Tuesday, December 2, 2008
SleePod blog
Though we still have yet to do our business presentation, I would say that our group was highly successful in creating the business plan and all other additional sleePod assignments. From conceptualizing to a more roughed out idea, our group worked very well together with planning and executing. The amount of requirements became a bit stressful, but in the end, we managed and finished with some pretty spiffy ideas =P. An awesome group, good job guys! =D
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Greenhouse Management
Before my interview with the greenhouse owner Rosy (who's actual name will not be disclosed for confidentiality purposes... hey, this is the Internet after all, and any Joe Schmoe or John Dohn or Sarah Palin can gain access to this blog!), I was always under the impression that managing a greenhouse required growing flowers in the production stage and then selling flowers in the retail stage. Before you start babbling, "Huh? But that's what you do though!", let me explain my initial perception of greenhouse management.
I'm sure many without a strong business background would agree that, without overthinking the situation, a greenhouse involves primarily just growing and selling. But there's much more to it than that kids - there are the seminars that must be seminared, the taxes that must be taxed, the managing that must be managed, and most importantly, the planning that must be planned (redundancy is key).
Having an overall business plan is essential, but what's even more critical to the survival of a floral business is understanding how to approach the entire situation - meaning, should I purchase this seed or that? When should I sell my flowers? Should I go with the soup or the salad? It's a very generally understood statement that excellent organizational and planning skills are required to succeed, but in the management of a greenhouse, containing these two traits are more important than you may imagine. Being able to efficiently plan your inventory and selling techniques can make a huge difference.
The greenhouse runs on a seasonal basis divided into different segments throughout the year, with the most critical and time consuming segment being preparation - studying what flowers to sell based on observation and gathered data, ordering seeds and growing flowers, and preparing your inventory for the couple of months in which you'll be reeling in profit. Planning and preparation lasts for approximately 4 - 6 months. Next comes the selling segment, and finally closing up for the season. It may sound simple, but there's so much work to be done, such as hiring employees, the labor of bookkeeping, managing costs for products, and so forth.
There's a very defined field of consumer demand when working in the floral business. For example, certain flowers have incredible selling value on Mother's Day, while the same flowers may not see another sale for days, and Rosy cites weather as one of the most influential factors in determining how many customers will show up on that given day. A sunny day may attract quite a few customers, whereas no one will want to be out shopping for flowers during a hailstorm or an earth-shattering tornado (except for maybe Dorothy or Auntie Em).
Managing a greenhouse takes time, effort, patience, dedication, commitment, organization skills, goals, ambition, aspirations, desires, adherence, objectives, targets, initiatives, logical thinking, planning, and devotedness (did I miss any) to succeed.
I'm sure many without a strong business background would agree that, without overthinking the situation, a greenhouse involves primarily just growing and selling. But there's much more to it than that kids - there are the seminars that must be seminared, the taxes that must be taxed, the managing that must be managed, and most importantly, the planning that must be planned (redundancy is key).
Having an overall business plan is essential, but what's even more critical to the survival of a floral business is understanding how to approach the entire situation - meaning, should I purchase this seed or that? When should I sell my flowers? Should I go with the soup or the salad? It's a very generally understood statement that excellent organizational and planning skills are required to succeed, but in the management of a greenhouse, containing these two traits are more important than you may imagine. Being able to efficiently plan your inventory and selling techniques can make a huge difference.
The greenhouse runs on a seasonal basis divided into different segments throughout the year, with the most critical and time consuming segment being preparation - studying what flowers to sell based on observation and gathered data, ordering seeds and growing flowers, and preparing your inventory for the couple of months in which you'll be reeling in profit. Planning and preparation lasts for approximately 4 - 6 months. Next comes the selling segment, and finally closing up for the season. It may sound simple, but there's so much work to be done, such as hiring employees, the labor of bookkeeping, managing costs for products, and so forth.
There's a very defined field of consumer demand when working in the floral business. For example, certain flowers have incredible selling value on Mother's Day, while the same flowers may not see another sale for days, and Rosy cites weather as one of the most influential factors in determining how many customers will show up on that given day. A sunny day may attract quite a few customers, whereas no one will want to be out shopping for flowers during a hailstorm or an earth-shattering tornado (except for maybe Dorothy or Auntie Em).
Managing a greenhouse takes time, effort, patience, dedication, commitment, organization skills, goals, ambition, aspirations, desires, adherence, objectives, targets, initiatives, logical thinking, planning, and devotedness (did I miss any) to succeed.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
AVON: A Very Obscure Niche
I haven't had much business experience yet, but as a child, I helped my mother sell AVON products as a door-to-door salesman (er, salesboy) for a bit of payment. Of course, being only 10 or 11, I wasn't interested in who the products were targeted for, or what the consumers wanted - the only thing I was concerned with was walking door to door, shoving a catalog in an unsuspecting victim's face, and exclaiming, "Buy something! They're real good! And plus, I get money!". Of course, half of the time, it would result in the potential customer thinking up of an excuse on their toes... "I'm sorry, I don't have that kind of money," "I'm terribly sorry, I don't wear make-up," "I'm very sorry, my credit card was just stolen by a wild pack of frothing garden gnomes and my bank refused to reimburse me for the money lost because my ex-husband's lover was on Jeopardy."
I'll admit, AVON had quite a plethora of high quality products, ranging from mascara to lipstick and everything in between. As we all know in business though, the concept of supply and demand is highly crucial to successful sales. The problem was - AVON had a lot of supply, but unfortunately, my neighborhood had little demand, not to mention little money and little motivation to cosmetically enhance their appearance. It's like selling a computer to a house with no electricity; yeah, sure, it's cool and all, but the consumer will have absolutely no use for the product. I'm sure AVON focused on demographics when developing their products, but that isn't to say that their targeted audiences are slightly adjusted to every single neighborhood, every single person across the nation. A natural balance and average consumer demand must be reached, and my neighborhood just happened to be one of those few neighborhoods that had absolutely no need for any of AVON's products. Needless to say, sales were down in my neighborhood and I was back to spending my summer evenings counting the blades of grass outside.
My first and only pseudo-business adventure was a complete failure, but that's to be expected. Hopefully I'll gain a bit of success (and money) with my next business pitch - catching and selling edible golden walruses around the world. The first ten customers recieve a free T-SHIRT that says "I'm cool, cuz I rock" and an exclusive Jon Bobble head, finely crafted out of already chewed gum with unsurpassed detail.
That's all for now, be sure to check back as more assignments come up!
I'll admit, AVON had quite a plethora of high quality products, ranging from mascara to lipstick and everything in between. As we all know in business though, the concept of supply and demand is highly crucial to successful sales. The problem was - AVON had a lot of supply, but unfortunately, my neighborhood had little demand, not to mention little money and little motivation to cosmetically enhance their appearance. It's like selling a computer to a house with no electricity; yeah, sure, it's cool and all, but the consumer will have absolutely no use for the product. I'm sure AVON focused on demographics when developing their products, but that isn't to say that their targeted audiences are slightly adjusted to every single neighborhood, every single person across the nation. A natural balance and average consumer demand must be reached, and my neighborhood just happened to be one of those few neighborhoods that had absolutely no need for any of AVON's products. Needless to say, sales were down in my neighborhood and I was back to spending my summer evenings counting the blades of grass outside.
My first and only pseudo-business adventure was a complete failure, but that's to be expected. Hopefully I'll gain a bit of success (and money) with my next business pitch - catching and selling edible golden walruses around the world. The first ten customers recieve a free T-SHIRT that says "I'm cool, cuz I rock" and an exclusive Jon Bobble head, finely crafted out of already chewed gum with unsurpassed detail.
That's all for now, be sure to check back as more assignments come up!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Intro
This blog will deal with my interests, hobbies, life, or whatever assignments are required of this blog for class.
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