Assignment 14

1)     I’ve developed better feedback skills for my peer reviews, making sure to try to prove something for the other person to think about for the future rather than simply providing them with my agreement and experience. I’ve learned that rather than everyone personally criticizing me when giving feedback, they are doing the same thing I strive to do, making ourselves better and providing food for thought.

2)     Recently, I did my first elevator pitch. I felt like “giving up” and skipping the assignment or doing it as quickly as I could. I wasn’t confident in my ability to speak. I got frustrated at myself for not being able to remember my pitch, since I knew I was passionate about the issue. I set my expectation high for the assignment but in reality, it is just a first pitch. No one would expect perfection, but I’ve suffered with that my whole life and I’ve recently just started to understand that I can make honest mistakes and that having something to be better at is a good thing.

3)     Three tips:

-        Remember the purpose of this class and your UF education overall. You’re here to learn to prepare yourself for the future, not just to float by your coursework. It should challenge you cause the world will challenge you.

-        If you are working hard and you’re still “failing,” learn from your mistakes. Don’t blame others or other forces in the world for something you can try to work on. There are plenty of people to support you. But also, don’t beat yourself up either. Life is a journey.

-        Have a vision and a purpose. Even if you don’t necessarily know how to get there, I think it’s better to see the end of the path and find different directions rather than going in different directions trying to figure out where you want to go.

Assignment 13

Berry Gordy – To Be Loved, autobiography

What surprised me the most: the loyalty of the employees to the record company for many years, even decades. Many willing to relocate as well.

Most admired: He always listened to his employees. He knew his value was in his people, not just cranking out records. He also knew who had potential and dedication, even without prior experience in a position.

Least admired: He once sold a man some pots that the customer didn’t really need, his father was not happy about it. Thinking back on that story, I wasn’t either. He was a great salesman but didn’t really solve someone’s need.

Adversity and failure: Many didn’t believe his vision in getting a career in music. The other children in the family had “better” careers and his parents were embarrassed when asked what Berry was doing. Though he eventually proved himself as a songwriter, increasing roles and responsibility, the family bought into the vision and worked alongside him as well.

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Competencies: He was dedicated. He preached his vision and was able to sell it to others to follow him. He listened to his employees and took risk with various projects. He had the ability to see potential whether that were for a future employee or for a future artist.

Confusing part: I wouldn’t say it was confusing, but the mentions of his love for boxing felt like it didn’t necessarily need to belong there. But then again, it was his autobiography and a true passion of his until songwriting took over and blew up.

Questions I would ask: Do you still feel that there is some race stigma in our artistic culture today? I’d like to compare the past to the present. What issues do you feel need to spoken about today? Do you see your artists confronting them if Motown were still operating? He had some works commemorating Dr. King and others. I’d be curious to see if the artists would speak out about current issues as they did in the past.

Opinion on hard work: I think Gordy’s opinion would be sticking with your passion and not letting anyone bring you down. You’re always trying to grow and do the next big thing. I share that opinion.

Assignment 12

Segment: College students that go to on-campus classes, but live off-campus nearby.

Interviewee 1: She noted that her need presented itself most when she had a busier schedule due to classes, studying, and her internship. She would make excuses to not go out of her way to the gym since her schedule was more hectic, but she still wanted to do some form of exercise at home. She would go to YouTube to find a quick workout to follow that doesn’t require any apparatus. She went for whatever seems like the most popular video, trusting that the most popular channels have the best information.

Interviewee 2: His need presented itself when he realized that he has the most energy at night but the bus routes at night aren’t convenient for him to go to the gym. He doesn’t have a personal form of transportation. He sometimes asks friends for advice on what exercises to try out at home, since they have more experience than him in working out. He may also find exercises online and verify the effectiveness of them with other friends.

Interviewee 3: His need presented itself when he concluded that he prefers privacy when exercising since he is a beginner. However, his living arrangements aren’t necessarily private all the time so he doesn’t exercise at home much. When he does, he searches for beginner exercises on Google or YouTube and plays around to see which movements he likes. 

It seems that this segment recognizes the importance of exercising, and it’s just a matter of fitting it in their schedule or for their comfort zone. When they recognize a need, they try to find a source of reliable information rather than just go all out on a limb. Some find a reputable website, some go straight to YouTube, some may ask friends with previous experience or knowledge about exercising (e.g. those with majors in Kinesology or the like). These people are resourceful in trying to find information. For those who search about home exercising, I would need to perhaps advertise my product online for them so they can recognize that my product can solve their need. 

Assignment 11

1)     I’m a young off-campus rural college student who studies online. I also exercise primarily at home. I am analytical in nature, I see situations from many angles and play devil’s advocate. I am good at describing the biomechanics of bodyweight exercises, proper form, and the like from studying calisthenics as an interest in my free time. My aspiration is to see more people exercise and realize that they can make a positive change in their health without having large chunks of time or access to a gym. This business could give me an opportunity to fulfill my aspiration and give me a sense of accomplishment if I am able to reach out and truly make an impact on someone’s life.

2)     The product/service would be a plyometric jump box that bundles with the most common home exercise apparatus as well as a handout with exercise demonstrations in both figure form and video form. The jump box can store everything in a compact manner. Virtual personal coaching and access to an online portal with more content (e.g. more exercises, forum for discussion, etc.) can be purchased separately as a monthly subscription.

3)     All of my customers would prefer working out at home rather than at a gym, but maybe for different reasons (e.g. busyness in schedule, work hours, privacy, transportation, membership cost). They need a push in the right direction to get started, but they do not need physical one-on-one guidance or motivation to exercise. All of the current information on the Internet about exercising overwhelms them and they need a centralized source of information that they can trust. The figure demonstrations are good but a substantial amount of value would come from the online resources, so customers would be able to use the Internet and have confidence in the information we present online (contrastly, some may not trust online resources even if verified, would rather be somewhere physical).  Also, the bundling and compartments with the product would help save space for those who live in apartments or other small housing units. The box and the apparatus would also have matching designs, making it more visually appealing compared to buying everything separately (with different designs/colors).

4)     Customers will pay money for the bundling as it makes shopping easier and cheaper than buying everything separately, perhaps at different times. As aforementioned, customers can buy it for the form factor benefits as well. Some prefer home exercising for a sense of privacy. Some have busy schedules that don’t allow them to workout for say, an hour. Maybe their shift doesn’t allow them to go to the gym because when they are free, the gym is closed. Perhaps they simply don’t see the benefit of paying x dollars a month for a gym membership. My figures/videos would be easy to understand for people to learn how to do certain exercises; the virtual personal coaching and online portal would further enhance the product and would be much cheaper than if one were to go for a personal coaching session in a gym.

5)     I have had personal experience with having information overload about exercising as well as not having transportation/access to a gym since I am a rural citizen without steady access to a car. I’m not someone who’s trying to emulate what the issues are and trying to capitalize on others’ problems, I am a personification of those issues. In reality, I decided to first think about this as a solution for myself. My passion for helping others to start exercising and my knowledge about bodyweight exercises can also a good selling point since I’ve started my fitness journey from the ground up. I’m not trying to simply capitalize on an available opportunity because the fitness industry is growing or the home exercise industry is growing, I want to provide a solution for myself and others and hopefully I would be able to get that message across rather than trying to get money.

I believe that these elements generally fit together, though I will admit that I do not have any knowledge about any of the physical characteristics of the product or service. I would need a lot of people on my team that would know how to create the product (if even viable), create a website, know supply chain, etc. What I bring to the problem is simply the vision and my direct experience with this problem to sympathize to those that have a similar problem to me.  

Assignment 10 - Elevator Pitch 1

Hello everyone,

Here is my elevator pitch:

The video is unlisted so make sure to bookmark this blog post in case you need to come back to it at a later time.

Thank you for your feedback and I hope to improve upon it as the semester progresses!

Assignment 9

Who is outside of the boundary: people who travel for work to a city that is closer to a gym (unless they prefer working out at home or are too tired after work to workout). People who are unable to do bodyweight exercises (particularly for compound exercises such as pushups or squats) due to injury or disability. Those people would go to a physical therapist to explore options or do more isolated exercises. People who do extensive physical labor for work may not be as inclined to workout in order to prevent over-exertion/injury. People who would rather have a personal trainer/friend come to their home.

What: People who need guidance to learn about exercising and who can learn from figure/video demonstrations are different than people who prefer having someone physically there to demonstrate exercises, help to observe form, modify exercises, or help build confidence. Some people who want to exercise at home want weight racks to simulate dumbbell/barbell movement patterns that they would do at the gym, but others do it for cardio and bodyweight mastery.

Why: Insiders need guidance but are motivated or can self-motivate themselves. Outsiders would need one-on-one physical guidance due to injury/disability or because they don’t get motivated working out by themselves. Also, outsiders may have a perspective of doing exercises similar to the gym because they believe those exercises are superior or because of peer pressure (i.e. doing bench press is more “masculine” than doing pushups). Insiders would mainly be doing bodyweight exercises or light resistance exercises with my product/service to get more fit and start their fitness journey w/o pressure from other social influences.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is in: People w/limited transportation, in isolated areas, perhaps preferably in rural/suburban areas People who prefer working out at home People with busier schedules that can’t/don’t want to go out of their way to workout at a facility People who simply need guidance on how to start/continue exercising	Who is not: People who drive to work where work is close to a gym People who are injured/disabled (depending on their capabilities) People who can’t self-motivate themselves, who need one-on-one support People who prefer dumbbell/barbell movements People who do physical labor for work and who are wary of over-exertion
What the need is: I can’t/don’t want to go to the gym, but I still want to exercise. I don’t know where to start, but once I get on track, I can stay on track.	What the need is not: I want to exercise but at the gym. I want to exercise but I need physical guidance/support to exercise. A desire to pursue a training regimen with heavy weights
Why the need exists: Lack of information/knowledge Lack of infrastructure Lack of time	Alternative explanations: Info/knowledge or ability to learn is there, but there’s just no desire to exercise. Lack of infrastructure maybe near home, but there are opportunities of travel/commute where one could go to a facility. “Lack of time” is simply not adjusting priorities correct to make sure you get enough exercise.

Assignment 8

Problem: Students living on- or off-campus with limited access to a gym, people who live in rural areas with no gyms nearby, and people who don't have transportation options to a gym all may not exercise regularly, (especially for strengthening their muscles). Additionally, trying to get started can be the hardest step since there's mountains of information to search or maybe the person doesn't have access to the Internet to research at all.

Solution: A step-up or plyometric jump box that bundles with the most common home exercise apparatus to get started. The step-up/jump box would able to store everything in a compact manner, especially important for those with limited space. A guide with exercises and figures would be included as well, perhaps even with video links to a playlist for exercise demonstrations. Another form of income could be personal coaching through the Internet with a subscription model with different tiers of service.