Customer Interviews #1

Find an opportunity

In a college-town, students every where like to be a part of the “party scene.” In Gainesville specifically, many of the ‘it’ bars are 21+. Throughout history, as our parents and grandparents were growing up the drinking age was 18. In 1984, a law was passed that increased the drinking age to 21. I believe there is an opportunity to go back to the initial law-because throughout the rest of the world the drinking age is still 18.

Figure out who may have the unmet need

The individuals who would have these unmet needs are those between the ages of 18-21.

Come up with a list of questions

Do you think it is fair that your eligible to fight for your country but you’re not allowed to buy a beer?

I do not. Because if you’re putting your life on the line you should be able to to drink. If you can risk your life, then you can drink. Simple as that.

Why do you think the drinking age should be lowered again?

It should be lowered because if you are old enough at 18 to die overseas, you are old and mature enough to make you own decision when it comes to drinking alcohol.

Tell us what you learned about the opportunity

If I learned one thing about the opportunity, it is that I am capable of anything regardless of my age or gender.

Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers

If there is one thing I learned about interviewing customers it is that most individuals have the same opinion. When it comes to drinking, many of us believe that we can accomplish this easily.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Problems

1. Poverty

For as long as I can remember, poverty was an issue that rarely crossed my mind growing up. Regardless, now that I have aged and truly understand the dilemmas that our world faces I have come to the realization that poverty truly is the number one issue. The necessities that developing countries lack and we take for granted is significant. This scarcity of education and food is mind-boggling and is a much bigger problem than the majority of Americans realize.

2. Terrorism

Today, one is unable to turn on the television or read a newspaper without seeing a story regarding ISIS or one of the countless other terrorist groups. Day after day, innocent individuals all around the world are killed by suicide bombers or attacks in random schools or concert venues. This has put people everywhere in fear. With an 80% rise in terrorist attacks just within the last year, this is definitely one of the most serious problems that we face worldwide.

3. Global Warming

One thing that saddens me most about global warming is the fact that it has primarily been caused by us. Although the Earth does naturally change, since we have inhabited it the rate has become alarming. The past year was recorded hottest to date.

4. Population Growth

I believe population growth is a very prominent issue that many people forget about. Today, the fertility rate in most parts of the world is high. Women are having more and more children and this is a problem solely because we are going to run out of space.

5. Pollution

Pollution is a huge problem that is for the most part in our control. Many of the contaminates that we put into the environment could be eliminated.

Justification:

I chose poverty as the #1 world problem because it has what I believe the largest impact on our world. These individuals have every right to the same opportunities in life as we do, and I believe it is our responsibility to support those around us that are less fortunate to the best of our abilities.

Top 5 Solutions

1. Pollution

Although I listed this as my last problem, I feel the solution for it is the most feasible. In this case, educating the youth, as well as the uneducated elderly, on how to properly reuse and recycle, conserve energy and use as little transportation that emits these fuels as possible could put an end to this dilemma and would drastically change this phenomenon. Because global warming is an effect of pollution, taking control of this could solve not only one, but two of the world's biggest problems.

2. Global Warming

As stated above, I believe by first solving and eliminating and reducing the problem of pollution, we too can prevent global warming. Although not indefinitely, I believe we would be able prolong it for a much longer period of time.

3. Poverty

I truly do believe if those not in poverty come together, numerous organizations and foundations can be established in order to tackle this issue. By using outreach, these organizations can educate and support the impoverished in developing countries.

4. Terrorism

Though very conflicting, terrorism is something I believe ultimately can be eliminated. With higher security and a better understanding of the underlying problems that cause it, we could work together and compromise on a feasible solution. With this in mind, we do need to be cautious of these compromises as in the past they have been known to be untrustworthy.

5. Population Growth

Although China has established a solution for our rapid population growth, I chose this issue as the least feasible to implement because on a daily basis women get impregnated without intention of doing so. This too ties into the heavy debate on abortion, which I believe is a right that every woman should have and religious and political men should not be able to have much of a say towards this issue. At the end of the day, we do only have so much space on Earth and it gets smaller and smaller every year due to global warming. Not only is space an issue with this, but the availability of resources as well.

Justification:

I believe that the solution to pollution is most implementable because a lot of it is due to under education and care for our environment. With the proper education on the impacts and effects, the human population would be more inclined to preserve, reduce, reuse, recycle and conserve to the best of their abilities.

World's Biggest Problems

Obesity

Obesity is a very prevalent problem worldwide. Globally, there are almost 3 million people who die from being obese. Fortunately, there are countless organizations that are very proactive in preventing this epidemic. In order to tackle this problem first-hand, children should be taught at an early age how to exercise and eat healthy. 

Poverty

With over half of our global population in poverty, this is a problem we have faced endlessly for centuries. In many tests and experiments, estimates say it would supposedly take billions on billions of dollars annually in order to end it. In developing countries where poverty is at its highest, education and cooperation will be needed in order to overcome this vast problem. In the United States, I believe individuals need to be more aware of what they have and learn not to take it for granted. 

Politics

The problems with politics vary. However, I believe a lot of the problems faced are due to varying opinions. Although in the past we have changed our political system, I feel as it definitely has room for improvement. 

Global Warming

Throughout history, the Earth has changed significantly over time. Much of this problem has been caused due to our population. Day after day, the glaciers and icebergs are melting and because of this rapid climate change we face warmer and warmer days each year. In order to refrain from adding to this problem, we need to be more efficient and eliminate as many greenhouse gases as we can. It is our responsibility to do everything in our power to keep the world we live in. 

Terrorism

Today especially, terrorism is a growing problem we are facing not only in the United States, but all around the globe. Within the past year, terrorist attacks rose almost eighty percent higher than the previous. In order to reduce this problem we would need to put an effort and group together in order to discover and solve the underlying problems. 

Pollution

As human beings, we have certainly taken a huge toll on contaminating our world. Although we contaminate it, this exposure is equally harmful to us as well. In order to lessen the pollutants we put into the world, we as a society need to focus on what we are emitting into our environment and take every action we can to keep it as chemical and waste free as possible. 

Inequality

Inequality is an issue that our population has faced for centuries. Not only is this inequality seen through different races, but different sexes as well. This issue can be seen within income, job hiring, even as little as how we treat one another in the past, and today. I believe there are a variety of hardworking Civil Rights Activists that try and tackle this problem as well as organizations that are fueled on gaining complete equality. Although this will remain one of problems for quite some time, the proper action is being taken for the most part in order to prevent it from continuing in the future. 

Species Extinction

The extinction crisis is something we all take very lightly, however it is actually an issue that needs to be addressed. In the past, many of these mass extinctions we're due to natural events out of our control. However, today the problem of extinction relies heavily on us. It is said in the next century we will lose a vast majority of species due to this. In order to prevent this problem, we need to be more culturally aware of what we are doing to the environment as I previously stated when discussing Global Warming and Pollution.

Population Growth

Although we are generally unaware of how rapidly we are reproducing and how big our population has grown over the past 50 years, this too is an issue that needs to be taken into our hands. China, for example, took control of this by limiting how many children each couple can have. This may be extreme, but there simply is just not enough space on Earth to fit everyone at this alarming rate. I believe ultimately we will have to adopt this policy, or one similar, in order to ensure that we do not completely overpopulate our Earth. 

Social Media

Since the birth of social media in 1997, our lives have been flipped upside down by the power of the Internet. Personally, I feel as if the incline in social media has been more detrimental than good. In a TedTalk I watched recently by Monica Lewinsky, she highlights how social media changed her life drastically for the worst after her affair with Bill Clinton and day after day she would receive anonymous hate mail and comments making her want to take her life. Although the Internet does a variety of wonderful things nowadays, social media has individuals absorbed into how they appear to the public and puts a real strain on actual communication in person. 

My Entrepreneurship Story

Growing up, my peers and teachers did not consider me a nice little girl. I was rather destructive and my parents often worried because I was sent to the principal’s office of Martha Manson Academy on numerous occasions. I attended this small private school, which eventually changed its name to Oak Hall, from pre-k to 8^th grade with the same sixty people. Although I did make a few life-long friends at this school, I found that the majority of my friendships were with gals and boys of the local public middle school. For this reason, when it was time to make a decision on where I would attend high school I did everything in my power to leave the private school I had spent the past ten years. This was not an easy task and entailed multiple phone calls between my parents and the parents of my friends, a power point slide of pros and cons and an acceptance letter to the Academy of Entrepreneurship at Buchholz High School. Ultimately, I acquired exactly what I wanted and started at Buchholz High school as a naïve 9^th grader. Keep in mind, this was solely because my parents had a niche for business and thought the Academy was exactly the path I needed to go down.

Regardless of the tough year it took me to adapt to this new lifestyle as a public school student, my parents were right in telling me to pursue a path of business. As a tenth grader, I became heavily involved within the Academy of Entrepreneurship and a club called DECA. I competed at both the state and national levels for a 5K I created and hosted in order to raise money and awareness for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. The cause was close to heart for many reasons but primarily because I had lost a half-brother to a ruptured aneurysm before my birth and came close to losing my father at the age of three. The following year, I held a Texting and Driving Campaign to promote the prevention and awareness of this problem within the Gainesville community, and the state of Florida as a whole. In both my junior and senior year, I competed at the national level in a category called School Based Enterprise.  Within the Academy of Entrepreneurship is a store that is operated by the students where both food and merchandise is sold on a daily basis. As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Academy I had the opportunity to make the two presentations on how it was run.

Since I began my freshman year at the University of Florida, I have been interning for an organization called LovEd, which focuses on teaching relationship education at seminars and events. Currently pursuing a degree in Public Relations in the Innovation Academy, I felt ENT3003 would be an interesting class that I could learn a lot from.

Introduction

I was delivered June 17^th, 1996 in Gainesville, Florida at North Florida Regional Medical Center by a family friend. Weighing a little over six pounds, my mother considered her third and final delivery a breeze. I believe she was delighted to finally have another girl around due to the fact she was surrounded by my father and two older brothers. You know what they say: there is no bond quite like one between a mother and her daughter.

Flashing Forward...the summer I turned seventeen was very significant for me. My father and his delightful girlfriend decided it was a must for every young girl to visit Paris, and thus took me to the City of Light for three mind-blowing weeks. This trip changed my life, and ultimately made me realize that Paris is the one city I feel I belong and where I am sure I will end up. This trip also helped me discover what I want to do with my life. 
As a senior in high school, I dual enrolled at Santa Fe College while simultaneously applying to thirteen universities across the nation, and one abroad. However, my parents and friends all knew my dream was to attend the American University of Paris if I was accepted. Throughout the fall and spring semesters I heard back from multiple universities, but it was not until I received my acceptance letter from AUP that I was sure of where I wanted to go. Unfortunately for me, my father was not keen on sending his eighteen year old daughter to a foreign country immediately after high school and after countless times of begging, unsuccessfully, I was told a definite no. This was heart breaking and I was very unsure of what my next step would be but my parents consistently kept implying that UF was my best option. Although attending the University of Florida to begin with, was never something that interested me.
Once again, they were right. Although I was never excited to attend the University of Florida because I felt I would be experiencing everything I did as I grew up, I was completely incorrect. Joining Kappa Delta and moving nine miles away from my parents may not seem like a big deal, but it changed my life drastically. Within the past 18 months I feel as if I have grown and experienced more change than I have in my entire life. Although I did not get to immediately live my dream after getting my high school diploma, I know I am one step closer in the right direction. Majoring in Public Relations, I will have a variety of different opportunities open for me in my future. My desire for adventure and spontaneity has fueled me to begin learning French, and I find myself constantly looking at the study abroad opportunities available in Paris.

My Entrepreneur's Mantra

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am excited to begin sharing a variety of different posts with you :)