20A – Growing Your Social Capital
Domain Expert
1. This is Mary Owens. She has been a speech language pathologist for 23 years now.
2. Mrs. Owens is an domain expert for she has been working in the field for a great amount of years, and has worked in all different kinds of settings: schools, clinics, hospitals, etc.
3. I found her through a mutual connection on LinkedIn which is the same way I contacted her.
4. The nature of this exchange was purely a favor. Mrs. Owens did not ask for anything in return to give me a feedback on my idea, according to her, as long as it will help people communicate better, she is happy to help.
5. Including Mrs. Owens in my network will enhance this opportunity by a great amount. She was able to give me very useful feedback on this business idea.
Market Expert
1. This is Mark Federman, he is also a speech language pathologist who has his own practice and has been running it for the last 12 years.
2. Mr. Federman is a market expert as he has been dealing with parents (who have children with speech therapy needs) for a very long time. He is not physically located in Orlando, FL, however, since he is in american soil, the same principles apply. The only different is that Florida may have a lower cost for speech therapy sessions as opposed to other states in the US.
3. I searched for people with the same characteristics of Mr. Federman on LinkedIn and out of the ones I contact, he was the first to reply.
4. The nature of this exchange was that Mr. Federman would give me his inputs on this business ideas, however I must keep him informed on how this project is proceeding as he would like to be updated on it.
5. Including Mr. Federman in my network will be extremely valuable. His experience on dealing with parents, and knowing their expectations, likes, dislikes, etc. Will be crucial to the development of this business idea.
Important Supplier
1. This is Enrique Lopez, he is a manager at a manufacturing company, who specializes in making toys which are used by professionals in the speech language field during therapy sessions.
2. Mr. Lopez is an expert on the supplier subject as this category of specialized toys are vital to speech therapy session for children. Also, he has been working in this same company for 8 years now and has seen all different kinds of requirements as well as changes and improvements in this specific industry.
3. I searched for people with the same characteristics of Mr. Lopez on LinkedIn and out of the ones I contact, he was the first to reply.
4. The nature of this exchange was that I am to keep in contact with Mr. Lopez, specially to refer his brand of speech therapy toys whenever the web application I am developing "goes live" and people start using this app.
5. Including Mr. Lopez in my network will be mutually beneficial. For me so I can stay in close contact with someone who is an expert in this subject and might give me tips that will help me promote and improve my product. For him, as this might be a great lucrative opportunity for the company he works for.
1. This is Mary Owens. She has been a speech language pathologist for 23 years now.
2. Mrs. Owens is an domain expert for she has been working in the field for a great amount of years, and has worked in all different kinds of settings: schools, clinics, hospitals, etc.
3. I found her through a mutual connection on LinkedIn which is the same way I contacted her.
4. The nature of this exchange was purely a favor. Mrs. Owens did not ask for anything in return to give me a feedback on my idea, according to her, as long as it will help people communicate better, she is happy to help.
5. Including Mrs. Owens in my network will enhance this opportunity by a great amount. She was able to give me very useful feedback on this business idea.
Market Expert
1. This is Mark Federman, he is also a speech language pathologist who has his own practice and has been running it for the last 12 years.
2. Mr. Federman is a market expert as he has been dealing with parents (who have children with speech therapy needs) for a very long time. He is not physically located in Orlando, FL, however, since he is in american soil, the same principles apply. The only different is that Florida may have a lower cost for speech therapy sessions as opposed to other states in the US.
3. I searched for people with the same characteristics of Mr. Federman on LinkedIn and out of the ones I contact, he was the first to reply.
4. The nature of this exchange was that Mr. Federman would give me his inputs on this business ideas, however I must keep him informed on how this project is proceeding as he would like to be updated on it.
5. Including Mr. Federman in my network will be extremely valuable. His experience on dealing with parents, and knowing their expectations, likes, dislikes, etc. Will be crucial to the development of this business idea.
1. This is Enrique Lopez, he is a manager at a manufacturing company, who specializes in making toys which are used by professionals in the speech language field during therapy sessions.
2. Mr. Lopez is an expert on the supplier subject as this category of specialized toys are vital to speech therapy session for children. Also, he has been working in this same company for 8 years now and has seen all different kinds of requirements as well as changes and improvements in this specific industry.
3. I searched for people with the same characteristics of Mr. Lopez on LinkedIn and out of the ones I contact, he was the first to reply.
4. The nature of this exchange was that I am to keep in contact with Mr. Lopez, specially to refer his brand of speech therapy toys whenever the web application I am developing "goes live" and people start using this app.
5. Including Mr. Lopez in my network will be mutually beneficial. For me so I can stay in close contact with someone who is an expert in this subject and might give me tips that will help me promote and improve my product. For him, as this might be a great lucrative opportunity for the company he works for.
Reflection
This networking experience is definitely something I had not experienced before. Whenever I network with people, I usually don't have a plan in mind, or something that I want to ask of them. This time was the first time I was able to network with a purpose, and all of this will influence the way I conduct myself on future networking events.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used LinkedIn as the way of finding connections for your business. We live in such an online world today which has made connecting with people so much easier. Most people in this class probably found their contacts online which made communication a lot easier. I also liked having a plan of what to talk about once these people answered because sometimes at networking events I find it hard to keep the conversation going.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteAwesome job. The one thing I loved about this assignment was the networking with other professionals who essentially share the same passions and being able to pick their brains. The fact that I came out of this assignment with valuable contacts for the future is amazing. It sounds like you gained some very valuable networking contacts as well. Congratulations!
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you. I believe that this experience has been so great for everybody. It is not easy to go there and find people who will become a plus in our business ideas. You have been very determined with your business since the beginning, and I bet that the targeted networking will become essential for your plan. The experience of others, besides the customers, is a very important feedback to make the business plan stronger or improve it. Great job!