Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You.  Who you are:  My name is Ruben S. Castro.  I am a Level II IT Systems Analyst at the Disney IT Support Center in Celebration, FL; I’m also a father of a wonderful 4-year-old named Madison.  I’m also a brother, uncle, and husband and I value my family and the life I’ve been able to carve out for ourselves here in Orlando, FL. 

What your talents are:  My talents lie in my ability to learn complex and technical concepts and processes fairly quickly and my ability to retain information and data and recall it with fairly accurate results.

What your skills and experiences are:  I’ve worked in the IT industry for a long time, in many different capacities, always advancing and finding myself in roles with expanding responsibilities and duties which in effect forced me to learn and adapt in order to succeed. 

What are your aspirations?  My aspirations are to complete my Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration and then move on to either the financial services industry or continue with the IT track and obtain additional certifications in order to advance either with my current employer or a different one. 

Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life? 

I would see myself working in the daily operations and managing my business concept as a full time employment.

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

My business concept would offer a full service gas station with the added convenience of offering sundries and other quick service products that consumers and commuters would be inclined to purchase.  This business concept sounds tried and true and already been done, however my twist is to offer exceptional convenience and service in the form of a nice ambiance, staff and value added experience at no additional cost compared to other self service gas stations. 

3) Who are you offering it to?

I am offering this service to commuters and consumers that live in the UCF area and the direct vicinity.  They comprise of all folks who drive a vehicle, motorcycle, scooter, etc. 

What do your customers all have in common?

The common denominator is that they all require gas and they all drive a vehicle or simply require a product such as milk, soft drink, and snacks on the go. 

4) Why do they care?

My customers would care because they like the idea of not having to get out of their car in order to pump gas.  Another great convenience item is that the customer would have the air pressure of their tires checked without having to get out of the car. 

5) What are your core competencies?  What sets you apart from everyone else?

The convenience of being able to pay via a portable payment device, similar to the restaurant portable POS station where they can swipe your card and print out a receipt on the spot.  We would also ensure a great service experience when pumping gas and ensuring the vehicle’s tires are inflated to the correct pressure. 

What do you have that nobody else has?

We have a great location first and foremost.  This would ensure that constant traffic and sales of gas and products would be consistent and fluctuations in business would only be of the daily variety, not a seasonal one.  We also would make sure that our gas station attendants would be very courteous, polite and efficient. 

I believe the elements fit great together.  The reason I feel this way is that too often, I find myself shopping for gas based on price, which is a very common train of thought when purchasing gas for any vehicle.  This is an obvious point; however my business concept would move the consumer’s mind beyond a shopping for lowest price point mentality.  It would make them consider the convenience and experience of having your gas pumped for you, quickly and conveniently and without the added hassle of your card information being scanned and your identity being stolen. 

The feedback I received regarding my competitive advantage being the location and needing to add something to it in order to differentiate my business concept led me to add the full service aspect of it but incorporating technology to streamline some processes that in the past may have sunk the full service gas station idea.