ENT Elevator Pitch 10A

Here is a link to my first elevator pitch. Please feel free to offer suggestions.

https://youtu.be/KDewwq_IcNs

Testing the Hypothesis 9A

Who: My idea is complex and deals with a lot of different people from different sides of the equation. Some of the people I talked to are just normal people with a standard day job and a middle-class life. I noticed that most of the people I talked to that were in this class generally were very open to donating goods and helping others. They have excess and are conscious about the environment and those around them. One of the people was very open to donating goods and said they would even drive their goods to the nonprofit that most needed the item and would use the service I was providing to know the options available. However, two of the middle-class people I talked to were less enthusiastic about driving the goods to the nonprofits. They loved the idea of having a service that helped connect them to the people that needed the goods they had but said they do not have the time to frequently go and deliver their goods. One business owner I talked to said that they have limited waste and generally do not have much to donate in the realm of excess food. He also said that some restaurants have unused or slightly damaged goods that they donate to soup kitchens already. However, he also said optimizing this process with my business could be an asset to all involved. It still has been hard to get in contact with managers of supermarkets to see what they do with the goods. However, employees tell me that they generally try to sell them to discount stores or donate them to nonprofits that they know. They may be open to my process if it does not cause any more work for them on their part.

What: When I first started this process, the idea was to help eliminate waste. I still think that this is a large part of the idea for the company, however there are some other problems that I have identified as well. I think that many people want to help eliminate waste and help the needy in their communities. They also do not have the time to drive to donate the perishable goods they have and no longer need. I think the need here is a way for someone to come and pick up the goods to take to the nonprofits to distribute them. There are some nonprofits that have people that can do this, and I think that this will be the number one solution. However, we will need a broad base of different nonprofits that can have people go to pick up the goods on different days and times. There also could be potential for ride sharing services to participate in picking up and bringing goods to the store front.

Why: The underlying need for outsiders is the lack of time to donate the goods they have. It is easier to just throw it in the trash rather than take the time to donate it. They do not see the cost benefit as strong enough to take the time to donate the goods. Insiders believe this is a worthy cause and would take the time to donate the goods. I think that in conclusion I would need to create the process as extremely streamlined and time efficient. Also, there would need to be an option that could allow people to request people to pick up their goods with out having to bring them to the location themselves.

Why: The underlying need for outsiders is the lack of time to donate the goods they have. It is easier to just throw it in the trash rather than take the time to donate it. They do not see the cost benefit as strong enough to take the time to donate the goods. Insiders believe this is a worthy cause and would take the time to donate the goods. I think that in conclusion I would need to create the process as extremely streamlined and time efficient. Also, there would need to be an option that could allow people to request people to pick up their goods with out having to bring them to the location themselves.



Inside the Boundary:

Who is in: Middle class people that have the time and see the benefit of taking the goods to nonprofits? Also, some restaurants that make a lot of goods from scratch ingredients are open to donating as well as stores that do not have a good way to donate imperfect goods.

Insiders: Their need is a way to know what goods nonprofits are requesting currently and a streamlined way to donate their goods and eliminate the waste the have.

Why: The need exists because these people want to make a difference and would love an easier way to donate and cut back on waste.



Outside the Boundary:

Who is not: Middle class people that do not have the time to drive to donate goods? Some businesses who already have a relationship with a nonprofit may just want to donate to them.

Outsiders: There need is not to have a streamlined way to know what to donate. Instead their need is someone who can come pick up the goods and does not cost them any time.

Alternative Explanations: Their needs are based more on the need for a way to someone coming to pick up the goods. I don’t think it is that they do not want to help, but they simply do not have the time. Also, businesses that already have a relationship helping someone would not want to lose that and would continue to want to help that organization.

Solving the Problem 8A

1. The opportunity I would like to pursue is an idea about how to limit food waste in the US. Incredibly Americans waste $160 billion dollars in food each year which equates to about 35% percent of the entire US food supply. This leaves an ungodly amount of quality food going to the garbage instead of being consumed by the many impoverished and needy people in our communities. The trouble lies in the fact of transporting the goods before they are wasted and can no longer be eaten. Unfortunately, there is only a limited amount of time that the food is good for and it is difficult to get it into the hands of those that need it. The opportunity lies in a way to effectively deliver these goods to those who need them. Luckily, most communities have at least one nonprofit organization as well as churches in the community. Many of these organizations rely on donations to feed the homeless and needy that come to them. My idea is to create a website and/or app that can connect companies and the general public to organizations that can use the excess food and give it out to needy people. This site could allow people with excess food or food that is set to be expired to send out a picture and a location of the food to the organizations to then be able to send someone to pick up the food. This could be an excellent way for restaurants, grocery stores, and the general public to support needy people in the community with food that would have normally been wasted. Companies could potentially receive tax write offs for the food they donate and become a valuable part of the community by donating unneeded food. The reason I would like to explore this opportunity is That I would love to be able to find a way to help local nonprofits help those in need. I also think that a lot of companies could be willing to help and be motivated to receive tax right offs for donating goods

2. The service would require nonprofit organizations to register with the company. They would then be eligible to receive donations from other companies. I would first need to get grocery stores and restaurants on board with donating their excess goods to the nonprofits. Once a set of goods is ready to be donated, they could then log on to their account and record what is available for pick up. This would then alert all the local nonprofits that are registered that goods are available for pick up. A nonprofit could then drive to the location to receive the goods. Many stores already donate goods, but this would allow for a streamlined process for both parties involved. It could also allow lesser known local organizations to have an opportunity to gain more donations. The service I would be creating could require yearly membership fees and charge advertising fees on the website and app. Another factor of the company would be allowing households to easily donate goods. This is where being a member of the service could be a great asset. Households with excess goods could also alert companies when they have goods to donate and could then request pick up or drop them off. Nonprofits could also send out notifications to their data base of the goods that they need currently alerting all people of certain goods they could buy to donate. I think this service could be a cool way to get more people involved in the community helping organizations as well as helping to limit waste.

I think that the company I want to create could be sustainable and become a nonprofit on its own. I would love to create a company that makes a difference and allows more people to experience the joy that comes from helping others. Essentially this idea is about creating a network of people in a community that help each other. Today many people have a hard time building connections outside of our internet bubble. So why not create a platform that promotes giving and helping others. Before it became an app maybe it starts just as an email service or messaging group for people with goods to donate and organizations that need those donations to go out and help others. I think the key is to start small and simple and see how it works and if it viable and worth going larger scale and branching out to an expensive interface.

Testing the Hypothesis 7A

1. The opportunity I would like to pursue is an idea about how to limit food waste in the US. Incredibly Americans waste $160 billion dollars in food each year which equates to about 35% percent of the entire US food supply. This leaves an ungodly amount of quality food going to the garbage instead of being consumed by the many impoverished and needy people in our communities. The trouble lies in the fact of transporting the goods before they are wasted and can no longer be eaten. Unfortunately, there is only a limited amount of time that the food is good for and it is difficult to get it into the hands of those that need it. The opportunity lies in a way to effectively deliver these goods to those who need them. Luckily, most communities have at least one nonprofit organization as well as churches in the community. Many of these organizations rely on donations to feed the homeless and needy that come to them. My idea is to create a website and or app that can connect companies and the general public to organizations that can use the excess food and give it out to needy people. This site could allow people with excess food or food that is set to be expired to send out a picture and a location of the food to the organizations to then be able to send someone to pick up the food. This could be an excellent way for restaurants, grocery stores, and the general public to support needy people in the community with food that would have normally been wasted. Companies could potentially receive tax write offs for the food they donate and become a valuable part of the community by donating unneeded food.



2. The people that need this are nonprofit organizations that feed needy people as well as churches with food pantries and community outreach programs.

These organizations need donations to feed other people and other companies have no need for the unwanted food.

There are challenges for the nonprofits to be able to receive the food and challenges for the companies to get the food to their hands. This idea would help eliminate those challenges and easily connect nonprofits to opportunities to receive more donations.

3. The other people that could use this could be people below the poverty line, soup kitchens, unemployed people, missionary groups, disaster relief programs

Some nonprofits have a good source of donations and may not need to use this program. Additionally, some companies may already have a system to deal with their excess food and products.

There could be some hold ups to the program if people tried to abuse the system and take the products without having a genuine need. There could be issues regarding transporting the products to the needed areas. People would have to volunteer from the nonprofit organizations to pick up the good or they could possibly use a ridesharing service to pick up and deliver goods. It is possible that some companies may volunteer to deliver the goods on some circumstances, but most companies will not want to deal with any burden that does not contribute to their bottom line.

4. After talking to and interviewing various homeowners, business owners, and non-profit employees, there were a couple of interesting things that stood out. I think that some of the non-profits do not see the need for this company. Some of them get plenty of donations from various sources and do not need extra donations that they would have to go out and get. I think that the problem for some of them is finding the time to go pick up the donations from various companies or homes. However, some non-profits already own vehicles and have volunteers that go pick up donations. These people seemed much more on board for the idea. They would love to have more opportunities to pick up to be able to distribute. Most of the general public I talked to said they would love a way to see what nonprofits are needing so that they could donate materials that were needed and donate goods that they do not have a need for. An easy way to see what materials are needed for donations intrigued many homeowners who want to help in the community. The people I had the toughest time getting firsthand information from were grocery stores and restaurants. I did some research and found that many of them donate excess goods, but it was difficult to talk to people that make those decisions locally. I think that overall the feedback was positive, but not overwhelmingly so. I think that there was enough positive feedback to continue to pursue this idea and change it as needed.

5. In conclusion, I feel like there is a great need to eliminate waste and help those who are struggling to put food on the table. I think that this idea has merit, but for it to be successful in more than a couple communities, it would take significant investment in order to create a networking and notification interface. However, the opportunity still exists locally to connect non-profits to local companies and homeowners to alert them of needs and local donations.

Identifying Opportunities in Trends 6A

Economic Trends

a. I found this information at Financial Times. They had an excellent page that showed economic trends in graphs with an explanation for them. Here is the link to where I found the article. https://ig.ft.com/sites/numbers/economies/us/ The job market has strengthened drastically in the last few years. The economy is approaching full employment and the unemployment rate is only 3.7% and has been falling drastically since after the great recession.

b. Because of this tight job market, it makes finding quality employees more difficult and drives wages up for employees. This means that growing companies could need help in the hiring process. Staffing companies are an excellent way to help companies fill their needs outside of a standard HR department. It also allows the companies to hire temporary workers during busy seasons without overextending their payroll long term. Therefore, using a staffing company could be a leg up for other companies on the competition. Starting a staffing company is a good idea with the economic trends as they are and could capitalize in a competitive job market.

c. The most likely companies would be growing industrial companies. These companies often are forced to rely on staffing for their needs to handle rapid and unpredicted growth in a tight job market. Also overextended HR departments of different companies that need help hiring employees often turn to staffing companies.

d. I think the opportunity is relatively easy to exploit if you started a franchised staffing company. There are several very effective franchises that could be started in a local community. However, if I were to try to start my own company with no corporate backing it would be extremely difficult. There would also be a lot of risk associated with starting a company like that with no corporate backing.

e. I saw this opportunity because I know that the job market is very tight. I also have experience working in a staffing company. I also saw the opportunity because I have heard other companies talk about some of the difficulties in hiring in today's job market. I also know some of the risks associates with starting a staffing company and why having corporate backing would be a very good idea to have.



a. The economic trends I found for this article were from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. This article shows some of the statistics regarding the investing trends of the US. Companies are taking on more debt than ever before as the economy continues slow steady growth. Most companies remain optimistic about the future and are willing to take on debt even with one of the longest market corrections to date still on going. Here is the link to the article. https://www.oecd.org/economy/united-states-economic-snapshot/

b. Because of the companies being willing to take on debt, more companies are investing and willing to expand. This means that some corporations will be willing to take on more risky ventures and even expand business rapidly. This could provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch better business practises and aggressive strategies.

c. The most likely companies to take advantage of the current market would be growing tech companies and venture capital startups. These companies are willing to invest in high return new start ups which could give entrepreneurs more investors to work with than ever before.

d. I think this opportunity would be complicated and potentially hard to exploit. Although companies are more willing to invest in startups, they may be more inclined to invest within the company and not be looking to invest in outside entrepreneurs.

e. I saw this opportunity because I have seen many companies locally growing rapidly and expanding into new bigger offices and taking out more loans to expand. I also read a couple of articles talking about the low interest rates and companies being willing to invest more readily.



Regulatory Changes

a. The Trump administration relaxed laws regarding oil and methane restriction. This makes it easier for companies to aggressively extract resources. This would also allow companies to not have to allocate as many funds to be sure that all pipes are in working order and not polluting the environment. This is the link to the article https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/trump-to-roll-back-methane-climate-change-regulations.html

b. Because of the change in regulations, this could allow oil and methane gas companies to expand more rapidly. This means that companies will have more funds to grow aggressively and not focus on meeting environmental regulations. This also means that companies could potentially build pipelines for cheaper because they do not have to be as concerned with regulations.

c. The most likely companies to take advantage of this will be oil and methane gas companies in the US.

d. This opportunity would be extremely hard to exploit. To run a company that distributes oil or methane gas requires massive amounts of capital. This would not be an easy venture and would almost be impossible for an entrepreneur to enter the market in a timely manner.

e. I saw this opportunity because I have heard many sites criticizing Trump’s stance on the environment. I also knew that this meant that some companies could have the opportunity to profit from these law changes.



a. There are new laws that are being proposed to loosen regulations regarding third party CDL training companies to soon be allowed to administer testing to grant new licenses. Currently companies that conduct the training for a driver cannot administer the testing to gain a new license. The link to the article I read can be found at https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/trump-to-roll-back-methane-climate-change-regulations.html

b. Because of the proposed changes in allowing companies to conduct testing and grant CDL licenses, this could open up many new opportunities for companies to promote CDL driving training and licensing. Currently, companies do not have the opportunity to license their trainees, but soon companies could possible advertise for a streamlined and effective training process. This would be another source of income for companies and an added incentive for people to gain a CDL license since the process would be streamlined.

c. The most likely companies to take advantage of this will be technical institutes and CDL training companies. Also other people seeking to gain a license could take advantage of the new streamlined process.

d. This opportunity could be fairly simple to exploit. It would require purchasing a truck to conduct training on and completing a CDL training course to be allowed to complete the training. Partnering with someone who has extensive driving experience would definitely be beneficial to exploiting the opportunity.

e. I saw this opportunity because I found a website listing all the proposed and current laws put in place from the Trump administration. This was one of the more interesting regulation changes listed.

Identifying Local Opportunities 5A

5A Identifying Local Opportunities

(1)    “Florida beach lights reportedly cause turtle deaths”

·         https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F175CF84C01234280

·         This story is about the many hatching turtles on the west coast of Florida. Unfortunately, a few of the nests that hatched were confused by the lights from condos on the shore and caused the turtles to run away from ocean instead of towards it. Researchers described how baby turtles naturally go towards the light of the moon reflecting on the ocean. But because the lights on the shore were brighter than the moon, the baby turtles ran towards the lights of the condos. Many of the baby turtles were killed and only a few were saved by volunteers who discovered them. Only 1 in 1,000 baby turtles make it to maturity according to the article.

·         The problem in this story is the lights caused by the condos that then confused the hatching turtles into running towards land. The turtles were then vulnerable to predators and most of them were killed before they ever even reached the water.

·         The baby turtles are the ones who really have the problem because the lights caused them to be killed. Also, the researchers who study and protect the turtles area effected and must deal with the problem.

(2)    “Nearly 100 additional Kmart, Sears stores set to close”

·         https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F175BF9D0330C38D8

·         This story is about the many Kmart and Sears stores closing across the country. The article mentions the many struggles that the companies have had and the fact that many of the stores have already closed. These closures were reported by employees at the locations that were to be closed soon. The two chains once combined to have 4,000 locations and they now have about 400.

·         The problem is that the companies never progressed and changed with the times to stay current, so they are now bankrupt and forced to close many stores. Because the stores have not been able to grow their revenue, they are forced to lay off employees and close stores.

·         The people with the problem are the owners of the companies. They are now losing the company and forced to close stores. The other people with the problem are the employees of the stores that closing and now they do not have any employment.

(3)    “Bats cause relocation of students, counselors at Belleview High”

·         https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F175A595AC7FA28F8

·         This article details the bats that have taken over the Belleview high school campus. The bats have been hanging from the over hangs over the students and they have even been living at the top of the administrative building. Bat excrement has been deposited inside the walls of the building and they were forced to relocate the staff and students from the building. The biggest concern is the histoplasmosis that can develop from people inhaling the fungus that grows in the feces and then can cause serious illnesses. The bats are protected by the state and cannot be harmed in the removal process. This causes many complications on how to remove them and help has been sought from the University of Florida about how to best help them handle the problem.

·         The problem in this report is the bats that have taken over parts of the school. This has caused the buildup of feces that then can cause illness. The other problem is that the bats are protected and cannot be harmed in the removal process, so it makes it more difficult to take them out of the school safely.

·         The people with this problem are the school teachers and students. They must deal with the feces and the danger that the fungus can cause. The other people with the problem are the officials that must remove the bats with extreme care and precaution not to harm them.

(4)    “5.7 million Contigo water bottles for children recalled over choking risk”

·         https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F175A026C008D3088

·         This article is about the popular water bottle company Contigo that is recalling 5.7 million of their water bottles for children. There have now been 149 reports of the spouts detaching from the water bottle and in 18 of those cases, they were found in the mouths of children. This a huge choking hazard for children. These water bottles have been sold at retailers across the country. Parents are asked to inspect the water bottles and can be compensated for a new water bottle lid.

·         The problem is that the water bottles are not built well and can become detached and then they become a choking hazard for children. This could lead to law suits and also could lead to children being seriously injured or death.

·         The people that have the problems are the parents that bought the water bottle and must be concerned about their children choking. Also the company Contigo has a problem in that they must recall their product and are liable for damages caused by the fault product.

(5)     “Texas is latest state to explore possible link between adolescent vaping, severe lung disease”

·         https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F17575EFDC08600B0

·         This article is about the latest investigation into the possible link between adolescent vaping and severe lung cancer. Doctors are now being asked to document any lung cancer cases they may believe could be caused by vaping. The CDC is reporting 94 cases of lung cancer that they believe are linked to vaping. Other states have already been investigating the potential link between vaping and lung cancer and now Texas has joined the investigation. It is also suspected that vaping in teens and people in their 20’s could cause brain damage; the state of Texas states.

·         The problem is that vaping could cause damage to teenagers causing severe disease and death. It is also a problem that teenagers under the legal age are vaping and potentially causing brain damage.

·         The people with the problems are the young people using the products that could be susceptible to diseases and death. The other people with the problem are the owners of the vaping companies that could be susceptible to being held liable for damages.

Forming an Opportunity Belief 4A

1.     I wanted to form an opportunity belief about something that was a little bit different even if it is a weird or awkward topic. I believe that many people are aggravated when their feet “fall asleep” on the toilet. After doing some digging on the internet, I was relieved to find that I was not the only one with this problem so their may be a messy opportunity here!

2. I feel that the unmet need is the pain and discomfort people feel when they are uncomfortable, and their feet fall asleep on the porcelain throne. People that take their time in the bathroom, people with diabetes, and people that are overweight frequently have this problem. The need is not new and has existed most likely since the modern toilet. People do not have a specific way to deal with this problem and most either hurry up or just deal with the discomfort. I am about 70% percent sure some form of an opportunity exists here.


3. Teenage male, spends a lot of time reading and playing video games on his phone:

4. “It happens to me three times a day when I go. This has been happening to me for as long as I can remember. When I lean back against the back of the toilet it helps relieve the pins and needles. Never thought about a different solution but I am not 100% satisfied with my solution. If I tried out a new solution and it seemed to help, I would be interested. It would have to be something that I could try out before I bought it because I never thought of something like that. I want to avoid the discomfort I feel when this happens because it is quite annoying, and I like taking my time when I go.”

5. Reflect: I was very surprised that this person said they experience the discomfort three times a day. This person seems to be someone who likes to hide out and take their time and so they experience some of the discomfort associated with your feet falling asleep. This person definitely supported an idea that would relieve discomfort but they also were skeptical of something helping that would be worth the money.


3. Retired male, slightly overweight:

4. “My feet never fall asleep or hurt when I go from what I have seen. I only sit for 3-5 minutes. No pain so I do not need a solution. I don’t take my time in the bathroom. I also do not sit hunched over because I read that was bad for you. I feel the problem is when people take a long time and hunch over and because I read that was bad for you I do not have the problem of my feet falling asleep. Sometimes I try sitting different ways that help sit up straighter and this seems to help me not strain which I also read can cause discomfort and your feet to fall asleep. Because of these things I already do, I really do not need any solutions.”

5. I was surprised when this person immediately said that they never had this problem. I thought that this person fit the mold for the target audience and that they would be someone that could have this problem. I was also surprised that this person had some knowledge on what was healthy and apparently changed things so that they could sit in a more healthy manner.

3. Middle aged male fits in the middle of a standard consumer base:

4. “My feet do fall asleep sometimes when I sit on the toilet. When I sit there for more than 7 minutes. I would say this happens to me about once a week when I decide to take more time than usual and hide away for a little while. This has been happening to me for about the last 20 years. I do not do anything to address the discomfort currently. I would be open to having a different solution. I might would consider paying up to $50 dollars for a good solution.”

5. This was a good interview that I thought seemed promising. This person said they experience the discomfort about once a week which is in between the other two candidates and seemed to be more of the middle ground. It was good to here that this person was still not satisfied with their current discomfort and would consider purchasing a product that satisfied his discomfort.

Summarize:
I was really surprised by my over experience interviewing other people. Two of them seemed like they did experience some of the discomfort of their feet falling asleep while one claimed to have no discomfort at all. I feel like the opportunity is still present, but I now feel about 50% confident. It was also pretty awkward for some people to talk about this which I understand, but it could make finding if people have the discomfort moving forward trickier. I feel like my opportunity is still pretty accurate, but it may not fit as wide of a customer base as I thought. I do believe that entrepreneurs should adapt from customer feedback because after all a customer is like the boss for an entrepreneur. Without customers an entrepreneur cannot be successful. The entrepreneur must weigh the benefits of shifting goals due to customers and be mindful of what is and isn’t possible.

My Entrepreneurship Story 3A

        One funny entrepreneurship story that comes to mind was when I was in elementary school. Like many students, myself and my friends would always get caught up on the newest fads and toys. Our fads ranged from new clothes to key chains and everything in between. At one point in my school days,  sports trading cards were one of the big fads. I loved sports even as a kid and I knew a lot about them for my age. As they became popular I realized my friends were more concerned about the new cool looking cards and the new players that they had heard about rather than the cards that were actually worth money. I begged my mom to take me to a sports shop and bought a magazine that shows the current value and projected value of certain sports cards. I then began to trade cards with my friends based on the monetary value of them rather than what they were looking for. I traded many no-name cool looking cards for valuable cards like a Manny Ramirez rookie card, Chipper Jones hall of fame cards, and my favorite deal of all, a LeBron James rookie card. I still have many of these cards to this day up in the attic somewhere. Some of the lesser cards I didn’t like as much I decided to sell to my friends based on my newly acquired sports magazine. Soon enough I had friends paying me cash for different cards that I showed them could one day become worth lots of money based on projections of similar cards. I made a good amount of money for a 10-year-old and was very proud of my salesmanship and recognizing a good opportunity when I saw one. Here is a picture of some of my old cards that I found in the attic from when I was in elementary school.

             

         

I have wanted to be an entrepreneur for some time now. I have always believed that owning a business one day would be an amazing experience that could be very successful as well as help a lot of people. As much as I hope this will happen one day, I have not come up with an amazing idea that I felt I could pour a career into. This entrepreneurship class could be a large part of helping me discovers how to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them while thinking in a different way than most people. I want to learn how entrepreneurs think and how they recognize a good business idea when they see one. I am very excited to be learning things that are transferable to my future. I hope to gain a clearer picture of what my business could be one day and to possibly come up with some ideas I can begin to explore now.