Showing Up

Years ago I remember a member complaining to me that no one had rallied to support her when she was holding a home party.  However, when I quizzed her further about her involvement in Company of Women, it turned out she hadn’t actually attended any events nor had she, prior to this invite, bothered to connect with other members.

In other words, she was missing in action and missing the point.  I responded by saying  that it was hard to provide support to someone you’ve never met.  No one knew her and she hadn’t taken the time to build any relationships.   

And that is what it is all about. Women are quite intuitive about their relationships.  Most of us can smell a “taker” at a hundred yards, although we can be mislead by seemingly kind overtures.  That sort of attitude wears thin and when it is “all about me” the path to success can be very lonely.

Many of us give willingly not expecting anything in return, and when you have that attitude invariably we do gain something – maybe not straight away – but regardless, trust that you will reap the benefits down the road.  I take great pleasure when someone does well as a result of a lead or introduction I have instigated. The person’s success is reward enough.

But you can’t expect people to know who you are or what your business does, through osmosis – you do actually have to show up.  Even if the topic is not of interest, the people attending are.

Make a date with yourself and your business to get out to networking events – if nothing else – it is a break from the four walls, a chance to meet like-minded women – and hey, who knows -  you might even have fun.