20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Part 1:
For the first person, someone who is a domain expert in the coffee industry, I reached out to the owner of a small coffee shop, Mrs. Annie's Coffee, that I have known for years to learn more about the industry from someone who is knowledgeable. She told me about how the coffee industry is handling COVID-19 and how it is effecting her setup. Mrs. Annie told me that she has seen the market continue to expand as people love coffee "more than anything".

Part 2:
For the second person, someone who is an expert in the coffee industry, I reached out to Micah Zuber, a coffee connoisseur and long time business observer in the coffee realm establishing contact through a mutual connection. He told me about how the typical consumer in the coffee market was more focused than ever on trends and trendiness rather than simple espressos and cappuccinos. The younger market is basing their purchases more on product appearance now than ever before.

Part 3:
For the third person, someone who is a supplier in the coffee industry, I reached out to Dixie, a major disposable coffee cup supplier here in Florida. They supply products to businesses and individual consumers alike and have a large market share. I reached out through email and am still expecting a response from someone in their disposable coffee cup division.



Reflection:
This was a hard assignment because of how targeted we were forced to be when finding individuals to interview. It definitely forces you to get out of your bubble and talk to people who know more than you do about "your" industry. In the past, I had built my network based on convenience and change; this was much more intentional and very helpful.