If networking never pays off, maybe the problem isn't your networking. You can be warm, prepared, and good in a room and still walk out with nothing, because you never decided who you were looking for or why they should remember you. That's not a people-skills gap. It's a strategy gap. And strategy gets decided on paper, before you walk in.
This is the conversation I keep having with small business owners.
The point: None of that got decided in the room. It got decided in the plan, before the noise. That's what a strategic plan is for.
You bring the strategy. I built the event for it.
Last week I ran a sold-out B2B speed networking event in partnership with the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, because small business owners want to connect the way they run their business: efficiently.
Forty participants, fourteen rounds, a fresh face across the table every few minutes. No wandering, no small-talk limbo. It worked. The room was buzzing, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and people left with real connections. Some become clients, some become referral partners, and some become the fellow owner you cheer on and lean on. It won't be a one-off, so if you missed this round, you'll get another shot.
So how do you build that strategy?
That's what my course, Strategic Planning Fundamentals, is for: the vantage point to answer every question above for your own business. And here's the part most owners don't know: the state may help you pay for it.
On September 22, I'm hosting a free Link&Learn with the Northampton Chamber, 12 to 1pm, online. I'll walk you through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund, the program that reimburses eligible employers for training their team, and show you how to claim it. Come find out how much of your team's growth the state could fund.
Tired of making business decisions that feel like guesswork?
I specialize in collaborative strategic planning for small business owners.
In focused sessions, we'll discover how all your choices connect and build the strategic foundation that makes every future decision easier and more confident.
