Reference no: EM133149344

CALVINA Case 1A

Calvina Peters could see stars again. That was the second time during the short walk that a fit of coughing made her stop and wait for the pinpricks of light to fade from her vision. Calvina was on her way to see her boyfriend, Edwin, a second-year paramedic student. Calvina knew that Edwin would nag her about going to the doctor; however, she had more important things on her mind.

A bitter fall wind was blowing and Calvina was underdressed in a thin jacket. That would make no-nonsense Edwin totally pissed. But Calvina liked to dress for appearance, not the weather, and Edwin could never stay mad at her for long. Calvina smiled as she thought how she would charm him; maybe suggest that he use some of his medical expertise to check her over. Calvina was a charmer and Edwin was crazy about her.

Calvina wasn't employed and she wasn't a student any longer either, having graduated with a Spa Management Diploma from a large polytechnic college, the previous spring. Since then, Calvina had taken a two-month holiday to get over being a professional student. Then, she spent the next two months checking things out and deciding what she did not want to do.

Some of Calvina's classmates had grabbed jobs with hotel or medical spas, right after graduation, but Calvina realized she didn't want to be bossed around by a bunch of manager types. Other friends had found work in nail salons or retail business but Calvina didn't envy their "employee" lifestyle. A couple had even started their own companies, but Calvina felt that they were offering too many different services to make any serious money. And money was an important part of Calvina's plan.

Calvina did have a plan. She had spent all of the last month planning and tonight she was going to share the details with Edwin. Part of the plan was to get an apartment with Edwin; maybe even consider marriage. Edwin's parents would go nuts but Edwin, even though he lived with them, did not rely on his parents for money. He paid his own tuition, supported himself with part-time work and had substantial savings.

The second part of Calvina's plan was to start her own business: SWAG SPA SERVICES. Calvina had no intention of providing spa services for the general public. She would be a specialist. She had come up with the idea while selling Keihl's Skin Care products in the summer, after her first year of college. Calvina noticed that Keihl's and other established companies often provided swag bags of their products to celebrities when they attended major events. The idea was that the celebrities would use these products and informally endorse them to fans that hungered for every detail of the celebrities' lives.

Calvina knew that most of the SWAG items would never be used by the celebrities and that many expensive products were just going into the garbage. Her idea was that instead of giving their products directly, skin care firms could offer the celebrities free in-hotel spa treatments, for which they would hire Calvina. Calvina would provide the products to the celebrities and report back on which products they intended to continue using. Calvina already had her own portable spa kit and felt that she could get a government loan to pay for advertising and a cell phone. She and Edwin could get an apartment with a spare room for an office and with Edwin co-signing, she was sure that she could lease a vehicle.

Calvina pretty much had all the business details worked out in her head. She had borrowed everything the Public Library had on starting a new business and had worked out most of her Business Plan. She hadn't gotten around to writing it down yet, and she recognized that procrastination was her biggest weakness. But she assumed that Edwin would help her write the plan and Edwin had enough self-discipline for both of them. She hadn't told anyone about her plan yet. It was only fitting that Edwin be the first. Calvina stopped outside his house to complete another bout of coughing, before going in.

Two hours later, walking home from Edwin's, Calvina noticed neither the cold weather nor her persistent cough. She was devastated. Edwin had refused to consider being spouses until Calvina could prove herself to be more reliable. To Edwin, that meant proving she could hold down a good job for at least a couple of years. And he expected her to earn the approval of his parents. Edwin had scoffed at her idea for a business, calling it Hollywood foolishness. If Calvina couldn't even take responsibility for her own health, he asked, how could she take responsibility for a business?

Edwin had tried to temper his remarks by assuring Calvina that he cared for her deeply and that he fully expected her to grow into the kind of woman that Edwin was prepared to share his life with. Until that time, he promised, he was prepared to be patient and continue on as things were now.

By the time Calvina made it home, she had recovered from her shock and convinced herself that her big mistake was not putting enough effort into dealing with Edwin. She had worked out some ideas to charm him, to convince him to support her plan for a business. The first step was to make a doctor's appointment.

1. What is the basic problem here?

2. What has Calvina done wrong?

3. Does Calvina have the potential to be a successful entrepreneur? Why?

4. What advice would you give Edwin?

5. What advice would you give Calvina?

6. Is Calvina's idea for a business a good one? Explain.