Growing My Social Capital

1. The first person I contacted is an old time family friend named Andrew Kayworth. Mr. Kayworth is the owner and CEO of Commsource data, a manufacturing company based in Jacksonville Fl. Mr. Kayworth went to Florida State University and originally started as a salesman for a similar company based out of New York, but when the company wanted him to relocate, Mr. Kayworth decided to break off and start his own company and is one of the most successful entrepreneurs I’ve ever met. I contacted Mr. Kayworth because I felt that he was a domain expert in the industry I want to break into. All I had to do to obtain Mr. Kayworths number was go online to the Commsource data website and retrieve it. I decided to call Mr. Kayworth and to my surprise he remembered me from when I was younger. I told him my situation and we talked for about an hour about the manufacturing business. He explained to me how it takes time to build a company with a brand, and that his business motto is that the customer is always right. While he makes telecommunications devices and I would be in the supplement industry, we would both me manufacturing products. He also believed that I should find a niche to set myself apart, and maybe make custom supplements for people with specific needs. They could send me the supplement they want that would meet their goals, and I could get it mixed and made and packaged and shipped to them. I think having Mr. Kayworth on my team would be a huge benefit, not only because he is a huge success with his business, but because he is a great guy and a good mentor. He had no problem taking time out of his busy day to talk to me about my entrepreneurial venture, and I think having someone like that will be a huge help when I have questions down the line.

2. The second person I contacted was a sales rep from Tiger Fitness. Tiger Fitness is a company that sells workout/energy supplements online. They not only have their own branded supplements, but they also sell other popular brands and take a percentage cut. While I wasn’t able to reach the CEO, I talked to a man named Chris Thomas about breaking through to the supplement industry. Since he had some valuable information, I felt that he could fill the slot of the “one person who is an expert in my market.” I found Chris through a youtube video about starting a supplement company. I went online and researched tiger fitness and made a couple phone calls until I finally was able to speak to him. Chris told me that the supplement industry does billions a year in sales and is extremely competitive, and that breaking through is not easy. He also said that if I did come up with a product that he felt could really increase focus and benefit people, that I could send a sample in to the company and if they like it they would market it for me on their website. Chris gave me his personal email to contact him when I am ready to send a supplement in, and if I had any other questions. I think having someone like Chris on my team would be extremely beneficial since he is such a wealth of information and already successful in the industry that I want to get into.

3. The last person I got in contact with was a gentleman named George, who is the director of R&D for Watson Industries INC. George would fill the slot of being an important supplier to my industry. I found this person through doing some detective work. While I was watching a youtube video on building a supplement company, a gentleman pulled out a bag that had a label on it, so I paused the video and researched the name on the label and found a supplement company based in California that not only sells supplements in mass quantity but will also mix the supplements and put them into empty pill cases for you. I got ahold of George to discuss pricing with him and see how the process works and how long it takes. George gave me quotes on the ingredients that I want to use for my MentalEdge supplement, and also told me that once the order is in it shouldn’t take more than a week to have everything ready. I would have to order bottles and get them shipped to Watson, as well as the pill capsules, but they would take care of the rest. I think having George on my team would be a huge asset, especially once we have a strong business relationship. George was able to give me the run down on all the supplements I wanted and told me which ones go good together and which ones I should leave out because they don’t work as good as people think.

Reflection: After completing this exercise I feel a sense of relief. Even though it took me a couple days to contact all of these people, I feel 100 times closer to my goal then when I started. This type of networking was definitely different than what I’m used to because the majority of it was over the phone with people I’d never talked to before. When I first thought about starting this company, I didn’t even know where to begin, and now I have names of people who can help me, and even a company that is willing to do almost all of the manufacturing process at minimal cost. When I first looked at this exercise it seemed daunting, but it only took me a couple emails and phone calls to get in touch with all of these people. I am relieved to have completed these tasks and feel as though I am on my way to having a supplement that is ready for the market!