"Week 8 Reading Reflection"

During the chapter “Debt vs. Equity”, it explains how every entrepreneur confronts the dilemma of obtaining venture capital to start their business. In some instances, they are not aware of all the possibilities of and combinations that there is to obtain capital.

1.     What surprised me the most was the other debt-financing services. Like many, I also thought that commercial banking was the only option on getting capital for a venture. Trade credit is given by suppliers who sell goods on account, factoring-is the sale of accounts receivable and finance companies are asset-based that lend money against assets such as receivables, inventory and equipment.

2.     One section that was somewhat confusing was the “Private Placements”

3.     Two questions I would ask the author are:

a.     How has industries and technologies changed the sources of capital in the last 40 years?

b.     How do you think the next generation of entrepreneurs will differ in their knowledge of getting educated in the sources of venture capital from this generation?

4.     Overall, the author was not wrong from my point of view. Instead I was able to learn on venture capital market and the different options there are for entrepreneurs. Also, how entrepreneurs can see the opportunities and put aside the myths of venture capital. Like many, I also thought that capital firms would want to control your company, but instead they are trying to make profit and make you successful.

"The Twenty Percent"

For the 80/20 assignment, I decided to interview Alejandro Ortega, the owner of J&A Mart Plaza which is located in Lake Worth, Florida. J&A Mart Plaza consists of a gas station, and the two locations adjacent to it that are rented out to other entrepreneurs. This is a small business I that I had worked for over two years, so I already knew who the target customers were and what were their unmet need, so I was intrigued to interview Mr. Ortega since he has left someone in charge of the business in order to venture into other industries.

            During the two years working for Mr. Ortega, I became acquainted with the target market and the demographics of the customers. The costumer demographics are Hispanic and Haitian American that live within a 5-mile radius of the gas station. These are consumers who are attracted to the affordable gas prices that are the cheapest in a 10-mile radius, and also the authentic food that is being sold in the gas station.

On February 26, 2016 I gave a call to Mr. Ortega to ask for an interview, but he had a family emergency and he was unable to give me a face to face interview, but he was able to answer the questions via text messages.

The questions and answers for Mr. Ortega are below:

1.     Who do you think your target customers are?

a.     The target consumers are minorities, most specifically the Hispanic and Haitian community.

2.     What are the customer’s unmet needs?

a.     The unmet need is affordable gas and authentic Hispanic food that that is provided in my gas stations around the city.

3.     Where do they find their customers?

a.     We find the consumers without location, which is a mean street heading to the high way.

4.     What are the customer’s demographics?

a.     Hispanic Population

For the customers, I took a different stand. Since the customers were minorities, and some had difficulties with their accent when speaking English, I decided to ask the following questions. The questions were very straight forward, but it confirmed the demographics and the unmet needs that Mr. Ortega spoke on.

1.     Please tell me your age, and background

2.     How often do you go to J&A Mart Plaza?

3.     How did you become acquainted with J&A?

4.     How long have you been coming to this gas station?

5.     What is your unmet need?

Reflection: The owner understood the unmet need or the problem his target costumer has. For example, many gas stations are owned by corporations, but this one is owned by a Hispanic family that caters to minorities. Many of the target customer enjoys having Cuban coffee, and Mexican food as well as Cuban sandwiches, and other gas stations does not offer these food options, but J&A Mart Plaza does offer the food choices that caters to minorities, and the owner is very aware of this, and he has a variety of food option throughout the day. Also, one of the biggest problem that customer have is finding affordable gas, with a place to get food at the same time. 
Since the customers were uncomfortable in front of the cameras, I was able to speak to them on a more personal level, and they explained in detail that their biggest problem is finding a location where they can purchase food that resembles their own in a quick manner, and they enjoy atmosphere that is provided at the gas station for the same reasons. They can fill up gas, and purchase a tamale, or a cuban sandwich, and this is why this business has been successful against all odds. 
These same reason is why the owner keeps providing these food choices that he knows if he stops, his business will fail after 15 years. 

"Half-Way Reflection"

1.     ENT3003 can sometimes be overwhelming with the amount of assignments due per week. It is not just the assignments, but what is required from some of the assignments. From interviewing customers or entrepreneurs, but at the same time, the course is rewarding. As a student, you are not just reading a textbook and learning the vocabulary, you are actually going out into the community and making the most of the assignments. One of the skills I was able to learn from the course is time management, which was something I was not the best at, but with this course I was able to commit to a schedule to turn in each assignment on time. You as a student are responsible for your own grade, which was what I respected the most from this class.

2.     Up to this moment, there was never a moment where I wanted to give up. From the beginning of the semester, I was committed to this class. This was a course I would have never taken before, but I decided that I wanted to take a chance and step out of my own comfort zone, and that has kept me going from day one.

3.     Three tips I can offer future students are the following:

a.     Create a schedule of the assignment deadlines, this will help you time manage, and also feel less overwhelming.

b.     Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. As an introvert, interviewing random people was very difficult, but after my first set of interviews, I felt comfortable going out to the gator community to do my interviews.

c.     Don’t give up!

                                               i.     This class is very rewarding, and you need to experience all the assignments that require you to go out into the community. It can be scary, but experience makes perfect, and that experience can help you grow as a professional and as a human being.