Bug List

In this blog post I'll be detailing 20 things that bug me, as well as some reasoning behind each item in this list.

1. When students talk during class in NPB 1001 (200+ person lecture hall)
• Besides direct action by another student in the class, it can often be hard for the professor to locate a talking student in such a large classroom. 
2. Being able to hear others through headphones while listening to media
•  Most affordable studio headphones do not come with noise cancellation technology, which is often what is needed to be able to listen to a video or music and not hear outside noise.
3. Having difficulty finding a specific apartment in large complexes like The Enclave (apartment complex south of Archer Road)
•  The Enclave lacks a map, both physically and on the internet, making it hard to find specific buildings without having been to the complex several times previously.
4. Having to wait while streamed music buffers on my phone because it’s the end of the month and I’ve used up my 4G data
•  There does currently exist a phone plan provided by a carrier in the U.S. that includes true unlimited data. Any current "unlimited" data plan puts a cap on the high speed data and then slows down data speeds once this cap is reached.
5. Forgetting when my UF parking decal has expired (or if I’ve bought a semester or year decal) and receiving a ticket due to forgetting
•  UF does not send notifications of any kind to decal holders which makes it easier to forget to renew.
6. Watching pre-preview commercials at Regal movie theaters in town (which pretty much adds 20 minutes to my time at the theatre)
•  Movie theaters make less money from ticket sales and consequently have to gain revenue from other sources. Maybe if they offered a ticket upgrade to opt-out of these commercials, viewers could have a more pleasant experience.
7. Being able to only sync my iPhone with one computer at a time
•  iTunes works on a system where personal devices (like iPhones) should mirror the iTunes library on a computer. This creates a system where an iPhone can only mirror one computer at a time, instead of being to receive music from any computer it is connected to.
8. Having to sync my iPhone every time I want to manually add music to it
•  As stated above, iTunes tries to keep the media library on a personal device looking the same as the library in iTunes. Therefore, if there exists music on a personal device that was purchased through that personal device, iTunes will often times take the music off (since it does not have a downloaded copy of that purchased media).
9. Waiting for hours to take the bus back home after a UF football game 
•  To begin with, many of the buses in the RTS bus system are used to transport guests back to their cars (passengers have to pay for tickets to use this service). Additionally, the buses that are still in service after the game being their regular routes 2 hours after the end of the football game.
10. Being surprised by someone walking across a crosswalk on campus (due to being hidden by bus or car)
•  Crosswalks on UF campus do not have indicators of any kind to show when there is a pedestrian crossing. Even light indicators could be of use in this case.
11. Driving around every level of the parking garage by Southwest Recreational Center to find an open parking spot 
•  This (and other parking garages in UF) do not have an indicator which could at the very least show how many open spots there are on every level.
12. Forgetting my sunglasses or phone charger somewhere
• Items like sunglasses and phone chargers do not have hardware to connect to personal devices like a smart phone (for the most part). As such it can be easy to forget these kind of items without some kind of reminder in place.
13. Failing to hear the washing machine buzz and leaving soggy clothes in the washer for a long time. 
•  The root to this problem is similar to the root detailed in Bug 12 (above this bug). Washing machines really have no way to let you know they are done with their task with the exception of the buzzer.
14. Having to go onto Archer road to get between sections of Butler plaza
•  Butler Plaza is not organized in a way that makes it easy to go from one side of the shopping center to the other. One way road lie separate different sections of the plaza, making it easier to go onto Archer road (with all of its traffic) than to drive inside the plaza.
15. Needing to park far away from campus and walk in order to drive to UF football games
•  UF does not have sufficient space or a plan in place to allow for parking near the football stadium. Even the parking garages that do exist at the moment are nowhere near the stadium and require a good bit of walking.
16. Spending more than 10 minutes trying to find a parking spot near midtown due to frequency of decal parking
•  More decals are sold than there are decal parking spots. Parking in general is very scarce near the midtown area, causing many people to have to park far way from their intended destination.
17. Lack of cold Starbucks vending machine drinks without dairy milk (instead of with almond or soy milk)
•  I do not believe there is a lack of a market for a cold Starbucks beverage of this kind. This being said, it is possible Starbucks does not have an acceptable recipe for an non-dairy coffee drink.
18. Lack of use for coins in most everyday transactions
•  Most people prefer the convenience of using debit/credit cards to pay for goods. This usually eliminates the need for cash, especially coins (which are more often than not given back as change).
19. The need to use cash toll lanes when going out of state since, not all states use same "Sunpass" system.
• There is no "Sunpass/EZpass" system in place at the federal level. If there was, then one system could be used no matter the state.
20.  Having to tune an instrument every time it is taken out of the case to be played. 
• Most instruments cannot tune themselves and can go out of tune due to differences in air temperature and environment. A self-tuning instrument would be extremely convenient. 

I found that making this list was much harder than I anticipated it would be. Many times I found myself feeling bugged about a problem I encountered in my daily life, but had difficulty identifying what caused this problem. It can also be hard to remember to write down a problem that bugged me, especially when I needed to come up with 20 items. However, I can see how this process can be very useful in identifying an opportunity for an entrepreneur. Chances are that if I feel bugged about a problem, then there is at least one group of people that are also bugged by the same problem and who would consider obtaining a solution if one existed on the market.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

During the course of reading Chapter 1 of our textbook (by Donald F. Kuratko) I was most surprised by the number of new firms that are created every year. According to the reading, "one new firm with employees is established every year for every 300 adults". Furthermore, 14 to 16 new firms are created for every 100 existing businesses. To me those numbers definitely speak for themselves. While every new business may not become an instant success, new businesses lead to a large amount of economic growth and continue to emphasize the importance of entrepreneurs.

While I enjoyed reading Chapter 1, there was one section that proved to be confusing to me. Dr. Kuratko goes into detail on different process approaches for entrepreneurs. One of these, the integrative approach, outlined in a general manner some of the key elements to being a successful entrepreneur. While I understood what each key element meant, I had difficulty understanding how they worked together, especially in affecting the entrepreneurial intensity of the business venture.

If I had the opportunity to get in contact with Dr. Kuratko, I would ask him which school of entrepreneurial thought is considered to be the most effective and what environments have been studied the most with regards to promoting entrepreneurial growth in individuals. The first question has to do with narrowing down the different schools of entrepreneurial thought that are presented in the chapter. While it is good to know what options have been considered and developed up to the present, I believe it is more useful to know which schools of thought lead to the most success overall in newly created businesses. The second question has a more personal reasoning behind it. I agree that environments can have a large impact on entrepreneurs, but I would prefer to find those environments in my own community in order to grow as an individual as well.

Overall I believe that Dr. Kuratko performed an excellent job in outlining the place that entrepreneurs have in our economy. His use of supporting texts from other authors was especially good as it allowed his points to be substantiated with academic research done by others.

My Entrepreneurship Story - Sebastián Edition

One of my most memorable exposures to entrepreneurship would be from my previous boss (let's call him George for privacy purposes). 

Early last fall I got a job with a travel business that specialized in making reservations for other companies (who actually ran the excursions customer made reservations for). This job only served as a means to an end in sustaining my education. However, I was surprised to learn that this business was George's first business, which he created while still in college. In fact, George has grown and sustained his business for 13 years, all the while creating other successful business. 

Today George owns (or co-owns) a web-design/marketing firm, a local moving company, and a photo-booth rental service, all of which were financed from the travel business. It really opened my eyes to how so much can be achieved by identifying a good niche for a business and having the confidence to work hard on a leap of faith. Even if George's travel business had failed to take off, I have a feeling that the lessons learned along the way would have led to success in his other ventures.

On another note, I choose to enroll in ENT 3003 for numerous reasons. The first and foremost being that I plan on minoring in entrepreneurship. Obviously ENT 3003 is a major component of this minor.   I also choose to enroll in this class because I'm looking to develop more personal and professional skills. In order to grow (and start fulfilling my goals of being a consultant/business owner) I need to have confidence in myself and work hard towards reaching my goals. 

With ENT 3003 being an online class, I'll be required to manage my own time and practice goal-setting, followed by goal-achieving! I also believe that the variety of experiences I'll be exposed to in this class will help me in the bigger picture of life after college.

Thanks for reading!

Formal Introduction

Hello there!

Although this is my third post, I thought I would make a formal introduction so that you'll know more about me as you're reading my blog posts. 

I'm currently a 2nd year at UF, majoring in Computer Science. Although I was born in Pennsylvania, my parents were born in Puerto Rico and I consider myself to be a Puerto Rican. 

If you haven't been to Puerto Rico I would highly recommend stopping by. Not only is Puerto Rico part of the U.S. (meaning you don't need a passport or change currency) but it's also the home of a great culture. San Juan, El Yunque, and other locations in Puerto Rico definitely make it an island worth stopping by. 

As a Computer Science major I'm also very interested in anything related to technology, especially software. I'll be starting an internship with Infinite Energy this semester, which will give me a better idea of what career goals I should set for myself upon graduating. However, I do know that I would like to possibly own my own business or act as an independent consultant as I feel that I could manage my projects in a way that interests me much more (without being tied to a large corporation).

If you're into software or are a fellow CSE student, feel free to send me an email and contact me! I'm always looking to make new contacts and meet more people.

I'm excited to start this semester with ENT 3003 as one of my classes and I'll be posting again soon!

My Rendition of the Entrepreneur's Mantra

Enjoy!