For this assignment, I am expanding my connections and developing new contacts to help with my business idea.
1.) The first person is a domain expert in my industry. This contact's name is Cale McCall. He is a 20 year old male that started a not-for-profit organization called the Dixie County Anti-Drug Coalition. He wanted to help others, and he pursued that goal. He is an expert as he has successfully started his business that now receives government grants and employees seven people as well as holding a board of directors. He knows the inside and out of starting a not-for-profit, and he could be a major asset to me in helping me start my own. I built my connection with him a long time ago, and he is a good friend of mine for many years. I mentioned my business idea, and he told me that he would be more than happy to help me out on my endeavors. Him and I have always exchanged favors when needed.
2.) My second person is an expert on my market. This contact is Albert H. Linden who is the legislative president for Chapter #90 for the Disabled American Veterans in Gainesville, Florida. I found Mr. Linden through the DAV membership system. I contacted him through email on the local chapter's website. I discussed back and forth with Mr. Linden how I was interested in helping veterans that returned home from their time of service. Mr. Linden gave me some information on their organization and how to join. I told him that I would definitely like to be in contact with him regarding that and that I would like to start my own non-profit to help all veterans. He told me that he would be happy to help at any time.
3.) The third person that I spoke with and built a connection with is an important supplier in my industry. Seeing as my business idea is a not-for-profit, when I say supplier, I am talking about volunteering and funding. Peter Cruz is the First Junior Vice Commander for the the Disabled American Veterans Chapter #63. I was looking at the website and it stated how they are always sending volunteers and future employees to other organizations. I seen that Peter was a member of the organization, and I messaged him on Facebook because him and I have mutual friends, and we have spoke before. I mentioned my business idea to him and he was very pleased with it. He said how my grandfather and his dad were friends and that he would be willing to help me out.
I will say that I was very pleased with the information that I found and the contacts that I found to fulfill the positions. Two of the three contacts that I have now to help me out are people that I previously have known, and I just did not realize that they were involved in such organizations. This assignment was definitely different with the connections gained because I did know these individuals through mutual friends and socializing. I am sure that all three of the contacts that I have listed in this assignment will be huge assets, and I hope that I will be able to assist them as well.
I think it was a really good idea for you to reach out to someone who also started a non-profit. This would really help you to have as a contact because he could help you through the various steps to beginning an organization. I also think it is really cool that this assignment helped you to branch out and find out people you know could really help you in establishing your non-profit, even if you didn’t realize it before.
ReplyDeleteHi Dakota.
ReplyDeleteI think you acquired some good information relating to your non-profit from the individuals you interviewed for this assignment. Your domain expert in particular seems like a good resource for learning how to navigate the ins and outs of building a non-profit and getting it funded.
Your market expert seems like a good source for referrals. He might be able to refer disabled veterans that he encounters in his organization to you, and vice versa- you might be able to refer disabled veterans to his organization to receive further services.
About your third person- I never really thought about volunteering as “supplying” anything but you are right- volunteers are the backbone of any non-profit and provide many essential services. Thank you for expanding my own thinking with that point of view.
Overall, excellent work- good interviews. There are a few grammatical errors, but they don’t distract from the main information. Good job!
By the way, I was really looking forward to seeing your third elevator pitch. Am I missing it somewhere?
ReplyDeleteAgain I love your business idea being a veteran myself who did not transition very well back into the real world I know how much help it would've been to have some one there for me. Sounds like you have some great networking skills. Looking around at other veterans associations is great. Having a good friend with experience is always invaluable because you know they will not sugar coat it for you.
ReplyDeleteDakota,
ReplyDeleteYou seem like you have a knack for getting in touch with knowledgeable people. Hopefully this will benefit you in the future when you need to rely on others to get the job done. I think the industry of helping veterans would be a tight knit industry and once you start having a reputation it will open many doors for you.
Dakota,
ReplyDeleteYou seem like you have a knack for getting in touch with knowledgeable people. Hopefully this will benefit you in the future when you need to rely on others to get the job done. I think the industry of helping veterans would be a tight knit industry and once you start having a reputation it will open many doors for you.