11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1)    I am Cooper Goetz. I am a hard-working, sport savvy college student looking to satisfy a need of the people. In terms of skills and experience, I have internship experience with professional and collegiate sports teams, with a heavy amount of my time in marketing. My greatest skill is my work efficacy, and while that is not an original “skill”, it is one that I know is unparalleled by others in my field. My aspiration for this business is to turn it into a prosperous industry-creating workplace that changes the way athletes and other celebrities’ approach social media. If I were to take this business from a hypothetical to a reality, it would play a dominant role in my life, and hopefully be my full-time occupation.

2)    I am offering a social media management service to my customers. In short, my company would run social media accounts for individuals, and in doing so, help them build a social brand and avoid problematic posts and uploads. 

3)    The target demographic for my business is primarily up-and-coming athletes. With such a heavy background in the sporting world, I would be most effective starting with athletes. While many of the top athletes may have help running their social media accounts through their agents, I will target any budding or rising stars to find a foothold. In addition to athletes, I will target general, non-athlete celebrities of similar stature to fill out my customer list. I do not plan on discriminating between the sport, nationalities, or dialects of potential clients. However, as I only currently speak English, it would be prudent to avoid representing the social media accounts of any non-English athletes until I have either become fluent or hired someone who already is fluent to the level of a native or bilingual proficiency. All of my customers will have a strong social media base in common. It is likely that only people with a certain amount of public interest or followers will be interested in my services.

4)    Customers will pay for this service for the reason that social media has both created or destroyed the careers of hundreds of athletes and celebrities. While “social media” is quickly becoming a new category of celebrity, lack of foresight or lack of understanding of various platforms has damaged or, in some cases, even demolished careers. Simply put, if I am able to make money for my clients through this service, I will be able to convince current and future clients that my services are worth being paid for. 

5)    What sets me apart is my understanding of sport, the culture that surrounds it, and the way that athletes talk and communicate. Managing social media accounts is nothing exceptionally new, but what is new is the idea of managing social accounts for individuals and focusing the branding on the professional sporting world. That is what makes my offering totally different than any other service currently on the market.

In terms of “fit”, I think the second through fourth elements work together exceptionally well. I believe that I have found a real market to offer an innovative and helpful service. The issues that I see are, simply put, focused around myself and my abilities. While I have a fantastic idea, the first and fifth element have shown me that I need to work on my own abilities before I put this idea into action. If I want to start this business, I need to improve my skills and competencies to give me an exuberant amount of knowledge on social media that goes miles beyond basic use to offer potential clients. My own value and the value of my core competencies are clearly the two elements that are the weakest. In order to succeed, I must improve myself before I improve the world and life of others.