25A: Whats Next
Existing Market:
In the existing market the next step could be adding a driving service. If our name gets out there we could be trusted to be a great company and could be used for driving as well. We could compete with Uber by charging cheaper prices.
After interviewing my three friends that go to UF they all agreed that expanding into the driving market might not be the best idea. They mentioned Uber is too big to try to compete with and charging cheaper prices would be like suicide to the company.
What makes sense to me is to keep with the peer to peer parking. This service is unique and cant really be expanded into another service or product. UF is very straight forward with the need and I think focussing specifically on the need is important.
While focusing on the need I will be able to expand as much as I can within Gainesville. Making Gainesville my home base, I will have a good backbone moving forward. With a dominant customer base and an efficient process I think focusing heavily on just this service would be the best option.
New Market:
We could target businesses. For instance at a stadium a lot of businesses rent out their empty spaces for the ball games. Even airports. People who go to travel for a week can keep their cars somewhere other than at the airport. This would be a new market to target.
This would create value because businesses that pay someone to hold a sign up to advertise their parking could pocket some money and costs them for payroll. On the other hand advertising through us would bring them more money overall.
The three friends I interviewed all came up with just about the same response. They agreed these markets could be awesome to exploit. They all said they would look into it when they visit a ballgame and try to find parking through my app. They didn't give me any adaptations they agreed with the idea overall.
Reflecting on the assignment I think it is definitely worth splitting out into new markets down the road. this would bring more money overall and help majority of people and even businesses. I learned that airports could be a great target. I learned that my friends think I should jump on the opportunity right away.
As far as the new market I think it should be smart just to focus on the parking and try to make it as strong as possible. Focusing on the same market and just strengthening it to have a strong foundation is key to exploiting new markets.
Hey Thomas! I think it is very important to state you didn't feel discouraged because your idea didn't work out in your existing market. Being able to move forward and keep doing what you're good at is very important. As with your new market it would make sense to try and target businesses and give them a cut for their parking spaces! Good post.
ReplyDeleteThomas, I like how you had two different experiences with the new market and the existing market. This will naturally get in your way as an entrepreneur and its great to see how you experienced this in the earliest stages of just learning this in class! Good thing you did not give up. I like to believe that that's the first successful step any business owner/product developer takes in their career. Continue the good work.
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