Growing My Social Capital

1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry. 
For the person engaged in the same industry I had two people in mind for my company given that my company functions similar to Sephora with a combination of Uber. For the Domain expert in my industry I decided to speak to an Uber employee as the domain expert. For my company Make-up-Meet-up, the most important part of the business is finding a free-lance make-up artist closest to the person requesting the service and getting them to drive to meet the client. This employee's background has worked as part of Uber since it started from big Cities Miami and Orlando to small town Gainesville. I found this person as they were once a worker that gave me a ride in Orlando and we kept in touch due to the fact that I felt comfortable with the person and I wanted them to be the person to pick me up on my way back. Including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity as he is a lot more knowledgeable about the terms and conditions of Uber. He also understands how the technological tool/mechanism functions and as a plus, he knows how to create Apps in order to create the final App.

2) One person must be an expert on your market.

An expert on my market is a free lance make-up artist that has become my absolute personal favorite whenever I shop here at Oaks Mall. It was very hard for me to choose between making Sephora the expert on my market or the supplier to my industry. Once I realized I could make my personal favorite makeup artist the expert on my market it not only enhanced my network but kind of encouraged a closer partnership. As a free lance make-up artist she is targeting a similar market on her own already but we'll definitely help each other making our cooperation a win-win for the both of us. As she has been working in Sephora for the past 5 years she clearly understands how to work with customer service and understanding the trends of certain products that are sold most. For example, currently a lipstick brand that has absolutely boomed in the last month is Kylie Jenner's Lip Kit and together we understand that clients will want to work with make-up artists that carry those products and are up to date with the latest trends. Not only has she become the expert for the market but the biggest way in which networking with her has enhanced the ability to exploit an opportunity is due to the fact that she is connecting me to her higher-ups in order to establish a relationship as my supplier, specifically Sephora.

3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry.

The person/company to supply my industry is currently Sephora however from the research I've done, ULTA would be a bit more cheaper to work with. The reason I chose Sephora for my initial supplier is not only for how prestigious it is or for its department store-like feel (except for make up) but because of the fact that I already have a contact that I have a good relationship with. I feel very grateful to work this industry as a supplier. The feedback I got was mostly on making sure to advertise and promote for the company a lot before I start since my audience is so specific to a set group of people. I was also recommended to be prepared for the seasons that won't be as busy. Formal season would obviously be one of the best times for business.

Finally: Reflect. 

This experience will shape how I participate in any future networking events because not only did I learn about professional skills on how to approach people but also I'll be able to present my company with a good network of my own. This experience differed from experiences in the past due to the fact that in the past I've gone to events that are specific for networking whereas for this assignment I was left to my own devices and having to research where I could contact these people from.