If They Want Your Money, Beware!

With the economy still in a volatile state, consumers are hanging on to their purse strings tighter than ever. I, too find that I am watching my pennies a little more to stretch them further. One thing that makes me angry is when I hear about people being scammed. When I hear complaints about this occurring, I will spread the word. Recently, I have been hearing about more people networking to connect with others that are interested in starting a business or improving the one they have already established. Now, don’t get me wrong I am in no way saying networking is bad, but what is bad is when you are tricked in to spending money  you don’t need to. Several consumers contacted me stating they had connected with others online and were instructed to send a payment to be “a part of the business group.” This caused my alarm to go off immediately. For one a book or product wasn’t being purchased. A seminar wasn’t happening. This was strictly a means to be allowed to sit in. Why should you have to pay for that? There may be times when this becomes necessary, but I want you all to know that there are other free ways to connect with others in your area who maintain similiar business goals. Before you open your wallet, take a closer look at who you are networking with.

The Opportunity to Learn Comes When You Least Expect it

Today was a beautiful day in our suburb. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, and the sound of lawn mowers going could be heard outdoors. Sneeze, sneeze, sniffle... spring is coming and allergy season is in full bloom. I decided I wanted to spend extra time with my youngest daughter running a few errands and enjoying our time together. I strongly believe in daily business promotion, gratitude...but I just wanted to relax for a while after having been ill all week. We headed out with smiles on our faces.

The day ended up being enjoyable, but I knew later in the evening I still had to do some work research, and business promotion. But, I needed to call a family member before I could do just that. I intended to make the call earlier in the week but this was another thing illness had prevented me from doing on schedule. Once the call was made, our conversation turned in to hours of fun. Yes, I did say hours. We talked and laughed about so many things, and then the conversation turned to business. Unplanned networking, questionnaire session, and so much more... I came away from that conversation filled with another level of knowledge, it was amazing. It was then that I was reminded that often when we allow ourselves to just go with the flow, our business networking emerges at its best and it becomes fun not just work.