As entrepreneurs and business owners, we often fall into the trap of knowing the answer. After all, we have been thinking about the problem, challenge, or opportunity forever. Of course, we are lying to ourselves. I fell into this trap recently with a new business idea. Until a piece of advice from someone much younger than me. One of my partners daughters suggested running a few small ‘focus groups’ with… Read More »You Will Never Have All the Answers
Imagine standing at a local networking event and every second that passes, two more new people walked in the door. It would soon get packed!
This is exactly what is happening 24 hours a day on LinkedIn as 7,200 new members join ever hour. As the world’s largest professional network, with over 450 million members, LinkedIn offers a huge global business opportunity.
But can it be useful on a local level and can it help you build new relationships and grow your business or career? Yes!
LinkedIn is business focused unlike Facebook or Twitter where the lines are blurred. On LinkedIn it is understood that you are connecting for business purposes. Around 40% of LinkedIn’s 12 million Canadian members live in Ontario. A simple postcode ‘Advanced Search’ can connect you with people as close as a 15 km radius to your location or target area.
You can also search by industry, company, job title and specific keywords to accurately pinpoint the connections your business needs. It is important for you to be very clear about who you want to connect with and why.
With that in mind, here are my TOP TEN ways to use LinkedIn effectively;
Read More »10 Ways LinkedIn Can Help Build Your Local Business
I had the pleasure of attending a recent women’s entrepreneur lunch at the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton. It included a Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank style pitch by 4 local women run businesses in competition for some services and prizes to help them with their development and growth. The panel was made up of local service and successful entrepreneurs, but they were certainly much nicer than many of the… Read More »What is your personal brand U.S.P. ?