The positive power of networking. I rediscovered it today at a Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast (PWGC) lunch meeting – just in time! I have been writing blogs and posting Facebook thoughts/entries for two years, but my readership hasn’t grown and I seldom receive feedback. “Discouraged” is how I’d describe myself, ready to give up on writing, publishing, and marketing my books. Surely there are more rewarding ways I can spend my time, I’d begun to think.
On a whim, I offered to write articles for the PWGC magazine. The editor thought it was a good idea, which is how I ended up at the gathering today. I needed to meet some of the women and find out who would be willing to talk with me, providing those essential personal quotations for my articles. That was my goal, but I left with so much more.
There were nearly forty women and I met many of them. There was also a round table session when each woman had thirty seconds to describe her business. I thought it might not work, given the large group, but instead I was amazed at the wide variety of business ventures and the enthusiasm of the women. Their energy was contagious. I spoke near the end, asking for their help. They were very receptive, and I now have the contact information for plenty of women to call on. I’m excited to add their real life experiences to the articles I have in mind. I’ll start, appropriately, with one on “Attitude.” I always talk about how important it is, without realizing my own had slipped.
Networking is the chance to make friends, gain information and support, develop new connections, open up opportunities, seek advice. But most important for me today? Motivation! When it was over, I agreed with the woman who told me, “I was in a slump this morning, but now I feel energized.” Ah, the positive power of networking.
by Kathleen Vestal Logan, MS, MA April 14, 2017