My Unfair Advantage

Resources:

1. Financial Resources

V: Extremely valuable. I think most people forget about this. Established credit to help finance business expenses and costs.

R: I wouldn't categorize as rare as a lot of people can obtain financial resources if they plan for it.

I:  Not hard at all

N: No substitutes for money!

2. Human Resources

V: Extremely Valuable. No one person can do it all and you need a group of strong individuals with knowledge and dedication to help to sustain the business.

R: I would like to think certain people are rare. In fact, one of the most difficult resources to locate

I: You can imitate people in the sense that you can try to find someone similar but any successful business owner would probably tell you there's no one like their strongest team members

N: No substitute for human resources. Some can argue computers but there's no way to replace human interaction.

3. Educational Resources (obtaining my BS at UF) 

V: I would say this is some what valuable. I have text book knowledge to help me succeed but we've all heard of successful entrepreneurs with little to no education.

R: Education is not rare in that anyone can obtain it if they devote the time and energy

I: Sure! Google has come in handy to help me solve situations in which I did not posses the knowledge

N: Substitute again would be computers. Ultimately, nothing replaces hands on experience though.

4. Human Capital ( My ability to build long standing relationships with clients)

V: Extremely Valuable

R: I consider it to be rare in that not everyone has abilities to form long standing relationships with strangers

I: No way to imitate it

N: No substitute for real and genuine interaction

5. Business Plan (How my business will utilize the resources it has to succeed)

V: Somewhat valuable

R: Not rare at all in that everyone can create one

I: Sure. Everyone can imitate someone's business plan

N: Many substitutes by creating a new one!

6. Physical Resources: (computers, telephones, space to work, etc)

V: Low in value

R: Not rare. Everyone has access to these resources

I: No imitations but you don't need any as there are plenty for someone to get

N: Sure! Apps are created everyday to take place of physical meetings, phone calls, locations for physical business.

7. Marketing Channels: Facebook, Website, Meet and Greets

V: I find this to be valuable in that marketing plays a HUGE role in getting the idea presented to potential clients

R: Not really rare in the sense that everyone has access to channels

I: You won't need imitations really since it's so accessible

N: Same as I stated previously. These channels have no limitation and are accessible to everyone so you won't have to worry about it being non substitute because it easily can.

8. Intellectual Resources: Referrals from established clients, Partners, etc.

V: Very Valuable

R: Yes I would consider it to be rare as not everyone has access to this resource

I: I don't believe there are many imitations for these types of resources

N: There is no substitute. Either you have these resources or you don't. I believe they're imperative to the success of the business. One can even argue that intellectual resources is what made companies such as Apple so successful. I.E. Steve Jobs.

9. Emotional Resource: Support and assistance from a close group of loved ones

V: I would consider this highly valuable. Everyone needs a team to encourage their persistence when they want to give up.

R: Sure. It can be rare. Many people don't have one person to encourage ingenuity.

I: There is no imitation for people who believe and support your dream.

N: There is no substitute for this. You can try to find similar things such as a therapist maybe? I don't believe there is any replacement for true love and encouragement.

10. Expertise: 10 working years of professional expertise

V: Very Valuable

R: I wouldn't consider it rare since there are many people that have stayed devoted to careers for long amounts of time

I: The closest thing would probably be an education but I still believe real world experience trumps that.

N: No. Only hard work and time in the industry will earn you expertise. 

Most Important Resource? I guess I would still consider Human Capital to be the most valuable resource. You can't imitate what makes us who we are. You can try and even come close to sharing similarities with someone but no two people are the same and sometimes, it's just that. The culmination of that person's characteristics and abilities makes their dream stronger than the next one.