build your beautiful self

I was going through and thinking about different ideas and ways to generate new business the last couple of days. Reflecting on what works and doesn’t work in generating relationships that help further my mission in life. The recurring theme is the networking I do! I have watched many people over the years run in the same circles, with the same people, for the same purpose. After a while that well that is your circle, runs out. There are only so many things one group of people can accomplish together, only so much money in the circle, only so many perspectives on life and business. You have to expand!

I have recently made changes to the way I network with people. I realized that I ran in a small circle, and that there are so many more people out there with the same goals that I have that don’t incorporate themselves into a specific group of people! There are so many “secret agents” out there that don’t network enough or don’t want people to know what they do. They don’t want new-to-the-business people hounding them for advice or to work with them. They just want to go about their day-to-day and live their lives. This is perfectly fine!

The one thing you have to remember though, is that you are obligated to share your gifts and talents with the world! If you have something that you are passionate about and that you can offer up as a tool to help one another, why wouldn’t you share it!

So networking, why is it so important??

1. It gets your uniqueness out in the world! You are special! You have a gift! You are obligated to share that gift! If you want your business to succeed, you have to share it! Not just share it half ass, you have to shout it from the rooftops! Be proud of who you are and what you do!
2. You never know what you need until you need it! What if you are running through daily life and all of a sudden you run into a hiccup? What if you have no idea that this hiccup is even a possibility and therefore have no idea what to do? If you have been doing a good job networking, you should have a person in your contact list that has the knowledge base to help you! Reach out! Worst you can get is a no, and then you can move to another resource, but resources are why you are networking in the first place!
3. It brings a personal touch to business and relationships! We are so caught up in no longer having personal connections with people. We would rather email or text then answer the phone. On one hand, this method is good for being sure that you are censored when you speak, but on the other hand, being genuine and uncensored is what makes you more relatable! People like to see others that can speak from the cuff and even if you make mistakes in conversation, it still shows you are human!
4. It helps build your brand! How are people going to know about your business if they just go to a website? Bringing your passion out when conversing with people really shows what kind of company you are and what your goals are. It is so much easier for people to recommend you as a solution if they know that passion is behind the business.

These are just some of the reasons networking is so important! I know that there are so many types of people in the world. People who are comfortable in front of people, people who think live conversation is the devil, and a wide range of everyone in between. I can’t begin to stress the importance of this part of owning a business though. Networking is the key for opening up so many opportunities!

I know you are probably thinking that it is easy for someone like me to talk about networking because I am sitting here writing about it and I am always out in the open about what I do, but I want you to know that it took a while for me to get to this stage in the game!

About 6 years ago, I needed to make a change in life. I was venturing out of one field of work into a completely different type of work. Complete 180 change for me!
I knew what my weakness was, fear of rejection. I decided that if I was going to be successful in any field where I am working with people, I had to get over that. I figured the best way to do that was to get into a job where sales and rejection was 90% of the job lol! I went to work with a company that sold office supplies! The worst/best part of the job was that we were required to walk into every single business in a 6 block radius and try to sell printers and paper. Boy was that an experience. I wanted to share this because I was surprised that I was able to close 50% of the time when I was in front of a decision maker for the company and getting there wasn’t easy. I quickly realized that it wasn’t as painful to be rejected as I thought and it wasn’t me they were rejecting, it was the thing I was pushing. I had a lot of great conversations with people and even though they said no most of the time, I was still able to communicate with them (well except for the 70’s afro guy that threatened to call the police on me if I didn’t leave the office immediately).

Jump forward to after that time in my life was complete. I wanted to learn everything I could about my chosen field so I could make the big leagues like the people I was reading about. I go to a meeting with 150 people there. Yes it was overwhelming because I thought everyone there was smarter than me. I stayed back and watched the people interact, all their mannerisms, and listened to the conversations they were having. Then the meeting started. I was so compelled at the end of the meeting to really push myself in the field that I decided to talk to people!

I started finding out that half the people there were new like me, a quarter of them were in the early stages and hadn’t done much yet and the other quarter were doing quite well! I met people and started building resources for myself.

I had to step outside my comfort zone and push myself to talk to people on several occasions! Now it comes much easier for me.

Getting ideas for new ways to network is easy if you take the time to sit down and really think about it. If you need a jump-start, here are a few to get you going:

1. Find a group that is focused on the things you are interested in! There are so many online resources to find groups that do what you do and talk about what you do. Get yourself in the door and go to the meetings!
2. Talk to random people! Striking up a conversation with a stranger is easy if you take a minute to compliment them on something that is genuine! “I love your shoes!” “I saw how wonderful you were in that situation, wow!” Something to break the ice on a good note! Then seek to find something that you can relate to! Allow them to talk!
3. Pick up a hobby or go to the gym and introduce yourself! It is easier to chat if you have similar interests!
4. Go with your friends to events they enjoy!
5. Take classes!
6. Ask for referrals! You never know who knows someone who knows someone who could use your type of product/service/whatever!

Networking will not only build your business, but it can also improve the quality of your life. You will meet so many people with diverse backgrounds. It really is an eye opener to the inaccuracies that you have in your mind about people! My husband always says people are people. Everyone eats, everyone bleeds, everyone puts one pant leg on at a time. Try to remember that when getting courage to talk to people. you never know who needs you at any given moment in time so be out there talking!