Network with the Second Level Supplier

I have learnt that in order to find the right resource for your project you should create a relationship with the suppliers who provide resources to the resource you need.

For example: When searching for a cook for my household, we approached agents, bakeries, and sweet shops but did not get any response. After all these people consume the resource in demand (in this case a cook) themselves. So why would they pass on their own valuable resource to me.

Then one evening, when I was buying vegetables with our neighborhood Green Grocer, I broached the subject for a cook with her. She thought for a while and said she will let me know. We exchanged numbers and parted ways. She referred two cooks to me. I didn’t like them, but I found the connection working. I dropped my number with three more vegetable sellers in my neighborhood and my phone has been ringing non stop since then.

This experience taught me that these second level suppliers are much more willing to share their client details upstream. By doing so, they are actually doing a favor to their client and hence creating loyalty for their own brand. So the next time, I am looking for a good resource, I will need to identify the supply chain for that resource and make a relationship with the second level supplier directly.

See, I always told you, there is a lot to learn on Project Management from simply running a household.