5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

1.     Why you should drink water first thing every day

https://www.gainesville.com/zz/lifestyle/20200123/why-you-should-drink-water-first-thing-every-day

-       This article is about how instead of grabbing a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, it is better off to drink water.  Going many hours without having any water can be dehydrating.  The article also discusses how water aids digestion and clear toxins in our bodies.

-       The problem presented in this story is that not enough people are drinking water when they first wake up in the morning.

-       Who has the problem is people who don’t first drink water in the morning after going hours without drinking any.

2.     That cushy work-at-home job can lead to social isolation, mental and physical health risks

https://www.gainesville.com/zz/lifestyle/20200123/that-cushy-work-at-home-job-can-lead-to-social-isolation-mental-and-physical-health-risks

-       This article discusses the loneliness people feeling from working at home and the mental and physical health that comes along with that.  In efforts to help fight this result of loneliness, Cigna has announced that it will be providing mental health specialist for customers to make appointments in person, over the phone of virtually.

-       The problem is people feeling loneliness from working from home.

-       Who has the problem is people who choose to work at home. 

3.     Lane Ranger: Why are four lanes slower than two?

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200126/lane-ranger-why-are-four-lanes-slower-than-two

-       This article talks about how a four-lane road at 20 mph turns into a two lane at 55 mph.  Six vehicles have recently been pulled over for speeding on the roads.  The speeds are based on its surroundings areas including the rural area and the urban area. 

-       The problem is people not noticing the speed change.

-       Who has the problem is the drivers.

4.     Archer man charged in dollar store burglaries

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200128/archer-man-charged-in-dollar-store-burglaries

-       A man was arrested after being accused of breaking into the Gainesville Collar General and Family Dollar stores through breaking glass windows with rocks. According to the article, he caused about $1,800 in damage.

-       The problem is that much damage has been done to the stores and a lot has been stolen.

-       Who has the problem in this case is the owners of these stores. 

5.     Man charged with hitting deputy’s SUV

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200129/man-charged-with-hitting-deputyrsquos-suv

-       A 19-year-old was reported and charged with leaving the scene of an accident after hitting a deputy marked SUV.  The man was also driving a stolen car and charged with vehicle theft and resisting an officer.  The hit caused about $2,000 in damage.

-       The problem is the SUV that was hit and also the stolen vehicle.

-       Who has the problem in this case is the deputy car. 

4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

Beginning point/my belief:

I believe there is an unmet need for more parking in the Gainesville area. Specifically surrounding the University of Florida. With being an off-campus student here at UF, and having a car, I have always found it a huge struggle to find street parking.  There are very limited meters around the area and makes it hard to find parking if one is visiting friends at their apartments, trying to grab a bite to eat at mid or grabbing coffee from Pascals or Concord.  With the continuous growth of multiple new apartments being built in this area, the need for more street parking is going to rise.  As far as I am aware, this is not a need that is trying to be solved. 

I truly believe if instead of putting in another apartment complex, taking that space to create a community parking lot using the Passport parking app would greatly benefit the area. I think there is a 60% chance of this opportunity being able to occur if using space where apartments were going to be built would be used for a lot instead.  

Customer #1:  A junior off campus student at the University of Florida.  She drives to the midtown area frequently to visit friends around the area.

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       Yes, she finds it very difficult to find parking in this area, especially around 5pm.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, I really do because the more people in the area will also create more traffic on the small streets.

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       She became more aware of this need when she moved off campus.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       Yes, she said she would.  The one by the Pascal’s parking lot is much more expensive than using the Passport parking app.

Reflect:

I learned that especially during the late afternoon, parking become more difficult and that a lot of students realize this issue once they live off campus.  I thought it was interesting how specific she was in her answer about how the lot next to Pascals is more expensive than paying through Passport parking meters.

Customer #2:  A sophomore who moved off campus into an apartment in this area.  

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       I find this to be extremely difficult.  I have a city parking permit because my apartment complex only has one parking space per unit so my roommates and I share the space and trade off weeks who can park there.  Once it turns 4pm, it is harder to find street parking because all the parking in the area becomes lifted.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, another large apartment is going up directly across from where I live know.  I don’t know what the specific parking rules for that complex will be, but regardless, visitors will be wanting to use the street parking once it is lifted making less space.

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       I became aware of this need once I moved into my current apartment.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       Depending on the location, yes, I would.  Knowing that there would be multiple spaces available would be a nice option for guest that visit me.  

Reflect:

I learned that a lot of people who currently live in apartments and use the Gainesville city parking struggle after parking is lifted because of the limited spaces and other people parking in these spaces.  I was surprised that even though she has street parking, she would still use a Passport lot. 

Customer #3:  A junior coffee barista at Pascals coffee shop in the mid-town area.

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       Yes, there is no parking available for the number of people that live in the area. I have worked in this area for the past year and half and it has been an ongoing issue that I have noticed with the new large apartments going up in the area.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, significantly.  This is just going to cause more problems.  

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       Since fall of 2018 when I began working at the local coffee shop Pascals.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       The Passport lot would be helpful because it would create hopefully a place where people wouldn’t use Gainesville street parking after 4pm.

Reflect:

I learned that people who work in this area have even noticed this issue.  What surprised me was how he said using Passport would hopefully encourage people not to park in the Gainesville street parking areas.

Summarize:

I think that from discussing this opportunity with all three people, there are enough people that would push for more parking. Even those who don’t live in the area. I definitely think that the opportunity is more accurate than when I started to think about it.  Adapting to opportunities based on customers feedback I think is very important.  Especially if there is a significant number of people who have the same opinion on a subject.

3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story

In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to help start up and develop a non-profit organization.  This non-profit is called Out if Zion and its missions is to bring creative arts opportunities to children with medial and special needs.  Being one of the founding members of this program really gave me insight into what entrepreneurship looks like.  Seeing the program form from just an idea into a reality was the neatest part. Planning out the program and what it would entail was the most challenging part, but through multiple trials, we were able to create a system that worked! This organization has continued to flourish and brings many opportunities to children who want to experience the creative arts.  

This is a picture of me preparing for a team leader meeting at the Children’s Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, where we held the spring program.

This picture is from one of our first team meetings of the summer program.  

I am a senior Public Relations student, and I enrolled into ENT 3003 because I decided that I wanted to do my concentration in business.  One of the classes listed was this one and it seemed very interesting. I am hoping to learn how to effectively create and preform an elevator pitch in this class.  

2A - Bug List

Bug List:

Bug #1: Having no dish disposal and having to clean up the food on the drain. 

Why? Because the house that I am currently living in does not come with one and the landlord did not want to put one in. 

Bug #2: Waking up and the room being cold.

            Why? This bug exists because of the weather change here in Gainesville and my room being the remodeled garage of the house. 

Bug #3: Trying to make a left-hand turn onto 8^thstreet during rush hour.

            Why?  Because people are leaving work and it is a main road to get to Archer, 34^thSt., 13^thSt. and I-75.

Bug #4: Opening up the pantry to find that my food has expired by 5 months.

            Why? This exists because I don’t check the expiration date as often as I should on the food I buy. 

Bug #5: Trying to watch a lecture video at a coffee shop with slow Wi-Fi. 

            Why?  Because the coffee shop doesn’t have the strongest Wi-Fi and lots of people are on the network. 

Bug #6: Living at an apartment complex with very tight/small parking spaces.

            Why? Because lots of people live in the complex, and to make everyone with vehicles fit into the lot, the parking spaces probably had to be made a little smaller than regular.  

Bug #7: Unsubscribing from an email list and still receiving emails from them.

            Why? I am not sure why the bug occurs.  It could be a glitch in the company’s system. 

Bug #8: Forgetting my password to multiple different accounts.

            Why? This in on my account because I should have written the password down instead of just relying on my memory. 

Bug #9: When the cup sweats water on the outside onto the coffee table.

            Why?  This occurs because of the condensation in the air. 

Bug #10: When I pull out my ear phones from my back pack and the strings are all tangled up. 

            Why? This happen because I should have folded them up the right way, but did not from the previous time I used them. 

Bug #11: When my roommates put the Brita filtered water pitcher back in the fridge without refilling it.  

            Why?  This occurs because they don’t take the time to refill it or are in a rush out the door. 

Bug #12: Waking up in the morning to a sink full of dirty dishes.    

            Why?  This is also the same situation as the Brita.  

Bug #13: Being the last one to shower in the house and having the hot water run out while still in the shower.

            Why?  Because sometimes that is the only time I have to shower.  I could plan my day more accordingly so I would have warm water. 

Bug #14: Driving on I-75 south not during rush hour and being in lots of traffic. 

            Why?  People could be going the same place/direction and at the same time as me. 

Bug #15:  Placing an order for Starbucks in Library West on Grub Hub and the app saying that it is ready, but the order is not ready when walking down stairs. 

            Why?  This could be a technical issue with the app itself. 

Bug: #16: My Tide pod leaking over my clothes and not disbursing during the wash cycle. 

            Why?  This could be occurring because of the washing machine or there being in issue with the way the tide pod was manufactured.

Bug #17:  When restaurants don’t offer a plastic straw (and only have paper straws), and the straw becomes flimsy after a while.

            Why?  Because it is a new law in Gainesville that all restaurants must give out paper straws. 

Bug #18: When the same sales call continues to call me through-out the day even though I have been requested to be taken off the list.

            Why? Because my number could still not be taken off and I don’t have any control over it. 

Bug #19: While watching a YouTube video or before starting a YouTube video, a commercial that is unrelated to the topic plays.

            Why?  Because YouTube is making money off these videos. 

Bug #20: When the vending machine in Weimer Hall takes my money, and doesn’t return the product I requested. 

            Why? Because there is most likely a malfunction with the vending machine and has not been fixed. 

Reflection:

Thinking about this “bug list” throughout the week was extremely interesting and I was able to narrow down the most annoying things that bothered me. Even though I consider all these bugs to be inconvenient, there are definitely plenty that I could prohibit from happening myself.  An example of this being bug #10 – “When I pull out my ear phones from my back pack and the strings are all tangled up.”  I could easily prevent this bug from happening to me, but yet I caught myself this week being irritated that my strings were very tangled when I could have just put them away properly the last time I used them.  Another thing that I noticed was that a lot of my bugs had to do with the environment that I am currently living in.  That environment being in school here at the University of Florida. 

Overall, this assignment was very eye opening and I think I look at these “bugs” a little differently now. 

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