Sydney Hisaw's Blog

I personally do not like the thought of selling my business or getting out of it once working so hard in it, but I know it is sometimes a necessary step (we are learning more about this in class Monday).  So if I were to pick an exit strategy for my business, I think I would stay in for the long run and retire and pass it down to someone in my family or someone I trusted.  On the other hand, if the offer was large enough, I think I would sell my company.  I would only consider doing so if I thought the company would continue moving in a positive direction.  I picked this strategy because I care a lot about the business and do not want to see my years of hard work (if I were to work in it for years to come) go to waste.  I think my passion for my company shows in my exit strategy and my business plan.  On the other hand, I did not consider my exit plan before this assignment so it did not influence anything before this that I have wrote about.  I don’t ...

1) Coco Chanel, Lisa Chaney What surprised me most about Coco Chanel was how she started.  She has a tough beginning and childhood but now she is an iconic designer.  I actually am wearing Chanel perfume right now and I would love to own a Chanel bag one day. I most admired that she came from practically nothing and now her net worth is over $100 million.  This shows her bravery and that people should have almost no excuses. I think Coco Chanel depended her life on money, instead of love.  Yes, she was successful and this is something a lot of people do, but I wonder what it would've been like if she was passionate about people and love instead. I believe every entrepreneur starting, maintaining and growing their own business is a hardship.  She was going against standard being a successful business women and her business ventures were diverse and not easy markets to tackle. 2) I noticed the entrepreneur displayed determination and perseverance. 3) I...

This semester, I applied for a position in an organization I'm in.  I did not get the position, and I had the opportunity to challenge the position, but I didn't because I thought that who got it deserved it, too.  I was sad I did not get the position, but then I was an offered a position I actually like better and am honored to have it.  This is a lesson I have learned at UF--that yes there will be failures, but I believe there is a bigger plan for me than my own and sometimes I just have to wait after I get a no. I naturally handle failure emotionally.  For example, after not getting a position you want in an organization, the easiest thing to do in your head may be to just leave the organization--that was the initial thought in my head, and I know that has happened to other people I know, too.  But in a time like this, it is important to think logically.  This class has shown me super successful entrepreneurs that have all had at least one thing in com...

Existing Market Step 3:      I interviewed three of my friends because I have previously identified my friends and I to be general representations of my target market.  They all identified my next step in my venture to be making more bracelets and seeing how many I can sell to people I know and their connections before manufacturing a large amount and trying to sell them.      I think now after talking to them, I would give the bracelets at a discount or even for free to my friends that have a large following on social media to market them and see if more people would be interested in buying them.      Lastly, I think after talking to my friends. who are all involved in different philanthropies on campus, that I could show consumers that as a company we have a mission by donating an amount of every sale to Children's Miracle Network.  Dance Marathon, a philanthropic organization that supports Children's Miracle Network, is huge...

I think coming up with a business name would be really difficult.  For now, I decided on Jewelry by LJ, short for Leo James. Since starting college three years ago, I have lost my apartment key at least five times.  This may not seem like a lot, but when you are a college student paying almost or more than one thousand dollars a month plus over $500 per month to be in a sorority, paying $50 several times to replace a key is not ideal.  I am not alone—this has happened to several of my friends and peers at University of Florida many times.  I asked myself, “Why does this happen?”  I found the answer was because when I would leave my place either to go out with friends or to class, I would have my key either loose in a bag or tied on a ponytail on my risk.  A  lot  of my friends and peers do this as well to have their key at their convenience—but keys on a flimsy ponytail are not secure.  Not only are they not se...

Connection to mass suppliers (Social)-I think it is valuable that my friend owns a few companies, one being one of those companies that sends you a monthly subscription box.  He knows different kinds of websites and businesses where I could buy mass amount of material if I needed to. Connection to several entrepreneurs (Social)-I believe this is valuable because I am friends and have family friends of those who have started their own business so I could ask them for tips and what I should/shouldn't be doing to succeed. Connection to local boutiques (Social)-I think it is valuable that in Gainesville (and Florida in general) there are boutiques where I could possibly sell my product because my target market is the people who shop there, too. Willing investor (Financial)-I have already spoken to someone close to me who said that they would help me jump start my company in any way I needed if I decided to do this (even though Dr. Pryor suggested to not invest with your family). ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_iexXRKJqw Most of my feedback was positive.  I think the most constructive comment I got was from Aubrey to smile more and let my personality shine through which I try to do but find a bit difficult because it's not easy to find the perfect medium between being too cheesy and being enthusiastic.  I also think that being "too cheesy" can be powerful in elevator pitches because it makes it memorable. Every time I've done my elevator pitch I think it has become more concise and clear.  Last time I identified my target market and included the numbers, but I never said the reason for it, so I tried to be more clear this time.  I also tried to talk in a very clear voice so that none of my words were mumbled.  My pitch is completely memorized now.  When I post my pitch, I usually record it about 20 times or more because I am a perfectionist and every time I change a few words around.  I do my pitch for fun now in front...

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? The general theme of the book,  How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, by Scott Adams  is that you can "fail" several times, but you can also transform this failure to move you forward like the author, Scott Adams, did.  He talks about how important personal energy, systems and skills can be for success. 2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? The book enhances what we are learning about in ENT 3003 because we constantly talk about how the entrepreneurship journey is not an easy one and may come with many failures.  If all the successful entrepreneurs that we learn about in this class gave up when they failed, we would be without a lot of products and innovative ideas that impact us today. 3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve? If I had to design an exercise ...

I did this assignment on the parameters of a future possible networking experience.  I have never thought about this before this assignment and now that I have, I realize that networking correctly could be the key to success, especially with a product like mine, where it could be sold in a store.  This experience allowed me to remember how important networking is and how I need to never stop putting in effort to do so.  I actually plan on reaching out to these people and sharing my idea, especially the last two--because I am not sure if I would be able to successfully reach my domain expert.  This differed from networking events I have been involved with in the past because I have gone to them in-person when they were more accessible to me such as career showcases at UF, but with this activity, I would have to make an effort to find out who they are, their contact and how to reach out to them/get them to reach out back to me. Domain Expert: CEO of Alex & Ani, ...

I enjoy reading through the feedback on all of my blog posts.  This time around, I received feedback on my last idea napkin from Zachary, Ramar and Emily.  They gave me thoughtful responses and told me what I did well and how it relates to my product.  I did not receive any feedback to change anything and I still don't think I would.  The only thing I would think about possibly adding or reflecting more on in the future would be Emily's idea of incorporating the men's item line as a belt attachment instead of a bracelet. I think all of these items fit together because everything about me and my business idea works together and connects very well.  If I were to identify a "weak" part, I would say the area where it mainly applies to females over males.  I don't think this is necessarily weak because a lot of products are like this naturally, but I think any product is more successful the more people it can reach. The two main points I got from my feedb...