Idea Napkin No. 2

1) My name is Carlie Darragh and I am currently an exploratory major with interests in many different categories. I will most likely be declaring my major as either Family, Youth and Community Sciences or Business Administration. I have a passion for photography and started a business for it in 2018. I would say it is one of my talents because many people say that I have an eye for photography and a gift to create. I had 45+ photoshoots last year, which makes me feel a sense of pride because all of those people get to keep physical memories that will last them a lifetime. I focus on photographing families, babies, high school seniors, college graduates and various events, but I one day hope that I can become a wedding photographer. If I were starting the business that I have chosen for this class, I think it would be fairly successful. There are many aspects of the business that I still need to figure out and fix, but the majority of the key details seem to work together and shoot towards a successful business. My life would definitely change if I created this business because I would focus more on the product rather than my photography goals. I would be advocating for transportation safety rather than creating memories for families and such. 

2) I am offering customers a pair of headphones that play music, but also detect motion when around them. These will mostly be useful to bikers who bike alongside cars. I think that there is definitely an unmet need with all of the people who get hurt due to the lack of awareness of their surroundings. Many bikers listen to music during their bike rides, whether it’s coming from a speaker in their backpack or any other device, so these headphones could combine the music and alertness in one. The headphones would have two settings for the bikers. One setting will turn off all music being played and leave the biker to silence, and the other setting will play a beeping noise, but not too shocking, to where the biker will know that they are being alerted. Also, when the headphones have low power or the volume is turned down, the alert will still play in the biker’s ear. This product is a key feature to the safety of future cyclists. 

3) I will be offering this product to many different people, as there are definitely extra uses of the headphones that I am not focusing on. Although this is the case, I will mainly focus my time on customers who are frequent bikers. These customers will mainly be between the age of 18 and 60. People bike prior to the age of 18 and after the age of 60, but I would definitely focus my attention on this range of people as I think I would be able to both sell and help more in this range. For people under 18, I would most likely think about later releases of a children’s version maybe built into a helmet, but I do not want to focus on giving children any distractions while biking at young ages. The customers I will focus on will be ones who see biking as a form of transportation, rather than for fun. This will ensure that the customers will be using the headphones enough for them to want to purchase. The customers I will focus on will be both male and female. 

4) Customers will purchase my product because they are concerned for their safety while they cycle next to cars. Many customers fear for their safety while on large roads biking, but many just put a helmet on and hope for the best. Since there is no current product like this, the customers will see these and realize the need for them in their collection. I understand that many do not want to spend extra money on items they may already have, as in headphones, but once the customers see my product, they will see the obvious need of the headphones and a chance to increase their safety in situations that they are already placing themselves in. 

5) According to what I have seen, there is not a product like this currently on the market. There are plenty of people that listen to music through various devices while biking, but there is no item that alerts them of motion. The only safety products on the market for bikers are helmets, knee pads, goggles and reflective lighting systems. There is no product that beeps when a car is coming, which might just be the product one needs to save their life. I hope to add design and technology abilities to my competencies. I think that my business would be able to flourish if I could really design the perfect in and outs of the product. I would most likely hire someone for their competencies and their ideas that no one else has! Maybe I will be able to adapt these competencies to my own in this sense. 

I think that the elements of this idea fit well together. I am concerned about making connections in the market to really get this product out there. With AirPods being such a big thing right now, I am worried that no one will even think to purchase another pair of headphones. My product could have all of the same aspects as Airpods, but since they do not say Apple on them, they may not be purchased as much. I think that will be the most challenging part of creating and holding up my business. I am worried that, even with the help that I am seeking, I may not get the sales and opportunities that I am looking for. I have also realized, due to interviews, that many people would not want to spend the extra money that these headphones would cost. I do not know much about true costs, but because of the extra features of these headphones, I am assuming that they will cost more than the average pair. I will have to hire someone to work with me on these aspects of the company so that I can price the product accordingly.

Feedback Memo

One of the main points of feedback that I received from my peers was that it may be difficult to actually create the technology to put together the product. For instance, the headphones will have motion sensors that will need to be connected to an automatic alarming noise. I honestly don’t know much about technology or how all of those elements come together, so this feedback was important. I would most likely hire someone to make it and not ever really learn that much about that part of the product. Another point of feedback that I found important was for the headphones to be manufactured perfectly. This involves the look, design, actual safety abilities and much more. I think that it would be important for me to know these aspects of the business and product. I would probably hire someone to work with me, but I would mainly be running the show when it comes to these aspects as I have some great ideas already. For this idea napkin, I incorporated these ideas when discussing my competencies. I would love to learn more about design and product development. Hopefully I will add these to my competencies and it will make my business (if I were to start it) better.