Growing your social capital

Initial Thoughts:

Finding people to talk to about my personal business proposal proved to be difficult. I had to resort to friends of friends and businesses from where I’m from. There is nothing quite like what I have in mind, especially locally or even statewide.

Domain Expert:

For my domain expert, I reached out to Jan Lindsay. Jan is a co-founder of a home for pregnant women and new mothers who have found themselves homeless or in a bad social situation such as domestic violence. She is passionate about her religion and has based her company on it. I found Jan from the website of the home she founded located in South Florida. At first, I called the home asking if she was available. When I was informed she wasn’t, I chose to email her. I included my information and left my phone number for her. In our conversation, I proposed my idea to her and asked how it is setting up a business like that. The exchange that happened was an exchange of information and advice. She explained the basic mechanics behind her business and what I could change about mine.

Market Expert:

My market expert is someone who can represent a large portion of my market. I chose to interview someone who was homeless and is currently in a program to get help. I don’t want to disclose their name for confidentiality but the information I gained from talking to this person has been some of the most insightful information I’ve gained all semester. I was able to reach out to this person because they are a part of a family I know down south. I reached out to my friend from high school about her sibling and she gave me his contact info.

Supplier:

I actually couldn’t find a good supplier to reach out to so again I spoke with my domain expert and spoke about the business. My particular business venture is difficult to work with I am starting to find out.

My Reflection:

This experience helped shape my future in networking because it gave me the practice and confidence to reach out to others and speak about my business. If it wasn’t for this class, I wouldn’t be networking with people in the business of homeless organizations. This definitely has differed from my experiences in the past because most of my experiences in the past have revolved around gaining things like volunteer opportunities and shadowing needed for the medical industry.