Venture Concept No. 2

1.
 Opportunity
·      There is not easy access to proper transportation for disabled persons or people that are confined to a wheelchair, specifically from airports.
·      The potential customers are those who are traveling in wheelchairs, children or adults, and are not aimed at those who are temporarily in wheelchairs.
·      Orlando is the vacation capital of the world and each year millions of people fly into Orlando International airport eager to visit Disney and all of the attractions Orlando has to offer. All attractions and rides at Disney are REQUIRED to accommodate those that are in wheelchairs. New York just passed a law that by 2020, half of all yellow cab taxis have to be wheelchair accessible.
·      Geographically there are people in wheelchairs all over the world, almost 3 million to be exact.  Demographically, as the baby boomer population continues to get older, this need will only become more relevant.
·      Currently, my potential customers are using average cars and taxis to and from the airport, which is inconvenient. They are also using wheel chair van companies where you are able to reserve in advance, but their location is not convenient to the airport. There are also additional fees involved.
·      Potential customers are currently giving up and not even trying to call Enterprise or Hertz to see if wheel chairs vans are available because they know how much of a hassle it is and how little wheel chair vans are generally available.
·      Since the current businesses that are attempting to satisfy this need are still not executing the opportunity fully, I think this opportunity is there and the widow will only continue to get larger as long as people get older.
Innovation

I am beginning to solve this unmet need by providing a rent-a-wheel chair van at the convenient location of Orlando International Airport, the vacation capital of the world. My goal is to provide the same quick and easy service that everyone receives when it comes to renting a car, and mirror that with a rent a wheel chair van company.

How will this business make money?
Product/Service Mix:

Rental Cars

•       Side-entry
•       Rear-entry
•       Full-sized (van)
•       Standard-height vs extra tall height
Each rental van will have a set price. Some are more expensive than others and this will be reflected in the price as a side-entry van is less expensive than an extra tall height van. On average a wheelchair van costs $55,00 to buy.
  Accessories
•       lifts for wheelchair/motorized wheelchair
•       hand-controls
•       ramps
Each person is unique and each disability requires a specific accommodation whether that be hand controls or ramps. We provide them all with no additional add on fee, although, you are able to purchase these accessories directly from our store.
  Packages
•       daily
•       weekly
•       monthly
Depending on how long the van is needed, we provide the best prices to accommodate your needs.  On average, again it depends what van is rented, we charge $120 per day $110 per day a week and $95 per day a month.

Venture Concept
·      . Traveling when you are in a wheel chair makes everything that much more difficult. Providing a wheel chair van makes it easy and convenient for the customer in the wheelchair to travel around the town and makes them feel that much more at home.
·      What sets me apart from everyone else is there is no wheel chair rent a van services at an airport. They are scattered around a handful of cities in the US and most of them require a lot of prep before hand. By being at the airport, it saves people the extra hassle and wasted time that they would be spending at a competitors.
·      The location of the business is what defines my business concept. Yes, there are others out there, but there is not one universal rent a wheel chair van business, like a Hertz, at an airport.
·      Having the best prices also set my business apart from the competition that much more.
·      Since I am not producing my product, rather buying it from wheel chair van dealers, I would just have to make many connections in the car business, which fortunately I already have because of my father.
o   I would have to create a “buying” team that goes and buys the business inventory and sells our inventory when it needs to be sold.
o   I would put a head buyer and 3 sub-buyers under him in order to keep production always coming in.

Secret Sauce
            Connections with people in various division in the car business is my top resource. Not only are these connection useful for start up, but throughout my entire time of running the business.  This will come in handy when I am needing all the outside help that is required when having a business like this. This is rare because while a lot of people have a “car guy” in their network they  don't have the “mechanic” or “tire guy” or “key guy” in their circle.  This is hard to copy being that these connections have developed over the years, and besides being in the business, I do not think one could make these connections.

What's next for the venture?
            Having an online store, connected to the business, that allows you to purchase the accessories offered for a cheaper price compared to a retail store.  This is the next thing they want because since convenience is a main factor, they are now able to purchase their needed items from the same company.

What’s next for me?
            I hope to be expanding to other airport locations and not just limited to Orlando International. I want to be an entrepreneur that people can look up to and see that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it. I think this venture is going to take a couple failures in the beginning, but eventually launch into a successful business and I can show others that being an entrepreneur is not just all about success, it is how you handle failure.


2. The feedback I received was all very positive. Stressing how it is a great ethical idea, many said there is not a place in the world that would not benefit from a venture like this. It made my readers more willing to help someone in their family if they were to ever become disabled. Someone mentioned that since it is the first of its kind, I could get away with higher prices until competitors enter the market.

3. Since all of the feedback remained positive, I did not have to change much. The biggest change I made was increasing the rates since there are no competitors out there like mine at the moment.

Reading Reflection No. 3

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams




1. The book talks about Scott Austin’s overall life experience with success and failure and puts a humorous twist to it. He surprises his readers with refuting a lot of beliefs that entrepreneurs have about success. He talks about how he failed at almost everything he tried from his investments to his job ideas, but tuned that into success. He stresses how much you can learn from failure and how that makes you that much stronger as a person. He also mentions how important dieting and exercising is and how it impacts one’s mindset. Overall, the book gives great tips on how to increase your success and how to learn from failures.
2. This book mirrors what I have learned in ENT 3003. Dr. Pryor always stressed how it is okay to fail and he wanted us to believe that and not just think it. So many times this semester I have failed with my business venture concept and only have gotten stronger and learned from that. Dr. Pryor always had us working on assignments that tried to pinpoint our failure and how we can avoid it in the future and how it has impacted us in a positive way.
3. The exercise would involve writing down a list of things you believe leads to success. I would narrow the list down to five common things you think help your path to success. I would do this because a lot of the things that I thought one needed to do for success, Austin refuted and put a twist on them. By having the class do this, it opens up a new mindset and erases everyone’s preconceived notions about the topic.
4. The most that I learned was that my preconceived notions about success were indeed not true!! A few examples include that passion does not lead to success, but vice versa. Goals are not important, rather having a system makes you a winner. The other aha moment was about being selfish. One has to be selfish for a number of different reasons to increase the odds of success.

Final Reflection

1. The most fun moment of the class was the time I actually thought of my venture. When we first had to develop our venture I remember this by far took me the longest. I was trying to develop something that not only I was passionate about, but also helped others. When I thought of rent-a-wheelchair I knew that was it because it got me excited about all of the next assignments in hopes to develop it even more. The assignment that I think I found the hardest was the elevator pitch. It was something that I was not looking forward to just because I'm not the type to particularly like speaking in front of people even if it is through a screen. After my third time around, I think I can confidently say I improved tremendously and it turned out well. The moments of dread were all the same: the interviews. I just never felt comfortable with it and I always felt like I was bothering people, even though I was sure that was not the case.

2. The most formative experience was what pushed me out of my comfort zone particularly the elevator pitch and the interviews. While I did not particularly like them, it definitely learned from them. I think I will remember putting my venture concept together for years to come. It forced me to compile all that I have worked on in the class and really delve deeper into my venture. My most joyous experience is reading what others ventures are and commenting on theirs and vice versa. I think I am most proud of accomplishing almost all of the assignments except if I was out of town or sick.

3. I think I for sure have developed an entrepreneurial mindset. In everything I do now I see myself somehow relating what I have learned in entrepreneurship. Since I have successfully developed a venture concept I would consider myself and entrepreneur.

4.The one recommendation I would make to student is that they work on everything ahead of time and turn it in before it is due. I cannot stress that enough, you cannot push off every assignment until the last day and complete everything. To perform best I think it is all about time management. Make a schedule and stick to it and make sure you are always checking up on the due dates. To foster this mindset you really have to strive for the A. Knowing that your end goal is to get an A in the course will really motivate you to finish all the assignments and do the extra credit.