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Connecting Cross-County (Part II) - New Ideas for Networking
by Jennifer Ross
Last month we connected from NY to Oregon and Texas, and back to NY. This month we’ll
travel from NY to LA with one entrepreneurial connection that launched several
new cross-country relationships.
A few months ago, we held an ActivEntrepreneur® Walk & Talk™ with another company called
ThreeVillagePeople.com. As a side note, Three Village People was started by Wendy Martin,
and was created to support and promote local home-based businesses in the Three Village
towns in Long Island. The site contains a caricature map of the local town and participating
businesses get to select their location – check it out at
Threevillagepeople.com – it’s a great concept!
Based on the need to connect in person, Wendy’s business owners encouraged her to also conduct
networking events. ActivEntrepreneur has teamed up with Three Village People to get their
entrepreneurs on their feet instead of in their seat. At one of our recent walks, we did a
hike through a local park and had everyone pair up with someone they did not know. We asked
them to discuss something that required a solution or idea within their business – knowing
that the activity would help to stimulate new ideas and creative solutions.
I teamed up with a woman named Michelle Young, owner of
Positive Chicks™ – Positive & Fun Apparel for Women.
Michele, a former labor and delivery nurse by trade, always had a passion for fashion and she
turned that passion into a business. Positive Chicks promotes healthier living by way of a
better attitude, a life of gratitude and a fun look at life – they do this through the positive
and fun messages that appear on their clothing.
During our hike, Michelle asked me for some marketing advice on a new partnership that they were
developing. Positive Chicks had recently been selected to partner with MGM Studios in a
sales initiative called Pinkitude which benefits the global breast cancer organization,
Susan G. Komen® for the Cure. So we spent a good portion of the hike brainstorming ideas for
her new partnership.
Since that hike, Michelle and I find ourselves exchanging new business ideas, tackling entrepreneurial
challenges over walks, and even hanging out together with the kids! So when Michelle invited
me to the launch party for MGM Pinkitude in LA, how could I say no!
So why did I trek from NY to LA for a few hour launch party for a new entrepreneur that I
had just met a few months ago?
The answer is simple. As an entrepreneur, you have the opportunity to attend several different
networking events every day, if you truly wanted to! But it is not every day that you meet someone
that you connect with easily and that shares a similar passion for life and business as you do.
Those people are going to really help to get you through the tough entrepreneurial times. They
are the people you can trust. They are your new support network, your new social network. So be
there to support them and celebrate their successes. And when they are in need of support, listen.
The stars did align and I was able to go to LA. I also knew that this was a great opportunity to
also meet my LA ActivEntrepreneur chapter leader, Christine Kwok, Fitness Strategist and owner
of Balanced Strength, in person. We had known each
other over one year via phone and email but never met face-to-face. So this was a perfect opportunity
to connect with Christine in person!
Christine was also able to join us at the Pinkitude launch party and we connected with several new
people via Michelle. As a result of one entrepreneurial connection at a Walk & Talk, several
new people were connected cross-country!
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Jennifer Ross is the co-founder of ActivEntrepreneur and a strategic marketing
professional with more than 16 years experience. During her career, Jennifer has held senior
strategic marketing roles at JPMorgan Chase and has consulted for startups, solo entrepreneurs
and large corporations. Jennifer has also served as a certified speaker with a division of
Monster.com called “Making It Count,” volunteers at the Stonybrook University Career Development
Center and the Sachem Student Business Alliance, and is a certified Global Career Development
Facilitator. Jennifer is focused on creating a flexible and successful work life, strives to be
active and healthy and will continue to inspire others to do the same.
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"I loved the concept of keeping active while networking...and the people I meet in this group are awesome."
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Jeannette Fata, Interior Redesign Inc.
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