OPPORTUNITIES

My Opportunity Belief

Of course I can see that there are many opportunities in my daily life that could be addressed. For this post, I will be discussing my belief in one particular opportunity: the icky, sticky key boards on the computers at the Marston Library.

Keyboard Crisis

I have noticed increasingly over the year, the sticky gunk that piled up on the computer keys in the Marston Library. What is the unmet need here? The need for a clean work space where students don't feel like they're catching influenza with each keystroke. So that brings me to my second point- it is the students who are experiencing this need. The staff certainly isn't doing anything to meet this need. Few students are doing anything about this need either. I do see the occasional, germ-conscious student (i.e. me), pull out a tissue or wet wipe and clean the keys before getting to work. But this is far from a sustainable solution. I suppose this need hasn't always existed, but it was more of a gradual awakening. The compilations of thousands of students fingerprints and snack crumbs coated the keys over the year until it became an obvious ordeal. I am quite certain that this opportunity- the sticky keys in the Marston Library exists.

Gathering the Data

I set out to see if this opportunity is a solid one in the eyes of others. I interviewed three prototypical "customers" anonymously. The first interviewee was a senior student and avid Marston study-goer. The second was a staff member at the Marston Library. The third was a janitor. I asked each of them the same series of questions: 

1. What is the exact nature of the need? 

2. When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?

3. How long have they had the need?

4. When did they first become aware of their need? Why? 

5. How are they currently addressing their need? 

6. How satisfied are they with this solution?

 Listed below are my findings.

Senior Student

1. The student described the nature of this need as something that is not absolutely dire, but they did admit that is was something worth addressing.

2. The student answered how I supposed they would. This isn't a need that they are aware of constantly. They only experience this need when they are using the computers in the Marston library. The student did point out however, that they spend roughly eight to ten hours a week in the library, which is a significant amount of time to be thinking about sticky keys.

3. This student is on her fourth year at the University of Florida and claims to have been experiencing this since her freshman year of college.

4. The student first became aware of this need their freshman year of college which began approximately four years ago. As a sheltered freshman coming from the cleanliness of her own home, the sticky keys in Marston were very apparent the first day stepping foot in the library.

5. Independently, the student carries wet wipes in their back back to wipe down the computer keys before using them.

6. They explained that this solution works perfectly well for them. However, they explained their concern for the spread of germs for other students who don't personally clean the keys before using them.

My Reflection: I learned that my opportunity is not just apparent in my eyes, but it affects other students well. The most surprising thing about my interview with this student was how very similar their experiences in the Library were to mine. I also learned that this opportunity is entirely valid in regards to the student body.

Staff Member

1. The staff member initially didn't recognize this opportunity. However, after describing the situation to them, the staff member said they they could see how this is relevant, but wouldn't describe the nature as something that needs to be solved by staff.

2. The staff member doesn't actually experience this need at all. They explained that the computers they use are always relatively well kept, and they aren't directly affected by the student computers in the library.

3. The staff member does not personally have this need.

4. They only became aware of this need during this interview. Apparently it has not been brought up by another student.

5. The need is non-existent for them thus it is not being addressed. They did say that if they were in the student shoes, they would just bring wipes to clean the key boards before using them.

6. The solution they came up with seemed perfectly acceptable to them.

My Reflection: This interview made me realize that my opportunity does not necessarily affect everybody who is in the Marston library. I was very surprised to hear that the staff worker proposed the same solution that many students are already attempting by bringing something to clean the keyboards with.

The Janitor

1. The janitor says that the nature of this need is something that could be addressed because they understand the uncleanliness of the keyboards.

2. The janitor admits that occasionally when cleaning the floors in the library, it occurs to them that the computers might be dirty as well. However, this is not a need that occurs to them frequently.

3. They have had this need for the past two years whilst cleaning other areas of the library.

4. The first became aware of the need when someone spilled a drink on the computers and the keyboard had to be replaced. As the janitor as cleaning up, it occurred to them that the other keyboards must be dirty too after being touched by so many hands.

5. Currently, the need is not directly affecting them, nor has it been brought to their attention enough to be addressed.

6. They were somewhat displeased with the fact that a solution hasn't been found for this. They said cleaning each individual keyboard would be far too time consuming, and that it wasn't a quite big enough issue to invest a lot of time and money.

My Reflection: I learned that although other recognize this opportunity, perhaps it is not quite big enough to be thoroughly addressed. It seems to be an opportunity that many students have self solutions too, and it doesn't have a large enough effect on others to invest time and money into it.

Conclusion:

All in all, not much of my opportunity remains. I see now that most students who experience this opportunity and are affected by it have come up with their own way to remedy it. I do believe that my initial opportunity is still accurate, however, it is not as widespread as I might have imagined. 

Entrepreneurs in general should definitely heavily consider customer feedback. If they find an opportunity that affects enough people, but not others, it is OKAY to stay firm in their opportunity. However, if they elicit enough customer feedback that skews the accuracy of their initial belief in their opportunity, it may not be worth it to pursue a solution to the opportunity if no one else is willing to engage.