My Unfair Advantage

My unfair advantage in my venture:  Comfort Food Inc.

 Human Capital:
1.  Determination
2.  Ability to develop connections with people (very useful for finding experts in my field)
3.  Knowledge of a healthy diet/lifestyle (to incorporate into our menu items)

Social Capital:
1.  My mother (I know, don't judge.  I'll explain)  

Financial Capital:
1.  I've got nothing

Capabilities:
1.  Expand to several restaurant locations around Florida, and even possibly going out of state
2.  Adding in the sale of other healthy products (ie. protein mix/bars, all natural snacks, smoothies and shakes, teas and coffee, etc.)
3.  Using 100% locally grown produce, meat, and dairy in our food  
4.  Involvement in community

VRIN responses...

Human Capital:  I have a strong determination to make this business idea a reality.  Sure determination is something that others can have, but not everyone has the drive to push through when times get tough.  I am also becoming better in developing connections with other professionals--somewhat because of this class-- which is invaluable when it comes to starting up a business.  This skill isn't rare, many people can learn to do this, but there is no substitute for connecting with other experts.  My knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and diet is still growing.  I'm learning new things about this topic all the time, but this skill is something that anyone can pick up just by doing some research.  This skill is valuable and non-substitutable in a business like this, but with the change in views of diet and living, more and more people understand healthy living already.

Social Capital:  If there is one person on this planet that understands healthy living, it is my mother.  This woman is like the health guru, she has an infinitely bigger knowledge of a well-balanced diet than I do, and she is constantly teaching herself ways to improve it.  She is a massage therapist, so she is really into keeping the body "happy".  Right now, she is all I've got as far as expertise goes, but she is more than enough to help get me started.  She is valuable, and her level of understanding of this topic is pretty dang rare.  But as far as substitution goes, there is always someone out there that knows more than you, and in order to grow and become a renowned business, I am going to have to find that person (if that person even exists...)

Financial Capital:  Like I said, I've got nothing.  I'm going to have to rely on other sources such as crowdfunding/B2B funding, such as Kickstarter.  Also, I see a surmountable amounts of loans in my future.  I don't even know how to do a VRIN for something I don't even have yet.

Capabilities:  Okay, this is where the separation from other companies really comes into play.  For one thing, if we can become a place that serves food that is strictly made with 100% locally grown ingredients, then that alone sets us apart from any other eating establishment out there.  Once we grow in popularity, we can expand to other places in Florida (most likely other college towns like Orlando, Tampa, and Tallahassee).  We can even begin our own product line of all natural snacks/food, protein mix, shakes and smoothies, teas and coffee, etc.  With that Comfort Food Inc. can begin to spread to other, farther locations that we may not be fully established in yet.  Finally, I want this business to be heavily involved in the community.  We are already stimulating the local economy by buying from local farms, thus making the community more self-efficient, so why not go further, right?  Comfort Food Inc. will do its best to support local non-profits, such as UF Hopping 4 A Cure (check them out on Facebook), as well as host community events.  One idea for an event would be to host a farmers' market in one of our stores or something along those lines.

Top Resource: My top resource would have to be our promise of being 100% locally grown.  This is one aspect of the company that is extremely difficult to copy because it takes a ton of commitment to stick to a goal such as this.  This is what will set us apart from other restaurants, and this will be the company's primary marketing angle.