Reading Reflection No. 3

I read the book How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. Scott Adams details his life story and how a series of failures and mistakes somehow led him to his successful career as a cartoonist and writer. The book was written in a comical manner to help better relate to someone whose career revolves around comedy and making people laugh through text and illustrations. It is evident from his many unfortunate circumstances like having to start off as boring bank teller job then finally breaking into your desired career to find that you have lost your voice and soon the loss of his drawing hand to spasmodic dysphonia. He was able to recover, but these setbacks helped build him to the person he is today.


Think this book connects with this Entrepreneurship class because it shows us that failure is inevitable, but the way to overcome failure is how you respond to it. Everyone will face some sort of failure like Scott Adams, but if we pick ourselves back up and keep persevering we can reach our goals. If I had to create and exercise for this class from this book I would have the students write about a time they felt failure and how they felt right after the event. Then I would ask them to describe how this failure could have a positive spin and how they have grown from the experience. My biggest “aha” moment is when Scott Adams said that “goals are for losers”. This puzzled me because I have been taught my entire life to set goals and reach for them. To build plans around my goals, and Adams is directly telling me and other readers that you should not make goals. After reading this book I had some time to reflect and think on what he wrote. I started for form where he got this idea. He didn’t really have a plan for anything and he ended up as a successful cartoonist and he is extremely happy. Goal setting was not for him and it may not be for other people as well, just not me. I really enjoyed reading Scott Adams book and reading about his rise to success. This book was funny and full of surprises and I will probably read it again soon.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

                My venture of a low cost kegerator will appeal to college students who enjoy parties and who host them occasionally. People who see a need for this product are those who host parties and are tired of the hand pump taps which are outdated and inefficient. The nature of the need is that it is great for a party setting because it works well and is easy to useThe environment that makes this venture a possibility I that hand pump taps have not been changed in years and this obsolete technology needs a re-vamp. My idea for a kegerator will be ideal in college towns like Gainesville, Florida and Athens, Georgia. My target market living in areas like these will see the merit in having a more advantageous way to dispense beer. This venture will be great for parties and other events where keeping the beer cold is the first priority. My market for the kegerator will be primarily in the south with warmer temperatures and in college towns with high population densities around the ages of 21 to 30 years old. Potential customers of my kegerator are tired of the keg tossed in a trash can surrounded by ice. They want a new way to dispense beer from kegs in a more dignified manner that is easy to use and cost efficient.

Innovation:

The innovation of my product is the new take on dispensing beer from a keg cheaply and efficiently. There are already kegerators that exist in the market place, but those are bulky and expensive. The kegerators out now are more for personal use, while my idea is more for pleasing the masses at parties and other events. The hand pump tap is outdated and requires a lot of effort for the user to get their beer from the keg. My idea for a kegerator will have a insulated interior that will keep the keg cold, a CO₂ tank and pump the get the beer out and a durable exterior so it can last many parties. I would be selling my kegerator for $65 and would also sell the extra tubes and CO₂ for maintenance if need be and to refill the tanks.

Venture Concept:

                People will want to buy my product because party goers are tired of trash can kegs and want something new that can be easily operated. I don’t believe that it will be hard to switch to this product because it will be an easy decision to dispense beer in a more dignified manner and also reducing messes caused by trash can kegs. My main competitors are companies that sell full kegerators, but thankfully we market to different target audiences. They are more focused on personal and small croup markets, while I am focusing on college students who enjoy large parties. My distribution will be run out of Gainesville, Florida in a small store so that customers will be able to come in see the products first hand and will have assistance nearby if necessary. It would be a small operation with 7 people working with me for sales, delivery and maintenance.

Minor Elements:

                My most important resource is my beer knowledge from home brewing and from working in a bar. This will give me insight into the business as well as insight into my potential customers. This knowledge will make it hard for people to compete with my product because few people have extensive knowledge of beer and brewing. My next venture will be to create more custom tap handles and other ways to customize my product so that the kegerator can be personalized to customers. And hopefully in 5 years I hope to have good home base in Gainesville with many customers and eventually reach out to Athens, Georgia for a second store.

Feedback from Venture Concept 1:

The comments I have received from other students confirm my original venture concept. The comments agree that the CO₂ dispenser is the best way to get beer to the party goers and will cut down on time and effort. Comments also show that my price of $65 would be manageable for the average college student. The ability that it can be reused multiple times makes the price even more affordable. I cut down on some of the extra information, but overall I did not have to change anything except I was given a couple extra places that might be better locations to start my business.

Final Reflection

My most formative experience was reaching out to other company owners to see how my venture of the kegerator would look in the real world. It was interesting to hear back from all these men and women with experience in the field saying that I have an interesting idea and giving me personal guidance. I think that will stick with me for a long time. I also now have their contact info and am able to reach out to them in the future if I choose to do so. The experience I am most proud of was overcoming my fear of walking up and talking to strangers to get their ideas for my venture. I had never done that before and I was able to slowly grow my confidence and I feel that I can pitch my idea cold at any time thanks to the experience that I have gotten from this class. Looking back at the mantra from the beginning of this class I feel as though I can say that I am a true entrepreneur. I feel this class has brought me closer to what an entrepreneur is and I feel confident that I can start any venture I choose. One recommendation I have for future students would to be to take the course seriously and see what each exercise is supposed to help you with and try your best to grow that skill. This class will teach you many things and being open to what your professor wants to show you will help you learn new skills and will get you invested in your personal venture. The mindset you need to have is to look to what opportunity each exercise will open you up to.