Growing Your Social Capital

The first person I interviewed was Kelly Bousman. I had met her during one of Marty’s panel discussions in his Debates and Dilemmas in Entrepreneurship class last semester. Kelly is a business developer and has recently been involved in the start-up of the Tampa Bay Wave, where she works as a mentor providing advice and guidance to new entrepreneurs, similar to the Gator Hatchery here at UF.  

In Marty’s class and in our conversation, we had discussed the concepts of business strategy and growth. Having experienced the rise and fall of so many companies, Sue was able to offer a lot of insight into business development. A great quote she gave me is that “Every stage of growth is preceded by a stage of reinvention.” I think this is super important, because in order to be successful, it is necessary to constantly look toward the future, and the future requires change. At some point, the market or business environment will change, and the business must be prepared for this process. Kelly has reinvented her company several times, and that reinvention has made it even more successful.

As we were talking, I told Kelly about my work with DECA, and she gave me some great teaching tools as well. One of the most useful tools she gave me was the following acronym, GOST:

Goals

Objectives

Strategy 

Tactics

I actually used this acronym to teach a couple girls at my home DECA chapter, when they were getting confused between goals and objectives. Their minds were blown, and I actually saw them using it in their paper afterwards. She told me that through this acronym, the team can not only better set its goals and mission, but it can also better outline the core values of the company and keep employees on track as they build their companies or begin new projects. 

I also asked her about her experience as a mentor at the Tampa Bay Wave compared to her leadership role in the company. She told me that being a business mentor is just as much a learning experience, as with her company, as it is a teaching experience. She’s learned about other industries that she’s mentored, and learned from mistakes. However, she’s used many more of her past mistakes as an entrepreneur to provide guidance to the companies she’s mentoring, so they don’t make the same mistakes. In regard to how she’s going to help me, we are currently discussing an opportunity for her to review my curriculum from a business perspective, and even promote my business workbook to the businesses she incubates and the students she works with. 

I also interviewed Paul Wardinski, the Executive Director of DECA Inc. We didn’t get to speak for long, but I had some time to speak with him during a conference last semester and throughout this year because I’m doing work creating educational materials for DECA Inc.

The conversation was extremely valuable. Paul is not necessarily an entrepreneur, but he has the entrepreneurial mindset to lead and change an organization of over 215,000 members and advisors. DECA is a 501(c)3, and in the organization there are staff members as well as a Board of Advisors who make decisions. As a result of this, new ideas and change within DECA are very slow. Paul is in his third year as Executive Director of DECA Inc., and has already been making improvements and changes. In our discussion, I asked him how he approached entering the organization as the “new guy” in control and what his strategy was to lead the organization toward change. Much of what he told me reflected several of the Laws of Leadership. He told me that a huge part of creating change is getting the team on board by making them feel like a community and by making them feel like they are a part of the change. Every Monday, the Executive Staff has Executive Council meetings to go over ideas and progress, and if there’s a new idea out, they all have a vote. It may take a bit longer this way, but when the final decision is made, there’s more unification in implementation. To me, he’s really implementing the Law of Addition. I also think he’s leading using the Law of Legacy. Although he isn’t finished with his job yet, he has created new initiatives in DECA that he wants to strengthen the organization even after he leaves. For example, we were discussing a project, The DECA 100, that could become a long-standing tradition in DECA. Even though some of his projects are just beginning, he is ultimately making changes in order to create the most value within his position and within the company. 

Speaking to Paul Wardinski, I also gained some insight into what motivates his leadership style. He is very family-oriented, and tries hard to understand the values of his co-workers. His wife is a DECA Advisor, and one of his daughters is currently in DECA at the high school level; he is a DECA family and is very committed to the organization. Through his family, he can gain insight into the teacher’s and the student’s perspective of the organization, which I think is a really valuable asset. As a leader, I think it’s extremely important to consider every perspective, and sometimes leaders at the top lose sight of that. I can connect it to teachers; I feel like for some teachers, there comes a point where they teach the same lessons over and over, and they stop being learners. At that point, they aren’t seeing new perspectives to teach their students. 

The interview with Paul was extremely valuable, especially for me, because I want to work with/for him as a DECA Advisor or DECA Inc. Staff member in the future. I actually told him this, and his response was that I technically already am doing that because of my workbooks. However, this conversation gave me a ton of great insight into the day-to-day operations and leadership within the organization. In addition, he provided me with very valuable insight into selling business curriculum to high school school systems, and how I could penetrate the market. He also said I may be able to use his network in order to get my foot in the door.

The next person I interviewed was Dr. Michael Morris, a UF professor at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. I had seen Dr. Morris teach at his Business Plan Lab last Spring, and knew he needed to be one of the people I interviewed. When I listened to him teach, it was amazing. He could draw back on his own experiences, but even more than that, he knew how to boil down to the key concepts and show how everything in business connects. Watching him teach, I realize that is how I’d like to teach in the future: knowing so much and having so much experience, that every time a student walks away they feel like they’ve gained a completely new understanding of business. 

When we spoke, I asked Dr. Morris about his opinion on whether or not entrepreneurship or leadership can really be taught, or if it’s something, a set of qualities or skills, that you need to be born with. He drew on his experiences not only in previous ventures, but also from the Big Idea Competition. He told me about how each year, there are a ton of teams that sign up to participate, but by the time final submissions roll around there are significantly less still in the game. Basically, you can learn the fundamental concepts of entrepreneurship and leadership: how to inspire a team, how to start up a company, the components of running a functioning business. However, being a leader or an entrepreneur requires more than just knowledge, it requires the drive and the determination to actually do it. Without that determination, it doesn’t matter how much you learn, because a plan will always change and you need to be ready, willing, and able to adapt and work hard in order to move forward. 

I also asked Dr. Morris what his biggest piece of advice would be to an aspiring entrepreneur. His response is that “You’ve got to have a passion for whatever you do, it’s the only thing that will carry you through, in terms of setbacks, obstacles, and anything that will make any money or have any impact.” He also said that you need to be disciplined, and can’t try to be all things to all people. This resonated with me, because I’ve been in that position learning to manage a team and delegating, and realizing that I a) can’t make everybody happy all the time and b) can’t do everything by myself. In business, it is vital to have a strong inner circle and to trust your inner circle, so you have help to make you stronger. In addition, when your team is diverse and has skills that you don’t they challenge you and make you stronger as a leader, and the sum is greater than the whole. 

Dr. Morris is a very valuable resource to me because he has developed so much of his own business curriculum in the past. He is connecting with several business educators to review my work from an educational perspective in order to give my products more validity.

This experience definitely shaped the way that I network with people. Expanding your network is extremely important, especially as an entrepreneur. Through this experience, I have become more confident in my exchanges both personally and professionally with people within and outside of my network. 

Idea Napkin #2

1. As a student of business in and out of the classroom, it is my goal to use entrepreneurship as a foundation to strengthen my peers, my community, and my environment. I am currently leading business development initiatives for several companies including AVI-SPL (the world’s largest Audio-Visual innovations company), for which I am currently developing and implementing an internship program. Alongside this, I design and write business education guide books that teach entrepreneurship and marketing to high school students, which have been published and sold to 250,000+ DECA members around the world. I am extremely passionate about business education, and intrigued by the growing popularity of teaching the more intangible concepts surrounding leadership and entrepreneurship. The perspectives of being both a teacher and a student, I believe, make me an asset when designing educational materials for students. Like many successful entrepreneurs, I must design a product that I myself would want to use/purchase. Because I envision a future and a career as an educator or within the industry of education, I believe this business can play a fundamental role in my life and career. 
2. I am developing an alternative to the traditional, boring textbook. Educational tools and materials that will break down concepts into infographic-styled lessons accompanied by hands-on, engaging activities. These guides will enable students to connect more with the content and gain more valuable information during their first experience with the new information. It will also supplement as a tool and curriculum for educators to use within the classroom.
3. I am offering this product to teachers, professors, and students. I will begin by offering the product to teachers and students at the high school level. Teachers would be the customer -- making the buying decision -- but students would be the consumers. Unlike current educational environments, the goal would be to encourage a symbiotic relationship between teacher and student. If the student enjoys the material they are learning, they will perform better for the teacher. 
4. Students will care because this educational guide will make the topic more engaging to them and more interesting; as a result, they will learn more and gain more value from their courses. At the very least, in learning more they will perform better in their courses. Teachers will care because it will allow them to do their jobs more effectively. Not only will it satisfy a need for more engaging content, but it will also provide teaching tools and in-class assignments and activities for students to complete. 
5. My core competencies include my background in business education and business development, my passion for business education, and my ability to present information in a way that makes it easy to learn. Working alongside college professors and high school educators, I have gained insight into the current functionality of educational content and where there can be improvements. I have also developed the skills necessary to be successful in this field. 

I believe these elements definitely fit together. My core competencies and background working with educators gives me insight into what my market wants. My experience as a student allows me to better understand the learning needs of students. My passion for education drives me to produce the best possible product in order to be most impactful within the market. 

Some of the feedback I received was that I should elaborate on the difference among my target customers. As a result, I explained in this idea napkin that teachers would be the customers, while students would be the consumers. I also received feedback that I should elaborate more on the business experience I've had, so I included that this time. 

Elevator Pitch #2

This is my elevator pitch for my educational guidebooks:

The feedback I received on my last pitch was that I included a lot of relevant information, gave good analogies that students could relate to, and that I have good speaking skills. However, I also received feedback that I could be in professional dress and standing up in order to deliver a better presentation. This is what I changed in my second elevator pitch in order to be more effective.

Venture Concept #1

Opportunity

This is a business to business product that is targeting public school systems. The potential customers include teachers, principals, and school board administrators. The market is being subdivided into a primary target market of younger teachers, ages 24-35, and a secondary market of older teachers, ages 35+. The “younger” teachers fall within or close to the millennial generation. As a result, they have a more clear understanding of today’s educational landscape and the need for concise communication, interesting lessons, and hands-on activities. I am going to focus on the state of Florida for launch, primarily because I am most familiar with these school systems and their standards. I will being with Broward County, which is one of the largest and most effective districts in the nation. 

The primary force creating this opportunity in the market is the increasing emphasis placed on education today in public schools. In addition to an emphasis on education, within this there is increasingly a demand for experiential learning and career-focused learning that will prepare students not only for college, but also for their careers beyond. Especially in today’s political emphasis, the resources allocated to schools and teaching materials being used are heavily scrutinized. America is not near the top for educational initiatives in the world, and improving the educational system remains a struggle. 

School systems are currently satisfying the need for innovative educational solutions through the new products provided to them by their current textbook providers, which include McGraw Hill, Pearson, and Glencoe. However, these providers only update every few years, and although they have been innovating in regard to educational technology, they have not been innovating much in regard to a new way to communicate the topic to students. However, schools are very loyal to their textbook companies because a) they are school board approved, and b) teachers are familiar with the text. 

This is a huge window of opportunity because the opportunity exists for the thousands of schools across Florida and America that all need enhanced educational material. However, the opportunity will not last long. Companies are aware of the need to develop new educational initiatives and tools. For example, McGraw Hill has recently come out with “SmartBook,” an interactive textbook that highlights the important material and includes application through chapter testing. Because these companies are trying to innovate, I project the window of opportunity will be open for a maximum of five years. 

Innovation

The product I’m proposing is a “Curriculum Guide,” series of workbooks and curriculum that outline material in a comprehensive and interactive manner. Each workbook is broken up by topic; each topic or lesson is two pages- one infographic page and one activity page. By creating an infographic design, the curriculum will allow kids to better understand the content and focus on the big picture of the lesson. In addition to the workbook, I would also create a power point to accompany each lesson for the teacher to use. This, coupled with the workbook for students to follow along during class, will create a more understandable curriculum that applies to real-world skills students need. Essentially, the innovative nature is not the information being distributed, but the manner in which it is communicated. For example, accounting will never change. What makes he difference in teaching accounting is how it is explained. By condensing information and presenting it in an infographic style, the workbooks themselves will be differentiated from “boring” typical textbooks. I am going to sell each individual book for $75, which is affordable compared to a typical $150 textbook. In addition I will be selling class sets at a discounted rate of $1,500/class set. Each class set is 25 books, which will equate to a rate of $60/book. 

Venture Concept

Schools will to switch to the curriculum guide for three reasons:

1. Learning enhancement: Through the infographic style and emphasis on real-world application within the curriculum guides, schools will be providing a more comprehensive learning experience to students.
2. Teacher resources: by simplifying and explaining concepts in curriculum, the curriculum guides will make teachers’ jobs easier. In addition, teacher powerpoints that correlate to each lesson will be provided with class sets, as an aid to teachers’ in-class lectures. To take it one step further, we will also include testing materials and hands-on activities that will make more uniform assessment in the subject, and provide the activities and exams that teachers have no time to make themselves. 
3. Assessment + test scores: school boards are evaluated based on the results of their testing scores from students. Which prompts the question, what will raise these scores? Not additional quizzes in a textbook, but an excitement for learning within students. Curriculum guides will use interactive and comprehensive lessons that aren’t nearly as monotonous as textbooks, and by emphasizing the important parts of a topic, the information will stick more with students. As a result, there will be a deeper understanding, reflected in overall higher test scores. And with higher test scores, better ratings and more funding for school systems. 

It will not be easy to get schools to switch over in the beginning. Primarily because of their history with other textbook providers. However, I will close the sale with schools by presenting these competitive advantages and by working toward getting these curriculum guides school board approved.

The competitors include big-name textbook distributors such as Pearson, Glencoe, and McGraw Hill. Each of them are very similar. Although they are strong and control a vast majority of market share, there is opportunity for this venture concept to compete. These competitors recognize that there is a demand for innovation. Each of them are using new technologies to appeal to teachers. However, they are not considering the student’s perspective, and addressing the problem of boring, monotonous textbooks. This is their weakness; they can add more tests, but without changing the way they’re communicating their information they will not be effective to students in the classroom for long-term learning. 

Because this will be B2B selling to schools, packaging, location, and customer support will not be as important as price point, distribution, and customer experience. Textbooks can be expensive, but through packaging deals, a lower overall price can allow schools to meet their budgets. Distribution is important because of the logistic of working with schools’ receiving and financially, producing Purchase Orders working with their bookkeepers. Most importantly, the consumer experience of the value added in the classroom is what will spur motivation to purchase the books. 

I would organize a business to support the ongoing production of this product through outsourcing and through human capital. I would outsource the printing of the workbooks and development of online media. I would add writers that are industry professionals in different subjects to contribute to the content of the curriculum guides, so I’m providing the most up-to-date, relevant information. As the business grows, I would of course need to add employees that could manage production, distribution, and financial management. 

What Makes You So Special?

 Resources in my venture

1. Experience: my venture is essentially a modification of a project I am currently working on. I am currently producing and designing business “competition guides” as workbooks for DECA Inc. My venture is essentially the adaptation of these books to a more curriculum focused workbook that can be used outside of DECA to teach courses. 
1. This resource is valuable because having created a similar product before, I know what appeals to educators, students, and how to create this product. For example, when I began I didn’t know about dpi or design quality or icon licensing required for publishing, printing, and selling. Now I’ve gained this experience to use in my venture.
2. This resource is rare because the infographic-style workbook is unique to DECA Inc., and a unique form of information dissemination across educational media. 
3. This resource is inimitable because in creating the workbooks, the knowledge I gained about the product itself is knowledge that nobody else has access to.
4. This resource is non-substitutable because through this experience I learned how to produce the guides most effectively and efficiently, which will ultimately allow me to be more successful as I launch this new venture. 
2. InDesign proficiency
1. This resource is valuable because after teaching myself InDesign in order to create the original workbooks, I was able to produce the product at a higher quality. This knowledge is a valuable way to not only aid in creativity, but also to ensure the high resolution and quality of the product. 
2. This resource is rare because although many people know how to use InDesign, everybody has a different design style. I learned through multiple sources and experiences in the past year, so my style allows me to more efficiently produce my work. In addition, many tools and data from my original files are saved on my InDesign, which will be helpful for my new books.
3. This resource is inimitable only because of my work with InDesign specifically correlated to my current workbooks. I have been using the program for several content marketing internships. However, the tools I have integrated into my program are available only to me and will be useful resources for my future guides. For example, the settings are already established. 
4. This resource is non-substitutable because InDesign is the primary professional program to create for-print works such as printed materials and books. It is necessary in order to produce workbooks with proper CMYK coloring, high resolution dpi, and professional graphics. 
3. Personal creativity
1. My personal creativity is extremely valuable because the creativity behind the infographic-style design of the lessons in each workbook is what makes this concept so unique. Rather than delivering my information in 100 pages of text, I’m using a creative and artistic medium. I need this creativity in order to produce the infographics and effectively pull off the design.
2. This is rare because it requires a specific mindset to be able to make you own designs, especially to be able to take boring information and integrate design elements in order to make it appealing and more effective.
3. This is inimitable because everybody has their own different style of design. My design style is different from another person’s, and it is my design style that has been proven to work in business concept workbooks.
4. My creativity is non-substitutable because it is extremely difficult to copy somebody’s style of design and personal creativity. People can design educational workbooks, but not with the same type of creativity that I do currently. This may prove to be a problem if I am the only person that can produce the product. However, I will be taking steps to create tools that will allow other designers ease of access to my icons and graphics with standard templates in order to make each lesson more consistent. 
4. Business acumen
1. My business acumen is valuable because through years of business study, I have an understanding not only of how to start and grow a business, but also the fundamental concepts necessary to teach students about business. through this business knowledge and the knowledge I gain through study and research, I can enhance my workbooks and create more comprehensive business guides. 
2. My business acumen is not rare alone, but through all of my experiences and research, it is the aggregation of everything I have learned that is rare. By learning as much about business as possible, I have a much more vast knowledge base to share with other students. 
3. My business acumen is inimitable because much of my knowledge has been gained through experience. The accumulation of my experiences is something that cannot be replicated by any other situation or textbook. 
4. My business acumen is non-substitutable because all of the information I have is relevant to and necessary for each lesson within the workbooks I’m writing. 
5. DECA Advisors 
1. Through my experience with and work for DECA as both a student, member, and colleague, I have gained mentorship and friendship with several DECA Advisors (business teachers) at home. They are valuable resources not only because of their mentorship roles, but also because they are the market I am targeting. So, as I produce products, their feedback allows my to analyze if I am meeting my customers’ needs and what I can do better.
2. Having the DECA Advisors as a resource is rare because I find it unusual for students or alumni to have such a close connection with their teachers, especially after they graduate. However, I speak to my DECA Advisors on almost a daily basis. In addition, not many people have as close a connection with their target market, especially in a B2B market. 
3. My access to DECA Advisors is inimitable because other people can’t replicate the experiences I’ve had with them, and nobody can be as loyal to them as I am. 
4. The DECA Advisors are non-substitutable because they are the perfect representation of my target market: busy and dedicated business and marketing teachers. In addition, they have had the experience of years of business education, which is a non-substitutable opportunity for mentorship. 
6. UF Professors
1. UF professors are valuable resources not only as mentors, but also because professors are the people who determine what books students will purchase. If a professor recommends or requires a workbook, it’s about to sell hundreds of copies. As a result, the goal is to give UF professors these workbooks for free, explain the concept to them, and when they see that it will help them as educators, they’ll use it for the course and tell students to buy it. 
2. This access to UF professors is rare because it is available only to college students at the school. 
3. This resource is inimitable because the relationships formed with professors by not only having them in class but also by interacting with them is not a relationship that can be replicated.
4. This resource is non-substitutable because it is necessary for educator to support or promote the product in order for it to be used in schools and ultimately make sales. 
7. Patience
1. My patience is a surprising resource. Or course patience is useful in any business. However, I believe my patience is especially valuable in this situation because anybody can aggregate business knowledge and design a workbook; but nobody has done it because they don’t have the patience to make the complex designs and take hours to design each page. It may take months to design one workbook. the patience to do it is what really makes it possible. 
2. This resource is rare because in a society that is becoming increasingly impatient with a need for speed, very few people have the patience to sit down and design this content. 
3. This resource is inimitable because it is very difficult to train someone to have patience, and it requires focus.
4. Patience is non-substitutable because without the patience to work diligently on each workbook, design, or page, the products would never get done. Or if they did get done, they would be very low quality.
8. Funding
1. Funding is extremely important. I unfortunately do not ahem ton of funding. However, through royalties form the DECA Workbooks, I have saved enough to prepare myself for launch. This business model is great because with the books, there isn’t a lot of overhead. In addition, the first few books may be expensive to print. However, bulk sales or many sales at the same time will allow me to generate revenue to pay for costs in a timely manner.
2. The money I’m receiving in revenue is definitely rare, because I am the only person DECA has negotiated a royalty-based contract with.
3. This resource is inimitable because not only is it generating revenue, but it is using my current experience (which will help me launch this venture) in order to generate fund for my new venture.
4. This resource is non-substitutable because money and initial funding is a necessary requirement of any business start-up.
9. Drive to enhance education
1. My personal drive to enhance education in schools and specifically within Career and Technical Education (CTE) is the motivation for creating these workbooks. This is super valuable because it will keep me and the company as a whole focused on this vision, which will keep me innovating in order to improve the product and stay ahead of competition.
2. This is a rare resource because many companies are often founded on the goals of revenue generation.
3. My drive to enhance education is inimitable because very few people besides the owner in a business truly connect with the foundation of motivation beyond making a profit.
4. This resource is non-substitutable because every entrepreneur needs motivation beyond making money in order to be truly successful. Using this motivation as a resource is necessary because it makes me determined and keeps me motivated.
10. DECA Members and Students
1. Through my continued involvement in DECA as a competition guide writer and as President of the state of Florida DECA, I’ve expanded my network and met not only officers at the national level and of other states, but also tons of DECA members and students. My relationships to these students is valuable because it allows me to gain insight into what their needs and wants are, and how I can meet those needs through my products. 
2. These relationships are rare because being the President of the state and working at the international level gives me access to a huge composite of students that is not available or taken advantage of by most people.
3. These resources are inimitable because the relationships you form with other people cannot be replicated. 
4. These resources are non-substitutable because having the relationships with the consumer, with business students, and gaining an understanding of that market is vital in order to successfully provide products for them.

Although each of these resources are extremely supportive to my venture, I believe the most valuable are my creativity and my experience creating similar workbooks with DECA. The experience lets me know that it is possible for me to create these workbooks and for them to be successful, because hundreds of workbooks have been printed and sold out at DECA Inc. already. It’s almost like a market test. I also believe my creativity is most valuable because what is enticing about the workbooks is not the information as much as the way the information is presented, and that is a direct result of my creativity and design making the infographic-style lessons and activities.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

I think that through my experiences, background, and passion, I have significant human capital that would support my venture concept: a replacement for the textbook. My experience within education and business education gives me a leg up. Not only do I TA entrepreneurship courses here (and develop course content for them), but I also produce business workbooks/curriculum for DECA, and mentor business students one-on-one. My background in business is an additional strength; it is one thing to be interested in a product/knowledgeable within the field, however, a competency as a business owner is necessary in order to truly be successful. I also believe that my perspective as a student gives me an advantage- these books are created in order to appeal to students and make them more interesting, so it is best to understand what a student would want out of educational materials. My competency within the field of graphic design is another strength, as these books are designed in an infographic style, and having the skill set to create these designs is crucial. Finally, my passion for education and business development will motivate me to create the best possible products and the strongest company.

Interviews

1. Paula: Paula has identified my dedication and passion for the work I do as my biggest strength. She also mentioned that I am very goal-oriented, which I have definitely noticed about myself. According to Paula, I am also very "unselfish" as well as loyal, which can definitely be a strength, as long as you don't get taken advantage of. (http://www.filedropper.com/paulaonme)
2. Julian: Julian has identified my optimism and professionalism, as well as my experience out of school as personal strengths. He also believes I am adept at juggling a large workload and that I have "impeccable time management." In addition, I have an ability to bounce back from difficulty. (http://www.filedropper.com/julianonme) 
3. Gadi: According to Gadi, the work I do has become a part of me, and I know myself very well. He also believes that I am good at managing and delegating, and planning for the future. (http://www.filedropper.com/gadionme)
4. Denise: Denise has identified my willingness to network and my tenacity as strengths. She also understands that I love to be challenged, which is an interesting take on a strength. (http://www.filedropper.com/deniseonme)
5. Nicole: According to Nicole, I am very goal-oriented and professional, and do not let barriers get in my way. In addition, my ability to juggle many responsibilities is a strength, in addition to knowing what I want and my drive to get it. (http://www.filedropper.com/nicole_1)

Many of these people (especially the first three) have worked closely with me in the past, and know me very well. I do find that I agree with many of their objective statements: I am loyal, I'm definitely very goal-oriented, and I do try to always have a passion for what I do. However, I think Paula and Julian may be overstating some of my abilities-- I am a very hard worker and will make sure to stay committed and go beyond what is required; however, I don't think that means there's "nothing too hard" for me or that I'm just amazing. I think anyone can do the things I've done if they try hard enough... they just need to do it. 

*You may need to download the audio file from the link in order to listen to it

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #2

I am conducting research for an alternative to the traditional textbook: an infographic, interactive guidebook.

Interviews:

1- Wendy Smith
Wendy is a high school business teacher for DECA, the business organization. Throughout our interview, she gave me insight into the ways that DECA Advisors incorporate DECA content into their curriculum. Wendy makes buying decisions based on the products that DECA puts out as well as the reviews she has personally heard from other teachers or people in the industry. Her decision making factors include the feasibility of incorporating a product's content into her lectures and curriculum, as well as the value it will bring her students. She says she doesn't look too much at price because the school system will often cover the cost of a book. However if she is using a supplemental material not covered by the school, she will try to use a more affordable product because she doesn't want her students' families to dig too deep into their pockets. Wendy believes she made a good purchase if she realizes that she is using it often in her lectures and that it is making an impact on the students, and helping them learn more.

2- Johnny Petrucco
Johnny is a graduate student majoring in management. He told me that he often uses tools he can find for free on the internet. He also uses the books required by the professors, but only because he would fail his classes without them; he does not enjoy reading the textbook. When it comes to supplemental educational materials, Johnny will look at price to an extent; although he is very price conscious as a college student, he also knows he will pay a premium for something that is guaranteed to help him excel in his classes. Johnny says he knows if he made a good purchase based on the grades he receives in his courses after using the materials.

3- Son Von Hai
Son is a student of entrepreneurship at the University of Florida. He says he often looks for supplemental educational materials (often through recommendations) that will help him not in his studies, but in his quest for personal education to become a stronger entrepreneur. He looks for tools that will give him experiential learning stories and opportunities. He often chooses these materials based on the recommendations and insights of successful entrepreneurs he has met and/or worked with. Son determines whether or not the purchase was beneficial based on the personal growth and learning he feels he gained from the product.

When it comes to educational resources, much of my target market makes decisions based upon the recommendations of people they know within their sphere of work/study. They are often looking for a material that will supplement what they already have. Interestingly, price is not the most important factor; the most important factor is the value brought to the user by the product. It will be extremely important for me to make sure my products provide value in everything they do.