Week 2: My Entrepreneurship Story
A time in my life that I have been exposed to entrepreneurship the most was only a couple of months ago when one of my closest and oldest friends started a gourmet cookie delivery service in Gainesville, called Cookiegazm. It is in direct competition of another late-night cookie delivery service that is well-known and well-established in Gainesville, called Midnight Cookies. However, my friend aims to compete with them by having shorter delivery times (Midnight Cookies can take up on an hour or hour-and-half for deliveries) and no delivery fees, as well as having a more inexpensive order in total. Cookiegazm operates in close proximity to the UF campus, so this enables them to reach their consumers more quickly. My experience seeing this demonstration of entrepreneurship from my friend, Daniel Leal (owner), was very inspiring. He is still a student at UF, however, he dedicates a great amount of time and devotion to his growing business, as it is not an easy task to be bearing so much responsibility. Not many people know the hardships of starting a new business, including all the rules and regulations to pass in the beginning stages, which would cause some people to give up. But Daniel didn't, and his small business is starting to gain momentum with his desired target market. Who knows what he and Cookiegazm can achieve this semester, but I have nothing but high hopes for him.
I enrolled in Principles of Entrepreneurship this semester because I wanted to be in a class where I could learn what it takes to be responsible and meticulous, as many students are, but also how to tap into innovation and how I could incorporate that into resources. Many students have the same resumes and goals nowadays, but it's their innovative thinking that makes them stand out from the rest. I hope to stand out.
The first thing I noticed about your post was the cookies which made me very hungry. Its awesome that your friend started Cookiegazm, I have ordered cookies from their before and really enjoyed them. It must be cool to know someone who as a student has created such a successful business. My experience with an entrepreneur is very different. I completed a project in my high school class where we had to present in front of a panel of entrepreneurs, which I did not know very well.
ReplyDeletehttp://mitchlicht2016.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-entrepreneurship-story.html
Jary,
ReplyDeleteYummy! As fate would have it, I am on a diet so these cookies seem bigger than life!
I enjoyed reading about your entrepreneur experience and highlighting this small business. As I read it, one of the things that stood out to me in our reading reflection for this week: small business owner does not always equal entrepreneurship. It’s a concept I had never considered, and as I read this post about your friend’s cookie business, I wonder if he would be considered a small business owner or an entrepreneur – and where do the lines become clear?
I have always wanted to own my own business, but am not sure I am an entrepreneur. In my reading, I now see that a business owner deals with known and established products and services, whereas, entrepreneurs venture into innovative offerings. Business owners deal with tangible risk, while on the other hand entrepreneurs dive right into a myriad of unknown risks.
Of course, that doesn’t mean your friend is not an entrepreneur – it just means that it is something to think about as we journey through this course.
Thank you for sharing your story! Regardless, the cookies look super amazing.
Linda
Hi Jary,
ReplyDeleteI too have ordered cookies from Cookiegazm! They are delicious! Be sure to give your friend kudos. It is great that you have been exposed to another entrepreneur recently. Maybe you can use Daniel for your interview with an entrepreneur coming up! Looking forward to reading more of your blogs in the future!
-Olivia, Your ENT3003 TA Mentor