Posted By Amanda Collins on August 2, 2009

As a business owner, I am out on the local networking scene on a regular basis, going to old and new events weekly to meet people and see friends. When I go out, new people naturally gravitate to me to find out what I do because I am wearing scrubs and a stethoscope. So, because that happens, I make it clear that I will “pimp out” my friends and colleagues, introducing them to new folks with a quick “testimonial” to create an instant connection. The thing that surprises me is that almost no one else does that.

How hard is it to introduce people? Isn’t that a skill we learned in elementary school? “Joan, this is Jim. Jim is an electrician with ABC Company; Joan owns a marketing company that specializes in working with new startups.” Simple. Now they know what the other does, have a warm introduction, and you’ve built a basis for further conversation. But recently, at a large event where I was in a small group of four, one of the people three of us knew walked up. No one bothered to introduce our new addition to the man she didn’t know – even though everyone knew the status. So I was yelling across to connect them. Of course, being me, I called them all on it, but they seemed genuinely surprised and hadn’t thought of making the introduction themselves.

So, because I help people meet others – and will do this introduction thing with strangers too – I tend to have people wanting to go out and network with me. It’s not a bad thing at all, and if you practice common courtesy and manners on the networking scene, you might see that by paying it forward, you’ll actually get a great return.

Category: Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Tags: introductions, networking

Posted By Amanda Collins on June 11, 2009

This past weekend I attended a seminar about keeping a business venture on track during this new economy (http://thenextgeneration.us/). As a business owner, I attend many such seminars and presentations, but for whatever reason, this one really resonated with me. The first speaker suggested doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on the business and then crafting 30-, 60-, and 90-day action plans. Well, I did it right there. And one of the biggest things on my agenda was time management.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a horrible procrastinator. I have a to-do list daily, but I end up on Facebook. Twitter, checking e-mail, or basically doing just about anything else to avoid said list. This puts me behind, which makes my deliverables fall short of the promised date. Of course, that means I am leaving a bad taste in the mouths of my clients. Who’s going to refer someone when I can’t follow through on deadlines? I know I wouldn’t.

So, since I knew this was my downfall, I tackled it first. I decided to block out time on my PDA: one hour for work following by 30 minutes of play. Each section had tasks assigned. Since I’m a writer, the work block could be a résumé, revisions, editing, or copywriting. The play time consisted of e-mail, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I even blocked out gym time and when I would pick up my son from daycare. Then I got out my timer.

I don’t multitask nearly as much anymore, but that’s okay. In fact, I close the e-mail browser, Facebook, and Tweetdeck during my working hour. I find I’m more on task and, most importantly, I’m finishing everything! I’m able to juggle working ON the business with working IN the business, which is a weight off my mind. So far, on day four, I’m right on task and have gotten a ton done.

So buy yourself a timer (or look one up online) and get working. It’ll do wonders.

Category: Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Tags: time management