23A Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.     Unique Business Concept/Lack of Competitors: I am creating a vegan friendly restaurant in Gainesville with very few competitors.

·      Valuable: It is valuable to start a business that has very few competitors.

·      Rare: It is a rare idea because no one else has opened a restaurant that offers an entire vegan friendly menu.

·      Inimitable: While people may be able to open healthy restaurants, no one will be able to copy my exact recipes and menu.

·      Non-substitutable: No one will be able to substitute my restaurant for another vegan friendly restaurant.

2.     Financial Capital: Fundraising Expertise: I have developed fundraising skills and funded projects in the past so I can apply my past experience to help me raise money for my restaurant.

·      Valuable: It is very valuable to know how to raise money for your business idea.

·      Rare: I can utilize my fundraising skills to cover start up costs and fixed costs until I can start earning a profit from my restaurant.

·      Inimitable: Although fundraising is imitable, most people will not be able to raise as much money as I know I can for their ideas.

·      Non-substitutable: You can utilize others to fundraise, but I will save a substantial amount of money by fundraising on my own.

3.     Social Capital: UF Greek Life. As a UF student and member of Greek life, I can market my restaurant to Greek life and offer discounts to Greek life members to gain their loyalty as customers.

·      Valuable: My friendships and the Greek community can help me find customers who are interested in a vegan friendly restaurant.

·      Rare: UF Greek life students will communicate to other students about the quality and affordable prices of my meals.

·      Inimitable: It would be hard to copy my restaurant idea without the connections and relationships I have in the Gainesville community.

·      Non-substitutable: You cannot substitute my connections with Greek life.

4.     Social Capital: Leadership Experience: I have leadership experience from service projects and clubs that I can implement to open a successful restaurant in Gainesville.

·      Valuable: It is very valuable to have leadership skills that can help me fund, organize, and start my own business.

·      Rare: Anyone can implement a business; however, not everyone has strong leadership skills.

·      Inimitable: Everyone has leadership skills, but I possess unique leadership skills and years of experience that can help me succeed in my venture.

·      Non-substitutable: I can’t substitute the skills I have received from past projects and club memberships.

5.     Support of my sorority: I can find members of my sorority who are interested in helping me start my restaurant and marketing my restaurant to other students around campus.

·      Valuable: It is very valuable to have a client base before you open a restaurant.

·      Rare: It is rare to have so many friends that are willing to help you find vegans and students interested in eating healthy foods to try your restaurant.

·      Inimitable: Other people could copy open healthy restaurants; however, they will not have a diverse menu of vegan friendly foods.

·      Non-substitutable: I do not think I would be able to find such large support anywhere else in Gainesville.

6.     Social Capital: Organizational Skills: I am a very organized individual that plans everything out in a planner. I could use my organizational skills to plan out the costs and necessities to open my restaurant.

·      Valuable: It is valuable to be extremely organized because your concept will most likely fail without proper planning.

·      Rare: It is rare to be as organized as I am by writing down all appointments and assignments with specific times to complete them.

·      Inimitable: People will not be able to copy my organizational skills.

·      Non-substitutable: You can substitute someone else to plan; however, I believe my organizational skills are an asset to my concept.

7.     Relationships with entrepreneurs in the community: the relationships I have developed from communicating with entrepreneurs in similar businesses as me will support my restaurant.

·      Valuable: It is valuable to have connections with other restaurant owners in your area.

·      Rare: It is rare to develop three solid connections before evening opening your restaurant.

·      Inimitable: I do not think other people would be able to develop the solid friendships I have made with other business owners in the Gainesville area.

·      Non-substitutable: You cannot substitute connections that will help your business grow.

8.     Numerous scrumptious recipes: My menu will provide customers with numerous vegan friendly and delicious options.

·      Valuable: Other healthy restaurants do not have such diverse menu options that still taste delicious.

·      Rare: It is rare to find a diverse menu filled with all vegan options in the Gainesville area.

·      Inimitable: It will not able to be copied because I am making these recipes on my own.

·      Non-substitutable: You cannot substitute these recipes for others because they are very specific to deliver healthy and wholesome foods to vegan customers.

9.     Social Capital: Problem-solving skills. I developed problem-solving skills through previous jobs that I can utilize to help me if I can encounter any obstacles.

·      Valuable: It is valuable to possess problem-solving skills because I will be able to tackle any problems I may encounter in starting my restaurant.

·      Rare: It is rare to have sharp problem solving skills as a young entrepreneur; however, I love solving problems and finding solutions.

·      Inimitable: Other people cannot copy my problem-solving skills as I have learned these skills through challenges at work and home.

·      Non-substitutable: You cannot substitute my skills or my restaurant might face serious problems.

10.  Takeout and delivery of our vegan meals. My restaurant will offer takeout for customers and delivery to apartments and homes in the Gainesville area.

·      Valuable: It is extremely valuable to offer takeout and delivery so that college students can grab a meal quickly and efficiently from the restaurant or get it delivered to their home if they do not have time to come in.

·      Rare: It is extremely rare to find a healthy vegan restaurant that offers takeout and delivery.

·      Inimitable: Other restaurants can offer takeout options, but my restaurant will offer takeout and delivery with minimal wait times and delicious vegan foods.

·      Non-substitutable: You cannot substitute the high quality and healthy food my restaurant will offer with any other restaurants.

      After conducting a VRIN analysis, I discovered different resources that will help me to open my restaurant and maintain a successful business. The most valuable resource is probably my unique business concept and the lack of competitors in this industry. Gainesville lacks vegan friendly restaurants; therefore, I can capitalize on this market and develop a competitive advantage against potential competitors.