20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Interview 1

1.       I spoke with Mary S., a representative for the American Red Cross. She says she has always had a purpose for helping those in need, with no discrimination. Mary says she’s been with the organization for 15 years and hopes to be there forever.

2.       Mary fills in the “domain expert” because she works for a non-profit organization that aims at helping humanity in various ways, just as I plan my company to carry itself.

3.       I got into contact with Mary after I had emailed the Red Cross headquarters with the possibility of asking someone a couple questions about the organization.

4.       Mary provided me insight and information about how people have to come together more often to fix the problems we all deal with. She taught me that everyone has the ability to be compassionate and there was no return expected from her.

5.       By including Mary in my network, I will have the opportunity to enhance my ability to keep my company non-profit.

Interview 2

1.       I spoke to Nate H., an employee at a Tesla dealership. He has been working at Tesla for a couple years and loves not only making sales, just as any other employee does, but educating people on the benefits of driving an electric car.

2.       Nate fills in the “expert in your market” space because he sells a product which does not use fossil fuels to power, and my company offers products that stray away from fossil fuels as well.

3.       I got into contact with Nate when visiting a Tesla store in Orlando, and walked in asking to speak to an employee.

4.       Nate educated me on the pros and cons of driving an electric car and told me how Tesla’s would be a great partner with my company with the goal of renewable energy. He mentioned in return for his knowledge, to see him first when deciding to buy a Tesla for myself.

5.       Including Nate in my network will allow me the opportunity to maybe partner with Tesla to create better products.

Interview 3

1.       I spoke to Ron B., a roof panel installation expert. Ron owns his own roofing company and has maintained it for over 14 years. He got into roofing because of the hurricanes in Florida that would rip homeowner’s roofs apart, and he saw the opportunity to start his company.

2.       Ron fills in the “supplier” space because he provides roof materials as well as installation services which my company will need someone to provide both.

3.       I got into contact with Ron fairly easily because he is a family friend, so I just called him up.

4.       Ron educated me on how he could integrate solar panels with his roofing materials and how difficult of a job roofing really is. In exchange for his knowledge, Ron asked me to call him first when looking for someone to install the solar panels of my company.

5.       Having Ron in my network provides me the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of roof installation and maybe even a partner to do it for me.

Reflect

This experience has shown me that with a good idea, many people will want to hop on board and give in their expertise to help. This has shown me that for future networking events I should always be prepared and “know my stuff” as well as be passionate in the work I am doing. This networking isn’t very different from past experiences because I’ve always known, you just got to put yourself out there and people will respond.