Your Venture's Unfair Advantage



1.     Creative Capabilities: I have always had a creative mindset which is valuable in determining how to best make a product that is different and catches the eye of consumers. Creativity is not “rare” but some people are definitely more business minded than creative so I do think that you cannot imitate it. You cannot substitute creativity, you either have it or you don’t.
2.     Social Media Techniques: Having previous experience with social media it is valuable to my company because this will be one of the ways that we advertise the product. It is not rare and it is definitely imitable since social media is such a big part of todays society but it is not substitutable because you need to have strong social media techniques in order to successfully use the outlets for your company.  
3.     Social Communications (AKA engagement through social media platforms): Having social media is one thing but being able to to effectively communicate your posts and talk to your customers via comments or direct messages is even more important. Since having internships with social media companies I have learned how to talk to people over socials. This isn’t necessarily rare but not everyone is good at handling people. It is imitable in the sense that someone else can be hired to do this in other companies but it is not substitutable.
4.     Understanding of finance: I have a general knowledge of money and how to effectively handle it and where it is best spent. This is not rare as there are many people who are good at handling money. It is imitable by hiring other people and can be substituted by banks or other accountants, etc.
5.     Personable:  I consider myself to be a very personable person. I am very good at reading people and their emotions which is a good quality when it comes to selling people a product. This isn’t a “rare” quality but not everyone has it and I feel it is very valuable. It is not imitable and not substitutable.
6.     Know engineers (who can help to create the product): My brother-in-law is an engineer and has knowledge of creating products. He also has many friends who are engineers as well which would be very helpful in actually making my product and figuring out the logistics. This is not rare as other people probably know engineers especially being in college and would be imitable.
7.     Strong leadership: I have always been involved in organizations like Student Government and running events which has set me up for knowledge in being a strong leader. This is valuable because it is what will keep a company running effectively. It is not exactly rare because there are other people with strong leadership skills but it is not imitable or substitutable because not everybody carries this quality and it can take a while to develop that skill.  
8.     Technologically savvy: I consider myself to be technologically savvy in knowing how to work many different programs and understanding the best way that this product will run. I believe that this is valuable in creating and marketing the product. It is not rare as millennial’s have grown up with technology and are very good at using it. It can be imitable by other people but is not substitutable.
9.     Aware of what people want and need: Having a natural awareness for how people are feeling or what they want is a very valuable quality. This is rare because not everyone is good at reading others. It is not really imitable because I don’t think you can learn how to read people and it is not substitutable.
10.  Logical thinking: Being able to make decisions with a clear mind is very valuable when it comes to making the right choices. This is not rare as many people do have great logical thinking skills so I think it would be easy to imitate in the sense that these sorts of people can be hired. It is not substitutable as you need to have logical thinkers on any team.


I think my most valuable resource is having strong leadership skills because for every other aspect I can hire people into creative, financial, engineering roles, etc., but I need to be able to effectively lead my company and employees.

Comments

  1. Austin GalbraithNovember 19, 2018 at 4:06 PM

    Brooke,
    You have some great advantages that sound like they will really help you start your air conditioning business. I agree that your leadership skills will be important when starting this business because you will be the head of your company and you'll need to manage a lot of different aspects of your business. Also, being personal will really help you start this business because you'll need to sell the idea to apartment complexes or homeowners.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Luis GarridoNovember 19, 2018 at 6:52 PM

    Hi Brooke
    It’s really valuable that you have strong leaderships skills, it will be really helpful when leading your company, understanding of financing will be really crucial to know. You did a really great job figuring out what actually makes your venture special. Figuring out what resources will keep competitors from copying what you do will prevent them from treating those customers better.

    ReplyDelete

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