Why I network so much?

A lot of people ask me and sometimes criticize me why I go to so many networking events, why do I have a side business, or even why can't you do normal things like watch a movie on TV or something. Usually, I will sit and listen and note that the majority of those people still rely on the traditional way to be a professional.. You know, go to school, get good grades, get a job 9-5 and then go home and plop yourself on the couch and watch mindless TV. Then when that 9-5 job does not exist, they use the traditional ways to look for their next great opportunity and wait and wait... These people never think of a Plan B and new ways to come across their next professional opportunity. Anyone with children are without a doubt exempt from this but interesting enough the criticism I receive are from people that do not have children or are older.

In 2007, after leaving Staples and starting a new role at another company, I decided to network more. I got involved with my alma mater's Alumni Networking Exchange at Northeastern first then also started going to local networking events in Boston. After going to these events, I discovered the "other life" of small business and entrepreneurism. I found myself more passionate and interested in small business so I decided to look for my own. For months, I looked at franchising, starting a gym, network marketing etc... finally after networking with a fellow alum at Northeastern, I decided to give internet marketing and sell health/ wellness and online shopping to my customers. In 2008, I also started become interested in helping small businesses with their website and social media presence since without this in place, the business would suffer. In the meantime, I continued to network and build a personal roledex that has now grown today to over a thousand professionals in the Boston area. So now with a full-time job, two businesses, a family, I still continued to go to networking events and am meeting on average 5-10 professionals a week. All of this networking has made me much more of an on-going person, a more confident professional and also a very popular person in the Boston networking scene. But the biggest reason I network so much is that I am able to help make connections between two professionals. I may not get a good client or a job lead ( BTW, I am in between full-time jobs) at a networking event, but I feel a sense of satisfaction if I am able to connect two people in need of the connection.

Why Cloud Computing is Going Change Small Business.

My company, AIMC Business Solutions, is known for providing websites and social media solutions for small businesses. However, another IT related business seems to be tough to ignore these days. It is called Cloud Computing. Being in IT for over 20 years now mostly in enterprise related positions where the computing infrastructure is proprietary hardware running enterprise software like Oracle or DB2, I see how expensive both from a capital and operational perspective it is to simply keep the trains running. On top of that, you need to develop, train and keep your staff happy - another operational expense. So, what are your options? Well, if you are a small company (less than 50 employees) or a company that runs the bulk of their business using SaaS (software as a service) or web-based, where the applications are run via a browser or most of all you do not like to pay for infrastructure that is not used, then cloud computing is a great option to run your business. Imagine, paying for infrastructure services only when you need them, or being able to spin up some new hardware in days or even hours because you just signed a new client. If you have a standard legacy Data Center environment with staff, it could take months to get up and running. With a cloud environment w/ managed services, you can be up and running in time to meet the agile demands of your business.

If you like more information on utilizing the "cloud" to run your business's IT infrastructure, let us know. It is important to do a three-year analysis of what it will cost you versus building a standard data center w/ staff to determine if it fits your business model.

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How the Internet and Social Media has changed everything.

As I mentioned in the past, in addition to my full-time career in Information Technology, I started a couple of businesses in 2008. One is an online product brokerage franchise with Market America called All In My Cart (Link: http://www.allinmycart.com). The other is a website/social media company called AIMC Business Solutions (Link: http://www.aimcbizsolutions.com). Both endeavors rely heavily on social media and the internet to market the business and make connections to people I would have never met in person.

With a single Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter post, I can reach thousands of people in a matter of a minute. Of course, there are tools such as Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or maChatterbox that allow you to post once on all the major social media sites. The key with my businesses is to match product to people and not people to product so it is important to connect to people that need my service. With groups on sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn, you can target your potential future customers or business partners. This is a paradigm called one-to-one marketing in which my network marketing company is based on. Today, you absolute need to make sure your social media profile has complete and up-to-date information and that you are constantly networking to build your professional career. If you don't, you will be lost and considered that legacy application just like COBOL or that door-to-door salesman is today.

Why I started my network marketing business.

I have been in Information Technology and was always an introvert and was always gun shy to go after what I want whether it was regarding relationships or my professional career. Even though I was an introvert, I always tool care of myself and am in good shape. Since I am a gym rat, I am willing to try any supplement that would improve my performance at the gym. As with most supplements, my body could never absorb the nutrients until I met my business partner Sue, who introduced me to Torch Sports Nutrition and Isotonix. I started taking these supplements and noticed my performance and strength at the gym improving and I was generally feeling better and never getting sick. I also realized that I can sell these products and spread the wellness to my family and friends. This is when I discovered the Market America business. I looked into the business and its compensation plan and was intrigued since there was no other network marketing business like it, so I registered my business in 2008. When I started promoting my business, I also noticed that I was turning into more of an extrovert and was more confident talking to people. Market America's training was a major reason for my new professional view on life. I also planned to use the money earned for my retirement fund. My plan is to retire from corporate when I turn 50. Then again, in Information Technology, good luck getting a job after turning 50.

So in summary, the reason I have started my Market America business is the PRODUCTS, CAREER ASPIRATIONS and MY RETIREMENT. I also remembered that you always need a Plan B, and Market America is my Plan