Halfway Reflection

Tenacity and Paying it Forward

1.    For this course I have been reading what I have to do for the week every Sunday. Then I plan accordingly with my schedule. If I have a busy schedule then I try to do my assignment earlier, if I do not have a busy schedule I do the assignment a day before or the day it is due.

2.    2. There have been moments when I felt like not doing an assignment, but what gets me through it is that I am doing this to get a good grade in the course will be one step closer to graduating, which is one step closer to optometry school, which is one step closer to becoming an optometrist, and so forth. I view it as a snowball I am trying to get bigger. I defiantly have developed a tenacious attitude because I want to live a good life and in order to do so I have to be tenacious with my studies.

3.    1) When beaten down because of a bad grade, do not fall prey to blaming others or the teacher. Take a look a back and look on how you studied. 2) Read to help stimulate your mind. Don’t look for quick and easy entertainment. 3) Do not let others distract you from your goals.

Reading Reflection No.1

Reading Reflection

To Be Loved, Berry Gordy

What surprised you the most?

What surprised me the most was him getting drafted to the Korean War and getting a letter that was not about his music but about getting drafted. Another surprise was the money that the siblings put together, and the only way to use it was to convince all the family.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

How he questioned everything at such a young age. I also admired how he had two passions and when faced with a decision of music or boxing he choose music because boxing can easily be lost from a career ending injury, which is a very mature decision for being 20 years or younger. The song he created to be loved was really good. He gave opportunities to artists and helped out with writing.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

His drive is to get back at people. When fame comes he believes that he can get any girl, people would bite their words for not believing in him.

There was nothing I did not admire. Nothing stood out for me.  

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Losing the store because he only appealed to Jazz people. So he decided to listen to the customers and listened to the blues. He understood why people liked the blues because of its simplicity, however he was too late to implement it into his store and he lost it and became broke. He did not let that be the downfall of him, instead he fully invested himself into the business of music. When he saw the people at the factory talk about the amount of years they had left to “live” he realized he did not want to waste his years at the factory and chose to seriously pursue his dreams, to get off the treadmill. Marketing for Hitsville, he was alone so he hired an Italian which was mixing white and black people.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

He was able to always hustle for money. He was an entrepreneur. He went to all aspects of the music business to pursue his passion. Creating his own label and convincing his family for a loan.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

He had no character growth during the Korean War? He obviously experienced many changes. The sudden shift from waiting for a letter for a song, to getting drafted, then immediately two years later is confusing.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

               What was your relationship with Gwen after your divorce? You still had her around, why?

Did you know of the relationship of Marvin Gaye and his family when he was still around? Explain more on how you felt about his death?

How was Michael Jackson, a person you saw perform as a little boy, death impact you?

               

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

His opinion on hard work would be its easy to have a desire and go for it, but keeping that dream alive, once you attain it, is much harder work. In this case, his interest in music. It started as a passion that he strived for but as time went on it became work. I am not sure if I share that opinion, he has lived a whole lifetime and I have yet to experience that. Time will tell.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Sketching Out the Beginning of the Buyer Behavior Process

Choosing a segment:

I chose the segment of old people who get dropped off by their children or grandchildren. In each of my interviews they all responded well. They trailed off and wanted to talk. I asked them if they enjoyed having people talk to them, they did. In one interview the lady said that she gets dropped off by her grandchildren and they leave after they drop her off. The other two were with their children who were taking them to get their regular eye exam.

What I learned:

                I learned that the demand for customers to want my service in this segment of people is wanted. All of them want conversation which an optical and ophthalmologist provide. It also helps having a centralized location for this service because it allows the elderly to not feel like a burden to have a ride to get taken to another place.

                When I asked them how they get around this problem they said that they get referred by the optometrist to go to an ophthalmologist. They call their children or grandchildren to take them there, but usually they go there days or weeks later.

How would I describe this segment:

                This segment has a want for this service because they are elderly and do not have much meaningful conversation because their family is at work. This service provides a centralized location for all aspects of eye care which this segment needs and because of the two environments, provides a friendly environment where the elderly would get a lot of human interaction.

Idea Napkin No. 1

Piecing it All Together

1.       I am a second year college student who aspires to become an optometrist. I have been exposed to the optical business my whole life. If I pursue my idea of creating an optical that has an ophthalmologist and optometrist in the same space then I believe it would be very profitable. I would be the optometrist and owner and I would have to hire a ophthalmologist. This would take a great amount of time in my life because when I am not the optometrist I have to manage an optical.

2.       The service I will be providing is bringing all aspects of the optometry field into one. This provides a central location for customers and creates a friendly environment.

3.       I am offering this service to people who have eyes and are aware of eye care. I am offering this service to people who find it easier to drive to one location and have friendly relationships with the employees rather than random people. I am offering this service to elderly people who do not have people to talk to.

4.       Customers will be drawn to my service because it is convenient for them. It also provides an environment where the connections with people are more personal rather than a doctor’s office where you wait in a cold room looking down on your phone. An optical setting has a lot of movement and conversation which ophthalmologist practices do not have.

5.       What sets me apart from other optical is that I will be the optometrist as well as the owner. And my service is different compared to other optical and ophthalmology practices because it will be in one centralized spot.

From previous feedback from people in the business I have learned that my service is going to be hard to accomplish, not because of the customer convenience but because of the wait time that an ophthalmology practice requires. Comparing the two, an optical business requires movement and money transactions at a fast pace because it is a business rather than a health service. SO figuring out how I can fit the two together is what I want to find out.  

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Practicing your Pitch

                                                        https://youtu.be/rdITkB14ANo

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Continuing your research opportunity 

I am switching my business plan that I want to start. I will be focusing on creating an optical that has an optometrist/ophthalmologist.  I conducted 5 interviews answering Who, What and Why.

Who: In my interviews, I found that there are people who are currently not in my market because of certain circumstances or competition. Some of the factors of why people were out of reach in the market were not having insurance, not enough money, online competition and almost perfect or perfect vision. Two of the interviewees were UF students that were working to stay in school and had purchased glasses at an online store. When asked about having an eye surgery they both chuckled because the price would have been unreasonable to do it again in seven years.  Another interviewee had perfect vision all her life and when asked about yearly checkups at an optometrist she said that she gets all her medical appointments done consecutively at her local hospital.

What: One of my interviewees brought up a focus point that neither I nor anyone previously mentioned. How can they trust an ophthalmologist if they are in an area where the main goal is to sell glasses? He believed that an optical and an ophthalmologist practice being separate businesses allow people to trust the doctors more.

Why: I believe that the needs of those outside do not differ, rather it is circumstances that apply. Everyone needs eye care, whether they can access that eye care is the question. Going back to the interviewees point on trust, that point is valid and something I will have to brainstorm on.

Inside the boundary

Who is in- people with glasses, elderly people, young people, people with eyes

What the need is- It is having a centralized area where people can access eye care easily

Why the need exists- Everyone needs eye care, everyone has eyes

Outside the boundary

Who is a not- person who cannot afford it, people who are not educated on eye care, people who do not trust professionals, people who purchase online

What the need is not- It is not about having a centralized business where the optical and ophthalmologists collude to get the most out of people’s pockets

Alternative Explanations- Not everyone has access to eye care

Solving The Problem

The Second-Most Important Part of Entrepreneurship

The problem proposed is that the field of optometry and eye care is developing and expanding due to innovations in technology. And optical’s and optometrist’s feel threatened that their jobs and businesses may become obsolete. I propose that I provide a product/service where new innovations in the field of optometry are easily accessible and easy to read. Where tech companies as well as other eye care companies are put on the magazine and online site to show what they are coming out with. And in that service have company numbers that can teach optometrist’s about the new innovations so they can know what to expect and how to use it. It may be a subscription newspaper for optometry innovation. There are similar subscriptions, but I believe I can create a product/service that is accessible online and physical copies. And with the subscription have videos that show the new innovation, how it is used, what to expect, and where to learn how to use it.

Forming an Opportunity belief

Forming an opportunity belief

Technology has been changing and re-branding what it means to be an optometrist. First, the introduction of laser eye surgery was thought to make the job of an optometrist obsolete; it did not. Now people are speculating that by 2030 the eye care field will completely change. How much longer will the practice of optometry be around? Will Optometrists already in the field have to relearn the new tools that will developed in the future?  

Who? – Optometrists that will not be retired by 2030

What? – Development of technology in the eye care field

Why? – The eye care field is not only a health field but also a consumerist market, therefore causing more breakthroughs in the field because of competitiveness and profit

Testing the Who? :

Are there others who have this need?

·         Consumers, businessmen, insurances, companies

Testing the What? :

                What are the boundaries of the need?

·         Are all optometrists scared about the volatility of the job? Are optical afraid of glasses becoming obsolete?

Testing the Why? :

                For the people who have the need, what are the range of Whys that they offer?

·         Consumers may want faster wait times, faster prescriptions, instant eye sight. Businessmen may want to tap into a huge market and compete with optical. Insurances may want to know where the money is going to next to invest. Companies may want to know where the money is going to next to invest as well.

Interviews

Interview 1 - This interview was with an employee that has been working in the business for five years.

I believe that the optometrists won’t become obsolete because money is being pumped by colleges into this career. They simply cannot make a whole career become obsolete. If anything were to happen it would be a long transition. Therefore I do not believe that optometrists are insecure about their jobs. In turn, optical’s would not be afraid either because glasses are not only a tool to help improve life but it is also a way of living, a style. I do agree that consumers want faster wait time and prescriptions, but I do not believe that if those developments were to occur in technology it would make the job of optometrists obsolete.

Interview 2 -This interview was with my Dad who has been in the optical business since he was very young. He owns an optical.

Being in this business for long, I have seen many innovations in the field. Each has had their upsides as well as their downsides. Regarding the laser eye surgery, it was the closest to taking out the Optometrists job, however the technology is just not developed enough to completely eliminate the use of glasses. The economy has too much into the business to simply throw it away, which is why I do not think that neither glasses nor optometrists will be losing their use. Owning an optical it is important to have quick movement between customers, so I am looking forward to developments in the eye care industry to help reduce wait time for prescriptions and eye tests.

Interview 3 – This interview was with a regular customer at an optical.

Innovation is guaranteed, it is up to people in the field to adapt and to show that they are still desirable. Getting an eye exam every year is a pain, and the amount of time I have to wait is a long time. If I can have perfect vision after one exam I would do it. I have thought about laser eye surgery but you have to continuously get the surgery every certain amount of years, and eventually you have to go back to glasses. So I do see a need development of technology in the eye care field.

Interview 4 – This interview was with an optometrist

Every year there are seminars that show new innovations in different fields.  I was told by a friend of mine who had gone last year that my job was going to become obsolete. Luckily I am going to retire soon so it is not a problem to me. I do wonder what the next generation of optometrists will have to learn. Are they going to rely on machines more? Is the job going to be transitioned to learning how to use, read, and take care of a machine?

Interview 5 – An ex toll collector on the highway

Innovation has improved many lives. Everything is faster and more connected. I was a toll collector on the highway, but that was taken over by innovation. I had to find another job which was hard. But my job is skilled labor. I do not see any reason why the field of optometry would leave optical’s and optometrists in the dust. They are going to transition the field progressively rather than abruptly.

From these interviews I learned that the field of optometry and eye care cannot simply vanish because too many jobs would be lost. It is too deeply embedded into the economy to change the market from technological breakthroughs. If one were to occur they would work with colleges, optometrists, and optical’s to transition everyone to the new technology.