Are you an entrepreneur? Do you currently have your own business? What are you doing to generate extra leads? Advertising, social media, email marketing? Is it working?
Do you actually get out from behind your computer and meet people face to face? If not, you should. Networking is such an important and relatively inexpensive way to meet potential clients. People want to do business with those they like and trust and seeing you in person being passionate about your business will eventually bring opportunity and new leads and referrals. So what are you waiting for?
How do I know what networking organization is right for me?
Depending on your business, chances are there is a networking organization that is a good fit for you. Research what is in your area, attend some local meetings to get a feel of the crowd, and find ones that you can commit to financially and with a schedule that works for you. So many people make the mistake of joining a group and then never showing up again. You will not get business if you don’t commit to go. From women’s groups, to your local chamber of commerce to industry specific groups, ask other colleagues what their favorites are and do some research. Often times you can attend as someone’s guest for free. There is some exciting news for foreign investors due to recent geo-political developments and the emergence of several financial factors. This coalescence of events, has at its core, the major drop in the price of US real estate, combined with the exodus of capital from Russia and China. Among foreign investors this has suddenly and significantly produced a demand for real estate in California. Our research shows that China alone, spent $22 billion on U.S. housing in the last 12 months, much more than they spent the year before. Chinese in particular have a great advantage driven by their strong domestic economy, a stable exchange rate, increased access to credit and desire for diversification and secure investments. The City of Barrie houses for sale any lifestyle, and is a wonderful place to call home. We can cite several reasons for this rise in demand for US Real Estate by foreign Investors, but the primary attraction is the global recognition of the fact that the United States is currently enjoying an economy that is growing relative to other developed nations. Couple that growth and stability with the fact that the US has a transparent legal system which creates an easy avenue for non-U.S. citizens to invest, and what we have is a perfect alignment of both timing and financial law… creating prime opportunity! The US also imposes no currency controls, making it easy to divest, which makes the prospect of investment in US Real Estate and High Return Real Estate investment groups even more attractive. Here, we provide a few facts that will be useful for those considering investment in Real Estate in the US and Califonia in particular. We will take the sometimes difficult language of these topics and attempt to make them easy to understand. This article will touch briefly on some of the following topics: Taxation of foreign entities and international investors. U.S. trade or businessTaxation of U.S. entities and individuals. Effectively connected income. Non-effectively connected income. Branch Profits Tax. Tax on excess interest. U.S. withholding tax on payments made to the foreign investor. Foreign corporations. Partnerships. Real Estate Investment Trusts. Treaty protection from taxation. Branch Profits Tax Interest income. Business profits. Income from real property. Capitol gains and third-country use of treaties/limitation on benefits. We will also briefly highlight dispositions of U.S. real estate investments, including U.S. real property interests, the definition of a U.S. real property holding corporation “USRPHC”, U.S. tax consequences of investing in United States Real Property Interests ” USRPIs” through foreign corporations, Foreign Investment Real Property Tax Act “FIRPTA” withholding and withholding exceptions. Non-U.S. citizens choose to invest in US real estate for many different reasons and they will have a diverse range of aims and goals. Many will want to insure that all processes are handled quickly, expeditiously and correctly as well as privately and in some cases with complete anonymity. Secondly, the issue of privacy in regards to your investment is extremely important. With the rise of the internet, private information is becoming more and more public. Although you may be required to reveal information for tax purposes, you are not required, and should not, disclose property ownership for all the world to see. One purpose for privacy is legitimate asset protection from questionable creditor claims or lawsuits. Generally, the less individuals, businesses or government agencies know about your private affairs, the better.
What do I bring?
Bring your smile and lots of business cards. I can’t tell you how many people compliment me on my business cards. Invest in a killer business card. Other than your smile, it is the first thing people will look at and remember. If you have a beautiful custom card, they will comment on it. It’s a great conversation starter. I often tell my clients to make sure a photo is on the card,. The big networkers attend many meetings and often have hundreds of these cards on their desk. Maybe they forgot your name , but they won’t forget your face or that super cool card. Add a photo and it will ensure they will remember you.
What do they expect from me?
“I don’t know anyone.” When I started networking I used to think the same thing. I don’t know a lot of people, so how can I help? When you are part of a networking organization, part of the process is providing referrals. You are going to refer people you know and trust, right? Well when you become someone people know and trust, they will begin to refer you, too. Maybe your cousin needs the accountant you just met, or the real estate agent you spoke to would be a perfect fit for your friend who is looking to sell her home. One of the most recognize realtor to buy a house is Innisfil Real Estate, the experienced agents specializes in every aspect of real estate and are available to work with you. You know more people than you think. Be genuine and sincere and the more meetings you attend, the more people you will know and you will soon have an entire network of people to refer.
How much about my business do I talk about? What do I say when people ask me what I do?
This is the tricky part. Usually we practice what is called our elevator pitch, which is a 30 second introduction to our business. It basically sums up what we do succinctly and in a clever fashion. I’ve found that actually letting the other person talk is quite beneficial. If you go into a meeting with the mindset that you’d like to help others, instead of everyone helping you, you are actually in a better position. Those who are genuinely interested in helping others will end up getting more business because you will be perceived as someone who is helpful and not vulturous. You can spot those people from a mile away. All they want to do is hand their cards to as many people as possible and don’t spend time nurturing a relationship. Remember you don’t need to do business with everyone in the room, a few new contacts that you can click with is all you need to start generating a new lead source.
Now that I have all of these business cards, what do I do with them?
I can’t express enough how important it is to follow up after a meeting. Business isn’t going to happen because someone took your card. Business will happen as relationships form. Send an email to those people you enjoyed meeting telling them you enjoyed their company. Ask to meet them for coffee or drinks to get to know more about each other. This process is crucial to relationship building. Stronger relationships will yield more business.
Remember relationships take time and business won’t happen overnight. Get out, enjoy meeting new people and in no time you will start making some new friends and business partnerships. Just have a little patience and be genuine. Happy networking!
Veronica Yankowski
Veronica is an accomplished author and her first book "Dialogue 3" was published in 2002 and showcases her photographs of people and places and the tragedy of 911. She is currently a continuing education photography teacher at Brookdale Community College instructing courses from beginner DSLR to more advanced portraiture courses and also hosts workshops around the state to amateur and hobbyist photographers.
She has been interviewed on several radio talk shows, featured on blogs and her work has been on several reality TV shows such as TLC's Four Weddings, Bravo's Cake Boss, HGTV's Dina's Party and The Real Housewives of NJ.
Veronica is currently speaking in the tri-state area on photography and how women can build their confidence in photographs. She instructs women how to pose better, and sell their brand with a perfect head shot.
Since beginning her professional career in 1996 as a photojournalist, Veronica has won many awards for her portraiture work. She worked for some of the top media outlets in the tri-state area such as The Star Ledger, The New York Times and the Associated Press.
Latest posts by Veronica Yankowski (see all)
- The Million Man March, A Reflection 20 Years Later - October 16, 2015
- How To Feel Good About Yourself When You Don’t Feel Good About Yourself - October 8, 2015
- The Center of My World - July 21, 2015
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Here’s my latest blog post on Vivid & Brave about how to… http://t.co/h6dIdIS5ep