Growing Your Social Capital

1st Person: Farm Manager in Clewiston, FL
a) The first person, Trip, is a farm manager in Clewiston, FL who used to be my boss. He manages a 2,000 acre farm that grows beans, cabbage, and corn. He grew up on that farm as a kid and has worked there for about 20 years now, but has worked all over the agricultural industry.
b) He is the domain expert in this assignment and he fills this spot because he has worked in the industry his whole life and grows conventional crops that are sold in the surrounding community.
c) I found this person because we have been good family friends and I have gotten to know him and what he does on a daily basis.
d) The exchange that I had with him was very good. He is very knowledgable on the industry and had a lot to teach me on the subject. I was fortunate enough to receive a job from him the summer after my freshman year of college. The expected return is for me to help out if he ever needs it. I was able to get the opportunity to learn more about the industry so I am more than willing to help out if he ever needs it.
e) Having this person in my network helps with my opportunities tremendously. He knows a lot of people in the industry and he would give me a good recommendation to whoever I would like to try and get in touch with in the future. If I ever needed a job, he would be one of the first to help me out.

2nd Person: Chemical salesman for Helena
a) This person, who is a good family friend, is a chemical salesman for Helena Chemical Company. They grew up in a small, rural town and went to UF and got a major in horticultural sciences.
b)This person fills the slot of the market expert due to their background in the industry and their degree. They majored in horticultural sciences and work for a chemical company, so they are well versed on chemical application on crops and their effects and how safe they are for consumption after their pre-harvest periods.
c) I found this person because my dad is friends with them and they were willing to talk with me about my business opportunity.
d) This person allowed me to give him my elevator pitch for my business opportunity. He thought that community outreach in this industry would be a great idea to show the public the efficiencies of conventional methods and how cost effective it is to go this way. He thought that this would be a great way to educate people on what farmers go through in order to feed people. The expectation was to reach out to him if I were to ever go about this opportunity because he would be willing to help out in any way possible.
e) Having this person in my network helps with the opportunity of growing my business through a well-known chemical salesman. This would be a great partner in showing the benefits to conventional farming methods.

3rd Person: Distribution manager in South Bay, FL
a) My third person that I contacted, Paul, owns a packing and distribution warehouse in South Bay, FL. He grew up in South Florida and has worked for his family owned farm until he decided to branch out and start up a packing house.
b) The slot that Paul fills would be the supplier. He brings in crops from all different kinds of farms, packages them, and distributes them around the state. (you can actually find his corn in Publix, a brand called Branch)
c) I found this person through the first person, Trip, that I got into contact with. He actually sends all of his corn that he grows to this packing house. He put me into contact after I asked him if he knew a good person that could give me good input on my business opportunity from a supplier perspective.
d) Paul allowed me to pitch my business idea to him and ask him, from a supplier perspective, how consumer preferences have changed and how my business would fare in this climate. He stated that this is a great opportunity, however, the consumer preference has started to shift to organic crops, which in part has affected his business slightly because he takes in conventional crops. He did say, though, that with the right outreach in the local community and surrounding areas, that this business could be very successful, especially the farm tour aspect.
e) This would be a great networking opportunity because his status in the community and the fact that he could be a potential business partner. This would allow me to get my company's name out their from a reputable source.

This experience has shaped how I will participate in any future networking events because it gave me a perspective on what some people are looking for and how to go about gaining new connections. It is good to connect with as many people as possible in order to gain more connections in the future, opening up more opportunities. This did differ from past experiences because I was dealing with people who were very experiences and knowledgable in the industry who had great insight on to what I could possibly do.