1. Domain Expert: Daniel Clifton
Daniel and I have some mutual friends but I have never really spoken to him before, so I gave him a quick phone call for this assignment. He has been working for a local animal rescue called Gainesville Pet Rescue for a few years now which is why I used him for this slot. He works with dogs every single day as well as the people adopting and fostering the dogs. He gave me some great advice on what dogs need physical activity wise and also how to talk to and deal with dog owners. I am grateful to have Daniel in my social network now so that if I ever have questions relating to dogs needs or temperaments or how to deal with dog owners, I can turn to him for help.
2. Market Expert: Fred Goldsmith
I reached out to Mr. Goldsmith via email to get some words of advice from him. He is the founder and CEO of Pet Paradise, a dog kennel chain that prides themselves on having the highest quality treatment of peoples pets. He is actually from my hometown, so he was happy to help out a student from his area. He talked about how being an animal lover himself has helped him in his journey because he knows how he wants the animals in his facilities to be treated. Then, he just has to make sure all of his employees think the same. To further his point, he told me he even goes to the kennel sometimes to play with the dogs there. This was great news as I am also a huge animal lover, so hopefully that would be a help to my future business.
3. Supplier: Laura Wilkin
Laura Wilkin is the Chief Supply Chain Officer of Petco. I reached out to Laura via email and I was skeptical I would hear back from her since she holds such a high position in a company as large as Petco but fortunately, I did. It wasn't a long exchange but I think being in contact with her at all is a big deal for me. She gave a tidbit of advice in her email to me to always do ample research when choosing who should be the supplier for my product. She said there are a lot of cheap, low quality products out there and don't let the great price get you hooked but also don't overpay. she finished wth "there are always good products out there selling for a good price, you just have to work hard to find them." I thought this was great advice and just having Laura recognize my name could be a huge asset for me in my future business endeavors.
Reflection
I actually learned a lot in this assignment. I first learned to always take advantage of mutual friendships because it makes people feel a much closer connection than say a stranger would have and so people are much more willing to help. It also taught me to not be afraid to take chances when reaching out to possible network people because you never know who may respond and who you may need help from down the road. I never thought I would hear back from Laura Wilkin, but I did and it was a great experience.
Hey Leah,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with your interviews. I thought you found individuals who are in positions that give them extremely valuable input and experiences. This assignment really showed how important networking can be, and building that network. It goes to show you should make the best impressions possible, because you never know when a connection could become useful.
Hello Leah,
ReplyDeleteI am really glad you reached out to both Ms. Wilklin and Mr. Goldsmith even though you were afraid they might not reply. I think its a good lesson learned that you don't know what will happen until you try. I too reached out to people I did not know at all and was even bit afraid to talk to but it really helped me gain more insight! Like Steven said, keeping this contacts within your network might really be helpful in the future !