When starting a new business, sometimes, it can be about who you know, instead of what you know (networking to build your business). Jordon Masters, CEO and founder of Allegheny Genesis Holdings LLC and Micro Produce, knows this to be true.
Micro Produce was founded under the shared principles of its parent company Allegheny Genesis LLC to promote seasonal sustainability by encompassing the beauty of the Allegheny Mountains and their importance to the lives of those who live here.
Micro Produce promotes sustainable agriculture by devoting time and resources to further research in sustainable greenhouse operations. The management and operational team behind Micro Produce consists of both professional chefs and horticulturists, working together to expand culinary arts and scientific research by stretching the limits of agricultural productivity.
Masters was a guest on The Positively West Virginia Podcast where he shared advice about taking a chance for your business and taking advantage of the network around you.
Take a chance.
After forming the company, Masters was walking out of the agriculture school and saw a flyer for the 2015 WV Statewide Business Plan Competition. The prize? $10,000.
Jordon Masters – CEO and Founder
“The competition lasts a solid year. There’s three different phases,” explained Masters, who won the 2015 Hospitality and Tourism Division section of the competition. “In the first phase, you have to submit your executive summary. Then, you move on to the second round–the semi-finals. You have to do a five-minute pitch. You meet with people, and they ask you questions. If you make it through the semi-finals, you go to the finals. There’s usually three categories, ten companies per category, and it’s a 15 minute pitch. You run through your business plan with judges. If they don’t like it, you’re out.
Sometimes, it’s not about what you know; it’s about who you know.
As any business owner knows, networking to build your business is important. A good network or connection can get you in the right doors to talk with the right people, at the right time.
“Build a strong networking system,” Masters advises. “I probably wouldn’t have any of the stuff I have now. I wouldn’t have even gotten off the ground, got funding, if I didn’t know somebody who knew somebody.”
“If someone tells you that you should meet someone, and you don’t believe this person knows anything or anyone that could help you with what you’re trying to do, still meet with them because it’s likely that they know the person you need to go talk to,” Masters said.
Masters was a guest on The Positively West Virginia Podcast. Listen to his full podcast here.
PWV QUICK BITS | NETWORKING TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
- Recommended podcast: Freakonomics and How I Built This, a podcast hosted by Guy Raz.
- Person Masters would like to meet: “I would like to meet the commissioner of agriculture.”