Sumi Krishnan (0:00)

Make sure that you also understand that you can't just go in there and start selling. I mean of course you should know this, but I want to say it anyway. It's complete turn off if you just go in there and start selling. But you do want to think about. I know that you're in my head and I know Everyone. Welcome to the Dream Life Club podcast. So happy you're back. This is episode six and today we're talking about networking. First of all, this podcast is for you. If you are a woman, entrepreneur or creative who is ready to smash your goals. Who is ready to bring your dreams to life life, build the business of your dreams, make the impact that you were meant to make and ultimately change the statistic that says that only 2% of woman owned businesses ever cross the million dollar mark. A million dollars in revenue should be table stakes and that's what we're gonna do together. My name is Sumi Krishnan. If you don't know me, I built a business in DC, grew it to over 200 full time employees and multiple eight figures in revenue before we sold and I exited and moved out to LA to build a whole new thing career and small business as a pop music recording artist here in la filled with its own amazing fun challenges that I'm going to be bringing into this podcast as we go along as well. So networking and why should you care? Who do you need to meet? People are everything. Like I've said before, it's sort of a theme around here. People are the key, right? We've got to have people around us in order to help us achieve our goals. We've got to have people around us in order to keep us accountable and excited and motivated. People make introductions to clients. People find help us find opportunities. People hold the opportunities. So literally people are everything, right? Like we're not going to do anything by ourselves here. We need people. But what types of people should you be putting on your intentional plan to meet the that's what we're going to discuss. And we're going to discuss three categories of people and I've developed a framework or a little cheat mental cheat sheet for you. P M, E and C or pmec. P M E or C. These are the three categories of people that we all need to be intentionally networking with and I'll explain what they stand for and then the nuances of each category to make sure that you're giving yourself the edge that you're not just networking haphazardly, wasting your time, energy and money without a strategic and intentional return. Because as you know, as an entrepreneur, like, if you're anything like me, like I don't have time to just waste on random events or random coffee dates or things that are one offs or events that don't actually like go anywhere with me. Right? And it's draining on top of that. So we need to be really intentional about who we're meeting and why. So first let me explain what these three categories are. The P stands for peers. We need to up level your peer group. Okay, that's number one. Then M E, that stands for mentors or expanders. There's an interesting nuance there that I'll discuss as well. And then the C stands for clients or potential clients. So meeting people that could be clients in the future. So let's dive into each one and talk. This episode is going to be really tactical, right? I want you guys to take away something really specific after listening that you can go and apply to your schedule and your business plan right away. Because actually listening to podcasts can actually be a detriment if you don't go and apply some thing that you learned or an aha moment for you into your life, into your calendar, into your business. Right? Because otherwise it's like all we do is like drain our creative energy listening to podcasts. So make sure that you listen and then figure out how are you going to apply this? That's what I'm really passionate about. Not just talking and giving you something to listen to, but talking and actually helping you grow. Okay, so let's talk about this peer group. How are you going to uplevel your peer group and why? Okay, well, we need people around us who are running with us. And what I mean by that is who are going after similar goals. We need people around us who are facing the same direction and are marching down the same path. Because otherwise it's way too easy to to get distracted. If we surround ourselves with people who either have no goals, maybe they're just, I don't know, checking in and out of a 9 to 5 and are kind of bored with their work life and maybe they're finding their joy elsewhere, then it's going to be way too easy for us to also fall into thinking, oh, well, maybe it's not worth spending my time building this business. Maybe it's not realistic, it's a pipe dream. I should just be happy with what I have, you know, and also I'm gonna like miss out on all these opportunities to go out with my friends or go to this happy hour. Or go on this trip, right? Because when we are serious about building a business, it takes sacrifice. It takes sacrifice of a lot of times in the beginning, our weekends, our evenings, and we need to take that for ourselves without getting distracted with people who aren't working on similar goals. So what I like to say is we really want to surround ourselves with women who are also excited about their business goals. And that has, like, a double benefit because we end up one, like having peers who we can bounce ideas off of, having peers who understand us, having peers who actually end up helping us with the introductions, with a potential opportunity that might come our way. That's great for us with, you know, an introduction to a mentor that they really like or a podcast that's been really helpful for them or a book that they loved. Like, these are all ways that having peers who are also working toward the same goal as us doesn't have to be in the same industry or doesn't have to be the same revenue number, doesn't have to be the same business model. What I mean is they also need to be excited and on fire and serious about building their business. Like, we need those people in our life. So that's one of the benefits. But the double benefit is that they also give us an opportunity to understand that, oh, like to feel belonging without sacrificing our goals. Because those women also won't be, you know, going out for happy hour every Thursday necessarily, or wanting to just sit around and drink on a Sunday fun day. Like, they'll instead be going and recording a podcast, or they'll be working on their book, or they'll be, you know, working on setting up systems and the operations of their company on a Saturday afternoon. And then we'll fit in with that group. So we, because we are social animals, we need belonging. We need people who we feel like get us right. So that's the double benefit of finding your. Your peers who are working on the same goal as you. One, you get belonging, but you don't get distracted. And two, you get the accountability, the support, the strategy, the relationships, the introductions that those women are going to bring you where your other friends aren't. So I say that's the first category that you really need to focus on. When I was building my company in D.C. i remember I would go, I mean, I. I had people networking were. Was top of my list. Like, it was one of the main ways that you grow a business, right? And I think it's interesting because this was 10, 15 years ago when I had started this company. And back then it was like there was really much less networking online. So I was like, well, of course you gotta go out and put yourself out there and go to these events. And now I think too many people, like, raise your hand if you've been guilty of hiding behind your computer screen and thinking like, that's the way you're gonna build your business or meet people. Right. I really wanna encourage you to get out there, like go to an event, get the energy of the room, meet those other, I like to say, women entrepreneurs. If you're a woman entrepreneur who are going to be running with you, who are chasing the same goals, it makes all the difference. Okay, so I, I put myself in D.C. like I remember I, I joined back then, I joined nabo, which is a little bit more, I would say it's an old school business owner group. Back then I happened to meet somebody who was part of it. I went to an event. I really liked the women in there. They were really supportive. And then I tried to add value to the organization. So if you're going to an event that's hosted by a group, always be thinking about how you can add value. Because by adding value to the group, you stand out, you raised your profile, which is one of the most important pieces of networking. It's figuring out how you can stand out from the crowd. So when I went to this NABO event, I was participating, I was offering suggestions and ideas, and we were having a fissure at the time between the Washington D.C. chapter and the Northern Virginia chapter. And I suggested that we need to be combining these two, because if we. There's really no difference in terms of like geography or type of business, like we all, it made sense for us to be together. So I led the effort to combine the two chapters. And then they asked me to be on the executive committee committee, which was the leadership committee of that local chapter of nabo. And through that, everybody who I met would know me because then I'm on the leadership committee. So it's sort of doing those things that might take a little bit extra time and energy, but ultimately are absolutely worth it because you get to raise your profile. Okay, so to summarize the peer group nuances, you want peers who are chasing the similar goal as you are. Right. And there's a double benefit there. There's one, it satisfies our desire and need for belonging into a community. But it's the right community. It's the community of people who are going to be doing on the weekends what we need to be doing. Okay, so that's key. And then the. Secondly, it's community of peer group who can help us, who are all going to help each other, whether it's just keeping us accountable, whether it's making introductions, offer opportunities, all of that kind of thing. So that's the double benefit of the right peer group. Now, what if you're surrounded by people who. What if you don't have any of these people in your life and you're like, well, sue me, like, actually, like, I have a really good group of friends. And like, I feel like I, you know, I love my friends. I don't want to not have time for them. So how do you fit in creating a whole new group of peers? Right? And to that, I'll say this. If you're serious about building your business, if you're serious about making a million dollars in revenue as a starting point and growing from there, if you're serious about building your brand, making the impact in the world that you know you want to make, if you're serious about it, you are going to have to make some sacrifices. You are going to have to make some sacrifices. So now maybe you're seeing these friends. Like, I was like, you know, every week at least. Every week. You know, a Sunday, a Sunday brunch, a Saturday dinner out, you know, every week at least. Maybe it goes from seeing them every week to seeing them every month. I'm not telling you to, like, leave anyone behind or cut anyone out of your life. I'm just telling you to add in the peer group that's really gonna support you. That's really gonna support you. It's really important. Some ways to do that. Okay, let's talk about that for a second. Yes, you can Google, you can Google, you know, local networking event for women business owners. But the key is to find a culture that you really relate to. The keys to find a culture in a group of women who are kind of like, could be your friends. Because like I said, this is going to be your peer group. You don't want it. For me personally, everyone has their own style, right? I'm assuming if you're listening to this, you might relate with my style. I don't want to feel so formal. I don't want to feel. I feel like more and more like my Motto back in K4 Solutions, we had it on our little pens said, we take biz, we take business personally. Business to me is personal. And, you know, you grow up like, especially in the old school world of business, everyone's like, oh, but business Isn't personal, but don't take it personal. Business isn't personal. And I'm like, business is personal. Business is personal in many, many, many ways. And I get what they mean by business isn't personal. Like we have to make hard decisions sometimes. We have to maybe let someone go who we love as a human being but just isn't the right fit in the company. Right. So in that ways, yeah, it's not like personal, but business is personal in the sense that I want to feel like I can let my guard down. I want to feel like I can be real with these people, show my heart, share what's going on, get real, honest, authentic feedback and not be shrouded in this, in the masks or the capes where everyone you know knows everything and is afraid to be vulnerable. Like, that's not the environment that I'm interested in building here at the Dream Life Club or encouraging anyone to be a part of, because I just don't think that that's helpful. So find events and groups that are led by people who you connect with and who creating a culture in those groups that you feel like you can really be yourself and let your guard down, take your mask off, take your cape off and just show up vulnerably, authentically, like heart to heart. Because this is going to be your new set of peers or one of your new set of peers where you're going to find belonging. So that's, that's really important. Okay. The second category is mentors or expanders. Okay. Now mentors or expanders are people who show you what's possible. Mentors or expanders are people who, you see what they've done and you're like, holy shit. If she's done that, then I can do it. If she's done that. This is giving me permission. This is showing me possibility. This is. I see what she's had to do, I see the sacrifices she's had to make, but I see what she's created and that's what I want to create. And without that, it's like the whole four minute mile trope. Who was the guy, Robert Bannister, who finally broke the four minute mile record? Right before that, no one had ever run a four minute mile. After he ran the four minute mile, multiple people started breaking that record. Why did no one do it before until the first person did it? And then so many people afterwards realized that they could also do it. It's because it's so hard for us to see what's possible for ourselves without seeing an example. We need those examples. They keep us going because this is horrible hard work. Do you know how hard those athletes had to train to eventually bypass that 4 minute mile upper limit? Right? They had to train. They would have to train so hard to, to actually get under that, that it's. You need to know that it's possible. Our brains, our. Our brains and our biology and our minds need to know it's possible in order for us to be able to make the sacrifices, to do the hard work, to put our heads down when we don't want to, to go out there and meet people when we don't want to, to do all the things required to meet our goals. We got to know it's possible. So your mentors can be, you can have mentors from afar, especially if you're just starting out. We know that like some of the best mentors are from podcasts or books and biographies that we read. We don't actually know those people, right? But like, if every day you take this podcast for a walk, you're gonna start to see like, holy shit, like, if she could do it, I could do it. And, and these are some of the strategies and start implementing them, right? Like when I built my business, you know, I had so many different mentors in D.C. and right now, like, I see, I constantly am like finding mentors ahead of me in the music industry, right? I'm like, oh my God, this girl blew up. Like last year, she had you know, maybe like 6, 700 followers and now she's blown up. She's got like 48k followers and she's doing amazing. She's got her songs placed in all these commercials and movies and she's touring and I'm like, wow, like, okay, that's what's possible, right? And I love, I love just reminding my brain over and over and over and over again in all sorts of different ways and places of what's possible. Because then we get excited, we get more energy, we get the, we get into the emotional state that we need to be in to actually do the work. Okay, and what else did I want to say about mentors or expanders? So you can have, and here's the, here's the thing. Expand or expand or expanders are who I like to think of as like the people who show us what's possible. They expand our vision, right? They expand what's possible for us. Mentors, on the other hand, are a little bit more specific. They are expanders as well because they've done lots of the things that we want to do. However, I think that, like, the best mentors are people who show us the way. The best mentors help us along our path. The best mentors are able to sit down with us and have a conversation and say, I think you should do this, not this. I see this for you, not that I think you should go in that direction. And here's somebody you should meet. So the best mentors, and we need to find this category of people in our life are people who are actually willing to spend and give some of their time with us. In today's environment, oftentimes you find the best mentors by paying them. Okay, like, some of the best mentors are leading masterminds or groups with the exact people that you need to meet in those groups with the exact strategy that you need to get a hold of, because they just did that thing last year that you're trying to do now. And so I do believe now, and especially today, in today's business environment, that you can actually, if you can pay your way into a group that a mentor has set up, then it's a double win again. Now, what's the double win here? Well, one, you're getting the time with the mentor on your business, right? Getting her eyes on your business, and you're getting the peer group that she has now curated for you. So now you don't have to worry about, like, going out and figuring out how to meet your own peer group through random networking events that you find online, which may or may not be a culture fit. But if you find a mentor who you think you can really connect with and join their group, even if you have to pay into it or buy into it, then you're like, like in the vortex of energy that you need to be in. You've got all the people you're gonna need to meet, you've got your new peer group, you've then got your mentor and your expander. And like, I'm not saying you can't have other people that you're gonna meet and you will meet and you should meet along the way. But that is the double benefit of joining a mentor's coaching group or curated community, or however they phrase it, mastermind, right. I find, you know, a lot of my friends have worked with coaches one on one, and they get. It's actually much better, in my opinion, to join a group from a mentor instead of going and working one on one with them, because, like I said, the double benefit. And also you're in that vortex, that energetic vortex already that People are already set up to meet so you don't have to go and create the structures yourself. It's like it's already set up. You guys are meeting four times a year in person. You guys are meeting every week on Zoom or whatever the structure is. It's already set up. That peer group that built in peer group of women who are chasing similar dreams as you is already set up. So it's a huge benefit and depending on the mastermind, depending on the community, which you really need to do your research and vet, but if it's the right one, it's totally worth it. So that's my advice there. Okay. Mentors for me, like, honestly, like, mentors. Okay. Mentors were everything for me. Like when I was building my business in dc, I had so many mentors. I had a mentor in this industry that I was in who built a government contracting company very similar to mine. He was my main mentor. I also had a leadership coach or mentor, right, who helped me with like leadership and management and stepping into my leadership because I was in my mid-20s, thrown into managing hundreds of employees. And that wasn't easy. And I made a ton of mistakes and I needed someone, I needed someone to help me to bounce ideas off of, to share my struggles, to give me advice, to give me feedback, to be able to talk to about this stuff. Right. I had a mentor for my finances right before I had a full time cfo. I had to, I had to learn myself. How do I, how do I run this business on the financial side of things? Like, how does this work? I needed a mentor so you can have like all these different mentors and you know, then you have your, your main person who. And especially if it's like a group with community, like I'm just getting you thinking, want to get your, the wheels turning in your brain about like all the types of people you need to meet and ways to do it. Okay, all right. Now then, the last category that I want to talk about is potential clients. Okay. Now it's interesting because what I've noticed is that a lot of people recently have been joining paid communities that a mentor has put together. Okay. Been joining paid communities, but they're not really like necessarily for the peer group or the mentor. But why do they join that community for the potential clients? And it's interesting because you don't want to go there and just be like sleazy and selling yourself. You want to make sure if you go this route, like by joining a paid community like this run by a mentor, you Want to make sure that you also are in the group for the right reasons. Meaning like you're willing and ready to help each other in the group, right? You're actually interested in the mentorship that's coming from that group, right? And then if you can offer your product or service to people in the group, then it's a win win. So if you decide to go that route, make sure that you also understand that you can't just go in there and start selling. I mean, of course you should know this, but I want to say it anyway. It's complete turn off if you just go in there and start selling. But you do want to think about what kinds of groups could you join that might be filled with your potential clients. Now, it doesn't have to be a paid mastermind, right? Like go to events, go join a club, join something. Be a part of something where your potential clients are. Like, think about where they gather. Where do your potential clients gather? That could be online also and in person. So I want you to take away, after you listen to this episode or pause it right now and like write down, write on your notes app, like, where does your target client, where does your target audience gather? Online and in person. What brings them together? Okay, you should have like at least three or four places both online and in person, where then you can start to frequent, where then you come there and add value to the group, right? Add value to the group, see how you can help people and then invite them to your product or service if or when it makes sense. It's a real shortcut to just kind of grinding away, right? Like, you gotta get a little bit more creative, right? You gotta get a little bit more creative. These are shortcuts to help you win. These are shortcuts to help get you to the seven figures in revenue that I know you want to get to. Because I want you to get there. I want you to get there. You're listening to this episode, you're listening to this podcast because you want to get there, right? So you got to think about doing things differently. If what you're doing now has been sitting behind your computer screen, then you've got to implement some of these tactics and techniques into your business plan on your calendar every month. You should be able to look at your calendar and say, where did I, what networking events did I go to this month? There should be at least one a week if it's the right event, right? Unless. Unless or until you found the group or community that you're going to just stick with. That year, right? If you found that group or community, then you might not need to be going out to new events every single week. But unless or until you found that, or if you've, yes, found that community, but you also need to keep meeting other people. It needs to be on your calendar, the time needs to be set aside. Then you need to be following up with those people, right? Because even if you join a mentor's community, like a mastermind, it's all about what you do with the introductions that you make that you have there with the people that you meet. It's all about what you do with those relationships. So many people go to events and then don't follow up with anybody. And I will say that I've been guilty of doing that in the past, right? Because it takes extra time and effort to then come back. Make a list of everybody you've met, right? Remind yourself, what did you talk about? What did you discuss following up about? Excuse me. And then making the outreaches, right? I know that all of that takes a lot of time and effort, but don't waste your time going to the events if you've not, if you're not going to follow up with them, right? You've got to include the follow up time into your schedule as well. So there's a lot, there's a lot of time and energy space spent in networking. And that's why I don't want you guys to just do it willy nilly. I want you to be extremely strategic. Okay? Think about peer group who are chasing the same goals. Similar goals, right? And how are you going to meet them? Okay. And people who could be your business besties, like that's the way I like to phrase it, like who are going to be my business besties? Okay? Find those people, follow up with them and then make a plan to meet, right? Or second, you need your mentors or expanders. Find a group that a mentor you love is hosting. Like, can you find a mentor that's hosting a mastermind or a community or a group coaching program with the people that you think you'd get along with inside that program? Then you've got the double benefit of having your mentor and expander and your potential business besties inside that group, Right? Love that, love that so much. And then thirdly, where do your clients hang out? Where do your target audience, where does your target audience gather? Where do they hang out? Have you asked yourself that? I hope you have, but I know that there's many of you listening who probably have not. And if you haven't. You're missing out. So I really hope that helped you today. And by the way, this is why we're starting the Dream Life Club Mastermind. If you are a serious multi, six figure or six figure entrepreneur ready to cross that seven figure mark, you might be a good fit. If so, send me a Note, sue meomi krishnan.com and we will explore it together. Okay, Lots of love to you guys and talk to you soon. Bye.