Idea Napkin 1

1. I am a second-year Business Administration major at the University of Florida from Miami, FL. I consider my talents being able to give strong advice / being a problem solver and having strong writing and communication skills. I’ve had many experiences involving leadership in high school and currently at UF. I’ve participated in various leadership development programs, have served as a mentee and a mentor, which have all shaped me into becoming the driven business student I am today. The service I came up with, regarding lowering expensive parking fees at apartment complexes near campus, was to create a service of a group of college students who share the same difficulty as me. Parents, professors, staff, and employers underestimate the amount of responsibilities and expenses college students have. I see this business playing a role in my life because I myself experience this problem and I know I have the courage, dedication, communication skills, and resources to address this problem around campus beginning at my apartment complex.

2. As simple as this may sound, the service I am offering to customers is a voice for college students. I plan on forming a group of a few college students who agree with my views on expensive parking fees near campus. I aspire to speak with managers of various apartment complexes near campus in order to speak about new ideas I have regarding lowering the parking fees. For example, promoting raffles on social media and waiving the parking fee for 2 residents, and during signing season apartments should have promotions for future residents to sign sooner than later in order to wave the parking fee. Furthermore, parking fees should be taken away for residents with disabilities and apartment complexes should come up with a lower parking fee and if residents want a designated parking spot, their fee would be higher. If they pay more, residents can make requests to park on certain floors that have the crosswalks to the building or if they want to park on their apartment floor. I am ultimately offering a service where a group of college students take action over problems happening in or around campus, starting with the parking fees but expanding to much more.

3. I am offering this service to all UF students living in apartment complexes near campus who agree that the parking fees are way too expensive. I look forward to serving people from all cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, majors, and year level in school. The more people I can serve and help make their voices hear, the better!

4. Customers would pay me a reasonable amount of money in order for them to save themselves a lot of money in the long run. In one year, a resident pays $1800 or more just on parking fees for their car to sit in a parking garage. I believe customers will pay for strong efforts to be made in order to drastically lower those fees and stand up for what’s right.

5. What sets me apart from everybody else is that the service I am offering does not only apply to having expensive parking fees, it applies to other unfair costs or circumstances college students may be experiencing, putting the word out about them, thinking of an idea, and implementing that idea into action.

I do believe these 5 elements fit in together because it’s a problem that is underestimated by the owners of apartment complexes and college students deserve the right to be heard especially because they have so many more important expenses to be paying. It is unfair that these monthly parking fees are so steep for having your own means of transportation around Gainesville.