What would you do if you went to a networking function and you were the only person of your race or nationality in the room? What if no one was speaking English? Would you be uncomfortable? Would you network like you always do? What would you do? In "Fresh Blood in the Gene Pool" I talked of reaching beyond our comfort zones, going places where we have never been and meeting new people to expand our opportunities. Here is an example of how you can do this. I was invited by a new networking friend to attend a meeting of the Chinese Business Association of Atlanta. As I was driving downtown to the location, I was excited about the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends and business acquaintances, I was thinking about what this meeting might be like. I arrived, parked my car and took the elevator to the 26th floor. At the door I signed in noticing the packed room of people in attendence. Ahead of me a chair was added to an already full table and I was welcomed to sit down. I had arrived a bit late so the program had already begun, and as I sat there listening with the others, I had no idea what the speaker was talking about. He was speaking in Chinese. About 10 minutes after I arrived, the speaker deferred to the first table of attendees who began to rise one at a time and talk about their business. Across the room, I saw my friend sitting near the window so I went and sat next to her. I asked her if they were doing introductions and she said, "Yes, they have one minute to give their elevator speech." As they went around the room, occasionally I would catch a few words of English as things were referred to that have no word to describe them in Chinese. Often the room would erupt in laughter as someone would say something humorous. I was in a normal networking environment. The only difference was that I did not speak the language. When it was my turn to speak I rose and gave my one minute about AtlantaEvent.com. I said the same thing that I say everywhere I go. Then I sat back down and the few remaining people finished up and after a few words, the meeting was adjourned to open networking. It was great. It was just like any other networking meeting that I have gone to. Most of the people in the room spoke English when I approached them. There were many unique businesses that were represented. I found myself paying closer attention as people spoke, because the English was a bit rough for a couple of people, but everyone was very nice and I felt like a part of the group. So why am I telling you this in such boring detail? Because in that room was a new world of opportunity for me and for you. There were a few of the regular mix of accountants and realtors, but there was tremendous opportunity for someone selling a product or service to find a lot of potential clients. You see I have spoken before about people and what we all share. We all have needs, dreams, wishes and desires. We all want to be treated with respect and importance for what it is that we may believe or feel. We all want to and usually do stay in our own comfort zones. It makes no difference if we are black, white, or any race or color, we are all human beings. In my city and in every city in this country there are business groups that represent every nationality that exists. There are people who need what we sell or do, even if they do not look like us or speak our language. Our country was based on the proposition that all men are created equal. It grew from the children of every country in the world. Our ancestors at some time in history came from other lands and they mixed themselves into the culture of this country to become Americans. Over time, we have all been accepted. It is a very small world that we live in and getting smaller. At the same time if we look at the opportunity for business, it keeps getting bigger with the development of global markets. Do not let fear keep you from receiving the benefit of this growth. Reach beyond your comfort zone, find the international business community and give them your one minute presentation. You may find your business growing at speeds far beyond what you ever though possible. You may also find a lot of new interesting friends in the process. |
