20A – Growing Your Social Capital
Due to the COVID-19 developments, it has been hard to get in contact with specific experts I was hoping to. However, I found other individuals who still filled the 'slots' and was able to 'contact' them virtually due to these circumstances.
1) This individuals name is Stephanie. Stephanie is a manager at one of the locally owned Whidbey Coffee stores in Washington State, and a distant friend.
2) I'm filling this 'slot' as my supplier. As a manager of the franchise, she works with suppliers weekly. Since I am someone outside of the franchise, I'm not sure what exact products and suppliers they use. So she was someone I felt would be a good resource to ask.
3) Stephanie was a couple years older than me in school, but I've known her as a distant friend. It wasn't too difficult to get ahold of her since I have other friends who currently work under her. They gave me her phone number.
4) I basically had the same exchange with each individuals for all of these 'slots'. I asked to include them in my network and to potentially be mentored by them one day if a real-life opportunity were to arise. Stephanie's return expectation was the same as the other individuals I contacted, she said she expects me to continue doing well in school and continuing to take the necessary steps to advance my career - as well as supporting the Whidbey Coffee business.
5) Including Stephanie within my network will absolutely enhance my ability to exploit the opportunity. She already has experience running and maintaining a Whidbey Coffee store, so she has a plethora of valuable advice - especially for day-to-day operations.
4) I basically had the same exchange with each individuals for all of these 'slots'. I asked to include them in my network and to potentially be mentored by them one day if a real-life opportunity were to arise. Stephanie's return expectation was the same as the other individuals I contacted, she said she expects me to continue doing well in school and continuing to take the necessary steps to advance my career - as well as supporting the Whidbey Coffee business.
5) Including Stephanie within my network will absolutely enhance my ability to exploit the opportunity. She already has experience running and maintaining a Whidbey Coffee store, so she has a plethora of valuable advice - especially for day-to-day operations.
1) This individuals name is Richard. Richard is an engineer and manager on the CST-100 Starliner program for Boeing.
2) I'm filling this 'slot' as my domain expert. Richard fills this slot because he has had many successful business endeavors, start-ups, and investments. He has a lot of knowledge about various domains in which I would be interested in pursuing in the future and with this entrepreneurial idea.
3) I met Richard this past summer while I was working as an intern on the program. He briefly told me about his successful business endeavors and start-ups and I told him I would have to pick his brain sometime soon. So I used this opportunity to finally get to do that. I contacted him through my Boeing email.
4) I basically had the same exchange with each individuals for all of these 'slots'. I asked to include them in my network and to potentially be mentored by them one day if a real-life opportunity were to arise. Richard's return expectation was the same as the other individuals I contacted, he said he expects me to continue doing well in school and continuing to take the necessary steps to advance my career; whether it's with Boeing or another company or endeavor.
4) I basically had the same exchange with each individuals for all of these 'slots'. I asked to include them in my network and to potentially be mentored by them one day if a real-life opportunity were to arise. Richard's return expectation was the same as the other individuals I contacted, he said he expects me to continue doing well in school and continuing to take the necessary steps to advance my career; whether it's with Boeing or another company or endeavor.
5) Including Richard within my network will exceptionally enhance my ability to exploit the opportunity because he has successfully exploited his own opportunities as well and continues to do so. He is a true entrepreneur and I could learn a lot from him.
1) This individuals name is Sarah. Sarah owns a small chain of coffee shops in Reno, Nevada where my Dad currently lives.
2) I'm filling this 'slot' as my market expert. Sarah has been successfully working in this market for many years now and has seen exponential growth.
3) I actually reached out to my Dad because I wasn't sure how to keep reaching out to people besides LinkedIn and wasn't receiving any responses. He told me about Sarah because he works with her husband. He got Sarah's phone number for me.
3) I actually reached out to my Dad because I wasn't sure how to keep reaching out to people besides LinkedIn and wasn't receiving any responses. He told me about Sarah because he works with her husband. He got Sarah's phone number for me.
4) I basically had the same exchange with each individuals for all of these 'slots'. I asked to include them in my network and to potentially be mentored by them one day if a real-life opportunity were to arise. Sarah's return expectation was the same as the other individuals I contacted, she said she expects me to continue doing well in school and continuing to take the necessary steps to advance my career.
5) Including Sarah within my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because she has done the same for many years within this specific market. She has a lot of advice to give on every aspect of my potential business model.
Finally: Reflection
I believe because I was unable to do face-to-face networking with these individuals, I wasn't as nervous to pitch them my idea and ask for them to join my network. It's easier accepting a denial when you're not face-to-face. Many, if not all, of my previous networking experiences have been face-to-face. However, this experience has shaped how I will participate in any future networking events. I realized that too many people simply ask for an employer or recruiter to give them an opportunity - and not to necessarily be within their network or be a mentor to them. Especially if you're trying to get a job within a company, this is a better route to take in some circumstances in order to develop a more intentional and meaningful relationship.
I believe because I was unable to do face-to-face networking with these individuals, I wasn't as nervous to pitch them my idea and ask for them to join my network. It's easier accepting a denial when you're not face-to-face. Many, if not all, of my previous networking experiences have been face-to-face. However, this experience has shaped how I will participate in any future networking events. I realized that too many people simply ask for an employer or recruiter to give them an opportunity - and not to necessarily be within their network or be a mentor to them. Especially if you're trying to get a job within a company, this is a better route to take in some circumstances in order to develop a more intentional and meaningful relationship.
Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteWhen owning a coffee shop especially, it is good to know about the particular types of customers that are frequent buyers, and where you can readily obtain supplies. I think that this network of people would be especially helpful to you. The bigger your network, the better...especially when you're an entrepreneur!
Hi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteGreat use of personal and distant connections to find people of value to your business idea/company. This is something I tried to do as well, yet not everyone contacted me back. This connection building may even help you if you decide to go a different route after ENT3003. Thank you for putting time into this assignment; it’s really good and the connections will one day pay off.
Good Job!
Hi Caitlyn, it was wise of you to ask them to potentially be your mentor if an opportunity would arise. I agree, this can be more effective than simply asking for an opportunity to work for the company. And considering it was electronic, it is easier to contact them and give them an update on where you are at and where you would like to be heading. I think nowadays we tend to just add people on linked-in to make them in our network. While it is more personal to reach out to them directly and ask them if you can reach back out to them if you ever have more questions or need help in your career path.
ReplyDelete