There are a few next steps for this venture to be a reality. First, implementing more parking garages would be ideal. In the event that this is not possible, an app could still be created for the existing parking garages, but there would still be very limited parking so it would be far less beneficial. I interviewed three random people who were at Library West for people in my existing market. My existing market includes university students who travel to campus, so I knew people at Library West would fit. When I described the business venture, they agreed that they had the need. One of them had walked here, and noted that it was very cold outside. She said that if there was a better parking system, she would have driven even though the walk was not terribly far.
Being that they were at the library at the same time as me, one of them noted that she faced similar parking problems I did. When I got here, I had to drive around for 30 minutes just to find a spot, and she had a similar problem. One major thing they told me to consider as far as what we should do is how the garages will be differentiated, or if they will be at all. For example, as it is, there are different decals available for different people. However, if there is only one garage for one specific decal, and it is not close to where you are trying to go, then this solution still is not that beneficial. In this case, it would probably be ideal to either do away with the strict parking decal rules and make fewer, more broad decals, or leave the decals as they are and make certain parts of the garage available to certain decals.
A different market than mine that would be foreign to me as an entrepreneur would be implementing the same product at another busy location that has a parking issue. The first place that comes to mind is downtown Sarasota, Florida. People love to go to Sarasota and see the marinas, the downtown area, and the public parks. However, there is not that many places to park, and for local people it can become costly to pay a few dollars for parking several times a month. Two people I interviewed that are in this market are my mom and dad. This is much different than university students, as they are older (60 and 65) and they have a lot of free time to spend in down town Sarasota. One thing they expressed to me is that this situation is very different, where college students have no choice but to go to campus sometimes, older adults in Sarasota are going for leisure. Because of this, they would be less likely to sign up for a subscription service. Additionally, they pointed out that a lot of the people that visit Sarasota are over 60 years old. This group is less inclined to have smart phones, and further less inclined to be fluent with technology. Because of this, the market is much smaller.
I did not think of many of these things regarding the new market. This is likely because I am not in this market personally, whereas I am in my existing market. Because I am in my existing market, I am able to see all of the benefits and possible drawbacks. This market still has potential, but it is not as attractive as my existing market.
I think you have a very good grasp on where you came from and where you are going. You know what needs to be done in order for this venture to be successful. You know that finding places such as universities and libraries, they will have parking issues as well and thus will present you with another market. I think that this along with the previous assignment will be very useful in you venture should you wish to continue pursuing it.
ReplyDelete