k-9 to 5, daycare

 

Liz Blondy came to visit our class and shared with us her experiences of owning a business and shared many interesting stories with our class on some of the mistakes she made while running her business. Liz started of

f by saving all of the money she could to get the business started. I thought this was an excellent example of bootstrapping. She was basically bootstrapping her life so she could save her money and ope

n

up her business. She got the idea to open a doggy daycare from a friend who would drive all the way

out to ferndale from Detroit to take her dog to a daycare. She saw the opportunity and took a

dvantage of it. Before opening Canine to five she wasn’t a dog owner didn’t have any skills nor did she have any knowledge on dogs in general. All she knew was that there was an opportunity that had not been taken advantage of. In preparation of opening her daycare she started volunteering at dog shelters such as the Michigan Humane Society and

Ohio Dog shelters and Day-cares. After working in the field she then could go into the business with some knowledge rather than none. The only element I think Liz is missing from her business is a unique selling proposition. One of our students consistently asked her what it was and she couldn’t give an answer. I think if she could find a unique selling proposition rather than just good customer service I think she would be able to double her sales. One thing that I did like about her was that she worked in the field before actually entering into it. That is something I need to do because I have 1000 ideas but have not worked in most of the industries. I do believe this speaker has given me the push to start working in my field before I start my business.

purfect, the opener

Bob Mazur has demonstrated to me the true definition of  faith and hard work. I truly respect Bob for being where he is today.

Bob Mazur is still in the introduction process of the life cycle of a business and is still testing out the market after 5 years of hard work. He has not returned a profit yet and he is fine with that. Bob Mazre thought of his product from a family member who needed to open up a pill bottle and could not. So he decided to open the purfect opener which would take care of all the problems of opening a pill bottle and other useful tools for everyday living. Bob is bootstrapping his business and is paying himself very little in order to put more into the business. Bob has won many awards on his business and business plan and receiving cash rewards for his business from business competitions. He has had his product sold at different trade shows and has sold on QVC.

One problem that I think is wrong with Bob is that he doesnt really know his target market. And doesnt have a solid marketing plan. He really doesnt know how to do a consumer analysis or a SWOT analysis. I honestly think that 5 years could of been reduced down with an excellent marketing plan and a detailed business plan.