April 17, 2025 • 32 mins
Networking remains vital for small businesses even in the digital age, with many entrepreneurs overlooking the power of face-to-face connections that lead to genuine business relationships. Trader Stu shares his comprehensive checklist of networking opportunities that business owners should consider, from traditional organizations to digital platforms and organic encounters.
• Chambers of Commerce offer professional development, guest speakers, and valuable subgroups like Preferred Client Network
• Business Network International (BNI) provides structured weekly meetings but works best for cash-based businesses
• SCORE and entrepreneur organizations connect business owners with experienced mentors at no cost
• LinkedIn offers broad reach while Alignable provides more localized networking focused on specific geographic areas
• Organic networking through everyday interactions often yields better results than formal events
• Alternative networking models like "Networking with Kids" accommodate entrepreneurs with family responsibilities
• Personal branding helps you stand out at networking events and creates conversation starters
• Consistent follow-up transforms business card exchanges into meaningful relationships
Get out there, try something new, get on a platform, attend a local event, and whatever you do, be good or be good at it.
“Whistles In The West” was written, recorded, and produced by Durracell, exclusively for use with Trader Stu’s platform, always rocking the cowboy hat. The track is protected under U.S. Copyright rights to use have been granted specifically to Trader Stu for content and promotional use related to his brand and media presence.
contact:
📧 durracellmusic@gmail.com
🌐 www.durracell.com
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The thoughts and views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and do not reflect the official policy or position of Metro Trading Association. Although the host is an employee of Metro Trading, this podcast is intended to educate entrepreneurs on the benefits of professional trading, regardless of their location. Additionally, the host reviews various pieces of camping gear due to the association of trade, barter, and prepping.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to the Trading Post.
This is Trader Stu and I wantto talk about networking items
of interest.
I guess this morning I was onmy way to work and I was
wondering you know, what is onthe checklist of most
entrepreneurs when they open anew business and see what all
the different avenues there are?
(00:20):
Obviously there's chambers andthings of that nature, but I was
just kind of going through thelist in my head and then wrote
them all down, and if I'mmissing any of them, let me know
in the comments and see ifthere's anything that I missed,
because I don't know all of them, of course, and I did some
research, of course, and there'ssome that I forgot about and
(00:41):
they're in here, but I want totalk more about them, so let's
get right into it.
So, first of all, why doesnetworking matter?
Because in the day of thedigital age, where all we do is
we think about the grand schemeof things or the big, open
networking area, such asLinkedIn, let's just say.
And yet I have anything to comefrom LinkedIn.
I know that's a long ramp upsituation and I would like to,
(01:05):
of course, utilize it more andbut you know, in the end, we're
more of a local economy or localassociation or group, larger
than a chamber, but smaller thansomebody who can sell.
You know national orinternational platforms for
their web hosting service or youknow, I don't know what else
(01:27):
would be an example of like anationwide salesman that would
utilize LinkedIn real well.
I'm considering trying SalesNavigator and if you have any
experience with Sales Navigator,let me know.
I'm actually going to startreplying to people who message
me in LinkedIn and see how wellit works for them, because it's
like 90 bucks a month, I thinkit is for a single license to
(01:48):
use the sales navigator and buthey, you know, if it works, it
works.
And uh, if you consider thefact of how much fuel costs and
driving around and uh, doing itthat way and then time and money
with that, then hey, it makessense.
90 bucks isn't so bad.
That's what three tanks of gas.
You know what I mean.
So you think about it like that, then maybe it's not so bad.
(02:12):
But anyway, b2b sales is whatI'm basically doing and I
thought about it on the way towork today.
It's not really sales, it's amembership or a membership
application.
I sell or I sign up people.
If you want to call it likethat, for Mental Trading
Association, of course, and whatwe are is a group of business
owners that buy and sell fromeach other before we go into the
(02:33):
open market.
Well, it's kind of like achamber, like I said.
So is it a sale?
It's more of like enticingsomebody, maybe to see a benefit
of something that would beworth their while.
It's not like I'm sellingsoftware it's still B2B, though
but I think, now more than ever,if you can network, you're
going to do real well, becauseeveryone's trying to just skip
(02:53):
the networking part and utilizethings like the Internet.
Do all their LinkedIn alignable,and I use them.
I use them, but I think you'vegot to have a multifaceted
approach rather than just one orthe other.
So marketing is, of course, youknow.
I would say you need sevendifferent things to put yourself
(03:15):
out there and marketeffectively for business growth,
and also, that opens the doorfor referrals, of course, as
well.
Right, so?
So, first and foremost, chambersof commerce.
You know it's what you shouldjoin.
Is that on your, your buck?
You're not bucket list, you're.
You're a list of things thatyou should join when you open
your business.
You're like all right.
(03:36):
So we got the whatever phonesfigured out, the Internet's are
figured out, the Internet'sfigured out.
You know, we got all of oursupplies and whatever.
So now, next up, join a chamber.
Or does like a chamber come toyou and pitch you like, hey,
you're new in town, you shouldjoin a chamber, or is that part
of this?
Like when you go to a file foryour license, business license
(04:00):
for the town Are they like, oh,and here is your Chamber of
Commerce application, or howdoes that work?
I talk to people at the Chamberand I say, what do you do for
your marketing?
And she's like oh, I go out andI visit new businesses.
So I think they're kind of likedoing the same thing that mine
might be doing, in a much, muchsmaller scale, of course, and
much more targeted, obviously.
(04:21):
And Chambers also offer a lotof, I guess, professional
development and guest speakersand mentoring, because you're
going to get to know everybodythere.
It doesn't take long, but toattend several chamber events
and you start recognizingfamiliar faces and it makes
going to those events a loteasier and less, I guess,
(04:44):
provoking to get in.
So when I joined the well, ourcompany was already in the
Rochester Regional Chamber ofCommerce here and I was just
asked to start attending eventsbecause we are paying for
membership and it was not beingused.
So I immediately joined PCNGroup, which is their preferred
client network.
I immediately joined a PCNgroup, which is their preferred
client network, and that's likea free benefit that you get by
(05:09):
your membership and that aloneis worth the cost of membership.
Really, the PCN groups are likea B&I group in this area and
you know B&I is like wickedexpensive.
I think it's upwards of $1,300or $1,400 last time I checked
for a membership because youhave to pay the application fee
I think that was like $600 andthen the first year and then I
(05:31):
think there's a monthly fee andthey're very strict, right, you
got to come every Thursday.
When I was going to them everyThursday morning at I think it
was 6 am or 7 am and it's anhour and a half meeting and you
got to come with a referral or aclosed business or a one-to-one
.
Again, very good things to getinto, but if you don't have time
(05:53):
to commit to that, it was likea second job to me and
especially I became a vicepresident because I was doing so
well with it.
I mean I was making money withit, but you're also, it's as
good as it is, as what you putinto it, as what you get out of
it, I guess right.
And also it worked for mebecause I was with EDT Security
at the time selling smallbusiness alarms and security
(06:15):
cameras, so you know, it justmade sense.
For what I do now, sellingtrade memberships, it's kind of
like it doesn't reallyreciprocate well, because if I
find somebody and I bring theminto our membership, I am not
going to give somebody businessthat's not in our association,
(06:38):
right?
It doesn't make any sensebecause everyone I know and do
business with is a member of thetrade group.
So they're not going to paycash, they're going to pay with
trade.
So if I, if I hear someone say,hey, I need a plumber or
whatever, then I'm like oh, I'mnot going to go to my BNI group
and be like, hey, plumber, jim,like I have a referral for you,
this guy needs plumbing.
(06:59):
It doesn't work because the guyin my group is going to do why
did you refer me to somebodythat takes cash only and no
trade, right?
So it didn't, unfortunately,those kinds of groups for me or
anybody in the barter and tradeindustry, it doesn't really work
.
I was trying it again with adifferent spin on it and I did
sign up some people right.
(07:19):
But uh, I, I couldn'treciprocate, and but the cool
thing is that once the peoplewho were in that group joined,
then you know it worked out forthem because I was able to say,
hey, I did close business withyou and this and that and it
looks good, but anyone thatwants that kind of business has
to sign up.
So it almost feels like I don'tknow, I don't say it feels
(07:42):
shady to say, oh hey, if youwant business you have to sign
up, but hey, that's just the wayit is right.
So next up, I found this onethis is what I didn't know about
earlier was SCORE, and that'ssomething that I forgot about.
That's about for business tobusiness.
There's mentor programs thatyou can get a hold of people in
there that donate their time forfree.
(08:04):
There's volunteers and partnersand sponsors and you can donate
.
So there's a lot of that inthere for the mentorship
programs and it's backed by theSmall Business Association as
well.
And the cool thing is youconnect with other experienced
entrepreneurs for their guidanceand support that maybe have
(08:25):
done what you've done.
So someone once explained to mein one of the groups that
they're in what is it called?
I'm finding the business cardright here.
Where's the business card at?
Here we go Education planningresources.
So I feel like this is a bunchof people who have a lot of
money and a lot of time andthey're probably like
millionaires.
Right, because there's no, youdon't have to pay to use this.
(08:47):
They just help you or your kids.
It's meant for kids, actuallyit's for kids.
They help the kids get spun upinto different programs and
there's no charge and it's allsponsored by them, from what he
explained to me.
Anyway.
So there's that.
Then that'll be part of theentrepreneurs organizations in
the next group, nationalinternational networking groups.
(09:10):
So this is the EO orintra-entrepreneur organization,
peer-to-peer networking,mentorship and global events for
business owners.
Then I also, like I said,business networking
international or BNI.
There's also LBN, the LocalBusiness Network, which is
actually a member of MetroTrading Association for a long
time, and so you need your tradedollars to pay for that group
(09:33):
as well.
So, like I said, that'sreferral-focused networking.
There's regular meetings everyweek.
It's structured, there's a plan.
You go to one meeting, you canvisit other groups, right, and I
do that all the time with nointent to join.
But if people are in that group, they're dedicated to finding
(09:53):
business and I'm like, hey, dude, I can get you business.
If you're like a carpet cleaneror any kind of trades job
electrician, mechanic, you knowwhatever restaurants especially
I can give you business.
That is for sure.
But they probably have the sameapproach.
I don't know if I've everbrought anybody on, to be honest
, by visiting a B&I groupbecause they're like, oh, don't
(10:14):
do business with him until theysign up.
I know they're doing thatbecause I used to do that as
well.
We bring in a guest and youknow they would pitch us and
then we would say don't dobusiness with them until they
sign up.
We'll use that as a cookie thatif they sign up they'll get
(10:34):
business, because they alwayswant new members, new blood,
right.
So it doesn't matter to me.
I like going to meetings likethat and it's not a waste of
time for me because either wayit's brand recognition, I'm
showing my face, I'm going tothings and I think that when you
just put energy like that outinto the world, out in the
universe or whatever, that itcomes back, maybe not in the
(10:55):
exact same way, so maybe I won'tget somebody to sign up with me
.
You know, that morning or thenext morning, whatever in that
group that I met.
But I'll just get like a randomsurprise phone call from
somebody, like that happened theother day.
He's like, hey, this is Iforgot, it doesn't matter, oh,
it was the trivia guy that I metat a different networking group
weeks ago and I forgot abouthim actually.
(11:19):
And yeah, he just called up andhe was like hey, I'd like to
get the business into MetroTrade and see when you work
together.
I'm like what, I was soconfused.
Are you saying you want me touse your trivia or are you
asking me to bring you in thegroup to give you refer you
business for the trivia games?
He's like, yeah, I was like, oh, okay, well, I don't.
(11:39):
I'm not.
I wasn't really used to, I'm notused to people calling me and
being like hey, sign me up rightnow, I want business.
You know, usually I got to likeexplain it to a whole thing,
you know, and so, but meattending other networking
groups and events, it was justkind of like I put that out in
the universe and it just kind ofreturned to me in a different
way.
He does never know where itcomes from.
It's crazy how it works.
But anyway, one thing I havenever joined yet but I am very
(12:04):
familiar with is the Rotary Club.
My grandpa was huge in theRotary in Frankamuth, michigan,
and I used to attend all theevents with him and we used to
make homemade pretzels for theBavarian Fest in Frankamuth.
I used to love doing it.
I looked forward to it everyyear because it was just like
this really cool energy in thiscommercial kitchen and everyone
(12:31):
had a station, had a bit youknow thing to do.
It was like the people who weremaking the dough.
Then you had the people thatwere loading the dough into the
rising machines and had thislike really cool conveyor belt
that, uh, made the dough riseright and then, once that was
risen, then you take the doughout.
Then I was at that stationwhere I would cut off a
predetermined amount, like Iweighed it.
I think it was, I probably did.
Anyway, I weighed it and thenyou get a chunk of dough and
(12:52):
then you know you roll it outinto a pretzel and I got really
good at making pretzels and thenyou know, they went in a pan
and then I wasn't allowed totouch it after that because they
so there was like no, you don'twant me to get burned right,
but I loved making the pretzelsand I thought that was just so
cool.
And then to see my pretzelsbeing made and then enjoyed
later on at that carnival or notcarnival, but the Bavarian Fest
(13:13):
, it was cool.
And I was God.
I don't even know how old I was.
I was, you know, definitelygrade school, definitely before
junior high.
I was, you know, maybe firstgrade, through whatever sixth,
seventh grade, maybe fifth grade, it doesn't matter.
(13:33):
But anyway, rotary is cool.
I like that, I like thefundraiser they do, and also the
Lions Club.
And then there's another one inhere called the American
Marketing Association.
This one I didn't know about.
The AMA, you network and learnopportunities for anyone
interested in marketing, notjust marketers, is what their
deal is.
So I am going to Google thisone and maybe get involved with
(13:54):
American Marketing Association,because this sounds like
something that would benefit me.
Let me look and see real quick,ama let's see if that comes up.
Ama Marketing let's see whatthat comes up.
Ama Marketing let's see whathappens.
Okay, ama Professional Seminars, american Marketing Association
(14:15):
here we go.
What do we got here?
So, community it's an essentialcommunity for marketers.
Okay, I am going to heart this,actually, and save this to my
favorites, because this is whatwould this be under.
I guess networking in my folder.
So let's see what's the eventsmaximize ROI with budget
(14:37):
management, patient acquisitionthrough effective marketing.
So this is all right.
Yeah, wwwamaorg, you haveconferences, events, training,
the job board, publications Cool, I'm going to look at that
later.
Like I said, I just literallyput together this list and I was
(14:58):
like I need to make a podcastabout this real quick before I
lose my train of thought.
Add kicks in.
So there are professionalgroups is what the next one is.
So this one is what I wouldlike to be in.
The barter I would like barter,or trade groups is another, or
other professional groups.
Why can we not get trade orbarter groups in here?
(15:20):
You know what I mean?
Because we're all over thecountry, all over the world,
really, and I think that we aregreat to get your name out there
and utilize our broad reach ofservices and all the what do you
call it marketing?
I guess we do for all of ourmembers.
You know, we do a text blast,an email blast and you're on our
(15:41):
directory and you get in theapp and the brokers, when they
call people, they talk about youand they and they're like, hey,
we got a new member, and thenthey do this and you should use
them.
And you know we do a lot for uhmembers.
That's what the monthly fee isfor.
You know, the 19 bucks a monththat we charge, that's what that
goes for.
It's a lot of work, uh, to, ofcourse, do it.
And then we don't get paiduntil you get business, really,
(16:02):
because, because we get thecommission after you close the
business.
So, or, you know, close thedeal.
So there's that.
Let's see what else.
Oh, linkedin groups, okay, youknow.
Yeah, digital networkingplatforms Okay, I watch YouTube
videos, I learn.
I listen to podcasts.
I'm on LinkedIn through, youknow, metro Trading Association
(16:25):
and the Trading Post podcast.
I think you can find me eitherway if you look in LinkedIn.
Anyway, I have never I mean, Iget traction, I guess.
So what happened?
Okay, linkedin.
So, before I got my job againback with Metro Trading over a
year ago, I just deleted myLinkedIn because I was with.
(16:47):
It's so weird how life works.
So I was in a job that I reallyliked.
It was for Douglas Dynamics,which is a Snowex.
I was at Snowex in MadisonHeights and I was just getting
rid of all of my Metro Tradingstuff because I was like I found
it in boxes, I'll never usethis again and I threw it away.
And then what else was there?
Oh, linkedin.
(17:07):
So I canceled my LinkedInaccount.
I was like I'll never use thisagain, so I'm never leaving this
job.
I got a kid.
Now.
This is my gig.
I'm going to retire here andI'm tired of all the riffraff,
or whatever you call it onLinkedIn, the messages and this
and that and it's not.
It doesn't apply to me.
I don't want to get headhuntedby a recruiter.
I'm not leaving, I'mcomfortable here and this is it.
(17:28):
And I deleted it.
I don't know how much longerlater it was.
I think it was definitelywithin the same year I got laid
off and me and like 45 othersout of the plant got laid off.
So I was like, well, that wasdumb.
I should have just like put myaccount in holder.
I guess I don't know.
I'm one of those guys where Ijust pull it and be done with it
.
I just flip the switch.
(17:49):
There's no hold.
You got to close a door beforewe can open another, I guess,
and it works.
I mean, I got back in this jobbut now I lost all my contacts
on LinkedIn and honestly, reallyI don't think it matters.
I don't think that does makeany difference because I think
that I really just need to payfor that the sales navigator
version of it, anyway.
(18:17):
But also I'm on Alignable, whichI was impressed that the search
that I looked for on what did Itype in my type in was.
I actually used Perplexity, notGoogle.
It was networking opportunitieson your list when you opened
your business is what I typed inand it just gave me a bunch of
things to look for.
This one is Alignable I likebecause it's like LinkedIn and
(18:42):
Facebook had a baby.
I guess you could say so.
It gets rid of all thecomplaining Karens on Facebook
and all the whatever elseKaren's on Facebook and all the
I don't know whatever else Ihate.
I got off of Facebook in 2020because I got too tied into
COVID and ranting Right and thenon LinkedIn.
It's for me and my business andindustry that I'm in, not the
podcast.
If I was in the podcast.
(19:03):
Yeah, I mean, I guess that'swhy I added the podcast really
First of all, why not?
I'm talking about trade, barterand business to business,
business to business, networkingand things of that nature.
But in the podcast, so I meanit, just I don't know it made
sense.
Anyway, alignable is like moreof the local group for LinkedIn.
(19:25):
It's designed to keep you inyour own community.
Even though I have connectionsoutside of my state, I try and
keep the connections to justwhere we are.
Or I say we Metro TradingAssociation does business with.
So I say Great Lakes.
Really we're from Bay City downin Toledo and we dabble a
little bit into Indiana andIllinois, but I call it MIO,
(19:48):
michigan, indiana, illinois,ohio, or M-I-O or M-I-I-O, mio,
whatever.
Great Lakes, right.
So I just try and keep it, theconnections that I make that I
look for inalignable just tothat area in Alignable, just to
that area.
Now, this is something that youcan't do that I know of unless
(20:11):
you found out a way that you canjust only link with people in
LinkedIn in a targeted area.
I can't find anywhere where youcan do that, which is how I
ended up on Alignable actually.
So I don't know.
I'm an ambassador for Alignable, so I'm a big fan.
I've actually gained membershipfrom Alignable.
I like how they do the online.
(20:31):
It's like a Zoom calls.
They do multiple per day.
The reason I wanted to join thealliance in Alignable is for the
in-person networking which isreal.
I think the real action happens.
And I even started my own groupwith another lady, dr Mary, who
runs Susie Q's Kids, and wecall it Networking with Kids.
And I'll tell you they do a lotof work for you for promoting
(20:55):
it.
And our first event I think wehad five or six people there and
for our first event with a30-day out window, I liked it.
I didn't want it to be too biganyway.
I didn't want like 20 peopleshowing up to the first event
because I had no idea how I wasgoing to go.
But you know I didn't want justme to show up either, so I
thought that that was a goodbalance, anyway.
(21:17):
So, and then next up wasnetworking after work, which is
why I started networking withkids, because I don't like being
away from my son any longerthan I have to be.
I'm already at work all day,from when I leave the work or
leave the leave the home at nine, get home at five.
That's enough for me.
I don't want to go out.
I do it.
I do it Cause you know, likeone or twice, once or twice a
(21:40):
month isn't so bad.
I'll, I'll, I'll go and networklike a chamber has a biz and
Bruce thing, I'll go and do that.
But to do something all thetime, I just I don't really like
going out and putting in a bigday for networking.
So my whole deal with networkingwith kids was to bring your
kids along so you don't reallymiss them, or they get the
benefit of being around you, oryou are on them and you watch
(22:01):
them and you just, you knownetwork and pass business cards
out for an hour or two and go onabout your all's evening.
You know so.
And that also includes onlinestuff.
I've tried doing online things,but my kid's too little yet to
leave me alone and, uh, onlinestuff doesn't work.
I usually never even sign inbecause I just can't get away.
I can't like, I can't disappear.
(22:22):
He knows I'm in the basement orhe knows I'm upstairs, right,
so he's asking for me because Ihaven't seen him all day.
So there's that.
And then next up was events andconferences trade shows which I
should have gone to today.
There's a restaurant trade showor conference thing going on,
business Expo, I guess, over atthe Novi place.
(22:43):
I should have gone, but youknow it's 40 bucks.
And then for me to go aroundand hand out business cards, um,
I don't know, I should, maybenext year, but it doesn't matter
.
And then, uh, there's breakoutsessions.
You should, you can go todiscussions, uh, and that helps
make personal connections orlike in-person events.
So then the virtual events iscool because you can get a
(23:05):
broader reach and it'sconvenient.
Usually you can do it at yourdesk, of course.
Then you got the organic.
Every day, I do this all thetime.
I always have business cards inmy wallet, always.
So I'll go to maybe a coffeeshop, maybe I'll have a
one-to-one with somebody.
I did it the other day,one-to-one, you know, paid for
the coffee, gave the businesscard.
Hey, you know, I can getbusiness your way.
(23:28):
And every time I'm withsomebody and I do that at our
one-to-one, they're always likeoh yeah, I should do that more
often, and to me it's just likeit's a no-brainer man.
I do it when we're even on theweekend.
Just, my wife and I were outshopping the other day.
It was at a children's clothingresale shop, whatever right,
(23:48):
and a kid's little, so he wearsthrough things or grows through
things fast.
So we like to kind of like, notrecycle and it saves a ton of
money, but just buy used clothesfor kids, whatever right.
So I was like, oh man, spice iscool.
She had a cool place.
She had toys and games and, youknow, shoes and clothes and
strollers and, my God,everything you can think of for
like toddlers, and under thislady had it.
(24:09):
I was like you need to be amember.
So, anyway, still working onthat one, but either way, I mean
that's just at restaurants.
I do it all the time too.
So, uh, what else we got chanceencounters that's the other one.
Leave your you know cards inyour wallet or, um, I just got
that like a digital businesscard and uh, I have the app, my
(24:30):
phone, so you can scan the qrcode.
It goes to my link tree andthen, or I have my, the wooden.
I got a wooden one, uh, digitalbusiness card with the nfc chip
in it and uh, I'm gonna try,I'm trying to make it till I can
stick it to my shirt like withmagnets, but really I think what
I might do is make it on one ofthose retractable things and
just have it zip back up, butanyway, you tap your phone to it
(24:51):
and it gives people my linktree.
So that's how I do that.
What else we got here?
Mentors?
I don't know, I don't.
So I go to this place calledthe Velocity Center and it's all
about the mentorship thing andthe peer support.
Velocity Center, and it's allabout the mentorship thing and
the peer support, and I like it.
(25:12):
I go there.
It's first Friday of the month,it's in Sterling Heights,
velocity Center, and I met a lotof great people there and I
look forward to going to thatall the time.
I'd love to get an office inthere one day, so it's like a
co-working space, but you canalso pay for your own private
office as well, or you canbecome a mentor yourself, I
guess, if you have the time.
What else we got?
Community services andvolunteering this one I've
(25:34):
actually thought about my wifeand I talk about this all the
time, like Rotary, kiwanis LionsClub.
I never heard of Kiwanis untilI was in BNI and one of our
insurance guys was in Kiwanis,but my grandpa was also in Lions
Club and the Rotary.
So Lions Club as well.
So I don't even know which onedid the pretzels.
(25:55):
I thought it was Rotary, maybeit was Lions, I don't know.
They all blend together to me,anyway, yeah, so there's those.
And then volunteering and localevents.
I need to do that as well.
And then wear, I guess, someswag.
I don't know if that's is thatappropriate.
I guess you wear a t-shirt ofwhere you're from.
I don't know, maybe I guess,but I haven't done it yet.
So it's hard right now.
(26:15):
My kiddo's under two, sothere's little you know after
hours, things like I said rightnow.
But when he gets older and westart homeschooling them,
that'll be plenty of things likethis to do really.
So right, what else we got?
Tips for networking success is,I always say, you know, set
(26:37):
clear goals and network with apurpose.
Find out what your interestsare.
Don't, I guess, go too broad,too fast, like I'm literally
trying to dial back.
I thought about, just like,deactivating my account on
LinkedIn again, just so I canfocus only on alignable and not
get distracted, for example,because I'm going too broad, I
(26:59):
think.
Anyways, and then that goeswith the quality over quantity
thing, right.
So build quality, meaningfulrelationships and not just a
long contact list, and then I'llget more referrals that way.
Of course.
You know, uh, follow up aftermeeting someone new.
I have a bullet point in hereand I was just talking with
somebody about this yesterdayand you hear about it all the
(27:20):
time.
People go to these networkingevents and they do all the work,
they set the time, like I did.
Uh, um, it's called coffee talk, it's at 7 am till 8.30 for the
chamber.
It's every Friday or the firstFriday of the month, I think it
is, it doesn't matter Anyway.
And you meet like 70 people atlike speed networking event and
(27:42):
you get a stack of businesscards at the end of it.
And people always say you know,I get these networking events
and I have this stack ofbusiness cards and I'm like cool
, look at all this money in myhand, right, but truth be told,
they end up going into the deskdrawer and they disappear until
they recollect pretty much thesame ones again next month and
do rinse and repeat and do itall over again.
(28:03):
I utilize AI to follow up withthose contacts.
Now, not everybody Like bankersI don't connect with.
I don't really get much, Idon't see much benefit.
So I don't really follow upwith everybody.
But people I think that I could, I definitely do and you get
replies.
At least you get your name outthere and you're like, hey, this
(28:25):
guy at least connected with me.
At least you get your name outthere and you're like, hey, this
guy at least connected with me.
Very rarely do I get an email ofsomebody I met, of a follow-up.
It never happens.
I think one time and it wasactually a graphic designer, I
think is what it was he sent mea follow-up email.
I didn't do business with himbut nonetheless I know what his
business card looks like, it'saround.
(28:46):
I know what his business cardlooks like, it's around.
I know him when I see him andif I ever meet a graphic
designer, if I ever need one, Imean I know we have him, I think
in the trade group, but youknow, I might call him and like,
hey, you guys should sign upbecause I have immediate
business for you or whatever,right, so I'm giving a good deal
.
So there's that and it's prettymuch wrapping it up here, I
(29:08):
guess.
So build your own networkingplan.
I say join at least one localgroup, do a digital platform.
I don't know about mentorship,but that's in here as well.
And yeah, so do something thatstands out too.
I have, I guess people say, likea very eclectic style.
People know me when I walk inthe room I'm always wearing a
(29:30):
hat.
People don't wear hats, so Ijust made myself I always wear a
hat anyway cowboy hat.
So now I have like a nicercowboy hat for like work and uh,
it's a smaller profile cowboyhat, it's like a wool one anyway
, and uh, uh, yeah, but I don'tknow, I guess I dress like as if
I was working at a trading postback in the early days, kind of
(29:50):
, but updated, and that waypeople identify me.
Or you can be the person thathas always the cool shoes or
always the cool glasses, oralways the cool whatever right.
Insert something here thatmakes yourself stand out from
the crowd it's personal brandingand attend events and it gives
you at least a talking point,like my digital business card I
(30:11):
was using as a name badge.
You can try that, for example.
So, anyway, that's it for now.
It's long enough and get outthere.
Try something new, get on aplatform, do a local event and
whatever you do, be good or begood at it.
Hello and welcome back to the Trading Post.
This is Trader Stu and I wantto talk about networking items
of interest.
I guess this morning I was onmy way to work and I was
wondering you know, what is onthe checklist of most
entrepreneurs when they open anew business and see what all
the different avenues there are?
(00:20):
Obviously there's chambers andthings of that nature, but I was
just kind of going through thelist in my head and then wrote
them all down, and if I'mmissing any of them, let me know
in the comments and see ifthere's anything that I missed,
because I don't know all of them, of course, and I did some
research, of course, and there'ssome that I forgot about and
(00:41):
they're in here, but I want totalk more about them, so let's
get right into it.
So, first of all, why doesnetworking matter?
Because in the day of thedigital age, where all we do is
we think about the grand schemeof things or the big, open
networking area, such asLinkedIn, let's just say.
And yet I have anything to comefrom LinkedIn.
I know that's a long ramp upsituation and I would like to,
(01:05):
of course, utilize it more andbut you know, in the end, we're
more of a local economy or localassociation or group, larger
than a chamber, but smaller thansomebody who can sell.
You know national orinternational platforms for
their web hosting service or youknow, I don't know what else
(01:27):
would be an example of like anationwide salesman that would
utilize LinkedIn real well.
I'm considering trying SalesNavigator and if you have any
experience with Sales Navigator,let me know.
I'm actually going to startreplying to people who message
me in LinkedIn and see how wellit works for them, because it's
like 90 bucks a month, I thinkit is for a single license to
(01:48):
use the sales navigator and buthey, you know, if it works, it
works.
And uh, if you consider thefact of how much fuel costs and
driving around and uh, doing itthat way and then time and money
with that, then hey, it makessense.
90 bucks isn't so bad.
That's what three tanks of gas.
You know what I mean.
So you think about it like that, then maybe it's not so bad.
(02:12):
But anyway, b2b sales is whatI'm basically doing and I
thought about it on the way towork today.
It's not really sales, it's amembership or a membership
application.
I sell or I sign up people.
If you want to call it likethat, for Mental Trading
Association, of course, and whatwe are is a group of business
owners that buy and sell fromeach other before we go into the
(02:33):
open market.
Well, it's kind of like achamber, like I said.
So is it a sale?
It's more of like enticingsomebody, maybe to see a benefit
of something that would beworth their while.
It's not like I'm sellingsoftware it's still B2B, though
but I think, now more than ever,if you can network, you're
going to do real well, becauseeveryone's trying to just skip
(02:53):
the networking part and utilizethings like the Internet.
Do all their LinkedIn alignable,and I use them.
I use them, but I think you'vegot to have a multifaceted
approach rather than just one orthe other.
So marketing is, of course, youknow.
I would say you need sevendifferent things to put yourself
(03:15):
out there and marketeffectively for business growth,
and also, that opens the doorfor referrals, of course, as
well.
Right, so?
So, first and foremost, chambersof commerce.
You know it's what you shouldjoin.
Is that on your, your buck?
You're not bucket list, you're.
You're a list of things thatyou should join when you open
your business.
You're like all right.
(03:36):
So we got the whatever phonesfigured out, the Internet's are
figured out, the Internet'sfigured out.
You know, we got all of oursupplies and whatever.
So now, next up, join a chamber.
Or does like a chamber come toyou and pitch you like, hey,
you're new in town, you shouldjoin a chamber, or is that part
of this?
Like when you go to a file foryour license, business license
(04:00):
for the town Are they like, oh,and here is your Chamber of
Commerce application, or howdoes that work?
I talk to people at the Chamberand I say, what do you do for
your marketing?
And she's like oh, I go out andI visit new businesses.
So I think they're kind of likedoing the same thing that mine
might be doing, in a much, muchsmaller scale, of course, and
much more targeted, obviously.
(04:21):
And Chambers also offer a lotof, I guess, professional
development and guest speakersand mentoring, because you're
going to get to know everybodythere.
It doesn't take long, but toattend several chamber events
and you start recognizingfamiliar faces and it makes
going to those events a loteasier and less, I guess,
(04:44):
provoking to get in.
So when I joined the well, ourcompany was already in the
Rochester Regional Chamber ofCommerce here and I was just
asked to start attending eventsbecause we are paying for
membership and it was not beingused.
So I immediately joined PCNGroup, which is their preferred
client network.
I immediately joined a PCNgroup, which is their preferred
client network, and that's likea free benefit that you get by
(05:09):
your membership and that aloneis worth the cost of membership.
Really, the PCN groups are likea B&I group in this area and
you know B&I is like wickedexpensive.
I think it's upwards of $1,300or $1,400 last time I checked
for a membership because youhave to pay the application fee
I think that was like $600 andthen the first year and then I
(05:31):
think there's a monthly fee andthey're very strict, right, you
got to come every Thursday.
When I was going to them everyThursday morning at I think it
was 6 am or 7 am and it's anhour and a half meeting and you
got to come with a referral or aclosed business or a one-to-one
.
Again, very good things to getinto, but if you don't have time
(05:53):
to commit to that, it was likea second job to me and
especially I became a vicepresident because I was doing so
well with it.
I mean I was making money withit, but you're also, it's as
good as it is, as what you putinto it, as what you get out of
it, I guess right.
And also it worked for mebecause I was with EDT Security
at the time selling smallbusiness alarms and security
(06:15):
cameras, so you know, it justmade sense.
For what I do now, sellingtrade memberships, it's kind of
like it doesn't reallyreciprocate well, because if I
find somebody and I bring theminto our membership, I am not
going to give somebody businessthat's not in our association,
(06:38):
right?
It doesn't make any sensebecause everyone I know and do
business with is a member of thetrade group.
So they're not going to paycash, they're going to pay with
trade.
So if I, if I hear someone say,hey, I need a plumber or
whatever, then I'm like oh, I'mnot going to go to my BNI group
and be like, hey, plumber, jim,like I have a referral for you,
this guy needs plumbing.
(06:59):
It doesn't work because the guyin my group is going to do why
did you refer me to somebodythat takes cash only and no
trade, right?
So it didn't, unfortunately,those kinds of groups for me or
anybody in the barter and tradeindustry, it doesn't really work
.
I was trying it again with adifferent spin on it and I did
sign up some people right.
(07:19):
But uh, I, I couldn'treciprocate, and but the cool
thing is that once the peoplewho were in that group joined,
then you know it worked out forthem because I was able to say,
hey, I did close business withyou and this and that and it
looks good, but anyone thatwants that kind of business has
to sign up.
So it almost feels like I don'tknow, I don't say it feels
(07:42):
shady to say, oh hey, if youwant business you have to sign
up, but hey, that's just the wayit is right.
So next up, I found this onethis is what I didn't know about
earlier was SCORE, and that'ssomething that I forgot about.
That's about for business tobusiness.
There's mentor programs thatyou can get a hold of people in
there that donate their time forfree.
(08:04):
There's volunteers and partnersand sponsors and you can donate
.
So there's a lot of that inthere for the mentorship
programs and it's backed by theSmall Business Association as
well.
And the cool thing is youconnect with other experienced
entrepreneurs for their guidanceand support that maybe have
(08:25):
done what you've done.
So someone once explained to mein one of the groups that
they're in what is it called?
I'm finding the business cardright here.
Where's the business card at?
Here we go Education planningresources.
So I feel like this is a bunchof people who have a lot of
money and a lot of time andthey're probably like
millionaires.
Right, because there's no, youdon't have to pay to use this.
(08:47):
They just help you or your kids.
It's meant for kids, actuallyit's for kids.
They help the kids get spun upinto different programs and
there's no charge and it's allsponsored by them, from what he
explained to me.
Anyway.
So there's that.
Then that'll be part of theentrepreneurs organizations in
the next group, nationalinternational networking groups.
(09:10):
So this is the EO orintra-entrepreneur organization,
peer-to-peer networking,mentorship and global events for
business owners.
Then I also, like I said,business networking
international or BNI.
There's also LBN, the LocalBusiness Network, which is
actually a member of MetroTrading Association for a long
time, and so you need your tradedollars to pay for that group
(09:33):
as well.
So, like I said, that'sreferral-focused networking.
There's regular meetings everyweek.
It's structured, there's a plan.
You go to one meeting, you canvisit other groups, right, and I
do that all the time with nointent to join.
But if people are in that group, they're dedicated to finding
(09:53):
business and I'm like, hey, dude, I can get you business.
If you're like a carpet cleaneror any kind of trades job
electrician, mechanic, you knowwhatever restaurants especially
I can give you business.
That is for sure.
But they probably have the sameapproach.
I don't know if I've everbrought anybody on, to be honest
, by visiting a B&I groupbecause they're like, oh, don't
(10:14):
do business with him until theysign up.
I know they're doing thatbecause I used to do that as
well.
We bring in a guest and youknow they would pitch us and
then we would say don't dobusiness with them until they
sign up.
We'll use that as a cookie thatif they sign up they'll get
(10:34):
business, because they alwayswant new members, new blood,
right.
So it doesn't matter to me.
I like going to meetings likethat and it's not a waste of
time for me because either wayit's brand recognition, I'm
showing my face, I'm going tothings and I think that when you
just put energy like that outinto the world, out in the
universe or whatever, that itcomes back, maybe not in the
(10:55):
exact same way, so maybe I won'tget somebody to sign up with me
.
You know, that morning or thenext morning, whatever in that
group that I met.
But I'll just get like a randomsurprise phone call from
somebody, like that happened theother day.
He's like, hey, this is Iforgot, it doesn't matter, oh,
it was the trivia guy that I metat a different networking group
weeks ago and I forgot abouthim actually.
(11:19):
And yeah, he just called up andhe was like hey, I'd like to
get the business into MetroTrade and see when you work
together.
I'm like what, I was soconfused.
Are you saying you want me touse your trivia or are you
asking me to bring you in thegroup to give you refer you
business for the trivia games?
He's like, yeah, I was like, oh, okay, well, I don't.
(11:39):
I'm not.
I wasn't really used to, I'm notused to people calling me and
being like hey, sign me up rightnow, I want business.
You know, usually I got to likeexplain it to a whole thing,
you know, and so, but meattending other networking
groups and events, it was justkind of like I put that out in
the universe and it just kind ofreturned to me in a different
way.
He does never know where itcomes from.
It's crazy how it works.
But anyway, one thing I havenever joined yet but I am very
(12:04):
familiar with is the Rotary Club.
My grandpa was huge in theRotary in Frankamuth, michigan,
and I used to attend all theevents with him and we used to
make homemade pretzels for theBavarian Fest in Frankamuth.
I used to love doing it.
I looked forward to it everyyear because it was just like
this really cool energy in thiscommercial kitchen and everyone
(12:31):
had a station, had a bit youknow thing to do.
It was like the people who weremaking the dough.
Then you had the people thatwere loading the dough into the
rising machines and had thislike really cool conveyor belt
that, uh, made the dough riseright and then, once that was
risen, then you take the doughout.
Then I was at that stationwhere I would cut off a
predetermined amount, like Iweighed it.
I think it was, I probably did.
Anyway, I weighed it and thenyou get a chunk of dough and
(12:52):
then you know you roll it outinto a pretzel and I got really
good at making pretzels and thenyou know, they went in a pan
and then I wasn't allowed totouch it after that because they
so there was like no, you don'twant me to get burned right,
but I loved making the pretzelsand I thought that was just so
cool.
And then to see my pretzelsbeing made and then enjoyed
later on at that carnival or notcarnival, but the Bavarian Fest
(13:13):
, it was cool.
And I was God.
I don't even know how old I was.
I was, you know, definitelygrade school, definitely before
junior high.
I was, you know, maybe firstgrade, through whatever sixth,
seventh grade, maybe fifth grade, it doesn't matter.
(13:33):
But anyway, rotary is cool.
I like that, I like thefundraiser they do, and also the
Lions Club.
And then there's another one inhere called the American
Marketing Association.
This one I didn't know about.
The AMA, you network and learnopportunities for anyone
interested in marketing, notjust marketers, is what their
deal is.
So I am going to Google thisone and maybe get involved with
(13:54):
American Marketing Association,because this sounds like
something that would benefit me.
Let me look and see real quick,ama let's see if that comes up.
Ama Marketing let's see whatthat comes up.
Ama Marketing let's see whathappens.
Okay, ama Professional Seminars, american Marketing Association
(14:15):
here we go.
What do we got here?
So, community it's an essentialcommunity for marketers.
Okay, I am going to heart this,actually, and save this to my
favorites, because this is whatwould this be under.
I guess networking in my folder.
So let's see what's the eventsmaximize ROI with budget
(14:37):
management, patient acquisitionthrough effective marketing.
So this is all right.
Yeah, wwwamaorg, you haveconferences, events, training,
the job board, publications Cool, I'm going to look at that
later.
Like I said, I just literallyput together this list and I was
(14:58):
like I need to make a podcastabout this real quick before I
lose my train of thought.
Add kicks in.
So there are professionalgroups is what the next one is.
So this one is what I wouldlike to be in.
The barter I would like barter,or trade groups is another, or
other professional groups.
Why can we not get trade orbarter groups in here?
(15:20):
You know what I mean?
Because we're all over thecountry, all over the world,
really, and I think that we aregreat to get your name out there
and utilize our broad reach ofservices and all the what do you
call it marketing?
I guess we do for all of ourmembers.
You know, we do a text blast,an email blast and you're on our
(15:41):
directory and you get in theapp and the brokers, when they
call people, they talk about youand they and they're like, hey,
we got a new member, and thenthey do this and you should use
them.
And you know we do a lot for uhmembers.
That's what the monthly fee isfor.
You know, the 19 bucks a monththat we charge, that's what that
goes for.
It's a lot of work, uh, to, ofcourse, do it.
And then we don't get paiduntil you get business, really,
(16:02):
because, because we get thecommission after you close the
business.
So, or, you know, close thedeal.
So there's that.
Let's see what else.
Oh, linkedin groups, okay, youknow.
Yeah, digital networkingplatforms Okay, I watch YouTube
videos, I learn.
I listen to podcasts.
I'm on LinkedIn through, youknow, metro Trading Association
(16:25):
and the Trading Post podcast.
I think you can find me eitherway if you look in LinkedIn.
Anyway, I have never I mean, Iget traction, I guess.
So what happened?
Okay, linkedin.
So, before I got my job againback with Metro Trading over a
year ago, I just deleted myLinkedIn because I was with.
(16:47):
It's so weird how life works.
So I was in a job that I reallyliked.
It was for Douglas Dynamics,which is a Snowex.
I was at Snowex in MadisonHeights and I was just getting
rid of all of my Metro Tradingstuff because I was like I found
it in boxes, I'll never usethis again and I threw it away.
And then what else was there?
Oh, linkedin.
(17:07):
So I canceled my LinkedInaccount.
I was like I'll never use thisagain, so I'm never leaving this
job.
I got a kid.
Now.
This is my gig.
I'm going to retire here andI'm tired of all the riffraff,
or whatever you call it onLinkedIn, the messages and this
and that and it's not.
It doesn't apply to me.
I don't want to get headhuntedby a recruiter.
I'm not leaving, I'mcomfortable here and this is it.
(17:28):
And I deleted it.
I don't know how much longerlater it was.
I think it was definitelywithin the same year I got laid
off and me and like 45 othersout of the plant got laid off.
So I was like, well, that wasdumb.
I should have just like put myaccount in holder.
I guess I don't know.
I'm one of those guys where Ijust pull it and be done with it
.
I just flip the switch.
(17:49):
There's no hold.
You got to close a door beforewe can open another, I guess,
and it works.
I mean, I got back in this jobbut now I lost all my contacts
on LinkedIn and honestly, reallyI don't think it matters.
I don't think that does makeany difference because I think
that I really just need to payfor that the sales navigator
version of it, anyway.
(18:17):
But also I'm on Alignable, whichI was impressed that the search
that I looked for on what did Itype in my type in was.
I actually used Perplexity, notGoogle.
It was networking opportunitieson your list when you opened
your business is what I typed inand it just gave me a bunch of
things to look for.
This one is Alignable I likebecause it's like LinkedIn and
(18:42):
Facebook had a baby.
I guess you could say so.
It gets rid of all thecomplaining Karens on Facebook
and all the whatever elseKaren's on Facebook and all the
I don't know whatever else Ihate.
I got off of Facebook in 2020because I got too tied into
COVID and ranting Right and thenon LinkedIn.
It's for me and my business andindustry that I'm in, not the
podcast.
If I was in the podcast.
(19:03):
Yeah, I mean, I guess that'swhy I added the podcast really
First of all, why not?
I'm talking about trade, barterand business to business,
business to business, networkingand things of that nature.
But in the podcast, so I meanit, just I don't know it made
sense.
Anyway, alignable is like moreof the local group for LinkedIn.
(19:25):
It's designed to keep you inyour own community.
Even though I have connectionsoutside of my state, I try and
keep the connections to justwhere we are.
Or I say we Metro TradingAssociation does business with.
So I say Great Lakes.
Really we're from Bay City downin Toledo and we dabble a
little bit into Indiana andIllinois, but I call it MIO,
(19:48):
michigan, indiana, illinois,ohio, or M-I-O or M-I-I-O, mio,
whatever.
Great Lakes, right.
So I just try and keep it, theconnections that I make that I
look for inalignable just tothat area in Alignable, just to
that area.
Now, this is something that youcan't do that I know of unless
(20:11):
you found out a way that you canjust only link with people in
LinkedIn in a targeted area.
I can't find anywhere where youcan do that, which is how I
ended up on Alignable actually.
So I don't know.
I'm an ambassador for Alignable, so I'm a big fan.
I've actually gained membershipfrom Alignable.
I like how they do the online.
(20:31):
It's like a Zoom calls.
They do multiple per day.
The reason I wanted to join thealliance in Alignable is for the
in-person networking which isreal.
I think the real action happens.
And I even started my own groupwith another lady, dr Mary, who
runs Susie Q's Kids, and wecall it Networking with Kids.
And I'll tell you they do a lotof work for you for promoting
(20:55):
it.
And our first event I think wehad five or six people there and
for our first event with a30-day out window, I liked it.
I didn't want it to be too biganyway.
I didn't want like 20 peopleshowing up to the first event
because I had no idea how I wasgoing to go.
But you know I didn't want justme to show up either, so I
thought that that was a goodbalance, anyway.
(21:17):
So, and then next up wasnetworking after work, which is
why I started networking withkids, because I don't like being
away from my son any longerthan I have to be.
I'm already at work all day,from when I leave the work or
leave the leave the home at nine, get home at five.
That's enough for me.
I don't want to go out.
I do it.
I do it Cause you know, likeone or twice, once or twice a
(21:40):
month isn't so bad.
I'll, I'll, I'll go and networklike a chamber has a biz and
Bruce thing, I'll go and do that.
But to do something all thetime, I just I don't really like
going out and putting in a bigday for networking.
So my whole deal with networkingwith kids was to bring your
kids along so you don't reallymiss them, or they get the
benefit of being around you, oryou are on them and you watch
(22:01):
them and you just, you knownetwork and pass business cards
out for an hour or two and go onabout your all's evening.
You know so.
And that also includes onlinestuff.
I've tried doing online things,but my kid's too little yet to
leave me alone and, uh, onlinestuff doesn't work.
I usually never even sign inbecause I just can't get away.
I can't like, I can't disappear.
(22:22):
He knows I'm in the basement orhe knows I'm upstairs, right,
so he's asking for me because Ihaven't seen him all day.
So there's that.
And then next up was events andconferences trade shows which I
should have gone to today.
There's a restaurant trade showor conference thing going on,
business Expo, I guess, over atthe Novi place.
(22:43):
I should have gone, but youknow it's 40 bucks.
And then for me to go aroundand hand out business cards, um,
I don't know, I should, maybenext year, but it doesn't matter
.
And then, uh, there's breakoutsessions.
You should, you can go todiscussions, uh, and that helps
make personal connections orlike in-person events.
So then the virtual events iscool because you can get a
(23:05):
broader reach and it'sconvenient.
Usually you can do it at yourdesk, of course.
Then you got the organic.
Every day, I do this all thetime.
I always have business cards inmy wallet, always.
So I'll go to maybe a coffeeshop, maybe I'll have a
one-to-one with somebody.
I did it the other day,one-to-one, you know, paid for
the coffee, gave the businesscard.
Hey, you know, I can getbusiness your way.
(23:28):
And every time I'm withsomebody and I do that at our
one-to-one, they're always likeoh yeah, I should do that more
often, and to me it's just likeit's a no-brainer man.
I do it when we're even on theweekend.
Just, my wife and I were outshopping the other day.
It was at a children's clothingresale shop, whatever right,
(23:48):
and a kid's little, so he wearsthrough things or grows through
things fast.
So we like to kind of like, notrecycle and it saves a ton of
money, but just buy used clothesfor kids, whatever right.
So I was like, oh man, spice iscool.
She had a cool place.
She had toys and games and, youknow, shoes and clothes and
strollers and, my God,everything you can think of for
like toddlers, and under thislady had it.
(24:09):
I was like you need to be amember.
So, anyway, still working onthat one, but either way, I mean
that's just at restaurants.
I do it all the time too.
So, uh, what else we got chanceencounters that's the other one.
Leave your you know cards inyour wallet or, um, I just got
that like a digital businesscard and uh, I have the app, my
(24:30):
phone, so you can scan the qrcode.
It goes to my link tree andthen, or I have my, the wooden.
I got a wooden one, uh, digitalbusiness card with the nfc chip
in it and uh, I'm gonna try,I'm trying to make it till I can
stick it to my shirt like withmagnets, but really I think what
I might do is make it on one ofthose retractable things and
just have it zip back up, butanyway, you tap your phone to it
(24:51):
and it gives people my linktree.
So that's how I do that.
What else we got here?
Mentors?
I don't know, I don't.
So I go to this place calledthe Velocity Center and it's all
about the mentorship thing andthe peer support.
Velocity Center, and it's allabout the mentorship thing and
the peer support, and I like it.
(25:12):
I go there.
It's first Friday of the month,it's in Sterling Heights,
velocity Center, and I met a lotof great people there and I
look forward to going to thatall the time.
I'd love to get an office inthere one day, so it's like a
co-working space, but you canalso pay for your own private
office as well, or you canbecome a mentor yourself, I
guess, if you have the time.
What else we got?
Community services andvolunteering this one I've
(25:34):
actually thought about my wifeand I talk about this all the
time, like Rotary, kiwanis LionsClub.
I never heard of Kiwanis untilI was in BNI and one of our
insurance guys was in Kiwanis,but my grandpa was also in Lions
Club and the Rotary.
So Lions Club as well.
So I don't even know which onedid the pretzels.
(25:55):
I thought it was Rotary, maybeit was Lions, I don't know.
They all blend together to me,anyway, yeah, so there's those.
And then volunteering and localevents.
I need to do that as well.
And then wear, I guess, someswag.
I don't know if that's is thatappropriate.
I guess you wear a t-shirt ofwhere you're from.
I don't know, maybe I guess,but I haven't done it yet.
So it's hard right now.
(26:15):
My kiddo's under two, sothere's little you know after
hours, things like I said rightnow.
But when he gets older and westart homeschooling them,
that'll be plenty of things likethis to do really.
So right, what else we got?
Tips for networking success is,I always say, you know, set
(26:37):
clear goals and network with apurpose.
Find out what your interestsare.
Don't, I guess, go too broad,too fast, like I'm literally
trying to dial back.
I thought about, just like,deactivating my account on
LinkedIn again, just so I canfocus only on alignable and not
get distracted, for example,because I'm going too broad, I
(26:59):
think.
Anyways, and then that goeswith the quality over quantity
thing, right.
So build quality, meaningfulrelationships and not just a
long contact list, and then I'llget more referrals that way.
Of course.
You know, uh, follow up aftermeeting someone new.
I have a bullet point in hereand I was just talking with
somebody about this yesterdayand you hear about it all the
(27:20):
time.
People go to these networkingevents and they do all the work,
they set the time, like I did.
Uh, um, it's called coffee talk, it's at 7 am till 8.30 for the
chamber.
It's every Friday or the firstFriday of the month, I think it
is, it doesn't matter Anyway.
And you meet like 70 people atlike speed networking event and
(27:42):
you get a stack of businesscards at the end of it.
And people always say you know,I get these networking events
and I have this stack ofbusiness cards and I'm like cool
, look at all this money in myhand, right, but truth be told,
they end up going into the deskdrawer and they disappear until
they recollect pretty much thesame ones again next month and
do rinse and repeat and do itall over again.
(28:03):
I utilize AI to follow up withthose contacts.
Now, not everybody Like bankersI don't connect with.
I don't really get much, Idon't see much benefit.
So I don't really follow upwith everybody.
But people I think that I could, I definitely do and you get
replies.
At least you get your name outthere and you're like, hey, this
(28:25):
guy at least connected with me.
At least you get your name outthere and you're like, hey, this
guy at least connected with me.
Very rarely do I get an email ofsomebody I met, of a follow-up.
It never happens.
I think one time and it wasactually a graphic designer, I
think is what it was he sent mea follow-up email.
I didn't do business with himbut nonetheless I know what his
business card looks like, it'saround.
(28:46):
I know what his business cardlooks like, it's around.
I know him when I see him andif I ever meet a graphic
designer, if I ever need one, Imean I know we have him, I think
in the trade group, but youknow, I might call him and like,
hey, you guys should sign upbecause I have immediate
business for you or whatever,right, so I'm giving a good deal
.
So there's that and it's prettymuch wrapping it up here, I
(29:08):
guess.
So build your own networkingplan.
I say join at least one localgroup, do a digital platform.
I don't know about mentorship,but that's in here as well.
And yeah, so do something thatstands out too.
I have, I guess people say, likea very eclectic style.
People know me when I walk inthe room I'm always wearing a
(29:30):
hat.
People don't wear hats, so Ijust made myself I always wear a
hat anyway cowboy hat.
So now I have like a nicercowboy hat for like work and uh,
it's a smaller profile cowboyhat, it's like a wool one anyway
, and uh, uh, yeah, but I don'tknow, I guess I dress like as if
I was working at a trading postback in the early days, kind of
(29:50):
, but updated, and that waypeople identify me.
Or you can be the person thathas always the cool shoes or
always the cool glasses, oralways the cool whatever right.
Insert something here thatmakes yourself stand out from
the crowd it's personal brandingand attend events and it gives
you at least a talking point,like my digital business card I
(30:11):
was using as a name badge.
You can try that, for example.
So, anyway, that's it for now.
It's long enough and get outthere.
Try something new, get on aplatform, do a local event and
whatever you do, be good or begood at it.
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