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If you haven’t already figured out by now…we are in a recession . Not just any recession but rather one of the worst recessions since the great depression.
Every day more and more people are laid off and businesses struggle to stay afloat.
As employees and entrepreneurs experience hardships, there are a select few who are experiencing the economic storm and interestingly enough have nothing to fear and are thriving.
Who are these people you may ask?
The individuals who have nothing to fear are those who are highly connected in their niche.
Each of these very individuals who are highly connected, and who understand that “Connectivity is the New Currency In This Day And Age," as my friend Michelle Price says, are those that thrive in their life no matter what the economy is doing.
Translated… “Your network is your greatest insurance policy if/when the shit ever hits the fan.”
I repeat…
Your network is your greatest insurance policy if/when the shit ever hits the fan.
Because these networkers in this economy have taken the time BEFOREHAND to build and nurture these types of relationships OVER TIME before a crisis hit, they now hold the key to many new opportunities and pathways that most people don’t have access to.
Now if anything ever happened to these types of individuals…
Lost their job…
Closed their business…
Suffered some sort of hardship…
Guess what their next move would be?
They would connect to and reach out to their network of course to ask for help/assistance/contacts etc!
So instead of waiting for the economy to get better, to build your network I highly recommend that you do these 5 things right now to get yourself on the path to not be a victim any longer.
As a famous person once said, "A victim blames, a victor learns."
Don’t be a victim…please do these 5 things right now.
1. Call Every Friend You Have
Call each one of these friends to check up on them to see if there is any way you can help them. As someone who believes in giving for the sake of giving I know that it will come back 100 fold. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but sooner or later it always comes back in some way shape or form. Even though you may be struggling right now no matter what your situation, you never know what new opportunities this may create for you and plus it feels good to help others…this shouldn’t take you more than a day to do. By doing this, strengthening the bond with your contacts is a good thing in these tough times
2 Put Yourself Out there
Meet more people in your niche. I don’t care how you do it…on the web or in person just get out there and pound some pavement. Meet some new people and find ways to work together with them. As you grow these new connections don’t forget to follow up!
3. Continue to Strengthen Your Online Presence
As you contribute to more communities online and are continuously seen, you open yourself up to more opportunities that can be presented to you. I can’t tell you how many times new opportunities have fallen into my lap because of someone I met on facebook or from someone who read my blog for the first time. Find a way to build your presence online and think of creative ways to leverage that going forward to land the gigs you want to attract into your life.
4. Make A List
Make a list of people you want to get to know, but have been procrastinating to introduce yourself to them. Know why you want to reach out to them, and once you create the list, figure out the best way to get in touch with them.
Do you have someone who possibly knows them that could introduce you? Do they have their e-mail on their blog or website?
Just be sure that when you reach out to anyone new that you make the e-mail/letter/phone call personal and customized, and don’t sound like a robot treating people like a number.
People want to be treated like people…NOT numbers…as one of my mentors, Roberto Torres taught me a long time ago.
5. Have Some Fun
Even though we are in tough times, don’t be afraid to have some fun as you build new connections and strengthen the bonds with your contacts. Even though times like this can be stressful, don’t forget that we are all in this together, and that there are other people just like you who are dealing with the same economy.
So in summary : As you shift your mind to a "higher level" of thinking about connections and relationships, don’t ever forget that your network is your greatest insurance policy, and they should NEVER be taken for granted. As you nurture the relationships over time you should never have anything to fear as you continue through the crazy journey of life.
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Comments
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April 24, 2009 3:10 pm
This is so true. About two years ago I found out I was being laid off, so I sent out an email to everyone in my network to see if anyone knew of someone who was hiring.
I had several interviews lined up within a week.
It's a lot less scary to get laid off or make a job transition when you know people, and know that they'll be willing to help you out.
But it is important to reciprocate, or pre-ciprocate to build those relationships.
April 27, 2009 12:32 am
I completely agree with all of these things...
I also learned to make sure all my skills are up to date and to make sure I have other skills as well...I accidentally ended up in the job I currently have...I had been going to school taking college courses and I had not made up my mind as to what my major was going to be but had narrowed it to two things...when I chose my electives I made sure they were useful to both majors...a difficult divorce prevented me from finishing college and I decided to move at the same time...
It was the best thing I had ever done for myself...since I could not find the work in my field I went to all the temp agency in the area I planned to live...took all their tests and landed a three month assignment the first day I was there...I was hired permanently less than six months after I took the assignment,I make twice the money I did in my previous field and I LOVE MY JOB!!! If I had not been smart enough to at least made the decision to not limit my career choices when taking the classes at the local college I would never had landed this job...and the biggest plus for me is I have more skills than I did when I began my job.
I sometimes think we get too comfortable in our situations and when something happens it is too shocking for us to deal with it effectively...never pass up the opportunity to learn something new...You are NEVER too old to learn new things!
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Grad School Zone
UVA (Darden) MBA Admissions Deadlines for 2010-2011
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The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business recently published its application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics:
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