A business concept I have for the city of Gainesville, FL is an all in one entertainment park called Lit-Ville. Mini golf, go karts, trampoline arena, ferris wheel, human slingshots, indoor laser tag, it's going to be super lit. Similar to the Fun Spot in Orlando, FL, locals and tourists will be able to visit to get away from the day-to-day Gainesville routine of movie nights, shopping, and drinking. Now, residents in Gainesville can no longer say, “there’s nothing to do in Gainesville” because this gives an avenue for students, kids and adults to come relieve stress and release their inner wild side.
1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry
1. McLane Edwards, he is a political science major but he has many interests and experiences with entertainment industry and parks
2. Domain expert
3. We met while on a conference in DC
4. We were speaking about our interests and I brought up my business idea. He said we would love to provide his input in exchange for season passes
5. McLane knows what works and what doesn't work in an entertainment park. He will help ensure that I do not waste capital on failed projects.
2) One person must be an expert on your market.
1. Avi Snyder, he wants to be a lawyer and a preview staffer but he has experiences in marketing
2. Market expert
3. We met in line at a Starbucks
4. We ordered the same drink and laughed about it. Then we got talking and spoke about LitVille
5. Avi knows the target market well of LitVille, the FunSpot of Gainesville, since he is the target market.
3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry.
1. Avery Smith, started getting into the entertainment supply industry, balloon provider for 5-6 years. Now expanded more clown materials like make up and stilts, after that he got into Ferris wheels, toys, rubber duckies, wheels for gears
2. Supplier
3. I came to one of his fairs, doing a clowning job on the side and Avery was an established contact ever since
4. I complained about the quality of his fake flower but then he told me I was using it wrong. We had a brief tussle but we got over it to talk about business ventures.
5. His expertise. No one has the variety that Avery has
Finally: Reflect. This experience showed me how you can never really take a break from working to be successful. You will never know where you will meet the people that matter to you the most in life! I had a tough time thinking of all the places where I could have met each respective expert. If I had networked more, I may have had an easier time finding who I need!
Hi Kevin! Great job on your post! I think you have some great people that could work with you which will definitely very beneficial to you when it comes to putting your idea into action! I completely agree with you saying that you can never really take a break from working. I feel like when people decide to take "breaks" they never really come back as strong as they once were. Keep up the great work! Feel free to check out my post at: http://scp1995.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html
ReplyDeleteHey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of Lit-Ville. I think your contacts were extremely interesting and they sound helpful. I disagree from taking a break from working. Sometimes you need to destress and relax, opening up your mind. It's sometimes eye opening. Check out mine here: http://feliciaent3003.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html
Hello Kevin. I think you made a great post. I definitely agree with you that you never know where you will meet someone beneficial to your life or work. I think you made connections that would be really helpful in the future if you decide to pursue this further. Also I really like your business. Also being from idea and liking Fun Spot, I really do think Gainesville would benefit from having something like this.
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI like your post and your idea! The place you described would definitely be lit and Gainesville needs a place like because there is "nothing to do in Gainesville." I like how you looked past the fact that your participants were students and that you\ trusted them in their knowledge on the subject because they have been studying it. You are completely right in saying that you can never stop working if social capital is going to be a big part of your business. Check out my blog here: http://thomasmurphy-ent3003.blogspot.com