Honestly, I hate networking in the traditional sense too.
Many networking events are like a ‘meat market’ for entrepreneurs.
What could be more unappealing than a bunch of ‘client hungry’ people trying to drum up business from other ‘client hungry’ people.
It just feels so icky!
In fact, I’ve even had the experience where certain individuals, have invited me out for coffee under the guise of building a friendship – when it turned out they just wanted to sell me on their MLM products.
Terrible idea.
Don’t be that person, ever.
And not on Facebook either.
Don’t pretend you want to be someone’s friend if your real intention is to sell them on something.
There are so many great direct sales companies out there and unfortunately, it’s people who do ‘shit’ like that, that give the industry such a bad rep!
People see right through it and won’t trust you after being manipulated like that.
If you want someone to sit through your sales pitch, then number #1 you need to be direct about what the meeting is about #2 you should at least buy them coffee for going out of their way to be there!
Rant over.
Back to the particulars of networking.
Besides that there are always a few bad apples that spoil the whole bunch, leaning toward being an introvert, networking is not that fulfilling for me, because I hate small talk.
You may not know it from the outside (since you see me being super comfortable online in videos, livetreams and hosting events) but I am not as extroverted as I look.
So as you can imagine the thought of networking is for us a wee bit of a drain for me.
But over the years, I’ve broken the code.
Here are 5 tips to make networking events work better for you….
1) Deal with your hormonal havoc (moodiness and exhaustion make networking next to impossible)
2) Only go to the events that take place during the waxing and full moon cycle (there is less chance you’ll regret signing up for it, since these are high energy times in the lunar cycle)
3) Don’t go to networking events ‘to get clients’, go with the intention to connect and co create with others.
4) Make your focus to help other people (not to get them to do something for you)
5) Host your own networking events that have depth (facilitate going deep with people so there is no time for small talk!)
Success in business is all about being a ‘go giver’, not a ‘go getter’.
But first give to yourself.
Attend to your hormonal health so that you are in good spirits.
Your vibe attracts your tribe.
And you don’t have to be an extrovert to enjoy networking.
When you become more comfortable in your skin, have steady energy and feel more outgoing, you’ll be more attracted to the idea of getting out there and being visible in your community and online.
You just need to have more feel good hormones coursing through your blood!
People rarely realize that some of their so called personality traits are actually the result of a physiological imbalances that can be healed by addressing your health.
If you are lacking any or all of the following nutrition-wise, it is going to be pretty darn near impossible to feel happy, outgoing and in the mood to network.….
protein (building block of feel good neurotransmitters)
essential fatty acids (hormone balancing)
good bacteria in your gut (as much as 90% of serotonin is produced in a healthy gut)
B-Vitamins, Vitamin C and Magnesium (your natural nerve tonics)
But nutrition is just the beginning.
The best way to heal your hormones is to harmonize your life – body, mind, heart and soul.
Let’s face it, as an entrepreneur you have to motivate yourself.
There is no boss looking over your shoulder making sure that you do the work to keep busy and be productive.
In a world where far too many people suffer the syndrome of ‘lack of self motivation’ (which is in my opinion due in part to being programmed by the educational system and the workforce) – basically because we have been forced from an early age to do shit we don’t really feel like doing – day in and day out) – we’ve never learned how to be self motivated (because we really haven’t had to be).
Once you decide that the path of a conventional career is not for you and choose the entrepreneurial path instead, you might notice how difficult it can be to stay focused and get shit done.
This is especially noticeable when you choose to work from home – with all of it’s distractions.
And if ALL that isn’t hard enough, we women have more than the usual entrepreneurial challenges to deal with.
The impact of menstruation on our work is not often spoken of.
Let’s face it, when you have a job, you may not like how you feel working on the days that you bleed (and if your hormonal havoc is really bad, your productivity might start waning significantly 1-2 weeks leading up to your period), BUT as long as you show up and do the job, you’re A ok, even if you feel a little slow, tired or emotional.
There is always ibuprofen for the pain and the fact that you are low vibe for few days doesn’t really have much of an affect on your regular paycheque.
An entrepreneur on the other hand can’t afford the luxury of pushing through in a low vibe state, because being in a low vibe is NOT client attractive – and having major lulls in productivity over the month can mean there are no leads being generated or money coming in.
There is no quick fix for that.
If you have hormonal havoc, your ability to be successful in your business is definitely suffering.
You may even think that you are defective in some way or just don’t have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
But I am here to tell you that your habits and behaviours are not you.
They may be deeply ingrained, but they aren’t intrinsic to you.
Your physiology affects your personality traits.
When you have hormonal havoc here are just some of the inefficient ways you might find yourself doing business (or not taking yourself and your business seriously)…..
1) Hate networking (small talk is not for the moody!)
2) You want clients – but not really (because what if you are not in the mood anymore when their session is scheduled?!).
3) You too often have to cancel your sessions because of tension headaches, brain fog and period pain.
4) You are unfocused, busy doing a lot of shit, but not getting much of value accomplished.
5) You are too sensitive or insecure to be able to handle being visible on social media (paranoia).
6) If someone questions, criticizes or offers even constructive feedback about what you ‘share’, you get angry or have to cry.
7) You are afraid to take on too much, because you are always worried that you’ll run out of energy or crash.
8) ‘Overwhelm’ is your middle name and you are afraid to take on new clients because you don’t trust your self to be able to stay on top of the work.
9) You’ve got magical thinking….you wish that you could just sit back and facilitate your work without having to sell – or wish someone would ‘discover you’, wave a magic wand and make you an overnight success.
10) You’ve got resistance to everything you once felt like doing and regret having put all that stuff on your calendar (because now it feels like a chore and an obligation).
11) Don’t want to be seen in photos or on video because you feel puffy bloated and fat.
12) Your clients annoy you when they struggle, because it triggers your own ‘stuff’
These are not personality traits, they are ‘inharmonious’ feelings generated by ‘inharmonious hormones’ and ‘inharmonious habits’.
If your hormones are ‘out of balance, so is your business.
How could it be any other way?
Our world is a reflection of how we feel inside.
We have to look deeper into the inner workings of our lives to address the root cause of our struggles in business.
There is no point learning more marketing tactics when the root cause of your struggles are hormonal.
A hormonal person can’t bring even the best of plans to fruition.
But it is not really about balancing your hormones.
It is about harmonizing your life.
When you harmonize your life – body, mind, heart and soul – you get back in flow and harmony with yourself.
And your business becomes a reflection of that!
I tell you all about how to do it in this FREE ‘Hormone Harmony’ call:
Many networking events are like a ‘meat market’ for entrepreneurs.
Let’s face it, when you have a job, you may not like how you feel working on the days that you bleed (and if your hormonal havoc is really bad, your productivity might start waning significantly 1-2 weeks leading up to your period), BUT as long as you show up and do the job, you’re A ok, even if you feel a little slow, tired or emotional.