something about someone's body which causes a lot of self esteem issues and does not show the world of love that everyone believes we should live in. I believe the solution to issue is simple, one just has to be encouraging instead of shaming others.
4. Waste is a huge problem in world today because it is destroying our world. People are so willing to throw trash into the ocean or onto the floor than to walk a few feet and into a trash can. The solution is simple, just throw away trash into a proper waste disposal bin.
5. Racism is still a major problem that world faces today. Many people are still afraid of other people who have different skin color or even come from different cultures. I believe the solution is in our education system. We need to teach about how to love or even respect other cultures.
6. Obesity is a problem that not many people recognize because of the movement of being comfortable in your own body. It's all good to be comfortable in your own body but one has to realize that being obese is not healthy at all. There is definitely a difference between obese and healthy. I believe that a solution to this is to educate the difference.
7. Declining oil rates with no breakthrough of alternatives is a huge problem in the world today. Since the world is heavily dependent on oil and we are consuming it at a very fast pace then what are we to do when it runs out. We need to put our best efforts and come up with a reliable alternative.
8. World Hunger is another big problem in the world today.Many countries are starving with no reliable source of food. I believe a reduction in the demand for meat produced by factory farming would free up food that could then be sent abroad. By transitioning to a practice of farming that grows seasonal foods the health of the land can also be preserved.
9. Poaching is a big world problem as it contributes to the extinction of animals. We need to take better care of setting laws and making safe zones for many endangered animals that are popular with being hunted. 
10. Deforestation is a big problem in the world today as it also contributes to global warming. Trees help provide oxygen in the air but as more continue to be cut down it will cause more build up of carbon. I believe to fix this problem we have to limit how many trees we cut down and make sure that we plant trees in the place of the ones that are cut down.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise for me while reading the first chapter was the section involving E-Myth. It gave a lot of clarity to me when reading that not all business owners are entrepreneurs. It was surprising to read that business owners are simply technicians that created a job for themselves.

2. The impact of Gazelles section was the most confusing for me. 

3. First question that I have for the author is "What is your reason for involving the Entrepreneurial Opportunities section?". I would like to ask this question because I was curious about the author's thoughts on possibly warning others of popular markets that could go in decline. The second question I would like to ask the author is "Did you include the the section on Entrepreneurship Myths to convince others to become entrepreneurs?". I would like to ask this question because I assume knowing so much about entrepreneurs the author is an entrepreneur himself and I am wondering if he is trying to convince others to become entrepreneurs because some people have a bad image of entrepreneurs. 

4. After reading the chapter there really isn't anything that I disagree with author on. A lot of the sections were supported with sensible research. I enjoyed how the author broke a lot of the myths about entrepreneurs. 

Bug List

1. From pretty much 4-8 The traffic on Archer Road is horrible and it takes about an extra 15 minutes to go somewhere 5 minutes away.
• The bug exists because probably around that time everyone is done with work or class and is heading home.
2. Many times the wifi in Marston Science Library is really slow and hard to connect to.
•  This bug probably exists because since Marston is 24/5 now many students go there to study using up a lot of bandwidth 
3. At around 5-6 parking on Campus is such a pain
• Parking on campus is unrestricted at 4:30 at many parking places and many people at that time come onto campus for various things such as: meetings, events, or just to study.
4. When walking it bugs me when a group of friends make a wall and just walk slowly and you're stuck behind them.
• The friends are probably walking slowly because they're having conversation with each other and not focusing on walking fast.
5. At Sw rec center around 4-8 there are usually a lot of people in the weight room and you have to wait a while to get equipment that you need.
• This is an ideal time to exercise as many people are finished with class and do not prefer to exercise later at night.
6. During Rush hour, the bus is packed.
• Many people are going home at that time
7. In my apartment we have a fruit fly problem
• Sometimes we don't clean up our food in a timely manner
8. Being flyered in Turlington when I'm going to class. Sometimes bugs me, not all the time.
• Some days I'm not as social so I don't like to interact with the all the tabling that happens
9. I'm apart of many group chats and many times they all blow up with irrelevant things.
• When people start the conversations many times they information doesn't pertain to me so my phone just keeps vibrating. 
10.  The long Chipotle lines that go out the door.
• Whenever I feel like eating chipotle the line always goes out the door and I'm always limited in time.
11. Not having food at home, and having to go out to buy food.
• Many times I don't want to take the effort to have to drive somewhere to get food
12. When people ride their bikes through Turlington.
• There's a good chance for many people to get hit and in a crowded walking area its hard to control a bike,  I've almost been hit a few times.
13. On the road, when I'm driving behind someone on a scooter and they're going slower than the speed limit.
• Usually when I have to get somewhere in a hurry I'm always stuck behind someone on a scooter which wastes some time. 
14. When at Sw there are so many people trying to play basketball but they close off some courts for other activities.
• With so many people trying to play basketball and not all the courts open many people have to wait longer to play.
15. In my apartment complex there's a lot of speed bumps
• I don't like having to go over them every time I go out but I do realize its for safety reasons
16. When people snap at me to get my attention
• I think snapping at people is rude, I would rather them do something else to get my attention
17. When people take a long time to reply through text or call.
• Sometimes I need to get an urgent question yet some people aren't time sensitive which puts a lot of pressure
18. When my contacts are dry
• Going through a whole day with contacts in, they start to dry up and start to move around a lot irritating my eyes
19. When my friends take my phone without permission
• It bugs me when some people takes something as private as a phone without permission
20. Wearing glasses
• Wearing glasses bug me because they fit weirdly on my face, the lenses get dirty easily and I don't think I look good in them

Reflection: I found coming up with this list as very difficult because nothing really bugs me. As the list continued I feel like it started becoming petty with things that are very situational. It took a while for me to complete this blog as it was hard for me to really think about things that bugged me. and a lot of the time many of the things on the list don't bug me that much but slightly. There was no lie when the assignment said that past students said this was challenging. It was very difficult for me.

My Entrepreneurship Story

The one time I was really exposed to entrepreneurship was back in high school when my friends and I started a Ping Pong club. It wasn’t a hard process but it did take a lot of talking to other people such as administrators, teachers to sponsor, and other students for members. We also had to raise money to buy the equipment and ask the connections we had for donations. It was a really fun thing to do and once we finally got the club started we got to use the school cafeteria as our place of meeting. It was great to finally start playing and we would play for hours after school. The club became pretty big at some point where we had members pay dues for equipment upkeep and snacks and food. To this day the club is still going strong which makes me very happy and proud My reason for enrolling in ENT 3003 is to get a better understanding of what it really meant to be an entrepreneur. I believe that the skills that I learn from this course will continue to help me in everyday life and professional life. 

Introduction

Hello, my name is Hung Ma and I am originally from Orlando, Florida. I am of Vietnamese descent but I am first generation Asian American. I am a second year finance student pursuing a dual degree in sports management. My dream career in my life is to work with a sports team as a financial analyst that way I am pursuing a job that still involves my love of sports. I love to travel, around every major holiday or break my parents take my family and I on a vacation. Throughout the years we have traveled to many different cities but recently over the past summer my parents took us on a European trip which involved visiting London, Paris, Venice and Rome. I hope that in my future career I am also able to travel around the world. I am still in the planning stages however I am very adamant about studying abroad soon. Hopefully it can happen. My interests include playing basketball, which I have been playing since I was 6 years old, and I love playing Super Smash Bros. and many other types of video games. My goal by the end of college is to graduate with my dual degree and have at least an internship. I'm trying my best to make the best of my college life and I'm happy with the path I have taken.

The Entrepreneur's Mantra

Test Post

Hello I am Hung Ma