How to Network Like a Pro: Mindset Shifts, Conversation Starters, Follow-Up Hacks + BTS From My Recent Events

Foreign. This is Busy Getting Better, the podcast for women who are committed to prioritizing their own personal growth. I'm your host, Madison J. A mindset and money coach, a first generation wealth builder and a woman on a mission to help you master your finances and live your best life. Money is not all we are covering though, because in order to live your best life, you have to become your best self. So we are diving deep into all things personal development and bringing you the mindset that shifts money, tips and inspiration. You need to go out there, be bold and build the life you can't stop daydreaming about. It's time to get busy, babe. Busy getting better. What is up you guys? Welcome back to the podcast. Today we are talking all about networking because your girl just got back from essentially two weeks straight of networking. If you can hear the exhaustion in my voice, it's because it is real. And I want to talk about it because I think networking is hands down one of the best things, skills, tools that you can get good at and utilize to get ahead in life. I don't know where the saying came from about like, you know, it doesn't really matter what you know, it's all about who you know. I do think you need to know things, but I do think that being able to leverage connections and leverage relationships is a fundamental component to working your way to where you want to go. Like we are a species that cares about relationships. I think sometimes people look at networking or maybe hear me say like leverage your connections and it, it sounds or feels like scammy or sleazy or manipulative and that is really not it at all. If you are somebody who feels like when people talk about networking it just feels gross, we gotta flip the script on that. We gotta have a better understanding and relationship. Like we are just normal human creatures that like to build relationships with people. And I don't know if you've ever heard about the, the book out there. It's called who not how. You don't need to know everything to get where you want to go in life. But the more relationships that you have, the more connections that you make that do things that you don't do, offer services that you don't do, have connections that you don't have. Like that is just going to benefit you and it's going to make things so much easier for you. Whether you're in the corporate world, whether you're in the entrepreneurial world, whether you are just working a normal job. Like no matter what, relationships are key, critical and when we are trying to change our life, change our finances, like you are going to get so much further when you can build effective and meaningful relationships with people at a broader scale, at a deeper scale, all of the things. And so I want to talk about networking because I think people communication is just something that is so important to learn. And I want you to hear that, right? Connections, networking, yapping, talking, it is a skill that you can learn. And the more that you put yourself in situations and put yourself in environments where you have to talk to new people and build new relationships, you're just going to get better at it, right? When you go into a room of people, you can, I promise you, get to a point where there are no nerves. You're not like, what am I going to say? And I think one of the biggest mindset shifts to have when we think about networking is to not make it all about you. When you're walking into a room to connect with people, I want you to have like a genuine curiosity and excitement to get to know other people. I think that that is the basis of learning how to build meaningful connections with people and learning how to essentially expand your network. It is being genuinely curious. I think that when you are a genuine, curious person and you head into conversations excited to learn about other people and who they are and why they're in the room and what they have to offer and what they're looking to do, that is going to totally switch your perspective of it. Feeling slimy, right? If you're heading into a conversation and you are like, oh my God, I hope that they can give me what I need. I hope that they can introduce me to a specific person. I hope that they hire me. Like, if you're putting all this pressure on, like, what's in it for you in a conversation, it probably is gonna feel a little bit weird. That's not how we're walking into networking. Networking is something that is really a long term game, right? The more people that you know like those conversations, those relationships stack on each other and eventually you have this incredible circle of people around you that know you and you know them. And now you can just help each other and hit your goals easier. And so you want to head into these relationships, into these conversations. Just so, so curious. I think that there are pros or pros and cons or right ways, wrong ways, things that I have learned over the years on how to network effectively. I really want to share with you what those things are so that you can feel good heading into them. And I'm also going to give you a little behind the scenes tea on these events that I went to because this was heavy networking. Right. And you can apply anything that we're going to talk about in this episode into like networking in your office at work, right. Networking at the local coffee shop, also going to in person events. Right. So when I'm talking about networking for two weeks back to back, I went to a three day conference and then I flew across the country to New York and I went to another three day conference. And they, those were, those weekends were back to back. So it wasn't really like two weeks of me being like out in the wild, but kind of, I guess it kind of did feel like that. So I'm gonna talk to you a little bit about the two conferences that I went to and the give you a little behind the scenes tea of that. Cause I think it's just so fun. Networking is so, so fun. You're getting to find rooms that have similar connections, similar values, similar goals, and you get to find other people that are on the same journey as you. And I think that that is so fun. We know that community, we know that relationship building is like a key component to not just success and money wins, but just like happiness in life. Right. Like we are communal creatures. And so being able to have the skills and have the confidence to walk into different room, find your people, that is good. That's good for all of our health. And so the two events that I went to, I'm just going to give you a little bit of insights into both of them. So one of them is an annual female entrepreneurial event out here in the Phoenix, Arizona area, which is where I live. And this is my third year attending and I went to the Powerhouse Women event. If you are a longtime listener of the show, I have yapped about this often. And I've also interviewed a lot of people on this show that I have met via the Powerhouse Women community. And that's because I have found a room where my people be. It's really fun to be able to connect to people, like I said, that are just on a similar journey that I want to help and I want to support. And they want to help and they want to support me too. So this is my third year heading into the Powerhouse Women event. And every year that I've walked into that room, I have been a complete and total new version of myself. So I'll give you a quick backstory. But year one I went, I knew I wasn't happy in my corporate job. I Knew I wasn't surrounded by the type of women I wanted to be surrounded by. I knew like I was just missing something. There was a lack of fulfillment, a lack of purpose. I've talked about this so much and this room really gave me the, oh shit, like there's another way to live life. Like, maybe I could walk away from my corporate job. Maybe I could build something that I'm wildly passionate about and that allows me to go on this journey of building my own business and creating something that is my own. And so that first year I went in, I just was the last little cookie. I didn't know anyone and I just desperately wanted to make friends and change the circle that I was in and find new connections. And so I went into that first, first year just hoping and praying that I would get some sort of inspiration, some sort of direction on what I want my life to look like moving forward. And at that time I was just very still rooted in corporate America and I didn't know if I would ever have the confidence or courage to leave that job. And the connections that I made in that room gave me the confidence to do that. Like, I just from there went on a journey of seeing so many other people around me, living the life that I wanted to live. And I was like, I think I can make this happen for myself too. And then we went on, you know, the business building journey. So flash forward to year two, first year, I'm sitting there like, I don't know, I don't know if I can do this. Between one year, between those two events, I walked into year two of powerhouse women and I had quit my job and now I was a full time business baddie. I had been two months in, so we were riding a high of just delusional optimism of what the heck was going to go into this business building. And yeah, over the last, that whole year, right now I'm walking in year three in this event now. I just surpassed one year, one full time, one full year in the business. And it was just, you're in a different spot. You know, this, this is just easy as they make it out to be on the Internet. There's so much that goes into it and it takes time to build something that is so sustainable and you really have to have people around you that are where you're at, have been where you are at. I just think walking into that room at such a different stage, year over year has been eye opening. I'll be so real this year. For me going to that event, I cried like A baby. I cried a lot in the month of Aug. Just gonna be so real. I don't really know what was going on. I think exhaustion whelm comparison, itis like, you name it, it was going through it. Which is, you know, an interesting thing to be experiencing when it is your birthday month. Anyway, that is definitely a topic for another day. But I went in there and I cried a lot and I, I just was so reminded by everybody around me that I'm exactly where I need to be. I just think that it was such a beautiful reminder that this journey is hard. Trying to change your life, trying to change your habits, trying to change your finances. Like it's not a walk in the park, right? It take of change and it really takes being around the right people. And that is the benefit of having the courage and having the confidence to step into a room where you don't know anybody and make meaningful connections. I felt so held and so supported this year and to think that two years prior I literally walked into that room and I didn't know anybody. And so I just goes to show how quick and now I have such a strong circle around me and that was just a really great eye opening experience to be in a room. So I just can't articulate enough how important it is to have those types of rooms and to have the courage to step into them. I had a couple of girlfriends who I have made in other circles who trusted me enough to come to this event for the first time and they got to see and witness that love too and just also make so many meaningful connections that are going to support them on their business journey. So that's what I'm saying about like it's not always about you. Like it's, it's about how you can help other people when you find the right circle and you find the people that are surrounded by that's so important. And so sometimes it might take going to a bunch of different events, it might take putting yourself in multiple rooms until you find that connection, until you find a place where you can really be yourself before you can find a place where you can build connections that are actually going to support you and your goals, your business goals, your, your career goals, all of that. So you've got to just know that like it's kind of like dating, right? It's like dating when you're trying to find a friend. It's like dating when you're trying to find a career or a job. Like you've got to be okay trying things out. Networking is the Same thing. You've got to put yourself in the room. But I just had to share a little bit of the growth year over year and why I think it's so important to put yourself in those rooms and the power of it. Because when you're going on this journey and is hard, but it doesn't have to be lonely and that is going to be something that is totally within your power of putting yourself in those rooms. So also so fun to recognize is that the first day of the Powerhouse event kicks off with a little pajama party on Friday night. Well, leading up to that, on that Friday I had three other networking events that I went to and one of them was mine. I host a monthly coffee meetup at a bougie hotel. It's always the third Friday of the month. If you're listening and you want to come through, please do is such a good time. DM me if you want the detail on that. But I had that to kick off the morning and that was so crazy to me because again, flash forward to two years previous to that. My I knew nobody. I went into this Powerhouse event knowing nobody and now I'm hosting my own networking event at a coffee meetup and I had like 35 women there. It was wild. It was just so fun to be able to host a space for people to get to connect. People were traveling in and out of town for the Powerhouse women events. So we had local girlies, we had girlies that were just in town for the event. Coming to this coffee meetup, I just was so overwhelmed with the amount of love and just being able to again, I just have so much. I just think creating space is so important. Creating community and being able to build relationships, huge. So it was just such a fun opportunity to be able to watch all these people in the room and just the growth that could happen. So we went from my coffee meetup which was from 10am to 12pm and I got absolutely caffeinated. I was like, get me. I ordered this drink from this restaurant. It's called Two Shots in the Dark. And it is essentially cold brew with espresso in it. So you can imagine I was vibing. And so I left the 10 to 12 event and then I went to a another event that was like 1 to 3, another event that was 3 to 5 and then with the pajama party from 6 to 8. So I posted a little video about this on the gram. If you saw it, it was 12 hours, four events, one bag. And we're going to get into that In a little bit about what I brought with me on that day and why I think being prepared for networking is so, so important. But let's just say that was a long day. So four events, one day. And then I had all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and then had Monday and Tuesday to relax. And when I say relax, we like to call this a little troll mode. This is like, my senior hack for networking, is that you always need to carve out time to decompress after always, without a doubt. And the longer the networking is, the longer the event is, the longer the socializing is, the longer you gotta be on and have that extroverted battery kind of getting drained, the longer you are allowed to go into troll mode. And troll mode is the don't call me. I don't really want to talk to you. I just want to sit on the couch and I want to lounge in my clothes and just decompress. I think that's really important. I think what a lot of people get wrong about networking, too, is that, like, I'm not good at it. I'm not extroverted. I'm not really good at talking to people. Like, you got to cut that out. Not everybody that goes out and does networking is extroverted. You just learn how to conserve your energy. You've got to learn how to turn it on. I literally picture this little switch. Maybe you are visualizing literally turning your battery on, flipping that socializing switch on. Maybe you're creating a little networking alter ego where you're like, okay, Madison might not be the best at networking, but Melinda. Melinda knows how to turn it on. I have no idea where Melinda came from, but that really rolled off the tongue a little too easily. So that might be. Might be a new thing over here. But you've got to recognize, like, not everybody. Actually, most people I feel like that go to go to networking events are not your traditional extrovert. I feel like I consider myself an Amber vert. Somebody told me this term recently, and it is. Is. Listen, I can turn it on, y', all right? I was in sales for forever. I love talking to people, but I need space to decompress after if I'm gonna go talk all day. Like, I almost need the equivalent time after to just lay around or, like, go to bed super early that night. Something to decompress. So just recognize it's not like, oh, everyone's just really good at this because they're extroverted and I'm an introvert. No, like, don't utilize that label. Stop calling Yourself an introvert and utilizing that as an excuse to not get out there and build relationships with people that could totally impact and change your life in a huge way. I do say that lightly networking will change your life. Building relationships with the right people, whether it is your next business partner, your next client, the person that's going to introduce you to the person to help you get your next promotion. It could be your next best friend, it could be your spouse, it literally could be anyone. And it will change your life. But you got to be willing to get in the room. And so I just think a lot of people utilize the like, oh, I'm not that good at talking people. I'm introverted as an excuse. And we are not doing that anymore. We're going to get out there, you're going to learn how to turn it off. And the more that you do it, the easier that it gets. And so, anyway, I went to that event, and then I flash forward, I flew all the way to New York City and I went to this event called the Rich Girl Cult. And Rich Girl Cult was incredible. This event was just a room full of women. We were learning from some of the biggest people in the industry, and we were learning just the tips and tricks that they have to talk about about what it actually means to build a business. And when I say I'm a network, my way to the top, I really mean it. You guys. Like, I got to meet somebody, some incredible people that I have followed on the Internet for years. I got to sit down. Well, let's talk about networking to the top. I got invited to three sponsored dinners while I was there, just via networking and building relationships with people. They were like, my God, we're hosting a dinner tonight. I'd love to have you in the room. You're such a vibe. Like, networking got me into all of these free meals, and as I'm sitting at these sponsored dinners, I'm sitting next to creators. I'm sitting next to business owners that have millions of followers on the Internet that have been like, oh, geez, in this space for so long that I have followed their tips and tricks and I've signed up for their workshops and I've listened to their content, and I'm sitting in the same room as them, and I am nowhere near where they are at from an accomplishment perspective. And that is so cool. That's the power of networking. You are who you surround yourself with. So just getting an opportunity to sit in these rooms expanded me to a way that I don't even know if I can explain yet. I. I went into that room feeling low key, really overwhelmed, feeling a down bad. I told you I was crying a lot in August. We're weird. Our feels were getting feeling and the doubt was getting loud. And I just, I go into these rooms and you get to hear people's journeys and network with people and they're like, oh, my God, they are literally just like me. Like, I left feeling like, okay, everything I'm going after is just inevitable. And it is just. Putting yourselves in these rooms, getting an opportunity to learn from these people and bump arms with people that are doing really, really cool shit is just. Yeah, you get to do that via networking. So it's like such a cool skill. You don't need to be at the same level as everybody to get invited to the T. You need to be somebody that finds ways to provide value and build connections with people that it's genuine. Like, there's no, like, manipulation behind this. It's just like, be yourself, find the people that vibe you show up effectively figure out how to provide value, and you'll get an opportunity to get invited to different rooms where you get a chance to talk with people, network with people. And I just think that that is so special. And if you ever want to ask me any questions about them, I'm going to talk more about that. But let's get to the meat of networking. I want to talk about the things that are going to really help walk into these rooms and be effective with it. And we already talked about some of it, but really it's gotta be this major mindset shift of like, you are there, you're just making connections, you're just talking with people, you never know where they're gonna go. You are right. You can be strategic if you want, but, like, you really never know where connections are gonna go. The purpose of building relationships is to be able to know more people and see where things take you and understand how you can provide value to them is really big. Such a small thing that I don't think people recognize that goes such a long way. People want to be seen, women especially. We want to be seen. We want to be welcomed. And how much more excited are you to walk into a room when someone's like, oh, my God, Madison, so good to see you. Like, the excitement is so important. I am genuinely so excited to see everybody that I get a chance to talk with and I let that show. Like when I'm in a room, walking into a room, like, oh, my God, can't wait to see what's gonna happen. Can't wait to see what kind of magic is gonna come out of this experience. I'm so excited. And so prepping to the room, I guess, would be like, my first little, like, tip and trick for you. Like, get excited if you're driving there, Blast your favorite music in the car. I love to roll my windows down and just blast Y2K nostalgic music and just, like, get into the zone. Like, get your vibes high and then carry that excitement into the room. If you see people that you know, smile, be enthusiastic. Like, welcome. Like, hello. So good to see you. Talk to me. How's life? What are you up to? You probably see people on the Internet and you can, like, catch me up on how this is going. People are going to be significantly more excited to see you if you are excited to see them. And so I always let to let love, to let everybody feel my excitement when I'm walking into a room. Give them hugs, right? Especially if you're seeing people again for the second time. Third time, like, oh, my gosh. Right? Show the excitement, because that's so much more inviting. Now on the flip side, that person, next time they see you, they're gonna be like, oh, my God, so good to see you. Right? Verse like, hey, how are you? Like, get your nerves out of the way before you walk in the door. Flip that little imaginary switch that we talked about. Channel your alter ego and just have some with it. Be excited to see people, and they will be excited to see you. Now, if you're walking into a room and you're like, I literally know nobody, so how can I be excited to meet somebody? You can be excited to be there. You can have excite. Oh, my God. Hi, my name's Madison. I've never met you before. So great to meet you. What brought you here? Right? Like, be excited. Like, oh, my gosh, this is such a fun vibe. Look at this cute venue. Whatever it is, find something to make it exciting. And don't be afraid to go spark that conversation with someone that you can have a conversation with. And this leads me to the next piece of advice. Advice is don't make it about yourself. Make it about them. Get better at asking questions. This is like networking one on ones, one on one, how to get people to like you one on one. Like, be so curious about them and learn how to ask better questions. Here is a tip and trick that I learned from my sales job. When somebody asks you or when you ask somebody a question and they give you an answer, don't immediately just go to another question. I want you to challenge yourself to ask a question on the question or on the answer that they already gave you and let them go deeper. Right? Everyone's like, ugh, I hate networking. It's so surface level. It's only surface level if you let it be surface level. I'm gonna say that again. Networking is only surface level if you make it surface level. Here's why networking feels so surface level. Hi. What are you doing here? Oh, I'm. I'm Madison. Cool. What do you do? I'm a money coach. Oh, okay. Where are you from? I'm from Arizona. Like, it just feels so. Whatever. Right verse. You could be like, oh, my God, a money coach. Like, talk. How did you get into that? That's so interesting. Everyone needs to know more about money, right? I just feel like asking questions on the question is a really great way to go deeper, actually stand out. Because it's so easy to just like, run through the. Where you're from and. And the weather outside and have you been here before? Take it deeper. So that's the hick. Whatever. Someone gives you a nugget of milk, that nugget as much as possible and just continue to ask questions. That's how you're going to get to know people better. That's how you're going to stand out. That's how you're going to actually be like, oh, I kind of vibe with this girl. I think I want to build a better connection and so asking better questions, making it about them. Right? Of course, if you're heading into, like, a networking opportunity for your business or for your career, like, I always think it's important to go with an opportunity to explain who you are and how you help people. And this is what we call it. Write your quote unquote elevator pitch. It doesn't need to be a pitch. It just needs to just intrigue the other person and have. Give them a little nugget of something that is memorable so that when they remember you, they're gonna remember you. Right? Like, oh, I don't know. I met this girl and she had something to talk about, but I can't really remember. Like, just have it. Have a short explanation of who you are and how you can help people. And that's the other thing too. Keep it short. Like, honestly, less is better. Like, if people want to ask more questions, they will ask you questions, but nothing is worse than asking somebody like, oh, cool, what do you do? And they are just giving you their life story. For like 17 minutes it feels like. And you're kind of like drifting and you'll know if you do this to somebody, like their eyes kind of glaze over and they're kind of like looking around and it's kind of like, oh my God, is this girl gonna stop? Like have it short habit effective. Let the other person ask you more questions so that you guys can go deeper together versus just like word vomiting on someone, right? So don't do that. Don't be that girl that's just like, oh my gosh, okay, well back in the day. And then da da, da, da. And then no, like short, sweet, to the point people will ask you questions. But like we gotta, we gotta practice that. So if you don't feel comfortable with that, practice it. Practice it. Voice noted to yourself, listen to it back. Were you excited to hear what you had to say? Were you intrigued with how you explained things like get, get good at selling yourself and articulating that component of it and then also just making sure that you are having a good followup game. A lot of people go to these events, they talk to a lot of people. So what can you do to stand out and make sure that you are actually taking the relationships that you, you build out of that room? Because there it is very rare that you're going to pop into a room, you're going to meet the exact person that you're looking for and that person's going to change your life or you're going to change their life or you're going to get whatever it is, whatever. Relationships take time. Networking is a long game. Like maybe every so often, I'm not going to lie, you want, you're like, oh shit, I've kind of been looking for someone just like you. That's great, let's go for it. Other times though, like you've got to be able to have a follow up game and you've got to be able to continue to experience like, like how to develop the relationship. And that's going to be multiple times having conversations with people. And so you want to have a good follow up game. So let's talk about some tips and tricks on how to follow up with people after a networking event. Especially if you're going to something big, right? Like the powerhouse women, the rich girl, Cole. We're meeting so many people, are having so many conversations that it's kind of like, oh shit, who is that person? Right? So first things first, you all are all on Instagram, so you got to make sure you're following on Instagram, a hack here, if you're going to a larger event, is to create a folder. You know how you can create the folders in your Instagram page where you're like, I don't know, I have like travel and home and food and content ideas and money, Inspo and yada yada yada. It's kind of like a little mini Pinterest board board vibe vision in there. Create them for the events that you were going to. And then as you meet people at the event, you can save their post, right? Everyone usually has like pinned posts or you have whatever one of one post that has their face in it that you can remember, save that to a folder for that event and then you can go back afterwards and be like, who did I add to this folder? Here's your follow up list. And then what you want to do is send them a message, send them a voice note if you can. If you're in the dms, I think voice notes are great. And especially the people that you really connected and you're like, I want to know more about you. I want to know how I can be in your world. I want to know how we can support each other. I want to know. I don't really know what I want to know from you yet, but something about the energy that you're giving off. Like, we got to be in each other's circles. You want to figure out who those people are, make sure that you follow up with them. Send them a voice note, let them know that. Right? People want to be seen again. We just said that people want to be like, oh my gosh, you enjoyed my presence. Like, say what you want. Like, we all want to be wanted, right? So, hey. Oh my God. I absolutely loved the energy that you brought to that event. I loved what you had to say about this topic. I loved your outfit. Like, what can you do to like, provide a little bit of like, love and compliments that person? This is my favorite line, especially if you're in the business world, because it's so true. This is coming from such a genuine place. Like, I would love to better understand your business and how we can both support each other moving forward. That is really just the nature of networking. How can I help you? How can you help me? How can we scratch each other's backs? How can we take it to the top? How can we impact more people, like, whatever it is, and so just be genuine. Hey. Absolutely loved meeting you, loved our conversation about this. Would be so excited to figure out how we can Support, support each other. And if they seem like they're into it too, send a calendar link. Send a time to connect. Like, figure out how to have another follow up conversation with that person, either via phone call or. I'm such a sucker. I feel like everyone's so zoomed out, but like, I'm such a face person. So like a Google Meet or Zoom, a FaceTime, whatever you want to do, make it your own. But figure out how to follow up with people and have another genuine conversation with them. Because again, when you're in a networking scenario, it's a, it's you're trying to like talk to a lot of people. So here's your opportunity to go deeper. And I have almost never been rejected on that. Hey, I'd love to continue to see how we can support each other. Learn more about your business, learn more about your life, learn more about your goals, learn about your hobbies, whatever it is that you're looking for. Because that's the other thing to remember. Networking is not just business connections. You can find business connections, you can find business partnerships, you can find clients. You can also just find your next best friend. You can also just be like, you and I seem like we're into a lot of the same weird shit. Maybe we could like take this into an IRL friendship. Like, you just never know. So figure out what it is that you want to get from these connections with people and lean into it and just be real about raising your hand and being like, I'm looking for this. Are you also looking for this? Again, never really been rejected. I think we can all relate. I've talked to enough women about this over the years. It's a lot harder to make friends the older that we get. So if you find someone that you vibe with and if someone reaches out to you and they're like, I kind of fuck with you, take them up on it. Like, you never know where it could go. And so I just think, okay, so the, the following up thing, carve out time to follow up with them. Also, this is a hack. If you are in person at a big event, right, you're talking to a lot of people, the conversations blur. Take a selfie with that person and then send it to them and be like, love talking with you about, duh, can't wait to follow up with you about the. And so do that in the moment. That way you can go back through your messages or worst case, they're just selfies in your phone and you're like, oh shit, that girl. But the More that you can connect it to the name, right? Because then you've got the face, you've got the conversation, you've got the Instagram handle, you've got the name. Like, those are a lot of things for you to remember in the moment. So the easier you can make it for you to follow up with yourself, the better. So those are going to be my hacks for going into the room, having the conversation, ask questions, get curious, follow up with them, and recognize again that this is just going to take time. These relationships take time to cultivate and so always leading with value. What is in it for them? How can you provide value to them? If the people, if you're on that follow up call and they have a business launch coming up, if they have a kid's, I don't know, a bake sale going on, like, what can you do to support them? How can you genuinely start to show up for these people that you want to build meaningful relationships with and find ways to follow through on that? Obviously our time is limited, right? You can't do that for thousands of people. But, like, do it for the intentional ones and see where that's gonna go. I also think this is, like, this was not, I don't know, a thought to put down. But I think it's so important to recognize that humans love helping other people. I think, right? I, I love if someone's like, oh my gosh, Madison, can you help me with this? Yes, of course. What value can I provide for you? How can I support you? I think most women are innately like that. And so if you have something that you need help with, don't be afraid to ask, right? That is another benefit of building relationships like the who, not how conversation. If you're like, hey, right, and do this at the end, right? You want to build a relationship with someone. Like, hey, I actually kind of do have an ask. I have a favor. I'm working on something right now that I would really love your perspective on. I'd love your advice on. I know you're really good at this. Do you think you would mind helping me with X, Y or Z? Do you think you would mind introducing me to this person? Do you think you would mind looking over this post I'm going to do and give me some feedback? Hey, I have a business idea I want to run by you. Can I get your thoughts? Thoughts? Can I get your feedback? People love helping people and I think that we sometimes are afraid to raise our hand and ask for help. So just recognize that, like the Person on the other side of that probably wants to help you as well. Now, like, it's got to be like something small, right? You can't just be like asking for the moon, but don't be afraid to ask for help. And then also if somebody asks you for help, my goodness, do whatever you can to show up for that person because being on the other side of that is really cool. And also sometimes it takes a lot for people to want to raise their hand and ask for help. So if someone's like, hey, would you mind supporting me on this? Absolutely, absolutely. Girlfriend needs my support, I'm there, right? And so that is how you're gonna build better relationships too. And you might be doing a lot of like, yes, I can help, yes I can help, yes I can help. And you don't have anything to help with. But guess what? One day you're gonna need help with something and you now have a bunch of people that you have already built relationships with that you've provided value for that. When you go back and be like, hey, I need support with this, they're gonna be like, absolutely, I got you. Cause you were there for me. And that just goes to like that just how relationships, that's how they build, that's how it's done. So just don't be afraid to ask for help if you're on those connections and raise your hand again. Every woman I'm around, everyone loves helping other people. And if they don't, you're in the wrong rooms and you're building the wrong connection. So you'll find that out super fast as well. Okay, I want to get into what I bring with me to go networking. I mentioned I did a reel on this because I was like, you know, you gotta be prepared. And especially the longer these events are, like, the more prepared you are, the better. So here's my go tos. I pretty much have two purses I take with me. One is a purse that I take if I do not need my laptop and one is a purse I take if I do need my laptop. No matter which one I take though, they all I always have the same things in them except for if I bring the bigger one, we get to throw a little bit extra in. But I'm going to go through my non negotiable items that are always with me if I'm at a networking event because I have either not had them and wish I did or I always have them with me and I'm like, God bless, what would I do without this? So let's start with water because your girl's got to stay hydrated, especially in areas. Arizona is hot out here. So always having water, you're going to be yapping, you're going to get thirsty. So just make sure you're staying hydrated. Also, lack of water gets to headaches. There's nothing worse than trying to carry on a conversation with someone when your brain is just literally throbbing because you realize you haven't had a drink of water and you've just been sipping caffeine the entire day because you've been trying to stay energized and not hydrated. And then this person's talking to you and you're literally like in one year out the other and you don't even know what they're saying because your head just hurts so bad. Anyone else get that's me. So water is a must. And on the back end of that, so is Advil. I almost always had Advil. Tylenol. I'm not like a huge fan of it. I don't love taking it. But you best believe if I need it, I'm glad I have it. And also a lot of other people get headaches at networking events. So I think that it's just something that's nice to have on hand. You're going to hear me say that about a couple of these items. I like to have them because it's just a just in case item. And also if I don't need it, I know somebody else will. Oh, water and Advil. We're avoiding the headaches. We are are always making sure we have good breath. Nothing is worse than talking to someone and you're just smelling like rancid scents. Like ugh. Gum mints. Non negotiable. I'm less of a gum person nowadays. Mints are my go to and I love this is one of those things. I love to have mints because I always have a lot of them and I know when I'm pulling them out, every girl around me is like, can I get them? And it kind of makes me feel like I'm that cool kid in school where you pull out a pack of gum and now everybody wants to to be a bff. So mint gum. Non negotiable band aids. This was a learned lesson. I'm almost always in heels if I'm going to a networking event. That is just something that I love. I love to get dressed up in dresses. I love to wear heels. I don't always wear them. So it's really fun to get the Opportunity to dress up and feel a little girly and put my high heels on. But if you're in heels all day, you might get a blister. So Band aids unnegotiable. And again, one of those things, if I don't need it, I bet other people will. So I always have a couple of band aids on me. I'm always gonna bring with me an additional a phone charger for sure. But really like the extra battery pack I switched to a mag safe case last year. And the MagSafe case comes with the attachables of the attachable phone battery and also the sticky grip. I don't know if that's what it's called, but it's like the little octopus tentacle suction cup thingy that you can hang your phone up on. So both of those are always with me. Because my phone will die. My phone dies so fast, you guys. I kind of feel like I'm getting scammed by Apple cuz like every couple years I'm like, it's noon and my phone is dead. And I'm like, oh, interesting. They just rolled out a new iPhone release. I wonder if they're making my phone worse. So I have to upgrade. And I'm not somebody that has ever had the desire or the need to want the newest iPhone. Like I could actually fucking care less about the newest iPhone. I want my iPhone that I already paid $1,200 for to last me as long as humanly possible. If the battery could just stop. If anyone's listening. And you know, Apple put in a good word. But anyway, I'm always gonna have the iPhone charger on me. That way I can make sure that I can just pop it onto the back of my phone, turn it on, and my phone's dying. I know I'm gonna be good and without the sticky grip because we know we're probably taking photos. If you're getting dressed up, if you're getting cute, I don't know, I'm gonna want to photo with you. So let's make sure we're prepared. So both of those things are huge. The sticky group has been a game changer. I actually just popped it up outside of the building that the conference was in in New York City and was just taking such easy photos and videos and everyone was like, what is happening? I'm not going to lie. Someone sent me a video and I of me from like their hotel room up above and it was very much so giving influencer in the wild. But ask me if I care. I Don't. Okay? And the next things are going to be a snack. Girls got to eat. You're moving, you're yapping, you're talking. Especially on the day where it was like four events back to back. That was a lot of go, not a lot of stop. But no matter what, nothing's worse than being hangry and trying to hold a conversation. And I don't know how you are when you get hungry, but, like, I can't think of thoughts or form sentences. So. Granola bars, chomp sticks. I whipped out the chopsticks in the middle of the conferences, both of them, because it's just an easy way to get protein. So I'm always going to have that. And if I have the bigger bag with me, you best believe I have a lot more snacks with me. If I got the smaller one, it's really like, one chomp stick, one granola bar. Because we don't. We're not working with a lot of space there, but we've got the essentials, and we got a little pro protein kick coming our way. So, yeah, that's what I brought with me. That's what I brought with me in my bag. And I did feel like a legitimate influencer when I was sitting there, like, and now what's in my bag? So if you haven't checked out that reel, go give it a look. But, yeah, I wanna know, what questions do you have about networking? What scares you about networking? What excites you about networking? What do you feel like would help you walk into a room and just know without a doubt that you are gonna build such good relationships? I want to hear from you because, again, I hope have been blessed. I say blessed on the other side of this, but I've been blessed with being the new girl every two years throughout my entire life. So I moved a lot. I was an only kid. I always had to learn how to build relationships and talk with people. And then I went into sales, where my job was literally to just yap anyone's faces off until they wanted to give me the time of day, which is how we got here. Yapping behind a mic, and now you're willingly listening to it. So I want to know sometimes when we just, like, you know, I practice this skill for so long, it's something that I'm like, yeah, you just walk up and you ask questions, right? But people have been like, how are you so good at networking? How are you building these relationships? So I'm trying to get a bit more methodical with, like, how to help you feel more confident heading into these so that you can put yourself in the rooms that are going to change your life because that is really what it is all about. And so if you have questions, if you have concerns, if you have like yeah Madison, it's easy for you but it's not because I da da da da da and we didn't address it or you just want to talk more about it. If you're feeling a little triggered by me calling you out about being an introvert and utilizing that as your reason for not NETworking in the DMS, I want to hear how can I make you a killer at networking? How can I make you fall in love with walking in a room and building relationships with new people? That is my objective and that is my question to you. So please slide in my DMs at New Money Madison on Instagram and let's chat about how to make you the best networker ever and I will see you all on the next episode. I.