- According to Strengthsfinder, my strengths are: Strategic, Connectedness, Relator, Communicator, and Command. I am good at making personal connections with people and guiding projects and energy in a direction. After establishing my business, I see myself playing more of a managerial role. I would definitely need a strong team to guide in the right direction and I would need people who were willing and able to help me focus and work towards important milestones to make sure the business remains profitable and on task.
- My idea is to introduce vertical gardening techniques to create green and social spaces that bring some life to underutilized spaces in Gainesville. I would like to start by converting an abandoned/neglected building and converting it into a green, sustainable cafe that grows its own produce and has social spaces for people to volunteer, socialize, and study. The next step would be an employment campaign for the homeless in Gainesville and create some kind of work exchange for taking care of the gardens and maintenance around the cafe. Studies have shown that green spaces improve morale, fight depression, and are natural stress relievers. I think it is really important to incorporate this into our daily lives to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
- I would be targeting: Residents of Gainesville, especially students/professors/people involved in University life here in Gainesville
- Also, another focus would be to target the homeless/poor of Gainesville by providing work opportunities (starting with garden maintenance)
- Across the board, the feedback that I have received about the idea of starting a sustainable cafe has been positive. This project would add value to the community, and further, the individuals of Gainesville. I see this cafe as the beginning example of how easy it is to incorporate sustainability into our lives. There is one other cafe that is similar here in Gainesville, but I see that as an opportunity rather than competition, especially since the intrinsic goal of this project is to encourage everyone to live a healthier lifestyle (mentally, physically, habitually). I would just like to take this project a step further and continue forward by helping others convert their underutilized spaces/rooftops/etc. into spaces that can be used and that add value to their properties and to their lives. My cafe would become the example and consulting agency that makes sustainability convenient and available for the community of Gainesville, while providing another area to study, socialize, and be yourself.
5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?
- The most valuable thing that I have going for me in regards to this project is experience. I grew up watching my family use sustainable gardening techniques to grow the food that we live on, and from that grew my passion for sustainability and green things! I have international exposure as I prototyped vertical gardening structures that proved viable, pitched my business ideas both here at the University of Florida and abroad to ThinkYoung and Google in Madrid, and won second place for the business pitch and content. It is evident I have genuine interest and support with the project, the only thing I am lacking is spare time and the right team.
What a fabulous idea. I find your idea full of passion and heart. I took notice of your idea being pitched to Google in Madrid. My daughter is a diplomat in Afghanistan at the Embassy and once she leaves there she will be going to Madrid for 3 years. I hope to travel there!
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I would suggest you find a grant writer. Or, go to the library and find grants for such an idea. There are people who would fund this type of enterprise. And, with the world in sustainability mode, now is the time to strike - or as the old saying goes, strike while the iron is hot!
My only thought is from an HR perspective of employment law, is if you have homeless work for you, you would then be accountable to labor laws.....minimum wage, overtime after a 40 hours work week, no comp time as permitted in the public industry. Years ago an entrepreneurial friend of ours decided to do this same type of thing - he went downtown Nashville and asked a van load of homeless people if they wanted to work. He fed them and paid them, however, it was not exactly minimum wage. He was a kind and generous man, but did not know the minimum wage law. Needless to say, a few weeks later he was facing a lawsuit. The other idea would be to have this a nonprofit where you could teach people how to 'fish for a day.' Good luck.
I love the idea of a green cafe! There truly is nothing in or around Gainesville that is like this. When first reading this I wasn't too sure about it and then the more I read the more and more I realized how much I would love this. I feel as though a lot of people would take advantage of a place like this. Personally, I do not like going to the library to study because I get too distracted with all of the people but I feel as though a place like this would be nice and relaxing, calming, and a great place that would allow me to put all of my focus on my school work. Awesome idea! Here's my post: http://scp1995.blogspot.com/2016/02/idea-napkin-no-1.html
ReplyDeleteHi Sofia!
ReplyDeleteYour strengths and talents that you listed are very crucial to being a good leader, and, like you stated, any good leader needs a good team. Your idea sounds brilliant! Your business benefits the public by providing a stress-relieving atmosphere in a college town (which is full of stressed out people). I really like how you incorporated a work-exchange program too. Good stuff you got here!
Check out my blog here: http://blazedbananas.blogspot.com/2016/02/idea-napkin-no-1.html