Interesting Fact of the Week

The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.









Related Story: History of Harley Davidson

Book Recommendation of the Week

Today's Book recommendation is........

Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer


Related Article: Are You Committed To Be A Sales Crusader? by Jeffrey Gitomer

Networking Doesn’t Work?

Would you like to come to my networking event? You are cordially invited to attend my networking event. Come meet and network with 50 – 80 local business people. I bet you receive an invitation such as this or one with a similar message at least once a week (if not more). Networking groups are popping up everywhere. Breakfast groups, lunch groups, dinner meetings, after hour socials, pick a time and there are 5 business events to attend every week. One could say that attending networking events could be a business all its own. So why do I hear over and over that networking is a big waste of time? I will agree with that not all groups/events are created equal. The main reason networking meetings don’t work is because People don’t know how to do it or they are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Networking is the conduit that leads to relationships. Strong relationships are the basis of our business and personal growth. Unfortunately, networking has become a buzz word, so for our purposes let’s call it relationship building. Relationship building, when done properly, is your best source for new business resources and education.

Successful Relationship building Strategies:

Networking and Sales are separate: Always walk into a business event with the understanding that you will never do business with anyone in the room. They aren't your customer.

Prizes are not awarded to the attendee who collects the most business cards: The intention of giving out your business card should serve as a reminder to follow up with that individual. The card is the tool to reconnect with that individual at a later date to learn more about their business, and build the relationship.

Plan your event: Spend some time reconnecting with old friends and new acquaintances. Also, make a point to mingle with the other guests that you haven’t met before. Most important is to come with a purpose. Let your peers know what you are looking to accomplish.
Some examples:
1. My bookkeeper just quit, I am looking for a referral to a bookkeeping service or a new hire.
2. Our company has just launched a new product; I am looking for ways to market this service.
3. My ideal customer has XX characteristics; I am looking for referrals to those individuals.
Please note the examples above are most effective once you have established some level of rapport.

Respect the name tag: Name tags can be a relationship builder or breaker. Name tags are intended to help identify who you are speaking with. Playing the name tag snub game can hurt your relationship building experience. Remember Networking and Sales are different. Initially, give everyone a chance to show you who they are.

Some example questions to ask:
1. Do you participate in any other organizations?
2. What other careers did you have?
3. Where did you grow up?
4. Do you have any hobbies?

Pay attention/ Listen: Many of us will give part of our attention to watching the door, or others in the room making sure we don’t miss anything. Being in the moment is crucial to successful relationship building. Pay attention to the person you are talking to NOW. Perhaps you will find out the ONE you were hoping to meet is standing right in front of you.
Be a resource: “It’s better to give than receive” this is a very trite, but true statement. When building relationships, a great way to build trust is to give something away.
1. Make an introduction
2. Help solve a problem
3. Share an experience
4. Follow up

Here is the tricky part, give without any reciprocal expectations. The word will get out, your integrity as a business owner and peer will speak volumes.

Affiliate yourself with a group that will meet your needs: This is one of the most crucial factors in successful relationship building. Enter the room as a peer ready to give and receive. Referrals are one piece of the relationship building process. Entrench yourself in your business organization. Become a part of the community, take a leadership role.

We have been building relationships since we were children. On the playground it helped us get invited to sit at the lunch table or invited to a game of hopscotch. Later these skills helped us form friendships and find romance. Today these skills help us enhance our careers.

How I Became an Entrepreneur

Today, I am the leader of a successful business development group that helps entrepreneurs find their way through entrepreneurship. How did I get here? In order to understand where I've gone it is important to know where I came from.

Childhood Dreams
As a child I saw myself as a wife, mother, and teacher. As a student I could see myself standing in front of the classroom conducting the class, and would often contemplate how I would have handled the students that day. Or, how I will talk to my students in the future. The same went to the attention I paid to mothers. My dream was to become a MOM. The girls around me were talking of careers, and liberation. That was crazy talk. To me the very essence of being a woman meant teaching and caring for children. My mother shared and encouraged the same vision with one exception "Don't become a teacher" she would say "there are so many of them and most are out of work. The job for you is Accountant. People always need an accountant and while your children are small you can do it part-time to keep up your skills and bring some spending money in the door.". This made perfect sense. However, there was still a nagging voice compelling me to watch the teacher carefully and plan for my future teaching career. I tried to explain to myself that the world didn't need anymore teachers and accounting was the path I was now choosing. That little nagging voice wouldn't go away.

I am 17, a senior in high school. Time to pick a college and major in accounting, we visit some wonderful accounting colleges; I even fill out the applications. Until one day I just can't fight it anymore "Mom I don't want to be an accountant, I want to teach! I know there are too many teachers in the world, but I will major in Math with an education minor. That way if I can't get a teaching job, I will be qualified for something else." (Math was my favorite subject in school). "Oh and one other thing, I want to attend a State College." I applied to and got accepted to Fitchburg State College.

At Fitchburg State I am surrounded by elementary education majors, I found myself distracted by them, jealous. I found that I suddenly forgot how to do Math, I wasn't able to pay attention in class, and not able to complete assignments. "Mom, Dad I don't want to be a Math major, I have signed up for elementary ed classes for the Fall."

Married with Children
One would have thought that I was on the right path to make my dreams come true. I was doing just fine until another distraction came my way. You are probably thinking at this point that I am just a spoiled brat who needs some discipline in my life. You may be correct, or maybe I wasn't supposed to go about things the ordinary way. The distraction was the opportunity to become a wife and mother. I met the man of my dreams and he swept me off my feet.

June 1991 I marry Michael, August 1992 my daughter is born, August 1993 my son is born. This my friends is bliss. Could life get any better? I am living the dream, I relished in motherhood. Cooking, cleaning, afternoons at the park, story times, Birthday parties, you name it, I loved it. I loved it all. Until February 1998 when I had a life-changing conversation in a local Wal-Mart.

The Entrepreneur
There was a woman whom I'd seen many times (library, park, etc...) we'd never spoken more than 2 words to one another until today. I congratulated her on her new baby, and asked how the twins had handled the transition. She then blurted out "My husband died a month ago". She looked so empty and hopeless. I couldn't get her out of my mind. The only thing that separated her and I is the fact that my husband is alive.

My husband just opened a new business 8 months prior. That night I shared my experience with him and told him that I wanted to learn about everything in his business. I didn't need a paycheck, but I had to know all about the business just in case I ever had to take his place. Now this was a very hasty decision that was made in fear, but this decision has taken me on the journey of a lifetime. I didn't know it at the time but this was the beginning of Maria the entrepreneur. The beginning of bringing to life all the dreams I had as a child (I will get into more detail in future postings). It was the decision that helped me to understand and create the definition of an entrepreneur as I see it.

I told you this Blog would come with a workout. Below are some questions to ask yourself

1. As a child, what did you identify yourself as?


2. When someone asked you "What do you want to be when you grow up?" What did you answer?


3. Did you stay true to your childhood dream? If so how did you create and follow that path? If not, when and why did it change?

Definition of an Entrepreneur

Somebody asked me once to give them the definition of an entrepreneur. The answer was simple. An entrepreneur is someone who has the passion and courage to turn a concept that gives them joy into a business and is willing to take the necessary actions to achieve their desired goals.

An entrepreneur can be anyone who has a dream, concept, passion or desire to better themselves, their way of life, or the world around them. The word entrepreneur means different things to different people. To some it means unemployed, to others it means wealth, and then there are those who just aren't sure.

The intention of this blog is to pick apart the definition of the entrepreneur, using case studies, and my own real life experiences to enhance your experience as an entrepreneur. This is a blog for entrepreneurs and those considering taking the plunge to entrepreneurship. This isn't meant to be a data dump. For those of you who are interested I will have exercises that you can go through to determine if you are on the right path. There will be questions to ask yourself. Don't worry I won't ask you to do anything I haven't been willing to do myself. This blog comes with a workout.

I have had the pleasure to work with dozens of entrepreneurs, and I can share some amazing stories, strategies, and tips on how to implement these strategies in your own entrepreneurial life. This is an opportunity to hear from the ones who have come before you, the ones that have been there and done that. But it has been my experience that unless you start implementing and taking action yourself this will just be more information for you to talk about around the water cooler. Success stories and tips are a great resource, but they are just a resource. The most important thing to remember is "take action" and utilize these tips and techniques to fit your style. If you try to copy or adopt another's philosophy it will be the equivalent of wearing someone else's shoes. They may fit, but you know they aren't yours and as a result people will start to wonder why you are walking funny.