1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry.
- Who: Diego Alonzo.
- Diego graduated from FIU as a computer engineer. From there he became the head IT at a giant corporation in Miami, Florida. He is currently working in sales as one of the top sellers in the company.
- Which 'slot' you are filling with this person: Domain expert.
- This person is extremely qualified when it comes to computer, computer programs and online sales.
- A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
- I was able to contact this person because he is a friend of a friend.
- The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
- This person and I agreed that if I ever do decide to go through with my idea that I would be able to shadow him and work as an intern for him. This deal is mutually beneficial because I would be learning everything about the technological world that goes along with online websites and shopping, and he will get someone that will work for him for free for a few months.
- How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
- Like I said in the question before working with this person will enrich my tech knowledge. My entire business would be online, from communicating with clients to having clients choose their products and buy them, so knowing how to navigate all the technological things would be greatly beneficial.
- On another note, knowing someone in the tech world might also be beneficial if I ever run into a problem that I cannot resolve on my own. This specific person might be able to help me or at least will be able to refer me to a trustworthy and knowledgable person.
2) One person must be an expert on your market.
- Who: Susana Baguear
- This is actually my grandmother who I believe is very knowledgable when it comes to selling and more specifically selling to women. Currently, she owns a perfume business that imports and exports whole sale perfume purchases all around the globe. But before this business she worked in the costume industry (making and selling them) and she also worked in the watch industry. All this experience, makes me confidant that she is a good connection to have.
- Which 'slot' you are filling with this person: Market Expert
- This person has years and years of experience selling to women and working with women. If there is someone that understands how to attract the right customers.
- A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
- This person is my grandmother.
- The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
- To be honest, she is not expecting anything back if I would ever need a favor. Although I would go out of my way and try to find a way to pay her back.
- How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
- Including this person in my network will enhance the way I approach customers and she will be able to teach me the things they like to hear and see when buying a product.
3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry.
- I was not able to get in contact with anyone that is involved in the industry I am interested in. I have emailed a few companies, hopefully I will hear back from them soon. If I do get any response back, I will update this post.