5 Amazing Apps For Networking On the Go!

 

It's 2014 and most of us have created virtual residencies in cyberspace. We do almost everything online, especially networking. We live on the internet. While face to face networking still proves to be more beneficial than social media networking, sometimes we have to work with what we have and sometimes that's just us...in our vehicles...on the highway...stuck in traffic. http://www.inc.com/ss/10-apps-to-up-your-networking-game#4 list 10 great apps for networking on the go via the internet and http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/26-mobile-apps-to-improve-your-business-and-networking/ list 26. I have identified my top five favorite and posted their names as well as a brief description  of what they do below. Enjoy :)

 

Hashable

This is one of the easiest ways to manage contacts and to facilitate meetings on the fly. Simply download the app, then use the hashtag to communicate messages via Twitter. Specified hashtags can introduce associates to one another—and if they don't have Twitter, it's OK: Hashable can send messages internally. Use the #intro hashtag to put two people in touch, or propose a #meeting at a #restaurant with a new acquaintance.

 

AIM

To keep in step with the technological advances since its inception, AIM now allows you to chat with contacts on other services such as Gmail chat and Facebook. You can also stream your Twitter feed through AOL Lifestream which can also be accessed via the app.

 

CardMunch Business Card Reader

Have you been holding onto a whole bunch of business cards from the last conference you went to? Looking for a solution for the cards you collected at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego?

Convert business cards to address book contacts and add them as connections on LinkedIn. CardMunch provides card-capture functionality for faster card scanning.

 

Meetup

Is online time usurping much of your day? There’s still nothing like the face-to-face experience.

The Meetup app will help locate meetups around topics of interest to you including social media, tech, business and entrepreneurship—and of course a range of fitness, hobbies, community, parenting and dog meetups, among others.

 

Instagram

Taking photos on a mobile phone offers users spontaneity plus the ability to visually transform a picture and share it immediately. Instagram includes filters and borders, blur effects and easy sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and Foursquare.

 

For more information on applications that allow you to get in some networking fun while on the go, visit one of the two websites listed above. Also if you are ever in Hampton Roads or the surrounding areas, be sure to get in some real face to face networking by visiting my weekly networking event, The Networking Games. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-networking-games-tickets-12138571795?aff=eorg

Marvel Themed Birthday Celebration

 

This coming Monday my super amazing man-friend is celebrating another year on this earth...but not with me. He will be spending the weekend with his mother, (because all amazing man-friends love their mothers) and I will be in Northern VA, attending a Baby Shower for one of my dearest friends. Why does this matter? Well, since we will both be out of town this weekend, we decided to celebrate his birthday last weekend....Marvel Style :) We invited our closest friends and asked them to dress up as their favorite super hero or villain, or to create their own. Of course I turned to Pinterest for some much needed guidance. The super moms had struck again. I was overwhelmed with all the Marvel greatness I had stumbled upon. It was very clear to me that I needed to create the best Gotham City backdrop my small budget and limited apartment space would allow.

 

 

Poster Boards have become my friend. They are so versatile you can pretty much create any backdrop from them. They're cheap, reusable, and they stand on their own. I found a royal blue one at Michaels and went to work. The most tedious part was cutting out all of the windows for the sky scrapers, but once I got past that it was smooth sailing.

 

As far as the food, I had found the cutest mini burgers on Pinterest and decided to attempt to recreate them. Unfortunately, mini burger buns were nowhere to be found. So I decided on Hawaiian Sweet bread and used meatballs and mini cheese slices to create the mini burgers displayed below. I don't eat meat, but I was told they were yummy :)

As for the rest of the display, I went with the classic candy jar, and flat glass display also filled with candy from Party City. The Hulk cake from Scratch Bakery acted as the center piece. Beside it sat the homemade fry display made from a recycled box and scrapbooking paper, and also on the table were mini mason jars with straws and name labels, and plastic utensils and silverware.

 

We played a few adult party games found on http://www.queen-of-theme-party-games.com/funny-party-games.html. The paper bag game was a hit! Each player had to pick up the paper bag on one leg using only their mouth. After each round everyone folds their paper down and it just gets more and more difficult and more and more hilarious. By the way, it pays to be short sometimes :)

This party was a lot of fun to put together, and fairly easy. All in all we had a great time and that's what matters most. Ok you party animals, until next time :)

5 Networking Mistakes You Must Avoid Making!

Networking is an essential part of building your business, but it is also a learning process. Below are some commonly made, must avoid, networking mistakes. Much of the information in this blog post was derived from http://www.careerealism.com/common-networking-mistakes/#!bkESTx and more
information can be found there.

1. Relying too heavily on social media networking: According to careerlism.com too many professionals want to do everything online, and as we all know, diversity is key in building a business. We have to switch it up sometimes and try different things. Also, meeting someone in person can leave much less room for rejection and miscommunication.

2. Expecting results too soon: Networking is about building relationships and building any type of relationship takes time, work, and a combined effort. That is why the sooner you began networking, the better.

3. Not meeting enough people: Careerlism.com explains that networking should be focused on building strong relationships, however, you should strive to meet as many new people as possible, and work towards building a multitude of business relationships.

4. No follow up: As in every relationship you desire to grow, there must be follow up. Following meeting someone new, ask permission to keep in touch. Check in on them periodically and try to find some common ground, to further develop the relationship.

5. Not dressing the part: If you want people to remember you as being a professional you must look the part. Avoid showing up to networking events in casual clothing. A first impression is a lasting impression.

As I mentioned earlier, for more information on this topic, reference the full article in the link provided above. And if your in the Hampton roads or surrounding areas, get some real time networking experience by visiting my weekly networking event, The Networking Games, held every Wednesday at Green House from 5-7. Click the link below to register. Have an awesome Wednesday and Happy Networking!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-networking-games-tickets-12138571795

5 Great Questions to Ask When Networking

Networking is an extremely important part of building a business, but doing it correctly is no easy task. A lot of people think networking is all about business, but the best networking relationships are built when people actually get to know one another. Below I have listed 5 great questions to ask when networking, that will allow you to dig deeper and get the best results from your future networking experiences. This information was derived from http://www.alduncan.net/networking-questions.html.

 

 

1. What caused you to get involved in.....?

 

Most people enjoy telling stories, especially about themselves. This gives them the opportunity to do so and you listening tentatively will help them to build rapport with you. You'll also get to learn something new about them.

 

2.  What do you love best about your job?

 

This question keeps the mood light and allows you to see what aspect of their job they are truly passionate about. This is most likely the area they excel in.

 

3. What one thing would you do if you knew that you could not fail?
 

I really love this question. It allows people to dream for a moment and like the question above you can really get to see what it is they are passionate about. Also talking to you about their dream could build a lasting bond especially if you are passionate about the same things, like helping people, or making the world a better place :)

 

9. If someone who knew you well were to describe you in one sentence what would he/she say?

This question allows an individual to think of themselves from an outside perspective. You may get to see a side of them you were not able to see when asking the above questions, because the way we see are selves is usually a bit different then how others perceive us.

 

5. What do you enjoy doing when you have free time?

 

This question allows you to get to know their hobbies and it also offers a bit of information about their personal life as well. You might find that you both like playing tennis, and decide to set up a time for you all to match up and further build that networking relationship.

 

Networking should be fun. Its not a job interview or a boxing match. Ask questions that keep the conversation going and the mood light! Oh and if your ever in Hampton Roads or the surrounding area make sure to drop by at my weekly networking event, The Networking Games, held every Wednesday at 5pm at Green House. The link to register is below. Until next week. Happy Networking!

https://www.eventbrite.com/myevent?eid=12138571795

7 Simple Ways to Make Your Next Event Green!



   

 Vintage China and Charger Found at Local Thrift Shop :)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love green. It is my favorite color of them all. Not only do I love the color green, but I love the concept. I love that my generation is adamant about implementing environmentally friendly practices in everyday life. I believe that we are all connected to nature and if we take care of our planet, our planet will take care of us...end rant. Needless to say I try to encourage the clients that I work with to implement environmentally friendly practices in their events. To help assist hosts with this concept, I came up with a list of 7 simple ways to throw an awesome event while saving the planet all at the same time. Enjoy :)

 

1. E-Invitations: It is 2014 and we pretty much do everything via the internet. Why not save some trees and send your next event invite via email? There are some great sites out there that will allow you to do this. Some of my favorite are Eventbrite.com, Zazzle.com, and ThePurpleTrail.com just to name a few. There are various designs to fit whatever the theme or style of your event is!

 

2. Recycle mason jars to use as centerpieces: I don't know about you, but I eat pasta for dinner at least once a week. It's quick, it's healthy (depending on how you make it), and its fairly inexpensive. With that being said, I have stashed away in my linen closet, an endless supply of mason jars from pasta sauces. They are so easy to collect and there are tons of tutorials on Pinterest.com that teach you how to transform them into fabulous, elegant works of art. Wine bottles are great to if your a wino such as myself :)

 

3.Thrift: I promise you if you can get passed the unique antique smell that lingers in most thrift shops, you will not be let down. I have found table clothes, centerpieces, frames, glassware, and my all time favorite, vintage china, all in the thrift shop. And Hampton Roads is just filled with them. There are five alone just on Mercury Blvd! In my experience the church owned and family owned thrift shops have the best deals and they will usually bargain with you too!

 

4.Use an environmental friendly venue: Your venue can also be certified environmentally friendly. Ask about certification and what kind of practices they implement to ensure they are doing their part!

 

5. Have you ceremony and reception at the same venue: Not only does this save your guests some money on gas, allow you to add more activities to your timeline, and avoid someone getting lost trying to locate your reception, it also reduces you and your guests carbon footprint!

 

6. Have recycle bens at your event: self explanatory, but you may want to check on this with your venue and ensure there will be someone available and willing to take the recycled articles to a recycle center. You can find nearby recycle centers using google.

 

7. Lastly, send your thank you cards electronically using one of the sites mentioned above. Your guests will appreciate not having to find a place to stash the card and not feeling guilty for tossing it.

 

For more tips on how to keep your event green, there are various articles on the internet. Maybe the ones I've listed wont work for you, but I'm sure there are some out there that will. Even if you only use one of these suggested tips you are still putting forth the effort to make this planet a better place for all God's creatures, so hats off to you :)

Why Face to Face Networking Still Beats Social Media Networking

Its 2014 and you can pretty much do anything online now. You can pay your bills, find love, buy groceries...you can even launch an extremely lucrative business via the internet. Some very special, and talented people have made our lives extremely convenient through the advancement of technology and the web. But convenient doesn't always mean better...does it?

Lets use a scenario. You are looking to hire a DJ for your sisters wedding. You google local DJ's and the first to pop up is Mr. DJ The Hit Man (get it...hit's :)) Any who, you check out his website, read the reviews, and he even has a video you can watch of a prior wedding he's performed at. Everything seems to check out and you hire Mr. DJ for your sisters wedding. On the day of the wedding you are starting to panic because Mr. DJ has yet to show up and its already 30 min prior to the ceremony. Five till Mr. DJ stumbles in looking as if he is still recovering from the night before. You also immediately notice that he looks nothing like the DJ in the video on his website. That's because he isn't. He is the guy in the corner falling asleep while he is supposed to be shadowing the experienced DJ. He apologizes for being late, but assures you he will only need 10 min to set up his equipment. 5 minutes later he is reluctant to tell you he does not have the extension chord he needs to perform his job and that he must have left it at home.

To make a long story short Mr. DJ is unable to perform at the wedding ceremony due to the time constraints, but he is able to make it back for the reception. He does not have any of the songs you all requested for him to play in honor of the bride and groom, and Mr. DJ does not interact with your guest in the manner his website described he would.

This is not to say that when you hire someone to provide a service over the internet they will not do a great job, or that everyone you meet face to face will. But what if you had attended a networking event in the past year and had actually met a DJ, interacted with him or her, and taken their business card? What if you had gone to a friend and asked if they knew any good DJ's? What if you had set up an actual meeting to meet Mr. DJ face to face? The point is, it is imperative that we do not get hung up with the perfect facades the internet sometimes exposes us too. It is always important to meet someone and create your impression of them based off of what you learn about them in the flesh vs. how they portray themselves on the internet. All it takes is money to build an amazing website, but it takes hard work and dedication to build a great business. Let's not forget Networking! It takes lots of that too :) You can join me tonight for my very own Network Wednesday event if you are in the Hampton Roads or surrounding area. Click the link below to register now. Your first time is free. Happy Networking folks. Until next Network Wednesday!
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-networking-games-tickets-12138571795?aff=eorg

My very fist style shoot and the amazing people who made it happen!

Back in April I joined a BNI networking group. One of the very first people I met in the group was a photographer, Amanda, owner of Amanda Truth Photography. Amanda is our groups visitors host so she and I had lunch right away. Over Chai Lattes and Cheese Danishes I explained to her my struggle in building a reputation for my business and showcasing my abilities. Amanda suggested I do a style shoot. She made it sound very simple so I didn't think twice before I agreed to doing it. We picked a date and I immediately went to work contacting vendors.

My first task was finding a venue. I had recently conversed with Krystina Serafini at the Mariners Museum in regards to a wedding I was coordinating at the time, and she had been so pleasant I decided to start with her venue. I set up an appointment to meet with her and get a tour of the Museum. She was so friendly and professional right from the start and made me feel very welcomed at the museum. I told her I was looking to do a vintage tea party themed event, and she recommended I see the South Courtyard. I immediately fell in love. Even in early spring before everything had bloomed, it was so very charming. I made it up, right there on the spot that it would be my style shoot venue. Then Krystina told me what I would need to pay. I stumbled over my words trying to explain "there wouldn't actually be an event taking place here, but more so a staged event (finger quotes), and a little birdie told me it was something you all could provide......for free".

 

Free....That word makes me cringe. I hate asking anyone to do anything for free. Maybe it has something to do with coming from humble beginnings and having a mother whose pride was always greater than her circumstances. Whatever the case I did not feel entitled to getting things for free. It is something I still struggle with...asking for help. But Amanda coached me and assured me that I was bringing something valuable to the table, and what I learned along the way is that what she was bringing to the table was even more valuable...amazing, professional photos complimenting all of our unique talents.

So I swallowed my pride and I just went for it. I did my research and I chose vendors whose work I admired and whom I felt I could learn and grow from. It was the very beginning of wedding season and everybody was super busy, but they were still very sincere and nice. They told me what they could and couldn't do, which I respected. Honesty is always the best policy in my book, and I was just so happy to hear a yes...a maybe...a possibly...anything other than no. I loved working with every single one of the vendors who participated in my shoot.

 

Page from Jeff's Flowers of Course put together an amazing bouquet that I so badly wanted to preserve for my own wedding one day. Scratch bakery allowed me to use their most beautiful (in my humble opinion) display cakes as well as the stand and the lovely white tulle draped underneath. Grand rental station provided the plush pink table clothe, gorgeous white, sheer overlay, as well as the elegant chiavari chairs. Ashley and Georgia at The Unearthed provided the Hutch, the Virginia (the Victorian style sofa), and a few of the smaller accents such as the tea cups displayed on the Hutch, which they brought along just for fun. They were so generous and kind and even helped me unpack and set up what seemed like tons of china and other décor. My bride and close friend Xavius Praylow delivered an amazing performance, playing the chic, surprised, grateful, at times humored, always elegant bride to be. My best friend Jerimiah kept me sane and made sure all of the décor and rentals arrived to the venue on time. He also helped with set up and tear down as did most of the vendors who were present at the style shoot.

 

 

All in all I had an amazing team of creative, professional, talented, kind hearted people. And to the beautiful inspiring bird who so eloquently put a word in my ear, coached me through the process, captured every amazing aspect of it, and then turned around and got us published, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, being patient with me, and doing a phenomenal job. You are a great person and an extremely talented photographer and I am not only glad to call you my colleague, but also my friend. This was a huge step for me and for my business, and so many of you helped to make it the success that it was. Lastly, thank you for publishing it to your super fabulous wedding blog Chelsea LaVere of Tidewater and Tulle.

 

 

 

              

 

 

Network Wednesday: Five Networking Tips You Must Know

So aside from planning awesome events, I tend to do a lot of networking and I also have a networking event that I personally host once a week titled The Networking Games. I know...I'm a dork :/ Any who, over the past 6 months I feel I have learned a lot about networking, but more so I've learned a lot about what not to do and what's not affective at all. So in honor of Network Wednesday, my self proclaimed weekly holiday in the name of all things networking, I have compiled a list of 5 must know networking tips. Enjoy!

1. Wear a nametag. I know, this sounds goofy, but I for one am horrible with remembering names. So if I meet you at a networking event, and then we part for a moment to mingle with other fellow networkers, but later I remember there is something important I want to ask you, or there's somebody I know who could really use your services, I being the awkward person that I am, am going to avoid you like the plague, and instead fumble through my stack of business cards in hopes that I might find the one belonging to you. Why? Because I'm too embarrassed to admit that I forgot your name that fast....and I'm awkward. This would be a heck of a lot smoother and less awkward situation had you just been wearing a nametag. So invest in a reusable business nametag (even better if it has your businesses name and logo too) that goes well with any attire. People who know your name are more likely to use it!

2. Say farewell to the person you came with. Most likely you already have a relationship with that person. They know you, what you do, and what you can do for them. So don't waste your time or money (time=money) spending the whole event chatting it up with them because it feels comfortable. Remember life begins when you step outside of your comfort zone.

3. One person at a time. Have you ever tried having a serious conversation with multiple people at the same time? There's always one who feels what they have to say is more important than what you have to say. There's the one with the short attention span who nods but has no clue what your actually talking about. And then there's that guy who could really use your services or would just be a great contact for you to have, but he's too uncomfortable to break into the circle you'll have formed. Have you ever tried to break into a circle of people? It's like playing double dutch and waiting for the right time to jump in without being whooped by the thick orange extension chords (is that ghetto that we did that?) The point is, pace yourself and try to have a one to one with everyone in the room.

4. Monitor your food and beverage intake. Stay away from foods that are going to give you bad breath. Period. And don't drink too much. The last thing you want is for someone's first impression of you to be "yea that guy/girl likes to drink"....maybe in college, but this is the real world, and people want to know that they can rely on you to be professional...and sober.

5. Don't leave before it's over. Networking is a commitment. It's not something you do recreationally although it should be fun and engaging if you have a good host. But overall it is an investment of your time. So make the best of it and make it worth your time. Make an honest effort to meet everyone in the room, and stay up until the very last minute because you never know who may walk in the room. It could be your ideal client!

I hope this was helpful to somebody out there. As a disclaimer, I have been guilty of all of these networking don'ts so don't feel bad if some of them applied to you. We do the best we can with what we know, and when we know better we do better :) In summary, networking is key in building your business and it is important that we do it right. Tune in next week for Network Wednesday's post and if your in Hampton Roads or any of the surrounding cities, please do join me for The Networking Games!
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-networking-games-tickets-12138571795?aff=eorg