23: Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Assignment 23: Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

• 1. Management experience: As I have grown up in my family's business where I have become the manager of a department, I have learned the necessary values of a manager to delegate tasks to make a successful business.
• Valuable: This resource is extremely valuable as my product idea will need to be sold from a successful and properly managed company.
• Rare: I do not think that this resource is rare because there are many incredible company owners and managers who effectively manage their businesses.
• Inimitable: This resource is possible to imitate because many people can either have or develop great managerial skills.
• Non-substitutable: In my opinion, there are not other resources that can provide the same benefit because having good management is necessary to start a company.  
• 2. Grocery store knowledge: Because I grew up in a grocery store business, I have experienced first-hand the challenges that owners in the food business face regarding their sales and how shoplifting affects them. 
• Valuable: Experience in the food business is extremely valuable because I am able to truly understand the detrimental effects that shoplifting has on grocery stores. 
• Rare: I think that this resource is rare because not many people have extended work experience in grocery stores. 
• Inimitable: This resource is possible to imitate because anyone can conduct research on grocery stores and shoplifting and how they intertwine. 
• Non-substitutable: There are other resources such as research that can provide the same benefit. 
• 3. Contact with grocery store  businesses: I have contact with people who own their own food businesses and work within the food business which is integral if I desire to sell this magnetic ink to people who work in the food business to limit shoplifting.  
• Valuable: This resource is very valuable as it creates relationships with other people in the business and can help publicize my product.
• Rare: I do believe that having so many contacts in the food business is somewhat rare.
• Inimitable: I do not think that this resource can be imitated because relationships with people are personable and unique.
• Non-substitutable: There are not other resources that can provide the same benefit because having contacts within your targeted audience is unique. 
• 4. Experience in handling shoplifting: I have witnessed shoplifting occur right in front of my eyes and have learned the correct ways to go about handling the situation to protect the business.
• Valuable: This is a very valuable resource because having knowledge on how to handle this situation is extremely helpful.
• Rare: I definitely think that this resource is rare because not many people have experience in confronting shoplifting first-hand. 
• Inimitable: I do not think that this resource can be copied because it is hard to catch someone in the act of shoplifting.
• Non-substitutable: No other resource can give someone the experience of witnessing shoplifting and the effects that it has on a grocery store.
• 5. Businesses interested in product: As I am familiar with numerous people involved in food businesses and have explained my product idea to them, they have stated their interest in my product and how it could benefit their company. 
• Valuable: This resource is very valuable as it guarantees that I will have the interest of possible consumers.
• Rare: I do not think that this is rare because there are many products out there that strike an interest to consumers. 
• Inimitable: This resource cannot be imitated because if consumers are not interested in your product, then you will not be able to sell it. 
• Non-substitutable: There are no other resources for buying a product besides consumers who are interested in it.  
• 6. Possible investors: As my father started his own grocery store business and is very involved in the food industry, he has expressed his willingness to invest in my product. 
• Valuable: Having a possible investor is an extremely valuable resource to have when creating a new product. 
• Rare: It is rare to find people so willing to trust in a possibility and product and to put their own money into it becoming successful.
• Inimitable: This resource is difficult to be imitated because there are not many people out there who are so openly willing to invest in something new. 
• Non-substitutable: There are other ways to get money to start a company for selling a product such as fundraising.  
• 7. Organizational skills: One of my greatest strengths is that I am extremely organized in everything I do.
• Valuable: This capability is extremely valuable as it will make sure that the company that I am starting to sell this magnetic ink functions properly. 
• Rare: I do not think that this value is rare because many people have an organizational skill in anything they do.
• Inimitable: I do not think that this resource is able to be copied because being organized is an inherent skill that someone possesses. 
• Non-substitutable: The only other way to be organized without having the organizational skill is to hire an assistant to get everything in order. 
• 8. Educational and financial skills : The classes that I have taken at UF along with my experience in the food business will help me with calculating proper funding needed to make and provide my product. 
• Valuable: Having an education in how to manage a business is very valuable for creating a product. 
• Rare: I do not think that receiving an education is rare as a large majority of people are receiving at least a Bachelor's degree before starting their own companies or creating products. 
• Inimitable: This resource is difficult to copy because receiving an education on how to run a business cannot be produced by any other resource.
• Non-substitutable: This resource cannot be substituted by anything else.
• 9. Connections to paper companies: I know people in the paper company business who produce labels for grocery stores.
• Valuable: This resource is very valuable because these paper companies will be the ones buying the ink from me to produce and distribute the food labels for the grocery stores. 
• Rare: I think it is rare to have connections to paper companies that will be an integral part of the process of selling my product. 
• Inimitable: I think that it was be difficult to copy this resource because other people cannot form these relationships with the paper companies without already knowing them. 
• Non-substitutable: This resource can only be copied with a connection to other companies that would by my product. 
• 10. Relationship with people in the food business: By growing up in the food business, I have a multitude of relationships with people who understand the importance of stopping shoplifting in grocery stores. 
• Valuable: This resource is valuable because by surrounding myself with people who understand and witness the effects of shoplifting, I am able to produce a product that is successful.
• Rare: This is a rare resource because not many people know people who are in the food business and can learn from their knowledge in the food industry. 
• Inimitable: This resource is definitely difficult to copy because it takes time to develop relationships with people.
• Non-substitutable: This resource could be substituted by conducting research on the opinions of people who work in grocery stores and how they believe that shoplifting affects their business. 
• Reflection
• Although I have numerous resources and conducted the VRIN analysis for all of them, I found it really difficult to find my top resource with qualities that all align.  However, the resource that I believe exemplifies consistence in all areas is experience in handling shoplifting.  
• This resource would qualify as human capital because it is something that I have experienced in my personal life.  This resource prevails as the most important to me because I think that it is extremely unique as not many people have first-hand experience in a grocery store and/or have witnessed someone trying to shoplift and then having to relate the consequences to the thief.