Venture Concept No. 2/ 29A

1)
Opportunity:

          There are many changed happening in our society. One major change is the spread of veganism. More and more people are going vegan or vegetarian. Studies are showing the health benefits and more people are becoming aware of the abuse in the animal agriculture industry. This has made the trend more common and vegan products and restaurants are popping up left and right. Another trend I have noticed is the fast expansion of my home town Ocala, Florida. We are growing from a small town into a large city very quickly. With these two trends moving rapidly, it is a matter of time for a vegetarian restaurant to appear in Ocala. As of now, there are little options for vegans or vegetarians so any “treats” are up to the person to create themselves. The first investor to open a vegetarian restaurant in Ocala will definitely be successful as they will have all of the business of vegetarians and non-vegetarians in Ocala.

Innovation:

          My restaurant will be a classy, upscale place that is affordable enough to visit weekly. The community vision I have for the restaurant makes it a perfect place to have a community garden and to sell locally produced goods and advertise other services. The environment of the restaurant will be the biggest innovation. No expense will be spared when it comes to the décor and quality of the food. Many vegan or vegetarian restaurants I have visited always have a “hippie feel” and I really want to stay away from that kind of ambiance. The restaurant will have well uniformed staff, fresh flowers on the tables daily and a lovely patio where live music may be enjoyed by our blooming community garden.

Venture Concept:

            In my home town of Ocala, locals are big into supporting local and growing businesses. Many of the restaurants around town only advertise through social media sites and are very successful. Since my restaurant will be downtown, I can depend on lots of foot traffic. The other benefit for having a location downtown is that there are many bars where people sometimes like to grab a bite to eat before they head “out”. My restaurant is a great place to get something healthy but still filling to satisfy people on a nice evening out. Luckily, there are currently no “true” competitors. There are small juice bars and (as a vegan myself) many choose Asian restaurants as an alternative (there are usually SOME kind of options at an Asian place).

Three Minor Elements:

                The secret sauce of my restaurant is really the location and the environment my restaurant will have. Being the first business in an area that offers a certain kind of service is a big advantage. Once I am able to experiment with ingredients in foods, I will be able to offer my customers special dishes unlike anything they have ever had before.

                Once the restaurant is successful, I would like to open a small market near my restaurant where fresh produce, locally produced goods and products are sold to customers.

                My ultimate goal is to be an artist. I think owning a restaurant would give me a great place to display my artwork (and a cheap way to decorate the building). I truly believe that good managers are able to hire people to run their businesses in the way they envision it to be ran. I hope to own the restaurant while having little to do with the day-to-day processes and focusing on my art career. 

2) I got a lot of positive feed back supporting my idea to offer other foods than just vegan and vegetarian food. One suggestion I got was to offer samples to people who are skeptical about eating the kind of food in my restaurant. I think this is a great idea because sometimes when people learn that vegan cheese is made from nuts, they get a little worried. However, most of the time after they try, they love it. 

3) The feedback I received was all really positive so it was difficult to pinpoint where I should change or make improvements. I think people in this class are very supportive and know a good idea when they see one!