Interviewing Customers No. 2

As I was unable to complete the last assignment this is my first experience with interviewing customers. I came up with four simple questions to gauge my preconceptions about the opportunity. My questions were:

1. How much of your total shopping do you do online?
2. Have you ever purchased signage before?
3. What matters more to you, quality or price?
4. Would you or have you payed more for faster shipping?

My answers surprised me in some ways. Three of the five customers were around my own age with the other two being of an older generation.  I assumed the three younger customers would do a fair amount of shopping online but one claimed none while the others claimed less than half. The general consensus about price vs. quality was equal, which I expected. All have paid more for faster shipping if needed. Only the two older customer have purchased signage in the past, which I also expected.

I learned that when interviewing strangers that I could have used less general questions. I assumed that I should keep it as simple as possible to avoid confusion. I explained the questions before filming, and perhaps I would have done better by making it more spontaneous. After these interviews I believe my opportunity of an online sign shop is still viable but will require a targeted market. My tips to next semester would be: 1. Be specific, 2. Keep an open mind about who your customers are, and 3. Don't be nervous.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

What stood out to me the most in this week's reading was the emphasis on understanding the causes of failure. As we all know well, the odds are against you when starting a business. I think what stood out the most was the failure prediction model and it's use of the role of debt. From what I have personally seen, some entrepreneurs don't give enough attention to the role that debt will play and how liabilities will stack up in lean times.

There was nothing in the reading I can say I truly found confusing, although the section referring to Z-scores seems foreign to me as I do know understand how they relate to finance. This is something I will have to do further research on.

My questions to the authors would include: What would the best way to appropriately test a product's technical feasibility on a large scale while constrained by a budget? Also, what is the best way to judge a competitive advantage when entering an existing market?

There was nothing in the chapter I disagreed with. I would say they were spot on the analysis of risks a new venture faces and reinforcing the need for truly objective analysis of the feasibility of the venture

Elevator Pitch No. 1

I apologize for the quality, it's all I have to work with. My opportunity comes from the general lack of quality I have noticed from online signage retailers. My solution is to provide the same quality one would expect from their local sign shop any where in the world. I am kicking around the "Net Signs" but I didn't include it in the video because I don't know if I will keep it.