4A- Forming an Opportunity Belief

1)    I believe there is an opportunity in the travel and hospitality industry. One of my bugs earlier in the course was “packing and unpacking” for trips. I believe the idea of delivering a “vacation laundry necessities” pack delivered to your hotel of choice equipped with your desired vacation clothing essentials in your preferred size can be an idea that can work well for many people. Not only will this service save you the hassle of packing and unpacking by sending you a box of prepared clothing by an individual who has been made aware of the destination and your desired vacation/work plans, but it will save you the cost of checking your bag at the airport.

2)    I do not believe this need has been met, since I have only found similar monthly clothing delivery services, nothing related directly to traveling. Those who would need/use the service would be those who travel often and/or those vacationing. I would say that packing and unpacking is only the root of the problem. After a vacation or business trip, falling behind on laundry is a significant issue for many. This box of clothing will be sent to the hotel/Airbnb/etc of choice and will be mailed directly from that exact location upon the customers departure. The convenience of this idea can create a more affordable way to travel, in addition to saving those people the time and hassle of packing and unpacking. With this service, you will never forget that “little something” when traveling.

3)    The prototypical customer would be the businessman/woman, an avid traveler, or anybody looking for a relaxing weekend getaway, without everything that comes with coming back home. This is someone who recognizes the opportunity cost associated with doing laundry, carrying a luggage around the airport, checking a bag at the airport, and many other inconveniences that come along with traveling.

4)    One of the prototypical customers I spoke to is a friend who graduated from the University of Florida and now works in Austin, Texas. Richard is a constant traveler with his new job and loves this idea. “This is a constant problem for me. When I’m traveling from place to place it’s definitely tough for me to stay on top of my laundry and occasionally, I run out of clean clothes since I have such a limited amount of bag space. I try not to overpack to save money on baggage fee’s and tend to under pack.” I then asked if he would use the service. His response, “if it was affordable, I would use it. Also, if the app allowed me to put together my daily outfits in a size that runs true, I would definitely use it. If the service is not affordable for young professionals, I don’t think it would last very long. I think a lot of companies would be willing to provide the service for their employees if the price is reasonable, considering the costs of baggage across airlines. Richard believes that this product does satisfy a problem that is caused by traveling, but he believes that finding the price that provides the company with a profit, and the price that is fair and reasonable for a young professional can be tough, but I believe that if we can find an equilibrium between pricey baggage checking costs and the opportunity cost that is derived from checking bags in, doing laundry and the hassle of lugging your baggage around will outweigh the costs of paying for a service that will send you clothing for your trip. After also speaking to 2 of my roommates and close friends about this service, they concluded that if the service was “affordable for young professionals”, “if the shipping label was provided”, and “if the service was easy to use and select their clothing”, they would use it. They also mentioned a “warranty or insurance” to assure that everything will arrive with no missing parts, a missing article of clothing can be detrimental to a businessman/woman for an interview or meeting.

My roommates and friends also mentioned that if the app was easy to use and maneuver that will go a long day in dealing with the older crowd of businessmen and businesswomen who aren’t as technologically savvy. Making it easy to select your preferred clothing will allow those who would like the idea of selecting their own outfits, like Richard that power. It is important for entrepreneurs to listen to the wants and desires of potential customers, so that we are able to target them effectively.

5)    From these interviews I’ve learned about what could make this idea work for the masses. While I do still believe this idea has potential, I do need to conduct more research and find the equilibrium price that would make this service work economically for my target market. I need to assure that this service will be affordable for those that the idea is created for. Although this is simply a premature idea, I can see how the majority of people would prefer to wear their own clothing on vacations, but ideas like Airbnb, Uber, monthly delivery services of various products and many clothing services lead me to believe this idea has plenty of potential.

6)    Refer to #4.

7)    I believe that the majority of my original idea is still there, though it can be tweaked and improved. The idea of providing a delivery clothing service for people who travel is still relevant and possible, though, the details are important to this project. I believe with small improvement to the idea, such as those listed in the interviews above, and membership opportunities, the opportunity to purchase the article of clothing for less than retail price, the idea can take off among young traveling professionals, and the many groups of people who are constantly traveling. I believe that if an idea is good enough, staying firm is important. A perfect example of this is Chik-Fil A not being open on Sundays, despite the capital it would generate if it was open 7 days a week, they remain firm on their stance of closing on Sundays. On the other hand, less dominant products, such as my idea for a rental vacation/trip clothing service would be silly to not adapt to the wants and needs of consumers who have an interest in this product and service. Staying firm and going against the grain of what the consumer wants, will cause this idea to vanish quickly. Each comment recorded during these interviews will help me improve this service moving forward.