Hello Shades Readers!  As you know, our theme for this month is Networking.  For this week, we dug into our archives for one of our older posts which covered learning more about the people in your own circle.  The post shows the potential and power of networking with your own friends and family.  We encourage you to give it a read again and to look at those in your circle more closely as they could assist you in achieving goals that you have set for yourself.  In addition, check out this useful article on networking with people you know at https://careerservices.princeton.edu/undergraduate-students/making-connections/meeting-people/family-friends.

We hope you enjoy and don’t forget to share us on your social media channels!       

Stop!  Wait A Minute!  Do I Know You?

This is a question I recently began to ask some of my friends.  I mean we go out a lot, have great meals but what I realized was I really didn’t know or appreciate the true value of my friends.  I would be looking to hire contactors for all kinds of tasks not knowing right at my finger tips was so much expertise.  It got to a point that I spent some ridiculous amount of money to have this one thing done, which by the way was done poorly, only for one of my friends to come along and say, “that looks really bad! Let me help you out.” This ‘help out’ ended up being a complete redo, for free, looking way better than what I had originally paid for.  So, that got me thinking…I have all these friends who are gainfully employed but do I truly understand what all they can do!  At the next social gathering I was sure to introduce this to my peeps as I thought we could really start up a bartering system here. 

Not to long had past when a friend was going to have a summer bbq.  I thought this would be a great venue to explore just what everyone had been up to and what sort of summer projects folks had going on in their household. 

The afternoon was hot with a mild breeze, perfect weather for people who wanted to mingle outdoors.  The meat on the grill created an awesome appetite for discussion coupled with the beverages flowing, the backyard décor and a yard full of people who wanted to socialize.  I approached a group who I had gone to elementary school with but hadn’t seen for the last couple of months.  Each of us were eager to get to know what the other had been up to and what latest ’toys’ one had purchased or was looking to purchase.  A few were really interested in making some real estate investments and so it was this discussion that opened-up the floor; introducing side professions that some of us were unaware others had.  One friend had indicated they had their real-estate license for over 10 years and used it to make investment purchases.  Most of us were shocked to hear this as we thought our friend just worked for the Toronto Transit System as an engineer. As we became more and more intimate about each other’s passions, dream jobs, skills and talents you could feel the excitement and energy growing in this backyard. Folks naturally started talking about partnerships they could form on home improvement projects, consulting initiatives and investment ventures.  I mean who better to get into business with or work on a project with then someone you already know and get along with.

By the end of the bbq the whole backyard had a renewed appreciation for friends and knowing their Social Network.  Comments were made about conversations that were had were meaningful and not superficial.  Some went as far as stating that this was the first day of them truly getting to know some of their friends.

And so, the lesson learned here was for me to truly get to know the people who are in my circle.  My circle was so vast that I had not realized how many of my friends had full side functioning business’ in Health and Fitness, Home Renovations, Real-Estate, Property Management, and Social-Media.  Many now had Senior Leadership roles in fortune 500 companies or had left the corporate world to open their own business’.

The learning here is that it's always important to continue to foster relationships with the people you know and to continuously look to build new relationships.  It is through these relationships that the value of expanding your mindset on many topics can be achieved.  It is through these relationships that often encourage us to pursue our dreams instead of fulfilling a corporation’s mission. 

And, so we say there are many social events that come with an array of Shades of Influence we dare you to go out there and experience as many as possible!