Domain Expert: The person I spoke to whom I consider an expert in the real estate domain is my good friends father Marat. Marat owns a real estate company and is a real estate broker so he is very knowledgeable on contracts, business setups, etc. I found him by basically asking my friend if I could speak to him about my entrepreneurial idea and to learn a little bit about the behind of the scenes of the industry. He told me that the idea is solid, but he is worried about how I am going to remain profitable If I am losing months of rent while still maintaining relatively large fixed costs. Additionally, he explained a bit that real estate moves very slowly and to remain patient even if it seems the market is not accepting my product or idea. In exchange I listed respectfully and thanked him, there was no monetary or return expectation necessary. Including Marat in my network as someone I can ask for advice will definitely allow me to gain additional insights and alternative points of view before making large decisions.
Market Expert: The person who I chose to be my market expert is actually my brothers friend Chris. Chris is a real estate agent in Miami, having done a considerable amount of deals. He is very knowledgeable on customer needs and wants, and how to market an idea to a customer. I told Chris about my product and he was actually pretty shocked no one else had done it already. In miami, there are a lot more flexible contracts in terms of renting and he was surprised it was not commonplace in a college town especially. He also indicated the need for me to up my social media game and start creating a personal brand in order to help grow a following and eventually a customer base. In return, I bought him some Chipotle. Keeping him in my network will help a lot with marketing as he is someone who has created a significant following on Instagram himself.
Supply Expert: In terms of suppliers, I spoke to my brothers friend Kevin who is a lawyer who deals mostly with contracts. He supplies a lot of the contracts and negotiating terms for corporate real estate buyers and sellers and for huge condos. I got into contact with him through my brother. He told me there is basically nothing legally tricky about my idea, and its a fairly straight forward solution I can implement as soon as possible. Keeping kevin in my circle will hopefully allow me to get some legal advice if I ever need it in the future.
Reflection: I realized that my social network is not very strong and that my brother actually is a lot better at networking then I am. That being said, this experience definitely showcased to me that I need to get more involved in clubs and organizations to start building my social network myself. Since i never really networked, I dont have any other experiences, yet I can say it was very challenging yet rewarding. There are a lot of people who can give advice, but only a select few who can give truly great advice.
Understanding your potential shortcomings will be one of the most important steps in developing a consistently successful business/product. Realizing your social media shortcoming can help you pivot into improving that area and will therefore increase the potential for increasing the width of your audience. Maybe using your brother and the other contacts that you stated will bring your business to its full potential in the short and long term.
ReplyDeleteHi Joshua, I think these young adults that want to go home every summer would substitute the status quo leases for your practical opportunity belief instead. I personally go to school in the summer, but I can understand where this comes from. You seem to have the right people nearby to guide you in the right path and get you to where you want to be.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed talking to people involved in what I am trying to work on. It gave me different perspectives that I didn't think of before. In your post you said that you think you should get involved in more clubs and organizations. Although that can be great, don't be afraid to get involved in the greater Gainesville community as well. The area is full of professionals and alumni who want to help young students and know how to. Good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Josh,
ReplyDeleteI think you have a very unique and well established social network from the three people in your domain that you listed. I think having two people who are in real estate on your side would make a world of a difference. They are working in a field that you would try and get into and they can help you with getting started and tips and tricks and how to navigate the industry. I also would agree with Chris that you should start early and start a social media following if you were to actually follow this idea because social media, when done right, could be a huge reason to your success. Keep building a social network and you will be very successful.