Today I want to talk about networking. For years I was slightly envious that a lot of people, mostly men, play golf for networking and are able to write it off for tax purposes. I don’t know how to play golf! I was talking about this with a friend when she made a quantum leap in networking innovation.
“Why not go for pedicures?” she asked.
“Pedicures? Really?”
“Yeah, at a nice spa. Let’s go for pedicures and network!”
And so it was decided. Instead of drunk-golf-cart-driving, we had Lyft and Über at our disposal while we sipped champagne between tales of financial triumphs at the Red Door Salon in New York. It was a lot of fun — because we really were networking and we got to catch up on our personal and business lives.
Networking is getting to know people on a more personal level. After all, people do business with people they like! Simply going to a meeting once a month is not enough. Some people join a networking group and after about six or eight months, they claim they didn’t get any business and it didn’t work for them — and that’s because they didn’t “work it.” You’ve got to reach out and get to know people on a more personal level. And beauty treatments are not the only activity that we ladies can do together — last week I met a colleague at the Met, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch before heading to an exhibit. There are lots of fun activities that I like to do that are non-traditional networking.
It’s about leading with our femininity, instead of trying to imitate the already existing, male-dominated business culture. In our group there is no hazing, no practical jokes, and no “locker room talk.” Instead we share our collective wisdom and cultivate even better camaraderie.
At first I felt guilty getting a pedicure with champagne in the middle of a weekday. I’ve come to understand, though, that it’s no different than going out and playing a round of golf — especially because we’re doing something new: using our feminine energy to create different power structures.
Can you think of any other non-traditional networking events?
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