Entrepreneurial Networking with Lydia Sugarman
I continue to be blown away by the great people I have the privilege of interviewing for this monthly column. I hope you enjoy this month’s installment.
Sincerely,
Lydia
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1. Please tell us about yourself, personally and professionally. Where did you start out? Where are you now? Where are you headed?
Loaded questions! I've got more facets than a diamond. I find it hard to talk about myself these days because of the breadth of items I find myself in. I hope I found a somewhat middle-ground stream that works.
I'm Andy Ciordia and I have referred to myself as a highly driven creative soul. The line between personal and professional has never been blurrier. I've been the artist, photographer, skydiver, personal trainer, agricultural advocate and a lot more. I'm a husband, laying the foundation for a family and working close with much of my extended family. I love experiences and have long believed in living life, not just watching it go by.
Professionally, I started in computers at a young age and had a natural affinity for problem solving. I found programming too dry and switched into fine arts for a good number of years. Never staying far from technology I continually fell back into it, from graphic design, systems engineering, to enterprise level technology management.
Currently I find myself running on multiple tracks.
Slow Food CharlotteI participate as the director of technology for Slow Food Charlotte, a chapter of the national and international Slow Food movement. We're trying to educate and build programs that help support Good, Clean, and Fair foods. Awakening consumers to the realities of our food systems and helping bring us back from the brink is hard work but inspiring.
Nuance Labs, inc.
Always close to technology, my best friend and I started Nuance Labs, inc. It was initially started as an application development company targeting solutions for the productivity community. Unfortunately, you learn a lot in your first major endeavor and our lessons included handling partners, momentum, investors, and what happens when everything is mistimed.
Every failure is a lesson and we try to learn from them. While our labor of love has had to take a back seat while we keep capital in the company we're still dedicated to finishing our initial project, Liquid Minded. At this time, we help small businesses understand today’s technology and how it applies to them. Leveraging that tech to get them further online and talking with the communities out there. It's been a lot of fun.
The Secret Chocolatier
The Secret Chocolatier is one of my personal favorites. What happens when an untimely job loss of a family pastry chef and a thought to make a family company come together? For us, it was finding a passion in artisanal chocolate and working it from the grass roots up. My father- and mother-in-law, with my wife and I, started the delicious idea and we've been vetting it at the local markets in the community. We've been growing our base and having a blast doing it.
To help matters, I've applied my tech background to their cause and our main shop is coupled with a target blog, Homemade Chocolate - The Secret Chocolatier's Diary. We also have a Twitter account that has been fun to get more in touch with like-minded chocophiles (@secretchocolate). Like with anything it is taking time to root but the benefits are starting to show their potentials and we are really excited.
Now the trick will be figuring out how to convert our market sales and momentum into a sustainable brick-and-mortar establishment. I wish the country were in a better state as I feel that no matter how profitable we are, this will be a harder
endeavor than it should be.
I've got more going on but I could bore your audience if I continue. Follow me on Twitter (@ciordia9) if you want to get further into who I am and what I am up to.
2. What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
Keeping your feet firmly in touch with the earth (ready to run) and your head on a swivel looking for where opportunity is going to be. My wife and I took up ballroom dancing over the last year and I find a lot of analogies when it comes to being aware of life's rhythms, being a good leader, and having ideas and notions for how to do more with what you have, or where you find yourself to be.
3. Many people I’ve met have told me they were influenced at a very early age to follow the entrepreneurial path. What set you on an entrepreneurial path? Do you think entrepreneurs are “born”? Can it be learned?
Most anything can be learned. We are amazing creatures that are blessed with an adaptability almost unheard of in nature. It just takes willpower.
I was raised in a divorced family but one that had a great relationship. My father is a Doctor and always encouraged me to be better, do more, and know that the world was mine if I applied myself. My mother was the nurturing kind, sheltering but at the same time would raise me up when she knew I needed it. Looking back I don't think I was prepared for just how hard one has to work to achieve, but as long as you pay attention and don't let setbacks slow you down, you will achieve personal success.
The only thing I am not sure if it is learnable or is just part of your makeup is willpower. You can have all the desire in the world, but if you don't have the will to make it happen, it never will. I've coached a number of people from personal training to productivity and when people have that inner fire (whether they know it yet or not) they end up achievers.
4. What makes an entrepreneur? What makes entrepreneurs different? What do you think sets entrepreneurs apart?
Agility. You have got to be able to flow with the situations life kicks out at you if you are going to survive in the market. Many people stay in their sheltered positions and when times are tough they have a serious crisis. An entrepreneur, successful or rising, every day can bring some serious fireballs. I think we get used to handling dynamic issues of the day and good market or bad we are able to find what needs to be done where.
5. Have you ever experienced a seminal networking moment that impacted you as an entrepreneur?
I try and look back and find something monumental but I find a peppering of knowledge all around. My father’s charisma, Guy Kawasaki's momentum and leadership, global leaders who get behind a cause with the roar of approval of a large crowd.
6. What have you found to work well when networking? What caveats can you offer?
We teach this a lot to our Nuance Labs’ clients because everyone always gets this wrong on the first try. Networking is about relating to others and sharing things you find valuable that they will too. For some reason when you sit a newbie down to communicate, this hard salesman comes out of them and they want to SELL SELL SELL. What?! Where did the great person we were just talking to go? Where did the stories about your kids, your trip, your life, just go?
It's all about value. This is the beginning of the era of transparency, if you are not ready for it, don't play, but it's so easy to play. Share who you are, share why you are passionate about what you do, what you sell. Show the benefits but don't overdo it. The classic “treat people how you would like to be treated” is still how it should be. It's about building relationships.
7. What networking lessons can we learn from the way entrepreneurs operate?
Look, listen, and be proactive not reactive.
8. How can thinking like an entrepreneur give one an advantage in the networking and in general?
You're an opportunity hunter. It's not just about business, it's about life. How can you help others and how can you be aligned to be helped? I forget the author who said luck doesn't happen, it's about positioning yourself at the right place, at the right time, to create the opportunity. Don't scheme for it, just engage your passions and relationships and the puzzle pieces have a natural way of coming together.
9. How do you network? (You can read this several ways, I know. Please choose how you’d like to respond.)
On a physical level I work with groups and causes that I love and this brings me in contact with hundreds of people who share my passions. I've tried to get involved with local business groups but for the most part they usually feel like old school networking events that are a bit hit-or-miss and feel more surface than engaging. Not that they aren't a method to use but everyone’s community is going to be different.
Digitally I engage on as many levels as I can from social media like Twitter to group building on Facebook. There can be a huge signal to noise issue you have to deal with but if you are about communicating and relationship building you can get good and fast at juggling the information stream. Now that our local social media groups are large enough we crossover to a lot of physical MeetUps as well. It's great to be a part of engaging communities.
10. What’s one secret you can share for successfully leveraging networking to build success into our businesses?
Be human. Sounds too simple doesn't it? Be a friend, care, share, and engage. Has it ever been this easy? With practice and care everyone has natural charisma, use that to start great things. Back it up with responsibility and follow through and you can't go wrong. Don't be afraid to ask for help or advice. As I said earlier, listen. Don't just hear, listen. Integrate, respond well.
10b. #1 Networking Don’t
Don't, don't, DON'T, hard sell people. The best way to sell is how your best friend sells you on something. They know you, they know your likes and dislikes and generally only sell you things you have an interest in. If there is no interest, isn't it a waste of time and energy trying to convert someone? With the amount of people online and in the world you can better spend your time finding those people with natural affinities.
11. Finally, what’s coming up in the next few quarters for you and your ventures? How can we meet up with you?
My technology business needs to find its calling in consulting so we can generate the capital to re-engage our primary passion of productivity. When you are so close to the finish line it really is painful to know that you have a beautiful project in cold storage.
The family wants to see The Secret Chocolatier turn into a physical shop and grow as best it can. As long as we keep it artisanal and pour our passion into great products I think we're in for some fantastic fun!
With everything else I apply energy for progress. Combine that with working with great people and there can only be great things ahead! I can be found plastered all over the net (http://claimid.com/ciordia9) and am as accessible as they come. If I can ever be of help from technology to friendly thoughts, feel free to reach out.
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