NETWORKING WAHM

Network anywhere and everywhere! Just about anywhere you go, can become a great moment to spread the word about your business. Ask others what they do, tell  them about what you do and what your business is about.

I recently took a trip to see family. During the sit and wait time at the airport, I networked as much as I could. I feel the contacts I made gave me some good business advice and leads on some of the resources, which I need. Great contacts can some from just about anywhere why not the airport talking with other travelers.  Business people are very interesting to talk with and you learn just by listening. You both have the time just to sit and talk. Be it in the airport or on the plane use the time wisely!

The easiest way and the most effective way to network is directly.

Often business contacts, family, friends, and neighbors are all interconnected through  you.  We all network without even thinking about networking. We’re so great at networking on a social level. We give out or friend’s business cards to other friends and say “I know someone, a friend of mine,  who does what your looking for” We’re  great at networking on a social level for our friends businesses, why not combine it all together?

Have a lunch with your friends, ask each one bring a business contact, which they have experience working with. Ask they bring a contact, they would really like others to meet. Why not take some of your own business contacts! Bring the ones you are already thinking could benefit from meeting your friends and your friends would benefit from!

A Connections Lunch!

Lunch is a wonderful setting to meet others. It’s short enough and long enough to get a feel for the group and exchange business cards. Lunch is perfect, because if you really need to get somewhere you can excuse yourself and casual enough to do so.

Those of you who sell products, could even supply door prizes, as an incentive to take time out of our busy schedules to attend a lunch. The following lunch, another person could supply the door prize that way you all learn about each others’ products. You get the idea.

I know these groups already exist. I have looked into it and most groups you pay a yearly fee or a monthly fee (a small business itself) You could do it yourself for free with separate checks!

As a small business person, I have not paid to join a contact group, for a few reasons.

1. I love connecting through my friends. If my friend  likes and trusts a contact to refer me, chances are I will like them as well. Word of mouth advertising is the best, friends have great connections to draw from.

2. Cost vs. Benefit. I have a small business and I have to think of my costs at all times in this economy. Joining a few of these groups could be costly.

Lunch anyone?

Networking WAHM

Hiring an online Business “Expert” – Many people in the world today are trying to make money in all different ways. Your trying to make money online or you may be interested in it, correct?

In my opinion, there are two types of business people in the world. The real ones and the  scam people.  The real business people are very honest and open about their business and they have selected goals.  Real business people select certain areas to excel in, develop them and become great in select areas. Often they work on a few projects at a time and  work till completion.

Real business people tell what their expertise is.  If they don’t know about a topic, they’ll tell you. When they are not familiar with a topic and don’t know an answer,  they’ll often research it for you, because they want to know the answer.  Often getting back with you with the answer. (A good Networking Tip for you : You can become a true friend and great contact by doing this for others)

The real ones will their build their knowledge base and share it with everyone. (A good Networking Tip, it builds real connections) Networking comes in by sharing your own knowledge base, you build a great network of like minded people to bounce ideas off of and share.  You both grow professionally. Exactly what I do everyday. I try to learn as much as I can to help others.

The scam people will say they’re an expert in everything to get your money. Scam people willl be an expert on everything from A to Z (E-commerce, Site Analysis,  SEO, Coaching, Affiliate Marketing, Social Networking, Direct Sales, Advertising, Shopping Carts, Virtual Assistants, etc)

Believe me when I say,  being on online is so complicated and complex, you can’t be an expert in it all. The fact is the trends change and the what people are doing online is always changing.  If someone is saying their an expert it all, STAY AWAY. Th fact is,  most of the people who I know who work with online businesses  specialize in a few areas of concentration. Having concentrated for years on the same thing and really building their knowledge base. Be it SEO, Affiliate Marketing, Virtual Assistant, Coaching, etc. To be truly great you need to really focus on a few topics, learn and watch constantly the changes which are happening.

You know the scam people want your money, just be smart.

I guess what I want to say is, be careful and educate yourself first.  Use good online resources or  go to the library or bookstore for a few hours and sit and read. Learn about certain topics. Start with the topics which you are in the most need of knowing about.

Money Saving Tip:  Educate yourself first on topics and you can spot the scam people and have your questions ready to interview potential consultants!

If  you want to learn about how to increase your  SEO. Start first by try to build up your own SEO number yourself. Free ways exist to increase your SEO number. If you want to improve  your SEO and what your are doing currently is not working, you have researched and try it all. Then find someone who is a SEO specialist.

I would talk to you local contacts first, ask them who they have used as a consultant. Ask about which books they have read on the topic. You may be able to do it yourself, if does take time. Blogging helps your numbers and there are SEO keywords. On topics to do with being online, there are “go to guys or girls”on it all. Your local contacts may know of someone in your area you can talk to or someone online they trust.

Be smart. Good luck. Please don’t get ripped off.

The large learning curve exists, but it can be overcome with baby steps and learning everyday.Invest the time, learn yourself and you’ll Thank me.

Hang in there and read, read, read.

Networking WAHM

So you can follow Networking WAHM.com on Facebook.  See you there, ask me questions and give me input. Just remember I am on mom time, I might not get back to you right way.  Same rules apply as to the site kindness, realness, and honesty count.

Sincerely,

Networking WAHM

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Networking-WAHM/112652765425945?ref=ts

A Networking Fundraiser is an event to help a nonprofit or charity organization.

I previously have taken part in a networking fundraiser and it was a wonderful event and worked well for all involved.  The goal in doing this type of event is many fold.  Everyone wins in some way.  The charity or nonprofit wins with increased revenues raised by the event.  You can donate or give a part of you earnings from the event to the charity or nonprofit. We each donated part of our earnings from the event, but you can set yours up how ever you like.

You win because your goal of networking with new customers and meeting new business contacts is achieved. You also win by meeting new people who may have never heard of your products or services before.  You are touching whole new market of people by having this one event.

To organize an event find a nonprofit group, suggest having one to them.  There are millions of  charities to choose from.  Find one near and dear to your heart.  Maybe someone in your family has an illness, start there you’ll be more vested in the success of the event.

We held ours in a local church for free.  The one which I was involved with had direct sales people, small businesses, and other non profits organizations.  I offered some products at a  greatly reduced price and the difference was given to the nonprofit, also.   We even held raffles at the event with the proceeds going to the nonprofit.  We offered some combination baskets with a mix of all of the vendors products.

Try it may help your business. Did  I mention the tax write off? I know you may really like that part as well.

Pick a charity or nonprofit and give it a try.

Have a Networking Day,

Have you ever had one? I have had several lately.  I have found easy ways and free ways to network. Yes, I said free! Social Networking sites are great for networking. You can find others with similar interests to yours by joining the groups on the social sites.  A warm non pushy introduction is the best way to get to know others in the group.  Once you know the others in the group and they know you some,  you can start networking.  You can  send them a message about your business and offer your services or help.  Even better yet, ask them about their business as a conversation starter.  I usually ask if anyone is a Wahm like me, if it is a parenting type group or small business group.

I recently ordered a gift for a family member from a local business.  I looked it up online because it’s easier for me to compare businesses and products. It turned into a networking moment, because we live in the same area, there was an instant trust. I called the company to follow up on my order after I placed it.  I asked about her business. I told her I like her products and I told her about my businesses. I complimented her on her shopping cart and website (Which she did, herself.  I was impressed and told her so) and the conversation grew.  There are many honest good business owners out there. Share with other business owners and learn from them. During the process of networking and growing your own business.

Networking Wahm

A Great product and No Customers,

As you may have already guessed, I have a passion for networking.  Many of my friends are very creative business people with great products.  The key here is they are very creative and business people.  One often over rides the other, the creativity time over takes the time to run a business. Often what happens, the time needed for the creative juices  to flow, takes away time for running a business.  So they have a website, Great products and No customers.  AH, that’s were the networking comes in.  Networking doesn’t have to be dull, so use your creativity on the networking part as well.

Networking Wahm

Shopping, deals, prizes and leftovers!

Sounds like a perfect day to me. Sitting at home, eating turkey sandwiches with a side of cranberries. MMM, can’t wait

The Holiday Wrap party kicks off Friday Nov. 27 (Black Friday) with vendors from 6 companies showing us some of their best gifts to give for the holidays. There are always special deals for attendees that aren’t posted on the the vendor pages. But it doesn’t stop there…

Our Holiday Shoppes have incredible specials for the entire weekend. If you can’t make it to our live event, you can still take advantage of some great deals. Many of our Holiday Shoppe Companies have Black Friday only deals or specials just for our Mom Chats visitors!

Why get up early and run around in the cold on Black Friday? Stay home, cuddle up with your computer and enjoy some great shopping and deals from home.

Online Networking – Streamline the Process to Save Time

By DeAnna Troupe

Online networking is an awesome way to get new clients. However, it can be difficult to handle all of the invitations and manage all of the connections. Here are some steps to help you streamline the online networking process.

1. Use templates whenever possible.
There are many tasks that you do over and over again. You send invitations, thank you notes, and updates. You can save yourself time if you create a template letter in word or notepad. This way instead of having to think of what you want to write, you can just copy and paste the letter.

2. Outsource the tasks.
You can also save yourself time in your online networking by outsourcing your online networking tasks. There are virtual assistants that specialize in contact management. Since you have created templates, you can just email these files to your virtual assistant and have her send those emails out.

3. Designate a certain amount of time to spend on online networking.
Another way to save time networking is to only allot a certain amount of time per day to network. Only do your networking tasks once or twice per day.

4. Set up a separate email account that you use just for online networking.
If you belong to a lot of online networks the amount of email messages that you get can get overwhelming. I have a different email account set up that I only use for networking. This way my invitations don’t get lost among other email messages.

Online networking is a great free way to get new clients. Use the steps I mentioned above to streamline your online networking efforts.

DeAnna Troupe is a virtual assistant. Claim your free ecourse on traffic generation today by going to http://www.deannaspencer.com/list.html

Yes we are work at home moms (WAHM) but that doesn’t mean that we can’t work our businesses locally.  Here are 7 great tips for jumping out of your comfort zone and really furthering your business.

7 Ways to Build Strong Networking Relationships

By Kim Isley
1) Go out of your way to welcome new members and visitors

We all know how difficult it can be to walk into a room full of people we don’t know, and we all know how comforting it can be to have a friendly person welcome us right away and put us at ease. Remember that as a member of a networking group you are not only representing yourself, but you are also representing the group. It benefits all of us to promote the group in a positive way and attract new members. If you make an extra effort to welcome new members and visitors you will be encouraging new membership, creating goodwill, and making a special connection with a person who will probably remember you for being so kind when they joined.

2) Come early and stay late

When you plan some time before and after a meeting to mingle and visit, you open space up for good things to happen and deep conversations to take place. Conversely, when you feel rushed people will sense your stress and will be less likely to approach you. The 20 minutes before and after a meeting is the perfect time to further build relationships with people you already know, and make new connections with people you don’t.

3) Support other members’ events and workshops

A lot of time and energy goes into planning an event or workshop, and supporting other members by attending one is sure to build your relationship with them. Many events like open houses and seasonal parties are free, and some members are willing to trade for the admission to their workshops that have a fee. When you go out of your way to attend the events and workshops of other members, it gives you a better understanding of what that member offers, gives you an opportunity to meet new people, and the member giving the event or workshop will be more likely to support you in the same way in the future.

4) Make coffee dates

Inviting a group member to coffee is the perfect opportunity to build a new relationship. Approach the date with the goal of finding out a lot about them rather than just promoting yourself and your business. You never know what you will discover about someone, and chances are you will find some way you can help each other in your business or personal lives.

5) Refer, refer, refer

Each of us has an extensive network of friends, family, co-workers, business associates, and community members we know and talk with on a regular basis. Chances are, during any given day one of those people in your network needs something a group member offers. When you are talking to people, always carry your mental rolodex of members with you, and think of that list first when you sense the opportunity to make a referral.

6) When in doubt, ask questions

Networking with strangers often feels difficult and awkward for many people. When you feel weird about approaching someone new at a networking meeting, a really great way to build a relationship almost instantly is to ask questions about the person you are approaching. People generally like to talk about themselves, and they will think of you in a positive light because you expressed interest in them first. And, often you will find out something interesting that can help you continue the conversation.

7)Volunteer

Networking groups are sometimes member supported and member run, creating a need for many jobs to be filled by volunteers. Volunteering for a board position or greeter at a meeting not only supports the group as a whole and makes you more visible to other members, it also creates a bond between you and the other members who donate their time.

Kim Isley is the founder and director of Trees for a Change an organization that plants trees as gifts in U.S. National Forests that have been destroyed by wildfire. Find out more about Kim by clicking here.