I want to give a shout out to all my MLM friends who are out there hustling and trying to build a legitimate business.

More and more, I see FB posts from my childhood friends, personal friends and basically not those that I know from my "networking world" that are trying to build an MLM business. 

Seriously, you all rock! Congrats on taking a leap of faith and trying to build a better future for yourself!

I'm so proud of you!

Good for you for talking about it on FB. Good for you for trying to get me to sample your products (although I probably won't b/c I never remember to sample anything). Good for you for adding me to your group and keeping me in the loop.

You may get flack from others about this, but never from me. I know how hard you're working for your future and I will always support you. 

I know the game you have just stepped into and it's not an easy one. You're going to need all the encouragement you can get, and if you ever end up in a dark moment, know that I'm just one text away. 

One tip I can give you is to create your big vision and keep that that vision mentally handy when things get rough. You'll need it. 

It's not an easy road, but congratulations on trying to take the destiny of your financial future into your own hands. 

Before launching NetworkingPhoenix, I was involved in Arbonne. It was truly one of the best ​things I ever did for myself. It started out as a hobby, but within 3 days, I was in love with the business aspect of it and I took off running.

The first 3 months were amazing, I was on a high and killed all my numbers. However, as you probably know, in order to be successful with an MLM company, you have to build a down-line. 

But you know what I hate? Babysitting adults. I just couldn't do it ... but that's just ME. If you can build a donwline, you're going to win. 

But here is the kicker ... even if you don't end up building a downline, you're still going to win. Your eyes will be open to new opportunities, you'll have made new friends and event if you make just an extra $500/mo - that's still amazing!

Arbonne didn't work out for me, but from that experience, the concept for NetworkingPhoenix was born. I wanted to have my own network and be the Queen Bee at the top. 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. 

So all those nay-sayers that you might encounter, all those people that un-follow you on FB or shut you down ... 

... they just suck. Move on. 

You're doing something good for yourself, your family and your future. 

There will be moments you'll want to quit. Don't. But if for some reason you do end up leaving, remember, when I left Arbonne, NetworkingPhoenix was born. 

You're only one good idea away from your dream!

And a quick note to those that have never tried a network marketing business ... add that to your to-do list. Joining a network marketing business that you believe in (there are so many great ones to choose from!), will help you grow personally, professionally and allow you to further develop your character. 

Big shout out to the network marketing peeps!

Oh Snap! Zuckerberg does it again ... 

In case you haven't heard yet, Instagram release their new feature yesterday called "Instagram Stories." 

Instead of only posting photos and short videos, you can now actually create "stories" for all your Insta followers to see. How original (I say with a smirk on my face). 

The concept of stories (photos and short videos stringed together that are only view-able for 24 hours) was originally crated by Snapchat. Initially, it was more of a "sexting" app, as it allowed you to share photos that would disappear within seconds of being viewed and if someone took a screen shot, you would get notified. (​p.s. Snapchat still notifies me if you take a screen shot, just FYI ;) ) 

However, most recently, Snapchat has become very mainstream and is the "shiny new toy" of social media apps that can drastically increase your business. If this is the first time you're hearing about any of this, you're way behind, my friend. But not to worry, there is still time to catch up. 

So why is the concept of "stories" so popular, whether it's on Snapchat or Insta? Great question ... 

As a brand or a business owner, when you share a story, you are opening up a window of your life and personality to the world. For instance, for those of you who follow me on Snapchat (handle: follow_gelie), got to witness, in real-time, as I made the bold decision to purchase an un-godly expensive plane ticket and fly into Laguna Beach to spend a few hours with my 3-year-old daughter as she was experiencing her first time being by the ocean. Her dad and his fiancee told me they were taking her there 15 minutes after they were already on the road ... It was quite an amazing life experience and my Snapchat followers got to experience it with me!

If you missed it, it's posted on YouTube so you could take a peek! The blog post that I wrote about it (that kinda went viral) could be found here. 

This story has nothing to do with work ... and has everything to do with my personal life and current situation (ie - going through a divorce and sharing custody of my daughter). 

So how does this translate to people wanting to work with me? Well, because when we get to know someone on a personal level, we trust them more. Suddenly, it's not just a business relationship, but it becomes a real-life connection. Think of the "Oprah" effect ... We all feel that we know Oprah because she was in our living room for years talking about real-life things. Why are those stupid shows like The Bachelor so popular? Because we get to experience things right along side the starts of the show. 

In your "story," you are the star of the show and your audience gets to know you. 

For this reason, if you are a business owner of any sort, you should be sharing stories on Snapchat and Instagram. 

Here is the dilemma ... 

I don't have time to be sharing different stories on different platforms, so what do I do? They're forcing me to choose. 

As I said on my first InstaStory yesterday, I have almost 1K followers on Instagram and am lucky if I get 25 people to view my story on Snapchat. Clearly, for someone like me, Instagram might be the winner because of my already built in audience. 

What do all those people do that have a gigantic following on Snapchat? They keep using Snapchat and they drop some content on Instagram. I mean, that's what I would do. 

The other interesting part of this whole story is that Instagram's amazing development team, completely copied Snapchat's ingenious creation. Snapchat engineers won't just sit back and take this ... 

So my prediction is that Snapchat is going to come out with something epic. Which, will just create more of a dilemma for users like me, but also create more options. 

In conclusion people, get your stories out there! Whether you choose to use Snapchat or Instagram, allow your audience into your life so a real-life connection can start to blossom. 

Happy Snapping ... err ... InstaStorying ... ​

Yes, I'm talking to you! 

I'm talking to the person that walks around the networking event asking everyone their name what they do for a living. 
The answer to both of those questions is ... who cares?

When you ask me those questions, it's really just a generically boring ice-breaker ... all you're trying to do is get a conversation going so that you can tell me what you do for a living and hopefully I'll buy from you. As soon as I've told you my name, you already forgot it and when I tell you what I do for a living, you're just sizing up my answer to see if I would be a good fit for whatever you're peddling. Sound familiar? I thought so ... 

And that, my friends, is why networking gets a bad rap. 

In the scenario that I described above, there is not much room for a true connection point. It doesn't mean that it won't happen, but you're limiting the opportunity from the get-go. 

True networking happens when you're able to establish a personal connection with a complete stranger. 

I know ... it's much easier said than done, but there is a bit of a formula to it. 


​First and foremost, stop being boring. Stop asking what people do for a living and focus on what really matters ...
... their story. 

Who is this stranger standing in front of you? How did they end up in the same room at the same time as you? What are their interests, passions and hobbies and what is their "why?"​

These are the things that truly matter. 


So the question I would encourage you to lead with is "what's your story?" 

Most of the time, they will look at you with a bit of a confusion and proceed to tell you what they do. After all, they probably didn't read this blog and don't understand what's happening. They have been trained to only talk shop at a networking event ... 

... help them get out of that boring box!

After listening to what they do, politely say, "that's great ... but I asked what your story is ... where are you from, how did you end up at this event ... what are you interested in?" 

This interaction right here, is what true networking is about. You're making friends. You're getting to know strangers on a personal level. You're actually making a connection that can turn into a mutually beneficial relationship. 

People love talking about themselves and this is a great ice-breaker to let them do just that ... 

You become more interesting to people when you seem interested in them. Show that you are genuinely interested in who they are as a person as opposed to just what they do for a living. That conversation will happen naturally after the initial connection, so there is no reason to lead with it. 

Make sense?

I'll leave you with this famous quote that I'm sure you've heard, but can always hear again as a refresher ... 

​“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

When we think of networking, we don't typically think of numbers ... 
... but when it comes to networking and relationship building, 7 is the magic number!

The rule of 7 is one of the oldest concepts in marketing and basically says that the potential buyer needs to hear or see a brand's marketing message at least 7 times before they are ready to buy. 

The same concept applies to networking ... 

When you meet someone, they need to have 7 interactions with you before you actually register on their radar as someone they "know." You might meet someone and have incredible chemistry just from one event ... but that still doesn't mean your new friend is ready to buy from you. 

Nowadays, it's very easy to achieve 7 interactions ... here are some examples: 

1) You meet at the event
2) You follow up with an email
3) You connect on LinkedIn
4) You interact with a LinkedIn post that your new contact posted
5) You send your new contact an email with relevant information to their industry (or something you think he/she would find interesting)
6) If you're an active networker, maybe you see them at another event
7) You have a phone conversation or event meet up for coffee

In a nutshell, if you're trying to get on someone's radar, make it a point to have 7 interactions with them as a way to start building a solid relationship!