Sponsorships?

I was doing some more shopping today for my trip. I’m still trying to decide on what backpack I should get. I know that might not seem like a very important decision, but I think it is. My backpack is going to have all of my possessions in it, and I’ll be carrying it EVERYWHERE. So, I want to make sure it’s comfortable and that it’s not bigger than it needs to be. Anyway, I was at Out N Back, a local outdoor store in Orem. I was there for like the 3rd time looking at their backpacks. Anyway, I was telling their employees about this trip and what I’m planning on doing. They were pretty excited about it and thought it sounded like a good idea. Well, turns out one of the guys I was talking to was the general manager. When I was about to leave, he said they might be able to sponsor me and he could look into getting a good deal from the rep about my backpack. So, I’m pretty excited about that. He said to me, “look, you haven’t even started your trip and people want to help you out”. So, hopefully I’ll be able to get some good deals on gear and what not.

Because of that, I was asking my manager at Runner’s Corner about sponsorships. He said that if I talk to product reps, I could have a good chance of getting some gear and what not. He was telling me that they have certain allotments for what they can get rid of, and so sometimes they like having good opportunities to give out their gear. So, this made me consider calling companies and trying to get sponsorships. But, I like it better if somebody offers to help me rather than me having to ask for it. I think I’ll just keep doing my thing and hope serendipity steps in to help here and there.

4 Comments

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  By Steve, December 2, 2009 @ 9:11 am

  So, I was thinking about the fact that you’ll probably grow your professional network a ton by doing this trip, and how you could keep track of it all. A simple spreadsheet on Google Docs was my first thought. Then I realized that Linked-In is a way better way of keeping track of people’s details. Then you will always have the current position listed for all your contacts. You could even approach LinkedIn about a sponsorship. There are plenty of ways you could put a LinkedIn twist to it. And if you got some news coverage (which should be easy, since your story is very interesting), LinkedIn would love you have you give them a plug. Anyway, there are lots of ways you can market it, and setup a deal with LinkedIn. They have to have some serious cash. Just a thought.

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  By Steve, December 2, 2009 @ 9:13 am

  Using LinkedIn, you could easily say, “hmm, who in my network has a cool sounding job in LA (as you are hitchiking towards LA).” And then send them an email, or give them a call, and explain what you are working on.

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  By Aaron Anderson, December 2, 2009 @ 6:31 pm

  Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. I decided to not pursue sponsorships because I figured it would be better to start small and just kind of let things grow. I think it would be more fun to do it that way. However, if I can find a company to work with where I think their sponsorship would contribute to the overall experience, it makes sense to me. Having a sponsorship with LinkedIn seems like it would be like that. I might try to contact someone and see what they say.

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  By Brook, December 19, 2009 @ 6:43 pm

  Let me know if you break the code to finding sponsorships! I haven’t had much luck, but haven’t tried much, either.

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