Idea Napkin No. 1

My talents

I think my most important talent is my ability to learn things quickly and to be able to apply what I learned with proficiency in a short amount of time.  This goes for a lot of things and has served me well in all aspects of my life. 

My skills and experiences: 

I have a lot of experience in all aspects of IT, in both customer and non customer facing roles.  I also have experience with people as my jobs have entailed dealing with customers in different support roles and capacities.  I have a lot of technical skills when it comes to Windows and Mac computers and resolving all aspects of issues that may affect them. 

My aspirations: 

My aspirations are pretty simple and straightforward.  I want to be like my father before me who was able to overcome great obstacles in order to provide his family with the best opportunity possible to achieve their goals and dreams.  Without his support, hard work and perseverance serving as a springboard for us to be able to move to a different country and attend university and obtain gainful employment, I know my brothers and sisters would not be where we are at now.  We are healthy and happy and have great jobs and are able to afford homes of our own and have not a want or need in the world.  These are all things I’m sure at some point in time I’ve taken for granted, but I will never forget that my dad had to sweat, bleed and bust his behind in order for us to enjoy these great blessings.  I know my struggles and obstacles will never be as difficult to overcome as the ones my dad had to face, but I would like to think I can master my fears and finish the goals I have set out for myself.  The main reason I mention this is because I’d like my daughter to learn from the great example my dad provided to me and I hope to provide to her someday. 

My aspiration for this business would be to be able to provide a great experience to the patrons who stop by and decide to purchase gas or sundries from us.   My role would be one of proprietor/manager and I would try my best to make the business a successful one.  The business would more or less be my life for the most part until I can find a balance and bring on additional help or maybe even expand if things go really well. 

What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

We’re selling goods and gas to commuters, local residents, students, and all members of the community. 

Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

We’re offering these products to mostly people with cars and also people who need convenience items such as milk, snacks, etc.  All my customers have a car in common as well as the need for convenience items at all times of the day. 

Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

My customers care because this would meet an unmet need in the community as they would be able to obtain gas and convenience items close by whereas without it, they would have to travel to another area farther out to obtain the products mentioned. 

What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

My location sets me apart and would be my main competitive advantage. 

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.

I believe my elements fit together as selling gas and convenience items is a tried and proven success as can be seen by 7-Elevens, Citgo, Wawa, etc.  The aspects of my business that is weaker would be that we would not be franchised or have an established marketing program in place to compete with the established players in the industry.