The key takeaways from assignment #2 was identifying the presence of demand for the customization service I intend to offer and establishing the business model I intend to use. I decided that the direct-to-consumer business model was the most ideal model. I aim to bring self-expression and creativity to Baruch merch which I intend to be adopted early by freshman and club / fraternity members. There is demand for customization of college merch predominantly amongst these groups. The main concern I have is regarding the earnings of this business venture. I am hopeful that there will be many students who want to partake in this service but there is no guarantee. Thus, I have no idea if this will be a profitable business.

Assignment #2:

Regarding my idea of college campus merch customization at Baruch, I was able to identify the presumed value proposition and competitive advantage. To recap these components briefly, my value proposition is the unique feature of customization that will be offered to various items at the Baruch bookstore. This will allow students to express their individuality and creativity through a fun, affordable, and accessible outlet. In terms of a competitive advantage, through research I was able to confirm that there are no direct competitors which gives my business idea a tremendous advantage. While there are local stores and online resources for customization, my service will provide easy and affordable access to Baruch students for customization.

In my secondary competitor and customer research findings I identified both online and local printing and embroidery resources. Both online and in-store methods of transaction are secondary competitors to my business idea as well as printing and embroidery options. Some of the online platforms and local stores that offer merch customization include Etsy, Merchology, Custom Ink, Thread Logic, Custom Sewing Services, BCCO NYC, etc. I was able to interview an executive at Custom Ink which provided me with invaluable information that helped me to understand my competition. I was able to confirm that college merch customization services were popular especially in group orders.

One key takeaway from my primary and secondary competitor research was that many online resources do many customization orders for college students. This influenced my business idea for the better for the following reasons. This reinforced the potential success for my idea being that there is clearly a college market and demand for the service that I am trying to provide. In addition to this, online resources have a very different business model compared to my in-store Baruch bookstore idea. My idea is more centralized and also very much connected to encouraging school spirit at Baruch – a predominantly commuter school that lacks this. Another key takeaway was that the closest local shop was located at least twenty blocks away from Baruch. Assuming my pricing is competitive, my accessibility will be much greater for Baruch students.

Regarding business models, I am considering a direct-to-consumers business model being that I plan to sell my service / product to customers (students) directly at the Baruch bookstore. This business model allows me to directly reach my customers ­­and market and sell my service to college students. This business model typically relies heavily on marketing / advertising, but being that I am marketing my service to Baruch students at the bookstore I won’t need to allocate too much money to marketing efforts.

I think my early adopters will be separated into two groups consisting of: incoming freshman students and clubs / fraternities/sororities. Incoming college students are much more invested in purchasing college merch. School pride is very important and many are excited to represent their college. In addition to this, I think many clubs would utilize our customization service for group orders for matching apparel to represent their club. These two groups are who I think our early and primary adopters would consist of.

Based on all of the information I have gathered thus far this is a concise rundown on my findings. This information has allowed me to feel confident that my business idea can continue to be developed and furthered.  I think that there is both demand and availability in the marketplace for my business idea at Baruch.