Growing Your Social Capital
Domain expert in the industry.
1) Who they are and what their background is.
This a small online company that also does have a small location based in San Francisco that sell left handed products. It was the very first store in the United States to specialize in products for lefties.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
This company is filling the domain expert spot because they sell left handed products through their online website and store. This company is very similar to mine in the sense of the products being sold and how they will be sold.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I have always been familiar with the website but the items sold were very much out of the my budget so I never bought anything from them. I emailed the company and received some feedback from an associate, Zach, who was quite informative on the background of the family that owns the company and I was shocked to see all the associates that work there are left handed when he mentioned it to me.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Zach gave me a great deal of information on how much product is sold daily, majority of products being bought online. He told me this type of company is a lot more profitable than others believe. He loved my idea on the company I’d like to create and said it was very do-able and possible. Because he is has been working for the company for more than 4 years, He gave me better ideas and ways to sell my products and become noticed.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
Including Zach in my network enhances my ability to exploit an opportunity by having a connection with someone who is just as passionate about leftie lives, having information on how to go about becoming a company that is known of, and how to create these products on my own rather than buying products off sellers. He told me to email him for any other questions and he would be more than happy to help me start up my business.
Expert on the market
Walmart
1) Who they are and what their background is.
A large company that sells all sorts of different products at a low price.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
This spot is filling the expert on my market. Walmart fills the spot because the company sells in stores and online. They also sell products at very competitive prices and do sell few left handed products.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I am an active walmart shopper and have not noticed some left handed products. I came across their online shopping site and tried to get into contact with someone by leaving a message within the website. I have not heard back from anyone and it has been four days.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Though I did not speak to anyone, I researched the company. I see that they sell more products online than in store and that individuals can sell products on their website (like Amazon). The company’s goal is to sell products at extremely low prices which keeps them competitive in the industry. I now notice products can be sold online by other companies and individuals which can benefit my company. I can sell my products to walmart.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
This network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by helping me sell products and put my company on the map.
supplier to my industry.
Amazon
1) Who they are and what their background is.
Amazon sells just about anything and everything online and has products delivered to their home. They have many other things such as kindle, amazing music and videos and much more.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Amazon fills the important supplier to my industry slot. This company fits this slot because Amazon can help me supply a few products to sell. For example, I can buy gel grips for left handed pens and put them on the pens to sell.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I came across a friend who has a friend that is the manager for a customer service center in a Florida location. I spoke to Kristie who works for Amazon over the phone for about 10 minutes.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
She got into detail on how they supply large quantities of products to buyers. She also mentioned that many buyers use Amazon as suppliers for their products. Towards the end of the conversation she said, “The best thing about Amazon is you can have them as suppliers and you can sell products on Amazon too.”
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
Having Kristie go into a lot of detail about Amazon and how Amazon works, helps me understand what I need to do to make Amazon a supplier for my company. I will have the opportunity to have large quantities of products that’ll enhance what I need to sell.
Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
I was a little uncomfortable speaking to Zach but he made not awkward and we ended up laughing and talking more about left handed struggles. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone speaking to strangers. The network experiences i’ve had in the past was more of knowing someone who knew someone which was much easier than finding a network on my own. I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and did networking of my own.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you met people and stepped out of your comfort zone. It can be difficult reaching out to people, but I think this assignment helped us grow as people by making us practice networking. Amazon is a great company. Sometimes I think it may take over the world because it is a huge part of people's lives. These are all great places to look at and use as guidance.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteLikewise, stepping out of your comfort zone to connect with new people, in my opinion, is one of the most challenging aspects about a field such as this. Fortunately, this is practice for the future, when you are going to have to practice pitching your idea to a lot of others in order to get funding, etc. I liked how you covered all your bases with the small company, as well as big companies like Amazon and Walmart. I hope that it gets easier and soon networking becomes second nature for you. Great post, thanks for sharing and reflecting!