27A - Reading Reflection No.3

  My third book for this semester was Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance. I’ve seen and heard quite a few opinions about Mr. Musk and saw a few interviews he’s done over the past couple of years. My initial interpretation of his personality was that he was very smart and had quirky social behavior. The book supported that view and went into more detail about his childhood, early business dealings, and his current situation.  What surprised me most was the schizophrenic nature of his upbringing. He was privileged with opportunity and experiences across the world by his father but also was stunted emotionally by him as well.

   I most admire his drive to explore, learn and create. His boldness at an early age was astounding. His inability to nurture long term relationships is least admirable. Like most groundbreaking CEO’s, Elon had some early struggles and made some wrong moved early in his business career. He continued to move forward and was already on to the next vision before the previous one blew up in his face. He has his own thoughts and doesn’t care what others think. He has a goal and vision and doesn’t let anything deter him from trying to accomplish them.

   I was confused on how little depth there was about Elon’s mother and father and how those relationships affected who he became as an adult. I would have liked to have had a few chapters on his childhood from his parents’ perspective. The book skims across the parental relationships in favor of much more detail about the business dealings.

Two questions I would like to ask Mr. Musk:

1.       Are you burdened by all the ideas you have that you won’t have enough time to pursue?

2.       If you had to re-live a year of your life, what year would you go through again and why?

Mr. Musk’s expectations of hard work are chronicled in the book. He expects his employees to work around the clock to get the job done. If they don’t want to, there are plenty of people who are waiting to take their place. I agree this is hard work, but too hard in my opinion. I think people burn out too soon with this kind of work ethic and you lose the benefits of longevity and experience.

28A - Exit Strategy

 I don’t think my adult camp will make me a millionaire. In fact, I think it may be difficult to consistently turn a profit. I foresee repairs and regulations pinching my bottom line. Unless the success was enormous, I think this business would be one that I would pass on to family at some point. A new generation may be able to spark life into it a decade from now. It would be nice to keep in the family. It could be run by managing partners.   

This exit strategy has probably diminished my passion for this project as I don’t see a guarantee it will make me and my family a lot of money or easily be continued for decades. This strategy would limit my sacrifice for this business and the amount of work I want to put in. It could all be for nothing in a few years and put a strain on my family finances.

26A - Celebrating Failure

   This past semester I fooled myself into thinking I could keep up with my UF classes while I took a vacation. My family and I were originally scheduled to go to Europe in June but with COVID happening, we of course had to cancel that. After many weeks of being cooped up at home my wife wanted to get out. We didn’t have many options that weren’t risky. We decided to vacation at a condo on the beach in the Gulf. We didn’t interact with many people and just relaxed. I intended to do my schoolwork and tests while on vacation. I thought it would be peaceful. Unfortunately, the WIFI was not as good as it appeared, and that week we had to interview a bunch of people for assignments in this class. I failed miserably keeping up with the assignments and scored poorly on a test in another class. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was not motivated to do anything, and I felt like school was infringing on my earned vacation. I should have known this was a mistake. I can’t let the emotions of getting something I want now to hurt something I want in the long run.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market.

I believe my next step is to find a location for the adult camp and to inquire about business licenses and needed permits.

My three interviewees for the existing market agreed in general but had other ideas for next steps. One believed that I need to come up with a name and logo so I can start to “visualize” the business and potential customers will be able to do the same. Another interviewee thought I needed to create an online media campaign asking for interest levels and getting potential customers excited about the concept. Another interviewee said I should be putting together a business plan to see if this all makes sense at least on paper. They all said that customers want to see visuals of what the camp offers and will be like. The concept alone is not enough to get firm interest levels.

I like the idea of visualizing the business and having something in hand that starts the process. I’m going to come up with a name, logo, and mission statement. After that I’m going to inquire about how much liquor licensing cost, insurance would cost, and what permitting would be needed for an adult camp. Once I get all of that I’m going to put together a business plan and get a feel of how much I need to charge people to make a profit. If all of that checks out and makes sense, then I would start looking for a location for the camp and what amenities are available.

 

New Market.

A new market that I haven’t targeted yet would be elderly individuals. I don’t think they would like the adventurous concepts I have for the adult camp. I could adapt to their needs and have low impact water aerobics, more craft making, less alcohol influence, and 50’s style “sock hop” dances. We could have card game and board game competitions.

My first interviewee in this age group said she would be interested in seeing old movies with a group of people her age. She said, “they don’t show movies like they used to.” She referenced having dance classes and old swing music playing that they could listen to with friends. My other interviewee said he would like to teach people of today more life skills that they seem to not have. “Everyone is on the internet and nobody does anything themselves anymore.” He would like to show people how to change oil and do basic home repairs. He said he taught his sons and they are now equipped for what the world throws at you.

My basic assumptions about this group was correct. They aren’t interested in water skiing and ziplines. They don’t want to get drunk and party. They aren’t even thrilled about sleeping in a cabin bunk. However, I learned that I might be able to incorporate them into the camp for select weeks by having them teach skills and tell war stories. Even with that option, this segment of new market is not very interesting to make a profit with.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

My Resources for Adult Camp

1.       My 20+ years of operations management experience: Uncommon but not rare. It would take a long time for others to copy this and get the experience and knowledge I’ve accumulated over that time. Knowledge of other industries may prove to have similar value.

2.       My ability to forecast and foresee issues and prevent/minimize them: This is a result of many experiences and overcoming issues with new company and location start-ups. This would take time and opportunity to replicate. Others with similar experience should have similar skills.

3.       My wife’s marketing abilities and contacts in the industry (Sr. Director of Customer Experience): This is a relatively new field in marketing and would be difficult to copy. The fact that she is “free labor and service” would be very, very difficult to duplicate.

4.       Alcohol being served – liquor license: Common for restaurants and many other companies but not typical for camps. This could be replicated though.

5.       Relationships with national vendors and sales reps: Many people have this but in combination with other skills this can save a lot of time and startup costs.

6.       Camp location and structures (land, cabins, etc.): Difficult to copy but can be replicated in a similar fashion.

7.       Camp Culture and ability to generate internship interest: This would be unique to my camp and would not be possible to duplicate. This feature could end up as the most important part of the camp in the long run.

8.       Zip Lines and Outdoor Equipment (Amenities): Easily repeatable.

9.       Boat, skis, fishing and nautical equipment: Easily repeatable.

10.   Investment Capital and great credit scores: Somewhat common but can be a crucial factor for start up funds and expansion needs.

 

I believe my top resource starting out would be my Operations experience and knowledge gained from opening company locations around the world. Once started and sustainable, I think the camp culture is crucial to the long-term health of the business.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

ENT 3003: Venture Concept

Brian Kalch

Adults-only camp

 

Opportunity:

Adults wishing to participate in a different activity or vacation that is not readily available currently. They need to be offered an alternative to the vacation and activity destinations currently offered. Potential customers are adults who have disposable income, are employed with vacation time, are physically active with outgoing personalities. The market would be adults in the Southeast and it is unlikely this will be a national destination point for visitors. Potential customers are currently going to Las Vegas with friends, renting cabins for fishing excursions, and reuniting in ball rooms and conference rooms for reunions. This is a moderate sized opportunity but will be difficult to scale as the locations and amenities are crucial to the interest levels of participants. The window of opportunity is long term as there will be interest among new generations.

 

Innovation:

This is a new style of vacation or camp. Typically, camps are focused on children, religious youth groups, and boy/girl scouts. Summer camps are also an option. What is innovative about this business opportunity is that it is marketed to adults. It will include activities that children can do as well as provide alcoholic beverages and adult themed activities. This is rarely offered in the current camp atmosphere. The adult camp would provide short term weekend getaways as well as weeklong vacation style packages.  The adults would sign up to fill each cabin of approximately 10 people. Any cabins not completely filled would be completed with smaller groups to get to 10 people per cabin. Upon arrival the campers would be directed to their cabins. Once given time to unpack and meet their camp counselor, we would have a welcome party to explain the calendar of events and rules. We would provide sign up sheets for additional cost excursions and activities that are not part of the standard camp package. Campers would be fed three times a day and the campers would be responsible for part of the total camp cooking, cleaning, and serving on a rotational basis to cut labor costs. Each day there would be activities for the campers. Towards the end of the camp experience there would be a cabin competition which would determine winners that will be presented awards at the final campfire night of the camp. The average cost per head per day would be approximately $125. Short term weekend campers would be $150 per day and long-term campers would be $100 per day. There would be one paid counselor per cabin on 10 people. We would offer unpaid internships to people who want to gain community service hours for scholarships. The additional activities that are additional fees would be offered only if profitable to run. These activities will be comfort based for those campers not wishing to have a rugged and basic experience. Activities offered would include zip-lining, swimming, survival skill training, fishing, basketball, volleyball, flag football, kickball, diving, water skiing, hiking, archery, bb gun range, and many other activities.

 

Venture Concept:

With all the negativity going on in the world this camp would be a getaway for adults to have fun with current friends and make new friends. Many folks went to camps as kids and have fond memories. Many wish they could have attended due to economic reasons and now want to have that experience. Other folks who may meet friend’s yearly are tired of going to the same place such as Las Vegas or their former hometown. This camp would offer a new experience for adults.  This would be something different than what they are used to. Word of Mouth and a good Social Media campaign would be crucial to the long-term success of this business. Seeing pictures and videos of friends, family, and acquaintances on social media attending an adult camp would catch their attention. Once the business was established, we would then move to a themed camp to try and attract repeat visitors by offering a different experience than what they had previously. There are camps around the Southeast that market to children. If the adult experience was not sufficient enough to make a profit, we could always fall back on to allowing children and be a traditional camp part of the year to supplement income. The roles that would need to be filled are Camp Director which I will fulfill at first, Camp safety coordinator, camp marketing/finance Director, Activities director, and one camp counselor per 10 attendees. The “secret sauce” of our camp would be adult only activities that customers could not get at a traditional camp.

 

Next steps would be acquiring the land and facility and getting activities ready to be performed. Acquiring insurance and legal certifications for employees would be next. During this time, we would set an opening week and start marketing to customers with stock file photos. These would be updated with employees once we were close to starting the camp. There would be introductory offers to the first campers and an agreement to post on their social media numerous times to get the discount. I would keep my current job until the opening of the camp and then take a leave of absence to focus on the business. I would partner with the American Camp association to try and get free press and contact opportunities.

22A Elevator Pitch #3

https://youtu.be/XKYM2FS67kk

The feedback I got was to add more details. I added a lot of activities that would be provided at this adult camp. I also incorporated the frustration that many people feel now with all of the negative energy going on in the world. I wanted to tap into people having fond memories and get them excited to go have fun. Because of the nature of this business I have planned from the beginning to not be very formal and business-like in my approach. I wanted the pitches to be more conversation-like. This business will probably thrive on mainly word-of-mouth. 

As far as my personal pitch style, I realized I have nervous "ticks" that I do in front of the camera that I don't do anywhere else. I twitch my shoulder a lot and I look around quite a bit. I think it's because I'm not talking to an actual person. If I was speaking to someone face-to face then I would feel rude looking around so much while talking. It just feels weird to stare into the eyes of a phone!

20A - Growing Your Social Capital

#1

1) Who they are and what their background is. I found an entire organization that deals with camps. This contact is even better than a single person. It's the American Camp Association. They have free training videos and market research available. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. This would be domain expert.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. Google searches for camps led to this discovery.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? I now have access to lots of training videos about camp subjects like safety, activities, first aid, animal experiences, certificates and certifications.  

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? You can advertise on their site and directly hire counselors. There is a forum to speak with camp directors across the country.

#2

1) Who they are and what their background is. ACA President and CEO Tom Rosenberg. He was in the Finance industry for a couple of years and then he started being a director at camps for the next 26 years. He's been the head of the American Camp Association for over three years.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Market expert.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. Through the ACA Facebook page. I saw a video he did on the today show and then looked him up on LinkedIn.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? Nothing yet. I sent a LinkedIn request to connect. No response yet.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? His many years of experience and contacts in the industry would be very helpful.

#3

1) Who they are and what their background is. Sales Rep Florida Region for S&S Worldwide Co. They sell camp game, craft, and supplies. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Supplier

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I emailed S&S Worldwide through their website and they said a sales rep from Florida would be contacting me in the next 48 hours. 

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? I expect them to tell me what a typical camp would purchase and to find out how many other adult only camps he knows about in the Southeast.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? I'm sure he/she has contacts in this region that would be helpful to ask questions.

This camping industry is something I know absolutely nothing about. I wasn't surprised to find niche publications and associations but the ones I found seemed large and well organized. Many people spend most of their lives in this industry. The large focus of the industry is kids which is not my focus.

21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

For the second book this semester I chose Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? To oversimplify the very nuanced and deep philosophies of the book, my summation is it teaches that happiness and real prosperity comes from doing more of what you enjoy instead of running the rat race and trying to acquire expensive things. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? Much like the multiple interviews we did to ask others their opinions, I realized my version of what my business should be might be very different from what my customers want the business to be. We all have different perspectives and experiences that form our belief systems, desires and happiness triggers.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve? I would build an assignment where students listed the twenty best things from their childhood. I would see how many listed nice expensive things like the car their parents had, expensive toys, or how big their house was. I would imagine the results would include more experiences and relationships. We would see if the things that were important to them as a child are the same things that are important to them as an adult.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations? I would classify myself as unemotional and a rational thinker. I'm the calm one during crisis situations. What I did not expect was how much emotions play a part in decision making. We may fool ourselves  into thinking the decision is based on solely facts but research proves that emotions play a bigger role than I thought.

17A- Elevator Pitch 2

https://youtu.be/Z3WAYTLoK2Y

I didn't receive any feedback on my first Elevator Pitch. Probably because the audio was so bad. However, I did change this time and added more details and activities and clarified that it had alcohol and had availability for men and women at different times.

19A - Idea Napkin No.2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are.  I am a 46 yr old Operations Professional with over 20 years of experience. I'm very good at breaking down problems, coming up with a plan, and implementing that plan efficiently. I've opened up multiple facilities across Jacksonville and China. I've dealt with contractors, hiring of employees, creation of protocols and procedures, creating and changing business cultures, and efficient P&L supervision and creation. I aspire to continue doing what I have been in Operations. I have hit a ceiling in my field without a degree. In fact I've gone farther than most without a degree that I've seen. Unfortunately, I don't see myself quitting my job to pursue this opportunity. I don't think it will make enough money. Any profits the first couple of years would need to be put back into the business to grow. I would pursue this opportunity on the side and only move into it full time when I had good data on income and interest levels.

2) What are you offering to customers? Adult camps that have similar amenities and vibe as children's summer camps. The opportunity to create new memories and experiences.

 

3) Who are you offering it to? Initially to adults but I may pivot to include children and church groups. Age ranges from 21-35 typically with steady income and ability to travel.

 

4) Why do they care? It will be a cheaper solution to typical vacations and be a nostalgic event for those who went to camps as children. It can be a nice getaway for groups of friends that have already done the typical trips like Vegas and Caribbean. There aren’t many of these types of places.

 

5) What are your core competencies? I have started up multiple facilities and hired new employees. I’m able to solve problems and think ahead to prevent them in the first place.

 

I believe my idea is not as much of a guarantee as some of the other ideas in my blog group. My camp would be fun, but I don't know if enough people would see the value and opportunity. The location is important and could be expensive, as well as the need for a liquor license could be the key to success. Insurance could be expensive. People who have limited expendable income usually spend it on a family vacation. This camp would cater to single guys and gals first.

 

"feedback memo"- Do this on the side of my regular job at first. I do have good experience and qualifications. Finding the right location with favorable demographics will be critical.

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

These guys, assuming they aren't models but real friends from High School or College, look like my prototypical customer for my adult camps. These guys like adventure, are outgoing, and are in their twenties or thirties. They are just as likely to drive a truck as a Honda Accord. They have jobs and keep in touch with each other as they move around the country for better jobs. They enjoy a craft beer and a cocktail among friends. They watch the Bachelor, ironically of course, and sports. They are probably democratic and in the early stages of finding a spouse or starting a family. They listen to audiobooks and podcasts. They have fond memories of their childhood and want to stay close with their friends. They work out at least a little bit, but know they are getting older now.

 

I don’t have much in common with these guys. I’m much older and have lost touch over the years with most of my old friends. I’m not nearly as active and would most likely get an injury of some sort at adult camp. Maybe the reason I was interested in this style of camp is because I’m probably too old to enjoy it!