Is it already November?

Last Wednesday, tricker-treaters in my neighborhood knocked on our door constantly for a solid 5 hours. Heaps of kids. My host-mom told me that I should be the one to answer the door because I'm an American and it's my fault that Australians have adopted our fabulous tradition of begging for candy. Somehow the basket of candy that she gave me to hand out to the kids didn't last very long. Ehem. Adults need candy too, right?

I am now eight weeks into my internship. As I walked into the Sydney office for the first time, I reminded myself to keep an open mind and resist any urge to rely on assumptions. Why? Because I came here to do market research and relying on preconceived notions is not exactly the best formula for success. It was harder than I thought. The Western culture of Australia is just close enough to the United States to be quite confusing at times. One moment you think you've got the hang of it, and the next moment you hear about some sort of random law or custom that catches you totally off-guard.

During the first couple days of my internship, I sat in several long meetings while a team and I planned out how I would structure my research project. The initial plan approximately 30 potential clients across Australia. In theory, it was a great idea. In practice, we ran into a few bumps in the road. First, it took nearly two full days of calling these companies to secure a few appointments. It was nearly impossible to get in touch with the right person in order to ask for an interview (no thanks to the receptionists who were roughly equivalent to guard-dogs). The only companies that we managed to secure interviews with were the 3 clients that we already had and companies so small they couldn’t afford a receptionist. The interviews themselves went fairly well. Most of the people we interviewed were willing to answer my questions and quite often would go off on tangents that did not necessarily “fit” into my data, but were nonetheless useful. It all goes into the big picture.

After several interviews, I started to evaluate the direction of my research. What was the core objective and how was I going to reach it? As I looked at the answers that I had gotten, I started to realize that there is much more going on below the surface that perhaps, even the companies themselves didn’t understand. After all, a majority of the companies that we interviewed had a maximum of five employees. If collectively their actions determined the direction and characteristics of the market, would they only have five employees? Sure, it is great to know what products they like and such, but I question how much influence they have on the overall market. Going back to some of the original objectives of my research, I determined that it was absolutely vital to get an accurate representation of both companies and market share.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to go to a horse race in Melbourne that was also networking event. It was at this event that I met other manufacturers and distributors who eventually became the ticket into another side of the industry. After an evening filled with discussion, I not only gained a whole new understanding, but several new “connection” requests on LinkedIn. To be honest, I never thought that LinkedIn was very useful. In fact, I thought LinkedIn was for people who were job-shopping. I was wrong. LinkedIn provided me the contact information and the job titles of people that I needed to get in touch with.

After a few interviews with well-known and experienced people in the industry (such as distribution managers, association directors, consultants, sales reps, etc), I gained a far more in-depth understanding of the market. It has been exciting, thrilling, and overwhelming. Yet, I still feel as if I’ve only witnessed the tip of the iceberg. In my mind and on paper, I have categorized the market into three categories: structural- who the key players are and why, behavioral- how the key players interact with one another to deliver value, and dynamical- how the value created by key players has and will continue to develop over time. As a side note, it is my belief that big and small companies are important. I am still continuing with the original research plan while pursuing other sources.

So where am I with my research now? I’ve had interviews in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney so far and over the span of this month I will cover Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. I am recording my findings in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. I will use PowerPoint for my final presentation but will also hand in a Word document with findings and suggestions on what things should be examined further.

God has been so good to be and guided me every step along the way. Trust me, I am not just saying that- He really has. The church that I am going to here has had an enormous impact on my walk with Christ. The preaching and worship is amazing but the love and openness of His people is what has truly impacted me in a way that I can't explain. I've been challenged to re-examine my life and confess to being a lukewarm christian.

Revelation 3:14-22 says,

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see"

I cannot even tell you how many times I have been that apathetic christian who only goes to church to feel good about herself and see friends. Yes. It's true. The beautiful thing about God is that He has me in the palm of His hand and will never stop pursuing me. Slowly but surely, he is beckoning me back to the cross. He has melted some of the hardness in my heart and shown me that once again, He is all I need. If hurricane Sandy were to destroy my entire home and family, I would still have Christ to lean on for comfort and support. I would know His presence and His peace because it is not conditional. In fact, He has often shown me His peace in the most unlikely and undeserving times of my life.

He is good.

And I am thankful.