It's Who You Know, Not What You Know
1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry.
There is a reputable company called Women's Best that supplies diet supplements, protein shakes, amino acids, workout gear, and diet plans. Woman's best has dominated the industry over the past 4 years and is now known world wide. This company is not exactly like mine because I have interest in natural products which they do not advertise.
I sent an email out to the company just as I did the other companies but I did not hear back. I will update this portion if the company responds. Unfortunately I didn't have any luck getting any one else to respond for this portion either.
2) One person must be an expert on your market.
Roxy, owner of voxanddaubs and supplier of herbal life nutrition, was the first person that I reached out to. Roxy has been working in the industry for 7 years and is considered to be an expert int the nutrition market and has just entered the fitness market 3 years ago. I contacted Roxy via Instagram because I had followed her fitness journey for quite sometime. Roxy is looking for parents to help her business grow and help spread nutritious products. I had a phone call with Roxy and we talked for a while about goals and what I envision in my business idea. Roxy spoke about her journey and how she found herbal life and ultimately how she started her own business. I am going to start working with Roxy to further improve the market. I hope to learn important hands on business management and strategies. I also hope to gain a better understanding of the market so that I can develop my products accordingly.
3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry
Emily Skye is a well known name in the personal trainer and fitness industry. Emily built her fitness business almost a decade ago and has become a top supplier of fitness guides and advice. I contacted Emily via her website and she responded in three business days. I just wanted to ask her what important changes she's had to endure since her start as a lifestyle coach. I also wanted to know what advice she had to someone that is entering the market and also prioritizing education. Emily was very kind in her response and provided a lot of helpful insight. One specific piece of advice given by Emily has stuck with me; "With a company based on social media you have the advantage of billions of customers world wide, however, this can also be overwhelming. Stick to the objective and update your goals regularly. Reflect on the customers response to your product and keep their interest in mind."
I am excited most by the opportunity provided by Roxy, this is going to be the best way to network as I learn the market for each element of my business. I think my business plan needs to be a three part process that starts off offering simple basic plans and dominating one area before moving on to the next. This became clear from Roxy and Emily as they described their journey.
Hey Tara,
ReplyDeleteAs a Realtor in Gainesville i've learned that following up is key to build a long lasting relationship. Make sure they keep your name fresh in the back of their mind. Another important thing is to always add value to those you want to network with, they will appreciate it and work to give back to you. Great stuff and keep up the good work.
Hello Tara,
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you as always. I think you did a good job networking with the proper people for this assignment, but you should definitely focus on analyzing how you can get the original push to get this through the first obstacle of actually becoming a business. It seems you have definitely developed a niche and I feel there can definitely be a large market for this as our society continues to become more health conscious.