Assignment 23A

1.

1. Dedication
2. Responsible 
3. Contacts
4. Experience with animals
5. Experience with feed
6. Hard-working
7. Formal education
8. Market
9. Area

2. 

1. Dedication
1. Valuable- Being dedicated to anything is extremely valuable; it determines the limit to your success, in my opinion. 
2. Rare- In today's society, I consider this relatively rare. Most people seem to find it hard to show dedication towards things today. 
3. Inimitable- If people were to dedicate dedication, this is something that I feel could be easily imitable. 
4. Non-substitutable- I have heard "nothing can take the place of hard-work" my entire life. Dedication and hard-work go hand in hand. Therefore, I consider this something that is not substitutable.
2. Responsible
1. Valuable- This is extremely valuable. Being responsible takes effect by both determining your customer satisfaction as well as whether or not you can find business backing in the form of investors. 
2. Rare- Again, this is something that I think is very rare in people that are my age. 
3. Inimitable- I feel that this is also somewhat imitable. If someone focuses on being responsible, over time they may be able to become more responsible but it is harder to find naturally. 
4. Non-substitutable- In some instances I feel that it is substitutable for a time, but over time being irresponsible usually comes back to bite you. 
3. Contacts
1. Valuable- This is possibly my most valuable item on the list. Both the contacts that I have in the industry and the contacts that I know as potential customers would make a huge difference for this business venture. 
2. Rare- These are extremely rare contacts. No one else has the exact list of people that I do on my list; others may have better people, but my set of contacts is unique nonetheless. 
3. Inimitable- This is something that is virtually impossible for someone else to imitate. Their own list may be very similar to mine, but it would take a very similar upbringing and set of life experiences to compile the same list. 
4. Non-substitutable- A set of contacts is not substitutable. All of the other things on the list could help one try to make up for this, but even then it would not be the same thing. 
4. Experience with animals 
1. Valuable- This is something that is very valuable. It is one of the major reasons that I have the idea and have the desire to follow through with it. 
2. Rare- This depends on the group that you are considering. For those close to me and potential customers of mine, it is not that rate. For others, it is very rare. 
3. Inimitable- It is not difficult to gain more experience with animals. 
4. Non-substitutable- A great deal of education can replace this, but it will not be as effective. 
5. Experience with industry
1. Valuable- This is very valuable. My experience with the industry gives me a sort of insider information when it comes to things such as feed prices and markup amounts, as well as the science in the feeds. 
2. Rare- This is somewhat rare. Not many people have spent the amount of time that I have inside of the industry. 
3. Inimitable- This is not imitable. Without spending 3-4 years in the industry, another person cannot get the same experiences. 
4. Non-substitutable- This cannot be substituted. Learning what formal education says is one thing, but the actual hands-on experiences of the industry are always different. 
6. Hard-working
1. Valuable- This is very valuable. Without hard work, nothing will succeed. 
2. Rare- This is another trait that I feel is very rare in today's society, but it is still present. 
3. Inimitable- This can be imitated. Like responsibility, continually making yourself work hard can make it a habit, but it is easier if you start at a younger age. 
4. Non-substitutable- As explained above, this CANNOT be substituted in my opinion. 
7. Formal education
1. Valuable- This is relatively important. My understanding of business and economics would help in this business, but it is not as valuable as some of the other information that I have gained from things such as work experience. 
2. Rare- This is not that rare. Many people go to at least some college. It is more rare that I am getting a masters degree, but still formal education as a whole beyond high school is becoming more common in society. 
3. Inimitable- This is imitable. Someone could go and get the same degrees and take the same courses that I have. 
4. Non-substitutable- I feel that while it is relatively common, this cannot be substituted. Things such as economics would be virtually impossible for most people to learn on their own. With that in mind, any role that this would play in my venture are not substitutable. 
8. Market
1. Valuable- This is extremely valuable. Without a market for my product, there would be no product.  
2. Rare- This is not rare. There is a market in most places, at least in Florida. In other states, however, a market for show feeds is extremely rare. 
3. Inimitable- This can be imitated. In other regions of Florida, there can also be markets. 
4. Non-substitutable- This cannot be substituted. As explained above, I understand that there is a market and can therefore exploit it. Without one, there is not a need for the product. 
9. Area
1. Valuable- This is very valuable. This product would be for the central Florida area, which has a decent need for the product. If I were in another area without a need, it would not be successful. 
2. Rare- This is relatively rare. Not that many people in central Florida would think about solving it, they would simply note the issue. 
3. Inimitable- This is imitable. Somewhere else, others could have an area with the need. 
4. Non-substitutable- This is very similar to market in the sense of if you are in an area without a need, you will be unsuccessful. 
10. Personal gain
1. Valuable- This can be very valuable or invaluable. I feel that it is valuable, because I have a reason beyond making money to want this to work. On top of the business making money, I could save my own operation money if I were to develop a show feed that actually works. 
2. Rare- This is not very rare. For the people that I know, anyone that would follow through with this plan has the same personal gain to achieve. 
3. Inimitable- This is not inimitable. Anyone could theoretically achieve it. 
4. Non-substitutable- It is not substitutable. Either you have personal gains to attain or you do not. 

The top thing that I have to bring to the table is my contacts. It is better than the rest because it is the one thing that I have that no one else can get, under any circumstances. The probability of someone developing the exact same contacts and having the same exact relationship with all of them that I do is virtually 0.