Sunday, July 10, 2016

Growing My Social Capital

1.     Frank Collado

-       University of Central Florida graduate who is an expert on the mechanics of boats.
-       Frank would fill the slot of the domain expert because when it comes to how my idea would work he would know way more than I would.
-       I know Frank from when I went to Santa Fe College and was studying marine science at the time. He was telling me about he grew up fixing boats with his dad and was career he wanted to pursue.
-       Frank just answered a few questions for me  and did not expect anything in return which was really cool of him if he needed any help on anything that I was an expert in
-       Including frank in my network enhance he could help me figure out how to put the mechanics of the self-docking boat together. Frank also has all the tools and resources to help me maybe create a model. Another thing that he can help with is expanding my network he knows a lot of fishermen and divers that would find this of great use.
2.     Hannah Citrin
-       Hannah is a friend of mine who was in classes with me when I was at Santa Fe she
-       She is my market expert because she also came up with different ideas for making being on a boat more of an enjoyment than a task.
-       I have known Hannah since freshman year in college.
-        She has been diving an fishing all her life and knows several people who would love to use this product. If there were any flaws in my product she would tell me and tell me the right way to fix it and help better my product.
-       People trust her because her products have always been a great help and I think her support would help me tremendously in getting my idea running.
3.     I will be using a local supplier the person who runs the store is named Nick Santore.
-       I found Nick by talking to Hannah and Frank and asking who the best supplier would be.
-       The return for them would be supplying me with the products I need to create my idea obviously me paying for them but I would get a better deal because I will sell my product in there store as well.
-       According to Nick the cost of my product would be pretty expensive somewhere in the thousands with the installation fees but he also says the return would be a great amount as well so it would be worth it.


Reflection:  I think this differed from the first networking experience because I did a lot more research and got more into the details of how and where my product would be placed.  I also feel like I did a lot more research I had to contact old friends and ask them several questions about who I should call next.

6 comments:

  1. Gabriella,

    You have met some pretty interesting people in your time at college! It is great to be able to have contact with those same connections for this assignment; networking is great! IF these people can help improve your idea and turn it into reality, than this will pay off! It is great that you are able to learn from the past and get a better handling on research!

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  2. Nice connections! I think it would be even better if you reached out to somebody who works on boats for a living. They could give you a better insight to what it might take to get the machine built, and I'm sure they have even more connections to supppliers and companies who would want to invest in your product. Great start!

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  3. Hey Gabriella! I think the people that you have already met would be great starts to including in your network for this business venture. The fact that you found Nick by talking to people that were already in your network just shows how easy and beneficial networking can be when you are out to make connections. I think finding someone who is specifically an expert on boats and has worked in that industry for years would also be something to look into.

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  4. Those sound like really strong connections, that could offer good advice. Even though you might have had to dig through the old contacts to find people, I think the fact that you know these people personally or were introduced through others will prove to be a more genuine connection (rather than strictly business). Hope you get some valuable information from these connections!

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  5. It sounds like you were able to meet some pretty valuable people in college, which is awesome. I think that Hannah and Frank are very valuable to you as possibilities for network expansion, as you mentioned, which really is the key to networking. And it sounds like Nick gave you good insight into cost, which is always important to have an eye on. Nice networking!

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  6. Gabriella, you've made some great contacts that will help you further your product idea. Having Frank in your network will be a tremendous help since he is knowledgable in boat mechanics and could tweak things if necessary also. With the help of Nick, you can get a better idea of your break even point since he is knowledgable of the cost.

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