| Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law? I want to assume that the main reasons entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law are due to ignorance, laziness, or eagerness. There is a whole entire learning module on Canvas that goes over the legal issues associated with entrepreneurship and it makes seem hard to get into trouble with the law when guidelines are clearly laid out. Dr. Jing Zhang in her legal issues introduction discusses that legal issues can occur despite the individual’s efforts and customers can do things like sue (Zhang, n.d.). My original assumptions most likely still hold some level of truth because I see it happen in the real world, but it is not the whole picture. Entrepreneurs can get in trouble with the law at any time and it seems like the risk they take when they sign off on being an entrepreneur. References: Zhang, Dr. J. (n.d.). Legal Issues: Introduction: 202220_CPD494_30646 ENTREPRENEURSHIP-PROF STUDIES. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/131858/pages/legal-issues-introduction?module_item_id=4029372 |
| What does psychology have to do with marketing? Psychology, I imagine, has plenty to do with marketing. Marketing a product without any thought into the psyche of the market would most likely produce undesirable results for the entrepreneur. Dr. Brian Porter introduces marketing in one of the course modules that provides a distinguished overview of how psychology plays a role in marketing (Porter, n.d.). An important aspect of marketing psychology has to do with humans and the decisions they choose to make (Porter, n.d.). Thus leads to the importance of the way marketers should be presenting information (Porter, n.d.). Marketers should compose their messages in a way that makes it sound like whatever it is they are selling will be considered a gain in the consumer’s eyes as opposed to a loss (Porter, n.d.). This makes a lot of sense. I asked myself if I would ever be swayed into buying a product that included language that points to potential loss and no I would not. My first reaction to something like that would be no way. For example, a college would never advertise its programs and post the fail rate. If I saw that, I would be very unmotivated and assume the programs are not doing what they are supposed to do to support students’ success. References: Porter, Dr. B. (n.d.). Marketing—Module Activities: 202220_CPD494_30646 ENTREPRENEURSHIP-PROF STUDIES. Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/131858/pages/marketing-module-activities?module_item_id=4029385 What types of marketing sway my decisions? Lately, with the boom of social media and the integral role that it plays in everyday life, I find myself being swayed into making decisions on products easily. Social media has had the power to make products and entrepreneurs gain popularity quicker than ever. A person online can simply share a testimonial about a product they have enjoyed and within a week that product is being sold out in stores. I have started to find products online and immediately feel the need to buy it immediately due to the fear of the product possibly selling out. One company that I see using a strategy to create urgency in buying is Owala. They sell water bottles with their innovative technologies but have started selling specialized colors/designs by announcing a release date and then only making a limited amount available. This has sparked my need to buy this water bottle and just the other day they dropped a design I was fond of. I was on that website the minute it was released and within that same minute, it sold out. Owala is sparking that urgency and needs to buy their water bottles especially if they are one of a kind. |
| How can I pitch ideas better? Ideas can be pitched better just like anything else can be done better. Before this class, I always assumed that ideas are always great ideas if they are backed by an extremely intense presentation. Guy Kawasaki has proven me wrong with his very informative video. Kawasaki explains that presentations should only be about 10 slides, completed in 20 minutes, and written in 30-point font (Barker, 2013). This advice has been notably titled the 10-20-20 rule (Barker, 2013). By no means does this seem like an easy task, but it seems reachable and dismantles my preconceived ideas of pitches needing to be extravagant. It goes along with the idea that bigger does not always mean better. After watching the video and reflecting on it, I also thought about what I would do if someone presented me with something that was longer than 20 minutes. I would lose interest and my mind will start to wander and go anywhere but to the presentation. It seems as if pitch ideas become better by listening to professionals and following what they recommend. They are the ones who have had the experience and found the sweet spot in giving pitches. References: Barker, W. (2013, April 29). Guy Kawasaki the 10:20:30 pitch rule. – YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0iqIBDVMOyw What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching? I believe my strengths in pitching are found within the information that is needed to give a pitch and the creativity behind the pitch. Throughout my life, I have always been pretty good at putting together presentations and having the correct information. The presentations I create tend to be detailed and considerably creative. Recently one of my presentations was even used as a demonstration in class. While I find myself being fully capable of creating content that can go into the pitch to make it impressionable, my weakness is delivering the pitch with confidence. The people you see on shark tank exemplify confidence and that is something I am not very good at. Having to stand in front of people is nerve-racking and comes with all sorts of anxieties for me. What if they do not like my idea? Will they laugh in my face? These are true fears and something I need to sort out before finally pitching the idea my team and I create. |