Forming An Opportunity Belief

I believe that there is an opportunity for on campus food places to make more money. There is an unmet need for places to eat on the weekends because of shorter hours and limited openings. Students that live on campus and nearby that would like to stay on campus for some of their meals are the ones being affected by this. This idea comes from my own personal experience at University of Florida so far this year. Because of my meal plan that is through my fraternity, I only have meals served for me during the week days. Since I must get my own meals on the weekends, it makes sense for me to get them at places on campus so that I can walk to them. Currently, the lack of places to eat during certain times have been making students walk a far way or even forcing them to find a mode of transportation to get to a place off campus where they can get food. I am pretty sure that this idea can pass through, because although the companies may have to work tough hours, there is a good opportunity to make some more money and please the students. Hopefully they would be willing to change up their hours a bit to be more flexible with the students’ schedules here on campus.

1. First Year student in a Fraternity who lives on campus

• ·       Have you experienced issues with finding places to eat on campus on the weekends?

o   Yes I have. I do not have a scooter or car, so I rely on walking to places near my dorm for food. Many places are closed or have short hours which makes it hard for me to get a convenient meal.

• ·       When did you first experience this need, and does it occur every weekend?

o   I first experienced this need when I joined my fraternity because we do not have meals on the weekends. I have had to get my meals from random places around campus or of campus since.

• ·       How are you currently dealing with this problem and are you attempting to address it at all?

o   I am currently trying to get people in my fraternity to drive me or scoot me to places on campus or off. I have not really tried to address the situation with the school but I have just tried to make it work for myself.

• ·       Has your solution been working for you?

o   It’s been going alright, but I have been finding that I’ve been spending more money on off campus places to eat and also paying the fee for delivery.

2. First Year student not in a fraternity who lives on campus

• ·       Have you experienced issues with finding places to eat on campus on the weekends?

o   Yes. It is difficult having to find something else when Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays and is barely ever open on Saturdays.

• ·       When did you first experience this need, and does it occur every weekend?

o   I would not really consider it a need, but more of a want. Every weekend I do indeed look to treat myself instead of getting the dining hall food, and it is difficult to find something instead of it. But I always have the dining hall to eat as a backup.

• ·       How are you currently dealing with this problem and are you attempting to address it at all?

o   I usually just eat at the Dining hall if I can’t find any better places to go. I have not addressed it at all because it doesn’t bother me too much, but I could see how other people could get angry about it.

• ·       Has your solution been working for you?

o   Yes, it has. I can balance my meal plan and flex bucks very well and I haven’t had too many problems with it.

3. Employee at the on-campus Chick-Fil-A

• ·       Have you seen students experience issues with finding places to eat on campus on the weekends?

o   Not really. Our restaurant is not open very much on the weekend, but when it is, it’s packed.

• ·       Does it occur every weekend?

o   Yes, every weekend we work for a few hours or so, it is very busy, and we do make a lot of money.

• ·       How do you think they are currently dealing with this problem and are you attempting to address it at all?

o   I would assume that they are going to other on campus places to eat. I have brought up stuff to my co-workers and they agreed it could be a good idea, but for the moment we are just going to stay closed for most of the weekend.

• ·       Have your weekend closings been working for you?

o   I think they are nice for a little break on the weekends, but I feel like we could be making a whole lot more money.

Reflection: Through interviewing different people about the topic, I have come to realize that it was a good idea that people thought could be possible. The most surprising thing was that I was not alone. There were other people that had the same struggle I had in finding food on campus.

Summary: There is a good amount of original opportunity left because a lot of people probably agree with me that they need to change hours of some of the food places on campus. I believe that a new opportunity would be the same as my original, because it is more of a take it or leave it kind of thing. Entrepreneurs should adapt very often when they are doing something because if the people don’t like it, the product won’t succeed, and they need to be ready to change it up to improve it for the customer.