Assignment 20A Growing Your Social Capital

Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert:
1.  Theresa Helsel is a Physician Assistant at Sand Lake Dermatology in Orlando, a provider of medical, surgical, cosmetic services.
2.  Theresa has worked in the industry for the last several years.  The practice previously provided tattoo removal but is no longer offering this type of laser treatment because they were renting a laser and it proved to be too costly and labor intensive so they decided not to provide these treatments and instead to partner with a laser centered practice to whom they refer some individuals for treatment.
3.  I found Theresa through a running friend who works for Track Shack and they partner with professionals in the Central Florida area. I showed her my elevator pitch and she said she could put me in contact with Theresa. She asked Theresa if she would spend some time with me to hear about my idea and provide me with feedback.
4.  Theresa was wonderful.  She explained the good, bad and the ugly of tattoo removal.  She thought my market segment was appropriate but also shared that she believed that the age people start serious contemplation about removal starts earlier that 34, she said closer to 30.  She said it had been two years since their practice offered removal but at that point the treatments could still leave scarring and depending on the color of ink used on the tattoo and the skill of the tattoo artist (placement of tattoo in the dermis) plays a huge role in removal success. In return, I told her if I had any dermatology needs, I would call her. I also wrote her a note of thanks.
5.  Including Theresa in my network has shed light on many details about the risks and liability associated with tattoo removal.  I believe I can better exploit this opportunity by arming myself with knowledge about the industry which will help me with planning and organizing my business.  Also, since their practice no longer provides this service, perhaps growing that relationship could aid in the referral of customers in the future.

Market Expert:
1.  Anderson works with Winter Park Tattoo Removal whose primary business is tattoo removal.  The company has been in business for 17 years.
2.  The company has been operating in this industry for 17 years and has two physicians and two ARNP's on staff along with laser technicians and other support staff.  The longevity in the market as well as being a provider of tattoo removal treatments, I believe makes this company a market expert. Anderson provides consultations to new clients and has a tremendous amount of knowledge about removing tattoos.
3.  I found this company by researching local businesses that provided tattoo removal services.  I called and asked to speak with someone regarding tattoo removal and Anderson called me back.  I explained to him what I was doing and asked him if he had time to speak with me and he spent nearly 30 minutes with me on the telephone. He was so patient as I asked him a multitude of questions. 
4.  Anderson was so patient as I asked him a multitude of questions. One of the items on my list was to inquire about whether a laser technician needed to be a physician.  He explained that they have laser technicians who are certified to administer treatments but they are supervised by a physician.  He also shared they had different two different lasers for blasting pigment particles.  There is also a new patch that can be used with the laser treatment which allows for more than one pass with the laser so it can potentially lower the number of treatments needed.  I also asked him about alternatives and he mentioned that people think that some fading creams help but that they are misled.  He compared the ineffectiveness of fading creams to that of anti-aging creams saying that, "You just can't spend months rubbing on anti-aging cream and expect it to wipe out years of sun damage and natural aging." The same is true when someone thinks they can fade ink that is two or more layers deep in the dermis. It was very interesting and I learned a lot in this conversation. I mailed him a thank you note with a $5 Starbucks card as a goodwill gesture.
5. The information I received from Anderson further builds my knowledge about the industry which could help me exploit my opportunity but his company would be a competitor so I think I would need to be cautious with future contact should I start this business.

Industry Supplier:  

1.  Albert is a sales professional with Photo Biotech which sells laser technology.
2.  Al is an industry supplier because he provides the laser equipment to companies who administer laser treatments. Photo Biotech is a national company who provides laser technology to many types of businesses, med spas, clinics, etc.
3.  It was a little more difficult to get someone to help me with information because there was no local supplier.  I had to seek out companies on the internet and two of the companies I found were chat based and I wanted to speak to a live person.  Finally, I reached Al and spoke with him via telephone.  The company's website showed the  company address in Manhattan but their product division is actually based in Canada. 
4.  In this exchange I was overloaded with technical information about lasers.  I learned that there are many types of lasers and the capital expenditure for a laser could be in the range of $60k - $140k for one laser machine.  I also learned that Florida is considered to be somewhat of a "wild card" state when it comes to licensing requirements.  Al said he has been to tattoo clinics in Florida with technicians providing treatments and their is no medical supervisor.  He explained to me the color spectrum and level of difficulty with respect to particle blasting in the removal process and that each color has a different wavelength. He shared that a laser that had better absorption rates would provide more efficient delivery.  I asked about number of treatments and he said that there should be between 20-30 percent fading per treatment, especially if the tattoo placement was in the dermis so it still depends on the tattoo.  Al spent 40 minutes with me and when I realized he was in Canada, I told him it would be difficult for me to buy him a cup of coffee.  He laughed. Al was great!  He said he travels to this area from time to time and he would keep my number and if he ever had time while he was here, he would give me a call to see how I was progressing with my idea.
5.  I definitely think including Al in my network will help me exploit my opportunity.  He has  extensive knowledge on laser equipment.  I knew virtually nothing about pico and nano laser technology and delivery, absorption, not that I do now, but certainly I have a better understanding about the technology needed to develop my opportunity.  This relationship would be one to further cultivate as I move forward with my business idea.

Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?

I found this exercise in "targeted networking" to be a little intimidating.  It certainly required me to get out of my comfort zone.  It was more difficult to find someone to speak with who would be willing to spend time talking about my idea when I did not have a prior connection (someone to help me get my foot in the door).  In the future, I will have a better idea of what to expect when I seek feedback in developing or enhancing my business.  I learned the networking process takes time and involves some rejection so I will prepare for that, too.  In the past, I have networked with companies where I was providing educational components so this was different because I did not have something of tangible value to create goodwill.  I also had many connections in my previous networking where in this networking exercise I was basically cold calling which is not one of my strengths.