Opportunity+Registers

=What is an opportunity register?= The opportunity register is like an inventory of potential opportunities and insights. It's a list of your ideas for improving, or even completely reinventing, your current business model, or for going into entirely new opportunity spaces. It is meant to be a work in progress, one that you constantly add to and renew. The concept was borrowed from a successful entrepreneur, whose philosophy is that anyone who can access a full inventory of possible opportunities is unlikely to run out of good ideas.

toc =Instructions= These instructions address (1) what you need to do based on which course you are taking, (2) the outline and criteria for your opportunity register(s), and (3) how to submit your opportunity register for credit.
 * Here's an example: vending machine opportunity register. **

An entrepreneurial opportunity must be attractive, durable, timely, and grounded in a product or service that delivers value to a group of customers. You create value for the customer and capture some of that value by selling that product or service at a price that is greater than your costs. This opportunity can be an adaptation of an business that is already currently being provided to a customer group or it can be completely new (you will find that adapting existing offerings of experiences is probably much easier). ** IDEALLY your opportunity register is a first step in thinking about how to solve a problem you are aware that people have. I ** n writing up your opportunity registers, please keep these criteria in mind. Be sure to use the three major headings of opportunity ** //type// **, ** //description// ** , and ** //assessment// **. Finally, please be sure that your idea for an opportunity is ** //legal// **.

1a. for MGT 582-500 HEMBA
You will write //**one**// opportunity register for an opportunity for any type of new business you'd like to explore or one for a business initiative that will help your existing company grow.

1b. for New Venture Development Winter 2018
You will write **//one//** opportunity register for an opportunity for any type of business you'd like to pursue; if you want to keep it simple, write one for a business that uses a vending machine or from a mall kiosk, but YOU ARE NOT LIMITED TO THESE TWO CONTEXTS. **You will develop this opportunity in Part 4 - Developing the New Venture - into a more substantive set of hypotheses to test and build upon.**

1c. for MGT 386 Spring 2016 and MGT 387 Spring 2016
You will write **//two//** opportunity registers: one for a business that can be run from a vending machine and one that can be run from a mall kiosk.

=2. Outline and criteria for opportunity register=
 * 1) Opportunity Type: Product or service
 * 2) Opportunity description: What is the product or service you are offering; what need does the product or service satisfy; who is the primary group of constituents who will want this product or service; how does the primary group of constituents currently try to fulfill their need (however imperfectly); and when, where, and how often would your constituent group use this product or service? //Note: If possible, you are strongly encouraged to incorporate photos and videos in your opportunity description; this is particularly appropriate when you are proposing a modification to an existing product or service.//
 * 3) Opportunity assessment: Drawing from your description of the opportunity, estimate potential revenues, variable costs, and necessary fixed costs that you would have to incur to pursue this opportunity. Do the numbers make it worthwhile? If not, can you revisit some assumptions to make it a profitable opportunity? Can you replicate this product or service in different geographic areas or with a second, different group of constituents? **Use these three words to guide your approach to the opportunity assessment: numbers, numbers, numbers**.

=3. How to submit your opportunity registers =
 * To turn in each of your opportunity registers write the three major sections and your contributions in a document and paste it into the body of an email you send to MGT386@gmail.com (for MGT 386) or NVDBAMA@gmail.com (for MGT 482-582) or 387opportunities@gmail.com (for MGT 387). In the SUBJECT LINE of the email please write** ** Opportunity Register 1 .**

=Applications=

Vending machine application!
You will present, describe, and assess a business that can be operated through a vending machine on campus. Describe what you will sell, what need this product fulfills, who is the primary group of customers who will want this product, how this group currently tries to fulfill this need, and when, where, and how often this group will buy. Assess the attractiveness of this opportunity by estimating revenues, variable costs, and necessary fixed costs that you will need to incur to pursue this opportunity. For example, if you need a specific type of vending machine, go to eBay, find one like the one you need, and determine its price. Find a supplier for the item(s) you will sell to determine your variable costs. Use information about how your customers currently fulfill their needs to determine what your sales price to customers. For this opportunity register you will need to persuade the audience why the product you propose to sell will be popular at a vending-machine point-of-sale.

A Pretty Good Example
Need more help? Check out this example of a vending machine opportunity register. Pay attention to the level of financial analysis, including fixed costs, variable costs, and variable revenues.

Shopping mall kiosk application!
You will present, describe, and assess a business that can be operated through a kiosk in a shopping mall (specifically, the campus mall in Tuscaloosa). Describe what you will sell, what need this product fulfills, who is the primary group of customers who will want this product, how this group currently tries to fulfill this need, and when, where, and how often this group will buy. Assess the attractiveness of this opportunity by estimating revenues, variable costs, and necessary fixed costs that you will need to incur to pursue this opportunity. For example, if you need a specific type of kiosk, go to eBay, find one like the one you need, and determine its price. Find a supplier for the item(s) you will sell to determine your variable costs. Use information about how your customers currently fulfill their needs to determine what your sales price to customers. For this opportunity register you will need to persuade the audience why the product you propose to sell will be popular at a kiosk point-of-sale.

Optional - For your third opportunity register - student's choice!
//**See reference for this option **// Following the general criteria above for the components of an opportunity register, write an opportunity register for a business idea you can conceivably pursue. The opportunity must be something that is technologically feasible - no science fiction allowed here - and you must be able to quantify inputs and outputs as you've done with the first two registers.

=**More Examples for your Consideration**= >
 * Do not use these as exemplars; they are examples . Decide for yourself how well these examples fulfill the criteria above for a complete opportunity register.**
 * [|Touch-Screen Ordering]
 * [|Electronic Home Key]
 * More examples from [|Entrepreneurship Italy]