20A - Growing Your Social Capital

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

The first person I spoke with was a construction expert that got in contact with through my dad. I mostly asked him questions about how feasible it would be to build an entirely new building within the University of Florida. The advice he have me was to look into the University’s budget and reach out to some decision makers within the University and use this information to get a more clear idea.

2)    One person must be an expert on your market. 

The second person I spoke with was a marketing expert from Clearwater Florida that I reached through linkedin. She gave me some ideas about how to appeal to more University students in backing up my idea and turning it into a reality. We discussed my target market and she also said I should be paying attention to the demographics and psychographics of the University’s decision making board, since I have to appeal to them directly if I want to make the idea happen.

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

The third person I spoke with was one of the people that supplies food to Gator dining for University students. As a supplier to the industry, he advised me to get as many tangible numbers as possible to create a solid plan that would be easier to get behind. He said it is easier to sell an idea if you have constructed a specific plan, that way you know exactly how to work with others.

Finally: Reflect. 

I really enjoyed this assignment and I feel as though it helped me work on my networking  skills. At first it was a bit difficult to even decide who to contact since I am not selling one specific product but an entire library. In this way, this assignment challenged me to become creative and work on my networking skills. I also feel as though I obtained some valuable information.