Developing Strong Ties: Blue and Red Make Purple…

It’s fascinating to me to watch people network. The smiles and firm handshakes. The warm introductions and business card exchanges. All a necessary part of growing your business and getting your name out there. But I’ve also witnessed the other side of that. The whispers and eye rolls. The brush offs and avoidance. All unnecessary parts of growing your business and getting your name out there. Because of our size, small business owners, whether you like doing it or not, must dedicate time to network and build synergies. But, it’s the how we do it that gets me fired up!

Yes, we are all in business to be successful. To do that, we need clients to patronize our businesses, instead of the competition. No arguments there. But, as a small business community, we have a responsibility to share our experiences, those good and bad, with one another to help grow the pot for everybody. Now, I’m not suggesting that you make copies of your playbook or disclose your trick plays, but snubbing your competition at a networking event or refusing to give a new entrepreneur some much needed advice for FREE, shows poor sportsmanship and perhaps unveils a confidence issue on your part.  A good mentor once told me, ‘there is enough out there for everybody.’  She wasn’t the least bit intimidated by her competition because she was confident in herself and her business model. In fact, she did the opposite. Her door was always open for questions and she answered them honestly. She is still a million dollar producer, despite the nuggets of information gold she drops along the way.

Small business owners, it’s time to reach across the aisle. On election night, we all saw states turn blue or red.  And despite how the night ended for you one thing is certain, when you mix those two colors together, you get one of the prettiest colors in the primary line up, purple. So, let us set aside a personal need to be the best and focus on doing our best for ourselves, fellow business owners, and our customers. You may be surprised to find that your business does not suffer. Instead, you’re now branded as a thought leader in your industry and a friend to the business community. And that, my friend, can lead to a gold mine.

**Buzzworthy:  PRO Coaching/Consulting.  Lanette Thurman, Ph.D.  E: LHThurman@aol.com