Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Use Your Network

Charles Mrris ’19 of Briggs Original, Inc.

The following post is from Charles Morris ’19, of Briggs Original Inc., a spring 2017 hatchery business. Briggs Original Inc. has created the worlds first all-natural, gluten-free, spiked sparkling water made with real New England Cranberry. The company will be launching its first product, Boston Cranberry, in Boston, in the Spring of 2017.

One of the biggest takeaways I can share with fellow entrepreneurs is to not be afraid to reach out for advice or help and to always take action first rather than let an opportunity pass by. Throughout the past year I have learned the power of “cold calling” (or emailing). Although a response was not always received, I learned to become more confident and comfortable with reaching out to strangers for their business. Entrepreneurs such as ourselves need to learn to leverage our vast network of connections. One such way we can accomplish this is by reaching out to alumni from Babson, from our high school, maybe even family friend, and asking them if they can help with the business, or simply know someone else who can.

This skill was put to work this past year while planning a music festival for Briggs Original, Briggs Fest. After hundreds of emails, phone calls and texts with prospective artists and producers, we finally came up with the lineup for the festival. It was my perseverance and willingness to reach out to artists that I knew were out of my budget which led to the many connections I made, and the amazing lineup we have confirmed to play at the festival. Remember it is not always what you know, but who you know that will help you succeed. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others for advice, most are willing to help others achieve their goals.