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- QUESTION
Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification Log is an individual project. Each student will identify at least three (3) “bugs” or problems/needs per week. That is, you are asked to write down things that annoy you, things that frustrate you, and any dissatisfaction you have with the way the world around you works. In this portion of the Log, you simply list the problems/needs you become aware of (the description of each log should be NO more than 8 lines, 12pt Times New Roman). The purpose of this Log is to help you improve alertness to unsolved problems or unmet needs in the market and to increase your sensitivity to the opportunities around you. The expectation is to come up with at least 15-25 “bugs” (problems/needs).
Then, pick one (1) problem/need from the list and offer a solution in form of a business idea. You need to prepare 1 written page summary (1 inch margins, 12pt Times New Roman, single-spaced) for this new business idea. Also include the copy of the Log of all problems/needs you have identified.
The new business idea summary MUST address the following:
1) What is the problem/need that you offer solution for?
2) How are you solving this problem/need? (i.e., what is so novel/unique about your product/service?)
3) Why is it a good business opportunity? (i.e., how are you solving this problem better than any other company or existing solution?)
4) How feasible/realistic is the exploitation of this business opportunity?
| Subject | Business | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification Log
- The 15 “bugs” delineated as business opportunities are tabulated below
|
Bug/ Business Opportunity |
What I experienced |
Reason for the frustration |
What my expectation was |
|
Mobile phone repair and maintenance |
I dropped my phone and cracked the screen |
frustration of not finding a phone repair for my phone |
Had expected phone companies local subsidiaries to help fix my phone. |
|
Cleaning Service |
I once ate at a dirty restaurant and contracted cholera |
I lost 14 days of work and allowances too |
I had expected cleaner restaurants |
|
Business Plan Service |
Failure to get a business plan developer on time and lost opportunity for grant financing |
I only got nonspecific business plans not tailored to my needs |
A tailored plan for my business |
|
Bicycle Repair |
I failed to get repair for my bike for summer riding. |
I lost 1 week of summer hiking having waited for 3 months |
I had expected the service in 24 hours |
|
Children’s Party Planner |
I had a poorly planned birthday party as planner omitted entertainment, and limited food variety. |
I had paid 700, a figure above the standard $500 |
I expected many varieties beverages, and of food, and insurance for the event. |
|
E-Bay Assistant |
Stuck with spare parts of previous phones I couldn’t dispose |
The parts were incompatible with my friends’ phones |
I had expected to access cheap repairs for my phones. |
|
Ghostwriting Service |
I once hired a ghost writer for my biography. I got a poorly written and researched manuscript |
I had hired a professional biographer |
I had expected a well, researched work. |
|
Music Lessons |
Monotonous tunes for my niece’s wedding |
I saw fundamentally similar tunes for the same song. |
I had expected harmonious and high quality tunes. |
|
Upholstering |
I once got stuck with dilapidated furniture which I could not dispose off quickly |
but got poor workmanship in return |
I thought I could easily get my furniture repaired cheaply |
|
Used Book Sales |
Purchase of Low quality paper and cover on new books. |
They were also very expensive |
I had expected to get quality material at a cheaper cost. |
|
Desktop Publishing |
I have a collection of poorly designed book covers and newsletters. |
I was frustrated as I could not sell copies at our store for poor graphic design on covers |
I had hoped to get the best after outsourcing |
|
Fence Installations |
I had the experience of replacing my wooden fence each year. |
Replacement was expensive and not durable |
I had expected higher quality wood at a cheaper cost |
|
Gift basket service |
I could not get conclusive information for my pet |
Most of the information was scattered |
I expected to find all the information I needed within my neighborhood |
|
Graffiti Removal |
I recently had an offensive graffiti on my wall |
I was frustrated as I got a remover 15 days later |
I had expected it to last a day |
|
Rug Cleaning |
I got stuck with a dirty carpet and could not find a cleaner nearby. |
I was kept waiting for three weeks as cleaners were few |
I had expected to have the carpet cleaned in a day. |
- Selected Business Idea: Phone Repair and Maintenance
How the Problem is being solved
The focus is on solutions to software and hardware problems such as Bluetooth connectivity failures, cracked screens, battery draining too quickly or charging too slowly, installed applications crashing frequently, microSD cards not working properly, charging port problems, damaged chargers and extremely slow processor speed (Ahmed, Jackson & Rifat, 2015). Faulty devices are repaired in a business premise, in a centrally located place. Subsequent discussion show how the problems are being solved:
Solutions to Bluetooth issues
These problems are solved by first diagnosing the cause of lost connectivity. Possible causes of interference are determined as well as pairing errors resulting from excess of cached data in your device's Bluetooth storage unit. Similarly, diagnosis focuses on whether the device’s 'discoverable mode' is on.
Replacement of Cracked Screen
Our phone care recommendations generally emphasize on hard screen protector and a durable phone case, to moderate the threat of physical damage. However, screen replacement is recommended when the damage has already been caused. We also advice our customers to pre order screens and screen protectors for their phones.
Solutions to Crashing Apps
Solutions for applications that keep crashing involve routine inspections of the number of running applications, the amount of Random Access Memory available, and the presence of bugs in the apps. Alternatively, cleaning of 'App Manager' or 'App Info' depending on the brand is done. We also help customers to close applications they do not need, as well as cleaning the phones’ cache.
Troubleshooting Charging Port Problems
We also clean charging port to remove dirt that is blocking the connection. The intervention may be escalated to the use of alcohol or contact cleaner to remove dirt from the inside of the port. A piece of paper dipped in alcohol in either solvent is recommended.
- Why it is a good business opportunity
I intend to offer hardware repair services and additional software benefits at no extra cost. For instance, a customer with a destroyed charging port will benefit from software updates, antivirus installation, cleanup of RAM and App Manager or App info.
4.0 Feasibility of the solution as a business opportunity (20%);
Market for your solutions
A study by Yelton (2012) reveals that upwards of 80 percent of American adults own a cell phone and an estimated 50 % of this number own smart phones. Additionally, the study approximates the number of smartphone subscribers at 82.2 million in 2011. Further, with a population of 308.7 million people as per 2010 census data, the United States has 234.6 million people over the age of 18, a sizable segment of smartphone owners. Yelton (2012) delineates this as a rapidly growing group numbering 78.5 million smartphone subscribers projected to be increasing by four million per month.
Resources needed to pursue the opportunity
The most important resource is a compartmentalized repair kit for electronic devices (Linder, Linder & Patterson, 2014). This is ideal for repair of tablets and mobile phones. In addition, at a cost of $1800 to $2100 per kit, it seems to be a bargain.
References
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Ahmed, S. I., Jackson, S. J., & Rifat, M. R. (2015, May). Learning to fix: knowledge, collaboration and mobile phone repair in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp. 1-10). Linder, J. W., Linder, R. G., & Patterson, J. R. (2014). U.S. Patent Application No. 14/076,232. Yelton, A. (2012). Who are smartphone users?. Library Technology Reports, 48(1), 5-8.
Appendix
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