My Unfair Advantage

Hello everyone!

My name is Alexa Bernstein and I own a company called SurfsUp. My company targets people who are interested in surfing and need the equipment and apparel for it. I was originally based in the east coast and shipped to many places in the west, so I decided to station my main store in Huntington Beach, California (the surfing capital of the country). When I expanded my stores, my customer ratings increased, as well as my business (financially and socially). My social capitalist have increased my networking tremendously and my company has gained the skills required to keep succeeding in my business. 

VIRN ANALYSIS

List of resources SurfsUp possess:

·    1. Knowledge and expertise on Surfing equipment and outerwear.

Valuable - Knowledge and expertise on what SurfsUp is selling is needed to help customers buy what is most suitable for them.

Rare - Kind of rare to find employees who know every detail about your product. 

Inimitable - Many surfers can replicate what my employees know.

Un-Substitutable -There are many surfers who are capable of this work. 

·     2. Excellent communication skills amongst each of the employees in all of our stores.

Valuable - Very valuable because communication is what helps this business thrive.

Rare - Very rare to have a good employee system, having them each communicate daily on what their stores have and don't have, along with sharing customer reviews/ideas.

Inimitable - Fairly difficult to replicate the relationships my employees have with each other.

Un-Substitutable - There are not many employees who are willing to make this company part of their every day lifestyles. 

·      3. Incredible 24-hour customer service. The phone is always on for customers with any issues or concerns on their apparel or equipment. We are here to make our customers happy and that is most important to SurfsUp. There would be nothing without our amazing customers!

Valuable - Very valuable, it is what stands out most to our customers.

Rare - Extremely rare to have such high customer service rates and abilities to help our customers 24/7.

Inimitable - Not easily done, no companies have such a thing.

Un-Substitutable - There is no substitute for having 24-hour customer service, providing our customers with help every day and hour of the week.

·      4. Time Management and Self Discipline amongst all of our employees.

Valuable - Very valuable tool to making a business succeed.

Rare - Very rare because most employees just work to work, but this company's employees work to make it their lifestyle and dedicate themselves to it. They set goals and work towards them.

Inimitable - Not easily replicable due to other tasks employees may have. These employees thrive off of the success of SurfsUp and are only trying to help it keep succeeding.

Un-Substitutable - Self-disciple and time management cant ever be substituted for something else. 

·      5. Low-cost equipment

Valuable - Very valuable considering we have the best and lowest cost brand name equipment for our customers. Its what makes us stand out most.

Rare - Very rare due to the high costs most business have on ripping off people.

Inimitable - This can easily be replicated, but will most likely not happen near my standards'.

Un-Substitutable - Low-cost equipment can only be replaced by even lower-cost equipment, but at that point won't even be a good piece of equipment.

·      6. Our innovating skills. We meet every week to discuss new possibilities the company can come out with in the future. We are always innovating. 

Valuable - Coming up with new ideas every week is what keeps this business going. People like to come back each time and see something new. It keeps the customers excited!

Rare - Very rare, most businesses just come out with new things each season, SurfsUp comes out with new things ever 3-4 weeks.

Inimitable - Fairly replicable, our vendor is always sending us new stuff.

Un-Substitutable - Innovation is the key to success and cant ever be substituted

·      7. Our human capital and network with the factories/business owners we buy from. We network with the best surfing equipment company in the world, and choose wisely what products we buy.

Valuable - Very valuable, networking is the key to succeeding in a business.

Rare - Not rare, most companies should do it, and most companies that do are successful.

Inimitable - The vendors SurfsUp buys from can someday be replaced for a different vendor selling a different piece of equipment we are buying, but cannot be replaced for a piece of equipment or apparel we are already buying from them. We have very good relationships with our vendors.

Un-Substitutable - Not highly substitutable.

·     8. One of our locations is in the surfing capital of the country: Huntington Beach. Our strongest location and consumer-loved store.

Valuable - Very valuable, this is our biggest and most loved store. It is the heart of our business.

Rare - Not rare to have a surfing company located in the surfing capital of the world.

Inimitable - Easily replaced if SurfsUp cannot pay its rent dues each month.

Un-Substitutable - Not highly substitutable, this is our most prized-possessed store.

·    9. Risk-taking and exploring customers/employees ideas. There is no better way to succeed in a business than from help of the people working in it.

Valuable - Very valuable towards the success of this business.

Rare - Fairly rare.

Inimitable - Easily copied and done.

Un-Substitutable - There is no substitute for good ideas and risk taking.

     10. Trust within the system and employee benefits.

Valuable - Very valuable because our employees is what helps this company succeed.

Rare - Rare to have complete trust within your employees and benefits to help them live their every day lives.

Inimitable - Not easily replicable by other employees due to their lack of being trustworthy and lack of care for the company.

Un-Substitutable - Substitutable if an employee doesn't hold to my standards.

After looking at SurfsUp's resources, it is fair to say that our most valuable resource is our biggest location. The location we have in Huntington Beach, CA, targets just the right people we need to make our consumer-based business thrive. Without this location we would not get the great business we do. It was hard to choose one resource because our employees and customers are incredible, but this location has been the heart of our company.