20A, Growing Your Social Capital

Interview #1
#1) Richard C. has been in the property maintenance business for over 25 years and is currently a manager for large full service property maintenance company.  He currently oversees 10 large condominium complexes along with a staff of over 30 technicians.

#2) Domain Expert - Rick fills this position as he is in the same type of business that we are proposing and he has a great deal of knowledge of the industry.

#3) This individual is a business contact that was previously known through a common friend.  Therefore, his contact information was already known.

#4) I had a candid conversation with the individual as he is a common acquaintance.  He was very willing to share his knowledge of the business along with some expected challenges.  There was no quid pro quo.

#5) This individual may be able to divert potential customers to our business as he currently only manages large corporate accounts, which mainly cater to condominium complexes and not the single family homeowners that we are targeting.

Interview #2
#1) Michael K. runs a small boutique maintenance company that services the short-term rental markets consisting of Airbnb and HomeAway.

#2) Market Expert - Mike is a major player in the local area in this field.  He has fine tuned the process and has become very efficient and cost effective with the turn-over of units after the guests finishes their stay.

#3) I found this individual through a friend who is a real estate professional.  After obtaining the phone number I followed up with the individual when he had the time to speak.

#4) I had a lengthy conversation with Mike and he explained the numerous challenges he faced and is still facing with the business.  There was no quid pro quo and it may eventually land me some future customers if he is experiencing some overflow.

#5) Mike will be a very valuable resource and to some extent a business partner if he experiences some unexpected challenges

Interview #3
#1) Mark N. has managed a wholesale supply company in the South Florida area for the last 10 years.

#2) Supplier - Mark has seen numerous trends during his time at the wholesale warehouse and is constant contact with different vendors in the property maintenance and repair industry.

#3) I obtained this individual as a point of contact from my previous interview with Rick as this is where he obtains most of his specialty products that he needs in large quantities.

#4) I spoke to this person and he explained a great deal of items that were previously unknown to me.  If I were to actually start a business in this field, Mark would be of great assistance.  His only expectation would be that I would use his warehouse to buy my supplies if I were to actually start the business.

#5) Knowing Mark and utilizing his warehouse for supplies would definitely be beneficial for the company as they would be able to provide loyalty and bulk discounts on any future product needs.

Reflection
Social capital is a very important part of any successful business.  I previously understood this, but I did not have the proper value on it.  I know understand that the more of it you have, the better you position yourself for success.

19A, Idea Napkin #2

You: We have the passion and knowledge to get any task completed with the highest quality.

What are you offering to customers: We are offering a full-service property management firm to complete the maintenance and repairs that you don't have the time to complete yourself.

Who are you offering it to: We are targeting investors who are too busy with other business ventures who need a company to maintain their second home or to turn over short term rentals.

Why do they care: Our level of quality is only matched by our level of customer service and we take away any doubt that they have made the correct decision to hire us.

What are your core competencies: Attention to detail, customer responsiveness, with a digital work order tracking platform.

We believe that our attention to detail and focus on customer service will set us apart from the competition and allow our business concept to flourish.  Our major weakness will be attracting new customers and proving that our services are superior to the competitors.

Feedback Memo
1) It was unclear why a customer would need our services.  Not all investors will need our services, only those who are too busy or simply do not desire to do the work themselves.

2) Focus on quality was determined to be important from received feedback.  Therefore, we want to emphasize that quality is our first priority in our mission and values statements.

21A, Reading Reflection #2

I chose the Art of Social Media by Guy Guy Kawasaki for my second reading assignment.

1) The general theme of the book was pertaining to how to effectively utilize social media in the promotion of your business.

2) The book and the ENT course emphasize how important social capital has become.  This is especially true with the invention of social media as it is used by everyone on some level.

3) I believe that it would be a good assignment to have the students develop a professional Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook page.  I would also recommend that the students convert their personal accounts over to an alias so that when employers searches online they will not encounter any unflattering content.

4) Most of us are aware of the impact of social media in today's culture, but the book actually goes into details on how impactful it has become and this is even more true today than when the book was actually written.

18A, Customer Avatar

I believe that the customer of my business would be as follows:

Middle aged male, between 40-50 years old, with a desire to invest for their future.  It could also be viewed as a current income stream if they were to use the investment propertie(s) as short term rentals.  These individuals would typically drive a mid-class vehicle, such as a Honda Accord with maybe one or two children who are either adults or nearly in college.  They are typically a mixed political view between democratic and republican.  They do not have time for television as they are too busy with family, work, or traveling. 

I am very closely related to these customers and this is why I possibly saw this as a business opportunity due to the fact that I have felt the need that I am trying to fill.

16A, What's Your Secret Sauce

Human capital is the most important facet in any business as a company will never reach its full potential if it does not have the proper individuals in place.

I believe that my diverse career and life experience has helped me to develop many skills that can only be obtained with time.  I believe that my greatest attributes are:  patience, strategic thinking, social communication skills, time management, and impartial.

Interviews

#1,This individual felt that I get along well with others, impartial, creative, consistent, and personable.  https://soundcloud.com/user-361150490/ron

#2,This individual believed that I had leadership qualities that allowed me the ability to execute any task given. https://soundcloud.com/user-361150490/alexis

#3,This individual thought that I was kind and considerate and took into the account the feelings of others. https://soundcloud.com/user-361150490/yami

#4,This individual felt that I possessed many desirable leadership qualities such as being honest, inspiration to others, ability to delegate and innovative.  https://soundcloud.com/user-361150490/shawn-1

#5,This individual thought that I was personable, resilient, and excelled at execution. https://soundcloud.com/user-361150490/ann

Reflect on the differences

I feel that I have a few of the qualities that make a good leader.  However, during the interviews it was mentioned more than once that I am compassionate towards others.  While it is true that I have a deep concern for others, I never fully realized that this was obvious to others until these interviews.  I don't believe that I would change my original list, but I would probably add some additional items that were discovered during the interviews.

15A, Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #2

The segment that I am aiming for is the middle-aged population, American or foreign, that is viewing real estate as an investment and/or desires a second summer home in South Florida.  Thus, I interviewed three individuals who fit into this segment and are summarized as follows below:

Summary: It was determined that quality was of importance, but not as important as price.  The individuals stated that they mostly relied upon their real estate agent to provide recommendations as to who can help them with their need.  This was due to the fact that they are extremely pressed for time and that they did not have the time to search for companies who could accomplish the same tasks as the company as their agent recommended.  Most were satisfied with the service, but all agreed that communication and quality could be improved.

Conclusion: As described by Pryor in class, I believe that in today's fast paced environment you need to present your solution in the moment that the customer has their need and the solution needs to be easy in terms of completing the transaction.  Furthermore, cost effectiveness and quality needs to be ever present as there are many competitors in the market ready and able to take your business.

https://jeremyaguayo.blogspot.com/2019/10/15a-figuring-out-buyer-behavior-2.html