shrrynn

[shrrynn]

OPLAN 101: How to become an Entrepreneur

BLOG 4:

1, 2, 3! Hey there, it’s me again, Sherry, and welcome to my Final blog on "OPLAN 101: How to Become an Entrepreneur."

Thinking Back

Thinking back to the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, the biggest challenge I faced was establishing credibility as a startup. We can see a lot of problems in society that we can provide solutions for, but the question is, does it really solve the problem we're currently tackling? In my group, we kept asking ourselves, "What if our proposed solution doesn't work?" There are so many alternatives out there that could outshine us in the second-hand book market.

Trust is super crucial here—people need to feel confident about the quality of books we’re providing, even if they're pre-loved. We worried about how to convince people that our platform was the best choice for buying and selling second-hand textbooks. But we decided to dive in, improved our proposed solution based on the insight that we gathered during the validation process. It's been a rollercoaster, but that's what makes it exciting!

Another major obstacle my group faced was making our website appealing to customers. Marketing our product is one thing, but making it stand out from the competition is a whole different ball game. We spent countless hours brainstorming and tweaking the design, trying to make it unique and user-friendly. It was tough figuring out how to make our site not just functional but also visually attractive so that people would actually enjoy using it and keep coming back.

Throughout this journey, I didn’t just learn how to work with a team but also how to communicate effectively and make decisions quickly. There were times when we had different opinions on what direction to take, but we learned to listen to each other and find common ground. This experience has made me more resilient and adaptable, ready to tackle any challenge that comes my way.

Lastly, I think my whole entrepreneurial journey had a huge impact on me as a business student. It opened my eyes to the idea that the world is full of opportunities, and it only takes one moment of courage to turn those opportunities into reality. This experience has taught me that entrepreneurship is not just about having a great idea but also about having the perseverance to see it through. It’s about being brave enough to take risks, learn from failures, and keep pushing forward. This journey has been an invaluable part of my education, shaping me into a more confident and driven individual, ready to make my mark in the business world.

Here's to embracing challenges, seizing opportunities, and turning dreams into reality. Thanks for following along with my entrepreneurial adventure—until next time! XOXO!!!

Team DELTA - ReReads

[shrrynn]

OPLAN 101: How to become an Entrepreneur

BLOG 3 : Meeting the NEEDS

1, 2, 3! Hey there, it’s me again, Sherry, and welcome to my blog on "OPLAN 101: How to Become an Entrepreneur."

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER BLOG

I'm super excited to share some big updates about our proposed website. During our validation process, we encountered a lot of insights which really helped us develop and enhance our website. As we dive into this project, I want to highlight the features that will set us apart in the crowded world of online marketplaces.

Understanding Our Business Model

Let me give you a quick rundown of our business model. We're building a super user-friendly platform to make buying and selling second-hand textbooks easy and secure. We want every transaction to be smooth and worry-free. Our focus is on university students – both those selling their old textbooks and those hunting for affordable options. We're here to meet the needs of both sellers and buyers, creating a reliable marketplace. We’re committed to continuous improvement, and by listening to your feedback, we’re constantly tweaking our features and services to make our platform the best it can be.

Week's Validation Insights

Our recent validation survey gave us some great insights that are shaping our future website’s features. Participants stressed the importance of an intuitive interface, so we’re focusing on making our design super user-friendly, simplifying navigation, and streamlining the purchasing process. Security was a big concern, and we get it! We’re implementing strong verification processes and transparent transaction tracking to boost your confidence in our platform. We came the find the importance of knowing opinions of others. The insights we have gathered serves as our benchmark to excellence and improvement .

What we are PLANNING???

Thanks the participants' feedback, we've got some awesome features lined up! First up, our advanced search filters will make finding exactly what you need super easy, so your overall satisfaction will go through the roof. We’re also implementing real-time inventory updates, so you'll always have accurate stock information—no more guessing games! To build trust, we’re introducing seller profiles with ratings, allowing you to assess sellers based on past transactions and reviews. For secure transactions, we’re integrating trusted payment solutions to keep everything safe. And if you’ve got questions or concerns, our responsive customer support, including chat support and FAQs, will be there to help you out quickly.

Why are we DIFFERENT???

It's all about the features designed specifically with customers needs in mind. By continuously iterating based on their feedback, we aim to create a marketplace that’s not just functional but also community-driven.

I hope you guys had a glimpse of what’s coming and are as excited as we are about these features. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build a platform that truly meets the needs! Thanks for being part of this journey with us.! XOXO

DOCUMENTATION:

[shrrynn]

OPLAN 101: How to become an Entrepreneur

BLOG 2 : The validation that we need (to do) <:

1, 2, 3! Hey there, it’s me again, Sherry, and welcome to my blog on "OPLAN 101: How to Become an Entrepreneur."

My Week So Far

This week was incredibly productive, especially one particular class that provided valuable lessons for my entrepreneurial journey.

The Pasta Tower Activity

We participated in an activity where we had to build the tallest tower out of pasta with a marshmallow on top. The catch? The tower had to stand for five seconds. This activity was the perfect test of our team’s ability to strategize effectively to accomplish a task. Unfortunately, our team didn't win—we couldn’t get our pasta tower to stand for even three seconds hahaha. Though we did learn that our main mistake was focusing too narrowly on building the tallest tower, without considering whether it could support the weight of the marshmallow on top.

Key Takeaway

Our instructor used this exercise to illustrate an important business concept: just like building a tower, creating a product or business isn’t just about constant improvement. It’s also about considering customer needs. A high-quality product means nothing if there’s no demand for it. We need to know our target market and their preferences.

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So much for blabbing, so here's the deal, my team decided to propose making this online platform for buying and selling second hand textbooks which we thought will be helpful for university students who wants to make use of their old books and those who find difficulty in finding affordable books. To perfectly shape our proposed venture based on the preferences and needs of our target markets, we conducted and online survey to gather some insights on how does our market feel (pains and gains) and for us also to gather some recommendation to be able to improve. And some of the results were:

most secondhand textbooks are bought and sold on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, at prices significantly lower than new ones.

Most participants expressed frustration with the high cost of new textbooks, emphasizing the need for more affordable options.

Finding specific and precise textbooks remains a challenge for many students. This highlights the importance of having a well-organized platform where they can easily search for and obtain the books they need.

And some recommendations were:

That the platform should be easy to navigate and user-friendly, with clear categories and a robust search function.

Ensuring the platform is reliable and trustworthy is crucial. This includes verifying the condition of books and providing accurate descriptions.

Encouraging community engagement through reviews and recommendations can help build trust and make the platform more interactive.

After considering all the feedback, we had two option: to use an app or a website for our platform. My team opted to go for a website for several factors:

Accessibility: A website is more accessible to a broader range of users, including those who may not have smartphones or prefer to use computers.

Ease of Use: Websites generally offer a more extensive interface that can accommodate detailed search functions and categories.

Trust and Verification: We can more easily implement features to verify book conditions and provide accurate descriptions on a website.

Less expensive: Apps costs a lot. For start up business like us, website is more recommendable.

We will use this insights to continually improve our platform. Big thanks to our participants who have spared us some of their time to participate is our survey. More updates are coming soon, STAY TUNED!.

"To validate is hard, but to have no customer is harder"-CTTO

[shrrynn]

A way of life.

Throughout my two years in college, I was frequently asked, "what makes studying business interesting?". Well, I myself have also asked that question before and I honestly, at first, couldn't find the right words to answer it. You know, business is more than just "business", it contains a lot of mysteries, ideas and opportunities that even us business students don't know; its a never ending and ever evolving learning process and I think that is one of the reasons why studying business is captivating.

So as a business student, studying business is interesting because business education is not confined to textbooks only but extends to practical experiences that have real impact. That is why I am really happy that courses like Entrepreneurial mind is offered not just to business students but to other students as well, because it is a great way to train and produce young entrepreneurs which could be potentially the future of our economy. And I am much more happy that I had the opportunity to also take this course.

So on the first day of our Entrepreneurship class, I learned that, understanding entrepreneurship requires not just exploring it from an academic perspective but also how it works in the world outside the four walls of the classroom. I believe that the true entrepreneurial learning happens when we step outside the four walled room and apply what we learned there in the real-life setting.

I also learned is that Entrepreneurship is more than just starting a business, it is an innovative journey, where people can go beyond what their mind thinks and imagine and turning these imaginations into reality thereby opening realms of opportunities which can lead not just to personal growth but also giving impact to the society as a whole. And lastly, it was made clear to me and to the class that our journey with this course will be more that just an academic endeavor. It was an invitation to transform our thinking, to constantly be curious, to challenge our limits, and to unlock our potential as future business leaders and innovators. The entrepreneurial mind, we learned, is not just a subject to be studied—it is a way of life.