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Week 12 - Update

This week I feel accomplished! I sold my last basket of blueberries which means I have successfully hit my target. A total of 22.5 litres of berries picked and sold. 5 (3L) and 5 (1.5L). Sold the baskets for 45$ and 25$ each which means after my initial 50$ investment, I profited 300$! Well technically 320$ because I received two 10$ tips because the locals in Sudbury know how tedious the work is to pick the baskets. I’m feeling pretty good however I know I could have probably sold at least triple the amount if I had set that as my target initially. Nonetheless for someone who has very little experience picking blueberries except for at an extremely young age for a few minutes... I’m quite happy with myself. 

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Week 10 Update

This week has been wild! I spent a lot of the week in the bushes picking berries. I have sold 4 of my 1.5L baskets as well as 4 of my 3L baskets which means I only have one of each remaining before I hit my target. People have been giving me generous tips because they know picking berries is very tedious. I have already made 250$ profit in my small blueberry business. The remaining baskets have already been pre-ordered. I even have people asking for more but I’ve run out of baskets to sell them in. I knew ahead of time this would be the case and I chose not to order more because 22.5L is all the berries I feel like picking. 

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Progress of Start up Venture - Week 9

The blueberries are finally starting to turn blue! I have already started picking and have sold my first 1.5 L basket. We’ve gotten a bit of rain lately so I have had to delay picking until it clears up again. I’m hoping I can get another 3L basket picked tomorrow. Since it is still early in the season, I have to be very selective when I’m picking as the majority of the berries are still raw, which means more walking and more time consumed than ideal. But at least business is starting! My customers are all eagerly waiting for their baskets as I have preorders on all of them already. 

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Hopefully the link works...

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Project Progress

I’ll just answer all the questions with a single paragraph. The blueberries are not quite ready to be picked, they need another week or two until they’re ready which is a little unfortunate. I should’ve come up with an idea that wasn’t so dependent on the season. I also am still waiting for my baskets that I ordered last week, so I should have ordered them earlier too. 

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Where Will I Get The Money?

As mentioned in the BDC article, “ When starting a business, your first investor should be yourself”. With my business I plan on starting in the future, I would like to rely on the banks and government for funding as little as possible. I share a belief that they own enough in the world as it is. 

I would also try to avoid love money because I know that can add tension to the relationship, however I would still consider it. If I needed a large amount of capital, I would ideally seek out for angel investors even though they are hard to come by.

Realistically, I will probably end up taking a loan from a bank anyways even though that’s a route I would like to avoid at all costs.

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Business Operations

There are always costs to consider when it comes to offering a product or service to the market. It was a challenge initially thinking of a business that would be allowed only 50$ of total investment into the idea. After many days spent brainstorming I came up with the idea of picking wild blueberries and delivering them to people. 

The only two financial costs I need to consider are the baskets in which I’ll sell the blueberries in, as well as gas. I will be spending 25$ on each of those things. The blueberries themselves are free to pick. 

I will be selling 2 sizes of blueberry baskets: 1.5L and 3L. The market price of the 1.5L baskets range from 15-25$. The 3L baskets sell for 35-50$ . I will be selling mine for 25$ and 45$. I can afford to charge a premium because I will be delivering to people’s houses.

I will be setting up my business deals ahead of time so that I can plan my deliveries accordingly. The most specific I can give about my location is that I will only be handling customers who live in Sudbury, Ontario. 

There is no permit required to pick or sell blueberries.

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Creative Persona

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NOT a Safety Pin

You've just stumbled upon a curious little device. It looks like... metal wire bent in an oval shape. It's got a hinge on one end, and a pointy part on the other.

Theres one catch... its definitely, 100% NOT a safety pin. So what is it?

Step One:

On a piece of paper, write down 15 ways to use this precarious little device. Is it a finger workout device? A zit popper? A comb for nearly bald people? You tell me.

Pick a lock

Ear Piercer

Fish Hook

Zipper Puller

Poke holes on paper

Etch a drawing on glass

Substitute for push pin on bulletin board

Necklace

Bracelet

Decoration

Cleaning utensil (for cleaning between cracks)

Book mark

Poke a hole in aluminum can

Cleaning under finger nails  

Use instead of staple 

Got 15 written down? Good. Write down 15 more ways to use it.

Sliver Remover

Hold a tear on clothes

Fixing a hem of pant leg

Pop a balloon

Zit popper  

Shirt button substitute

Hang clothes outside to dry on line

Defense weapon

Hold 3 hole punched paper together

Fasten cloth diapers  

Key chain

Play a game (monkeys in a barrel)

Tooth pick

Keep Socks paired

Use instead of paper clip 

What's that? You have 30 unique ways to use this wonderful piece of twisted metal? Awesome.

Step Two:

Narrow down your list to the 10 best uses for this thing (which is still definitely not a safety pin).  

Tooth Pick

Key Chain

Shirt Button Substitute

Zipper Puller  

Defence weapon

Sliver remover  

Pop a balloon

Cleaning under finger nails

Pick a lock

Fish hook

Then narrow to the best 5.

Zipper Puller

Play a game (monkeys in a barrel)

Defense Weapon

Sliver remover  

Cleaning under finger nails 

Now hand your list to a friend and tell them to pick one. Don't give them your opinion. Don't influence their choice. Whatever they choose, you're moving forward with.

My mom chose playing a game as her favourite use.

Step Three:

It's time to tell the world about this revolutionary new device! - Start by giving it a name. Write down 30 names, then narrow to 10, 5, then 1.

Metal Links

Link a Chain

Drinkin’ n Linkin’

Clasps  

Clasp Royale

Chainlink  

Link up

Catch and Clasp

Grip it  

Grasping metal

Quick link  

Link Fast  

Link it up

Grab and lift

Grip n Go  

Full send link

Hook it  

Catch n clamp

Join em up

Hook em up

Add and affix

Buckle em up

Grab n secure

Hookers

Attach em

Hitch on harvey

Join the link

Tack and tie

Fasten Faster

Quick Connect

Then to 10

Drinkin’ and Linkin’

Clasp Royale  

Link Fast

Quick Connect

Hitch on Harvey

Hookers

Quick Link

Grip n Go

Tack n Tie

Fasten Faster

Then to 5  

Drinkin’ and Linkin’

Link Fast  

Hookers

Clasp Royale

Fasten Faster

Then to 1

Link Fast is the final name that has been chosen.

- Write 2-3 paragraphs about why I should buy your device. What can it do for me? How will my life benefit from it?

Let me tell you about the newly created game Link Fast. The objective of the game is to link as many pieces as you can in one minute. Points are scored by how many pieces are linked in a chain together. It’s up to the players to decide whether they want to just to one round of sudden death elimination and keep going until there’s only one person left, or first to reach a target score to decide a winner.  

Everyone loves a friendly competition. You can play with your friends or family and show them who is best at Link fast. If you’re really competitive like me and confident in your linking skills you can even wager money which adds a whole other element of excitement. All in all, everyone loves to have fun, and Link Fast is a great way to do it because all it requires are some flimsy pieces of metal, yourself, a competitor and a clock. The rest is up to you. - Revise, revise, revise. - Now, with your paragraphs in mind, create a one sentence headline that captures the idea. You know the drill. Write 30, narrow down to 1.

Link Fast- A great game for your next party

Link Fast- Fun with family and friends.

Connect and win with Link Fast  

Loads of Laughs with Link Fast  

Party people play Link Fast  

Loosen it up with Link Fast  

Liven it up with Link Fast  

Link Fast with family and friends

Link Fast- a friendly competition 

Anyone can think fast but can you Link Fast?

Link up with your friends and play Link Fast

Compete with your loved ones and play Link Fast

Good game for drinking- Link Fast

Show everyone who can Link the fastest with Link Fast

Play to win with Link Fast  

Do you have what it takes to Link Fast?

Link Fast- Be the best you can be

Linking fast with your friends like you’ve never before

You’ll never want to stop linking  

Show them all who can link the fastest

You’ll never think of links the same after you play Link Fast

Have a blast and play Link Fast

Laugh out loud with Link Fast  

Fun Fast with Link Fast  

Play-time is a BLAST with Link FAST

Number ONE for Family FUN – Link Fast

Link Fast for fun

Link Fast to win

Family FUN has BEGUN- Link Fast

Friendly Fun with link Fast

Top 10

Link Fast- A great game for your next party  

Link Fast- Fun with family and friends.

Link fast with family and friends

Link fast- a friendly competition

Link up with your friends and play Link fast

Linking fast with your friends like you’ve never before

Have a blast and play Link Fast

Number ONE for Family FUN – Link Fast

Play-time is a BLAST with Link FAST

Family FUN has BEGUN- Link Fast

Top 5

      1. Link up with your friends and play Link fast

      2. Number ONE for Family FUN – Link Fast

      3. Play-time is a BLAST with Link FAST

      4. Family FUN has BEGUN- Link Fast

      5. Have a blast and play Link Fast

Top Headline

Have a blast and play Link Fast!

Step Four:

Lay it out!

I don’t have a software for editing pictures or making designs so I won’t be able to do Step 4 unfortunately.  

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Local Competition

Independent Grocer

https://www.yourindependentgrocer.ca/search?search-bar=strawberry

Strengths

The fruit they sell is super cheap

They’ve got a professional looking website which is easy to use, with prices and sales indicated.

Weaknesses

The fruit is delivered to grocery stores generally from another country which is the reason it’s so cheap. By the time it arrives and people buy them, the true taste of fresh fruit is long gone.

Ruby Berry Farms  

https://www.rubyberryfarm.com/

Strengths

You can either pay 2.50$ per pound which usually comes to about 11$ per basket if you choose to pick them yourself. The other option is 20$ for a pre picked basket. The reason they are priced higher than strawberries at a grocery store is because of how fresh they are.

The reviews on Google say the strawberries are great tasting and reasonably priced.

Weaknesses

Their website is not really informative. No pricing listed anywhere except their reviews.

They don’t deliver. People are lazy and like having things delivered to their door even if it costs a little more.

Fruitastic Bouquets https://www.fruitasticbouquets.ca/

Strengths

They deliver, and according to the Google Reviews of their website, they seem to deliver precisely on time with people’s orders

Their website is simple to navigate through and looks professional

The fruit bouquets are beautiful looking, and fresh tasting based off the Google Reviews

5 Star rating on Google with lots of positive feedback

Weaknesses  

Their product is quite expensive because they are the only ones making fruit bouquets in the area

Although the reviews are positive, there aren’t many reviews about the company  which leads me to believe they lack in the marketing category

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Message map for Tesla

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My Strengths and Weaknesses

I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to running a successful business but I would imagine the most prosperous entrepreneurs possess substantial self-awareness.  Self-awareness is the “conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires”-(Google) and I would consider myself to be extremely in tune with those attributes of my character. Part of being self-aware is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and in this blog post I will highlight a few of my own. 

I will start by saying that I am quite sympathetic and am always trying to help others in any way that I can. Currently, I exercise this daily by helping out my aunt who I have been living with since before the quarantine started. I help take care of things around the house as well as outside because I know she is not in the best of health and she has always treated me as if I was one of her own kids whenever I have come to visit. A specific example of helping her is me cutting trees down and splitting wood for her to use as firewood for future years to come. She plans to make the switch to a wood stove to heat her house starting this fall. With some help and guidance from my mentor (her boyfriend) I have been able to chop down over 50 trees (and counting) which should last her quite some time. 

The first thing that comes to my head when I think about my weaknesses would be my issue of over-analyzing or over-thinking things. A lot of the time my brain will draw parallels to things that simply are non-existent. I’d rather not get too specific when it comes to this weakness of mine but it is safe to say that it has become a problem in relationships I have with some friends of mine. It’s something embedded inside of me that just seems to be unshakable no matter how much I try to correct it. However sometimes even that weakness can act as a gift. I will likely consider therapy once I can afford it to try and iron out this problem among others. 

Every day I am looking to improve in any way I can. Being self-aware is half of the job, but making positive changes to try and better yourself has got to be a quality of every great entrepreneur. I truly think I was born to be a successful entrepreneur.