The first person that I talked to was the domain expert. He is my friend Blake, and he runs his own business where he will buy rare or retro shoes and then will sell them again to different buyers after restoring them. He has been doing this since his sophomore year of high school since shoes are his passion, especially Jordans. I know him because of a mutual friend during our freshman year of college. The exchange was just a regular conversation, and he did not expect anything in return. He described to me in full his process of buying a pair of shoes and then the expenses that it requires to make them look like new again. Having Blake in my networking circle will provide a possible business partner who would buy my product, and would be able to introduce me to other people who have a passion for restoring shoes.
The next person who I talked to was my friend Justin's father, who works in advertising. He works for many different companies to consult them on target groups, which does include shoe companies and has been doing so for many years. He is fulfilling the expert on the market slot since he has been conducting research for many years. I know him because he is my roommate's father, and talked to him when he was here over the week visiting. The nature of the talk was a very civil and regular conversation with nothing expected in return. He would be helpful in my networking circle because he would be able to provide advice on marketing the product in the best way possible.
The third and final person that I talked to was Dave, who is the manager at my family's surf shop, and he fulfills the industry supplier role since he is constantly buying shoes in bulk and selling them, and other related products. I contacted him over the phone since he is currently in New Jersey. He did not expect anything in return since he is a friend, but he might hope for me to purchase some clothes next time I'm home. He is good to have in my networking circle because he is managing a store, and knows the other surf shop managers in the area. This is a good way to introduce my product to people who would buy it in bulk.
This experience was different than from what I had expected. It will help me in future networking events because by the end I was much more comfortable talking to people who are heavily involved in the same, or at least similar, industry. By the end, my questions were also much more refined and helped me to get the answers I needed.
James,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you talked to some very successful people that have a lot of experience in your industry. It sounds like you might even be able to sell your product to your friend Blake to help him restore the shoes. This could be a very beneficial business venture if blake were to sell the shows and you use your product to clean them!
James,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the connections you made were beneficial to your project. All of them seemed very knowledgeable in their area of work, which, in relation to your project, seems to be helpful. I think Josh's idea of selling shoes and your product in conjunction would be very successful. I have a pair of light gray running shoes that get dirty really easily and I wish that a product like this had been offered when I bought the shoes. If it's offered at the time of purchase, people may be more likely to feel the need to buy it, to take care of their new shoes.