Olivia Squires Propper: January 2019

Thursday, January 31, 2019

8A Solving the Problem

My opportunity is the panhandler problem in Daytona Beach, Florida. My solution is to develop an app that allows business owners to report and keep track of when a panhandler is over stepping boundaries. This app could also notify police as a non-urgent need. A lot of the business owners I talked to said that they knew the police were busy, but they still needed help. If business owners can contact police stating what was happening and describe the panhandler’s actions, they will be able to start to take action towards punishing panhandlers while not feeling guilty about taking up the police’s time. If the police aren’t dealing with another situation they can come straight to the business, but if they are busy, they can see it as something they can do later. The app can also include a security camera that can regulate how long a person has stood outside for, how far away they were, how frequently they are there, and if they come in contact with other people. This will allow business owners to track panhandlers while not keeping a police officer stationed in front of every business. The app can also include things that connect local businesses together so they can state their problems to the community and other business owners can comment and say whether or not they are having the same problems with the same panhandlers. This way the business community in Daytona can work as a team to find the bad panhandlers without disrupting those who are peacefully living by the laws.

7A Testing the Hypothesis

Businesses in Daytona Beach, Florida have a major issue with panhandlers and can’t do much about it.

· The who: Businesses in Daytona Beach

· The what: Unable to kick panhandlers off of their property if they are not doing anything wrong.

· The why: If panhandlers are standing outside of a business but not inside, they are allowed to ask people for spare change.

· Testing the who: Yes, there are others with this need. Daytona Beach is just a good example of a place that needs stricter panhandling laws. Tourist towns all throughout Florida and the US could use more panhandling regulations.

· Testing the what: The boundaries of the need are that not all people waiting outside of a business are bad. Some people are just wandering and may look like panhandlers or threating but they intend no harm.

· Testing the why: For this opportunity the why is the same across the board. For businesses in Daytona Beach or Miami or Panama City, business owners all want stricter panhandling laws and regulations to allow for a more comfortable customer experience. The panhandlers may be causing harm in different ways like begging for money/food, following people to cars, talking uncomfortably to strangers, etc.

For my first interview I talked to a friend of mine who owns a new business on A1A Blvd. in Daytona Beach. His hotel is in the heart of Daytona where spring break and bike week are his best sellers. He said that his customers do not enjoy walking outside of the hotel to walk to the attractions like main street or the board walk and to be asked for money or food. He said that he can ask the people to step off of this property however his main entrance opens to a public side walk which he cannot do anything about. With new pan handling restrictions that make panhandlers stand at least 20 feet from the entrance will help greatly to stop immediate harassment of his hotel guests.

For my second interview I talked to a business owner in Daytona Beach who has owned his business for years. He said that he has had multiple problems with the same few panhandlers. One in particular has come into his business asking him for money and slapped him when he refused to give him anything. Obviously, this was illegal, however, he said that it shows how aggressive they are getting in the heart of Daytona Beach. He still sees this panhandler around his business quiet frequently. He said that looking outside and seeing him sitting out by the door of his business is like him taunting him. He also said that he wishes to see panhandling laws get regulated more efficiently. He followed that by saying he understands that police have a lot of work to do but if there could be someone in the Daytona Beach board walk area that can specifically monitor the actions of the panhandlers it would be great. He said that a stricter law would be good but someone to monitor it would be even better.

For my third interview I talked with a student here at UF who spent her spring break in Daytona Beach. She said that she noticed a panhandling problem the first night she was in Daytona. From her experience she had people asking her for money when she was walking out of the club at night. She had one person follow her and her friends for at least a block. This made her and her friends feel very uncomfortable and unsafe. She said since she was in a busy area, she felt okay that nothing would happen, however, it was annoying that he continued to ask when she said no and that it was a mood changer for the evening. This statement alone is what I see as the major problem with panhandling. Daytona Beach survives off of tourism. Without spring break and bike week and summer vacation, most businesses in Daytona would not last. If people enjoy what Daytona has to offer, have a great day and a good night but then are scared away by panhandlers we have a major issue. She also said that if the man would have kept his distance, she would have had no problem seeing him sitting on a curb and would actually have had more sympathy for the guy. She, like my second interviewee, said that the panhandlers need to be controlled. She doesn’t mind if they are there, they just need to be respectful.

For my fourth interview I talked to an employee at a coffee shop near Daytona State College (DSC). I used to attend DSC and spent many days studying in this coffee shop, so I became very aware of the things that occurred in the coffee shop which is why I choose to interview and employee. When I asked the employee on their feelings towards panhandlers coming into the shop, she said that when they are disrespectful is when she gets upset. She said that she has a few local homeless people that come in when it is raining or very cold. She said they always come up to her at the counter and ask if it’s okay if they sit down while the weather clears out. She said that whenever it rains as long as there are seats for paying customers, she allows them to sit inside until the weather gets better and if it is cold, they sit inside, and they always leave when customers come inside. She said that she has never had to ask them to leave they just understand when its right and when it is wrong. She also said that she has some panhandlers that will sit on the outside patio and harasses people when they come inside and then yell at her when she asks them to leave. She stated that these are the people she has a problem with.

For my fifth interview I talked with one of my pervious employers who owned a shop in a very good part of town. She said that it is always a frustrating and sad situation dealing with panhandlers. While she feels guilty having to tell them to leave the site of her business, she has to think about all the customers she losses if just one panhandler sits outside her door. She said that the problem with the restrictions is that her shop is located in a shopping plaza. So, a panhandler can just walk up and down the plaza asking people for money and it makes it difficult to catch him because he is constantly moving and there is nothing wrong with someone walking up and down a plaza because they could just be window shopping. Her point was that panhandlers need to be regulated better and that the punishments for panhandling should be harsher.

Overall, I found that panhandling laws in Daytona Beach need to be stricter and push panhandlers farther away from business entrances. I also found that the panhandling laws need to be more enforced and that panhandlers need to be regulate more and punished for their actions.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Economic opportunity: As the internet continues to expand and social media becomes more popular, small businesses have a greater opportunity to go global. I found this opportunity when I was looking at ordering new swimsuits from my favorite swimsuit company, Moana Bikini which is based out of Australia. Moana Bikini is a small company ran by about 5 people who design, make and ship all of the swimsuits out. Through social media, Moana Bikini has become extremely popular all over the world. I think small businesses that can sell their products online can greatly benefit from the growing and expanding internet shopping trend. This opportunity is relatively easily however if you are selling certain products like sunscreen, you have to get that sunscreen formula approved in every country you wish to sell in. But, for a product like swimwear, it is easy to sell around the world through social media. I see this as an opportunity because it allows for small business owners to expand their market.

Article about Moana Bikini’s success: http://mediakix.com/2017/09/karina-irby-interview-moana-bikini-body-burn/#gs.Vvab0sdt

Economic opportunity: With different generations on the rise, young adults are looking for unique items and experiences. I found this opportunity with Etsy when I was seeing how many unique clothing items there was. Now, people do not want things that are mass produced. Stores that sell millions of the exact same item do not attract the rising generation. People are looking for things that make them stand out. I think this opportunity exists because vintage clothing has become so popular. People wear vintage because nobody else has it. I think that the customer of this opportunity is the young adults who go to festivals and who travel and go on adventures. People who aspire to live life in their own way. I think this opportunity is easy to exploit because there are so many creative people out there. If clothing stores would stop selling exact replicas of each other’s products, then people would be more interested in going to more than one store. I see this as an opportunity because there are so many stores like Forever 21 and H&M that sell products that look very similar but the stores that have unique items are the ones that are selling.

Article about customization: https://www.industryweek.com/technology-and-iiot/five-expert-insights-digital-manufacturing-and-mass-customization

Regulatory opportunity: Since the aggressive panhandling problem in Daytona Beach the state of Florida is looking at making a law that keeps panhandlers away from major intersections and panhandlers must be at least 20 feet away from a businesses entrance. I found this opportunity when I was reading the local news articles for our last assignment. I have looked deeper past the local problem of panhandling in Daytona Beach and now into the panhandling problem in Florida. Ocala has since voted on this ordinance and it passed. Other cities in Florida are voting on the ordinance and it is expected to soon be practiced in the whole state of Florida. This will allow for businesses to have a cleaner and more peaceful appearance and tourists will not feel threatened when going to busy, popular areas. I think this opportunity exists because Florida is a huge tourist destination but places like Daytona that use to be very popular are now getting a bad rep for being filled with panhandlers. Tourists and business owners in popular areas of Florida are most likely to be positively affected by this opportunity. I think this opportunity is relatively easy to get started by voting but it will take time for police to regulate and move panhandlers into less busy areas. I see this opportunity from a business’s perspective and a person who use to go to school in Daytona where there were a lot of panhandlers. I can see how some may say people should be able to stand where ever they want but I have felt threaten before and have decided not to go into a store because a panhandler was outside.

Article about panhandlers: https://www.ocala.com/news/20181106/ocala-city-council-approves-new-panhandling-ordinance

Regulatory opportunity: When researching changes in the business world I found an article explaining that now in the hospitality industry workers who earn higher salaries do not qualify for over time. This will allow people who only work part time to now work full time. I think this opportunity exists because there are people like managers and higher up staff that earn plenty of money and would not notice a few hundred dollars lost a month and there are lower workers who a couple hundred dollars a month could change their lives. I think minimum wage hospitality workers are most likely to benefit from this opportunity. I think this opportunity is difficult to sell to the high earners in hospitality but most of the industry would be pleased with this new regulation. I see this opportunity because I have worked in the hospitality industry and I have seen the major difference in pay.

Article about overtime: https://www.hotelmanagement.net/operate/new-overtime-rule-to-reshape-hospitality-environment

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

5A- Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Title: “Post Concerned About 30-minute EMS Responses”

Link: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AFOBO%21Ormond%2BBeach%2BObserver%2B%2528FL%2529&sort=YMD_date%3AD&maxresults=20&f=advanced&val-base-0=issue&fld-base-0=alltext&docref=news/16EA3BC4DDE80568

Description of Story: This article is about emergency response times being too high. In the article the Volusia County Council discuss how to solve long response times and defend the hard work of the emergency workers.

Description of the Problem: The problem is that some emergencies are worse than other, so ambulances have to decide which to go to first. Now the county will have ambulances that help transport non-emergency patients, which the article says account for the majority of the EMS calls.

Who has the Problem: The people and visitors of Volusia county who use the ambulances have the problem.

2. Title: “1 Year In, Deltona’s Center Struggles for Bookings”

Link: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ADBNC%21Daytona%2BBeach%2BNews-Journal%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529&sort=YMD_date%3AD&maxresults=20&f=advanced&val-base-0=event&fld-base-0=alltext&docref=news/17115038D62CCDB8

Description of Story: This article is about the disappoint in regard to the newly opened Deltona Center. Before opening the center was predicted to bring in $1 million a year. After being open for one year it has been said to have brought in only $207,351. Even with more events booked for 2019 the profit is still half of what it costs to operate the center.

Description of the Problem: The problem is that the Deltona Center is in an area that does not attract many tourists. It does not have many major hotels. The center also does not offer many things for the community to participate in like classes and workshops.

Who has the Problem: The people of Deltona along with the City Council and the commissioner have this problem. The council has to figure out a way to rent out the venue as frequently as possible, even if it is for Zumba classes and poetry workshops. They cannot be picky as to who they rent to, like they did in 2018.

3. Title: “DEAR ABBY- Wedding Planning is Driving Close Mom, Daughter Apart”

Description of Story: This article is from a section of the Daytona Beach News Journal titled, “Dear Abby.” In this article a mother from Pennsylvania is seeking advice on how to peacefully help her daughter plan her wedding without upsetting and stressing her daughter out.

Description of the Problem: The problem is that the mother is trying to help her daughter plan her wedding, along with keep some family traditions going. Her daughter does not like her mother’s suggestions, and this is causing fighting and anger in a once happy and loving mother daughter relationship.

Who has the Problem: The mother and daughter from Pennsylvania planning the wedding have the problem, but I am sure this happens between many mothers and daughters who work together on planning their weddings.

4. Title: “Schools Add ‘hardened corners’ In Case of Shooters – Tape on Floor in Classrooms will Guide Students to Safe Area”

Description of Story: Class rooms in Polk county are adding yellow and black security tape on the floors that lead to a “hardened corner.” A “hardened corner” is a place that if there is a shooter shooting through the door of the classroom, students cannot be injured.

Description of the Problem: Some parents are not happy about the tape on the floor because they say that it will psychologically effect their children and be a constant reminder that they could be shot to death and according to Jennifer Sabin, a mother whose children attend school in Polk county, it will make school “feel like a potential war zone.”

Who has the Problem: Jennifer Sabin and other parents who disagree with the safety tape have the problem along with the school board who have to deal with upset parents like Sabin.

5. Title: “The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shop at the Corner”

Link: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ADBNC%21Daytona%2BBeach%2BNews-Journal%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0117%21January%2B17&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/171052FC72EA5128

Description of Story: The Krispy Kreme doughnut shop on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach has had multiple problems with aggressive panhandlers, or beggars that they had to hire security guards. The article discusses multiple business owners’ issues with panhandlers. One business owner named Christos Mavronas was actually head butted by a panhandler when he wouldn’t hand over money.

Description of the Problem: Panhandlers in Daytona Beach are becoming too aggressive. They are coming into businesses demanding free food and asking paying customers for money. Customers feel too threatened to enter a business because the panhandlers are waiting by the door to harass and beg for money and food.

Who has the Problem: Business owners of Daytona Beach like Mavronas have this problem because the panhandlers are effecting their business. Customers of these businesses are also affected by this problem because they cannot shop peacefully at these businesses.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Forming An Opportunity Belief

4A: Forming An Opportunity Belief

One unmet need in Gainesville is an app that tells you what each bar/ club is doing each night in regard to music, drink specials and events along with telling you how many people are at each bar. The need comes from mostly college students who are wanting to go out but are not sure what place is offering the best deal without looking up each individual bar. Also, bars can meet their capacity very quickly on popular nights, so it is helpful if the person knows if a bar is at capacity before they drive/walk to that bar. People are meeting this need by texting and calling the bars before they go out and having to go on each bar’s social pages to see what’s going on that night. If people could just have one app that tells you everything that’s going on for the places they’re interested in, it would make for an easier and better experience when deciding how to spend their night.

One of the people I interviewed is a bartender at a popular bar in town. She said that she needs something to help her share the specials and capacity with people, without having her update her social media while she is at work. She became aware of the need when all of her friends, even friends who were on the VIP list, were texting her to get them into the bar but the bar was at capacity, so she couldn’t get them in. If something had notified them prior to them leaving maybe they would have gotten there earlier. She said that she has also experienced this frustration as a customer trying to get into a bar, but she didn’t realize how bad it was until she was the inside source that all her friends were using to get information and to get in. She said that an app that updated every ten minutes or so with the current number of people would be great and if it had the specials as well it would be even better.

The next person I interviewed was a random college student I talked to while walking to class. He said that he needed something that showed the bars specials but also something that showed how many people planned to go to each place. So, like a Facebook event but it wouldn’t have to show names. He just wanted to see how many people planned to go out, especially on less busy nights like Mondays and Tuesdays, to help him make up his mind if he wants to go out. He said that he realized this need when he was constantly going out to places and them not being crowded and then the next night he decides to stay in and sees on social media that the same bar was packed. He said that he currently messages all of his friends before he goes out, but it would be nice to know what other college students are doing. He said he would enjoy the app if it included things like who plans to go and when.

Lastly, I interviewed a sorority girl who is under the age of 21. She said that it is hard when some nights bars are 21 and up and others are 18 and up. She would need the app to tell her what events are going on, so she knows if she can get in or not. She first discovered this problem when she went to a bar for a function, so she was allowed in (not to drink but to hang out) and then the next night she went back and wasn’t allowed in because it was back to being 21 and up. She said currently she has to call before going out to see but it would be so much easier to be able to look at a list of each bar and who they are allowing in that night. She would be very happy with the app if it included this feature.

I learned that in night life things are always changing and every student has different things they want to know. From each interview I learned different individual needs so this gave me the idea that the app should have a comments section that allows people to ask their unique questions and then the bars or other students can respond.

My original opportunity is still there, however, it has grown. From when I started I do believe my opportunity is more accurate because it gets more detailed into the exact information people want. I think entrepreneurs should adopt this opportunity to better provide their customers with information that will lead to a better and less stressful night.

3A: Your Entrepreneurship Story

For the past 3 years I have worked at Havana Sun Quality Sun Care Cosmetics, which is a brand-new sunscreen line made by Ron Rice, the founder of Hawaiian Tropic. Ron started making Hawaiian Tropic in a trash can in Daytona Beach. He told me that he would walk out on to the beach and find the girls with the best tans and tell them to tell people that their tan was Hawaiian Tropic. He would sit on the life guard towers and people would come and buy the tanning oil and sunscreen from him. Ron brought up the brand to what it is today, and he did it without social media, one of the biggest things we use in marketing now. When working for Ron, running marketing for his new company, I always wanted to buy ads and promotions on Facebook and Instagram. Ron would always tell me no and that it wasn’t worth the money. At first, I thought that he was stuck in his old ways, but he told me that he would rather people know his brand for what it really is, a personal experience that goes along with memorable events. He would rather pay people to go out and approach people on the beach, talk to them, give them a sample of the product, let them see how good it smells, make them smile, and make them remember you and the brand, than post something that may or may not affect someone.

(Below is two flyers, one for Havana Sun, Ron's new company, and the second for Hawaiian Tropic, Ron's original company.)

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I have always been interested in new businesses and the excitement that goes along with them. I hope to better understand all the details of how different businesses can start and grow into successful companies by the end of this class.

Image result for hawaiian tropic pageant poster

2A: Bug List

1. Getting off from work late at the bar in Gainesville: This happens because since it’s a bar, we don’t close till 2 so by the time you clean up everything a get tipped out it is 3:30 in the morning.

2. People who are consistently late: This happens because they are always running behind on something and making excuses.

3. People who drive close behind me, especially on the highway: This happens a lot driving on the high during a busy time, but I don’t drive slowly so there is no reason for someone to dangerously ride my tail. If there is traffic in all lanes just wait till they clear and then go around.

4. Slow internet connection when you are trying to get something important done: This happens because when you procrastinate, and you are rushing to complete an assignment by the deadline, it always feels like your computer is going slower than it usually does.

5. Burning my food when I’m really hungry: I have the tendency to always burn toast no matter how I make it. It happens because the toast levels on my toaster are either not toasty at all or burnt.

6. Breaking a nail after you just did them: I am a bartender, so I fell like I am constantly re doing my nails which is really frustrating when you do them and then go to work and they chip.

7. Hair curls that fall out quickly: This happens when you are in a rush and curl your hair too quickly or its humid outside.

8. People canceling on plans right before: This happens when you make plans with people and get yourself excited about them but then they get canceled.

9. When your car is low on gas: This happens at the most inconvenient times. It also feels like you are constantly refilling your tank with gas.

10. Noisy neighbors at my apartment here in Gainesville: This happens because my bedroom wall is shared with my neighbors living room wall so whenever they throw a party or have people over at night and I’m trying to sleep, I can hear everything.

11. Socks that don’t fit right: This happens when socks are a little loose in the toes or ankles so when you put on your shoes the sock moves and gets bunched up and is annoying the rest of the day unless you fix it.

12. Losing one sock: This happens you can’t find your other sock and it is because the dryer ate it, so I’ve heard that is what dryers do.

13. Slow walkers on sidewalks: This happens when you’re walking to class, and people are texting and walking and dragging their feet and you are just trying to go around them, but they take up too much room on the side walk.

14. Back seat drivers who never want to drive themselves: This happens when people constantly want you to drive but then tell you how to drive and where to go.

15. People who don’t know what they want at a bar: I work at a pretty busy bar here in Gainesville, so most people have to wait in line a bit so it is confusing to me on how they don’t know what drink they want by the time they actually get to me.

16. When people borrow your things and don’t return them: My friends constantly borrow my things and don’t bring them back. This happens because I always bring extras of things on trips, so people always want to borrow my stuff.

17. When people over stay their welcome when you need to do something: This happens when you have people over and then its time for them to go home but they are still there just hanging out.

18. The traffic light at 12^thand University that takes forever to change: This happens when I’m driving home from Publix. The light at 12^thalways takes like 10 minutes to change even at night time when no one is around. I assume this is because it is a side street crossing a busy street.

19. Tolls that only accept exact change: This happens whenever I’m driving to Miami. There are tolls that don’t accept cash or card and I never have enough change to make it all the way there without having to skip a toll.

20. Restaurants that don’t serve lunch all day: This happens when you are craving a burger in the morning but places like McDonalds or Chik-fil-a won’t serve you lunch until a certain because they can only serve so many items at a time.

I found that when I came up with my list, I struggled with explaining why they happen. It was easy to think of why they annoyed me but finding the route of the problem was difficult. Also, coming up with 20 things was hard. My first few things were easy but it’s hard to think of all the things that bug you because you don’t really notice them until they are happening. It was interesting to see that in life we have a lot of things that bug us, but they don’t bug us all the time and most of the things that bug us can be easily fixed or avoided.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

My First Post!!

This post is to test to make sure my blog is working!