Other Opportunities

A few other things I have been considering as a start-up deal with pyrotechnics and demolition.  I have a thing for fire, so pyrotechnics really excite me.  The 4th of July is MY Christmas...  I just find it an extreme thrill.  Seeing something so small, explode into the different shapes, sizes, colors, etc, is just amazing to me.  On the other hand, with demolition, I just LOVE to destroy things.  Whenever we are remodeling a new room in our house (its constant, just depends on when we finish the previous one), I get the task of tearing everything out.  It is SOOOO MUCH FUN!  I also don't take all of the necessary precautions, so the danger involved makes it that much more exciting to me.  Now that I am thinking about it, I would love to be a paid thrill seeker like those on MTVs Nitro Circus.  Getting paid to do this that give me an absolute rush would be amazing.  Skydiving, bungee jumping, driving Nascar vehicles, etc.  I would also really enjoy being a host on Top Gear, Battle of the Super-cars, Super-cars Exposed, etc.

Stunt Man

Today I have been thinking about other opportunities I could get into, and the one I have been thinking of for most of the day has been a stunt man. I do not necessarily want to be just a normal, getting beat up, set on fire stunt man either. I want to be a vehicle stunt man. I want to drive vehicles through buildings, into amazing crashes, skilled driver get-a-ways, etc. I love driving and I love pushing the limits when I drive. The ONLY reason I enjoy winter slightly is for the reason most people hate it, and that is the snow covered, slippery roads. Driving a rear-wheel drive vehicle is so much fun and SUCH A THRILL during this time of year! This is when thoughts of being a stunt driver start to kick back in. I absolutely love driving and cars, so anything I can do that involves those two things, and if sports can get thrown in as well, I will be in heaven...

Presentation

Today I started throwing together my presentation for this project, and I have to say it is looking good.  The 5 minute time is going to be rough. I have a feeling I will go over on time.  I think my presentation is going to be extremely unique... It will definitely grab peoples attention and keep them interested I believe.  Incorporating what I learned is going to be somewhat difficult for what I want to do with the presentation but I am going to make it work. Nothing new in regards to progress towards starting this endeavor or new ideas...

The end is near...

The end of the semester is having me focus more on my other classes than this business and what I can do to make it the best it possibly can.  It's a frustrating time because I do not want to stop thinking about it, but at this point in the semester classes start to take over.  Final grades need to be secured, some need to get better, while others are fine where they are.  Stress levels are fluctuating on an hourly basis, depending on what I remember, or who informs of things I have forgotten about.  When I am done with school, and can focus solely on the business while I am at home (prior to actually starting it), I believe I will be able to accomplish much more, while being able to enjoy myself more at the same time.  Once I start the process of opening the business, from the first purchase of a business license, to the building, to opening the doors, it will be a 24/7 task, which I have no issues with.  Friends, family, and loved-ones may not like me too much during this period, but it is something they are going to have to understand and deal with, because nothing is going to stop me from doing this.  I may change the location, or even possibly the business itself by the time I actually open any doors, but I WILL own and operate my very own business and it WILL be a success.

='( Winter........... )'=

Its that time of year again. The time of year I wish I was in FL running this business.  That time of year, is indeed, WINTER...  This first snow fall is usually the time I do two things: 1, wish I was back in FL enjoying much warmer weather and 2, debating staying in the Midwest and opening a detail car wash as well as an automated and/or full service car wash.  After a snow, especially if salt has been thrown down, it is imperative to get your vehicle to a car wash to remove all the debris, especially the salt which helps your vehicle to rust faster.  That is my 2nd reason for hating winter, my first is the cold and snow associated with it.  I can not stand being cold, so winter time never makes me happy.  It is also a very gray and gloomy time of year.  The sun is hardly out, clouds usually fill the sky, and that along with it being too cold to enjoy the outdoors, just makes it a very sad time of year, which is why I'd rather be in Miami running my car wash!

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break was extremely long and left me unable to think about my business really at all. I had to unexpectedly watch my two year old nephew, which kept from from doing anything.  Lately I have been trying to think of new different ideas for businesses that will change the way people do things, but it is not as easy as it seems.  Coming up with new business ideas is rather difficult, unless you have a bad experience somewhere and know a way to improve on it. 

Interview

Today I had an interview with the Uptown Normal Business Association and I feel extremely well about it.  I have realized that my experience in speaking with business owners in an attempt to host a Camaro meet last spring really helped me have an edge over other students as well as in the business world in general.  I have become extremely confident in speaking with people regarding things I am passionate about.  I know what I want, and feel I am pretty good at getting it, provided I can actually speak with the person making the decision.  The only issues I ran into in hosting the event in Bloomington-Normal was either the facilities not being large enough (not enough parking spaces) or not being able to speak to the person who would be making the final decision.  I am not sure what the problem was, or why people did not wish to host the event, aside from not having enough space, but each time I was turned down I moved on to the next site.  I plan on hosting the event again this spring, however, I plan on adding a few things to the event.  I believe all of this will help me in seeking the things I need to start my business when the time comes.

Speakers

On Friday I attended Entrepreneurship Day where I heard Vic Baldinger speak of his business endeavors.  It was extremely interesting hearing what he had to say, even though he was somewhat hard to follow. The basis of what he said was that much of his work ethic, knowledge, and the way he does/runs his business all stemmed from a 5 minute conversation he had Sam Walton of Walt-Mart.  The things he mentioned, where very knowledgeable and well worth taking in, especially writing down your goals. 

This morning the quest speaker in our class, Manny, gave some very insightful knowledge pertaining to running a small business.  The main thing I took from his presentation was that you should hire people based on attitude rather than skill.  The reason he suggested this was because you can always train people how to do the job, but you cannot train them on how they act.  The reason this stuck with me is because I have always thought that I would hire those who do the job best, with their attitude being the 2nd highest thing on the list of reasons to hire them.

Networking

Today during class I networked with one of my classmates who has already started a detail car wash where he works out of his vehicle, on the go.  He gave me his card and said to keep in touch, which I plan on doing. He also mentioned that he has family in FL.  I believe he is going to be a valuable asset, and contact.  Good thing I went to class today. If I hadn't gone to class today, who knows if we would have ever talked about this, and if we would have developed the new asset in each other or not.

Interview got me thinking about my business

I had an interview for an internship this afternoon with a woman who started her own business here in town a year and a half ago.  This interview got me thinking about things to do with and for my business.  It also seems will give me the experience and know how needed for my business.  I am really looking forward to this opportunity and where it may take me.  I do have 2 more interviews before the week is over, so I will see where those can take me, and then make a decision.  As of right now though, I believe I will be Retiring with Coupons...

This weekend

This weekend, from Thursday until Saturday I was at the CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) Nationals in Chicago.  The entire weekend consisted of thinking about this business as well as possible other businesses.  There was much advice given, some conflicting, some being consistent across the board.  It was a great experience (and also an extremely fun weekend aside from Nationals). This was a great experience that I would highly recommend to others who are serious about starting a business.  You obtain knowledge from extremely successful business, one in which they started, many at a very young age.  At times I felt like I was on information overload, but at the same time I was loving it.  There was so much knowledge obtained, I cannot fit it all here.  The main things that were stressed were things I already am aware of and working on, such as, sustaining a competitive advantage, maintaining the best possible customer service and customer satisfaction, etc.  Overall, this weekend was a blast and full of newly obtained knowledge about starting and running a business.

Barriers

This is something I constantly think about.  How am I going to establish a competitive advantage?  What issues am I going to face?  How difficult is it going to be to overcome these barriers?  Is it worth attempting, or are these barriers/risk too high?  Should I consider a different location (ie, Naples, FL instead of Miami, since they do not have as many detail car washes)?  I also need to learn to write things down more often, or remember them long enough to be able to write them down.  Many times I will be in the middle of doing something, such as taking a shower, driving, or something else that does not allow me to write down my thoughts, but by the time I try writing them down, I have forgotten what it was I wanted to say.  I believe I have the knowledge and capabilities to conquer any issues/barriers that may arise in any endeavor I decide to take on, so I try not to stress over these things too much.  That is probably the biggest thing I need to change in my life.  I tend to stress over small things that do not matter, but take larger issues as they come and just deal with them.  It makes no sense to me, but I need to not worry so much about the small things, and look at them on the same level I do the large things; Take them as they come.

Marketing Plan

The marketing plan was an interesting assignment.  I have yet to create any ads, so I was unable to attach any, and I figured throwing one together last minute wouldn't be worth doing because it would not look good.  Also, i have not taken pictures of any of the vehicles I have wash and detailed right after doing so.  In the part of Chicago I live in when not in Bloomington-Normal while going to ISU is extremely dirty.  Old steel mills, as well a few chemical factories, some of which are still running, are in my town.  Also, I live next to the Calumet River, where the city stores its salt for the winter.  The salt, factories in town, along with not having a garage prevents any of my families vehicles from staying clean any length of time after I clean and detail them.  Its something that upsets me because I am passionate about clean cars.  I feel if a car isn't clean, especially newer vehicles, then it doesn't deserve being on the road.  If you looked at my vehicle you would not believe that, but the vehicle was given to me in its current condition and I do not have the money to get it repainted.  If I had the means to repaint my vehicle, it would look as good as any new vehicle out on the road.

Concerns

One of the concerns I have with running a business is how to separate finances. Keeping my personal finances separate from the businesses is one of the places I believe I may struggle. I will be tempted to take money from the business to use for my personal expenses. Not taking this will be difficult. I am also concerned with how I pay myself. Do I pay myself through a salary, hourly, or can I just use the money as I need it?

Goals

The goals for this business were something that I had thought about, just not into specifics like the assignment required.  I knew what I wanted to do with it, what it would take to do it, and how far I want to take it, I just never thought of short term, specific goals.  Nor did I really think of long term SPECIFIC goals.  I had goals, they just were not very specific.  Also, in looking at this, I realized that my other idea that is associated with detailing, yet slightly different at the same time, is probably the better choice.  I have never heard of someone doing what my other idea is and I believe it has very high potential.  Detailing will still be a part of the business, but there will be other aspects to that business as well.  The more I think about it, the more I believe it is the better choice as opposed to a normal detail shop.  It will however, be much more difficult to set specific goals for my other business idea.

Resources

When determining the resources I will need for this endeavor, I had a pretty good idea of what it was I wanted to use for supplies.  Zaino's products are among the best, if not the best in the industry and since I hope to have the best Detail shop, I should use the best products.  I ran into a couple issues with the cash register however.  There are many different things to consider for it, and in the end, I felt the newer/better touch screen would be best.  Not only will it perform all of the functions I need, without any other equipment, it will help to show my customers that I am running a legit business and that there is nothing to worry about when they leave their vehicle with me.  Appearance plays a HUGE role in everything a small business does, so showing that I am up on technology is a big way to show I can be trusted with, most of the time, their most prized possessions.

Selling Logistics

This assignment was not too difficult because the location and time periods I will sell my service are things I have thought about for quite some time now, ever since I visited Miami while I was doing an internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.  I did however, have a slight issue when it came to the question of how I will sell my service.  I was not sure exactly what was being asked here, so I went about it by mentioning how my customers would here about my service and then describing the process that was involved with providing the service and then receiving payment.  Other than that, this assignment was not very difficult and pretty straight forward.  This project as a whole (the $100 Business project) has helped to reinforce my thoughts and keep me thinking about the Detail shop I wish to open some day relatively soon.

Service Discussion and Start-Up Costs

The Service Discussion was the easiest of these two tasks.  I have planned and thought about this aspect of my soon to be Detail Shop for many years now, trying to figure out ways that I can have a competitive advantage over my competitors.  There are many things I feel I will be doing that nobody else has done.  There are also a few ideas I have regarding a car wash that I have no included, because it wouldn't be strictly a car wash.  That idea is for another time however.  The start-up costs portion of this assignment was tough.  Trying to find actual prices on things, without begging the process of purchasing seems to be almost impossible.  In order to get a quote, you need to sign-up to the website.  That is something I am not completely comfortable with at this point in time.  I want to have some money saved up before I start getting too serious into it because I want to use as little outside resources as possible in starting this business.  Keeping my credit high, not borrowing from friends or family, and making sure I have things in order, before I jump into this endeavor.  Not being able to find out costs is a problem also, because I am not sure how much money I will need to have saved up in order to start this endeavor.  Once I start becoming more serious with pursuing this, I will be more willing to sign-up to these websites in order to get set numbers.

Business Model Canvas, Mission Statement, and Vision Statement

In tackling these three steps of this project I felt rather comfortable and confident.  The Vision and Mission Statements were things I have been thinking about for a while, I just had to incorporate them into the correct forms to fit each.  The Business Model Canvas was something unique and different, yet also things I have thought about many times before.  I plan on going into the Detail Car Wash business once I am done here @ ISU, so this project is helping to put me in the right direction, laying the ground work for my future aspirations.