Who Am I? I am James, and I am a twenty-year-old male from New Jersey. My talents include networking and face to face interactions with people, as well as having a pretty reasonable understanding of the markets. My business aspiration is to provide a reliable product to people that have the same passions as me.
What Am I Offering to People? I am offering a shoe cleaning product. It will be a spray on product, that once sprayed and then rubbed in, will quickly remove all blemishes and dirt marks on the shoes.
Who Am I Offering it to? I am offering this product to active people in their late teens, twenties, and thirties. The reason for this is that this type of customer is typically out and about, and will thus have consistently dirty shoes since they are always on the move. This is a kind of person who enjoys going on runs, playing intramural sports, or even taking their dog for a walk.
Why Would They Care? They would care if they are concerned with their appearance, or if they get irritated by wearing dirty apparel. This would ensure that their shoes would look as good as new constantly.
What are my Core Competencies? What sets my product apart is that there is currently no name brand products that people consistently use to clean their shoes. Most people have long and/or expensive other ways that they currently do to fulfill the task.
I believe that many of these aspects of myself and my business fit well together. The people who I would most likely be in business with would be people who are around a similar age and enjoy a similar lifestyle. Because of this, I believe that they would have many of the same unmet needs as myself.
After the last post, I had a few takeaways that were very central to the way that I proceeded. The first is that this product would be seen as something that college-aged kids would want, which was my hope. Secondly, which is related to the "Growing Social Capital" assignment, is to get feedback from industry experts. These people would be able to accurately assess the risks of the business and tell me if it is worth it to pursue. The comments were very good feedback.
James,
ReplyDeleteI agree that no product that comes to mind for me when I try to clean my shoes except some Mr Clean products. I think if you were to make a name for yourself as the one and only product that cleans shoes it would be very successful which is easier said then done. The main thing that will bring the market to you is if this product can clean quickly and then it will be yours.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a solid business plan/Idea napkin here. I think your demographic would be interested in protecting their shoes, while also being one of the most likely groups to get them dirty. You might also consider offering a "mini" version, for children's shoes. Since kids are so active, they quickly get their shoes dirty and this would be a convenient way for the parents to clean them.