20. It's About Who You Know

Domain Expert in the Industry:

This person is someone who is in the market as well and owns a company doing similar work.  However, since you cannot run every single campaign in a county, there is a large enough market to where we are not competitors.  He has been in business for a few years now and have a pretty good record in the field.  He is a graduate of the University of Florida and have a doctorate in political science.  He also teaches at USF, so his education also makes him an expert in the field.

I have known him for a couple years now and have developed a relationship with him because he is the Chair of the Young Republicans in Citrus County.  Because we have worked on things through that, I have added him to my social capital.  We met going to the Citrus REC meetings and working on campaigns in the 2016 race.

We have not done any favors for each other yet, but I know that either of us could call and ask something of the other.  I do not think that you need to do any favor for a person to solidify your relationship and use them as social capital.  I know that if I ever needed information on starting they would be able to help me navigate the process.

Having this person in my social capital helps me because it is literally politics that we are working in.  That is the most social networked industry that I can think of.  This goes for donations, votes, development, and having a greater social capital.  Knowing him will possibly help me gain a partner on some projects in the future or work different avenues to be most effective.

Expert in the Market:

This person is the Regional Coordinator for the Trump Victory team (including both Alachua County and my home county of Citrus).  He worked with the campaign in the 2016 election and has a bigger role now.  He graduated from a college in New York and is now trying to get into law school.

I met this person this year while at a Citrus REC meeting.  That night I gave him my phone number because he wanted me to work with his team in Alachua County.  We have now been working together for almost two months and have been developing a solid relationship that way.

Like I said, I have been working with him for the last two months.  Because of this exchange, I have gained a lot of social capital with him.  By volunteering to do voter registration, door knocking, events coordination, and other various tasks, not only am I gaining skills, but I am building value for him.  As we get bigger and more prominent in the campaign, I would think this comes with benefits from them.  Their recognition of our efforts would be incredible and I suspect that is what may happen.

Working with a national campaign rather than just local campaigns will help me build different relationships that I may need in the future.  If I can get a few national contacts, I can build myself up behind the scenes and work for the right people.  If I could exploit this I think that it would greatly benefit me in my aspirations.  

Supplier to the Industry:

This person is a state-wide consultant who does not manage campaigns, but does a lot of graphic work, scripting, emails, letters, palm cards, and mailers.  He has a much more extensive knowledge in these areas than I do.  I know that he has been working in the industry for years and manages several PACs around the state.  He has a large social capital that could benefit me in the future.

I actually just met him during this election cycle because the campaign that I am managing contracted him to do some of our consultation.  He has helped me complete the palm card and we will be working on a personal letter to members of the community soon.  I met him once at a meeting in Citrus so that we could establish contact.  He has been working with my client for almost 10 years now, so they have a pretty good relationship and I am working on having one with him.  We text, call, and email frequently which is helping us develop a better relationship.

Once again, because he is getting paid, I do not think that we have done favors necessarily, but we have done work for the campaign.  So, we understand the reason we are working together to get projects done and I suspect that we will work even closer together for future campaigns.  The better we develop our relationship this election cycle the easier time we will have on future campaigns.

Because he has a network around the entire state, he is a valuable resource to have.  My opportunity would be expanding to different areas in the state.  Because he does not do much of the hands-on work with campaigns, he may pass my contact along to help people with a more readily available boots on the ground contact and still use him for other consultation purposes.  Knowing him may help me grow in the market and learn different aspects of what clients are looking for when they run in these races.

Reflection:

I really like networking, but I think that a lot of it is superficial.  There is not much that actually leads to real connections.  Over the years, I have probably handed out around 400-500 business cards, but do not consider everyone I have given them to as part of my social network.  So this experience has been unique because I got to reflect on the relationships that I have and how I can use them to my advantage as I expand in the future.  If you know how valuable your assets are then you can better work with them and utilize them.  Like Dr. Pryor said, we neglect our social network which does not make sense because it is probably one of the most valuable things that we have.  With that being said, I am curious how networking like this could be done on a greater scale.  Rather than just developing contact with three people, why not develop an entire rolodex using this method.  I may have to do that because it will help me expand faster and really learn the industry.

19. New Business, New Napkin

Bare with me as I continue to try to learn how do draw using my iPad and Apple Pencil.  I learned how to use some new tools as I went along in making this, I tried different opacities and textures in places, so I had a great time with it.  Realize, "Lahera" was the first thing written, so I think it got better after that.  This skill could actually help me with my business because of the basis of the business.  As you can see my caricature made a reappearance in this Idea Napkin.

1. I think that this portion is not really changed for me because I started maneuvering towards this business while writing my last napkin idea.  I knew that I did not want to be in the ice cream business and so I started talking about how I could use the skills that I do have to make a business that would flourish.  I knew that through my involvement in political campaigns and running for office myself that I had a public relations/campaigning background.  And at the end of the day, all a campaign is is one big public relations project.  With that being said, I knew that I excelled at social media, graphics, and vinyl work.  Now that I have shifted to this business, I would like to see it develop into something that aids small businesses in their pursuit for brand awareness.  Eventually, I would like to transfer into investment where we work side by side with small organizations, particularly STEM, and help them compete with the current giants.  The current system allows the giant companies to invest in small firms and then absorb them when they get what they want.  I feel this limits the development of the market, and I think I have the avenues through this to correct that.

2. I am sure that we have all seen the companies who either start their business page on a profile on Facebook or if they can figure out how to make a business page, they don't have a good brand to make the profile or cover photo.  They also may not have used it since starting their business, which I understand because they are probably busy selling product.  However, there is so much potential with social media or any form of advertising campaign that will help them get where they want to be as a company.  So, I'll solve customer needs by creating a brand for them, logos, cover photos, graphics, t-shirts, decals, etc. and run their social media accounts, email, and direct mail lists.  We will revenue share all of the increases that they see from new sales.  I will even try to help them set up a shop on Facebook to help expand even more.

3. I am selling to small business, startups, entrepreneurs across the state of Florida.  Because this is a primarily media-based I can work with people that may not be geographically close.  For example, right now I manage a campaign in Citrus County which is about an hour and a half SW of Gainesville.  Because of technology today, I think that I can pretty much stretch my business out pretty far.  I also do not see myself starting a brick-and-mortar for this concept because of the decline they are seeing.  It is much harder to be profitable when you have so many extra, unnecessary costs.  My customers will all be people so busy to handle their marketing or not media knowledgable enough to do it on their own.  As someone who frequently creates graphic art, I can tell you that people are either trying to figure out how to do these things themselves or they are finding someone with little skill to do it for them.  I'm no expert, but there are just some logos that I look at and cringe because of the quality.  Personality wise, I think all of my customers are eager to expand and build themselves up and place themselves behind a brand that they can be proud of.

4. Customers will not have to pay me right off the bat.  They can pay me once they are getting paid.  With that being said, I am valuable to them, once they start seeing some value added to their company.  People recognizing the brand and shopping there because of it, people going on and using their online platform to order products, or seeing an advertising and buying goods through that.  This concept for my business will help me also because it makes the customer feel like there is little risk involved and they can work to pay me without having to break the bank.  I know graphics/advertising tends to be expensive, but this is an affordable way to attain them.

5. Having run for office, I know what it is like to manage all of your self-promotion by yourself.  It is very difficult and you do not have a lot of people that can do it for you.  Because I have been in a similar place I think that helps in the process.  I am also young which allows me to possibly see things from a different perspective than most business owners and show them the value of increasing their web of connections at a low cost.  Today, everything is about the brand that you put forward, it has always been important, but I think that fact is more so today.  With my current connections and ability to communicate, I have the energy to see people grow and the drive.  You really cannot fake passion, and if you try, I think you'll fail.  I truly want to help small businesses and I think that is what sets me apart.

Overall, I think that with this business concept I am much more put together and able to execute it to its fullest potential.  Not to mention, I am much more passionate about helping small businesses grow rather than selling ice cream to people on the street corner.  There are still some weak points that I want to work out.  For example, I want to also create merchandise for these people (i.e. shirts, stickers, decals, etc.).  Do I clump it in with my consultation and media, or do I start a separate subsidiary LLC that deals with that.  In the long run, the latter option might be better, just so that I can focus more on the holistic idea of building the brand for people, and allow someone to manage the merchandising portion of the company.  In reality, I think the focus of the company would get muddled if I attempt to link both together on all projects.  Also, if the merchandising side only deals with clients of the brand side, it may not be a profitable revenue driver.  This is the biggest thing that I can think of that I need to sort out as I move along in the process, but I am much happier with where I am now.

Because I had a different idea for the last napkin, there is not much feedback to compare.  The Creamed Gator was a terrible idea even if nobody was willing to tell me.  That's the feedback that I can give myself.  I did, however, this time include a picture that I think brings more elements together and allows the audience to visualize what I am referring to.  I am glad that idea is far behind me and will not ever be considered again.  If someone wants to try it and take it, more power to you.  I am much more satisfied doing consultation in an area that I am comfortable.  Maybe that's the feedback that I needed from myself, more of a realization if you will.

18. I Don't Know What I Drew

In honor of the Catalina Macbook OS update, I decided I would use my extended screen to attempt to draw using my Apple Pencil.  The guy I drew looks crazy, but I think he is because I am targeting starting entrepreneurs.  These are pretty crazy folks and I think my drawing captures that.

Let me start by describing my creation.  He looks crazy because he is a young entrepreneur who has not slept in days.  His shirt looks wrinkled and disheveled.  His hair is out of sorts because he does not have time to think about personal appearances, he has a company to run.  Now he does want to come off as professional which is why he is wearing a polo, but you'll notice he gave up a corporate lifestyle to be much more comfortable.  This is why he adopted cargo shorts (He needs the extra pockets) and tennis shoes.  He thinks that this presents a more personable persona to his customers.  Not that he has many customers yet, but he's optimistic.  You'll see that he is giving a thumbs up and a smile because he knows his idea will be the one to change not only his life, but that of all of this customers.  You may also notice his smartphone, it shows his want to interact with this market using the internet, but he needs help with that.  His phone is clearly 4 model years old, and he has never considered social media as a tool.  As for his shirt, because his business is new (and he doesn't have any money), he does not have a logo, he'll need someone for that too.  Now the money sticking out of his pocket, is from his first sale.  He is so proud of it that he wants the world to know that he is a force to reckon with.

With his 16 hour days dedicated to his business, he does not have time for hobbies.  He used to enjoy going to the movies with his girlfriend, but she left him after he quit his job to start a business.  He still loves her, but knows that his business needs to come first.  As for his car, you can see that below:

He drives a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass.  I don't know why other than the fact that it was a car that I don't like.  I just think this car is something that has like 250K miles on it.  It is missing a headliner and the steering wheel is ripping.  The seats are not comfortable and the spring is sticking out of the back seat.  He is probably a Chevy guy even though Oldsmobile dissipated in the early 2000's.  He appreciated the fact that Chevrolet used Oldsmobile to be innovative and try new products for the Cadillac.  Other than that, he drives the car because all of his money goes to his business.  He cannot think about a new car when he needs his new business to grow.  He doesn't watch TV anymore because of the business of course, but he enjoyed Shark Tank.  He thinks that a very good show for business, but what does he know, he's never run a business before.

I do not know where politics come into play with this, so let's call him a moderate that does not care about Presidential elections but is friends with some of the city commissioners.  He does not like some of the policies being put in place in this country to help big businesses and wants to be able to pay ZERO taxes for YEARS like Amazon.  That infuriates him because he is working hard and pays taxes and feel betrayed by the government for giving all of his money to big corporations.  Good thing he does not know that the government bailed out GM during the recession or he may be a proud Ford owner.  Maybe, as his consultant, I should tell him and then we can get him into one of these beautiful trucks.

This is a 2004 Ford Ranger, one of the most reliable cars that anyone could drive.  I just had to make a personal plug because that was my truck until it burned down on Hwy. 200.  It was part of my sound system, but that besides the point.

Back to the guy, I think that he can be any age, but he will always feel young because of his drive and want to work.

As for my personal relation to the customer avatar. I can say that I feel for him and want him to be successful at that what he is doing.  However, if you really want to know, this is how I see myself.

I do not think that the avatar and myself have much in common in terms of looks.  I am a bigger guy, that tries to keep myself put together and does not really like to appear disheveled.  Professionalism is very important for me.  However, it seems as though we both portray the same level of enthusiasm for what we are doing.  We are just trying to be happy and not get stuck in a corporate structure.  In terms of my car, I currently drive a 2011 Ford Mustang Convertible all black, but if my truck had not burned down, I would still probably be in that.  I can see the pride between the avatar and myself and the want to do great things.  Overall, I do not think these are coincidences because we want to help and serve people that are like us.  In many instances, we think of solutions for problems that heavily affect us.  In this case, I am a young entrepreneur who wants to help other young entrepreneurs succeed and build their market.  

I do not know how accurate this assignment is, but it was fun being able to build on some spontaneity.  Promote where we think that we can build a market and see it come to fruition in our mind.

17. Take 2

Here is a business pitch with my new idea, so I am looking forward to your feedback.

If video playback doesn't work this is the link: https://youtu.be/4EVg0UgM3e4 

2. Well last time, I realized that there were other elements to include and to use to keep the audience interested and listening to your pitch.  This time I tried to encompass all of those elements in the video and get to my point quicker.  I do not think that this one was as enthusiastic, but that is primarily because this is a much more serious topic to talk about.  I still liked the props because that was very popular last time.  I also think I looked a little too stiff last time, so I decided to go with a brighter more open outfit.  Please let me know if that affected my professionalism.

3. I made sure that I was speaking faster to get more in.  I think that I was clearer this time and had a good hook to keep the audience interested.  Not necessarily feedback, but listening to other business pitches I was glad to take what they did and incorporate it into my video.  Like I said in the last paragraph, I felt stiff personally, and I think this outfit makes me seem more open-minded and welcoming.  I tried to keep the same use of hands, but that is just more normal speaking mannerisms.  I am very happy to have implemented every portion of a business pitch into this idea, but I would like to see even more last time.  After several takes that came to this same length and depth, so that is definitely something I want to improve on last time.

16. You NEVER Truly "Know" Yourself

Part 1: Let me start of by getting a little philosophical with all of you.  I think that it is hard to understand yourself until you look back on your life at an old age.  We as humans are constantly changing and becoming a new person, one that is foreign to our previous forms.  I came this realization after reading the Steve Jobs novel where we did not start about until he was close to 30 years old.  That is 10 years older than me.  He tried to find himself, and even lived in his veil of deception into late in his life.  He recalled events differently than everyone else and was not something that he was always proud of.  These are natural feelings as humans which is why I hate to put myself on a pedestal with this assignment.  I literally know very little about myself and there are people in my lives who have known me before my memories allow me to remember myself.  Even these individuals only know about 19 years of my story.  Realistically, I only know maybe 13-14 years.  If I live for 85 years, I only know about 15% of my development, life, story, and human capital.

With my point made, let me begin to try to describe my human capital:

1. I think that my presence is unique in a room.  I have always been a very enthusiastic person.  If you have been in class with me, you know that I laugh and smile a lot.  I see people who use this as an act, but I genuinely find that I am just happy to be around other people.  It is hard to articulate, but I like seeing joy and humor in most situations.  I remember the night my car burned down the fireman said to me, "We don't suspect foul play".  I quickly responded with, "Well, I hope not, I just put in a new sound system" and I laughed.  Other emotions were displayed that night, but in that moment, it felt most appropriate to laugh about something.  I don't consider this optimism because I am very pessimistic, but maybe I display myself in a satirist fashion.

2. Everything I do in life, I think I display a larger than life presence.  There are many times that I think this world is much smaller than it actually is.  Frequently, I think people try to pull me back to reality, but I truly think rationality has destroyed our evolutionary development.  I have such an idealism that I have had since I was a kid.  I knew in 5th grade that I wanted to be THE President of the United States.  Most people give up on dreams like that by probably the end of middle school beginning of high school.  I ask myself frequently why I did not give up on that dream.  I think that part of it is my faith in God providing for me in life.  However, I also think that it is because I have a why not attitude.  Even if it doesn't happen, I can die trying and build myself into something else just as respectable.

3. There are times that I think I am too cold and withdrawn especially in situations that require empathy.  Maybe its because I have not had to deal with any form of traumatic experience in my life (i.e. losing a close family member) or it is because I don't like being in a state that require the use of that range of emotions.  I do not know if this is an pro or con in terms of attributes, but I find it interesting.  I can see where this could be to my benefit, but I could also see where this hurts my relationships with my peers.  I would have to ask other people if they see this in me as well.

4. I feel like I have undiagnosed ADHD.  This is in no way to be taking as insulting towards those who are diagnosed, but I find that I cannot clearly remain on a certain task.  This has proven to my benefit because I can show creativity in many different ways.  If anyone were to see how I work, I truly think they would be confused.  I hardly work on assignments in one piece without getting sidetracked by something much less important.  I could be writing an email to go out to an entire list, but if I want to develop a nice graphic that will pair with it, I will stop everything to pursue that next task.  Until, like all other work I do, I get frustrated.  I will quit something temporarily if it does not meet my standards in that moment.  This mostly results in forcing my concentration under the stress of procrastination, but I cannot work in any other way.  There are times when I have hyper-focus and ignore everything around me and times, I don't have any.  I do not know if it is my idealism or lack of focus, but it definitely affects my work habits.

5. Finally, I think that I am an old soul that is stuck in this young body.  Something I came up with while listening to AC/DC and Metallica  Dr. Pryor mentioned this on the first day I was in class, but I have always looked at myself this way as well.  I find it hard to identify with contemporary culture because of my love and appreciation for what was in the past.  Even in my previous post I have complained about America losing its coolness and ability to do awesome things the rest of the world wishes they could have.  My entire life I have found myself more able to connect with the adults around me than those my age.  I do not know what the root of this is, but I know its creates bias on how I think and connect with people.  I need to either find how that personality trait is useful our society or find a way to drop it.  I have always acted much older than I am, but as someone once told me, my skills are not their yet.  They are 100% right when they say that.  How do I get the two to interact and work harmoniously with each other.

Part 2: Link to Interviews: https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/sets/ent-3003-assignment-16

Interview #1 (https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/interview-1-my-grandmother)  My first interview was with my grandmother who will always have everything nice to say about you.  However, in reality, if there is anyone who knows me it is this wonderful women who I call my grandmother.  After I was born and my parents went back to work she raised me until I went to preschool.  Even since then she has been my rock and the one that I turn to in difficult situations.  I know that she wants to see me to my best in this world and do things that she would have never imagined could be done by someone stemming from her and her family as Italian immigrants.

Interview #2 (https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/interview-2-my-mother): While on the phone with my grandmother, I did an interview with my mom, another person who knows me the best.  This interview is funny because I think that our personalities are very similar in that we can fight and be stubborn for causes that we believe are critical.  With that being said, I think that she had been honest to me my entire life even if I do not want to hear the truth which is why I value her opinion so greatly.

Interview #3 (https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/interview-3):  This was from someone who I have only known for about a year and a half, but I have developed such a bond with them that I feel they could accurately describe me.  He is an entrepreneur who I have been following and working with for the past year and a half.  He has given me a lot of advice and watched me mature, grow, and develop on the campaign trail.  He wanted to add a comment to his interview about how I always listen to those older than me for their wealth of knowledge so that I can continue to expand my skills.

Interview #4 (https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/interview-4-commissioner-jimmie-t-smith):  I have worked with Jimmie for 5 years and started as a Messenger in Tallahassee for him, then as an intern in his office, later as a youth coordinator for this 2016 campaign, and now his campaign manager for 2020.  He too has had the opportunity for me to work with my human capital and master its abilities when dealing with government officials and the general public.  I have developed a deep bond with him, and we have a great understanding of each other at this point which is why I selected him.

Interview #5 (https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-lahera/interview-5-my-father):  Not because I thought about him last minute, but because he has been busy, I used my dad as my last interview.  He mentions that we have not gotten along in terms of politics, but I have persuaded him and now we still have discussions with critical thinking.  He has helped me expand my human capital through his abilities in how competent he is with his hands.  I have worked with him as we fix cars, renovate portions of the house, do garage doors, and many other tasks.  I have learned a lot from him and he too has really added to my capabilities as an individual.

Part 3: There are parts of their lists that I think are very accurate and then there I things that I do not view myself as.  I am glad that people see the attributes that they mentioned because they are very noble, but I don't know they seem very idealistic and place me on some sort of pedestal.  As much as I like the spotlight, I do like to have some level of realism when it comes to how I regard myself.  With that being said, I am always growing and want to try to remain humble.  If that is how they see me great, it means that I am striving and working on where I need to be later in life.  I do not want to let what they said affect me in any way.  That is how ego develops and that is something that is hard to get rid of once established.  I have seen it develop in people and I think that is not true happiness or satisfaction in ones self.  All that does is set you up for a greater, INEVITABLE failure.  The similarities that I can appreciate was my ability to work under pressure, my kind nature towards others, and my want to learn and grow.  If we are not trying to learn and grow at every stage of our life, we are letting the American Dream die and allowing evolution to come to a halt.

15. I'm Starting From Square One

After doing some personal reflecting and speaking with Dr. Pryor, I have decided to transition into consulting which will allow me to pursue a passion of helping small businesses grow and develop to compete with large companies.

1. An entrepreneur who wants to purchase from me, A local party leader in charge of merchandise, and a candidate for Citrus County Commission.

2. Number 2 is missing in action...

3. One factor that seemed highly important to this segment was not really price, but someone that could complete their needs.  I think that what I am selling is not something that most people consider.  However, branding and marketing products that match your brand are crucial for development.  If there was anything that they really wanted that I could consider holistically it is professionalism.  Not obviously, you only want to deal with people who are professional, but everything I do with my business is behind the scenes.  Because it is their name tied to what I put it, they think that this is absolutely necessary.  It is my product and my service, but their name.  Going into the business, I understand this too and need to ensure they trust my judgement.

4. A majority of my service is online, and my product can be transferred in person, but because a majority of what I produce will require custom graphics, it will mostly be online rather than in a store.  This is good because the standard brick-and-mortar is declining in relevance.  What is beautiful about this is the flexibility in working with these companies.  I want to help start-ups who do not have a lot of revenue.  Because of this, I can accept the money up front if they have it or create a deal where I garner a certain percentage of the revenue from the social media sales that I produce.  This allows them to get sales so they can stay afloat and incentivizes me to get them sales through social media.  This is a B-2-B business, but it is only for start-ups (at least for now) and so there is probably only one person I need to go through to get where I need to be.

5. Customer value for these individuals I interviewed is very important because they are involved in politics.  Now this is important for all businesses, but they want to consider whether or not they are gaining more or losing votes for their candidate of choice, their party, or their own campaign.  As a political science student, I have a niche specialization in voter decision that will help me with their concerns.  So, they have the trust in me to work on their behalf with their candidates of choice.  Beyond that, they told me they will be satisfied when they see more people recognizing them and voting for them.  Support in politics is hard to see at the aggregate level before an election, but other metrics like campaign donations/public involvement are the factors that would determine their satisfaction.  This leaves my business in the hands of their customers, but that's marketing and advertising.

6. All of these individuals were excited to support an entrepreneur and thought that my cause in politics was great for my personal development.  They all have recognized that they need someone reliable in these sectors and were looking to me to be that person.  Most of them wanted to keep me in the political sphere, even though I want to specialize in small businesses.  I feel like I am competent in politics because of my previous experience and college education, but maybe I need to do some redefining of my markets/segments to get where I want.  Possibly, this is where people value my company more and I end of passionate about this.  Personally, I do not think that enough is done in this country for small businesses which is why I think that I am passionate about helping them.

7.Well, I just started doing more brainstorming for this field and am happy with my results so far.  I think that I can get more people to buy into it because I am more passionate about it.  I want to figure out more as I move along because I do not want to get stuck in the political network.  I have always viewed that as a strong hobby that I would take seriously later in life.  I do not want to be known as the guy who has been in politics their entire life.  I want people to know me as the guy who was passionate about his community, revolutionizing the way the world things, and the person who will fulfill their American Dream and protect it for others.  This seems highly idealistic, but I really think that America is lacking that right now.  We have fallen into this mold where we think that everything needs to be rational.  Why is this?  Like Dr. Pryor said, America doesn't do anything cool anymore.  I agree with this assessment because we have forgotten what a risk is.

13. Jobs

1. I had watched several movies about Steve Jobs in the past, but the level of detail this was able to portray was incredible.  To hear from the sources who worked with him how hard he was to deal with was something that was astounding.  What I most appreciated was the fact that it did not follow the route of most biographies.  Most just praise the person they write about and place them on a pedestal, this, however, was incredibly humanizing.  To see Jobs' mood swings and intense display of emotion was unexpected, but definitely painted the whole picture.  You could tell there was a huge level of passion surrounding the company.  That is what I appreciated most.  I admire Steve Jobs' level of free will because I tend to find myself too uptight and need to loosen up, something that he was a master of.  I did not appreciate how he treated people.  I think that is why karma got him when he was ousted from the company.  Where Woz was too friendly, Jobs was way too willing to betray those who had been behind him since the beginning.  Jobs was always fighting against adversity, but I think that a lot of it stemmed from his personality and how he dealt with intense situations.  I do have to praise him for retaking the company he was removed from.

2. Steve Jobs was great at charming everyone around him.  This was probably his best skill.  His ability to persist and not take no for an answer is something that I can really respect.  It is something that I need to get better at because people are looking for people with that drive.  It may seem like like it is too pushy, but I think it is a great skill to develop.

3. This is not really a confusing part of the novel, but something that is more of a personal point to Jobs.  I did not understand why Steve Jobs would name the first computer Lisa, but deny that she was his daughter.  This was something that maybe showed regret from Jobs from ignoring her.  I can understand that he was so upset when he was removed from the project because here were two children of his that he was not a part of their life.

4. If you could start over, how would you plan out Apple, develop it differently, and run the company?
Do you think that you placed enough emphasis on your personal life or did your business life take control?
I think that these questions are important because it deals with both his business and personal life.  A balance between the two is important and something that is not considered with entrepreneurs.  You always hear about the product that they are pushing, but not really about their personal development which is just as important.

5. I do not think that Jobs ever looked at what he did as work.  He found something that he was passionate about and wanted to make a change in the world.  This is a trait that I find incredible because that is when you know you are doing the right thing.  You can show up every day for years and push yourself for success rather than profit.  That is something that I would love to live by and strive to be.

14. Woah, We're Half Way There

1. I would say that one of the main things to do with this course is to always be thinking and reflecting.  Rather than try to rush the assignments or put words down on paper, stop and think.  Even if what you are thinking about never makes it into the post, keep your mind active.  Like Dr. Pryor has said, we need to start thinking like entrepreneurs and place ourselves in the same mindset as them.  Even though I have not kept a bug list written down for every day, I frequently think about things that can be improved on.  For example, last week I went to Halloween Horror Nights and ended up standing in lines for hours of the night.  Why?  The whole point of an amusement park is entertainment, standing in lines is the complete opposite especially for us impatient Americans.  I thought to myself about how they should start implementing interactive sections of the line, touchscreen games, meeting characters, cool things to look at, and most importantly hiding the rest of the line so that we cannot see how much longer.  Could I personally pull off any of these ideas for multi-billion dollar companies, definitely not.  However, I keep myself engaged by thinking about what could be.  If you do that enough, you will stumble upon something that is actually probable.

2. Because I am still far from coming up with a concept that I am comfortable with and happy with, I think this shows tenacity.  Pushing through all of the ideas that I have and working to find the right thing is important.  I am still not comfortable with the notion that my idea is ugly.  I think this is what is drawing me back right now, but it is a realization that I need to accept.  I think I could be considered more tenacious after I can accept this.  Right now, I still think I am in one of those ruts from an entrepreneurship perspective.  I am a campaign manager which has kept me busy and is a form of entrepreneurship, but it is not an official LLC.  I am also not really with the idea of getting stuck in politics for ever.  People do not really respect politics as a field which leads me to believe I can have just as much of an impact in other fields.

3. 

Tip #1:  You need to keep active.  Forget about the blog.  Just do.  Sell, reflect, expand, sell more, and keep reflecting.  I think anyone can do this, you just need to keep moving at all costs.

Tip #2: Let people's criticism and comments build on what you are doing.  I think that we all get too attached to our initial idea, but there are other, BETTER things that can come from a very similar idea.  You may not have to change the base of the concept, but consider a different avenue.

Tip #3: Learn and consider what other people have done.  Like Dr. Pryor says, this is not rocket science.  Like the Wright brothers did nothing new to build the first plane, you do not have to do anything new.  Try to figure out how to do something different using the same components.  That is the key.

My newest piece for my public figure page on Facebook.  You can "like" it at: https://www.facebook.com/NicholasALahera/?ref=bookmarks

12. Breaking Down the Customer

1. Segment: Union Site Leaders

2. Interviews:

• An elementary school teacher
• A High School Teacher
• A High School Teacher Union President

3. The issues that I have been speaking about with teachers is something that they are experiencing all of the time.  They are not seeing the proper support from the government, they are not receiving due compensation which is why we are experiencing a depleting field, and the general respect for their position is deteriorating.  These may seem like very loosely related ideas, but in reality, all of them are contenders for why we are experiencing the shortage.  Because of the depth of these issues in education, all of the interviewees are experiencing the problems almost at all times.  For the elementary teacher, she is struggling with adopting new curriculum that was implemented this year.  Because it is not succinct with the textbooks they are using, it has made planning for the year and getting things accomplished much harder.  For the high school teacher, last year they experienced not having a planning block because of the lack of teachers for one of the classes they needed.  They were happy to do it, but you could tell there was a lot of stress involved with the decision.  This came after a new policy that would transition the school from a block schedule to a period schedule.  Finally, the union president who sees a number of issues from various sources, a lot of times is not aware of the issues at the elementary level, and when told about them finds that there are many things that need attention.  If I had to say there is any time that is probably most relevant, it would be when changes are passed down from higher sources of government.  One could expect issues to come at these times, but with the frequency, it makes educating (their actual job) very difficult.

4. For the first two interviewees they are in frequent contact with the union president because that is the nature of the union.  However, all of them start looking at state law to see if there is the proper compliance needed on these issues.  There is not any one thing in particular they are putting into Google.  It is mainly a general viewing of the laws.  This is the primary step.  If they are in compliance, they begin contacting elected officials.  Many times this is school board members, the state representative, and the superintendent.

5. Overall, I think that a government liaison would be effective for them which they do have but maybe it is not working effectively at the local level.  Many of their lawyers/government affairs personnel are at the state and national level.  This does not help them with the local issues.  Based on that knowledge, I suggested to them that they should have a consultant to push these issues publicly and do an information campaign for the public.  There is a lot of things they could do and a lot to talk about, but they need to take the appropriate channels.  Much of the public does not care about public school in Citrus County because of the elderly population who do not have students in school.  With that being said, we would need to make the issues relevant to them (i.e. taxes, traditional values being implemented in schools, respect, and traditional roles).

6. This is probably the most self-aware and knowledgable group about the issues.  As well as the most vocal.  Because they are involved in not just their own issues, but other educators as well, they have a pretty great idea about the needs of the schools.  Also, their ability to find the information they need is pretty high because of the resources they have.  Now, their ability to push these issues and drive support is limited because they are not public relations specialists, they are educators.  They cannot deal with the legal aspects of their job, the education aspect, and support aspect plus pushing public issues.  

11. Where does the napkin come in?

1. I am a political science and economics major.  I have run for school board and am currently a campaign manager for a county commission race.  I am skilled in social media development, graphic design, public speaking, and communication/relations.  I also have experience in retail because I have worked for Publix for the last three years (one as a front service clerk and two as a cashier).  My aspirations in life include becoming the President of the United States, but I do not want to be a career politician.  This is why Dr. Pryor suggested that I avoid going into consultation where I would end up permanently in politics, but in the background.  Because that is what I had in mind, I am still on the fence about how to continue.  If I were to move into the ice cream business, I do not see it becoming a major factor in my life other than a source of income because I am not really passionate about it.  If there is anything I would truly like to do it would be it would be to get into investment of small business.  I think there are many opportunities for small businesses to grow and compete with large corporations, but these entrepreneurs do not have the resources to grow themselves.

For the remainder of the questions, I will continue with the Creamed Gator concept until I can come up with something better.  Please bare with me, I have a campaign event for my client coming up, so that has been at the forefront.

2. I am offering ice cream to customers.  As a start, it would probably be pre-made popsicles from the store, but as I have the opportunity to grow, I would like to introduce a soft-serve recipe unique to the company (now that I think of it, I would use parmela milk used for gelato).  Beyond that, I would probably also try to introduce hard ice cream in a variety of different flavors.  I could possibly venture into milkshakes, smoothies, and floats, but I would keep ice cream the primary product.  However, like Disney's alcoholic DoleWhip with coconut rum, I think it would be awesome to allow customers to experiment with different ice cream alcohol combinations.

3. My customers are college students (and alumni who enjoy acting like they are still in college on game day).  We are all Gators living in Florida and because it is so hot on campus, we need a way to cool down.  Also, we are always looking for new ways to socialize.  This is a great thing to include.  Think about the end of a game and you have been sitting in the heat for its entirety, and you want to celebrate a huge Gator win (or console a loss) you go out with your friends.  The best way is food or dessert in a nice cool area.  I saw the McDonalds after the first home game and it was packed.  I think the opportunity for an ice cream place is great.

4. Customers will care about the product because it ice cream is a pretty universal concept.  Like I said, there is nothing new about this.  It is a need on campus, and literally anyone can fill it.  Customers will pay money for the product because they are familiar with the concept, and want ice cream over a soda or water or a full meal.  It is perfect for those just looking for dessert and something that will keep them cool in the Florida heat.

5. I think being a college student helps because I understand that price is a huge factor for whether or not students will be able to purchase the item.  Also, being a Gator myself, I want to do something that will benefit my peers.  I have no ice cream creation skills so I won't be able to set myself apart there initially, but I do like my gelato consistency idea.  What would help me I think is my knowledge of marketing and design.  It would allow me to get in front of the right avenues quick without much of a cost, hopefully.

Summary: I think overall, a lot of things are disjointed.  Like I said, this is an idea that most people could do successfully.  It does not necessarily have to be me, especially considering that I am not passionate about ice cream.  Not to mention, ice cream shops are not exactly the direct road to the White House.  Another main aspect that concerns me is that this does not really have a societal impact.  So what if people can now get ice cream, it does nothing to actually help people.  It is a luxury to have when you have extra money, not something that would be used on a daily basis and create a societal shift.  In my life, I would like to have a greater impact than selling ice cream.  It also does not provide for much growth.  The only reason that you see chain ice cream places is because they leech off the funds of their corporate partners (i.e. Dunkin' and Baskin Robbins) or they place themselves in the market at a higher price point and the more quality ice cream (i.e. Coldstone).  I really need to go back to the draft board and come up with something that will have the impact I want to have in society.  I think I have the skills to get there, and ice cream is not going to work me to my fullest potential.