MBA2225 Q&A Wednesday: Help! I’m an introvert in Fiji. How do I make connections?

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Hey oh welcome to the $100 MBA show where helping your business is our business every single day with our daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started with my co founder back in 2014 and today's episode is Q and A Wednesday. On Q and A Wednesdays, I answ a question from one of you, one of our listeners. If you got a question you want to ask, just go ahead and email me over@omar00mba.net Today's question is from Chris and Chris asks, hey Omar, I need your help. I'm an online writer and blogger based out of Fiji. I'm very introverted, that's why I enjoy writing on my own. But I do understand that it's important for me to get out there and make connections. How do I make connections as an introvert who lives all all the way in Fiji? Thanks so much for all your help throughout the years listening to your podcast, Chris. Thanks Chris for being a listener of the podcast. Longtime listener and thanks so much for asking your question here on Q and A Wednesday. It's a good question. Many people, especially introverts, feel a little bit uncomfortable about this whole idea about networking and connections and building relationships feels unnatural to them, feels a little bit forced. But also many people might think live in far remote places in the world and feel like it's kind of hard to meet people, people to get to know people to make those connections. So in today's episode, I'm going to give you my best strategies when it comes to making those connections online as well as offline. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. So Chris lives in beautiful Fiji. He's a writer, he's a blogger, he's an introvert. He is asking for some help when it comes to making connections, making friends, building his network. And I'm here to tell him it's absolutely doable, just requires a little bit of effort. And I'm going to show you what you can do to move forward, to take some steps towards making new connections every day, online and offline. Let's start with online. One of the easiest ways to meet people, make new connections, especially for those who describe themselves as introverts, is through online connections. I actually think one of the best platforms to do this is Twitter. Out of all the social media platforms, it's probably the one that is most suited to making new connections. I've met a lot of people online through Twitter because I don't need access or have to friend them or have them following me so that I can have a conversation. I can just jump into an existing tweet or conversation inside of a tweet that they're having. That's why one of the most important steps in your Twitter strategy, so to speak, is following the people that you want to connect with. This doesn't require much time or effort. You're just going to look at people's profiles, maybe people you already know in the industry, people that you follow, maybe you read their blog post or listen to your podcasts or watch your YouTube videos and you just look them up and you follow them. Now, the cool thing about Twitter is when you do follow somebody, when you're using the mobile app, it will suggest other people to follow that you might be interested in. I usually say yes to that suggestion and start following those people as well. And of course, later on, I can unfollow them if I don't like what I see in my feedback and everything that they tweet, it's okay. It's not like you can't unfollow people, but the point here is that you want to kind of go on a following spree in the beginning to start being exposed to some interesting conversations. I found that within a matter of a few months of having conversations, commenting, giving your own advice, your own take, maybe even your own jokes, in conversations on Twitter, people start following you and the people that you are actually following start following you back. Now, once you both have followed each other, not only can you have conversations on Twitter through conversations, through the the tweet itself, but you can actually DM them, which of course means direct message. And I've worked with so many people, had collaborations, conversations, and actually met up with people in real life afterwards that I've gotten to know on Twitter. So Twitter is a great platform to start meeting people, making connections, and just learning about what other people are doing. Another great way is to pay to play, which is just to join a program that has a community. Whether you're joining one of our programs at the $100 MBA or any other program that has a community aspect, you're automatically going to be a part of a community of like minded people that are doing creative things, fun things that you can get to know online. And they usually have some sort of space or forum or community online that you can be a part of to ask questions and get to know people. I did this religiously in my first 10 years of entrepreneurship. I joined so many communities so I can get to know as many people as possible as soon as possible. Now, I don't describe myself as an introvert, but the strategy still holds. A free alternative to this is Facebook groups. There are a lot of Facebook groups out there in different interests, in different genres. You as a writer and blogger, Chris, there's tons of them. I know that because I'm a part of them. You can just search on Facebook and filter for groups with the keywords that interest you. Some of these groups will allow you in automatically. Some of these groups will ask you a few questions before they let you in, which is understandable. And some of these are paid groups. And if they are, there's probably a good reason why it's paid. It's probably pretty good in there and valuable. It might be worth you checking out how much it is. Now, as you are meeting people online through groups, through forms, through communities, through Twitter, what I like to do is have a running list, a spreadsheet. This is my master networking spreadsheet. Seriously, it's a list of 50 people. I used to make a list of 60 people, but I recently cut it down to 50 to make it a little easier on myself. But if you're just getting started, I would Actually Recommend going with 60 so that you can have a wide variety of connections. Now, it's literally a list of people that I want to get to know, people I want to become friends with, people that maybe I've just met briefly. And as you're making these connections online, put their name, put their contact, put how you know them and what they do in the spreadsheet. And what I like to do is every day I contact two to three people on that list. I do this for 20 days out of the month. You know, I count for weekends and maybe a day off here or there. That means every month I'm in contact with every single person on that list so that I don't stay out of touch. That means I'm still at in mind. They're part of my network. This is a great strategy I learned from Jordan Harbinger, who's a master networker who runs a podcast called the Jordan Harbinger Show. Great podcast. And it's something I still do till this day because it's such an easy way to make sure you're staying connected and you're actually building long lasting relationships. Now let's talk about offline. Okay. You still can make connections even if you're out in Fiji. How? You can be the connector, right? You can start running events, meetups, dinners, maybe just a hangout or, you know, getting drinks or coffee. Put it up on meetup.com or eventbrite writers in Fiji, bloggers in Fiji, whatever it is, even if you get a couple people, three people, four people, it's a start. And one of the best ways to meet people is to be the connector. I have found this. This is why I try to run as many events as I can, big and small, meetups, coffees, lunches. Because when I introduce people to each other, they introduce me to people that I don't know. So be the connector and be the change you want in the world, as the famous quote says, right? You want to make sure that you take action and be the connector so you can make those connections. If you don't want to start out that way, it's okay. Check out if there are local events going on, you might not know. Do some search like again, Meetup Eventbrite Facebook events. See if there's something going on in your local area that you can attend and just go. Just make the commitment. You don't have to mean anybody, talk to anybody or have any kind of pitch. Just say, I'm going to just show up. That's the first step. If you describe yourself as introverted and you feel a little shy, it's okay, just show up and that'll be your first step. I'm sure you'll meet somebody, have a conversation, and you won't die, hopefully. Right? Nothing's going to happen. I'm not trying to belittle the situation or try to poke fun at the situation. I'm just trying to say, hey, what's the worst that can happen? You have a little bit of fun and you go home. That's pretty much it. And the next time around it'll be a little bit easier.

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Alright, we talked about making in person connections with your local events, being the connector by throwing local events. But what about getting out there, going to a bigger event, maybe even going international somewhere else outside your country? I recommend spending finding something that you'd love to attend once a year. Maybe a larger event that has maybe a few more people than you normally meet at an event in your local area. Maybe even 100 people or 200 people or a thousand people. Just choose one event. If you're in Fiji, check out what's going on in Australia, what's in an event that's in your niche in your genre and something that you're interested in that you'd like to attend, put it on your calendar, even if it's a year ahead, and see it as a goal. How can you make sure you attend? Grab that ticket, buy that flight, buy the hotel reservation and look forward to that event. I did that when I first started as an entrepreneur where I made it a goal. And actually my first event was called New Media Expo. It was in Vegas. I don't even think they do this event anymore. The event itself wasn't like this amazing event, but the people that went were really cool and I met some long life friends and I'm so glad I went to that event because it was so inspiring and it really sparked a lot of great ideas and gave me a lot of motivation and direction for the years to come. So make it a goal. Find something that you're interested in that's near you and see it as a fun trip that you can look forward to. Chris, thanks so much for asking today's question on Q and A Wednesday. If you've got a question you want to ask, just go ahead and email me over at omar@100mba.net if you love this podcast and you want to show us some love, hit follow Hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Whether it's Spotify or Apple Podcast or Stitcherado, Himalaya or Overcast, it doesn't matter. Hit follow so you don't miss an episode. That way you tell the algorithm, hey, this podcast is pretty good. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Everything I've accomplished in my life started with me getting out of my comfort zone, doing something a little bit scary, doing something I'm not used to, something I'm unsure of, things I don't have a full picture of before I get into it. So if you're a little bit nervous about meeting people online or offline, it's okay. That's par for the course. It means you're on the right path. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

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