Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.) Intelligence: Having a great ability to learn on the fly and expand a project is one of the skills that I have.

• V- Valuable because in order to have a successful business, you must have high intelligence.
• R- It is rare to find this in students nowadays who know how to harness their intelligence.
• I- It would be very easy for someone else to come along with this same resource
• N- This is non-substitutable because students can't do this kind of job without this resource.

2.) Experience: Compared to other potential creators of a product like this, I have experience first-hand with today's youth and college students.

• V- My experience is valuable because I am able to avoid potential mistakes in the marketing or creation processes.
• R- It is rare to find big business ideas with creators who have good experience with college students.
• I- At UF, it would be easy for someone else to come along with this same resource, but outside of college towns, it would not be easy.
• N- This is non-substitutable because you have to have experience in whatever field in order to succeed.

3.) Human Capital: I came up with this entrepreneurial idea of phone jumper cables, and without the original idea, we are unsure if anyone else would have come along with it.

• V- Without the initial idea, there is no foundation to the project in the first place.
• R- It is not rare to have human capital, but it is rare to think of this specific idea to pursue, when there are so many different ideas.
• I- It is not easy for someone to develop this specific idea from their human capital
• N- In general, human capital is non-substitutable because it is a huge umbrella over so many important resources.

4.) Financial Capital: I have financial capital because I have the finances to get this business started in the initial stages before any revenue comes in.

• V- Financial capital will be valuable for the initial getting started process, as well as the times whenever sales might be down.
• R- It is rare to have strong financial capital because it must be worked for, and many people are not willing to work.
• I- It is fairly easy for someone to use this same resource for their own business so long as they have the capital to start with.
• N- This is non-substitutable because 

5.) Involves daily usage: This is very important for the sales of the product, because everyone will see other people using it each day.

• V- Constant use of the product will bring about more recognition and eventually, more sales in the future.
• R- This is not very rare to have in a product, but it does keep the product apart from your typical consumer product.
• I- It is not extremely easy to find a product that has everyday use while staying durable and of good quality.
• N- Non-substitutable because for a product like this, you can't have a person buying a new one each day. It needs to be an investment.

6.) Relationships/Network: Knowing the right people to help you get the ball rolling is crucial.  That is exactly what my business idea will have at its disposal.

• V- Knowing the right people has not only brought me other key resources like knowledge or financial capital, but it is extremely valuable for growth.
• R- This is rare because while you might know many people, you need to know the right ones, and you need to know how to create good relationships with them.
• I- This is easily easy to imitate as long as you know how to use the skills. 
• N- This can be substituted by creating a well-rounded marketing strategy

7.) Business Management Skills: Necessary if there is going to be a team put together

• V- These skills are valuable because management is necessary to keep all moving parts of a product's team intact and running smoothly.
• R- These skills are somewhat rare because they require strong leaders, usually with college degrees.
• I- These skills are not very easy to copy because they require many years of experience and education in the world of business.
• N- Non-substitutable because the business will fall apart without proper management overseeing activities.

8.) Accounting Skills:  These skills have been developed throughout my experience as Treasurer of my fraternity.

• V- Valuable because if the books aren't kept straight, money will become the biggest problem, and potentially legal issues.
• R- These skills are somewhat rare because they require many years of experience and education from college.
• I- These skills are not very easy to copy because they require many years of experience and education in the world of business.
• N- Non-substitutable because the business will fall apart without proper accounting to control all inflow and outflow.

9.) Smartphone usage numbers: Everyone uses smartphones nowadays, which can be a great resource to the business.

• V- Valuable because the product has a high chance of selling because there are so many customers who might need this type of product.
• R- Not a rare resource in this era
• I- It is easy to copy this advantage because of the many different gadgets that involve smartphones
• N- Non-substitutable because the entire product depends on the use of smart phones.

10.) Locational advantage: Not only living in the city of a college campus, but actually living on campus can be a huge advantage

• V- Valuable because it is very helpful to be immersed in your market
• R- Rare because there are not many entrepreneurs who live on a college campus
• I- It is easy to copy this because all someone needs to do is to move on campus.
• N- This is substitutable because some companies can have reps at all college campuses to get feedback on consumer behavior.

I think my top resource is my management skills.  Throughout the several leadership roles I have had during my time at UF, I have grown in business management experience, along with growth in management education through the school of business.