On 23rd March 2020 I made a promise to myself that, whatever happened, I would come out of this malarkey in a good place mentally and I would help others to do the same. Why did I make this promise? Well, as those of you who read my blogs know (thank you, and for those who don’t—good to meet you) on that day two things happened. 1. On paper I didn’t have a business and 2, I was told I was extremely vulnerable and—to quote my GD—Covid 19 could well kill me if I got it!
So, while dealing with potentially having no business I also had to deal psychologically with this new label and its potential implications. What I did was decide that I would be open with these issues, tell people how I was feeling and how I was coping. That’s not the way people in business interreact with other businesspeople. Right? Wrong! We decide how we communicate. I surround myself with people who are humans and not robots, people who have lives, both inside and outside of business, challenges as well as opportunities. What I found was that by being open with how I was feeling, as well as how my business was doing, people felt able to tell me how they were doing and feeling.
When I asked how are things going? I let them decide what they told me and which area of their life they wanted to tell me about. I’ve had men and women crying because they were worried about their family, friends, staff, business, and the future. Together we have shared, supported, and moved forward. In fact, we built our relationships…and as we all know, that’s what networking is all about. Each working day I rang three people who I might have previously emailed. Some were members, some contacts, some randomly chosen, others people who I could have sent an email. Each time I asked my question and waited for their reply. Some chose to talk as they would before Covid 19 came on our radar and changed our lives, others who talked about other things.
In the main things are getting better for us all. One thing I hope is that we retain some of this talking about our mental wellbeing not just how our business is going. So, are you with me? And, how are you doing?
Since networking is about building relationships, please accept my gift of Top 20 networking tips Just complete the form to download your copy.
Have fun, stay safe.
Glenys
Recent Comments