Growing My Social Capital

Contacting Experts

For this assignment, I have reached out to three people: a domain expert in my industry, an expert on my market, and an important supplier in my industry. To each of these three people I have sent an email, simply asking for feedback on a business idea of my own as it relates to their own industry and markets.

1)The Domain Expert

I reached out to customer support of Eagle Nest Outfitters (ENO), and through them I attempted to get the contact information of the CEO of ENO. That was to no avail. The best I could do was the Preseason Coordinator, Allison. Allison is tasked with tracking supply and demand of products with season, and gauging what products impacted sales the most. I emailed Allison, asking if she would be able to give me feedback on a product pitch I feel would be a great edition to ENO. Because she has yet to reply, I don't have much more information on Allison.

2) The Market Expert

Jason Berry is the owner of Footsloggers in Boone, NC. Footsloggers is like a privately owned, small scale R.E.I. Because it is a local business, it was easy for me to request the contact information of Jason, and I actually connected with him on LinkedIn. Jason went to Appalachian State University and majored in Business Management. He enjoyed doing all things outdoors which inspired him to open Footsloggers Outfitters. Jason now acts as a successful certified business coach. I emailed him asking if he would give me feedback on a product idea because my product targets the same market as his store. Furthermore, I requested any business advice he had about small startups, and marketing to the outdoor community because he has personal experience in both.

3) An Important Supplier to the Industry

This one was a little confusing to me. I actually ended up sending a literal snail mail letter to the distributing office at Nalgene because they are a supplier who sells products to other stores and people in my industry. I basically asked the same thing in my letter. I'm thinking that I won't get a response, but I could potentially get redirected to someone who has answers. I was thinking by contacting a distributor who is not affiliated with ENO, but still within my industry, I may be able to get a better sense and new perspective on who my target market is!

Reflect

Although I don't anticipate getting responses from Allison or Nalgene, I created a potentially very useful connection with Jason Berry which is great. Although I haven't heard from him yet, I was able to connect with him on LinkedIn. Because we have similar school experiences and business goals, he may be a valuable network for me! This was a very different and uncomfortable assignment for me because it forced me to contact people out of my usual network, being school peers and teachers!