20A - Growing Your Social Capital

1.     One person must be a domain expert in your industry.

I contacted the manager of Publix from my hometown, whom I have been familiar with for years. He has been the manager of this Publix for over 20 years and has great knowledge on the industry. I contacted him by calling the Publix and asked to speak to him. We discussed the issues that I brought up about grocery delivery and he understood my points about the lack of convenience, due to the delivery zone limits. If he went out of his way to help me with this, I would be most appreciative. 

2.     One must be an expert on your market.

I decided to contact someone from the law firm that I interned for this past summer. The office I worked for was the foreclosure/accounting office and they deal with areas all over the nation, including Alachua County. While the firm does not handle grocery stores, the person I contacted has great knowledge and experience on conducting customer research in the area. She deals with many clients for the firm. After giving the office a call, Ashley took the time out of her workday to talk to me about customer targeting for my business idea.

3.     One must be an important supplier to your industry.

While my service offers grocery store delivery, I contacted my best friend’s father. He owns a distribution business located in Turks and Caicos. His company distributes and supplies groceries to stores primarily located in the Caribbean. However, they also distribute to other areas, such as Singapore, Rome, Hong Kong, France, South Africa, Canada, and the Maldives. I have known Bill since I was a little kid and I contacted him by telephone. I do not think I would have to do anything in return for a favor because he is like family. The only thing that he would expect from me is hard work and dedication. This connection opens a door for me with many opportunities in the industry.

In order to establish goodwill, I asked all three of the people whom I contacted to give me feedback on my idea napkin. They all said it was a good idea and that I was smart to think of this dilemma concerning grocery delivery. However, they all had suggested different approaches toward starting this business. 

This experience shapes how I will participate in future networking events because it exposed me to actually reach out to people over the telephone in order to pursue an idea. This assignment has emphasized the importance of networking and it made me realize that almost everybody I know or have met has a connection with something that may be important down the road.