My first person is Bret Dameron, who is the manager of the Lowe's here in Gainesville. He's from the North Butler store and from Alachua County. For me, Bret is filling the domain expert role as managing a Lowe's yields a lot of experience with washer and dryers as well as delivery. I found the person online and called the number listed. I introduced myself and gave a combination of the elevator pitch and idea napkin. He really liked my enthusiasm, and said that should this company start bulk orders would receive discount, however in return Lowe's would have to get the old system. Having this person in my network is very important as having someone who knows bulk ordering and service industries like delivering and installing machines.
My second person is Thomas J. Lamb, who is the Marketing and Advertising Senior Vice President of Lowe's. He will be taking the role of market expert for my network. Being the position he is in Lowe's executive board, Thomas J. Lamb knows the market and demand for washer and dryers better than anyone. I found his email and emailed him my business idea, however he has not answered. He would be crucial as Thomas knows the market for washer and dryers across America.
My final person is John H. Riddle, who is the Senior Vice President of Sales of Home Appliances for LG, a maker of the 2 in 1 washer dryer. Being the Vice President of Sales of Home Appliances John Riddle will know the cost and factors of operation for the machine. I found his email and sent him my business plan. His secretary responded saying that a meeting with Mr. Riddle could be set up if my business became more formal and concrete. He would be important to have the large supply of 2 in 1s needed for the heavy demand we think will ensue.
This exercise made me change my fear of emailing people I do not know and being forward even to the high up executives in the corporate world. The emails made me feel less intimidated about presenting an idea to powerful people in cooperate America, albeit was over email.
Hi Donovan,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post, not only because everyone you contacted was a stranger, but also because they were very familiar about the type of business you would be running and because two of them seem like pretty important people, so I know it must have been intimidating to contact them with your business idea. It's a shame that not all of them responded, but having these people in your social network will definitely help you and your ideas down the line. Keep up the great work and check out my post at http://zanesufblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html