23A

   1.      Financial Capital- Ever since I was a young girl, I was always considerate of when I would spend money and I did the best I could not to overspend. Therefore, I now have a good amount of financial capital that would allow me to realize this dream of producing the ignition lock.

a.      You need money in order to run a company. This money would go towards production costs as well as salaries and advertising costs.

b.      It is rare for such a young student to have a large amount of financial capital but any decent-paid adult probably has a similar amount in savings as I do.

c.       It would be hard to get this amount of money if you did not already have it beforehand.

d.      You can pay your employees with benefits but you will always need money to run a factory.

   2.      Public Speaking Experience- I have taken numerous public speaking classes and was in a program in high school that bettered my public speaking.

a.      This would be important when marketing my company to other businesses and large firms.

b.      It is not rare to find someone with good public speaking skills.

c.       I have this experience from before but others can easily acquire it as well.

d.      One could not give oral presentations but rather send emails. However, this form of communication is less effective than face-to-face communication.

   3.      Event Management Experience- I have planned multiple events focusing on a diverse range of subjects.

a.      This is crucial when planning events to get donors or require skilled employees to your company.

b.      It is rare for a student my age to have this much experience in event management and planning.

c.       This is a skill that takes time to perfect and practice.

d.      You could hire an event planner to do this task for you but that would cost a lot of money.

   4.      Support of Current Organizations- I have many connections with companies that are large supporters of safe driving.

a.      My company would need financial support from these types of donors because we want to make a cheap product so more consumers would be willing to buy it. However, this would not be possible unless the cost was subsidized.

b.      This is not that rare of a characteristic to have.

c.       It is easy to reach out to these organizations and make connections with them that will better both parties.

d.      The alternative would be to raise the cost of the product.

    5.      Social Media Experience- I have worked for a company’s social media department for three months.

a.      This is important because we want to get our product out there and make it appealing to all sorts of customers.

b.      It is not rare for a young, professional woman to have the same social media experience that I do.

c.       Someone can take a social media class and gain similar skills.

d.      The alternative would be to hire a social media consultant to take care of the marketing associated with the product.

   6.      International Relations Experience- I have worked and studied abroad in numerous countries over the past couple years.

a.      This is valuable because it allows one to get to know cultural norms around the world and be able to sell their product internationally.

b.      It is very rare to find any person who has lived, and worked, in a foreign country in the business world.

c.       It would take a long time for someone to have the same experiences that I did while abroad.

d.      There is no substitute for hands-on international experience.

   7.      Social capital (Greek Life)- I belong to the Greek community and have many connections because of it, both in my chapter as well as in other chapters.

a.      This is valuable because I can reach out to my peers and let them know about the product in a relaxed manner.

b.      Many students, especially at the University of Florida, are involved in Greek life so it would not be rare to find another person with this same form of social capital.

c.       One can join other organizations and create a social network that way.

d.      The substitute would be another form of organization but it is rare to find a community as large as the Greek community at the University of Florida.

   8.      Social capital (Golden Key International Honor Society)- I serve as the president for this organization and lead weekly meetings.

a.      This is valuable because other club members look up to me and admire my ideas and leadership.

b.      It is rare to find a president of a student organization, even though the university has over 1,000 student organizations.

c.       It is possible to gain similar experience from serving as a board member on an organization but it is very different to serve as president.

d.      The substitute would be to serve as a president for another organization at the University of Florida.

   9.      Social capital (Jewish Student Union)- I served as the event coordinator and spoke at monthly meetings.

a.      The value I gained from this position allowed me to see everything that happens behind the scenes when planning a large event or function for a large group of people.

b.      Holding a position like event coordinator is very rare and only a few people are up for the challenge.

c.       One can gain this experience by working for an event planning company but no other board positions have to complete the same tasks as the event coordinator does.

d.      The substitute would be to serve as the event coordinator for another UF organization.

   10.  Social capital (University of Florida RecSports)- I work at the gym and teach a hip hop fitness class there.

a.      This job allows me to perform in front of 50 of my peers and lead an exercise class twice a week.

b.      This job is not very rare, as we have a large community of staff members at RecSports.

c.       Any UF student can apply for this job but there is a tedious application, interview, performance analysis, exam and training course that they must complete before getting this job.

d.      The substitute would be to teach a fitness class at any local gym in the Gainesville area.

I think my top resource is the social capital I have from being involved in the University of Florida’s Greek community. There are so many incredible and driven members of this community that will be CEOs and CFOs of large companies within the next few decades. Having the privilege to make powerful connections with these people will allow me to grow my company by spreading my message and reaching a broader network. The Florida Greek community has given me so much already and I am eager to see how it will continue to help me in my professional life.