Concepts

Here are some ideas I sketched up for the cardboard furniture line, I really like the dark one...but I"m still working on ideas.

New Venture

I'm taking a temporary break from the whole Marc and Ty's scheme for a little while to work on an independent project. Currently I am working with the Mies van der Rohe Society to bring a line of products to the public. So far we are just working on a wristband, like "Armstrong", but with the saying "What Would Mies Do?" It's a clever rebirth of 2 past trends that will hopefully strike a cord with many local architects.
It all started one night while I was working at Crown Hall trying to get my drawing done for the next day and someone walked by with an "Armstrong" bracelet on. I started thinking about the trend and remembered how popular the "WWJD" bands were in middle school. It was about 2:00 AM and I laughed to myself and thought "What would Mies Do? Would he keep drafting, or would he just quit and go home?" I decided it had potential so the following weekend I started studying how much it would cost to make the bands. After determining it was possible I figured I needed help, so I E-mailed the director of marketing at the Mies Society and set up a meeting for the following Monday.
It was the first meeting I ever had to attend on my own. I've been to meeting before but always had someone there by my side to help me out. Needless to say I was nervous. I started thinking my idea wasn't really good and what if I wasn't prepared. I talked to my family a lot and they helped calm me down and prepare me for my meeting. I printed up analysis sheets and a meeting agenda so that I would know what to say at the meeting. The meeting went great. Justine, the marketing director, made me feel comfortable and made my first meeting a great experience. She loved the idea and she has thinking about an entire line of "WWMD" merchandise. We are reconvening next week to discuss our options and where to go from here.

Current Ideas:
Mies face Cufflinks
Mies face Tie Tack
Mies face drawn Tie

Pre Start-up

Things have been pretty slow lately, which is understandable being that Tyler and I are 200 miles apart not to mention swamped with homework. Despite the drawbacks and lack of motivation/inspiration, there has been some progress. I finished Richard Branson's autobiography this weekend and if there is one thing I took away from it, it was a better understanding of money. When he started Virgin, he didn't start by opening a Megastore, he started very small with a catalog company. Reflecting this newfound understanding on to Marc and Ty's, we need to start small, and soon. Being our age and having no collateral, it would be near impossible to get a bank loan, so opening an actual store is not an option as of now.

Current goal: Find a starting point venture. Right now we need to focus on gaining an initial capital. Something the we can reinvest in the company, therefore creating growth. So, Tyler and I had a meeting and discussed possible options:

Craftshow Startup- Pretty much self explanatory. Find a product to make or sell, and find some open shows and flea markets to get our product out there. If nothing else, we will gain experience and contacts. Possible Products-
Foamcore Table
T-shirts
Refurbished Furniture
Retro Pillows

Unique Service- Any service which we are capable of carrying out with little or no overhead. This type of business has the benefit of being portable, in other words, we don't need a set location or office.
Possible Services-
Study Help Center
Party Hosting
Clothing Website

After reviewing all the possible options available to us, we decided to choose one option from each category. We figured that hosting a party and making tables to sell at craft shows were are best bets. The tables are easy to make and can be made cheaply meaning we can sell them cheaply. They also have a certain appeal that, for a price, is worth having. Also, being that they are made out of a paper base, it is possible to print virtually anything on the tables making the sky the limit. We chose to host a teen party as well because it will provide us with important market research that will aid us later in the development of Marc and Tys.
Now that we have decided on ventures to pursue, the planning begins. Hopefully we will be able to kick into action the day school ends, but for now it's on to some research and planning.

 

The Three Musketeers?

Bringing in a third person seems to be the hot topic on my mind lately. I have come to the realization that it is necessary to have a business major on board but the question now becomes who? There are 2 likely candidates but both have issues that will make it either difficult to recruit or difficult to incorporate. For their protection, we will change their names to, ohhh, lets say Bob and Dave. So corporate.

Prospect 1: Dave

Assets
-Studying Business Finance at MSU
-Grew up in Livonia (seed store location)
-Was student council president
-Great contacts

Liabilities
- Very skeptical (which can go both ways)
-Needs a sense of security
-Likes to play it safe

Prospect 2: Bob
Assets
-Takes risks
-Very likeable and good with people
-Excited about opportunities like this
-Motivated, very driven to success

Liabilities
-Questionable lifestyle
-Flip flops a lot

It's a tough call. It may be hard to net Dave, but it is undoubted that he has what we need. However, his "unsureness" and need for security may make him unstable or unsuitable in his position with Marc and Ty's. Bob, on the other hand, may bring a drive for success that pushes the company to the big leagues. The problem with Bob lies in his lifestyle, which doesn't fit the moral profile of the company. In the end, I feel that it is most important to maintain the ideals that lie behind the company but at the same rate, the company needs a boost of energy, a surge of success seekers. I guess we'll interview them both and see how it goes....maybe there is someone else that better fits the description.....we'll see.