So here’s my quick story…

I’m a middle child. Got away with most everything growing up as most middle children do. Was a little rebel. Could easily hide in the shadows. Graduated high school early once I realized I could make money eight hours a day instead of going to school.  I married and divorced my high school sweetheart.

Tried college; hated it. Loved working; didn’t always love my job. It took me several years and many experiences to realize I was not the type of person to sit behind a desk 40 hours a week.

After a graphic design degree and several failed attempts at making money doing “my own thing”, I found myself as The Quiet Girl in the Corner at every networking event. Little did I know, I would soon find myself making a living by networking.

It started with a membership to a weekly referral group. If you know anything about TIPS groups, you know that the leader of the group is usually the sap the missed the meeting when they voted and guess what, you got voted president! Not me. 4 months in, I stepped up and started my own chapter because I’m a little controlling and wanted nothing but the best for my members.

One thing led to another and I found myself volunteering so much for the local chamber that they hired me as an assistant and if you’ve ever worked for a chamber before, you know that “10” hours a week really means 30. And before I knew it I was working almost 40 hours a week for the chamber and also helping spearhead a new referral group organization. I went from a quiet member in a TIPS group, to be the chapter president to running the entire Nebraska and Iowa regions and overseeing 600+ members!

I’ve been called a ‘Networking Junkie’, The ‘It Girl’, ‘Networking Guru’ and most famously ‘Networking Whore’. And I wear all those titles proudly. Most people are surprised to hear I truly was the quiet girl in the corner not too many years ago.

But honestly, its the relationships I have built that have made me successful in whatever I am doing. I have always prided myself on being the person you can call for anything. Need a plumber? A realtor? An attorney? A security system? A job reference? Call me! I want people to feel comfortable coming to me for all their needs for 2 reasons; 1. So when they do need my services we already have a warm relationship and 2. I now know I can go them for any of my needs

So why this blog? I get asked a lot to help coach sales professionals in the world of networking. I love it. So as I do that one on one, I thought I would digitally share my words of wisdom to anyone that happens upon them.

So thanks for following. I hope you learn a tip or two. I’d love your feedback and to hear your stories about networking successes and failures (don’t worry, we all have them).