On Oct 29, I was a speaker at the business meets charity event, “Small Business Giving Big, on “How to attract referrals like a magnet.” In addition to being a speaker, I had the pleasure to sit in on the presentation by Bonnie Ross-Parker, America’s “Connection Diva.” She was talking on pointers for effective networking and she said something that truly resonated with me. I have always applied this to my networking strategy and teach it to my networking coaching clients but she summarized it beautifully and succinctly.

“If you rescue someone, they will love you forever.” Bonnie Ross Parker

Now, I am sure you can see the various ways that this can be applied in life and business… In this instance, she was referring to when you are at an event and you see someone standing alone… There are always people like that at functions… In fact, you might have been one of them at some point.

Her point is that, if you introduce yourself, make them feel welcome and even try to introduce them to some others at the event, you will surely stand out. This will make all the difference in their experience and they will also be open to learning more about you because you went out of your way to make them feel welcome. In addition, there is a great likelihood that they will not forget that experience because of how you went out of your way.

“Why show up [to a networking event] if you don’t want to be remembered?” – Bonnie Ross Parker

Have you ever had an experience where an individual went out of their way to make you feel welcome? Have you ever “rescued” someone?  What were the results of those experiences?

When it comes to growing a business and marketing a business through networking (whether in person or online), time mastery is important. It is simply too easy to waste time driving, checking email, running late, forgetting things, etc etc etc. These are some of the gremlins that even I personally struggle with that eat my time up. I’m all too familiar with it. In fact, I may be genetically pre-disposed to bad time habits because I’m (big shocker here…) Hispanic… and Hispanic’s are notorious for being punctually challenged.

I attended a workshop in Charlottesville, Virginia, taught by David Finkel from the Maui Mastermind Wealth Community on time management… These were the top three takeaways that I had. They are so easy and have had a profound impact on my scheduling already. I am confident they will do the same for you if you are not already doing them.

• Be Early. Being early causes less stress! In addition, when you are early to appointments, it has been shown that the level of trust between you and the person you are meeting with goes up… If that isn’t the best reason of all, I don’t know what is… Now, early does not mean ON TIME. It means 10-15 minutes before the appointment time.
  

• Use your time “waiting” more productively. That means spend less time chatting on the phone or browsing the net and use that time to actually accomplish things or plot out what you need to accomplish. This can also be applied to when you are on HOLD or waiting to receive something, such as a fax (do people still use those), an email, a direct message or a text.

• Consciously choose your commitments. It’s okay to say NO instead of saying yes and then backing out of something due to over-committing. Your time is very valuable and you need to be aware of how you are sharing your time with others.

Do you have any time mastery tips or time stealing gremlins? Do share!

Kat Cole, VP Of Training and Development for Hooters, Inc.

On Thursday, November 5, the Vice President of Training and Development for Hooters, Inc., Kat Cole, spoke to 40 business women at an a lunch event hosted by my organization, Women Intelligently Networking (WIN!). She started out as a Hooters girl and now runs an enormous division of a company that generates over one billion annually. Suffice to say, if anyone knows something about customer service, motivation, sales, training, stigma and standing apart, it’s her.

Not only is Ms. Cole an incredibly inspiring and entertaining speaker, she is also very business savvy and has her own independent consulting firm that works with CEOs on leadership. There were many practical business tips provided as well as lessons shared from her experiences.

Here are three of the big take-aways that I had:

• It’s okay to be opportunistic – when opportunity arises, do not feel bad about taking advantage of it.

• Master the art of non-verbal communication – Only 7% of what people perceive is based on the actual words you use… What are you saying with the other 93%? (I also wrote a previous blog post on – “What are you saying before you speak” that addresses some of this.)

• “If no one is creating energy around you, you need to create it yourself,” This was the philosophy of the founders of Hooters who realized that instead of waiting for other people to get excited about Hooters, they had to do it for them and generate the buzz. Instead of waiting for things to happen, make them happen!

What tips do you have for getting ahead in the business world? Do you have any lessons that you wish you would have known when you started your business?

My mobile office to maximize productivity... and sanity!!

Between September 24 and November 10, I attended 10 conferences/workshops/summits, travelled to 6 states, hosted 4 of my own WIN events, spoke at 3 events and participated in 2 tele-seminars.

And, right now I’m at the airport dealing with a 3 hour flight delay in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Suffice to say, I’ve been busy.

I’ve been getting asked frequently how I manage to get any work done and stay sane. Creature comforts become all the more important when existing outside of your normal elements.

These are a few of the things that help me stay sane.

• Light laptop – I have a Mac Air. The fact that I can put this thing into my purse and have it not drag me down is glorious. There are things that I miss about heavier units such as having a CD rom but the weight benefit alone while still having a decent size screen makes this baby worthwhile.

• MobileMe – I simply love this service from Apple. I love the fact that I can log in on the web from any computer, add an event or appointment and it almost instantly updates my phone without the need for physical syncing. However, I am in the process of considering to convert to Google Calendar… but the principle is the same!

• Virtual Assistant – Kyra Hatter with Virtually Ideal Executive Services is my salvation! She manages my massive voicemail inflow, contact follow up and speaking engagements. If you are struggling with too much to do and not enough time, I highly encourage you to consider a VA.

• Great Headphones – As you will see in the picture, I don’t mess around when it comes to headphones. Now, these are not the new spiffy ones with noise reduction (though I’d love a pair if anyone has an extra set laying around! ). These headphones are near and dear to me as I’ve had them since 1998 when I used to DJ. I splurged and they have not let me down yet. I highly encourage everyone to consider getting –serious- headphones if music helps you get to your “happy place”.

• Ipod – Yes, I’m using an antiquated Ipod mini but I love it. Yes, I have an iphone and a laptop. I could easily consolidate. In fact, I even got a new ipod mini but it was such a nightmare moving the music and playlists over that I let my husband “acquire” the ipod. I have music on here from the last… 6 years and it’s a compilation from my last 4 computers and I simply don’t have the originals from when I burned them.

What things keep you sane?