11A – Idea Napkin No. 1
Me:
I am a first-year Management major from Lake City, Florida. I am passionate about helping in our community and about music. I have had several great work experiences in the past 5 years enhancing my communication, customer service, and leadership skills. I am currently an employee at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. I want to take the next step in my business and life journey by starting up a coffee bike on the University of Florida campus that will expand into a multi-bike, multi-campus operation within several years. The beginning stages of this would be difficult because of the time and effort required to make this idea a reality.
What am I offering to customers?
I am offering the UF on-campus population a convenient and easily accessible solution to getting quality coffee in between classes or meetings. By offering customers a solution that brings them both time and place utility, I tap into multiple needs with one idea. The iced coffee cooler that I will offer at my portable coffee stand comes in several different flavors depending on the day and it premade the morning of, thus cutting down decision and preparation time.
Who are you offering it to?
With this business, I am targeting people who are on the University of Florida campus and like coffee. This could be students, potential students with their families, faculty members, or even maintenance workers. The reach of this extends to both individuals who drink coffee for its taste and those that drink it for its ability to keep us alert after studying/partying all night.
Why do they care?
The beauty of coffee is that people see it as either an addiction or an art. On the one hand, individuals addicted to coffee need to have their coffee. These people even plan days around trips to get coffee. On the other hand, individuals who see drinking coffee as an art, love the way it tastes and hold the coffee in an exalted place in their heart. Either way, these individuals will be getting their coffee. My goal is to appeal to their desire for time and place utility so they will buy my coffee product instead of choosing another alternative.
What are your core competencies?
What sets my business apart from all the other coffee providers on the University of Florida campus is this: my product will be time affordable and in convenient locations. It's more favorable than making one's own coffee because the consumer doesn't have to do any of the work. It's more convenient than waiting in a long line at Starbucks because we don't offer specialty/customizable coffee beverages. Because the Starbucks Bike is the only competitor in this market and they only offer a very strong Nitro ColdBrew product that only longtime coffee drinkers can drink with delight, thus alienating the rest of the market of coffee drinkers.
Reflection:
I believe all of these elements fit together well with my business. It is a very simple business model that taps into a simple market, simple meaning not many complex dynamics or moving parts. Because of this, I don't see any parts of this plan that are out-of-joint with each other.
I am a first-year Management major from Lake City, Florida. I am passionate about helping in our community and about music. I have had several great work experiences in the past 5 years enhancing my communication, customer service, and leadership skills. I am currently an employee at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. I want to take the next step in my business and life journey by starting up a coffee bike on the University of Florida campus that will expand into a multi-bike, multi-campus operation within several years. The beginning stages of this would be difficult because of the time and effort required to make this idea a reality.
What am I offering to customers?
I am offering the UF on-campus population a convenient and easily accessible solution to getting quality coffee in between classes or meetings. By offering customers a solution that brings them both time and place utility, I tap into multiple needs with one idea. The iced coffee cooler that I will offer at my portable coffee stand comes in several different flavors depending on the day and it premade the morning of, thus cutting down decision and preparation time.
Who are you offering it to?
With this business, I am targeting people who are on the University of Florida campus and like coffee. This could be students, potential students with their families, faculty members, or even maintenance workers. The reach of this extends to both individuals who drink coffee for its taste and those that drink it for its ability to keep us alert after studying/partying all night.
Why do they care?
The beauty of coffee is that people see it as either an addiction or an art. On the one hand, individuals addicted to coffee need to have their coffee. These people even plan days around trips to get coffee. On the other hand, individuals who see drinking coffee as an art, love the way it tastes and hold the coffee in an exalted place in their heart. Either way, these individuals will be getting their coffee. My goal is to appeal to their desire for time and place utility so they will buy my coffee product instead of choosing another alternative.
What are your core competencies?
What sets my business apart from all the other coffee providers on the University of Florida campus is this: my product will be time affordable and in convenient locations. It's more favorable than making one's own coffee because the consumer doesn't have to do any of the work. It's more convenient than waiting in a long line at Starbucks because we don't offer specialty/customizable coffee beverages. Because the Starbucks Bike is the only competitor in this market and they only offer a very strong Nitro ColdBrew product that only longtime coffee drinkers can drink with delight, thus alienating the rest of the market of coffee drinkers.
Reflection:
I believe all of these elements fit together well with my business. It is a very simple business model that taps into a simple market, simple meaning not many complex dynamics or moving parts. Because of this, I don't see any parts of this plan that are out-of-joint with each other.
Hello Cason!
ReplyDeleteFirst-off, thank you for sharing!
I share the same passion for community and music and I enjoyed getting to know more about you beyond your “entrepreneurial opportunity.” As mentioned before, I am also pursuing a coffee-based idea, so it was interesting to compare and contrast your core competencies and product to mine. I also touched on being time efficient and cost effective - which I believe is exceptionally important in this segment!
Great job!
Caitlyn Torres
Hey Carson,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great issue to tackle as many students have very busy schedules which results in less hours of sleep. Incorporating pre-packaged products could further a decrease in wait time as well as offer multiple bike stations. I find I see the Starbucks bike mostly around the hub and you never know exactly where it might be. Great post!
~Sophia Scherzer
Hi Carson, I personally love this idea. I am one of the regular coffee drinkers that you are targeting and I can say that if I was on my way to class and saw a coffee bike on campus I would definitely stop for a quick cup. Something that I think could add to the time utility would be setting the prices so that they come to an even dollar amount after taxes. This could create a relationship where the customer knows exactly how much a coffee will be (say maybe 3 dollars even) and they could carry a few bucks on them when they go to campus for an even quicker exchange. It would make people less likely to use a card because they won't have to worry about getting a bunch of coins handed back if they use cash. Just an idea but I love what you have so far! Keep it up.
ReplyDelete