20A - Growing Your Social Capital

#1

1) Who they are and what their background is. I found an entire organization that deals with camps. This contact is even better than a single person. It's the American Camp Association. They have free training videos and market research available. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. This would be domain expert.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. Google searches for camps led to this discovery.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? I now have access to lots of training videos about camp subjects like safety, activities, first aid, animal experiences, certificates and certifications.  

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? You can advertise on their site and directly hire counselors. There is a forum to speak with camp directors across the country.

#2

1) Who they are and what their background is. ACA President and CEO Tom Rosenberg. He was in the Finance industry for a couple of years and then he started being a director at camps for the next 26 years. He's been the head of the American Camp Association for over three years.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Market expert.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. Through the ACA Facebook page. I saw a video he did on the today show and then looked him up on LinkedIn.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? Nothing yet. I sent a LinkedIn request to connect. No response yet.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? His many years of experience and contacts in the industry would be very helpful.

#3

1) Who they are and what their background is. Sales Rep Florida Region for S&S Worldwide Co. They sell camp game, craft, and supplies. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Supplier

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I emailed S&S Worldwide through their website and they said a sales rep from Florida would be contacting me in the next 48 hours. 

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? I expect them to tell me what a typical camp would purchase and to find out how many other adult only camps he knows about in the Southeast.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? I'm sure he/she has contacts in this region that would be helpful to ask questions.

This camping industry is something I know absolutely nothing about. I wasn't surprised to find niche publications and associations but the ones I found seemed large and well organized. Many people spend most of their lives in this industry. The large focus of the industry is kids which is not my focus.