- First name basis with most of the staff of my local bank (I've had an account there since I was 10)
- Valuable- This social capital means that they are willing to vouch for me, answer my questions, and just generally help me out because they like me.
- Rare- Many hometown banks have been bought up by larger companies, which makes it harder to cultivate this close relationship (helping them help their customers)
- Inimitable- Very hard to imitate, since this start up process involves the fact that I know these people from childhood, and they know half of my family.
- Non-substitutable- It would be much, much, more difficult to get my foot in the door with this bank if I didn't have so many contacts that can vouch for me.
- Common sense finance skills
- This will be the basic level of comprehension that I will try to instill in the end-users of my service.
- These days, it's harder to find people with financial sense.
- This is very easy to imitate, there are still people out there with that common sense
- Also, it's substitutable. Anyone with that sense could become a teacher
- Good speaking voice
- Having a voice that people enjoy and can trust will enhance the product
- Many people are afraid of public speaking
- Everyone is unique, and hopefully my unique voice and inflection will be one that customers are drawn to
- There are other good speakers out there.
- Good communication skills (to teach concepts, interact with customers)
- There is arguably nothing more valuable than being able to communicate one's ideas to others clearly.
- This ability is more rare than the previous two
- no one else can communicate my ideas for me, and I can explain things in ways others cant, because everyone's mind works differently
- Is there a substitute for good teaching? Different styles work for different people, but in general- no.
- Lots of practice with professional email correspondence and phone calls (current and previous job)
- Practice makes perfect! I've had a few years to get proficient at it.
- Not so rare
- Polite is polite, but plenty of people out there can write fine emails.
- Emails only get a person so far. How much do they really matter? Someone else could write my emails for me.
- Ability to take direction and learn the necessary podcast/general website skills
- That "growth" mindset is supposed to lead to success!
- A GENUINE good attitude is often hard to find these days (unless you're in a Chick-fil-a)
- Has already been done, by places like Chick-fil-a. but this is still an important attribute
- One could argue that someone with a degree in IT would be a better replacement for simply being able to LEARN about it on the fly
- My uncle is an accountant and can help me learn to manage my business finances
- Accountants do important work. Knowing one who has a vested interest in my success could also be beneficial
- I don't have any other uncles who are accountants ;) I don't know any other accountants who would give advice for free or who would work for me very cheap
- I could just pay someone to be my accountant, and/or do it myself
- No one can replace MY Uncle!
- My boss has experience meeting with high-level businessmen, so he can provide guidance
- Etiquette is very important in those settings, someone with experience can give me more pointers and insight than a google search would
- Percentage-wise, not too many people have jobs that require them to meet with many high-level executives from various companies, but that is exactly what Dan's job entails
- Only someone in a similar position to him would have that type of experience, and I've been able to cultivate a somewhat conformable relationship with him. I know I could ask his advice. I don't know anyone else at my company who feels that comfortable with him.
- Even those at the career resource center at UF might have INFORMATION to share, but not the experience and real world knowledge that Dan has.
- I have a reliable and fuel efficient car to get me around to meetings
- This is valuable in a purely financial way
- Not rare at all
- Able to be imitated
- Non-substitutable, unless someone had excess cash and didn't mind taking flights, Ubers, etc.
- I have a Surface Pro3 with an i7 processor that's supposed to be fast and able to run many programs at once. I probably will have to create my own website and media to fill the site, so it's good that I have a recent generation computer.
- Financially valuable, and just generally helps that I already have this resource.
- Not rare
- able to be imitated
- Substitutable by someone with professional equipment and programs to create websites- but they charge.
I bolded my most important advantage- #1! I think the runner ups are all the other social capitals: my boss and my Uncle!
April:
ReplyDeleteI liked the way that you put your unfair advantage into an easy to read list. I tried the list as well, but your format looks more professional. I was happy to see that we only had list ten items, which was not as hard as the 20 that we had to do at the beginning of class. At first, I disagreed with your most valuable resource, but after some pondering you are correct. Relationships take a long time to build.
Hey April, after watching numerous elevator pitches from you I do have to agree that you have a very good speaking voice and personality when presenting. You make it very entertaining to watch you speak. I think your social connections could help you find a foothold in this difficult business. I struggled a bit to complete this assignment, did you as well?
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