I had some issues with this assignment. On top of the abnormal situation with COVID-19 that we are all currently mixed in with, I had a bit of a failure of creativity on my part and response on the part of the people I tried to contact.
So, if you have any suggestion on who I should contact, I would greatly appreciate it!
As a reminder: I am planning on becoming a private chef in Gainesville, with a focus on busy and/or new middle-class families.
Domain Expert in My Industry: I reached out to Mai Groff, who is already a private chef in town with a pretty good reputation. She's a kind of role model for me, in a way.
Expert on My Market: ???
This is what I need help with most. I am still wondering about who would be a good fit for this. Gym or yoga instructors? Babysitters? I'd like it to be Gainesville-specific. I'll continue to look into it, but I don't have much on it so far.
Supplier to My Industry: I reached out to Ward's! Gainesville's favorite local supermarket. I also asked them if I could get store discounts if I buy exclusively through them, but nothing doing. Nevertheless, they're still awesome and affordable and local, so I still plan on sourcing most my ingredients there.
Reflection: The only other time I have done something like this was when I was looking for an academic expert to sponsor/guide my senior-year research project in high school. I never did find one then, despite sending out about 50 emails, but it worked out in the end anyway. This all felt like cold-calling, so I just remained positive, showed genuine interest in my target, made a polite ask, and was ready to accept rejection. And that's what I got, essentially. Rejection.
But not dejection!
So, if you have any suggestion on who I should contact, I would greatly appreciate it!
As a reminder: I am planning on becoming a private chef in Gainesville, with a focus on busy and/or new middle-class families.
Domain Expert in My Industry: I reached out to Mai Groff, who is already a private chef in town with a pretty good reputation. She's a kind of role model for me, in a way.
Expert on My Market: ???
This is what I need help with most. I am still wondering about who would be a good fit for this. Gym or yoga instructors? Babysitters? I'd like it to be Gainesville-specific. I'll continue to look into it, but I don't have much on it so far.
Supplier to My Industry: I reached out to Ward's! Gainesville's favorite local supermarket. I also asked them if I could get store discounts if I buy exclusively through them, but nothing doing. Nevertheless, they're still awesome and affordable and local, so I still plan on sourcing most my ingredients there.
Reflection: The only other time I have done something like this was when I was looking for an academic expert to sponsor/guide my senior-year research project in high school. I never did find one then, despite sending out about 50 emails, but it worked out in the end anyway. This all felt like cold-calling, so I just remained positive, showed genuine interest in my target, made a polite ask, and was ready to accept rejection. And that's what I got, essentially. Rejection.
But not dejection!
Hi Adi,
ReplyDeleteI have a couple ideas on possible good experts in your market. I think that contacting a current food meal service like Freshly might be a good idea. Also contacting members of your target audience and seeing what they think of your service and pricing would be a good idea. Even asking local restaurants what they think of your idea could do nothing but help and give you some more insight into the food business.