Orange Road: Business Networking

Whatever it is you do for a living, get out and network in social situations. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter provide for meetings and TweetUps for professionals to get together and mingle and network. This is a great opportunity to do business if you want, possibly meet someone special, and make new friends. If you work in a job that you wouldn't normally network or develop business, go anyway, it's a great way to learn about other opportunities and it may make you more appealing to talk to as you won't be selling anything!

I personally love networking events. I've been to restaurants, hotels, personal (beautiful I might add) homes, and even at the zoo! The zoo was especially fun! Use the new forms of connecting with people to do just that, connect with people!

First Data eGift Social App

I'm going over a hundred miles an hour this holiday season and honest to goodness, I have not stepped foot in a mall. By the time I drive the 15 miles, fight to find a parking place and make my way into the stores to wait in long lines, I just can't make the space on my calendar. And frankly it's okay with me because I'd rather spent that time with my family - The First Data eGift Social App allows me to get the gifts I want to give while saving tons of precious time!

Just what is this app? The First Data eGift Social app is an innovative new application from First Data that lets people quickly and easily send real gift items (like an ice cream treat, a cup of coffee, a sandwich, or a movie ticket) from some of their favorite stores to their friends on Facebook or by e-mail. Friends are notified by e-mail, Facebook wall posts or both. The message includes an account number that is redeemable for a real gift at participating merchant locations.

This is a great service for so many reasons: You can give something small from eGift Social and combine it with another more personal gift. There is such a great selection of retailers participating - the places that families shop everyday! But the best thing is you can shop via Facebook. I LOVE this! Check it out yourself - eGift Social on Facebook.


“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of First Data and received an eGift gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Why Use Twitter?

Social Media is the new frontier and if you aren’t making your way to learn how to get involved, you’re being left behind. It doesn’t matter if you have a home-based business or a Fortune 500 corporation, you need to be using these resources, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn and more!

Facebook and Twitter are two of the most used social media sites yet they work completely differently. Facebook is like a networking mixer or cocktail party, you meander in, look around, see who’s there and reply to people who have left you messages, or as we say, written on your wall. It’s a leisurely pace. Twitter on the other hand is like a super highway, always moving and sometimes fast!

Twitter, for as many people as it has signed up, is a really small community of regulars. When you join in and start following people, you will see what they do, what they are doing, who else they are talking with and more importantly, building real relationships. Where else can you go and chat personally with CEO’s of major companies and A-list movie stars? Big businesses are offering specials and freebies only on these sites, they are hiring, and doing business with smaller businesses they can see are using these same tools and resoures. It’s not unusual for big business to take the Twitter opportunity to learn from the younger, more tech savvy generation of entrepreneurs – and their customers! Twitter and all the other social media sites are about connecting and making lasting connections, not only for business but also for pleasure. Twitter is the super highway of social media – Merge on, keep up, enjoy the journey, exit – Repeat often! Wonderful.

Follow me on twitter: @Kdpartak


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Balance In Business

This post has been on my mind for a while now and the time has come to write it. Every business owner knows how important it is to promote and grow their business, without doing so would likely cause the doors to close. Is it possible that too much promotion could turn people off as well? I think so.

Social media has opened so many doors for small businesses and entrepreneurs to reach the masses for darn near free. Sites like facebook, LinkedIn and twitter (to name just a few) are connecting average Joe's like me to CEO's of major companies and dialogue is happening. That's exciting! The problem as I see it, is this social media arena is still so new that people don't know how to do it. Oh sure, they can create an account and post about their business, but they don't know that etiquette applies in the social media arena just like it does in the face-to-face world. It's possible that it's even more important because it's so much easier (and faster) for someone to "unfriend," "unfollow," or disconnect from you. It's my opinion that you have to mix some of who you are personally with what it is you do for a living because if you don't why not just have a web site? The whole point of social media is that it's social - to me, that errors on the side of personal. As my good friend and social media expert Kevin DeSoto says, "You have to humanize your brand." How can you do that in the social media arena if you aren't getting a little bit personal?

The other piece of this equation for me is that people who used to be my personal friends are so caught up in their online presence, that they simply don't communicate with me on a personal level anymore. At first I figured we must not have really been friends to begin with, but that's not the case. There seems to be some prestige in the number of friends or followers that one has, but nary a "Hello! How are you?" comes across the line to those of us who really are their friends. A personal e-mail comes only to ask about a charitable donation, or to share with me how the class they have for sale is right up my alley! It only costs this many thousand dollars and of course, there is a commission to my "friend" when I register.

Here's my thought, why don't we have one online place for our business and another for our personal interactions? People who want to be a part of your business will be there and that's not to say they can't be your friends, too. When it's time to stop working, stop working - on facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, at the restaurant, or at home on the phone. Put your iPhone away when you are sitting with live bodies who are there to be with you. Connect with these people and share something personal, something that you wouldn't necessarily share at your place of business.

Utilize these amazing tools to enhance and grow your business, but come back to the smaller, more intimate circle of the people you love. Finding balance in business is knowing when to go all out and land that big account and when to hang the "Closed" sign and go home - virtually or literally. Just my two cents.

Social Media. Do You?

Do you twitter? I bet you at least have a page on facebook. If not, why?

Facebook has been a great place to reconnect with friends from high school, former jobs, and other cities you may have lived in. You can simply post bits and pieces of your life and interact with people via e-mail updates on your facebook wall. You wall is the place people post notes and messages that all your friends can see. There is also a message feature that works much like e-mail and it's private. Facebook has so many other things to do, I won't even go into all of that. If you're so inclined, you'll snoop around and see the virtual world you're missing out on! Search me and add me as a friend! www.facebook.com

Twitter is a little different. It's what's known as micro-blogging, so you can only tweet 140 characters at a time. Twitter is much more like the old fashioned aol chat box...remember those? The difference is that the culture has changed and it seems that more professionals are using social media to connect with clients and potential customers. You can find me on twitter by searching @Zbgloves and @Kdpartak. www.twitter.com

Check it out and see what you think. You don't need to spend hours on the computer, 15-30 minutes a day can bring many new, wonderful friends into your life!

Say Something Original

I'm loving my friends on twitter. If you don't engage in the social media circles like twitter, facebook, and myspace, let me invite you to join us. For the most part, we all just your average Joe's (except for the celebrities), and we are building real relationships. My only complaint is when some people on twitter have nothing to say. They follow thousands of people and Re-tweet those people all day long. Re-tweeting or RTing is when you send along to your followers what other people you follow have said. It's certainly fine when someone says something obviously funny, or poignant, but every little thing? Not so much.

For me, it's so much more fun to have real conversations and share our lives than it is to quote Henry Ford, Zig Ziglar, or any number of other over-quoted successful people. Aren't we all successful in our own rights? I think yes! Say something original and make my day. Heck, I might even RT you! Smiling!

Mad Housewife Wine - Winning Story

I have a friend in Minnesota. She is a mulit-business owner who also has five kids all under the age of 10! I carefully packed my bags for the trip to visit and brought her a bottle of Mad Housewife Merlot. As soon as I landed in MN, I opened my suitcase at the airport to present her with my offering, she practically rolled on the floor laughing and crying at the same time. I understood why she was laughing, but I asked her why she was crying. She replied through her tears, I never understood how insane my life is until you gave me this bottle of wine that says it all! We are still laughing and tweeting about Mad Housewife!

Thank you for the great entry! Please email facebook@rainierwine.com with your shirt size, color selection, and shipping address so we can get your super stylish MH tee out to you right away!

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Cheers all!
@TheMadHousewife
On Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp=&o=&q=Mad+Housewife#/MadHousewife

I Set A Mantra This Week

You all know I'm a firm believer in getting back what you put out. This week I have made my mantra, "How can I help you?" I've been learning a lot about social media and spending some time on facebook and twitter (@kdpartak) and I have to say, I've met some really wonderful people.

My intention for investigating this medium was to see how I could promote my gloves, my blogs, and my self as a writer. Here's what's come to me. I've met several really great ladies with whom I've spent many a late evening on the phone. One of these ladies knows the president of a large retailer and she is not only willing, but excited to take him a pair of our ZipperBack Gloves for consideration (www.zipperbackgloves.com). Another of these wonderful women is the neighbor of a large grocery chain and she's planning to take a sample box of twist caps (www.buytwistcaps.com e-mail me to buy!) to introduce me. My new friend Tania added polish and pizazz to my sell sheet to send to above mentioned president. I've also connected with the editor of a military magazine and a mom who writes a successful blog who I may be guest writing for in the near future.

This sounds like there's so much that's come my way, what have I given to receive all this love? I don't think I've given enough if anything at all, but it seems the women I've become friends with will disagree. I've been told that I've inspired, enlightened, and in a few cases, really helped them work through a tough situation. Is that enough? Only the parties involved can answer that, but for me, I want to do more. How can I help you?