23A: Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1) Personal experience that matches the consumers need
V: More understanding of customer needs
R: Not all entrepreneurs have firsthand experience of recognizing the need
I: It is very possible that any sorority girl could come up with, but I have the fashion back round
N: I don't think this would be substitutable

2) My father is an entrepreneur
V: This could be extremely valuable because he knows everything there is to know about starting a business. He has been through many ups and downs, but has overall been successful
R: This is pretty rare. It's not common to have an immediate family member that is an entrepreneur
I: This could only be copied if someone was related to an entrepreneur, but I am very close with my father so I know he would answer any of my question at any time
N: This is not substitutable

3) My mother owned a small clothing business
V: I am creating a clothing website so she would provide value information
R: This is very rare in my opinion
I: This can not be copied, unless someone else happened to also have a mother in the clothing/retail business world
N: This is not substitutable

4) Friends that are interested
V: This is valuable because my friends are also in sororities and they provide great ideas that come from firsthand experience
R: This may not be rare, but still very useful because not all friends would be willing to help
I: This may be copied if another girl has friends with sorority experience
N: This is not substitutable

5) Fashion experience
V: The website is based on clothing and accessory style, therefore having a back ground in it will be valuable to creating design that consumers will want
R: This can seem rare, but anyone can take fashion and design classes like I have. Although, I do have a natural sense of fashion as well
I: This can't be copied because I have a specific fashion sense and no two people are the same
N: This is substitutable with any person that has fashion experience or by using other resources to find trends and styles

6) Relation to website designer
V: My entire business is website based so this will be very valuable to create a successful website
R: This is rare to have such a close connection to a website designer
I: This can be copied by hiring a website designer
N: This is substitutable as well by hiring a website designer or learning website design on my own

7) Organization skills
V: Organization is valuable in any business in my opinion
R: This may not be rare because organization can be learned, but I am naturally very organized
I: This can be copied by anyone with organization skills
N: This can be substituted with computer programming or designing to assist in organization

8) Personal and family math background
V: I see a lot of value in my personal background in math for the financial aspects of the business. Math has always been a strong suit of mine and I can easily calculate and understand financial processes, along with many members of my family that have experience
R: This is somewhat rare because math can be difficult to many people when it comes to working with elaborate business finance
I: This can not be copied
N: This can be substituted with a financial advisor or accountant

9) Outgoing personality
V: This valuable to spread the word about a new business and form connections with people through socializing
R: This is somewhat rare because some are great at talking to other people, but some people are very shy and that can hold them back from reaching people directly
I: This can not be copied
N: This can be substituted by hiring someone that would be more willing to make the connections and spread word of the business. Although it is much more effective for the entrepreneur to be the one spreading the word because of the personal passion that they possess

10) Passion
V: Passion is valuable in a small business to start up with lots of effort and determination to succeed
R: This is not rare
I: This can not be copied
N: Passion can not be substituted. Either someone has passion or they don't


TOP: I believe my top resource would be my mothers experience in clothing retail. While she had a physical location and I am based online, she knows the ins and outs of selling clothing and accessories. She has told me in the past that it is very challenging. She has already given me lots of advise towards the business that I would I have never realized if she had not told me herself. I see potential in the information she will give me and what she will provide.