Growing Social Capital

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Chris DeLarue, CEO and founder of the AD Leaf Marketing firm in Melbourne, FL. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Domain expert-he runs a full service marketing firm which is mostly related to my business idea.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I completed an internship at this marketing firm last fall so I simply reached out to him to ask him some questions.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

The favor was taking my phone call and being willing to give me feedback.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

It will help me tremendously because he was in my shoes at one point and understands what I am going through.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Joanie Heissenbuttel, entrepreneur in Melbourne who has worked with small businesses.  

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Market expert because she has had the experience of selling to the same market that I am targeting.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

Friend of a friend that I have heard about from many resources, so I decided to contact her.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

It was a very friendly encounter, so I don't think she expects much in return from me.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

This will help me learn about my market and how to work with them and sell to them.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Brad Meyers, owner of several businesses in my area.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Supplier because he is an expert at social media and using digital technologies for business. 

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I am helping some friends start up a business and he is the one who has been helping them with these types of things. 

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

He taught me a lot about the field I am entering and how to really use the technology I am planning on specializing in.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

He has many connections to other supply and market experts, so it could give me the opportunity later on to meet important people. 

This experience gave me a wide variety of knowledge because I communicated with a wide variety of people. They all specialized in different things and were giving me advices about different areas of work. I have never participated in any networking events, but it seems to me that they teach you a lot and introduce you to some very important people!

Idea Napkin 2

1) I am a student at the University of Florida majoring in Business Administration. I have a particular interest in digital marketing. I have a lot of experience in social media marketing from freelance projects of my own, an internship, and it is now what I do for part time work. The business I am planning on starting would fit perfectly into my life especially since it is something I am very passionate about.

2) I am offering small business owners a way to easily and effectively market their company on social media. I will offer consulting services which provides for an individualized approach. I will look at each business individually and decide what would work best for them.

3) I am offering my services to small business owners in Melbourne, Florida. The target market would include those who are looking to expand their business and are looking into new marketing strategies.

4) Social media marketing not only helps to increase sales, but it allows for great brand recognition and brand loyalty. Customers have short attention spans so having them see a business's name and what they offer will help that business prosper. This is very valuable and is why people would be interested in my services.

5) I offer differentiation between each business that I am working for. I base this off the fact that you can't market a water treatment facility the same way you market a local coffee shop. Nobody else offers the services of tailoring a marketing approach to each customer specifically.

I believe all of these points fit together and that is why my idea could potentially be successful. I would look more into how all my customers are related besides the fact that they all own businesses in Brevard County. This idea napkin helped show me how all of these factors are related and if one part doesn't work properly, then none of it will.

I didn't receive much feedback from my first post, but I had more ideas on this assignment since the last time I did it. Since then, I have completed many other assignments which unlocked a new way for me to think about my business!

Create a Custom Avatar

My customers are those who own small, local businesses near me. There are an abundance of small shops or boutiques so I will focus on the owners of these small businesses.
Qualities about my customer avatar:

• Mid-to-late woman in her 30s
• Sells maybe jewelry, clothes, and some knick knacks
• Previously was a stay at home mom
• Overall very happy, decided to start up a business to make extra money and a way to spend her free time
• Has 2 young children
• Her husband makes the money in the house
• Drives an SUV 
• Spends her free time attending her children's sports games and getting drinks with the girls
• Is up to date on all the latest trends
• Watches The Bachelor

I see similarities between me and my avatar because I could see myself having a life like this when I reach that age. I think I created this business idea for people like her because I see myself becoming this when I am older.

Elevator Pitch 2

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7TGT3tS3P4
2) The most important thing I learned was to treat presentations like this as a conversation. If you just read off a script, nobody will feel a personal connection from it. It was much easier to film this pitch when I was thinking of it in the way that I was explaining my idea to someone rather than giving a rehearsed presentation.
3) I tried to change my tone of voice and tried to not talk as fast. I changed the order or some of my topics in a way I feel make more sense. I was a lot less stressed and this time around, I filmed it on my first try! There was definitely improvement from the first post to this one I believe.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

Part 1:

• I am extremely dedicated to whatever I do.
• I am very good at managing my time.
• I grew up with a mother as a teacher so I have learned how to teach others.
• I am able to look at any argument or disagreement from both sides.
• I am very observant of my surroundings and who I surround myself with.

Part 2:

Interview #1

Alyssa believes that I am very mature and good at managing my time.

https://soundcloud.com/user-817030921/alyssa 

Interview #2

Reagan knew me in high school and explains how my experiences have shaped who I am today.

https://soundcloud.com/user-817030921/maria

Interview #3

Monica said that I perform well under pressure and am able to keep up with school work successfully.

https://soundcloud.com/user-817030921/monica

Interview #4

Michael said that I am talented and hardworking with everything that I do.

https://soundcloud.com/user-817030921/michael

Interview #5 

Karen says I work very well with children and am a great teacher especially with children.

https://soundcloud.com/user-817030921/karen

Reflection:

Overall, others see more qualities about me than I've ever been able to recognize. It is so interesting to me how others have different perceptions of me based on what parts of my life they are in. It was very uplifting to hear all these nice things people I know had to say about me!

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #2

Interview #1
I interviewed an owner of a local breakfast restaurant. I know that he already has a marketing team that controls his social media, and I wanted to get the inside scoop of the process he goes through. This client knows exactly what he wants and so his main requirement is that the service he hires can get the job done in the most effective way possible. By effective, he means getting the work done as quickly and accurately as possible. Since his business is very popular and is rapidly growing, he doesn't worry too much about cost. He actually told me that sometimes paying a higher price reflects getting higher quality service. This business owner was great to talk to and he was very straightforward with how he solves his need for this type of service.

Interview #2
I interviewed someone who is in the process of starting up a business. Since she is in the startup process, money is very tight. She is trying to find someone to help gain traction for her business at the cheapest price possible. She told me that if prices were equivalent, she would then go in and look at the portfolio of these marketers to see which work she likes better. It was interesting to heat this from a business owner's perspective since she really wasn't caring what they would do, she only cared about having the service at a low cost.

Interview #3
I interviewed a friend's family member who recently retired from co-owning a small business. He was in charge of making decisions such as hiring a marketing team, so I knew he would be a great person to talk to. He told me that over the years, he had gone through this process several times. His main concern was to be able to keep up with modern-day technology. He needs to keep up with his targeted customers in order to keep business coming in. When I told him about my idea for social media consulting, he absolutely loved it!

Conclusion:
It surprised me how each person had different priorities when it comes to searching for a solution to this need. Some were focused solely on price, while others cared more about reputation, quality and responsibility. It made me even more aware of the importance of having all of these qualities. One similarity that all three people shared was that they conducted a majority of their research and searched for companies completely online.