19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1.) You.

My name is Michael Ackerman and I am a junior at the University of Florida. I am a finance major with experience in accounting and a passion for entrepreneurship and business. I have decided to take the path of finance, rather than accounting, going forward because I feel like I am more sound with financial concepts than accounting concepts. I am very math and science based and have great analytical skills. My aspirations are to work hard and become very successful with my career opportunities. Part of those aspirations include having the Hurricane Survival Kit takeoff.

2.) What are you offering to customers?

This product will not only save the customers' time, but it'll save their lives too. When a hurricane comes, sometimes there is no time to prepare. Even if customers think they have time, a lot of the places customers shop for hurricane supplies sell out in a time of emergency. The Hurricane Survival Kit helps to eliminate these two problems and ease user stress during a time of natural disaster.

3.) Who are you offering it to?

This product is all about location. Across the country there is an all-or-nothing threshold for the purchase of my product: either a customer needs it badly, or does not need it at all. It all depends on the customer's location of residence. Someone in Wyoming would never think in a million years to buy a Hurricane Survival Kit, but someone living in Miami should not think twice about buying it. My product will be offered to all coastal residents along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

4.) Why do they care?

The customers care about the product because the product can potentially save their life. Aside form the obvious, customers will prefer this product over getting all the supplies themselves for two main reasons: (1.) customers may forget a number of safety items while out shopping while the Hurricane Survival Kit comes loaded with everything anyone could need for a natural disaster, and (2.) discounts for shutters, generators, lawn/debris care are included in the Hurricane Survival Kit. These discounts will range anywhere from 10%-25% off of local preventative businesses. The discounts will individually be negotiated with each company and given as an incentive for customers who buy the HSK to stay safe and save money. 

5.) What are your core competencies?

My company will separate ourselves from competitors with 2 strategies. One will be marketing: we will market everywhere for the product, including online, newspapers, television, etc. Of course there are other Hurricane Survival Kits out there but none of them are being pushed out to potential customers as adamant as the Hurricane Survival Kit will. Our second strategy is online shopping. A lot of Hurricane Survival Kits are offered locally but none are particularly shipped out and around. The Hurricane Survival Kit will be mass produced and shipped out to all coastal regions.

I believe that these elements of the Hurricane Survival Kit business all fit together perfectly. The customers fall into clear categories of needs based on unforeseeable natural disaster events. There will never be a decline in need for the survival kit as hurricane readiness is always being pushed by the weather stations, regardless of the quantity of storms in Hurricane season. Overall, this is a fool proof business idea.

Reflection:

The reviews of my previous idea napkin were very positive so I incorporated a lot of my last idea napkin into this one. However, one piece of constructive criticism I used was the fact that I needed some more detail. I added some more information about the types of discounts that are within the HSK. Also, I added some more information behind my finance and accounting background, something I received feedback for as well. Other than that, my personality traits and idea line up to generate great potential for this product.