Networking Insight

Five Post Thanksgiving Networking Thoughts

With the Thanksgiving holiday over, let's reflect on some relationship building thoughts:

1. Holidays are a great time to build relationships both with your family and friends. Football and food bring people together so don't miss out on getting to know people better. 

2. Since the corporate world has some extra time off during this holiday, take the time to catch up on emails and follow-up activity. With less business distractions, take advantage of the unusual quiet time. It is a good chance that people will see your emails.

3. With the holiday shopping deals, stock up on holiday gifts for people in your life, which includes business professionals. Giving gifts during the holidays not only shows that you care, but also that you value the relationship.

4. With the extra time, make room for writing thought leadership articles and blog posts. Since you have the time now, write several for a future use. It is good to have several ready to go.

5. Set up meetings for the following two weeks. With a little downtime now, send out meeting requests for those in your network to get to know better. The holidays are a great time to meet with people because things slow down.

What other post Thanksgiving networking thought do you have?

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Honor Your Network and Reap Rewards

In relationship building, it is important to honor and respect the people in your network. Without the respect of your peers, you will have a very difficult time helping one another.

Don't take people for granted. Each of us has something unique to offer so get to know others. Show your interest in what others have to say. Find out their needs and how you can help.

By paying attention, you will show that you care and have a genuine interest in the other person. Give good listener cues by keeping good eye contact, smiling, asking insightful questions.

While building up existing relationships, show that you have value to offer by sharing relevant information, events, and others items of note. Ask people to meet you for coffee, lunch, or drinks. Show that you value the relationship.

Over time, you will benefit by builidng strong bonds with your network. When you need help, you won't have to go far for assistance.  By honoring your relationships, you will have built up a great network of people, which is a valuable asset.

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EFactor Presents: Online Crowd Funding - Next Week!

On April, 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act (or JOBS Act) into law. This bill intended to encourage funding of United States small businesses by easing various regulations. It will make it easier for startups and small businesses to raise funds, especially through online crowd funding.

The EFactor event explores the opportunities that small businesses and startups have from the JOBS Act. An attorney will join us to discuss all of the ins and outs of the bill. Besides this keynote, a panel of crowdfunding experts will discuss how they (and you!) can take advantage from the JOBS Act.

After attending, you'll have insights on:

• How your business can take advantage from the JOBS Act
• How to raise fudnng using online crowd funding
• Advice rom experienced entrepreneurs
• And much, much more!

These insights will open up new doors of opportunity by your start-up or existing enterprise!

Speakers

• Annabelle Pereira, Associate, Much Shelist
• Randy Shipley, Co-Founder, SocialGravity
• Sebastian Villarreal, Founder, LendSquare
• Desiree Vargas Wrigley, Co-Founder, GiveFoward
• Scott McIntyre, Managing Director, Phabriq DevelopmentE

Event Details

• 11/15/12
• 6-9pm
• Much Shelist, 191 N. Wacker, 18th Floor, Chicago
• Price: $10 early bird, $15 regular, $20 at door
• Sponsors: EFactor, Much Shelist, Leavitt Siegal

For more details and to register, go to EFactor.

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