Big Sky

This past winter my husband, Brady, and I purchased the Mountain Collective ski pass.  This pass gave us access to go skiing at 17 different resorts across the world two times for free.  There were three resorts in Canada on the pass so I convinced Brady to let me buy the pass and take a road trip to Canada.  I live for adventures and travel with my husband so I was beyond excited.

On our way up to Canada we stopped halfway in Montana to go skiing at Big Sky.   Our first night we stayed in the cutest town in Yellowstone, there was so much snow and none of the side roads were plowed because everyone gets around by snowmobile or 4-Wheel drive.

Big Sky had just put in a new lift called the Ram Charger 8.  This lift holds eight people, has heated seats, and a bubble you can pull over the chair to keep the cold out.  We started out the day skiing in the north side of the resort, with a plan to ski the last half of the day on the south side.  We tried most of the day to find our way to the south side but the resort was so big we never made it.  There looked there were a lot of black diamonds and bowls on that side so I was a little disappointing when we did not make it.

There is a lodge at the top of the hill that we had planned to eat lunch at, when we walked in everyone had taken their ski clothes off and were drinking wine, and being served expensive food.  When the host asked us how many I said “uhh.. yeah, never mind.” and we took a cup of free water and walked out.  

The resort was so big, that I do not recall going on the same run twice.  My favorite run was when Brady and I cut through a “do not cross” rope that was reserved for the ski team. We rode on the edge of the run by the trees and we got fresh powder.  It was the best we had all day.  While we were going down we passed the ski team and the instructor yelled at us for crossing the rope.  We just acted like we did not hear him and kept skiing.  

That night we stayed in Bozeman, Montana.  This town was adorable, Christmas lights were lit on main street and people were walking around shopping and having a good time.  Our hotel was on the old side, it had a tiny vintage faded pink hot-tub that looked like it was from the 80’s and a mural of the mountains painted on the wall.  We had a pretty fun time in it.

We ate at a Thai restaurant called Rice it was THE. BEST. FOOD. EVER.  it was heaven in my mouth.  Since eating there we have tried multiple Thai restaurants and none have came close to comparison leading me to begging Brady to go on a road trip to Montana just to eat here again. I cannot stop craving it.

We only skied one day at Big Sky but we loved the time we spent there.  I hope that one day in the near future we will make it back there and finally be able to ski the south side of the mountain and of course eat more Thai food.

 

 

Situational Analysis Outline

A Situational Analysis Outline for First & Third Market:

INTRODUCTION

• Floral and home decor shop located in heart of Logan.  

AGENDA

TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

• Age and demographics

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

• customers/clients, owners, competitors, community

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

• Competitors, suppliers, buyers, differences in products, and ease of entrance into industry

MARKETING ANALYSIS

• social media and marketing needs

SWOT ANALYSIS

• Strengths , Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

CONCLUSION

QUESTIONS

5G Network

5G network is a breaking technology that AT&T claims is transforming the future.  A 5G networks is an network system that is forty times faster than 4G LTE, it will make communication so fast that it will be close to real time.  This new network will make things such as, augmented-reality shopping, virtual presence at live events, and self-driving cars a possibility.

This new network will help the healthcare field make advances by using remote medical learning and remote patient monitoring.  Patients will be able to be monitored in real time so that if an issue occurs medical professionals can be notified in real time of the issue and act accordingly.  It literally will save lives.

With a faster network innovators will be able to work more effectively with others at different locations.  They will be working in real time and be able to communicate ideas faster and more effectively. They will also be able to get their ideas and creations promoted and on the market faster than ever before.

https://www.att.com/5g/consumer

https://www.att.com/5g/consumer

 

Funner Menu

The Nestle’s “Funner Menu Option” quickly became a hot topic and caused immediate publicity.  This was a risky step for Nestle to take. Matt LaCasse states that it worked for Nestle because it fit into the organization’s culture.  If another corporation such as an insurance company tried the same thing it would not fit the culture and it would lead to mixed signals, resulting in negative feedback.  https://mattlacasse.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/nestle-makes-calling-customer-service-funny/

This menu option was a genius low cost social media and marketing plan.  Anyone who is on social media knows how quickly word spreads, and nestle knew this.  As soon as a caller reached this “Funner Menu Option” Nestle knew that word would start to spread and it would not take long until it was on social media.  

Sam Goodyear states that teenagers are among the top users of social media platforms, and that it is embedded in our culture.  If social media is used correctly it can be very powerful, it connects us to each other and to other parts of the world.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/samantha-goodyear/the-power-of-social-media_3_b_5161138.html

Because teens are the main audience that is actively using Social media it is a great place for Nestle to be.  Teens and children are the target audience of Nestle’s marketing, I mean what child doesn’t like candy? By teens calling the customer service and getting the “Funner Menu Option” it is destined to go online and spread like a wildfire.  

This is great marketing for Nestle because the customers are doing it for them, it is free, and it is getting them a lot of publicity.  This menu option created brand awareness which is letting customers know your companies personality. If you were not aware of Nestle before this menu change, you were sure to hear of it and learn the personality of the company.  

Customers loved this menu change, and it helped create a loyal fanbase.  People were draw to Nestle, they created lifelong customers. I guarantee that when someone goes to the store and has a choice between Nestle and Mars they will remember the Nestle’s “Funner Menu Option” and choose their product.  

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/

There is no way that Nestle could have known how big of an impact their “Funner Menu Option” would have on their customers.  It was the perfect option for their target audience, and to get their name known.

Positioning

According to smallbusiness.com positioning in a marketing standpoint is, a marketing concept that outlines what a business should do to market its product or service to its customers.This is done through promotion, price, place and, product. It is also defined by techtarget.com by, the process of identifying an appropriate market niche for a product, service or brand and getting it established it in that area The more time put into a positioning strategy the more effective it will be.  The goal of positioning is to move a product from the marketed stage to the buying stage.

There are three ways positioning is used, this is through advertisements, sales location(s), and price.  Businesses usually will first start with advertising This is important to get your product out there. It is also important to be aware of your targeted audience and cater the advertising towards them.  

It is important to place the sales location as close the targeted audience as possible.  Also take into consideration if your audience has cars, or is old enough to drive. It is also important to keep the advertising the same in the store as where it is marketed at in other locations or platforms.

Most people associate price with quality.  Meaning if your product has a low price it also has low quality and vice versa.  If there is already a market for your product than it is smart to price your product in the middle of the market.  I do not think that this is always the case, I think you should price your product on what you believe it is valued, and at a price where it will still be bought.  

 

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/positioning-marketing-plan-22983.html

 

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/positioning

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has a variety of meaning that has changed over time.  Ten years ago crowdfunding was primarily used by nonprofits to raise money for their organizations.  These donations were typically sent in the mail in the form of a check. Today we see crowdfunding through sources such as GoFundme, and YouCaring.  These are powerful peer to peer fundraising used for literally anything.

I often see these crowdfunding used to help donate to a family who has lost a loved one, has been in a recent car accident, or is suffering from a disease.  My friend recently posted on afcebook that for her birthday she wanted her friends and family to donate to the underground railroad operation. This was done through Facebook, it showed what her goal was, how much money she earned, and who had contributed.  I think that this is a great way to be selfless and to give back to the community.

Crowdfunding is also used by innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs.  These people have an idea for something they want to create, but they do not have the money to make their creation a reality.  This can be solved by crowdfunding, this type of crowdfunding takes a few more steps. These are; create a pre-launch party of true believers, crafting a well-designed page and video of your creation, have an analytic infrastructure, activating the community on launch day, and have a clear pre-launch and post-campaign in place.

I am sure that most of us have seen or participated in some type of crowdfunding, we just did not know what it was.  Using social media to crowdfund can bring in a larger audience which leads to a bigger chance of having more donations.  It is a great outlet to support your community, or to get funding to help launch your new creative idea.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2018/06/25/what-is-crowdfunding/#46043b1d65c5

https://www.crowdfunding-101.com/home?gclid=CjwKCAjwvuzkBRAhEiwA9E3FUthirM3X6y0aOB00qvWFFByaWCuFE7AY38hhBOuLsP8esKbNOCK7BRoC8M8QAvD_BwE

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is, a strategic planning technique used to help a person or organization identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to business competition or project planning.  It has been described as the tried-and-true tool of strategic analysis. It is an acronym that stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It helps companies to overcome challenges and determine what new things to pursue.  It also helps organizations develop full awareness of all the factors involved in a decision.

A SWOT analysis is most often done by creating a table and splitting it into four columns.  Each column is titled by a different acronym from SWOT. Next, one must fill in each column, writing down the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that pertain the subject that is being analyzed.  It is suggested that there is at least three items under each column.

These analyses should not be done by only one person.  They are best done in groups that are contained of a variety of people from the company that have different opinions and ideas.  It is smart to give each member of the group a sticky note for them to write their ideas on and have each person share their own opinion, this prevents group think.  

Once the SWOT analysis is completed the business should be well on their way to carrying out their new idea.  Of course it will be a work in progress but it is a step forward and you will have a whole team beside you to help you carry on.  It is a layout for your companies plan and the starting point on how to carry out the new project.

https://www.liveplan.com/blog/what-is-a-swot-analysis-and-how-to-do-it-right-with-examples/

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4245-swot-analysis.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

 

Creating Knowledge

One of the most immediate outcomes of a piece of research is the generation of new knowledge and resources to support further research.  Research is an awesome way to create new knowledge and information that was not created or generated before. In the fall of 2019 I participated in creating new knowledge through research.  We gathered our information from surveys given to students at Utah State University and used the results to analyze the data to test our hypotheses and to create new information. We posed that as communication apprehension increases mental well-being decreases.  Our data collected proved a strong correlation to our hypothesis.

Participating in research is one way to create new knowledge.  Often times this can be a very time consuming and strenuous process.  So this begs the question, is there other ways to create new knowledge without performing research? Stephan Shahinian believes that there is a way, this is through self-created knowledge.

Self-created knowledge is when one first discovers knowledge through personal experiments and analysis, and later arguments this understanding with existing knowledge.  This understanding does not have to be completely original, but can also be personally created knowledge that is broadly available.

This knowledge can be found by demonstrating an experiment that you learned in school such as the Pavlovian theory.  You can snap your finger and hand your roommate a mint every time you do this. You can train your roommate to respond to your snaps.  Once we have done this experiment and found out if it works or not it then becomes knowledge that we have created for ourselves that we now know through experience.

www.researchmedia.com/amrc/making-a-difference-impact-report-2017/generating-new-knowledge/

https://medium.com/@stephanshahinian/there-is-nothing-more-powerful-than-self-created-knowledge-84e18ec0ca7

 

Go for your business dreams

A alumni from Utah State university Isaac Parkinson recently started his own business selling SkinGrip, an adhesive product for diabetics.  He started his business by using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Many startup businesses will start by using FBA. FBA is a paid service offered by amazon where a business can sale their products on the amazon website.  Their products are stored, shipped, and sold by Amazon. This is a great way for small businesses to gain business with all of the perks that the trusted company Amazon offers. This is a great option for starting a small business because you let amazon take care of the selling and shipping and you can focus on making the product and business better.   

https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.html

Parkinson said, “Most people think you need to reinvent the wheel in order to start a business, but that is simply not true. What is often much easier to do is find a product that is already selling well and then improve upon it to make your product superior.”  He expounded on this statement and said that you need to target a product that is already invented and target a specific group of people. To make your product better than what is already created you can talk to people who use the product and read the negative reviews from the product and see what you can do to reduce these negative effects in your product to make it even better. 

It is important to be passionate about what you are selling because, “If you are not passionate about what you are doing you will eventually burn out and quit. Just remember that if you are not passionate for what you are doing, you will lose to someone who is passionate for that product or industry.”  When times get hard with your business remember it is the one who has passion that will outsell the competition and stay in business. So be wise when choosing what you want to sale and do not be afraid to take a leap for what you are passionate about, it will be hard but a fulfilling journey.

https://medium.com/@isaacparkinson/the-10-things-i-learned-from-starting-my-first-business-8b7a95aaff2f?fbclid=IwAR2G_aRZwtnlcmy6zSxAaP4vzICNt4YOVeDdSaFnwJJyQypHx635jMb3-5A

 

Business Protection

When starting a business one of the first things you need to do is obtain an LLC for your business.  These are not hard to get but it can save you much potential heartache if you do not have one. An LLC separates the individual from the business, for example if you have a business LLC and your company files for bankruptcy, than you do not file for bankruptcy.  It keeps your protected by financial or legal hits that may happen to your business.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/75118

Another thing you will want to get when starting a business is business liability insurance.  A business liability is  money owed by a business for the purchase of an asset.  An example of this would be the purchase of a business car.  The business owner would want to get insurance on this liability.  

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-are-business-liabilities-398321

There are many things that one will need to do to operate and own a business.  To get a good start a business owner will want to obtain a LLC and liability insurance.  These are a few ways to protect the company and business owner.