One Year of Networking

Amazing is the only word I can use to describe the support out there for small business owners and woman entreprenuers. Networking, though hard sometimes to force myself to do (because I so easily work by myself), has been a huge asset to my little company.

It's been one year since I first launched my company, Bloomsies. (Happy Anniversary to the Blooms!) I remember laying in bed and thinking how it was all going to work out. I wondered if there was a market for my little bouquets. I was nervous that it wouldn't take off, that Bloomsies would fail right away? Would people get it? But then, I was nervous that it would take off too. What if I was too busy, too soon, and I couldn't keep up with the demand? How was my pricing? Is the product good enough? Should I make it better? What about shipping? Is it to expensive? What about money, did I have enough to begin a company or should I get a loan? Did I have time to give this company what it needed to grow? I felt like Alice in Wonderland; big, small, confused, unsure, confident, and not so much. The questions of the unknown mixed with the full spectrum of emotions that had taken over my being, they kept me up at night... and they still do.

I decided to reach out. I found Ladies Who Launch and Facebook.

How I found Ladies Who Launch is a funny story, really. My girlfriend had handed me a brochure the summer before while we were walking through downtown Snohomish, and I had kept it in my portfolio of business cards, mainly because it was pink and white polka-dots and I had quickly read it as "Ladies Who Lunch." (My favorite color is pink, I love polka-dots, and I wondered why ladies, who didn't know eachother, would want to meet for lunch.) In November I came across the brochure once more, and took a closer look. That night, I set up my Facebook account, started developing a website, and I goggled Ladies Who Launch. In January, I finally made it to my first LWL meeting, finding the women in this networking group to be both engaging and inspiring. With new-found support and wisdom from the women around me, I no longer felt alone and scared, but for the first time, was feeling like I was part of a team.

In January, I joined the Snohomish Wedding Guild. Then with my Valentine's launch on Etsy, February brought a suprise write up on Bloomsies. Followed by more LWL meetings, and in March, Bloomsies had finished runner up in a radio contest that was celebrating woman and small business. Bloomsies made its debut in the Seattle Women's Show and then had a good showing at a show in Snohomish. I hired a business consultant and started working on my online presence. In July, Bloomsies celebrated 600 fans on Facebook! All this while finding BNI and so many other networking groups in the Seattle area. It has been a wonderful year of growth.

At the beginning of Bloomsies are my friends Erik and Alyssa. My support team who helped me in realizing my goals and actually kept me on track while I was launching Bloomsies. Then there are the women I have met through Ladies Who Launch, whose successes encourage me to stay focused and work hard everyday...even though my life has taken on a busy that leaves little extra time to attend meetings. There are my friends and family who continue to cheer me on, and then there is me. Often I am my own road block, and I find it hard to network or reach out to that support. Even though, throughout the year, my most successful months have been when I was out there... networking.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Find Bloomsies on Etsy at http://bloomsies.etsy.com/ or at http://www.itsbloomsies.weebly.com/

Network Me to the Top Scotty

Everyday I join thousands of other women building their businesses. We sit in front of our computers, checking facebook, tweeting, blogging, talking to people all day long. Working that social network. We network.

Most entrepreneurs are part of networking groups. They are everywhere, simply peers wanting to help. We ask so many questions. Which group fits me? Can they help me decide which trade show I should buy into? When should I try to grow? Who should I listen to? What advice should I take? Millions of questions. Will I know the answers? We all have the same questions. The biggest one may be, "Is today the day?"

Is today the day for what?

The big payoff! The day when all of the hard work finally collides with the break of a lifetime. When opportunity finally meets reality and you realize that this brilliant idea is going to finally take off! What are the statistics of that happening?!

There are thousands of how-to books written on succeeding in business. They offer chapters of inspiration. Follow these steps and you can make it too. Create your brand. People will want what you have to offer. Have the winners attitude. You are your best advertisement. You have something that somebody wants, needs, and can't live without. Open their eyes to it!

I've read these books. I have. Not nearly all of them, but enough of them. I've found them to be a bunch of words that motivate me to try. They don't necessarily have exact steps to follow. There isn't a handbook for how you will succeed. Though most of them almost guarantee that you will... if you buy the book. Well, I have bought the book. And as I've said, I have read the book. I've applied my new found knowledge from the book. What do I do now? Wait? Take more risks? Try harder?

We go into this venture with our eyes wide open. With business plans in hand, quickbooks downloaded, and our business licenses hanging on our cork boards. We believe in our ideas. We put ourselves out there and mercilessly facebook our companies in our friends faces! Completely hoping that they won't get tired of it and will spread the seed to their friends and family, and then word of mouth will grow. Like a flower. Like a Bloomsies (that was a plug). This is not as easy as it may seem, pride does get in the way sometimes. Most of us have knots in the pits of our stomachs when we are promoting our goods. We want everyone to believe in them as much as we do.

Everyday I join thousands of women as we work to build our businesses. Is it a gamble? Will this networking thing work for me? The hopes are high for a positive answer to this question. Maybe success is in the stars for me, and if is... I will do two things: 1) continue to be part of networking groups, and 2) continue to work hard. Well, and maybe I'll write a book too!

http://www.itsbloomsies.com/