Week 1 EOC | How to Make it in America

In the first episode of “How to Make it in America,” the character, Ben, and his best friend, Cam, are struggling to make money. Ben works as a Sales Associate at a high-end retail store in New York and Cam spends his time trying to make money in various different ways. Also, in this episode, viewers see an example of entrepreneurship. On a train, a twelve-year-old boy sells chocolate bars for extra cash. He realizes there is a need; people who commute from place to place in New York tend to get hungry. As a solution, the little boy buys chocolate bars at a lower price at some grocery store, then goes out and sells them at a higher price to people who are willing to buy them because it is convenient. The little boy will try to find out what people have the need for and will try to come up with a solution that satisfies that particular need. Later in the episode, Cam needs to payback a loan to his cousin, so he gets Ben to help him sell fake leather jackets. They are unsuccessful because of two reasons: 1.) There was no need for fake leather jackets that were suppose to replicate a higher-end leather jacket and 2.) They were just two random guys on the street, so no one knew who they were. They were not a brand that people could trust. Today, brands pretty much dominate any market. People tend to buy things from brands because they can expect a sufficient product: “People are passionate about brands whether they support them or not. While some brands inevitably carry a financial status and equity that can make them powerful, they are ultimately accountable to their audience” (More than a Name, 32). In the future, for Ben and Cam to be successful, the need to find a true need, something that people want or are willing to spend money on, and then develop a trustful brand.