Networking is Rewarding
When I started my business in 2020, it coincided with the pandemic. Since part of my business involved traveling, that was interesting. One thing I did was to network heavily on LinkedIn. I have a mixture of a great network; there are necessary business contacts, people I used to work with, people I have met through IIBA, a large group of people from all over the globe that have become friends, and then people who I now consider good friends. I met two people online not long after the pandemic started. One is Michele Gunn, a fellow small business owner from Houston, Texas. The other one is Juudit Ojansivu from Finland. She did her Master’s Thesis on Leading with Love. Juudit is the equivalent of Judy in Finnish, and her leadership beliefs made our friendship destiny.
She is so positive and passionate about leadership. We have become good friends quickly. Michele, Juudit, and I are all members of the Heartteam on LinkedIn. Juudit is known as Heartwoman. Both of these are hashtags on LinkedIn, so feel free to join. Also, connect with Michele and Juudit, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. The coffee cup pictured on the blog was a gift that Juudit sent me this week. This goes back to a few weeks ago when Michele had Juudit on her Linked Live show a few weeks ago. Michele was interviewing Juudit about her journey from Victim to Victorious Mindset. Here is a link to Michele’s website, with podcast links on the front page. Link: https://www.michelegunn.com/.
I joined the podcast to support my friends and to chime in with my trademark comic relief. Another connection, Ronald Henderson, was also chiming in. We didn’t know that Juudit was drawing to send one person a coffee mug. She decided that Ronald and I had contributed equally so we both would receive a coffee cup. Mine is green, which is my favorite color. If you listen to the podcast, the character is explained. It is incredible how the pandemic and ramping up my LinkedIn network have resulted in newfound friends. I need to ramp up my efforts to continue increasing my network.
I need to finish this blog before it happens next week. Thanks to Michele and Juudit for the ongoing friendship and support. TGIF to everyone out there; it has been a chaotic week for me. Have a great weekend, everyone! Please remember to keep your glass at least always half-full!