1.
Opportunity:
Through the course of the semester, I have looked at and read about many different business ventures. By seeing what other people thought about, and how they developed their ideas about their businesses, I began to realize an unmet need that I believed could be fulfilled with a great business idea. As a college student, I know that getting around campus is not always the easiest thing. I have used the bus system, and I know that at many times it can be unreliable, and that the phone application does not always work properly. Through this, and some testimonials from other students that I interviewed, I came up with the idea of a scooter rental service. This idea seemed feasible enough, and there are even zipcars on campus to show that a rental service is possible and can generate profits. The potential customers for this service are mostly students from the university. Students are the customers that would use this service the most, but it is open to teachers, staff, and anyone else on campus that is of age and has a valid license. I see this as an unmet need because, I know first-hand how frustrating it can be to not have a reliable source of transportation around campus. Being late to class, meetings, intramural sports matches, etc. can be avoided by this venture. This opportunity was created as the university has grown and people have had to move farther away from campus in order to find a place to live. Also, people are only moving a couple of miles away, which is the perfect distance for a scooter. People can walk and waste a lot of time, or depend on the unreliable bus system. My business venture will eliminate both of these problems.
This market is defined demographically by college students between the ages of 18 to 23 years old. It is defined geographically by universities that are located in areas were most things are very close by. For example, in the University of Florida and the surrounding areas you can get anywhere by driving for about 5 minutes. Customers are currently satisfying this need by walking, biking, or figuring out the bus system. Customers are not very loyal to any of these three products or services, and they usually switch around all three of them. This opportunity can be large in the market in which it would be positioned. The opportunity window will be open for a couple of years, until either another better option is presented or companies begin to enter into the market by using this same opportunity.
Innovation:
This service is moderately innovative. It would work in much of the same way that zipcars work today. The scooters would be parked at designated scooter parking spots. These would be specially highlighted spots, so that the customer would know that these are rental scooters. There would be a number pad programed on each scooter that would be used to turn the scooters on and off. The customer will be given this number to operate the scooter on our website after they have purchased the service. After a customer is done using the scooter, the number pad would automatically generate a different code for the next person. Each customer would have to create an account online on our website to be able to purchase this service. Also, when creating an online account, we would verify the customer’s eligibility to drive by having them provide their license plate number along with a scanned copy of their license. Then the customer must sign a liability waiver online, to ensure that they operate the scooter safely, and to ensure us that they know how to operate the scooter. In the liability waiver there would also be a part stating that the company is not liable for any accident, and that the customer must pay for any damages done to the scooter during use. Afterwards, the customer would have to provide a credit card to be able to pay for the service. For this service there would be a monthly fee of $30, and gasoline would not be included in the scooter. Also, there would be a fee if a scooter were returned without any gasoline. Since filling up the tank of a scooter is about $2, we believe that this is a cost that the customer can easily take care of. Each scooter would come with a decal to be able to park it anywhere around campus.
On the website customers will be able to select how long they want to rent the scooter for: Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months.
If a customer rents a scooter for a day and decides that they would like to keep it longer, they can extend their rental by going online. If a customer keeps the scooter longer than they had requested then there will be a penalty fee of $5 for a day, $10 for two days, $15 for three days, and so on.
Venture Concept:
This venture will save people time. It will give students a reliable form of transportation. No longer will students be late to class, a meeting, work, etc. because of unreliable transportation. Customers would switch to this product not only because it is a reliable source of transportation, but also because it gives them the freedom to go wherever they want whenever they want. I believe it will be relatively easy to get people to switch over since it is an inexpensive product and it provides them with a great service.
Currently, the competitors are the bus system and shops that sell scooters or bicycles. The bus system’s weakness is that it is extremely unreliable, and even the phone application does not always work properly. The shops that sell scooters have them at a price of around $800 or more, and this can be way too expensive for college students. The weakness of bicycles is that they will not get you places in a timely manner, you may have to leave a lot earlier to get somewhere on time, and if you are going to an important meeting you may be sweaty by the time you get there.
My price point is very inexpensive. This will help to get customers to buy into my service, and at least try it. My business would not need many employees. I believe that with about 5 employees it would be able to succeed, at least at the beginning. These employees would be in charge of periodically checking the scooters and reporting any and all problems. Also, they would have to keep up with the website and any emails they receive from the customers.
Minor Elements:
My most important resource will be my ability to connect with my customers. Since I am a college student and I can completely understand their situation, I can make a lasting connection with my customers.
The next set for my venture would be to sell discount scooters. These scooters would be the rental scooters that I currently have. After a couple of years of the scooters being used, I would sell them at a discounted price to compete against scooter stores. I would also try to work together with a scooter repair shop in case I need to repair anything on scooters. I could also bring them more business if they could provide students that purchase my scooter with discount repairs.
In five years I expect to be providing this service to most campuses in the state of Florida, and at least to three campuses in each state nearby.
2. The feedback I received was mostly positive. Most people agree that this is a great idea, and that it could be very useful. Some concerns were about insurance and to maybe try to form an alliance with a scooter repair company.
3. I added to my venture concept by stating that we will have a liability waiver. This waiver would state that our company is not liable for anything that happens to the person while they are using the scooter. Also, if there are any damages to the scooter, the person using it must pay to repair it. In the waiver there is also a part that will acknowledge that the person using the scooter knows how to operate it before renting it.
