For this post, students have been asked to meet three
potential contacts, and expand their network. Let’s jump into it!
Pat:
Pat is an owner of a local restaurant near my home town.
While he does not own a coffee shop, I am counting a restaurateur as an
acceptable fill for the “domain expert” slot. Pat and I met shortly after I
walked into his restaurant when I was home on Spring Break. I walked in during
the afternoon lull, and upon finding out that he owned the establishment, I
asked him for five minutes of his time. As a display of goodwill, I offered to
refer all my friends to eat in his restaurant in exchange for his time. Having
connections in the local restaurant scene will help me get introduced to the
right kinds of people to optimize my coffee shop. In the future, I doubt I will
do very much “cold calling,” where I just walk in to an establishment and
strike up a conversation with the owner. I have never done that before because
I have never tried to start a business, so it was different than any networking
experience that I’ve ever had.
Justin:
Justin owns a local t-shirt shop in my hometown. He will be
filling the slot for “expert on your market,” because he and I will both be
primarily targeting tourists in the Panama City Beach area. I used to work for
Justin, so I just called him and asked if he had five minutes to hear my
elevator pitch and chat. In this case, the exchange was more based on our
existing relationship which we both think of as a good one that we’d like to
uphold. Justin and his family are prominent members of the community whose
networks would be ideal ones to have access to. This won’t really change how I
network in the future, because Justin is someone who I have known for years. It
was different for me to network in this way, because for the most part up to
this point I do not have many professional contacts that are already
established.
Troy:
Troy is an employee of Sysco. While I was in Pat’s
restaurant, Troy stopped by for a delivery. I grew up with Troy, so it would
have been awkward for me not to speak to him. It just happened to be a big coincidence
that he would be there and be able to fill my role for an “important supplier.”
After I pitched Troy my idea, we decided that if I launch my business, Sysco
will undoubtedly be my supplier. Having an inside man at such a large company
will really help with my inventory management. This experience has taught me
that networking opportunities will jump out of nowhere, so I always need to be
prepared.
Michael! I think it was very important and wise to network with people in the area that you want to start up this potential business. By getting doing that you got a very clear picture of exactly what to expect when opening in that area. I also think it was really neat that you unexpectedly bumped into someone you knew, and that they aligned with one of the roles you were looking for. Having these sorts of positive local interactions can help your business because you can ask for prior knowledge from these people, as well as ask them to advertise when you open your business.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael! I really liked how you interviewed people from your hometown. Knowing that you want to open a coffeeshop in your local area, its good to have different perspectives in your area specifically and also people that are experts in what you do. From your interviews, I can relate to how you contacted your experts, and it is something that I did as well. When it comes to connections, the best connections are from our current and long lasting relationships. It is something that I will definitely look into but also keep in mind of the potential outside resources regarding experts that are possibly in the higher ups. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteThis experience in growing one's network was not only beneficial as a fulfillment for the assignment in class, but as a tool that can truly help us as entrepreneurial minded individuals after graduation. The conversations that you had with your domain expert, market expert, and product expert were all in depth and offered you perspective on your proposed idea that could not have been found elsewhere. I also found that talking to people involved in what I was attempting to do or had ideas about doing is just another great way to gain the feedback necessary to be successful when thinking about the start of a fledgling business venture. Thanks for sharing!
Michael, cold-calling your contacts was a very cool (and unnerving, it seems) idea and it seemed to work out for you quite well. It's really given me a lot of motivation to be a little riskier in the ways that I seek network contacts. One thing that I've noticed is that entrepreneurs must be willing and able to see the potential business benefit in everyday situations. You've really lived this out for this assignment!
ReplyDelete