Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

1.  Who has the need?
1. The need has not varied by much but it has been more customized to the clientele.  Working families appreciated grocery shopping, bachelors liked the aspect of dry cleaning pick-up or eent catering.  Students, while they likely could not afford the service, they liked the idea of the expansion (what's next) of powerpoint presentations or resume writing. 
2. Nature of the need?
1. The need is not a necessity but self satisfaction of having someone else handle mediocre tasks that you may not necessarily want to do or have time to do.
3. The forces or changes in the environment are creating this opportunity is convenience.  However, I have learned from the comments that this company is not recession proof and an expansion would be needed to keep it afloat.
4. The market has not expanded outside of the Central Florida area but geographically and demographically was conducted with in person surveys. However, I did further research after several peers told me other services like mine existed so I think there is a bigger demographic that I learned about.
5. Customers are currently satisfying this need by piece mealing their needs from different vendors instead of a one stop shop.  They are hiring a separate person to be a nanny and pick-up their kids, a groomer to come to their house, etc.
6. I think the opportunity is there but it may not be on a large scale and I would sway my marketing away from college towns because the students were the least interested.

Innovation

The services I am looking to provide is an on call concierge service.  Not all services will be included, such as oil changes or babysitting but a list of services would be available for lookup on the website or via the smartphone app.  The services will include, drop/off pick-up for airports, children school/after school activities, pet care (to and from the vet or groomers); it would include assistance in being the point of contact for catering events, could assist in making bank deposits, drop off/pick-up of car repair or detailing, dry cleaning drop/off pick-up.  Other services can be added upon reviewing of request and demand.  The cost for the service is a set $20 within a 10 mile radius of the pick-up location.  Thereafter, a charge of $1 per mile will be added for travel costs.

Venture Concept

1.  What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch?
1. Trust and convenience were the number one reasons I read that people would want this product.  As long as the people had background checks done and a reputable standing of clients, people would like to utilize this service.  The biggest demand being a loyal rewards program.  The expansion idea of resume and presentation services was also well received and something I would seriously consider adding. 
2. Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 
1. This was a rude awakening for me, I thought this was an innovative idea and many of my peers told me about other services.  Some specialized with just certain demographics like seniors and others were versatile like mine. One Concierge and Gazelle Concierge are just to name a few.
3. What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play in defining your business concept?
1. The best feedback I received was a referral services and loyal rewards.  Ie: if someone uses two services a week, could they get a discounted rate.  If they refer a friend, could they get one service for free.  My pricing structure has not changed and it would remain at $20 per errand.
4. How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?
1. I started out the company with just me in my previous post.  This time around I would include a couple of contract people to be on call, I realized if I had multiple clients and they needed me at the same time, I would quickly lose business if I could not fulfill the demands.  Eventually I would like to grow the business to other areas outside of Central Florida and use my family who lives in other states to trust to run the business.