12 May 2013

12 May 2013

Reflection on our Genesis journey

Sundays are always short and I do not why or maybe it is just the thought that tomorrow is Monday. I cannot believe that this Sunday is actually the last one before the second term ends. Wow indeed time flies. It feels like yesterday when I came to Cape Town for the first time, not knowing what to expect. I remember going to the Genesis workshops during the orientation and Stuart telling us that this course is very intense, that we had limited resources of money, energy and time. At that time I really do not think I understood what he meant, maybe it’s because I was still in honey moon face and excited about doing this course. Then slowly reality started to sink in my mind. Truly it has been very challenging, tears have been shed, tensions have been high, and emotions have been running high. I am still shocked that I survived until now.

So what made it worth staying and endure all this stress?

Wow. This is a very interesting question.

I think it’s because we have such an amazing group. We really get along together and we do not actually have any conflict or anything like that.

I also think that all the BIC and Genesis workshops have really helped me to understand how the “real world” operates. They taught me that being an entrepreneur is about making things happen; therefore you cannot be afraid of challenges or criticism. I remember Stuart saying that as entrepreneurs we have to make things happen and should not be afraid of taking risks. So with each workshop I was getting stronger and stronger as an entrepreneur and started to see that what tries to kill me can only make me stronger. I have also learned about the principle of being proactive which I read in one of my readings.  I learned that being proactive is about taking responsibility, it is about living in circle of influence rather that circle of concern. My favourite quote on being proactive is “between a stimulus and response, a man has a freedom to choose”.

 Anyway, it has been very interesting journey so far. In terms of our group everything has been fine so far. We are the group that broke the record of winning both Cake Sale 1 and 2. Our Genesis product is amazing and now with the potential of getting a cheaper manufacturer, who knows we might the win the Genesis trophy at the end of the year.

That is all for this week. Happy Mother’s day to all amazing mothers

 

 

11 May 2013

11 May 2013

Taking it easy today

After such a stress day yesterday, I decide to take it easy today in order to recover from yesterday. Nothing really happened today in terms of our Genesis project.  I think the only exciting thing that happened today was when Dean posted a message on our group WhatsApp chat that he had a meeting with the owner of a certain clothing factory (which I would not mention) and he told has the owner is very much keen to do business with us at such low cost compared to other manufacturer we have tried to contact. He said already set up a meeting with him for us to go to his factory on Tuesday.  I was quite happy about this progress the team is making. Dean is such a legend, he always make things happen. Thank Dean for taking the initiative to do this for the team.

What I have learned today can be summarised in this quote

10 May 2013

10 May 2013

What a stressful day!!

I really don’t where to start simply because I am very tired as I am typing right now due to the hectic day I had. Today was truly a test of character in me. Sam and I have been appointed by the group to be the editors of the group and the way we do it is that work gets delegated to each member in advance and then we will have our own “proposed deadline” at least two days before the actual hand-in deadline.  This is done so that we can have time to edit everything and then submit on time. We usually have meeting to try to discuss who is doing what and give any relevant information if required to ensure that everyone understand what is expected of them and that we are all on the same page.

As usual, for the market research assignment, we try to do the same except that people were not paying attention in order to understand what they are supposed to be done.  This assignment was due today, so it means that the each group member was supposed to submit their part to either Sam or I by Wednesday. However not everyone submitted their work, which meant that we could not finish to compile the report and as the results we found ourselves this morning with only half of the report been done.  This was very stress for me as I don’t like working under unnecessary pressure, as it meant that Sam and I have to bunk lectures (which I hate doing). So everything was very stressful.

The way we delegate work is based on what each member is comfortable with, as we learned in our workshops that we should focus on each other’s strength not weakness. So you can imagine how difficult it was for me having to right some parts that I am not very good at. It was very stressful indeed, having to sit in front of the computer the whole day and having limited resources in term time and energy, it was not fun at all.

So this is what this stressful experience has taught me.

Clearly define the role and responsibility of each group member

 

We failed to clearly define the roles and responsibilities for each member especially with regards to assignments. Therefore when things go wrong like today, there was no set measure of holding those who did not submit their part accountable. And this created a lot of stress for me and unhealthy working environment which could have led to group conflicts. Therefore this issue needs to be addresses on our next meeting to avoid a situation like this from happening again.  We need to set out new SMART role and responsibility that will clearly define each group member’s role and responsibility, expectation from them, deadline to deliver such and consequence that will results in failing to deliver them.

Communication

I have also learned that we had a poor communication and we also do not listen to each especially during the group meetings. As the result there was a lot of misunderstanding. Clear and effective communication is very vital especially when working in a group as it this reduced tension and eliminated unnecessary stress of not knowing what would be happening. Even though we have a WhatsApp group, Vula tab, group G-mail account, we still fail to communicate effectively. So this is other issue that has to be bought to the table during our meeting on Monday.

Anyway that is it for today. On a lighter note, well done to our group, especially Shea, Murray and Dean, for such a good presentation in ES today. Well done guys, you made us proud. Winning!!!

8 May 2013

08 May 2013

Justin Bieber takes over

JB is here and taking over PGdip class by storm. So it means that whatever happens today will revolve around him, pity I am not a fan of him but group is very much in love with him especially Shea, Sarah and Kim. They have been waiting eagerly for his concert and now that he is finally here, they are in cloud nine.  The excuse was JB concert comes once in the blue moon but Genesis to here to stay. But there was nothing much to be done anyway for Genesis today, so I guess the timing for JB was right. It was so funny how the other group during ES presentation today recognised Justin was one of the creative entrepreneurs of our time.

The only thing that we need to finalise as a group is the Directors meeting tomorrow to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Murray is going to be our Chairperson for this meeting and I    exciting about this directors meeting because we going to have it in one of our directors boardroom, so we get to experience the “real world".

Anyway that is it for now.

7 May 2013

07 May 2013

Winning!!!

Today we got a chance to do pitch practice in our Genesis workshop. Our group Pitcher was Murray. He presented out our product very well to the class. He spoke passionately about our bag and was able to cover all the six basis of the pitch; who you are, your concept, brand, product testing, numbers and lastly what you want. All this was done in 2 minutes. This was preparation for next week’s Pitch at UCT graduate school of business in Waterfront.

We later had our weekly meeting with Stuart, but before that we received a message from our manufacturer about the total cost of producing our bag which was R 230 per unit. We were really all shocked by this high price because we told her that we can only afford R 150. So we knew that Stuart was going to be very disappointed with us, as he advised to keep our options open. But surprisingly he was very encouraging and supportive.

It was at this meeting that he also announced to us that we are the winners of cake sale 2; therefore we get to have a three course meal for dinner with him at his house. Winning!!  I think somehow we knew that we won; it was a matter of confirmation from him. We are not called team awesome for nothing.

 

Go team awesome

6 May 2013

06 May 2013

Production Dilemma

Today we had our weekly meeting to discuss the way forward with the production of our back-pack bags. We are now in one of the hardest stages in the Genesis project- the production phase. I thought the product development phase was difficult, but I was wrong. So now that we have the prototype, having to find a reliable, good and affordable manufacturer is quite is difficult. Also having to maintain that relationship with them is challenging.

Right now we are still at the stages of finding such manufacturer. And to be quite honest, our group was not supposed to be in this situation if we had planned everything in advance. I mean we are group which has the most money; our product does not require any hard- to-find materials. So ideally we were supposed to have sold at least 20 backpacks by now, even Stuart always get frustrated every time we have we have a meeting with him as he expecting us to have sold at least 5 bags by now.

Since tomorrow Stuart is going to ask us again “how many bags have you sold so far?, we sat down trying to figure out what we can do so that we do not look disorganised in front of him. Our current manufacturer was supposed to have sent us the full cost of production by now. However it’s been three weeks now waiting for her. We are now started to feel very frustrated.  I think the main problem here was that we relied so much on her that we did not even look for other suppliers. So now it’s back to square of finding another manufacturer because we need to start selling our bags as soon as possible.

This experience has taught me that we should always keep our options open so that when one fails, we can choose another alternative. I have learned that true success that not automatically comes to the group with all the resources however to those know how to manage what they have and have a SMART planning ahead of time. In many occasions we as a group found ourselves just going back and forth without any progress simply because we did not have a clear plan that included setting out deadlines and ensuring that everything is done on time it was supposed to be. The whole relying on one manufacturer has also taught me the importance of planning head and always having a back-up plan in case the first one fails. If we had looked and compared different manufacturers, things could have turned out differently and maybe who knows we could have even sold some bags by now. We could have easily switched from the one to another.

4 May 2013

4 and 5 May 13

Saturday didn’t hold much productivity for Team Awesome.

Sunday however was far more promising. Another long day spent in our new secret hideaway that was middle campus and spent the day attempting to do as much “quadrant two work as possible (bearing in mind that quadrant one work merely means getting as much work due for the week done as possible).

Splitting up the various projects in advance and Sam demanding her dates (“I want dates people, give me dates”) really has helping in allowing us the ability to work within our own time and work ethic. It also gave us the room to make mistakes and corrections without feeling that they were having a negative impact on the deadline or the project itself.

3 May 2013

3 May 13

I woke up to the rain, believing that today, what with the test written and the projects finished, would be not only better but brilliant. I confidently strode to my car, put my keys in the door only to realise that the door was already unlocked. After further inspection of my car I was torn between being grateful to the thief who broke in and stole the radio for doing such a neat and unnoticeable job and sorry that I didn’t have anything more to offer him to steal in my empty boot. Then, just to add insult to injury, the thief had left the little inside light on, leaving my battery dead.

I said so long to my fresh outlook on the day and the idea of making it to campus in time for our 8am Business in context lecture.

Harmless otherwise, our group handed in our Bricolage assignment for ES and had an extremely productive meeting around the development of our thrift backpacks. We have made the decision to contact “Neon grey” around the development of our brand and after a phone call with their company; they sounded extremely promising, wanting to meet with us and explaining a bit about the various functions which they would be able to work with us on.

This all made the product seem so real and promising, which was a beautifully satisfying and simultaneously petrifying thing.

2 May 2013

2 May 13

Just when you thought the week couldn’t get any better, we have an Effective Peoples Practice test today. Not that any of us have started studying for it. And I say ‘any of us’ fairly broadly in that Kim and Teboho definitely would have.

I learnt two lessons today, one, go to your EPP lectures, then only having enough time to start studying on the day won’t be an issue.

And secondly, buy a parking disk. Once you’ve bought a parking disk, don’t lose it. Also don’t park in visitor’s only parking bays, or on red lines. I know this because somewhere in the midst of this week of hell I had to find time to go for my traffic court date. This didn’t do anything to help my stress levels for the impending 5pm test.

Somehow we made it through another day, just like we always do.

 

1 May 2013

1 May 13

Yay for public holidays! Boo for whatever this is. I’ve even reached the point that I’m excited to do the blog because it’s the only justifiable productive form of escapism I have. Getting the group together is a nightmare. Attempting to actually do the work once we got them was even worse.

On the positive side, we discovered a fantastically hidden gem of a new study area, the middle campus com labs. There is a computer room, study desks, a kettle, a microwave, a fridge… basically everything you could ever need to not be distracted enough by your wanting to leave.

By some form of magic we managed to finish our investment project. I even googled enough information to justify telling people that I had started on my piece for the Entrepreneurship strategies assignment. A surprisingly successful day all in all; which is good because something I’ve learnt is that if you’re going to sacrifice a sunny public holiday you had better make sure that it’s worth it.

 

30 April 2013

30 April 13

GENESIS DAY. Maybe I’m a loser, but I usually really enjoy Tuesdays. It is the one day in which I can forget about all of the academics and can be reminded of the real reason I did this course- to change the world. 

But not today.

Today was one of those days when you know you should be feeling stressed but you are actually too tired to acknowledge or experience that emotion so you’re left feeling void of any emotion at all… simply defeated. During lunch I stared so blankly across the Jammie that it was only when he was standing right next to me that I realised I had been blatantly staring down some poor guy that had happened to be in my line of sight. By the fourth meeting of the day I was beyond depleted. Not that giving into this feeling was an option. What with an entrepreneurial strategy ‘bricolage’ due and an investment project due on Friday, neither of which our groups have started or understand, I’m feeling more and more that while this time may pass, I might not.

29 April 2013

29 April 13

Everyone has always taught me that when life gets too complex and stressful, you will get through it, you just need to take one step at a time. This was a lovely mantra and it worked very well for me…. that is, it worked for me until I did the Entreps course. One thing that I very quickly learnt was that it is impossible to take one step at a time. It may even be impossible to take one staircase at a time… because there are always at least 3 staircases and I am somehow expected to be at the top of all of them. At the same time.

We have a few things due this week. That’s a lie. We have 6 things due- and a test. And then we have another 6 things due next week. But it could be worse I suppose. There could be a public holiday in the middle of it in which all the rest of our non-entreps friends could be out having fun. Oh wait. There is… and they are…

But here we are, pretending to take it one day at a time. And even though today may have been fire fighting on a level at which few have experienced, 5pm came and three handins went and with it, another day of fighting fires came to a close.

We say it every time, that we need to find a way to manage our time better, but I’m starting to wonder if that is even possible or if time management will remain as foreign a concept to me as the reason UCT doesn’t print on both sides of the page.

28 April 2013

28 April 2013

Sunday was completing our marketing group assignments that had to be handed in by 2 o'clock on Monday. We also had to hand in our step 4 for prof. com so the day was spent in the com labs completing these two assignments.

I find every weekend I have that same feeling of resentment towards myself for having left stuff to the last minute but it’s so difficult to find any other time to do a lot of these projects because we are busy all day every day and the only other time we could do them would be in our sleep ha ha and as it is we already running on the bare minimum.

One thing we have learnt though that we really are trying to work on and improve is because we have such limited amount of time and it’s not possible to create more time we need to be working a lot “smarter” as Stu would say meaning that we need to start using our time more efficiently so we can get more done in the time we have.

27 April 2013

27 April 2013

The group had no plans for the weekend as all our work had already been equally separated, so I went to see our product manufacturer to get a glimpse of what the second model looked like and boy did I love what I saw.

Our designed had really played out of her boots with our second design with one look I knew that this backpack was going to be a hit. I was just crossing my fingers that the cost would be low enough that we could afford to employ her full time. She had done some calculations and worked out that in order for us to have 500 bags by the middle of June she would need to start manufacturing at least 5 bags a day from next week onwards. But things were looking hopeful with regards to the pricing we just needed to do the final step which was attach the leather straps and the bag would be complete.

26 April 2013

26 April 2013

So today we all met up so we could split up the projects that were coming up in the next two weeks. We also needed to figure out where we were at with regards to product development. We delegated the Entreps assignments that are due for next week which just makes it easier for those who have some free time (not word you hear very often these days) and wanted to get ahead start.

We discussed what we are going to do about our product cause at the moment we are having some costing issues with regards to the manufacturing of our product because our original manufacturer was going to spend the week designing a second backpack for us so we could see the backpack in a boys design and so we could get a final idea about cost of labour and whether or not we could afford to use her as our producer. And finally the long week had come to an end we could all go home and get some much need rest and relaxation. I know speaking for myself I was in bed by 10:30 PM on a Friday night not a very common occurrence for us but the week really took it out of all of us.

25 April 2013

25 April 2013

Finally the pressure seemed to ease up a bit now that the tests were over but the stress was far from gone. With all our kindly given extensions it just meant we still had all the same assignments due but for the following week.

The day was not too eventful mostly just group assignments being planned but not too much interesting took place on this day. We did however organize to have a group meeting on the Friday in order to discuss some product ideas since we hadn’t had a product meeting in a while with all the tests and assignments it meant that genesis took the backseat for a while.

24 April 2013

24 April 2013

B.I.C test day, always a fun mid-week challenge, I think a lot of us under estimated the quantity of work and began to hit pains stations when we all realized the mountain we were about to tackle. Standard test day routine, everyone was off to the library for a serious cram session. The learning was slow and tedious as it took a while to decipher what was actually required of us for the test so I know for many of us the day was spent trying to structure an adequate format for answering the questions we might be faced with.

Even though it was only a section of work we were being tested on the amount was still substantial. Perfect saying of the week when the going gets tough the tough get going, we all gave the subject our best shot. Unfortunately a lot of us found the test challenging and not quite what we expected but at least it was finally over and we could finally get some rest after the long week. This was of course after the traditional meet at the post grad pub for one drink after every test.

23 April 2013

23 April 2013

Everyone was buggered after the long, strenuous day we had yesterday and we saw that everybody energy levels were at an all-time low. As we know with this course there is no space for giving up because the minute you do you’ll fall behind so fast, recovery will be almost impossible. So we did what we always do put a smile on our face and carried on with the next assignment due.

Today we had to hand in our shareholders’ agreement in for Genesis. This is just a document kind of giving an outline of how we plan to handle all relationships within the team, such as conflicts between members, our plans for future relationships with suppliers and manufacturers. Luckily we always have a false deadline for the week before so the assignment was complete we simply had to print it and hand it in. we have a B.I.C test tomorrow so we all figures with the amount we have to study we best get on that subject a.s.a.p. so again the remainder of the day was spent in the library trying to make notes and figure out a game plan for the preparation of B.I.C.

22 April 2013

22 April 2013

Another glorious Monday, early morning wake but to make this Monday even better we have a Finance test tonight. Everyone’s in a bit of a panic with between very little and no time to study trying to squeeze in all we had to know in such a short space of time is never easy. But that’s definitely something this course has taught us to do and that’s make do with the time you have cause unfortunately it’s the only time we got ha ha.

So the day was mostly spent in the library hitting the books, we also were supposed to have hand in our step 4 for prof. com as well as our group projects for Marketing but luckily we got an extension for both, I’m guessing the course coordinators took on some pity on us quickly realizing that we were probably not going to cope very well with all the assignments we had due for the week.

21 April 2013

21 April

Sunday brought the meeting with Gabrielle Frazer, our potential product designer and producer. We all spoke about the product, ways in which to attack the situation of producing it, possibilities of numbers able to be produced, costs, expenses, wages, profit margins, potential adjustments of the product, materials, marketing, and other importantinformation.

What we wanted as a group from the meeting was to discuss the final feasibility of the product. This was because we did not want to be offering Gabrielle a price too low or too high. Therefore we discussed mark-up of the product, possible materials and places in which to resource it.

We were slightly worried about the meeting as the design and concept was Gabrielle’s. This meant that we were scared she would charge an amount we felt would not work. Therefore after the meeting we were very happy with how it went, we were happy with how we approached it and the way in which Gabrielle reacted to our offers.

It was good to implement a strategy in which we would approach the meeting with. We had offers to present to Gabrielle in the case of her not liking our ideas to move forward. We did this because of past lesson learnt and the way in which we have seen with first hand experience how planning improves something such as a meeting

20 April 2013

20 April

Reflecting on the week was great as it gave me a great sense of the tight knit group we have grown into. We are a term and a half through the year and we as a group are feeling great together. We all feel very comfortable with eachother and have had a very comfortable way interacting, working, progressing, preparing and getting on with one another. We all listen to each other, we all value each other’s opinions, we all contribute, we all enjoy each other, we all trust each other, we all know everyone is giving their all, we all have each other’s best interests at heart and are all willing to go that extra mile for one another.

 

This is great to realise as a group member because of the way in which it creates a sense of accomplishment, a sense of being content, and also a sense of inspiration. Having others who are also willing to succeed and put time, effort and heart into succeeding is hugely gratifying. There are so few teams who entirely encompass the understanding of what needs to be done in order to succeed. In past experiences of mine, I have seen how blatantly evident it is, when the negative influence of one team member completely destroys and brings down the team. It is greatly appreciated by everyone, that everyone is keen to succeed. This is a great cycle to be in as it constantly keeps everyone at their best.

 This picture is a prime example of someone who looks like they might not go the extra mile for his group members.

19 April 2013

19 April

Friday came with great excitement as this meant it was the end of another extremely busy week and this meant some (not lots…) time to relax. However, there is never a spare second to relax. This blog is presently being written in my “free” time. My free what…? I don’t know what that means?

However, we got our classes done for the day and decided it was time for a group bonding session…in Tiger… This was extremely helpful and greatly added to the group dynamic. There was a great deal of strategic catch up done, with the help of some slightly chilled beverages and some slightly jittery, dub-steppy music… This may have not been the most condusive environment for a strategic meeting, however, we felt a change of scenery was needed and so we took to the dingy corner that Tiger had to offer.  Shea felt it necessary to cool certain members of the group down (who she deemed to be over heating) with her chilled beverage. Some members of the group decided that dancing like a 13 year old to 22 by Taylor Swift was the best way to get their message across. Some felt war tactics were the best way to go about it, and decided to include grenades into the situation. And some members were just bloody classic!

 

18 April 2013

18 April 2013

Thursday started with Claudia giving us a helpful lecture on report writing. This was then followed by the workshop in which Gao gave us the BoetieSmit case study and the way in which we group findings, causes and solutions in order to create a report that is effective in reaching all its assigned requirements. It was a very useful assignment as it taught us the way in which to approach the report.

We got together as a group later on in the day and just discussed where we currently are as a group. This brought us all back onto the same page again. The whole second term has been so busy its been harder to keep up to date with everything. Its harder to make times to meet because of all of the assignments, tests and due dates for the different subjects. However, we have noticed that even a short 20 or 30 minute meeting is more beneficial and helpful than no meeting. This is because it keeps everyone accountable for what they have been assigned, what is expected of everyone as individuals, and what is expected of everyone as a group.

Thursday saw us give our Pesto Princess hamper away too. This was great as it created more exposure for Pesto Princess even a week and a half after the event.

17 April 2013

17 April

The day began with a very interesting and insightful lecture from David Priilaid. David showed us the first half of a very interesting and insightful video by Michael Porter regarding competitive advantage in Companies, and Counties.  Very important and interesting notes were pointed out by Michael Porter. Such points regarding clustering and the way in which certain clusters contribute to each other based on their own specific strengths. Michael Porter talks of “the Diamond” and the four contributing factors contributing towards competitiveness and in turn, success.  Such points are strategy, structure and rivalry; demand conditions; related and supported industries; and factor conditions.

This class followed with a group meeting regarding the way in which we are going to approach product production and the way in which we are going to start making serious steps towards getting our product out into the market. We set up a meeting to meet with Gabrielle Frazer (our designer and possible producer). The meeting time agreed upon was the coming Sunday, and it will be then that we discuss Gabrielle’s expectations, our expectations and how we can come to an agreement in which we are both happy and satisfied. This is essential as we need to have a healthy working relationship to last in order to produce quality products in the desired time, at the desired price.

16 April 2013

16April 2013

Tuesday brought a more relaxed start to the day, as Stuart is away, meaning there is no Genesis workshop, or Genesis meetings today. The only class of the day was a marketing tut. It was therefore a prime time to implement David's recent time management classes and work towards being in quadrant 2 (important, but not urgent), planning for future tasks, activities, due dates and other important areas.

We got together as a group and discussed the ways in which we needed to move forwards with regards to the Business in Context research report on Andrew Bennet's company Icologie, and our shareholders agreement. We came up with some good material and some good strategies to implement. One such strategy related to conflict resolution goes as follows... After a set number of warnings and a group member continues to not cooperate, we will be forced to make that group member drink up to 5 litres of milk that has been festering in the boot of a car for months, in the heat. Such conditions can be considered prime for making milk go off.... However, we then came to our senses and realised that that is not the most ideal way forward, no matter how ingenious such a solution may be (which I feel to be flawless and extremely beneficial if I do say so myself).

We are therefore going to put the shareholders agreement together, and get advice from past students and our board of directors. We as a group feel this is a good way forward as we are not asking the directors to write it for us, we are merely asking for guidance with an already well thought out shareholders agreement. Such guidance will be more beneficial to us as it will be more directed, more insightful, and especially because it is coming from experienced directors.

15 April 2013

15 April 2013

Today began with a rather apprehensive start. The work load of last week was truly a test of the "hidden agenda" that David Priilaid spoke of. The workload really taught us a lot about what we are capable of as individuals, groups and as a class. We learnt that contributing towards the common cause of success as a class is more beneficial and more likely than success of the individual. This can be said because of the collaboration between students and groups. Such collaboration including sharing of notes, summaries, enlightenment of important sections and information and other critical information.

Monday was therefore greeted with a class full of tired students in Business in Context at 8:00am. It also came with a little bit of insight that David Priilaid taught time management after the week with more work than seems legal to put on a student at any time of their life. This was beneficial to us all as we could reflect on the way in which we approached that busy week, the ways we should have approached it (changes that could have been made to make the week easier), and ways in which we can make such a busy week easier, less stressful and be better prepared for in the future.

14 April 2013

14 April 2013

Today has consisted of last minute things that were missing from our cake sale report, Sam and Teboho who are editing it have just been double checking things and asking us to follow up on certain things or change certain things to ensure that our cake sale report is the best it possibly can be (in such short notice).

Our last cake sale report was not so good, in fact we got the lowest in the class therefore we really want to do better in this report because our group enjoys winning and we want to be winners in terms of academics too- that’s why all of us have really tried hard on this report and we have really brought out A-game.

Today has also been a little reminder day for our group, for example reminding people to bring the money that they still owe, or reminding a group member to return something, or to thank the sponsors etc. So today has been a relatively chilled day, we are just trying to finalise this cake sale report and then we all have to do our finance tut and our marketing tut for tomorrow. It’s like this work load just never ends... We have learnt how important it is to communicate with one another and ensure that everybody knows exactly what they are doing, so that all the required jobs get done.

 

13 April 2013

13 April 2013

Our Saturday consisted of finishing our parts for our cake sale 2 report so that we could get them to Sam and Teboho by 1pm so that they would have enough time to edit the report and put it all together. Kim went to the bank to deposit all the money that we made from Cake Sale 2; it took a lot of counting and a lot of patience from Capitec Bank to finally deposit all our money.

About R18000.00 was deposited into our bank today (that is excluding all meal vouchers), it feels so good to have such a large lump sum in our bank account- it makes us feel that our experience as a group so far has been a success! Today we have learnt how unproductive it is to work under such pressure, we all are aware that because of our time constraint we all did not produce our best work, which will show in our marks.

Therefore in future, we need to plan ahead so we are not put under such pressure and so that we get good marks to show for it.

12 April 2013

12 April 2013

Friday was a good day, we felt relieved and stress free- for about 5 minutes! We then realised that our cake sale report is due for Monday, so we all had to gather and split up all the sections so that everyone had a specific part to do so that the report could be done as quickly as possible in the most efficient way.

Sam and Teboho are editing the cake sale 2 report therefore we only have about a day to do our parts, because they still need to edit the report and put it together so they requested that they receive our parts no later than tomorrow at 1pm. So, as always this day was NOT a stress free day- today consisted of us starting and finishing our cake sale report in less than 24 hours.

Challenge accepted!

We learnt how important organisation is and how important it is to ensure you have a year planner, we were completely unaware that our report was due for the Monday but if we had a year planner and we had been organised we would have seen weeks ago that our cake sale report was due for the Monday after Cake sale, which would’ve made us feel less stressed and more in control of our lives.

11 April 2013

11 April 2013

This morning we woke up with the same feeling we woke up with yesterday, the “oh dear I have a test tonight and have not studied for it yet” feeling.

The worst feeling in the world.

We all gathered on campus for our 8am BIC lecture and afterwards we had our BIC workshop, which was a lot of fun. In our groups we had to act out a certain topic we have been covering in class and the most humorous and appropriate skit wins chocolates. So naturally, our team is extremely competitive and does not settle for anything less than winning (especially when there is prizes involved), so we all went outside and started planning our hilarious skit. One thing our group enjoys is humour; therefore there was no doubt that our skit was going to be the most hilarious skit there. After watching the other groups skits, we were confident that we had won and Stu announced the winner...dun dun dun... it was us! Yay! We were all so happy because winning has become an addiction, and even though we have learnt that failing is good- winning is just so much better! Anyway, after BIC and our win we all headed straight back into the library to do some major last minute cramming.

Tonight was the last night of our “hell week” and we really could not think of anything else than going to Tiger to celebrate the end of our Hell week, and also to celebrate Money’s (our class mates) birthday in style. The test went terribly for some of us and good for the rest of us, either way we were all just so relieved that it was over- time to celebrate!

Again, we learnt how important time management is! If we had just made a plan, we would have done our notes for BIC week’s ago and we would have learnt enough to have passed the test. But instead, we left it to the last minute, only had a couple of hours to study which made the test very difficult.

10 April 2013

10 April 2013

Exhausted, we all made our way onto campus at 8am to get to our makeup marketing tut- because we had missed it yesterday because of cake sale. And tonight is our marketing test, and most of us have done no studying because our focus had been on cake sale for the past two weeks, so we had a big studying day ahead of us today. Everyone was exceptionally eager to hear how much money we had made yesterday, Sarah did a brief count last night and it looks like we made about R15000.00 profit but we are not sure so keep posted and you will find out soon!

Anyway, our primary focus was on our marketing test that we had tonight- everyone locked themselves in the library and did some last minute cram learning! After the test we all just met outside to see how the test went for everyone- and we came to the conclusion that it went terribly! It was the longest, most challenging test ever written, so let’s just say there were not too many smiling faces after that.

We learnt a big lesson today and that is to manage time accordingly, if we had planned our week in advance we would have already learnt for marketing so that when the day arrived we were prepared, but we did not manage our time accordingly and had to learn for marketing on the day which will lead to poor results.

9 April 2013

9 April 2013

The big day has finally arrived, and to be honest we cannot wait for it to be over and done with! At 5:30am everyone met on the Jammie Plaza- Sarah and Murray were woken up by us banging on their car windows, not the best wakeup call but it had to be done. We started setting up by unpacking everything into the fridges, setting the tables out the way we wanted, putting table cloths on the tables, putting our banners up, starting the grill etc. at about &:30am when campus started to fill up, Monster still had not arrived- everyone started to panic! Dean phoned them and they had said they were on their way at 7am but by &:30am they had still not arrived, Monster is our most valuable asset today so if they had not have pitched we would have been “screwed”. But Monster did eventually arrive with the huge Monster truck filled with hundreds of Monster energy drinks. And so the cooking began, for breakfast we started selling bacon and egg rolls with a Monster for R20 and those sold out within a few hours so then we started our burger and a Monster combination for R20. At first, sales were really slow and we began to stress if we would ever make our desired profit, but by lunch time our queues were 200m long and our sales were endless. We each had our designated areas of work, Sam and Teboho were continuously cutting and preparing the rolls, Murray and Dean were cooking the burgers, Shea was handing the burgers to the customers, Sarah was handling the finances and Kim was doing the feathers as well as helping to prepare the rolls and throw burgers on the grill.

 Everything worked well, and because we had precooked so much more than last time- our production time was a lot faster so our customers were receiving their meals a lot quicker. The feathers were also a huge hit, and girls were coming from all over to get a feather hair extension- it was a major success. Our goal was to stay on campus until all our stock was sold out, therefore we stayed on campus until 6pm and we managed to sell out all stock and therefore we achieved our desired profit- so cake sale 2 was a success! Sales started slowing down at the end, but then Dean would head out into the crowds and promote our amazing burger and Monster combination and then our sales would pick up again.

By 6pm we were so exhausted, after cleaning up we all went our separate ways to finally sleep- something we all had not done in a while! We learned a lot from cake sale one which applied to our cake sale two, however we did not plan and delegate jobs very well. Some people had more than one job therefore was not putting all their effort into one job therefore in future we need to ensure we have helpers and make sure everyone has ONE job to do. Tomorrow is a big academic day for all of us; therefore we need our beauty sleep- so we’ll chat again tomorrow!

8 April 2013

8 April 2013

Tomorrow is a big day for us, it is our cake sale 2- so nerve racking!

You can only imagine how today went; it was chaotic to say the least. For starters, we all had a marketing assignment to hand in so most of us were trying to find a printer that actually works to get that in on time, and so that we can go ahead with our cake sale preparation. We delegated certain jobs to everyone a while ago, so everyone went off to complete their tasks. Whilst Sam and Teboho stayed on campus until about 4pm to be available for when the fridges got delivered, Kim was out fetching the burgers and doing the float, Murray was off to Pesto Princess fetching the delicious pesto, Shea and Sarah went to do some last minute sauces shopping and went to fetch the rolls, Dean went off to find us a grill (which we still had not organised) and sort out Monster and then we were all supposed to meet on the Jammie again at 4pm. Unfortunately we did not even have time to meet on the Jammie and chat about tomorrow, so we all had to send each other messages finalising what to bring etc.

Sam and Teboho are spending the whole night chopping onions, and the rest of the team members are spending the entire evening pre-cooking 800 burgers, enough to put one of burgers for life! We realised about an hour ago that we still in fact do not have a grill for tomorrow because Deans father is not so keen on lending us his again (due to the state we left it in last time- I don’t blame him) so Dean is busy trying to sweet talk his dad into lending us the grill, crossing fingers! We also hit another major disaster, we had collected the rolls at about 6pm this evening and realised the rolls were in open boxes and actually were not packaged- meaning they would be as solid as a rock the next day.

In a flat panic, Kim went to Spar and bought the packets that they package their rolls in so that we could put the rolls into the packets to prevent them from going off. Sarah and Murray, who are spending the night on the Jammie Plaza to keep watch over our fridges and our market space, are going to have to spend the entire night packaging these rolls into packets whilst the rest of us precook these burgers. Needless to say, we have a VERY long night ahead of us. We have learnt a lot from today, firstly that communication is key because half of us did not know where everybody was and who was doing what- therefore it lead to some last minute planning which created stress and tension in our group dynamic. Another lesson we have learnt today is how important it is to plan ahead- we left everything to plan the day before cake sale which did not work out well, therefore in future we need to plan ahead! Sweet dreams everybody!

7 April 2013

07 April 2013

On the Sunday we did not have any group meetings and everybody in the group thought they might be as lucky to have some relaxation time. However this is PDEM and if you are relaxing that can only mean two things.....1) you are more than likely dreaming (having fallen asleep from pure exhaustion) or you have forgotten that you have a massive assignment for the next day. This is was one of those days in which the latter applies.

With a massive marketing assignment due for Monday, we were forced to read up and learn about the various types of macro and micro environment conditions that effect an organization. The macro environment includes the demographic, natural and socio-cultural factors; whilst the micro environment includes the internal factors such as competitors, suppliers, customers etc. We then proceeded to use a SWOT analysis to analyse the environment as a whole.

When then break up the target market via segmentation and targeting where the specific section of the potential market is chosen to focus on. The product and service then need to position themselves tactically in the potential consumers mind as well as differentiate itself from the competition to give itself a favourable competitive advantage. 

When developing a product it is very important to take into account the 4 P’s – price, product, place, promotion in order to market your product effectively and make sure you are targeting the correct target market as well as developing your weaknesses.

6 April 2013

06 April 2013

As much as I would love to tell you of how my team and I did some deep meaningful activity that somehow transformed our group or gave a deeper understanding of what it means to be entrepreneurs.... I don’t want to waste your time. The fact that I am blogging on a Saturday is sad enough. I seriously doubt anything that happens on a Saturday is relevant to this blog in the slightest other than the fact that I was persuaded into buying two avocados from a rather sly street vendor. He demonstrated very good entrepreneurial skills by lulling me into a false sense of security with outrageously low prices. Two avocados’ for R10... I know, it’s ludicrous!(And not like the platinum selling rap artist). The price of his product instantly positioned the product favourably in my mind (the consumer).  His placement wasn’t particularly good seeing as he was in the middle of the road, which is in terms of his safety of course. His daredevil behaviour got my attention and it was convenient for me to buy avocados without having to get out my car.

I later realized that what can only be described as ‘door stoppers’ were in fact arguably the hardest avocados in the southern hemisphere. The day wasn’t a complete lost as this random homeless entrepreneur taught me something... price is everything. If the price is low enough, the consumer will purchase the product regardless of quality. We sold our burgers and Monster Combo for R20 at the 1^st cake sale and we plan on maintaining our extremely low prices going into the 2^nd cake sale.

5 April 2013

05 April 2013

We had a group meeting at 13:00 pm in the library to discuss the upcoming cake sale and make sure everyone knew their roles and responsibilities prior to the event.

Rough Roles:

Dean– organise fridge and grill delivery, precook burger patties, collect gas

Kim – Collect feathers and burger patties

Sarah – precook caramelize onions and organise rolls, secure location

Murray – collect Pesto Princess, and secure location

Sam – collect garnish, pre-cut garnish

Teboho – collect garnish, pre-cut garnish

Shea Farrell – precook burger patties, collect grease bags

 

4 April 2013

04 April 2013

No group activity took place. For this reason I have decided to address the elephant in the room and point out that team member Shea has put a picture of herself (horrible to start off with) sticking her tongue out... We have no reason for this and when confronted about the photo Shea replied “Ya’ll don’t know me haters.... quite hating player”... weird!!

Jokes! Thanks for reading it anywhere... on to the next day!

3 April 2013

03 April 2013

Today we confirmed our long-awaited drink sponsor. Monster Energy confirmed that they will be sponsoring us for the 2^nd time around and the whole group was relieved to hear that we did not need to source out another sponsor.

We as a group performed an After Action Review, after having a meeting with Stu the day before. We reflected on the strengths and weaknesses that Stu pointed out and how we could go about solving these issues. We proposed another prototype for a cell-phone protection device, but were shut down seeing as the product did not comply with the theme and was unable to be produced in South Africa. Stu however did agreed that the proposed cell-phone protection device was a clever product and suggested that we should run that as a side product to make more capital which can be used to manufacture more bags.

Stu seemed to love our prototype and agreed it would sell, especially with female students. Stu loved that whole concept of buying old clothing and remanufacturing them into a new trendy back-pack, however was concerned about the cost of production of the bags. Stu did agree that Gabi (our lead designer) was our competitive edge and was too valuable to exclude from the project.

Stu did have a few negative comments as well. His main concern with the product was the supply of material, in the sense that ‘Thrift' Shops’ and hospices are not the most reliable resources of materials. He was concerned that if the product ‘took off’, that we would have difficulty finding enough material and fabrics to keep up with the demand. A huge potential problem is that the prices of the clothing will also varying constantly depending on the material and store the garment was bought from. The product is extremely ‘brown’ in the sense that it directly gives money to the various hospices around Cape Town.

2 April 2013

02 April 2013

 We had a group meeting at 2:00pm in the library where we discussed various upcoming events and deadlines. We delegated jobs for the 2^nd cake sale on the 9^th of April. The second point up for discussion was the proposed prototypes/products. Our group is looking at adding a brand to our product which will be based towards UCT students. We voted on the best proposed logos.  The prototype report was printed and handed in at 3:30 pm.

We then had our team genesis meeting with Stuart at 3:30 pm where we presented our “thrift “pack-back prototype. Stuart seemed to enjoy our concept and agreed that the bag would be a hit amongst students providing we could keep our prices down.

1 April 2013

01 April 2013

It is the last day of holiday and our group is urgently preparing for our prototype presentation for the following day (Tuesday).We had a group meeting in the Leslie Social at 10:30am to decide which of our prototypes our group was going to present. We decided to present the “Thrift Back-pack” prototype and delegated every member a section to complete for the prototype report. Everybody completed their parts and Dean put the report together.