Friday, March 27, 2020

Growing Your Social Capital

Domain expert in my industry

1)    He is a computer scientist with a background in programing and app development.
2)    Domain expert, because he knows about the mobile app industry.
3)    Thanks to a friend who is his nephew.
4)    He did me the favor of analyzing my plan from the programming perspective, and since it is for educational purposes, he did not ask for anything in exchange.
5)    Having this person in my network helps me understand a lot more on the technological challenges of my business idea, and also helps me strategize to be successful.

Expert on your market

1)    He runs the valet parking of a luxurious hotel in Orlando
2)    Market expert, because he knows about the way people behave and utilize the services of parking in situations when there is limited availability.
3)    A very good friend of mine.
4)    He gave me some insight both in the parking market for crowded places, and also on the way businesses behave in this area, and the services they like to have. He did not ask for anything in exchange.
5)    Having this person in my network helps me understand more on how parking businesses work, which is very useful.

Supplier to the industry

1)    He has coded multiple apps already (especially databases for tracking labor) and has sold some of them to businesses for their use.
2)    Expert supplier, because he knows what it means to sell app-related products to companies.
3)    He is a personal friend who recently graduated from UCF.
4)    He talked to me about his experiences selling apps and gave me some tips on how to show potential clients how useful the app can be. He asked for lunch in exchange.
5)    He definitely boosts my network by being someone with so much expertise that I can use in my endeavors

This experience definitely showed me how important it is to network, and how some of your contacts can give you even more contacts that you can use in your favor. This experience was also very different from the previous ones we had been doing as it included much more networking with experts in our field.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Richard,
    Great work at networking and finding an interview for each category. It is important to build solid relationships early into your business life. It is very true that these contacts can lead to even more. These connections can lead to more success than without them. The people you interview seemed like they could help you a lot. Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Richard,
    It seems like you were able to meet with people who can certainly be an asset if included in your network, so congratulations on that! It appears that you did a good job of finding people who are experienced in the relevant categories, and I feel that experience is the number one factor in effectiveness in any particular field. I totally agree with your reflection, as the assignment showed me the importance of networking as well.
    Awesome job!
    Nolan

    ReplyDelete