Growing My Social Capital

1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry. This would be someone who's engaged in the same type of business activity as you would like to be. They may own the same kind of company that you would like to own, or they may be a technical expert who knows a lot about the kind of product or service that you would like to produce.
2) One person must be an expert on your market. This would be someone who is targeting your market with similar products services -- or knows a lot about conducting customer research in your area -- or represents a major piece of your market (this might be most applicable with B2B markets).
3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry. This would be someone who is selling products and services to other organizations/firms in your industry. 
What constitutes 'contact'? Social capital exists in the "potential goodwill" that exists between two people. For you to establish "potential goodwill" for this exercise, you need to have obtained feedback from each of these people on your business idea so far. For instance, this could include meeting with them to show your elevator pitch or your idea napkin. 
One last catch: The three people you add to your social capital cannot have participated in any other exercise you have completed as part of this course. 
How to write up this post. Break up your post into three parts, one for each person. For each person, describe:

1) Justin S.
2) Domain Expert: Boat Captain for charter fishing trips. He works in the boating industry, and provides his service to both locals and tourists (but mainly tourists). He is familiar with working around the seasons and weather
3) I met Justin through my company. I was booking a chartered fishing trip.
4) Justin and I spoke about his fishing business and the industry. We paid him for his time (charter fishing trip) so he was more than happy to chat with me during this time. He doesn't expect anything back from me, except to use his charter again in the future.
5) His knowledge is very valuable as he is not only a captain, but he runs his own business and is in charge of his own marketing.

1) Krista S.
2) Market expert: She is a marketer for our company and is very familiar with this area, how the seasons work, and in working with tourists.
3) I met Krista at work. She has been in marketing for years and targets many of the same clients I will be - Tourists/Snowbirds. In her line of work, they are the board members of condominiums but serve the same purpose. 
4) She has taught me about marketing and how to build relationships. She just hopes that I continue to work with her and learn from her.
5) She knows many of the people I would like to market my business to. She will allow me to do so at various events.

1) Bobby
2) Supplier expert: He works as the Marina shop in downtown Fort Myers. He supplies the fuel for vessels coming in for Ethanol Free fuel.
3) I met Bobby at the downtown Marina shop. I was looking for information about fuel costs and various other marine services that are offered on the water.  
4) He explained to me about the up-charge of fuel on the water and the premium you will pay for services that are convenient and right on the water. He helped me understand that it might be more cost efficient to pull out my vessels when they need work as opposed to the more expensive, but convenient alternative of the marina's services. He just wants my fuel business and the occasional restocking of snacks and beverages from his store.
5) He knows a lot about the water transportation business, as many boat deliveries to the East Coast of Florida cut through the river and stop at his store for varies sundries and fuel.

Reflect. This experience has taught me how to approach people to discuss various topics. I believe it has helped me to feel more confident when talking to strangers. People tend to react more positively than you would think. I was always nervous because I feel like people will be annoyed that I am bothering them. While this is still true in some cases, it isn't always like that. People like to help and give their opinions. This was easier than interviewing them about my business specifically because it gave people a chance to talk about themselves.