24A

     Throughout this course I have identified many potentially exploitable business opportunities as well as developed many of the skills required for an entrepreneur to be successful. Each assignment has taught me to think a lot about what it means to be an entrepreneur and through that thinking I have been able to identify many of my own strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, however, this course has given me the opportunity to develop and commit to the business concept of opening my own hair cutting service in my area. In this assignment I want to discuss this opportunity in more detail along with the innovation in my new business and the venture concept as a whole.

Opportunity:

When thinking about opportunity in the world of business, one should bring their attention first to market segments. Throughout this course I have been programmed to examine customers as part of larger segments that make up an overall larger market.  By using market segments to identify potential customers, we can also look into potential unmet needs that are common among our market segment. I decided to target young adults because it is a category that I fall into. Being a potential customer within your own market segment has helped me to see potential flaws in my business and helped me to see possible angles I could exploit to make my business profitable. I started by thinking some of my own unmet  needs and the first thing that came to mind was a haircut. I noticed that because of the Corona virus pandemic going on in our country and throughout the world, many personal and non essential businesses have shut down to help slow the curve. However, this has caused me, as well as many of my friends to have gone months without a haircut. My business opportunity was born. I set out to develop a cheap, easy and safe way to cut hair for people in my area. My service would work through a scheduling app where customers schedule an appointment at a time and place of their choice, and I would come to them and cut their hair. I can maintain a safe working environment despite the close encounter with customers by always wearing a mask and gloves while in an appointment, then sterilizing all my equipment after each visit.

The nature of a need for a haircut is one that few people do not possess. Because  a haircut is an easy place for people to turn to improve their self esteem. My business opportunity can exploit this under met need to have high self esteem. Customers are currently leaving this need unsatisfied, in the midst of the global pandemic. Many of the customers in my target segment are doing so because it is hard to maintain social distance in public while also getting a haircut. Additionally because many barbershops are now working at limited capacity, the wait time to get a haircut has also skyrocketed.  I can maintain social distance as stated above and I can eliminate long wait times by having customers schedule their appointments days in advance and allow customers to stay in the comfort of their own homes. I believe this opportunity has the potential to be very profitable in the short term as people look to fulfill this unmet need while also maintaining social distance. However I think this idea is very unique because it has long term potential as well. As customers get used to no wait times and getting a cheap but quality hair cut from the comfort of their own home, they will ditch the old model of going into a barber shop altogether. I think this has the potential to grow into a full time job in the future.

Innovation:

Whenever one is starting a new business concept, they have to consider what innovation they are bringing to the table that sets them apart from the competition. As discussed above, many young adults and males in my area have an unmet need, need a haircut, yet have no way to get one due to long wait times and the desire to maintain social distance. I think the innovation of creating a schedule where I come to people’s house to cut hair is very unique and creates a personal experience that innovates the hair cutting experience all together. I think that providing a haircutting service that goes to the customer is only incrementally innovative and may already exist. However, none in my area are of any note and there is a large opportunity for me to take advantage of a wide open market. Unfortunately again however my service is very imitable and can be copied very easily by competitors so I have to focus on providing a higher quality hair cut then other people which ultimately falls down to preference.

Venture Concept:

Now that I have addressed the opportunity I wish to exploit and the innovation I plan on utilizing to ensure my business is profitable in the short and long term, I can move on to the venture concept. Because wait times and hazardous conditions in the public, people now more than ever are looking for safe ways to receive services they used to go out and get. I believe by making a hair cutting service that goes to the customer and can fulfill my target segments under met needs while walking the tightrope their demands require. If I were to orchestrate a business from this plan it would be to maintain an app where independent contracted hairdressers can put up times for people to book appointments in any and all areas. This would mean there is no limit to the height this idea can climb.

Minor Elements:

The secret sauce to my venture is the app people would use to schedule an appointment and the top notch customer service I plan to provide.

The next step for this business venture is to recruit other barbers to get on to the scheduling app.




In five years, I would hope this business would have taken off and I can start to develop other non essential services people could receive from the comfort of their homes.