NETWORLDING

Chicago's Best Networker

Check out Melissa’s feature in Crain’s:

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Congratulations to Chicago’s Best Networker!

Mary Cassatt

There are thousands of examples of networkers throughout history but several exceptional people stand out. Have you ever wondered how these exceptional people networked? How did they use their skills to create mutually beneficial relationships? Who was in their network and how did they meet the influential people in their lives?

Well, join us as we present to you Great Networkers Throughout History

First in our series is Mary Cassatt.

Self-portrait

Cassatt was an American born French Impressionist. She is one of only three women in the movement and the only American. Most well known for her conservative painting of mothers with their children, however Cassatt's own life did not resemble the quaint simplicity of her paintings.

Although she was born in Pittsburgh in 1844, Cassatt spent much of her childhood in Europe and by the time she was ten she was fluent in several languages. Her affluent family valued education and thought travel was the best way to encourage an interest in learning. After attending Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Cassatt, against her parent wishes, moved to Europe and traveled alone. She eventually settled in Paris and fell into the Bohemian lifestyle.
It was during this time that she met Edgar Degas. She was walking by a gallery window when she caught a glimpse of Degas famous ballet dancers. Cassatt later reflected on this moment by saying,” I saw art as I wanted to see it. I began to live."

At this same time Degas saw her pieces in the Paris Salon. The two met in 1874 and began a life long friendship. Degas invited her to join the impressionist and introduced her to art legends, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.

Edgar Degas

Together they developed the impressionist movement and promoted their work, exhibiting in their own shows.

Cassatt contributed more than her artwork to Impressionism. She used her wealth to financially back the movement. She would buy her friends paints and encourage many of her affluent American friends to buy Impressionist art. In fact most of the Impressionist art in American collections is a result of her efforts.

After her tenure with the Impressionist, Cassatt continued to paint and travel. She spent time in Spain as a guest of Phillip II and worked as his painter.

In 1892 she was commissioned to paint a mural for the Women’s building at the Chicago Worlds Fair.

Later in her life Cassatt became a role model to young women and even mentored a young Lucy A. Bacon.
Forced to give up painting because she was nearly blind Cassatt turned her attention to the women suffrage movement in 1914. She used her influence and networking abilities to support her friends and draw attention to the movement.
Cassatt died on June 14, 1926 near Paris leaving only her artwork and legacy behind.
As of 2005, her paintings had sold for as much as $2.8 million

Cassatt's most famous connection was Edgar Degas but who else was in her network? Here is a list of the influential people who were most likely in Cassatt's primary circle at various times in her life:
• Gustave Flaubert – author of “Madame Bovary”
• Sarah Bernhardt – famous theater actor
• Gustave Eiffel – French architect
• Louisa May Alcott - American novelist
• Claude Debussy – composer
• Susan B. Anthony – activist

Lois Mailander MD

Good stories should be shared. Melissa received this letter this week and would like to share Lois’ story with you.

Good Afternoon, My name is Lois Mailander,MD. cardiologist in Metairie,La. I was completely enamored with your presentation on Building Your Networld in Chicago last week held at the W Hotel. Following your advice I was able to engage in networking with "new friends" in attempting to initiate an EKG screening program for high school athletes. I also want to share a program that my son, Gordon initiated entitled OPERATION HELP(help educate Louisianna pupils.) Through his networking he was able to collect approximatele 1800 books. Please feel free to pass his letter along to whom you deem appropriate. I am so looking foward to reading your book! My best to you,

Cordially,

Lois

Become a Connector

Learn the skills of the connector. Practice developing these skills by writing down the names of a couple of people you would like to become more connected with and then think of people they might like to meet that you know. When you call them or meet with “connectors,” have people in mind that you think they should meet.

With the strategy you become a “connector” and will be sought after by other “connectors”. Think of the different types of connections you can make (e.g. helping people locate new products or services, helping them find new information or gain insights on new and better processes). For example, someone you know may have had experience in a field that someone you want to meet might benefit from.

By introducing these people to each other, you add value through the connection. You build trust and credibility throughout your network as you connect one great person to another.

For more information Click Here

re:invention

Great Blog for Women:

Kirsten Osolind, CEO of Re:invention Marketing has a #1 goggle ranked blog for and about enterprising women.

Re:invention is a full-service integrated marketing company for corporations that are looking to sell more of their products and services to enterprising women -- women entrepreneurs and executives.

For more information about their services please Click Here.

Kirsten’s blog is chalked full of information about women entrepreneurs, business statistics, business resources and more importantly fun. She has a great way of presenting information so that it is readily accessible, informative and interesting.

Every Saturday Kirsten posts “10 Tips for 10 Million Women”. These posts feature successful women entrepreneurs or executives. In addition to their current position and a brief bio, each entrepreneur or executive shares their list of 10 tips for women in business.

Kirsten also shares information about her business, the people she meets, and the companies she interacts with. She reviews professional women’s organizations, discussing their history, member benefits, programs, and networks. The blog delivers a tremendous amount of information about resources for women.

Always in tune with what women want, Kirsten does not ignore the importance of business fashion. One post reviewed the trend of handbags and the dangers of carrying a bag that is too large. Additionally, on the side bar there is a featured business shoe of the season. Included in the staff’s bios - their shoe of choice.

The amount of knowledge presented and the span of topics covered makes the re:invention blog one of our favorite resources.

Community Circles

Power-of-Ten Circles are practice Circles of ten or fewer people who gather to learn and practice the seven steps of Networlding. These Circles can be created by you or with support from those continuously signing up to join Networlding Circles all over the world.

To learn more about how to develop or participate in a community circle contact Melissa by Clicking Here.

Best Email Marketing Recommendation

Melissa recently discovered a better email marketing service called Email Transmit.

Email Transmit is a web-based service that helps companies deliver successful marketing campaigns via email.

They provide superior service at reasonable prices and they are quick and easy to use.
You don’t need to know HTML or other programming lingo because Email Transmit provides professional templates using your company’s brand identity. Every design is a web-based form so all you need to do is cut and paste. Your e-mail list is easily imported from any database and if you need advice or if you get stuck, they provide free phone and e-mail consulting.
In addition Email Transmit has great tracking and reporting features that allow you to track how many e-mail were opened, clicked through, forwarded, or bounced back.

Email Transmit does a great job of answering questions and you can receive a free demo of their services. For a free demo Click Here.

When signing up, use the code NETW in Step 3 of the sign up form to get $50 off your setup fee, which is very reasonable to begin with and gets you up and running with great email templates very quickly.

Click Here to see Networlding's most recent Email Transmit.

It's Time to Blog!

Create Your Own Blog Over Breakfast

and

Take Your Business to the Next Level!

Are you looking to take your business to the next level of Internet exposure?

Create a stronger Internet presence?

Do you know what a blog is and how your business can benefit?

Maybe you already have a blog but have not maximized it….

There's a reason why Business Week magazine said "Blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate." The blogosphere is the next big frontier and you want to be out there before the competition-currently growing with 80,000 new blogs per day.

Join us as we share inside secrets on the most successful blogs, give you a blog and help you launch it effectively.

In just 3 hours we’ll show you how:

- Blogs help you get new customers and expand business from current customers.
- Develop informational tools like booklets, books and many e-products to create more revenue streams.
- You can use blogs to cross-sell and up-sell new products and services.

Join us Wednesday, November, 8th, from 8-11:00 a.m.

@
Lloyd’s Chicago, 1 S. Wacker, across from Lyric Opera House

(check-in starts at 7:30 a.m. and we’ll start promptly at 8:00 a.m.)

Experienced, knowledgeable bloggers & strategists will help you launch your own blog live that day! Plus, rather than just tell you about them, we’ll GIVE you the tools and resources for blogging while helping you:

- Get started planning your blog for optimum exposure.
- Choose the best blog template to accomplish your goals.
- Launch your blog.
- Write your first post .
- Build hyperlinks and keywords.
- Find the best photos for your site (showing you where the best free photos exist).
- Upload photos.
- Choose and input affiliate marketing programs that will help you grow revenue off your blog.
- Understand search engine optimization & pinging.
- Getting others to blog about you and your company.

WHAT YOU GET

- A domain name of your choice and blog hosting for 1 year
- 3 hours of practical information you can immediately implement, corresponding hand-outs and
a CD with useful information and live hyperlinks
- Continental breakfast

WHAT TO BRING

Bring your notebook computer well charged and we will help you connect you to the host provider you will use to create your blog. The room we will meet in has internet access.

When you leave, you will have your own working live blog plus

all the tools to build it up and make it a success!

SEATING IS LIMITED!

Your Investment is $345.00. Register now and save!

Only $295 if payment is received by October 21st.

Click Here to Register

Chicago Networking

Chicago Networking: Joining the Best Networking Group in Chicago

After twenty years in business I find again and again that the best networking groups are the ones that are custom designed. And I don't know of any other organization in Chicago who will help individuals and organizations design their own networking group or groups.

Recently we started networking circles that meet every Friday. How are we different?

Consider the following:

• We bring in only seasoned networkers with track records. Most groups have a mix of seasoned and early entrepreneurs. What happens though is that the younger businesses with fewer contacts are like weak links often limiting the quality and quantity of introductions and referrals.

• We bring in true, complimentary businesses as participants. Most networking groups restrict membership to only complementary businesses, but what happens often is that most of those businesses that are not really good referral sources for each other. So, for example, if you are a management consultant to large organizations you don't want a group that has mostly small entrepreneurs selling to other small entrepreneurs.

• We add in additional support through our expansive leadership network. We take only leaders who have their own strong networks, which makes it easy for us to offer introductions to our network of over 2,000 leaders in business who are good Networlders. No other networking group offers a similar service.

For More Information: Click Here