11A: Idea Napkin

• Who Am I? I am a current journalism student who aspires to not only write about change but create it in a form of entrepreneurship as well. When my reporting professors asked me what I want to write about, I said that race and racial issues are my main interest, and that’s pushed me to consider race relations in many of my daily actions. Recently, our nation (and our world’s) most notable phenomenon was the coronavirus outbreak, and I distinctly remember the attacks on Asian Americans in the U.S. for wearing masks at the beginning of the pandemic. If I could formulate a way in which facial coverings, which are recommended by the CDC, to become more normalized, I believe it would greatly flatten the curve and prevent more unnecessary infections.

• What Am I Offering To Customers? I’m offering a range of skin-colored masks that will meld into any individual’s face color to make a more natural, less-flashy form of protection for everyday use. These masks will align with CDC guidelines on mask requirements and offer a breathable, nonrestrictive covering.

• Who Am I Offering It To? Essentially, I find everyone a potential customer based on the breadth of the pandemic--millions have been affected and no one is truly exempt. If I had to tune into a narrower demographic, however, I’d focus on essential workers and healthcare professionals because they’re on the frontlines every day. In more recent news, protests and demonstrations have increased where people are in very close proximity to one another, so I’d cater towards them as well. Ultimately, my goal is to get people who don’t want to wear masks to try these. 

• Why Do They Care? It’s difficult to force someone to care about a issue if they don’t find urgent, but I’d like to get my message across to potential consumers about the necessity to cover our noses and mouths not only to protect ourselves from contracting the highly infectious virus--but to prevent spreading it to others who are at high risk.

• What Are My Core Competencies? I have yet to find a mask that blends in with the color of one’s face, and that’s my distinctive factor because the whole point is to provide a less conspicuous facial cover in order to get people more willing to walk out with them. 

Overall, my entire business model is built on the distinction of flesh-toned masks as opposed to the standard white, black or blue ones. Because that’s the focal point, I’d like to think that most elements of my model are in tune with the main objective. However, there are outliers that I’ve noticed, like catering towards essential workers and healthcare professionals who don’t care about the color of their mask but worry about its protective abilities due to the high risk nature of their jobs. I’d like to concentrate my efforts on both the safety and the visual appearances of the masks, instead of leaning more heavily towards the visual factor.