My Unfair Advantage: Week11

1. Driven
2.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

One of the biggest surprises for me in this weeks reading was interpreting when it is okay to walk away. you need to know your own limits and what will bring you success. not every deal will be a good deal so do whats best for you. i didn't find anything very confusing because i have a business background. if i could ask the author questions i would ask an intense where he was forced to walk away from a business deal. whats the best business advice you would give.

Growing My Social Capital :Week 10

Brian Taylor:
-Taylor is a Wells Fargo banker who also works as a financial adviser doing freelance work. Taylor graduated from UF with a bachelor's in business management and has been with Wells Fargo for eight years. Taylor currently handles business investments.

-Taylor fills the spot as a domain expert because he works in the business field by handling customers' investments and funds. He also works with many students due to the bank's location.

-Taylor and I work at the same bank location and I've been able to see him execute many deals. I spoke with him during lunch about his experiences as a financial adviser so far in his career.

-Taylor agreed to help me put together workshops and outline for the teaching seminars of the student investors. Taylor thought it was a great idea and he wanted to know if there was anything else he could do to help. In return he is able to refine his skills and contribute to youth education.

-Taylor has a lot of valuable knowledge that he can contribute which will bring more credibility to my business. He has first hand experience helping others invest, which is directly relevant to my objective.


Daniel Colpas:
-Colpas currently works with the student investment group on the UF campus. He is a sophomore finance major and plans to pursue a career in investment banking.

-Colpas fills the spot as the market expert because he is well educated in student investment and also works to educate others about student investing.

- Colpas and I went to the same high school and after talking to him recently, I discovered his involvement within this organization. We decided to have lunch to further discuss his experiences obtained through his position in the organization.

-Colpas said he is willing to reach out to his contacts and also promote my business on campus. In return all the members in the organization would receive a discount on the services my business provides.

-Colpas allows me to broaden my network and he also has a student perspective of how investments work. He would be a vital source of marketing and promotion on campus.


Trevor Fortner
- Fortner is third year student at the University of Florida. He studies information systems and also has a passion for coding. He also has a professional background. He is a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi.

-Fortner fills the spot as supplier because he is well-versed in coding products and has even worked on multiple application designs.

-Fortner and I are both members of the professional fraternity. I reached out to him because I was aware of his involvements. I approached him to assist me in designing the app, which he was thrilled to do.

-I would pay Fortner for his services designing the app and keep him as a part of the company to help with any technology problems that may arise later.

-Fortner's expertise in web design would be an asset to me because I am not familiar with the technology industry myself.


Final Reflection: this networking stradegy was very differnt from what ive used in the past often times theres a middle man that puts you in cinnection with the peron they know or bests fits the idea your trying to get across. this time i just went up to to people i thought would fit the description. this helped alot because i have to cultivate the relationship on the spot and really sell my idea to make it relevent to them.

Elevator Pitch No. 3 : Week 10

I kept the overall same style of my pitch form the last assignment. i focused this time as establishing my creditably by saying some of my past experiences and positions i've help that helped me think of a solution to this problem. i received a lot of great criticism. most people said that they loved the idea and had a great market. i tried to tackle all of the issues such has keeping this new heel fashionable, i also wanted to make them easy to use and contain so i would be solving one issue and presenting another. one of the feedback i received that i didn't focus so much on the solution. this was hard for me because i simply presenting an idea and explaining how it works. the only way i saw that i could focus more was to explain how it would be made and distributed however i felt this strays from the purpose of a pitch. i think i was able to take the criticisms from both my first and second try and encompass them into this final video.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1) The biggest surprise for me in this chapter was all of the different marketing philosophies. i am currently in marketing so it was interesting to see a cross over of ideas between these two classes and how the concepts were similarly explained. 

2) i didn't find anything in this chapter confusing seeing that i could cross reference the topics to marketing 

3) when you yourself go shopping do you take into account everything you know about consumerism and market strategies? what are the 2 most important aspects of marketing that you would give as advice to a start up company?

4) i agreed with a lot of his point he especially made sense when describing the consumer behaviors i don't have anything to disagree with.

The Secret Sauce : Week 9

1. 5 qualities that i think make my human capital unique are first my drive. i have a very strong opinion ad when i get something in my head i will make it happen no matter what i will push and push until im satisfied. second i would say my positive outlook because even when things get really tough i always try to find the silver lining or the best way out i know we cant  change the past so work hard in the present to change the future. third i would say im very athletic this is something that i consider a skill because i can play almost any sport with practice, its one of my greatest passions and is a way for me to relax and clear my head so im able to think differently. four i would my knowledge of family god and how important and connected they are is a huge part of understanding what makes me, me. and fifth i would say i have the skill of public speaking and speaking in general when i was younger i could always talk myself out of situations and now i can use to better articulate my words to get an opinion across, presentations, etc.

Dana has known me since middle school and has now been roommates with me for 1 year. she believes i am versatile which translates into my athletic abilities. she also believes i am a good problem solve  and calm during stressful situations which elude to working well under pressure. Dana also stated that i am a great public speaker and a loyal friend being that we've been friends for so many years.

Bryant has been my boyfriend of two years and some of the traits he thinks i poses are first perseverance, he also believes i has a fiery personality and attachment to things i care about. Hes also seen my strive which he describes as a hunger for success. my willingness to try new things. and i have a genuine nature.

Fresia has been my best friend since 6th grade and my roommate for 1 year now. some of the qualities she though i poses are adaptable, strong willed, athletic, confident at communicating and loyal. 

Alexis has been my best friend since we were 11 years old. in this time she has seen me to be smart and loyal through maintaining  friendship with her. she said that i am competitive and hardworking always willing to put 100 percent. which shows how dedicated i am to what i set my mind to.

These were all people ive know for many many years. so they all know me extremely well. the answers to my surprise seemed to all be relatively similar. even with two of my interviewees being as far as Orlando and Tampa. i defiantly agreed with the fact that im loyal i am very selective when letting someone get really close to be and once i let you in your someone i truly care about and will work to maintain that relationship. another skill that can up a lot was drive strong will or perseverance i always put my all into anything im passionate about and try my hardest to always do well. the third was my sport orientation which i ve grown up with and till to this day use as an outlet and something to build on. honestly overall i agreed will all the qualities stated by my interviewees and they were extremely similar if not identical to how i perceived myself. i was confident in my list when i made it and because the responses were so similar i would change my personal list.

Napkin Idea No. 2 : Week 9

My name is Maria Yarbough. I' m very skilled in analytical thinking and problem solving.I'm great with math skills as well as communication skills. i hold public speaking as one of my strong points as well. many of my aspirations include building myself a sturdy framework so that i can do the things i love such as travel, spend time with family, and live a healthy lifestyle. my plan to build my frame work is to succeed in the corporate world as an investment banker. this being said i would love to be able to help other students get their feet wet with investing and building their own framework. my hope is that "Invest the Rest" will help students become wiser with their money while making a stake in the current market.

Im offering a way for students to learn the ins and outs of investing. so they can understand the stock market, and learn how to move through it. the ultimate goal is to make money. the student investors will be given the tools to capitalize on small stocks and predict their trends. it'll come equipped with a user friendly app that will allow them to make purchases, track their earnings, and stocks just as if they were strolling down Instagram or Facebook.

Originally wanted my market to be pulled directly towards college students but not restricted to UF. and im going to stick to this market. i had received feedback to appeal to an older crowd for this idea because those are the people who know about the stock market and are willing to take the risk. however this defeats the purpose of my idea. which is to educate the youth about the market so they are more savoy when they get to that older age. the stock market is worldwide so there would great opportunities for expansion, we are targeting any student will to make some money while learning to be money smart. i also believe starting at colleges is a great trial basis before the product extends its hand to other age groups so we can see what works and what doesn't from the up coming leaders of our generation.

Its a know fact that college students struggle. especially financially. this would offer them a new way to create income. They will also gain a new skill that will put them a foot forward when entering the real world.

one thing that will set my business apart is the learning sector not only will you be provided the channel to do investments were going to teach you how. taking the blind fold off of the stock market. this would help us spread awareness about the importance of the stock market. the benefits of the knowledge and possible opportunities we can provide students. in addition were offering convenience by selectively targeting college students and having basically everything accessible from your phone.

one area that i think is a little weak is why should the students care. investing doesn't appeal to all students so it would be challenging getting student to try us out. also students are already pressured by school would they be able to handle another task that they would have to learn and maintain. and ultimately would some students loose money which is a volatile possibility. money seems to be the biggest concern about this project to students the idea of losing their money. in this program i want to start off by the learning sector so students aren't just throwing their money into a pool. second in order to practice we will work on minuscule stocks where you can start by investing a penny, nickle, dollar ect. Until they are comfortable to raise the stakes. it'll be at their own pace. i believe this will eliminate the chances of losing big with you learning to gradually escalate into the stock market. this is supposed to be a fun way to learn and make money and i feel that the learning process and app to monitor your moves ensures both.

FEEDBACK: A lot of the feedback i received was positive. they thought this idea could really work. and the fact that it incorporates an app makes it user friendly. this really helped me reinforce my idea and solidify that this is a valid need. second there was a concern that i was targeting the wrong age market which i disagreed with. i think its important to teach students after all we are all in college to learn anyway. so appealing to an older crowd with more knowledge would take away from what i originally set out to do which was educate. it was also brought to my attention that getting students to care would also be an issue so spreading awareness holding small info sessions doing brief YouTube video breakdowns, or host stock trading games certain days on campus are all ideas in which i feel i could attack this weakness. the fear of losing money was the biggest concern but stock trading is a risk i want to tress that this is to learn so we will start on small stocks first to build up the student investors we are not just giving students a door to the stock market and saying jump in its all about becoming more comfortable with how it works so that your qualified to make bigger  moves. i also thought the app could have check points in earnings practice and learning so that you cant immediately jump to a thousand dollar stock because you are being over confident. you could look at it as unlocking levels. reading the feedback really helped me look deeper into my idea to discover its weakness and develop a plan to make them strengths.

Free Money : Week 7

Jerome 

Freisa 

i decided to go to Marston at its peek hours of study for students. im going to stop people walking into the library and present them with the a dollar. i will express that i know how stressful exams can be and just want to do my part in helping ease that stress even with as minimal a gesture as a dollar bill hopefully you can get a snack to recharge and continue studying!!

encounter 1. Emily was walking into the library i stopped her and delivered my pitch. she though it was really cool what i was doing and said th e school should have more resource to students to deal with the stress of exams. it made her feel good about studying and accepted the dollar.

encounter 2. Jordan was walking into the library with headphones. i tried to deliver my pitch and extend the dollar however he didn,t remove his headphones and simply said I'm sorry i have to study and began to walk away. i would consider this a failed attempt.

encounter 3 . Alexis was walking into the library with Starbucks in her hand i delivered my pitch and she was very receptive she said this was a very cool and kind gesture. but was already getting her pump from Starbucks to save it for someone who needed it. in this case i would say i misjudged her need.


overall i thought this was  a really cool experiment. it allowed me to see how receptive students were to the gesture. it was much easier then i thought because it was free money and for a good cause the dollar itself did all the selling for me.

Elevator Pitch No. 2 : Week 7

I kept my pitch very similar to the original version. some of the feedback i received was that the idea was very innovative and the liked how i made it relevant. some of the feedback i received was that they provided me with background info on the high heel to state the importance of this need for women and how long its been a problem. i also received a question for how it would be made or implemented. so in my second attempt i tried to maintain my level of comfort in my tone and delivery as well as my eagerness about the product. i also even when adding in these new info and changes i tried to stay as close to the 60 secs as i could.

Napkin Idea no.1 : Week 6

My name is Maria Yarbough. I' m very skilled in analytical thinking and problem solving. im great with math skills as well as communication skills. i hols public speaking as one of my strong points. many of my aspirations include building myself a sturdy framework so that i can do the things i love such as travel, spend time with family do all things associated with a healthy lifestyle. my plan to build my frame work is to succeed in their corporate world as an investment banker. this being said i would love to be able to help other students get their feet wet with investing and building their own framework. my hope is that "Invest the Rest" with help students become wiser with their money while making a stake in the current market.

Im offering a way for students to learn the ins and outs of investing. so they can understand the storm market. and learn how to move through. the ultimate goal is to make money. the student investors will be given the tools to capitalize on small stocks and predicts their trends. itll come equipped with a user friendly app that will allow them to make purchases track their earnings and stocks just as if they were strolling down Instagram or Facebook.

my market will be pulled directly towards college students but not restricted to UF the stock market is worldwide so there would great opportunities for expansion, we are targeting any student will to make some money will learning to be money smart.

its a know fact that college students struggle. especially financially. this would offer them a new way to create income. They will also gain a new skill that will put them a foot forward when entering the real world.

one thing that will set my business apart is the learning sector not only will you be provided the channel to do investments were going to teach you how. taking the blind fold off of the stock market. in addition were offering convenience by selectively targeting college students and having basically everything assecible from your phone.

one area that i think is a little weak is why should the students care. investing doesn't appeal to all students so it would be challenging getting student to try us out. also students are already pressured by school. so babe another task that they have to learn and maintain could be too daunting  for some. and ultimately would some students loose money which is a volatile possibility.

Elevator Pitch no. 1 : Week 5

My opportunity was a fashionable heel that clips off into a sandal or flat. this will avoid aching feet or those painful blisters. now you can stay out longer have a good time at dinner and stay standing longer then ever before. i myself experience this need all the time and would love to have 10 pairs of these for myself. I know this product could appeal to all ages. marketable to any style.

customer interviews no 1. : Week 4

 Opportunity: New UF Gym facility to decrease wait times 

Customer 1: Fresia Urdaneta

I also live at cabana and regularly see Fresia at the gym. i knew she was a student and decided to dig a little deeper. i learned that fresia finds it more convenient to work out at her apartment gym vs UF's gyms. shes tried that scene and cant handle the long wait times and how crowded the gyms are. fresia does a total workout so she needs access to not only cardio machines but also the machines. shes willing to give up a bigger facility and state of the art equipment for the convenience of having her gy,m a walk away with a more private setting.

Talking to fresia was very easy shes a PR major so she was very comfortable with interviewing. the questions defiantly have to be relevant for the source to give you meaningfull answers. 

Customer 2: Dana Pea

Dana lives at Muphree hall and i saw her at gator dinning on campus. she was wearing workout clothes so i decided to ask her a few questions. dana generally goes to student rec. she also dosen't like the wait times of southwest rec but agrees that there are certain times you can go when its not so crowded. however Dana is a premed student who has a very busy schedule where if she does workout she can only go at night which is the peak time for southwest rec. Dana thinks the student rec has everything she needs except the runners track but shes willing to give that up for the convince of having a less crowded gym. Dana loves the idea of a new fitness facility and say that would make a lot of students more willing to go to the gym on campus.

Customer 3: Katie Rankin

Katie is a regular runner who i decided to stop and speak with. She says shes an outdoors kind of girl. she dosent really do the gym scene because she only does cardio. and she thinks running on the treadmill can become too boring. i asked if she had ever used the gym facilities and she said yes, however again the facilities are always crowded and don't have anything to offer her besides a treadmill. the idea of a new UF facility intrigues katie but one thing she said she defiantly wants to see is a better inside track to appeal more to runners then solely focusing on the weight room.

Customer 3: Shantel Santana 

Shantel lives off campus on the grove and only goes on campus for her classes. shes never been to the southwest rec facility but has heard all the bad rumors that are continuing to come up. she took it upon herself to buy a planet fitness membership to make things more convenient for her. shantel says she would much rather pay to have a nice quiet gym with ample high quality machines then us the free facilities at UF and have a frustrating gym experience. shantel would love a 3rd UF facility because it would save her money. She would love to come work out on campus if she was amble to keep the comfortable atmosphere of planet fitness.

Customer 4: Wendy Miramontes

Wendy is a Freshman who live son campus and is infatuated with the south west rec gym. she dosen't have too hard of a schedule so her gmy times tend to vary.  however she did acknowledge that the wait times are a problem but she has a system of what to workout when and the time of day to go in order to beat the rush. wendy is a gym buff so she likes the track and size of the southwest rec facility and has never been to student rec. she likes the high tech equipment and cant think of a better alternative. So if  UF were to open a third facility she would be more then happy to try it out as long as it didn't take away any of what southwest already has to offer. she thinks it would also be beneficial in decreasing wait times.

The Opportunity: I learned that there are a lot of common aversion towards southwest rec. many people were turned off by the crowds of the facility even with its large size. this translates into very long wait times to use the fitness equipment especially the popular ones such as the squat racks. Everyone was in consensus that a new facility could possibly solve alot of the current problems it would allow more spread for the gym goes reduce the crowds and just offer one more close facility to work out. im my opinion UF would attract more people who currently stray away from the gym scene back into action.

Interviewing: i learned that interviewing can be very awkward. some people just feel uncomfortable talking to someone they don't know. then there are others who are happy to share their opinion. i found that having a topic that the interviewee can relate to makes them more comfortable. having relaxed body language and engaging in their answers makes them feel confident about there answers. and finally having something in common. being that we were all UF students we were able to relate much more on the subject i go through the same thoughts pains and gains that they go through so it game their answers alot more meaning.  

i originally had videos concerning each customer and our interviews. However my phones LCD was turning off so i had to hard rest my phone and the videos were erased.  

Very Short Interview No. 1 : Week 3

Luis is the owner of one of the biggest Crossfit gyms in central Florida. But he didn't start here. Crossfit M.D.I ( motivation, dedication, inspiration), was originally a small rented out storage unit garage. Where a husband and wife who were able to change their lives through their love of fitness began to grow. They began doing promotional and marketing events to get their name out there and harped on the support system and family they were giving not the brute fitness. They wanted to sell the idea of life changing fitness not getting skinny. they began to find people who were willing to take a chance and eventually they were holding about 10 classes a day with about 40 plus members. by budgeting well and continuing to compete and succeed to get their name out. they were able to get the funding to open their very own gym. crossfit M.D.I is now flourishing and hitting back harder then ever in the crossfit world.

Question 1. What does being an Entrepreneur mean to you?
Luis: " It basically means following your dream. for me it meant to continue to push myself further then i had gone before. to take that risk. because i knew my dream would help others in the end it was never about success itself. "

Question 2. What would you have liked to learn from taking a course like ENT3003 ?
Luis: i would have like to learn the importance of combining the ideas of others.Me and my wife set out to do this on our own. but now we have some of the strongest friendships that have made M.D.I better then it could have ever been with just us two.

Question 3. Do you have any advice for me, being that i don't particularly plan on having my own business.
Luis. i think that the entrepreneurial mindset is relevant to all career paths. no mater what you decide to the world is changing so you have to know how to change with it and be different, to cater to peoples needs or the needs of that job. i don't believe you can follow your dreams without the courage to think on your own and that is the entrepreneurial mindset.

Question 4. Now that you are a successful Entrepreneur, whats your next step.
Luis. being an entrepreneur never stops, i'm continuously working on my self , my gym,  and members to find new ways to be more efficient in fitness. and we continue to compete in different competitions to see how the other gyms are developing as well. I'm doing what i love so now i'm just doing my best to see where it takes me.

Luis is someone who i have been able to see grow because i knew him when he owned the garage and now that his business is flourishing. Because i am also motivated by the idea of fitness. i relate very closely to his story. this interview made me remember that its not an easy road to your own personal success. and that you don't have to always be on top to be happy. sometimes taking a bumpier road makes the victory even sweeter.

Worlds Biggest Problems: Week 3

Population: The world population is growing exponentially. With space to provide for these growing numbers dwindling. The increasing population on earth cant provide enough resources to adequately sustain the growing number of around 7 billion. this creates even greater stresses on other problems such as poverty, animal habitat preservation. and can result in actions being taken such as China's one child policy. This is a radical form of fixing the problem. the only other way to help the population growth is to have fewer children. which would also mean helping the countries in poverty move to a more developed way of living so they don't need so many offspring to help sustain and survive.

Water:  Clean drinking water is also one of the biggest problems we face as humans. Because so much of our clean water is used recreationaly , for agriculture and for manufacturing. we are running out of what we can use for our needed consumption. one way that we can possibly assist this problem is by using desalinization methods to purify the water in the ocean. as well as doing periodic watering such as only at night or on certain days for landscapes and agriculture.

Poverty: more then half of the worlds countries are in a state of poverty. and even in the meccas such as new york, china, ect you still see citizens with homes, and unemployed. the poverty levels also seem to be increasing because of the lack of resource being allocated to help the lower chain pf income families a way to aid the situation would be to disperse more government funds and aid to invest in shelters and awareness classes and programs to help get there members to the working class of society.

War: War is lone of the worlds problems that acts as a domino affect when there is war it takes so much of the affected countries resources and its neighboring and allied forces as well. war brings turmoil to the afflicted countries increasing death rates of innocent civilians as well as increasing chances and strikes of terrorism. This is evident in the current was in sierra. a way to help foster this problem would be for the political leaders to have better rein over the countries proving a peaceful environment for its citizens with adequate resources for living so radical groups don't develop or have no power.

Global Warming: Global warming is defiantly one of the biggest problems that effects every single human being on this planet as well as our wildlife and plant life. with the amount of Co2 we are releasing the temperatures are getting warmer and warmer. which is resulting in lost habitat for some animals changes in the ocean patterns and ultimately unstable climate conditions for us. we need to try to drastically reduce our carbon emissions by  going green and weeding off the traditional cars. moving to more clean energy sources such as wind, electric, solar and hydro.

Lack of education: because of the high poverty rates there is a dramatic increase in the lack of education. these lower income families cant afford to go to college and receive a high education. or in some cases are too busy helping at home to sustain their families to even attend high school. one option is for the government to figure out a plan to proved fully free education. and regulate it. that way many more would be able t/o take the step and better themselves.

Social inequality: the social inequality comes from anything either race, income, level, gender. we see the gender inequality with athletes and in the corporate world. we see the income inequality with the growing numbers of poverty. and we see that racial inequality is still evident with the differences in pay and the radical ideas and groups that still exist today. the only way to end this is to continue spreading awareness. and demanding equality in every form.

Exploitation of resources: one way this is extremely evident is our use of oil and coal. many of the nations over use their recourse in a way called tragedy of the commons and more. we are now being to see scarcity in the resource that are viable to our exsistance. the only way to converse these resources is to reduce consumption and find alternative ways instead of the constant use of gas oil, plastics, ect.

Disease: with the ever so growing population gives way for the higher chance of disease. we've seen this with the mad cow, swine flew ect. these disease are able to spread so quickly because of our growing population. you also see the increase in strains of cancer and aids. a proposal for this would be to increase funding for disease prevention providing more free vaccinations. as well as research towards cancer and aids.

Political insatiability: political instability is something that has plagued m,any nations but not always particularly the US. we've seen this with germany, korea, china, ect where the leaders are unfit and put the nation itself at at risk when they decide to take a dictatorship approach. we are seeing this this year in the US when there are such radical ideas for the presidency that could dramatically affect the United States citizens.

My Entrepreneur Story : Week two

One of the most significant exposures i've had to Entrepreneurship was my enrollment into the innovation academy. where we are taught free thinking and what creativity and challenging social norms can mean to the business world. i put this to ;practice this just past summer where i competed in the UF summer catalyst showcase. where dozens of groups take a societal problem and come up with a product brand and company to help solve it. My company was called wheel watch. witch was a defense mechanism for your bike against thieves. and in the event that your bike was stolen. it came equipped with a gps tracker to help you and police officials locate the bike. we developed an app to help register the bike and the gps tracking program. along with the bike lock, that contained a trip wire so if the lock was cut an alarm would sound and you would receive a phone notification. the lock also utilized key fob technology for entry so it eliminated picking the lock or desifering the code. My team and i ended up winning the 1st place peoples choice award. 

I enrolled in the course to see what other skills and knowledge i can attain from challenging thinkers that will help me be innovative in any work i may set forth to accomplish. this course also brings me 4 credits closer to graduating and fulfilling my dreams. 

personal introduction : week two

Hi, my name is Maria Yarbough i am a second year Finance major. Originally i am from a town called Fall River, Massachusetts which is about 30 mins from Boston. I moved to Orlando during the 6th grade and eventually found my calling as a Gator. My Biggest aspiration is to become an investment banker. currently i work as a bank teller for wells Fargo to help get one step closer to my goal. on campus i am involved in a coed professional business fraternity named Alpha kappa Psi. this is one of the biggest passions i have here at the university where i assist in helping the new pledges along their professional journey. I'm doing all this in the hope that one day i will be working in th corporate world with enough PTO to travel the world with my family.

My Entrepreneur's Mantra: Week 2

Maria's Blog
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