Assignment 23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Insider Knowledge: I am a long time soccer player and have experience playing the sport for as long as I can remember.

Valuable: I can relate and connect better with the management of said clubs.

Rare: Not very rare because there are plenty of other soccer players in the world.

Inimitable: Its a sport that anyone can play but my long time association with it gives me an advantage over possible competitors.

Non-substitutable: This cannot be easily replaced by other sports players because those ones are easier to play than soccer.

2. Location Relation: I am from South Florida and that is the main area that I will be targeting, this gives me a unique perspective into the market.

Valuable: This is extremely valuable because you have to know where to find these clubs and who to talk to and I know just that.

Rare: This is rarer than one might think. A lot of people who have the capacity to start this business are not from the region and thus, are not privy to the location information that I know.

Inimitable: The South Florida region is very complex and takes a while to get used to, especially because of the diversity of people living there. It is not somewhere that anyone can walk into.

Non-substitutable: If someone wanted to substitute me from this process, then they would have to find someone who has lived in the region for as long as I have and know the people I do.

3. Disciplined Worker: Anyone who was raised playing a sport knows that one of the fundamental things that it teaches you is discipline. This includes physical, mental and even social discipline because of the personalities whom you play with.

Valuable: I would say this is very valuable, especially to an entrepreneur seeking to start a business in a field which they have experience in.

Rare: In context to the business which I seek to establish, then this is pretty rare. Especially because of the people whom you have to work with and the difficulties that can arise from that..

Inimitable: Discipline can be imitated but not in the way which I have it. I do not take short-cuts and I value the process as a whole.

Non-substitutable: I don't see how you can substitute discipline for anything else, especially for an entrepreneur who is starting something new.

4. Information Search Skills: Whenever I research information I feel like I have a unique intuition that guides me towards what will benefit me the most. I say this because I conducted several research projects in high school that were well received.

Valuable: This is valuable because I can research my market and people of interest in order to be better prepared.

Rare: This is not rare but in the manner which I present it and when compared to the average person it can definitely be considered rare.

Inimitable: Researching is a skill that can be learned but not imitated. So if someone does not currently have it then it is fair to say that I have a head start.

Non-substitutable: One cannot substitute information search and results for just anything so I would have to say its not substitutable.

5. Open to Criticism: I can take criticism very well because I often remove myself and my emotions from my work. It is something which many people have praised me about.

Valuable: This is extremely valuable, especially in a business which you are likely to fail and get rejected.

Rare: I would say that this is actually rarer than most people would expect. A lot of people say they can take criticism but do so at the cost to their self-esteem or ego. I would not say that I am like that. 

Inimitable: I don't think this is something that is easily imitable. Some people just have softer personalities.

Non-substitutable: Its not substitutable in the normal sense but it can be replaced by a skill such as the willingness to learn, which I will cover next.

6. Willing to Learn: In each instance where I have experienced a major failure in my life, I have taken an introspective look into what I did that lead me down that path.

Valuable: Learning from your failures is a critical aspect of life, not just business.

Rare: This is very rare at all. Although not everyone is like this, I would say that a good portion of the population is willing to admit to their faults and try to improve.

Inimitable: Its something which some people might struggle with but it can be learned so its not inimitable.

Non-substitutable: I would not say that there are any good substitutes for the desire to learn.

7. Agreeable/Respectful Personality: I usually get along well with adults and superiors in general.

Rare: I would say that this is true for most people but perhaps not on the level that I do.

Inimitable: It is something that can easily be learned if you are just patient and respectful so it is definitely imitable.

Non-substitutable: That type of respect cannot be substituted with anything else because it shows that you are respectful to your elders.4

8. Community Focus: My primary motive when coming up with this idea is that I wanted to help give an opportunity to the kids in the type of community that I was raised in.

Valuable: I think this is extremely valuable because it shows that you are willing to elevate the people of the place where you came from and that you have not forgotten your roots.

Rare: This is not rare. It is actually very common for people who come out of lower income neighborhoods to seek out opportunities to help elevate them.

Inimitable: Thinking about your community and wanting to help the people from there is something that people should want to do, and something which I encourage. It is easily imitable.

Non-substitutable: There are no substitutes for kindness and the willingness to help others.

9. Social Capital: I played at a decent sized club and established fairly good relationships with management so they could connect me with other clubs.

Valuable: This expands my customer base and helps me network so it is very valuable.

Rare: Not everyone has those connections with management at a club so this is fairly rare.

Inimitable: Someone can't just walk into a club and start talking to management and immediately get acquainted and favored by them so it cannot be considered imitable.

Non-substitutable: You can't substitute real human connection with anything else.

10. Social Capital V.2: I know several former soccer players such as myself who have played in a variety of clubs and I could connect with them and their former teams.

Valuable: This is very valuable because it gives me access to a new customer base.

Rare: This is rare in the sense that soccer is not that popular of a sport in America so not everyone knows as many soccer players as I do.

Inimitable: Connecting with players of a unique sports is not easily mimicked and replicated.

Non-substitutable: Connections with so many people who you have something in common with cannot be substituted with virtually anything else.