Growing Social Capital (20A)
For this assignment I was tasked with growing my social capital. This concept has been an interesting one to me because I have always thought of it similar to how Professor Pryor described it: like a bank. The more you put in, the more you can get out. The relationships I make now can produce opportunities for me to “cash in” favors later. It’s all about networking!
My first person is a domain expert in my industry, in other words, someone who’s engaged in the same type of business activity as I would like to be. In my case, that would be another coffee shop owner. I decided to contact one of my favorite coffee shops from back home in Lakeland, Hillcrest Coffee. After meeting the owner a few months ago, I kept his card in case I needed to contact him again to talk more. Lucky me in the case of this assignment keeping the card came in handy. Brian Goding is the owner and founder of Hillcrest Coffee. Brian grew up in Miami and moved to Lakeland in 1977. We actually went to the same high school, Lakeland High School! We basically just had a conversation about what sparked his passion for coffee. I loved what he said about the mindset that coffee chops are a “gathering place.” I share this sentiment. I want The Mount to be as welcoming as possible; when people walk in, I want it to feel like a second home. Having Brian will be a great person in my network because he can help me craft what makes coffee shops inclusive and homey. I want to learn the decisions he made to make Hillcrest what it is today.
My second person is a market expert in my industry, someone who is targeting my market with similar products services. I decided to go broad and target the breakfast food market because coffee is often associated with breakfast and in turn I will be serving breakfast food and or pastries in my shop. I decided to contact one of my favorite breakfast places in town, East End Eatery. I called their place and asked to talked to their manager, Sandra Carlisi. I learned that she started as a catering business but then she expanded to a restaurant as well. She referred me to contact her friends at Volta Coffee. Sandra did tell me that running a business is incredibly difficult but she loves it. I appreciate having Sandra in my network because she gave a contact at Volta and was very open about sharing her business experience.
Lastly, my third person is an important supplier to my industry. For my case, I chose to focus on the supplies that I will need the most: coffee. I immediately contacted a roaster I met in Lakeland. Lisbeth is honestly such a inspiration to me. She is a local roaster who sources ethically from Guatemala where she is from! I know Lisbeth through my mother who runs a fair trade store downtown. Over Christmas break, I actually visited Lisbeth’s roastery and was blessed to hear more of her story and passion behind her work. She used to work for PepsiCo and Mars with a degree in Food Chemistry but now she uses her skills to run a business and roast coffee beans! She “seek[s] to champion better prices for small farmer cooperatives that focus on quality and sustainability and aim for coffee greatness at every step.” I talked with Lisbeth about possibly working downtown with her this summer in Lakeland, learning how to roast and make great coffee! I love having Lisbeth in my network because she can teach me so much about the roasting process of coffee and I look forward to partnering with her in the future when I open The Mount!
This assignment was incredibly helpful because it forced me to get out of my comfort zone in some ways, like reaching out to people I have never met. On the other hand, it allowed me to reconnect with people in my network like Brian and Lisbeth who I now have an even stronger connection with after sharing a conversation. I think networking was easy with these people because we all understand the need to make our businesses welcoming and appealing. And what better way to appeal to customers than with food and coffee? I look especially look forward to contacting even more domain market people, aka coffee shop owners, in the future.
My first person is a domain expert in my industry, in other words, someone who’s engaged in the same type of business activity as I would like to be. In my case, that would be another coffee shop owner. I decided to contact one of my favorite coffee shops from back home in Lakeland, Hillcrest Coffee. After meeting the owner a few months ago, I kept his card in case I needed to contact him again to talk more. Lucky me in the case of this assignment keeping the card came in handy. Brian Goding is the owner and founder of Hillcrest Coffee. Brian grew up in Miami and moved to Lakeland in 1977. We actually went to the same high school, Lakeland High School! We basically just had a conversation about what sparked his passion for coffee. I loved what he said about the mindset that coffee chops are a “gathering place.” I share this sentiment. I want The Mount to be as welcoming as possible; when people walk in, I want it to feel like a second home. Having Brian will be a great person in my network because he can help me craft what makes coffee shops inclusive and homey. I want to learn the decisions he made to make Hillcrest what it is today.
My second person is a market expert in my industry, someone who is targeting my market with similar products services. I decided to go broad and target the breakfast food market because coffee is often associated with breakfast and in turn I will be serving breakfast food and or pastries in my shop. I decided to contact one of my favorite breakfast places in town, East End Eatery. I called their place and asked to talked to their manager, Sandra Carlisi. I learned that she started as a catering business but then she expanded to a restaurant as well. She referred me to contact her friends at Volta Coffee. Sandra did tell me that running a business is incredibly difficult but she loves it. I appreciate having Sandra in my network because she gave a contact at Volta and was very open about sharing her business experience.
Lastly, my third person is an important supplier to my industry. For my case, I chose to focus on the supplies that I will need the most: coffee. I immediately contacted a roaster I met in Lakeland. Lisbeth is honestly such a inspiration to me. She is a local roaster who sources ethically from Guatemala where she is from! I know Lisbeth through my mother who runs a fair trade store downtown. Over Christmas break, I actually visited Lisbeth’s roastery and was blessed to hear more of her story and passion behind her work. She used to work for PepsiCo and Mars with a degree in Food Chemistry but now she uses her skills to run a business and roast coffee beans! She “seek[s] to champion better prices for small farmer cooperatives that focus on quality and sustainability and aim for coffee greatness at every step.” I talked with Lisbeth about possibly working downtown with her this summer in Lakeland, learning how to roast and make great coffee! I love having Lisbeth in my network because she can teach me so much about the roasting process of coffee and I look forward to partnering with her in the future when I open The Mount!
This assignment was incredibly helpful because it forced me to get out of my comfort zone in some ways, like reaching out to people I have never met. On the other hand, it allowed me to reconnect with people in my network like Brian and Lisbeth who I now have an even stronger connection with after sharing a conversation. I think networking was easy with these people because we all understand the need to make our businesses welcoming and appealing. And what better way to appeal to customers than with food and coffee? I look especially look forward to contacting even more domain market people, aka coffee shop owners, in the future.
Hey, i like your post. The people you interviewed really help your project to be brought together. human capital is an important part of building a business, so you are headed in the right direction! I like how you styled your post, and your reflection at the end
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chloe
Juliana, the people you talked to seem very relevant for your idea. I am sure by building strong relationships with these people, it will only benefit you more through your entrepreneurial journey. I am confident that by expanding this network, as you have planned, your chances of success and growth are definitely raised. Great job!
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