4A- An Opportunity Belief
1. I believe an opportunity exists in the health and fitness market. The specific opportunity that I see is an interactive/entertaining program that focuses on nutrition with additional information on how one sets up an efficient workout program based upon their lifestyle. This possible opportunity came to me when I began working out at the Southwest Recreation Center I noticed the major complaint many people had were that they were putting the work in the gym but were not seeing the results they wanted. When I asked them about their diet they would just saying I am eating "cleaner" but did not have a clear sense of direction when it came to their nutrition. They all had great workout programs to follow but not a diet that they could realistically follow long term.
2. The unmet need is a lack of nutrition education to help one maximize the amount of growth at the gym. The people that have this need are college students who like to workout and want to transform their physique or just simply be in better shape. I believe this need has always existed, but with this age of the internet what I have to offer can be extremely accessible. To meet this need now people are either spending hours of their time doing research on their on or hiring a nutritionist/personal trainer. I still believe this opportunity exists, I just think it will be competitive and a bit difficult showing others my competitive edge.
3. Prototypical Customer
Random student I met at Southwest Recreation Center: Gilbert
1a. How long have you been working out for? If you don"t why not?
He said he had just started working out at the start of January.
2a. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he does not follow diet or nutrition program because he is very picky with his foods and he considers a majority of "healthy" foods do not taste.
3a. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He said he was satisfied with his progress but he knew he could have made more progress in the time he has spent at the gym if he ate better.
4a. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said it depended on whether or not this program has a proven track record and that would determine not only whether or not he would buy the product but how much he would be willing to pay as well.
Roommate: Frank
1b. How long have you been working out for? If you don't why not?
He said he had been working out for a little under one year.
2b. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he follows a nutrition program that he found off doing his own research on the internet.
3b. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He said he does feel satisfied with the results he has made within the months he has been lifting.
4b. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said that at this point in time he would not buy a program because he believes he knows all there is to know about fitness and nutrition. Although, he did say he wished he would have bought one when he first started working out because he felt he had wasted a lot of time with programs that did not truly work.
Friend: George
1c. How long have you been working out for? If you don't why not?
He said he has never worked out, and the reason he has not is because he feels somewhat intimated and would not know how/where to start.
2c. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he does not follow any particular diet or nutrition plan because he does not think he needs to.
3c. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He does not workout but he wishes to start soon, he just wished how he can learn so he goes about fitness the right way.
4c. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said he would for sure buy a program that taught him what he needed to know about lifting weights and nutrition. He said knowing it was written by a fellow UF student who knows how difficult it is to juggle a bunch of responsibilities and still be able to be consistent with his fitness goals would be a major selling point.
Reflection
Reflecting on my possible opportunity belief I think it would be difficult to acquire customers, because this particular field is quite competitive. Although, I believe if I learned a bit marketing/advertising I would have a better chance in having a successful business. I do still think my opportunity would help a lot of people who are new to fitness and nutrition. I learned from Gilbert I could possibly offer my program for free for my first ten customers. I would do this so future customers could see the results of my first ten customers who were able to surpass their fitness goals and therefore build trust to purchase my program. I learned from George and Frank that my ideal customer would be someone who is completely new to fitness since they would have zero knowledge on the field as well as being the most probable ones to seek for guidance on their fitness journey.
Summarize
I believe my opportunity is still there, but I know realize my toughest obstacle will be building trust with possible clients. Knowing what I know now I would I would change my opportunity to a service instead of a product like a program, because I feel it would be more effective if I would with people individually. Moreover, what the most common obstacle I faced was people being unsure of trusting my methods worked without see testimonials from others. Therefore, I would offer my service to my first couple of customers for free so I can then show their results as proof that stands behind my service. I think if an entrepreneur does not adapt to their clients they will go out of business I do not think one can "stay firm" because you cannot force people to buy what you are selling therefore if you are not catering to your customers need/feedback no one will give you their business.
2. The unmet need is a lack of nutrition education to help one maximize the amount of growth at the gym. The people that have this need are college students who like to workout and want to transform their physique or just simply be in better shape. I believe this need has always existed, but with this age of the internet what I have to offer can be extremely accessible. To meet this need now people are either spending hours of their time doing research on their on or hiring a nutritionist/personal trainer. I still believe this opportunity exists, I just think it will be competitive and a bit difficult showing others my competitive edge.
3. Prototypical Customer
Random student I met at Southwest Recreation Center: Gilbert
1a. How long have you been working out for? If you don"t why not?
He said he had just started working out at the start of January.
2a. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he does not follow diet or nutrition program because he is very picky with his foods and he considers a majority of "healthy" foods do not taste.
3a. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He said he was satisfied with his progress but he knew he could have made more progress in the time he has spent at the gym if he ate better.
4a. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said it depended on whether or not this program has a proven track record and that would determine not only whether or not he would buy the product but how much he would be willing to pay as well.
Roommate: Frank
1b. How long have you been working out for? If you don't why not?
He said he had been working out for a little under one year.
2b. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he follows a nutrition program that he found off doing his own research on the internet.
3b. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He said he does feel satisfied with the results he has made within the months he has been lifting.
4b. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said that at this point in time he would not buy a program because he believes he knows all there is to know about fitness and nutrition. Although, he did say he wished he would have bought one when he first started working out because he felt he had wasted a lot of time with programs that did not truly work.
Friend: George
1c. How long have you been working out for? If you don't why not?
He said he has never worked out, and the reason he has not is because he feels somewhat intimated and would not know how/where to start.
2c. Do you follow any diet or nutrition program? If you don't why don't you?
He said he does not follow any particular diet or nutrition plan because he does not think he needs to.
3c. Do you feel that you are satisfied with the progress at the gym? If not do you know what is holding you back from reaching your fitness goals?
He does not workout but he wishes to start soon, he just wished how he can learn so he goes about fitness the right way.
4c. If you were offered a nutrition program that taught you all you needed to know about how to set up a diet and workout program that fits you would you pay for it?
He said he would for sure buy a program that taught him what he needed to know about lifting weights and nutrition. He said knowing it was written by a fellow UF student who knows how difficult it is to juggle a bunch of responsibilities and still be able to be consistent with his fitness goals would be a major selling point.
Reflection
Reflecting on my possible opportunity belief I think it would be difficult to acquire customers, because this particular field is quite competitive. Although, I believe if I learned a bit marketing/advertising I would have a better chance in having a successful business. I do still think my opportunity would help a lot of people who are new to fitness and nutrition. I learned from Gilbert I could possibly offer my program for free for my first ten customers. I would do this so future customers could see the results of my first ten customers who were able to surpass their fitness goals and therefore build trust to purchase my program. I learned from George and Frank that my ideal customer would be someone who is completely new to fitness since they would have zero knowledge on the field as well as being the most probable ones to seek for guidance on their fitness journey.
Summarize
I believe my opportunity is still there, but I know realize my toughest obstacle will be building trust with possible clients. Knowing what I know now I would I would change my opportunity to a service instead of a product like a program, because I feel it would be more effective if I would with people individually. Moreover, what the most common obstacle I faced was people being unsure of trusting my methods worked without see testimonials from others. Therefore, I would offer my service to my first couple of customers for free so I can then show their results as proof that stands behind my service. I think if an entrepreneur does not adapt to their clients they will go out of business I do not think one can "stay firm" because you cannot force people to buy what you are selling therefore if you are not catering to your customers need/feedback no one will give you their business.
Hey David,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about the need for knowledge about nutrition in college aged students. I’ve been working out consistently for about 2 to 3 years now and I’ve learned that nutrition is just as, if not more important than how you train. I do however think that there isn’t really a market for a certain product like this because of all the free alternatives. It also is kind of hard to create a single plan for everyone since different people react to foods differently and have specific taste preferences.
David,
ReplyDeleteI also agree about your opportunity belief that you presented. Many people will put hours into working out, buying multiple supplements to 'get ripped quick'. If there was a food and health education for people that want to improve their health than there will be more people in the gym trying to get shredded. Maybe if this went through I would get my lazy personality into the gym.