- MichaelAES Portable SanitationMichael is a sales rep at AES Portable Sanitation and has been dealing with portable restrooms for over 7 years. He knows both the technical and business side of the company and proved to be very resourceful. I would consider him a domain expert as he is involved in the same type of company I would like to open and is a technical expert. I actually deal with him personally when it comes to ordering portable toilets on the construction site I am interning in this summer and I called him one day after work to read my idea napkin out to him. It was a very relaxed conversation, he knows I am an intern getting involved in the construction field and was happy to help and share his thoughts. I don’t think he expects anything in return other than more calls from me next week ordering more portable toilets! Including this person in my network can enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by giving me a resource to reach out to whenever I have questions on either a technical part of a portable toilet or a business aspect when it comes to selling them.
- KimSouthern Waste SystemsKim is a manager at SWS and has been involved with dumpster sales and coordination for about 9 years. She deals with both the clients renting the dumpsters and the delivery employees who drive the SWS trucks transporting them. I would consider her a market expert because is targeting the construction field just like I am, but with a different product. She also knows a lot about the customers in my area. I found her when I first contacted SWS to order a dumpster drop-off for demolition trash at my job, she was very helpful and I talk to her all the time now to coordinate dumpster swaps. We have mutual respect for each other, I don’t do favors for her but when I don’t get a dumpster on time I handle it rationally and cover it up to my boss and as a return for multiple occasions she charges me less for certain trash removal. By including her in my network I can exploit an opportunity by having someone that can give me insight on the market, the construction companies that are both her and I’s customers.
- GeorgeSustainable SupplyGeorge is a team member for Sustainable Supply, a company that a lot of portable bathroom companies use to replenish their toilet paper supply. He has worked for the company for 2 years and even though he is pretty new to the industry, he is very dedicated to his customers. He is an important supplier to the portable bathroom industry because he is selling a very necessary product, toilet paper, to organizations. I found them through AES Portable Sanitation when I asked about contacting one of their suppliers. I called him, introduced myself, and told him to call me back for a phone meeting. I then explained my idea napkin to him and he loved my idea! No favors were exchanged so far, other than his feedback on my idea, and he told me in the future to contact him so that he could be my supplier. Including this person in my network gives me great contact with a supplier that I could use in my company.Final Reflection: Since I shared my idea napkin with these people, the interactions were lengthy, and taught me that to truly network with people it takes time and a lot of interaction. In the future I will talk to people more and not just try to get their name, but explain my ideas and describe myself better. In the past when I networked I pretty much just asked for their name and number, it was very cold.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Growing My Social Capital
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It seems as if you were able to reach out to people with valuable information and really build a rapport with them. Hopefully the information you received will benefit you in the future and you will continue to pursue a professional relationship with them. By creating and maintaining these contacts as part of your network, they may also be able to connect you to more helpful people in the future. Great work!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making connections that will work with you in your venture! By sharing with them you have opened the door to valuable insight and gained their knowledge. Sometimes all it takes is asking!! Good luck
ReplyDeleteHi Summer,
ReplyDeleteGood job on your social media assignment. It is nice to know that you already have contact with people that are in the same field for your idea, especially having them near you at your internship. Having and being in an internship is very important since you can create a network with people that are in the field of your interest. Here is the link to my post: http://yessiblogging.blogspot.com/2016/07/growing-my-social-capital.html
Summer,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this assignment. You really worked to reach out and find people that could further your venture and push you closer toward launching a product! I hope these contacts remain in contact with you if you end up building your pink-a-potties. Good luck!
Summer,
ReplyDeleteGood job on the assignment! I think your really expanded your networking which is great. Having contacts in places like SWS, AES and Sustainability Supply are all great. I hope that with their advice, you are able to exploit the opportunity and also grow as an individual!
Summer, great job reaching out to relevant and experienced individuals in your field. Even if their jobs do not directly relate to your desired business venture, their experience in similar processes can be helpful. Working directly with these individuals through your internship is also a great way to establish good will and familiarity. You should definitely try to keep in touch if you plan on taking advantage of their expertise in the future.
ReplyDeleteSummer, how great that you were able to find people that can help expend your business model. Those companies sound like major companies that can really assist you in taking off. What is great is that you already deal with them and they know who you are and your work ethic, which will allow them to take a chance on you as well!
ReplyDeleteI like that in your reflection you realized to make real connections and network effectively you must take time to reach out and get to know these experts. Also I think you chose very good people to help you get the job done. The fact that your supplier is sustainable seems to be a perfect match for you from what I read in your Napkin idea, I’d be really excited to see what you three can do.
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