TNNW, July, 2008, Week 2: Keeping it Simple

This week is dedicated to keeping things simple.

We live in a world where we have choices. It's certainly better than not having any choices whatsoever, but at what price? The answer: simplicity.

I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about "social networking ADD" or "burnout". As we continue to become a highly-connected society on the internet, it's is becoming more commonplace to get a myriad of invitations to join one networking group versus another.

I believe that it is important to view your networking activities in the way you might view your financial investments. Each network to which you belong is an asset that might or might not be working for you at any given time. I recommend to my clients to periodically look at their networking portfolios and review which "investments" are paying off or not. Those that aren't...say goodbye...simplify, simplify, simplify.

To those groups with whom I have spoken, I have stated that for the first time in our lives, we are "kids in a candy store". The only difference from years past is that we have seemingly infinate resources with which to purchase the candy as well as a seemingly infinite amount of candy from which to choose.

When faced with such abundance, the nature of our "game" changes. We are now FORCED TO CHOOSE which candy we want first (there can only be one first - unless you've figured out how to be in two places at once - if you have, call me).

In networking terms, choosing what we want first means knowing our business, having clearly defined objectives and being able to effectively communicate our needs.

Of course, we must also pay close attention to the needs of others, because while we are the "kids" in the candy store, we are also "candy store owners" as well.

Something to ponder this week...moving on...

ANNE BARR, President of Franchise Opportunity Specialist of Dallas, TX is the winner of June's contest. To find out how you can win this month's contest, check out "July's Contest" below!

As always, I look forward to Networking with you...

- Adam
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TNNW, July, 2008, Week 2: Keeping it Simple

Attracting Perfect Customers, Part 2

Power Thought of the Week

By Patricia Parham, Ph.D.
Contributing Writer

Visualize Your Perfect Contact

As you enter your next networking event, stop, stand still and visualize your perfect contact. Be specific about what need they can fulfill for you right now, today. What position do they hold in their company or in the industry to supply that need? How are they the perfect client or collaborator for you right now? Relax. Centered and powerful, be open to meeting exactly the right person at exactly the right time. I’d love to hear how this has worked for you. Email me.

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Attracting Perfect Customers, Part 2

Marketing Your Business on Second Life

Networking Your Website

By Rita Wilhelm
Contributing Writer

Imagine having two lives, one in the real world, and one in a virtual world. What if the marketing efforts that you do in the virtual world, could impact your results in the real world?

Second Life is an online virtual world created by Linden Labs. It’s a place where you can literally live a different life. Buying a house, meeting your neighbors, creating and trading items and services with one another, are just some of the things you can do in this online world. Second Life has over 13 million registered users.

I recently met Torley Wong on Twitter. We started chatting, and I learned about his expertise on Second Life. He agreed to do an interview with me, which I think you will find interesting. Here it is:

Rita: Tell me a little bit about your business.
Torley: I'm the Resident Enlightenment Manager at Linden Lab, makers of Second Life. We're a virtual world where people do just about anything, and that "anything" keeps growing to encompass possibilities unheard of before. You can come in and fall in love (I did), start a business (I've been involved in that too), and go on adventures through varied and vast landscapes that keep growing (I've done lots of that). You might think of them as "3D webpages" but that analogy, like calling a car a "horseless carriage", is falling apart as humans become acclimated to and excited by the wonders.

One of Second Life's key strengths over the material world is resource costs: you don't have to cut down a big forest to build a virtual building. Things can be achieved rapidly, including design prototypes and experimental marketing campaigns.

My job is to shine a light on skills that Residents (customers) of Second Life should know, including matters about commerce, like how to buy/sell stuff and package virtual goods. I'm also known for a series of almost 200 video tutorials covering that awesomeness.

Rita: Can Second Life help a small business gain more exposure? If so, how?

Torley: Yes! I highly recommend visiting http://secondlifegrid.net for more details; but in short, having a virtual world presence in SL can be relatively low-cost, and since it's 3D, literally adds a dimension to your products. Stuff like cars, clothes, and unique products which exist *only* in Second Life all have the potential to sell like hotcakes if you have an effective presence.

Think about how having a website and email address is essential to many businesses, especially if you do knowledge-based work. In the future, Second Life will become more prominent this way, with a key advantage being the social aspects: you and friends can walk around a model of a car, take it for a simulated test drive, and then become interested enough to find it in "real life". So even at the very least, it can build memorable, remarkable, brand awareness of *you* — and like I said, there are many amazing things that are ONLY sold in Second Life (as virtual products/services).

Rita: What are some strategies a small business might take to benefit from their time on Second Life to increase sales?

Torley: Without question, do your research. FIND HOLES NO ONE ELSE HAS FILLED. Look for problems going unsolved, and advertise that you have a fix. It sounds obvious but some companies who flopped in SL didn't understand the medium, or didn't bother to get to know the needs of existing Residents in our communities. Really "getting it" is key to succeeding here. Your approaches may vary depending on your business, but if you have real products that might not translate too well into SL (like food, since we can't taste stuff in a virtual world... yet, although there's certainly no shortage of "pixel food" in this world), consider offering SL exclusives that are useful + fun — what I call "usefun". Such as, a robot avatar (avatars being what "your character" looks like in SL)...

OH! Actually, Paramount had a great amount of success by distributing Iron Man avatars AND allowing them to be modified. They took a risk and it paid off, because Residents thought they were both generous for giving away this freebie to build word of mouth for the Iron Man movie, and it led to viral spread through pictures like this: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ironmansl/pool/

We've had all sorts of "only-in-SL" success stories that aren't possible anywhere else, like a guy who designed animated waves which were distributed across beaches all over SL. Or virtual fashion trends mimicking, then building on "first life" ones like "neko" (catgirls) which are insanely popular in pockets of Japan and growing in North America. Look to international markets, it's easy to bridge them in SL! Physically impossible stuff is often a big hit, too.

In a sentence: go back to your childhood and indulge in what mattered most to you. Others can relate. Avatars don't "need" many things, but the cravings to *want* cool stuff will never cease.

Rita: What are your top 3 tips for someone just getting started on Second Life?

Torley: #1 - Be curious, and indulge. Heard of something eclectic in SL that you've never seen before? Seek it out and learn all about it. Technically, this may be called "market research", but it's more rewarding. Second Life has birthed its own unique cultures which may have first-life analogues (like steampunk and hoboes) and embracing those, or at least getting to understand them and their desires better, is key to succeeding business-wise.

#2 - Make friends fast. After being curious, seek out the people who've made stuff you like (we call them "content creators"). You can learn from and teach them, and build alliances. Some of the most powerful businesses in SL are formed from small groups of friends. Plus, when there's adversity and challenges, having a friend helps to keep you level and cheer up your days.

#3 - Watch my video tutorials! I've taught thousands of old and new Residents skills at http://secondlife.com/video , and I'm also linked to our Knowledge Base — which is like "Second Life's manual". If you hate reading, you'll love my videos because I show you simply what to do, step-by-step. You'll feel more confident and find the inworld experience to be, well, an awesomer one!

Rita: Thanks Torley for the great interview!

I have to say that the interview got me excited about trying out Second Life. I like the fact that you can do experimental marketing campaigns. I think I may give it a try. How about you?

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Marketing Your Business on Second Life

Beware the "Lone Ranger Mentality"

People, Power & Possibilities

By Donna Fisher
Contributing Writer

The "Lone Ranger Mentality" is an attitude of "I can do it on my own". This mentality gets in the way of your effectiveness by limiting the ideas, contributions and support of others. And, oftentimes, the thoughts, actions and behaviors represented by the "Lone Ranger Mentality" are just habits that you have developed over time. And because they are habits they can be upgraded to new, more productive habits. Here are some suggestions for shifting your mindset to create a more interdependent and productive approach to life.




Think about other automatic limiting thoughts that you have that you could shift for yourself:

By developing new "thought habits" you will change your actions, behaviors and way of relating to the world. We are here on this plant together to be of support to one another. Everyone's heard the phrase, "No man is an island" and yet it is still easy to keep ourselves isolated and disconnected. However, your power comes from your ability to connect with others to make a difference. Give up any and all of the "Lone Ranger" thoughts that may be lurking around in your consciousness. Trade it in for a more powerful, productive and fun approach of being interdependent, connected and inclusive.

_____________________________________________________________

Donna Fisher believes in the power of people to connect and communicate to create new possibilities. She is a Certified Speaking Professional, author, drummer, Nia White Belt and business owner. Author: Power Networking, Professional Networking for Dummies, People Power, and Power NetWeaving

www.donnafisher.com
Houston, TX
713-789-2484

Email: Donna

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Beware the "Lone Ranger Mentality"

Would You Like an Apple or a Berry?

By Chris Kauza
Technology Editor

How do you stay in touch with your network? This month I wanted to investigate some of the more popular devices used in networking – especially since we are currently considering upgrading ours.

We are a boutique consultancy, and are finding that we need to be able to text message and instant message more than we have in the past. That means we are not only spending a lot of time talking on the phone, and we are also doing more texting and IMing (instant messaging) while “on the go”.

As for me, I currently have a five year old Motorola Razr. I had a Blackberry Pearl when they first came out, and really enjoyed its features. However, I went back to the razor, because I didn't need the enterprise functionality of the Pearl, and only used it for calls, quick email checks and playing music.

We don't need many of the enterprise-class functions found in Blackberry's offerings. We have been very intrigued by Apple's iPhone and Blackberry's Bold. We've narrowed our considerations down to Apple's newest iPhone and either Blackberry's Bold, Curve, or Pearl.

The iPhone is cool, but we have heard and experienced horror stories where people have not always been able to send e-mails on time, accidentally hanging up phone calls with inadvertent touches on the touch screen, and a menu navigation difficulty while multitasking (i.e. - driving).

Price is relevant but longevity and functionality are more important, as are:

• Ease of use.
• Support.
• Upgradability and Memory capacity.
• Durability.
• Global portability.

Web browsing is interesting at this point, but most uses will be for phone calls (cell and Skype), e-mail, texting, playing games and listening to music.

So what do you do when you find yourself in a quandary? You through the question out to your network.

I started a poll on both Plaxo and Linked and received the following responses:

Issues of sample bias and the like aside, we received a good response rate of statistically significant results, and a number of interesting responses. I thought it was interesting that we received roughly the same number responses from both LinkedIn and Plaxo. Secondly, despite all of the marketing and hype surrounding Apple, I don't see a significant difference between the iPhone and Blackberry. In fact, most (42%) would prefer a Blackberry. Of these, the responses were pretty evenly split between the Pearl, the curve, and the forthcoming bowl.

I also found it was interesting that roughly the same number of total respondents answered either iPhone or undecided. Of the “?Others” 4 people recommended the Treo (remember those?) and 2 recommended Google's Android. We are an Open Source company (as much as possible), and Android is very appealing – but it's still too new for us to adopt across the business.

One of the biggest reasons we are hesitant to get an iPhone is that we would be locked into a service relationship with AT&T – something we really want to avoid. Personally, I have consistently had a horrible experience with AT&T, both with their network reliability and quality, and also with their customer service. It was a painful experience, and one I do not wish to repeat

We currently use T-Mobile and have been very satisfied with what the service. T-Mobile also has a “hot spot” offering, which allows us to make low-cost calls from any T-Mobile hot spot - our offices, Starbucks, United Airline's Red Carpet Club - anywhere there is a T-Mobile hot spot. As the price of data services rise, costs is a consideration when thinking about the number e-mails, text messages, videos etc. that we are likely to be accessing in the coming years.

Why is this process important to networking?

A core aspect to networking is reliable connectivity. It's about the quality of connection. It's about the frequency and reliability of that connection. And this is true whether you're talking about a specific piece of technology, or an individual or company with whom you are trying to do business. If you cannot interact with them, if you cannot stay in touch with them and reach them when you need to, then the value of that contact decreases.

Choosing technology is not just about cool factor or a fashion accessory - much like the iPod has become today. It's about making sure you can connect and interact with those you want or need to, in ways that will help you be successful.

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Would You Like an Apple or a Berry?

Focus on the "Net" and the "Work" Will Come

By Terry Bean
Social Networking Editor

Since my focus is on social networking events currently happening, I need to ask the readership for some assistance. In the spirit of my understanding with TNNW, I shall only advise you on the types of interesting events of which I would appreciate being informed. Alternatively stated, please share events about which you know with me at tbean@networkedinc.com . I hope you agree that it would be cool to see your event promoted nationally ;-)

Here are some of the things I would love to hear more about in you area:

NetQing- combining the fun of the bar-B-que with all the deliciousness or a good networking event (yeah, i wrote it that way intentionally)

Netbocce- very popular in the hills of Italy, and gaining traction in the states. This is where men and women network and (there are a lot of "balls" jokes here, insert your favorite) . Many say it takes balls to network, right?

Netriding- grab your Harley, Honda or Horse and your network and go for a ride. If you're doing this you already know what a great way to build common ground it is.

Netathalon- is your fitness group also part of your network? Can you collaborate whilst competing?

Netplanting- growing trees and your network have a lot in common:

They take time

Need care

Strong roots make for a solid foundation

Netgolf- probably the most popular on the list. Are you incorporating anything special into your golf outing?

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I am looking to forward to hearing about things your networking group is doing to gather and celebrate this summer.

Don't forget to include online gatherings.

Ah, networking in the summer. Don't you just love it?

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Focus on the "Net" and the "Work" Will Come

To Tell The Truth…

By Sian Lindemann
Arts & Entertainment Editor

How many remember the television show from the late 1950’s, early 1960’s, titled “To Tell The Truth.”

It was a game show where the panel of participants all claimed to be the same person, and it was up to the panel of judges to determine WHO was lying.

I was always attracted to that show. “To Tell The Truth,” the title, was what always captured my attention. Perhaps it’s the way the host said the Title name at the introduction to the show, but once I heard “TO TELL THE TRUTH” spoken out loud, I was captivated, however not long enough to maintain my interest in the actual program.

I don’t remember the contestants, and I don’t remember being able to tell who was lying.

I just remember “To Tell The Truth.”

Now 40 years later, I am compelled to share this story with TNNW readers.

It may appear completely “off topic” that I am speaking about this reference to “To Tell The Truth,”…however the very essence of my consulting work opens with an inquiry as I ask my clients to define their “core ideology.” Its the first question on a document of 15 questions. I always give an example of what I mean by “core ideology,” the “why” you do what you do as it relates to a specific art form. WHY do you do it? WHY do you paint? WHY do you sculpt? WHY do you write, etc?

The “why” you do what you do, has to have an authentic answer. The response cannot come from a shallow place in one’s being. It’s the thing that grabs you, wakes you up in the morning, moves you into action, and is, ultimately your reason for being. You might do it unconsciously but the “core ideology is what, ACTUALLY, drives your every action during the day.

When I answered these questions for the first time, I wrote 4 pages filling my notebook with “the answer” until such time as I discovered that my answer had only two words…

Truth, first….then, beauty. What I realized after much analysis, per my own perceptions, speaking the truth, is “for me” the highest form of beauty. It can take an active role in creating art, but the art, is even so much as the simple expression of the words. Speaking authentic, ruthless, truth.

Truth comes to me naturally, and per some who know me well, I have been, most often, referred to as “always a straight shooter.” My delivery has been described as a little hard to handle, but the content is always recognized as authentic.

The subsequent outcome of this expression, and it is certainly almost never a comfortable perspective to be expressing….it seems my view has always been slightly off, off center to the rest of the world’s perception.

What I have come to discover, more profoundly, is that the expression of “my truth” often turns the head of everyone in the room, which has been more frightening than I could endure for most of my life, so I just did not speak up.

Now, with the onset of human desire to be more awake, lets call it the 80’s, more self-aware, more “spiritual”….I realize, now, that I was born with this gift.

I was born with the ability to see through the veil, or for some, a better choice of words…more authentic, less esoteric, is the ability to see through the “bullshit.”

I’ve been aware of it since as long as I can remember being aware of my existence…which the earliest memories are around age 4. I know they are age 4 because, of course, the family photos, demonstrate and capture photographic renderings of times that I can cognitively remember. Mom, of course, told me how old I was….so yes, I wasn’t actually aware of my age, just the moment of awareness, itself.

And what I remember is that I could always “see.” I remember that people talked, but what they said wasn’t what was in their hearts, I could “see” it.

I can’t describe how I could “SEE” it, but there was an awareness in my being, that even being as young as 4 or 5, I was thinking to myself, and I knew it was my “higher” self, that what was being said was complete non-truth.

And I remembered thinking, nearly all of my life, “I can’t wait until I grow up and I don’t have to deal this anymore.” Little did I know that it was not just going to be a unique source and phenomenon of “just” my parents. It, the lack of authenticity, awareness and presence was everywhere. It was like all humans were living in a fog. And I was the only one who was not in the fog.

Now I never had the courage to express these things…out loud. It’s funny to me that I “went along” with the status quo, and then suddenly in 1990 people starting having an overwhelming desire to go to self – awareness trainings.

I was elated, because for the first time in my life, I “felt” that beings were finally meeting beings, and were willing to be the authentic “being” self…it was short lived.

People only remembered for what seemed the time frame up until the end of a week long “intensive” forum, or at most a few days beyond the “intensive,” until such time as their normal practices took over their day and conveniently had them forgetting the authenticity of last week’s work.

OH well.

The reason I bring it up now is that, its HERE again. There is a resurgence in the desire for individuals to expand upon what they learned in the 1990’s. Thank God, I am lucky again to be reminded of that little 4 year old who could remember why I am here. I remember why I came to earth, and I remember that I had a job to do, and I remember that I was going to have wait a really LONG time to finally get to DO what I came here to do.

Isn’t that funny?

To know why you have landed here on earth, but never to have had the full permission to live it out until nearly 45 years later.

I must really have more patience than I think. LOL

Anyway, back to the topic and the reason why I had to explain all of the previous content.

Today, I watched a YouTube Video today, which brought me to tears.

It brought me to tears because I know the man, and I know the Eagle, Challenger, and I know the story of how ART impacted this man, to change his life, immediately 20 years ago, and I know the story of what he did with his life since then, which is the content of the video I viewed this morning. The authenticity of passion, commitment, love, and devotion pour forth from this video content. The love between man and bird is tangible, makes emotion rise, and brings forth tears. It moves us. It moves me.

This is what art SHOULD be. http://www.eagles.org/aefsplash/

Anything less is just “doodling,” you know, “daydreaming.”

MOVE yourself, and I mean literally…let yourself be “moved” by the work you are engaged in. Let it move you into creation. Let that depth of emotion “move” the force with which the paint brush is applied to the canvas.

Selling the work no longer becomes a monumental task. The “movement” becomes a force that attracts your support, your patrons, your buyers, because they, too, wish to be a part of something that is “real.”

Anything less is annoying. And denying this force within oneself, is even MORE annoying, and MOST annoying to me, who “sees” it, and who has to wait for you to realize it.

Take the model, of Al Cecere, and The American Eagle Foundation. Al Cecere was a student and film maker. He was “moved” by a photograph, eagles that had been shot and were left to rot, on a beach somewhere, and were poached for their talons, beaks and feathers. The image was so impactful that he decided to make it his life’s work to save these majestic birds from annihilation.

Steve Metzner / Wildlife Photographer

That kind of passion moves this man, and he is always “on the go, and unlike most conservationists who “talk” about saving something, some kind of wildlife, or water, or something...Al did something different, Al succeeded.

The American Bald Eagle was recently removed from the endangered species list. Now his work is in the development of an endowment, one that will preserve the protection of this species forever.

Pretty powerful work, I would say. What is YOUR “core” and what is the MOST authentic use of your skills and talents as an artist.

Do NOT deny it, and for the preservation of my sanity, Please do NOT wait until “someday.” Do it NOW…and boldly go where no man has gone before…and please, TAKE us with you. Let me see, feel and hear your passion. It’s the only thing, really, that is worth the effort, after all. And if you hide the work in your studio for the rest of eternity, you deny the world the opportunity to feel what I expressed about Al Cecere and his work with The American Eagle Foundation.

The only thing that keeps you ‘hidden’ is fear, and to some degree arrogance. Denying humanity the gift of “authenticity” is selfish. You were given a gift. It’s not just for you. And besides, it is not a gift, until you give it away…(and I don’t mean FOR FREE)

Now, the only question you might ask is HOW do I discover the deeper realm of what is percolating within myself that will reveal my given talents. As you know, there are SO many classes available in regard to self discovery. The only thing I can share with you, is if you are willing to dig to the bottom of your toes to discover your true passions, the teacher or guide who can take you there will show up. Mine, showed up at my door and invited me lunch, now 20+ years ago. I promise.

Lastly, what on earth does any of the content of this article have to do with “networking?”

Al Cecere is, by far, one of the BEST networkers I’ve ever met. He gets the job done, by mingling, asking, and encouraging your support to his agenda. It works, HE works, and the job gets done. The pursuit of one’s passion is WORK, but I would imagine, like the video content here, the MOST fulfilling and inspiring agenda in which one can engage.

(The purchase of the Limited Edition print, Eagle over Oxbow, offers an ongoing % of revenues to The American Eagle Foundation. You may purchase it from my website, http://www.siandesign.com/ CLICK on Portfolio to order)

Thank you for your support, I look forward to “seeing” you.

Sian Lindemann

June 2008

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To Tell The Truth…

A Great Networking Idea from the Bellevue/Seattle eWomenNetwork

By Lori Richardson
Northwest Bureau Chief
(Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska)

By the time this article is published, I will have attended the eWomenNetwork International Conference in Dallas.

As it turns out, nearly 50 local women from the local eWomenNetwork chapter in the Pacific Northwest are making this trek to the annual, 2,500-attendee event with top speakers, great opportunities, and much fun.

One of our members came up with such a brilliant idea that I wanted to pass this along as it works for our group and it may very well work in other ways.

First of all, we have met twice before the big event in mid July. As many of us who could attend did, and we discussed the event for first-time attendees. Last year I was a first-time attendee and I really didn't know any of these women so I pretty much stayed to myself. That doesn't mean that it was boring - quite the contrary. This year, though, I am being more of a "local chapter member" and interacting with my local group.

Here is the idea that Alexis, owner of ZookHooks presented to our group: put together a small business card file for each of our local attendees. At our next meeting, we would all attend with 100 business cards so that each woman would get two of our business cards - one to keep and one to give away, should the opportunity arise.

We met up last week. Alexis and I purchased these great business card binders, which are small, and were $7-$8 each. Everyone bought one and we began an "assembly line", where we passed around each of our books, and so every time a new book came to you, you put in your two business cards together in one of the holder slots. It worked really well.

Now we are armed with not just contact information for all of our counterparts, but the knowledge of what each of us does, and can easily hand out a card when the opportunity strikes.

This is just one more way to be what I call a "master connector" - you can't help someone with something specific, but you know who can.

I will bet that this will be the best conference yet - if anything really exciting happens I'll post a follow up next month.

___________________________________________________________________

Lori Richardson of Score More Sales is a speaker, trainer, facilitator, and writer on sales effectiveness. She is participating in Sales ShebangTop Sales Experts and Business Expert Webinars. Contact her at lori@scoremorsales.com for women sellers in September, and is a member of the

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A Great Networking Idea from the Bellevue/Seattle eWomenNetwork

The Village Effect – Networking in Wales

By Andy Lopata

UK Bureau Chief

In some areas, the ability to network effectively will be a big help to the growth and success of a business. In others it’s not just helpful, it’s simply essential.

Wales is an area where networking is booming at the moment, in particular there has been a growth in the number of new networks opening in the main commercial centres of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. As well as offering more opportunities for local business people to connect with each other, these networks are the key to doing business in these cities for people based elsewhere in Wales, or from across the border.

Always renowned for its sense of community, there remains a strong sense of local identity for businesses in Wales. It’s not just about Welsh companies working with fellow nationals, where you are based in Wales is equally as important.

“In Wales, life is based very much around community, so ten miles counts. It’s tough for Cardiff people to do business in Swansea, or the Valleys above Pontypridd”, says Ian McAllister, a West Country born but Welsh educated and based businessman. “You have to be more network orientated over less. In England I could pitch on a whole region or even national level, in Wales it’s Cardiff at best unless I am introduced. Network and knowing people is EVERYTHING in Wales.”

Despite living in Wales, Ian bases his offices across the border in Bristol to take advantage of the greater population density in surrounding areas. He therefore ensures that he mentions that he lives in Wales as early as possible in his conversations with new Welsh connections.

“I state early in any conversation that I live in Wales – that’s as important as where the business address is. For instance, Bristol based businesses will find it difficult to sell in Wales. Hiring a Welsh home-located salesman or opening a Welsh based office will change the effect dramatically – reputation and being part of the Welsh community is of key importance.”

That’s not to say that Welsh companies won’t do business with others from outside their area. What is clear, however, is that you can’t simply walk in and expect to win business. It is important to immerse yourself in the local networks and build a strong reputation. Once you have done that, the Welsh marketplace can suddenly become a lot more accessible.

Cheryl Bass runs Prosper Business Referral Network. Prosper is a new and exclusive business referral network where membership is by invitation only Prosper currently runs networking groups in Cardiff and Swansea in Wales and Bath in Western England, and Cheryl believes that the openness of Welsh networkers lowers, rather than raises, barriers to trade.

“It is very easy to network in Wales. From what I have experienced to date the Welsh members are naturally inquisitive and interested in other businesses and are so willing to work on developing a wide range of stakeholder relationships. The Welsh scene is very closely knit and individuals recognise the value of supporting one another in achieving success.

“It doesn’t take long to work a route through the system to speak to anyone anywhere in Wales.”

So, if people are so welcoming and inquisitive, why is there still so much focus on local communities? Almost everyone I spoke to told me about the importance of the ‘three villages’ of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport and of the difficulty of doing business outside of your home area.

It seems that there are a mixture of factors at play. Certainly, the geographical make-up of Wales has an effect; as, to a more limited extent, do language differences. Much of Wales is rural, meaning that the population density outside the main commercial centres would not support the range of networking seen elsewhere. Additionally, the Welsh language is more commonly heard in some areas of the country than others, and that provides another, natural barrier to people from outside.

Hedd Adams-Lewis runs Red Dragon Events. Originally based in Tamworth, in the English Midlands, Hedd moved his business back to Cardigan in West Wales last year. Networking locally is, however, difficult for Hedd and most of his efforts are still concentrated in England, or online.

“If you are outside of the 3 major population centres of South Wales then business networking is very much limited to your local chamber of commerce - if there is one! Representatives from business from the three centres are often reluctant and sceptical about venturing outside of their comfort zone and focus their efforts within their geographical area. Businesses from outside these areas are often faced with scepticism as to how worthy or genuine a business they are because they are not based within the major centres.

“The population density and correspondingly business density outside of the three major areas is significantly reduced, especially the further West you venture. A lot of businesses in rural areas would be cynical towards the idea of networking with strangers and struggle to understand the potential value to their businesses – ‘we’ve always done it this way and it’s always worked’ kind of attitude - even though they might be working every hour possible and struggling to make any headway! It’s as if working every possible hour is seen as an honourable thing to do, or a sign of success to the outside world!”

The North/South divide in Wales also comes into play, with the geography of the country making it difficult for business relationships to develop between the two areas. Gareth Davies, a professional speaker based in Cardiff, doesn’t see this changing, despite efforts to bring the two communities closer together.

“North Wales does very little business with South Wales and vice versa. The government has tried to help this situation by providing one off events but the geography of the country is such that it will always be a barrier. Therefore it is far easier for companies in the south to deal with Bristol or London or anywhere in between and for the North Walians to deal with Liverpool and Manchester.”

Political machinations and inter-city rivalries also play a key role in maintaining the village feel of Welsh networking. Ian McAllister feels that this is a major issue and points to problems following the collapse of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce earlier this year as indicative of the wider issues.

“In the solution for a replacement that’s being negotiated, Cardiff people want it their way, while Newport and Swansea don’t want to be seen being wholly consumed as part of Cardiff’s solution for Cardiff’s problems. There is much in-fighting between the communities at many levels – government, socially, business, sport, etc. For inward investment projects, communities will fight and try and out-bid each other – the inter-community politics at times can be awful. It’s no different for business.”

Caroline Newman, of XL Results Foundation, an international network of social entrepreneurs, believes that a result of this inter-city competition is that the Welsh are too inward looking. She believes that the over reliance on government grants and funding has had a negative effect on Welsh business and fostered a dependency culture.

Caroline wants to see a future where Welsh businesses are more outward looking and connecting with business owners all over the globe through on line and off line networking. “This is now a truly global economy and Welsh business owners will miss out on opportunities if they are not actively looking to network and do business with people in the rest of the UK, Europe and worldwide. They will not survive and grow if they only do business with who they know now.”

This inward focus and community structure means that businesses looking to develop markets away from their home area must be prepared to invest time and effort in building strong relationships and, most importantly, trust. What is clear from the discussions I had is the importance of building those relationships city by city. You won’t build a cross-Wales network by focusing your efforts in just one area. Local relationships really do matter.

“While the people in both areas are business focussed, I find over the Bridge (in England), people like to do business first and get to know you afterwards; in Wales it is definitely the other way around”, said Lynne Orton, who runs Business Network, one of the longest established networking organisations in Wales, with networks in Carmarthen, Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff and Newport. .

“In our networking groups in Cardiff and Newport we have had many visitors from England; they have recognised that the Welsh way of doing business is different from the English way, and that is where networking groups come to the fore when trying to break into the business market in Wales.

“There is no great divide between Welsh & English businesses; but particularly in Wales people like to do business with people they know – and if they get to know you through networking they will be comfortable working with you.”

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The Village Effect – Networking in Wales

One Networking Team…Ten+ Years of Membership – Now THAT is Commitment!

By Anne Kelley
Southeast Bureau Chief
(the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi)

I wonder how many of us have made the kind of commitment to a networking team that several members of the Buckhead PowerCore Team have made. I was a member of this team nearly ten years ago. Imagine my surprise when recently talking with a current member of this team to learn that five of the members I had known were still on the team. I began to wonder what made this kind of “stick-to-itiveness” possible. This team has had an average of 30 members and meets in a part of the city that is full of tall buildings and business is booming!

Looking at a list of the members, one realizes that the team is very strong in B to B members. Also in looking through the business categories represented I realized that the more personal services that were represented were the kinds of services that busy business people would need.

A phone call to Wendy Kinney, www.PowerCore.net founder, gave me the insight into the team member’s commitment. Success! -- Both for the long term members as well as this team. It sounds simple…almost too simple. These teams meet weekly at 7:00 a.m. There is an attendance policy to maintain membership, so no sleeping in! If you are going to join a PowerCore team you better be serious about networking and supporting your team. There is a wonderful structure in place for each team, active membership participation in leadership roles and a lead tracking system that rewards those members that are working to recruit and support team members.

The first part of the meeting is about education. Each person, including guests, has one minute to tell everyone attending about their business, ending with, "A good referral for me is..." The idea is not to "pitch" the people at the table. Next two Members of the Team give 7-Minute presentations, where they share more detailed information about their businesses.

Following 7-Minute presentations, there is a Referral Trigger exercise. Everyone on the team will answer to the same question. The question changes every week, and the Participation Coordinator will announce the question, so you have a chance to think of an answer. The final part of the meeting is passing referrals. Team Members pass referrals to each other, and you hear invitations to coffee and lunch.

If you are struggling with finding your place to network, I would encourage you to visit the PowerCore website and read some of Wendy’s articles and reading recommendations. Every networker has a different idea about what works, but considering all the options and input from the experts while evaluating the true “cost” of networking is a good investment of your time.

Please let me know of interesting and successful networking opportunities in the Southeast. I would love to contact them for an interview and spotlight in my column.

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One Networking Team…Ten+ Years of Membership – Now THAT is Commitment!

TNNW, July, 2008, Week 1: Bon Voyage Pour Les Emonds

I have gotten to meet some rather extraordinary people since I started this wonderful publication back in February, 2005. Between my writers and those pioneers of this emerging industry we call Networking, I have worked with some tremendous people and have no doubt that up until now it's been just the "tip of the iceberg".

Kathy and Louis Emond are no exception. The three of us were saddened when the happily married couple broke the news to me that they would no longer be writing for us as New England Bureau Chiefs since they would be moving to the Carolinas (hard to talk about New England when you're in the Southeast). And while they weren't the first New England Bureau Chief (or Chiefs - wherefore art thou, Bill Perrier?), they broke one interesting mold for us: we got a great "two for one deal" with them. Yep...from day one, I knew that wherever one Emond went, the other would go as well when it came to The National Networker. And whenever I listed their names, Louis was always there to remind me to put Kathy's name first.

Since November, 2006, we have been happy to have the Emonds as part of TNNW's family. We will miss them and are proud to bring you their last article with us this month. We hope you enjoy it. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU KATHY AND LOUIS!!!

Stay tuned for next month when we will be introducing our new New England Bureau Chief - yes we are fortunate to have one lined up already!

We are also slowly but surely moving into the 21st Century here at TNNW Central, as we will be posting our articles directly to our blog and better utilizing the functionality that it affords us. Don't worry, the website will remain the same and just link to the articles on our blog, however, there are some neat new changes: 1.) We have a widget! This means that if you have your own blog or website, you can get The National Networker Widget to see our great content as it's posted! 2.) If you're a Facebook user, you can now get the new TNNW Application to grant you access to our content as well. 3.) Also on Facebook is The National Networker fan page...join us, won't you 4.) Since we're more "bloggified" than ever, you can better utilize RSS Feeds as well as FeedBurner to be alerted whenever we post new content!

In all, not much should change. We just wanted to make it easier for our fans and subscribers to get access to the latest in networking news. Thank you one and all for being with us!

It's time again to announce the June, 2008 winner of our popular contest. Who won? How do you win this month's contest? What do you win? Check out "July's Contest" below!

As always, I look forward to networking with you...

- Adam

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TNNW, July, 2008, Week 1: Bon Voyage Pour Les Emonds

Attracting Perfect Customers, Part 1

Power Thought of the Week

By Patricia Parham, Ph.D., Contributing Writer

Clarify Your Company’s Mission

If your company operates without a mission statement, you’re ignoring a valuable free resource. The clarity of the mission attracts like energies from the universe. A mission tells: What you do and how is it unique; For whom your services are perfect; and How or Where you provide these products. When you are crystal clear about your mission, you’ll more effectively attract the right contacts and make your company more powerful. Need a mission clarity check? Email your mission statement to me.
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Attracting Perfect Customers, Part 1

Important Characteristics of a Relationship mindset - Strategy two

"Beyond Networking" Being with Ron Sukenick

Ron's section is sponsored by SmallBizAmerica.com




From the book – The Power is in the Connection

Everywhere I go people often ask what the important characteristics of a relationship mindset are.

And after careful thought, I decided to tell people. After you review, if you have some additional thoughts please be sure to email me at the address below.

Enjoy!

Important characteristics of a relationship mindset:

ATTENTIVE: You pay attention to the relational needs and respond accordingly. From dressing for the proper occasion to listening three times as much, you attend to what is necessary in the moment.

RESPONSIVENESS: Provides prompt response or communicates challenges and or delays in a timely manner.

ASSURANCE: Demonstrate your expertise, and communicate areas where you are not an expert. Identify and or recommend other experts when needed to help you to deliver the quality product or service.

EMPATHY: Listening to the needs, emotions, and challenges and finding understanding within you of the other person’s perspective and situation.

DISCERNMENT: Choose actions based on your ability to determine and distinguish that which is “right” or appropriate based on all the factors at hand. The ability to sort through many variables to grasp and comprehend what is not readily obvious or visible.

Interact with VULNERABILITY and appropriate DISCLOSURE.

Demonstrate INTERPERSONAL skills that foster acceptance and partnership.

CONTINUOUS LEARNING by attending workshops, seminars, discussion groups to IMPROVE skills and SELF PERFORMANCE; always learning.

FOCUSED on HELPING others and receiving help.

Provide GUIDANCE to others

SHARE knowledge eagerly.

Make REFERRALS with no intention of personal rewards back to you.

Keep in mind the following:

From my personal experience and my work in relationship coaching, it has become very clear that our characteristics are constantly changing in interaction with one other person. To illustrate this, I am using Human Cells as a metaphor to illustrate character traits. A cell is the simplest unit of living matter working together with trillions of other cells in an organized manner for the benefit of the total being.

Like human cells, all of the diverse characteristics that make up one human being are beyond comprehension. Like cells that participate in who we are physiologically, our characteristics also participate together to make up how we show up in relationship! The composition and number of cells constantly change as cells fall off and new ones are created. The same is true for character traits. They constantly change or fall away in relationship to another person, situation, and the environment.

It is the intention of this strategy to help you think about character traits that work together in an organized manner for the benefit of the relationship; become aware of characteristics that are not helpful to the relationship, and those that are.

This is what this illustration points to. What are your characteristics? Good or bad, uncovering these traits will help you see yourself better. Many of these characteristics are hidden. You heighten your awareness of them in relationship. When a relationship is trending negatively, when you are triggered, when you feel competitive with another, when you are told you are not trusted, or when you do not trust another—these are opportunities to discover hidden character traits. It is up to you to develop your ability to bring to light character traits that are surfacing.

Like human cells that fall off, the death of a character trait may occur when you find you no longer need it. Perhaps in the past, you have valued competitiveness as a character trait. While there is nothing wrong with healthy competition, you may be finding that the competitive trait is not useful to you if you are truly working toward the benefit of another or the mutual benefit of the relationship. Perhaps you are finding that there is a character trait that you do not possess that would be beneficial to the relationship. What is it? Simply heightening your awareness of this character trait may help you form or bring it forward.

If you are forming a relationship or partnership only for financial gain and your own personal success, it will be very challenging for you to obtain relationship success and impossible to reach a mutual outcome.

Saying this from another angle--some experts on character might tell you what characteristics you “should” possess. The objective here is to help you amplify your existing characteristics and help you simply see yourself better in relationship. Think about a relationship that is not working so well right now. What character traits are surfacing for you in relationship with this person? Now, think about a relationship that is working very well. What character traits are surfacing for you in relationship with this person? This ongoing stepping back, and observing or witnessing yourself in relationship, will heighten your awareness of self and help you mindfully choose the character trait or traits most beneficial to the relationship. And, will help you to do your personal work as you watch patterns of behavior or traits over time that get in the way of relationship.

Identify relationships that would be better served if you intentionally brought different traits into the relationship. As you reflect on this strategy, what action steps will you take to further your understanding of your character and apply traits to a specific relationship?

Ron Sukenick is the Chief Relationship Officer and founder of the Relationship Strategies Institute, a training and Relationship development company that provides innovative, effective and relevant programs and systems for corporations, organizations, and associations. To learn more about the value of Relationship Development, visit his Web site at www.Ronsukenick.com . You can reach Ron by phone at: 317-216-8210, or by email.

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Important Characteristics of a Relationship mindset - Strategy two