Customer Interviews No. 1

I decided to ask people what they thought about a bakery opening in Gainesville. I don't know of any bakeries close to campus that sell homemade bakery goods, let alone any that pertain to those with certain dietary needs, such as gluten allergies or diabetes. 

I followed the steps that Professor Pryor discussed with us in class and asked people what they thought of Gigi's Cupcakes, a cupcake shop on Archer Rd., and if they thought there was anything they could improve on. Whether the thought of anything to improve on on their own, I asked them if they'd like to see them expand their bakery goods and recipes and if that would affect them, of if they wouldn't really care and just like it the way it is now. Here is what they had to say:

*Some people preferred to be interviewed without their faces being recorded, so I have cropped out their face for their liking.

What I learned from this experience was that even though I originally thought this would be very beneficial and a great idea, and though many people I interviewed didn't disagree with the idea, no on seemed very enthusiastic and I think that if Gigi's Cupcakes or anyone else spent money and time in opening a homemade bakery that was available to people with dietary restrictions, I think it would likely fail as a business. There's nothing super new about the idea and I discovered Gigi's does in fact serve gluten-free cupcakes, however they don't serve anything besides cupcakes. I think the few amount of people that would love a gluten-free or sugar-free bakery shop would not be enough to keep the shop open and in business. From the five people I interviewed alone, only one followed a gluten-free diet. Only two other people said they knew people affected from diabetes, and those friends may not even live in Gainesville. So this idea only has 1 out of 5 customers, which means it most likely wouldn't be successful.

Something I learned from interviewing people is that it's hard to get honest feedback because it's hard for people to imagine your vision with them. You can say "so what if this were to happen and be available" all you want, but the issue is that the can't really ever fully visualize this idea without seeing something. I think this could be better avoided if you bring pictures or a business plan to show customers to get better feedback because they would have a better vision of what they're saying yes or no, dislike or like, to.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

I thought it was interesting how the author discussed how people can act certain ways just because of their belief that they're supposed to act in that way in accordance to different stereotypes they "fit into." I also find this theory interesting as it then explains what the author was trying to say earlier in the chapter that people believe you have to be born creative, and that they can't become creative. This fits into what this theory says, that people believe they weren't born creative, so they think they never will be and live life according to that fact. They won't join art clubs or go to museums because they say they can't make art or wouldn't enjoy it because they believe they aren't creative.
One thing that confused me is how the author talked about that people think innovation is all planned, when he says the truth is that innovation is unpredictable. But how can it be unpredictable if the people who think of it don't work for that company? How does the company find out about it and believe in it to implement it?
I would ask him those the questions I asked about; how does a company find out about ideas from people who don't work for them? And how, as that random person that doesn't work for that brand, can you work towards getting it heard and made possible?
Something I disagree with the author about is his statement about how a creative person actually can thrive off of ambiguity. I don't think that this is true, and I also think that this is stereotyping. I consider myself a rather creative person, and I have taken a couple of advanced-level art classes, and I also hate not knowing what things are going to be. I have clear images in my head of what I what my end result to be, however that might not always be exactly what it turns into, I do know exactly what I see as an endpoint when I start a piece.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Problems:

1. Oil Drilling
• Oil drilling is the most important issue because of any awful effects it has on the environment, as well as unwanted foreign friendships it makes by putting countries, such as the U.S., in a position of dependency on other nations that might not otherwise be allies with.
2. Fracking
• Fracking is very important because it hits home. It is much more in Americans view. It is a dangerous and possibly hazardous act that can only go on for so long before we all may be regretful a little too late.
3. Education
• Without fixing the educational system as it currently is, we are not just handicapping large portions of future generations, but also the United States as a whole. Education has always been held to a high standard because without it we know there can be no future is one of the top most power nations in the world. I believe we have somewhat lost this sight though in the years since Apollo 11 and the race to try to learn the most about space first, and I think it's time that the U.S. brings the goal back into full sight or we may actually have a potential in majorly falling behind.
  
4. Terrorism
• Terrorism is a huge world-wide dilemma being faced currently and most people are truly terrified for their lives. This being said, this should be one of the upmost important issues facing the world today.
5. Discrimination
• Discrimination is such a big issue that is surprisingly still facing the world today, in 2016. Though this issue is of major importance and is just silly that it still exists, it is not the most life-threatening as the other problems, which is why it still made top five, but is listed last.

Solutions:

1. Discrimination. 
• So many things could easily be implemented to fix this problem. A huge step in the right direction, that would be outrageously easy to put into effect, would be to ban the confederate flag, a flag that stands for a outdated belief in which southerners though African Americans' only purpose to work as slaves and never free. We now live in a world in which we know this not to be true, so why are we still waiving this flag?
2. Fracking.
• Fracking and oil drilling have very similar solutions but because fracking it much more locally chosen and affected, I think it is a slightly more implementable solution than oil drilling because the U.S. would not have to worry about possible foreign tensions being created.
3. Oil Drilling.
• That being said, ending drilling for oil would be the one of the easiest solutions to achieve because of so many known and existing other power sources that could rather easily be implemented.
4. Education
• So much money goes into oil, war, and other affairs that could be better invested in education. So many countries pay most or all of students education expenses. Some countries provide free secondary public education (such as college), and that often includes free textbooks, and other countries will not only provide free public education, but will also invest more money into students by paying them some hundred dollars a month for living expenses to be subsidized. If the federal and state budgets were more evenly distributed, I think college in the U.S. could more easily follow in these other examples, or at least be extremely reduced in costs as opposed to the expenses that currently exist.
5. Terrorism 
• I honestly have no idea as to truly "fix" this major world problem, which is why terrorism is at the bottom of this list, however it is still such an important issue facing the world today.