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.