MAKE A CONNECTION Today! The easy way to meet Metrowest business networkers.
Growing an Online Garden
Growing an Online Garden
Do you want to create an online networking plan that works? In this post we’ll compare social networking to gardening and learn how to cultivate a fresh crop of new business and referral connections. Compare these two processes and see why the MET Group is a smart business choice (not just a fun one) that offers your Metrowest business perfect growing conditions, while teaching you the skills you’ll need in all areas of online development.
Gathering Gardening Tools
In gardening, you use traditional “offline” tools (shovel, rake, pitchfork, wheel barrel, hose, etc.) to save time, energy and money. With an online garden, the tools are different (computer, internet connection, website, blog, forums, social networks, etc.), but the growing process remains the same.
Choosing a Pot (or Spot) for Your Garden
To start a garden you need to find a growing area that’s ideal for planting. Some questions you may consider: Does it have the right sunlight or shade? Will it be protected from harsh elements? Should it be a flower bed or fenced in area? Online isn’t much different, you start by identifying sites that can help you reach desired results. Question might be: Which networks to join? Where to invest your time? What costs are involved? What level of involvement will produce the best results?
Prepping the Soil
To be a gardener, you need to be willing to get your hands dirty! When you’re starting a garden you have to aerate the ground, perhaps fertilize the soil. Before you can start networking online, you need similar prep work to establish a base area where your garden can thrive and grow (setting up email accounts, establishing business blog, creating a website).
Planting the Seeds
In gardening, you’re sowing tomorrow’s harvest. Don’t leave this to chance. You need to think about what will grow, given your soil/weather conditions and decide what to plant (annuals, perennials, herbs, flowers). With online, your plants are “the content you’ll be sharing” and the considerations include questions like: What type of content will it be (instructional articles, press releases, etc.), what information is going to provide the value needed to entice a steady growth of followers (audience interested in what you’re saying or selling; not just one time, but each time you publish content).
Weeding Your Garden
If you want a healthy garden, don’t avoid the weeds; they’ll suck the life out of your garden’s potential. It’s essential to invest time maintaining the health of your garden. The same is true online where the weeds are time-wasting distractions that impair the growth process. Building a garden is a learning process where each success leads to a new challenge. Not everything you try will work out; trial and error is par for the course. If you want to reap a valuable crop, don’t neglect the maintenance; active involvement will produce the best results.
Enjoying Success
Your garden’s first sign of healthy sprouts is a great indicator of the care and effort you’ve given the process. Online provides a similar indicator where the first signs of success come when people begin to “follow” you. This lets you know that your garden is taking shape and beginning to flourish with people who want to hear what you have to say; people who “find” you and choose to opt in is a sure sign that your online marketing garden is well underway.
Maintaining Moderation
Before you get too excited about success, there’s still more to consider. For example, a garden needs balance. Over planting or trying to grow too many varieties is a distraction that leads to a loss of focus. Ideally, grow enough to satisfy your needs (perhaps a bit more); overdoing it will leave you with a bunch of rotting tomatoes. Your online garden also needs balance. Avoid joining so many sites that you wind up stressed and uninterested. Losing desire in the growth of your garden will change its perceived value; a surefire way to fail. If you want your efforts to pay off, show followers your commitment; they’ll respond to your responsive consistency - without it, they quickly lose interest and move on.
Handling Failures
No matter how much effort you put into your garden, some plants die. Don’t get discouraged. It’s failures that teach and create reason to take on challenges and seek new ways to enhance the harvest. Not everything will go as planted. Don’t let fear to keep you from planting. If you want a successful garden, plant! Of course, your online gardening has the same challenges. For instance, losing followers who you’ve worked so hard cultivating can be disappointing. To grow beyond uncertainty, keep focused. Learn from mistakes and move on. Success comes through the repeated trying of new things; staying the course and working until you do get the results you want.
Dealing with Challenges
Challenges make us better gardeners. Unexpected problems (bugs, animal, wilting plants, excessive sun) lead us to find the new solutions that broaden our awareness. Having an online business strategy will pinpoint unproductive areas and help you find smarter tools (videos, online meetings, article writing, analytics, affiliate marketing) to get the job done.
Harvesting your Crop
A planned and well maintained garden will reward you with a great crop. As you cultivate your online garden community you’re building a whole new marketplace. While learning online marketing, you’re discovering smarter working tools that help grow your business. The reward for all your hard work; a healthy garden producing plants year after year!
Enjoying the Rewards
Success! You’re traditional garden is full grown. You’ve gained new awareness, mastered every challenge and now you get to enjoy your results! Give to neighbors - sell at a farm stand - feel the satisfaction of a job well done - experience the pride of creation! Your online garden creates similar opportunities: new clients - interested audience - improves service - new revenue streams - better content distribution - marketplace exposure…best of all you’ve implemented a smarter way to grow your business in today’s online world.
Considering Options
Keep in mind, the community-based MET Group is a powerful “free” plant to have in your online garden. Networking with other Metrowest business professionals who live and serve the same marketplace is excellent fertilizer for establishing your online marketing garden.
NO GARDEN = NO REWARD, NO CROP.
Do you want to create an online networking plan that works? In this post we’ll compare social networking to gardening and learn how to cultivate a fresh crop of new business and referral connections. Compare these two processes and see why the MET Group is a smart business choice (not just a fun one) that offers your Metrowest business perfect growing conditions, while teaching you the skills you’ll need in all areas of online development.
Gathering Gardening Tools
In gardening, you use traditional “offline” tools (shovel, rake, pitchfork, wheel barrel, hose, etc.) to save time, energy and money. With an online garden, the tools are different (computer, internet connection, website, blog, forums, social networks, etc.), but the growing process remains the same.
Choosing a Pot (or Spot) for Your Garden
To start a garden you need to find a growing area that’s ideal for planting. Some questions you may consider: Does it have the right sunlight or shade? Will it be protected from harsh elements? Should it be a flower bed or fenced in area? Online isn’t much different, you start by identifying sites that can help you reach desired results. Question might be: Which networks to join? Where to invest your time? What costs are involved? What level of involvement will produce the best results?
Prepping the Soil
To be a gardener, you need to be willing to get your hands dirty! When you’re starting a garden you have to aerate the ground, perhaps fertilize the soil. Before you can start networking online, you need similar prep work to establish a base area where your garden can thrive and grow (setting up email accounts, establishing business blog, creating a website).
Planting the Seeds
In gardening, you’re sowing tomorrow’s harvest. Don’t leave this to chance. You need to think about what will grow, given your soil/weather conditions and decide what to plant (annuals, perennials, herbs, flowers). With online, your plants are “the content you’ll be sharing” and the considerations include questions like: What type of content will it be (instructional articles, press releases, etc.), what information is going to provide the value needed to entice a steady growth of followers (audience interested in what you’re saying or selling; not just one time, but each time you publish content).
Weeding Your Garden
If you want a healthy garden, don’t avoid the weeds; they’ll suck the life out of your garden’s potential. It’s essential to invest time maintaining the health of your garden. The same is true online where the weeds are time-wasting distractions that impair the growth process. Building a garden is a learning process where each success leads to a new challenge. Not everything you try will work out; trial and error is par for the course. If you want to reap a valuable crop, don’t neglect the maintenance; active involvement will produce the best results.
Enjoying Success
Your garden’s first sign of healthy sprouts is a great indicator of the care and effort you’ve given the process. Online provides a similar indicator where the first signs of success come when people begin to “follow” you. This lets you know that your garden is taking shape and beginning to flourish with people who want to hear what you have to say; people who “find” you and choose to opt in is a sure sign that your online marketing garden is well underway.
Maintaining Moderation
Before you get too excited about success, there’s still more to consider. For example, a garden needs balance. Over planting or trying to grow too many varieties is a distraction that leads to a loss of focus. Ideally, grow enough to satisfy your needs (perhaps a bit more); overdoing it will leave you with a bunch of rotting tomatoes. Your online garden also needs balance. Avoid joining so many sites that you wind up stressed and uninterested. Losing desire in the growth of your garden will change its perceived value; a surefire way to fail. If you want your efforts to pay off, show followers your commitment; they’ll respond to your responsive consistency - without it, they quickly lose interest and move on.
Handling Failures
No matter how much effort you put into your garden, some plants die. Don’t get discouraged. It’s failures that teach and create reason to take on challenges and seek new ways to enhance the harvest. Not everything will go as planted. Don’t let fear to keep you from planting. If you want a successful garden, plant! Of course, your online gardening has the same challenges. For instance, losing followers who you’ve worked so hard cultivating can be disappointing. To grow beyond uncertainty, keep focused. Learn from mistakes and move on. Success comes through the repeated trying of new things; staying the course and working until you do get the results you want.
Dealing with Challenges
Challenges make us better gardeners. Unexpected problems (bugs, animal, wilting plants, excessive sun) lead us to find the new solutions that broaden our awareness. Having an online business strategy will pinpoint unproductive areas and help you find smarter tools (videos, online meetings, article writing, analytics, affiliate marketing) to get the job done.
Harvesting your Crop
A planned and well maintained garden will reward you with a great crop. As you cultivate your online garden community you’re building a whole new marketplace. While learning online marketing, you’re discovering smarter working tools that help grow your business. The reward for all your hard work; a healthy garden producing plants year after year!
Enjoying the Rewards
Success! You’re traditional garden is full grown. You’ve gained new awareness, mastered every challenge and now you get to enjoy your results! Give to neighbors - sell at a farm stand - feel the satisfaction of a job well done - experience the pride of creation! Your online garden creates similar opportunities: new clients - interested audience - improves service - new revenue streams - better content distribution - marketplace exposure…best of all you’ve implemented a smarter way to grow your business in today’s online world.
Considering Options
Keep in mind, the community-based MET Group is a powerful “free” plant to have in your online garden. Networking with other Metrowest business professionals who live and serve the same marketplace is excellent fertilizer for establishing your online marketing garden.
NO GARDEN = NO REWARD, NO CROP.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Carole Freeman on -
A fun way to start gardening if you've never done any before, is to exchange plantings. I have done this with friends before. When we were overrun with a variety of plantings we dug some up and exchanged them. Right now I'm over-hosta planted!! I keep cutting them apart and moving them everywhere. I'd be happy to give some away. Perhaps you also have things you'd like to share. I have ground cover also that needs thinning so can give some of that up. What do you have?
-
Permalink Reply by CJ Bowker on -
Carole:
I hope you realize what a great point you are making. Just as Nancy is talking about gardening as growing your business, you add nicely to that. Maybe just as you have some "plants" to exchange you might also know some people that Nancy would be a lot of help to them. Just as you are spreading plants around maybe there are some friends or clients of yours that could really benefit from the services and help that Nancy can give them. Think about it. I'd bet you know 3 people that could really find a lot of value from a conversation with Nancy. I'd also be willing to bet that Nancy knows 3 people that could find real value from a conversation with you. How does that sound? I look forward to hearing how it turns out, keep me in the loop.
-
Permalink Reply by Nancy Parker on -
I've seen people share plants on Craigslist. I'd do that - not that I have a ton of plants right now, but I also have a very unique ground cover (my neighbor (a real gardener) gave it to me. He said it was from New Jersery and not often grown around here). The plant is hardy - pretty white flowers when in bloom. To replant, you don't need the roots; it roots itself. You just need a piece and it gorws.
I also have a jar full of Portulaca seed - I'd be happy to share. These are pretty little rose-like flowers that I like having along my walkway.
As for hosta - my mom (Grace, a member) has always wanted them. I've just a few. I should ask her if she wants a few.
I like the idea of plant swapping. EVERYONE who reads this, should feel welcomed to join in. Who knows, the next MET meeting at the end of June might end out starting with a plant swap. Thanks!
-
Permalink Reply by Nancy Parker on
-
There's a lot being said in the gardening article - I hope people read between the lines and really make the comparison and relate it to their business. Using the MET Group to promote awareness of your business is worth it!
Great point CJ. Off the top of my head, I don't have 3 names to pass along - but there's no doubt in my mind, that Carole is top of mind. My neighbor has a pond - I know I'll be telling her about Carole's business. I still wait to learn more about Carole's business - so I'll be better able to share referrals. Just as I suspect, not many people know the many ways I can help. All in do time, I hope to share more about my business when time permits.
The reason why I post so much and ask many questions, is to discover new people. See what's on their minds. I try to encourage people to "let loose" and show who they are. I do feel referrals will be a natural result of the connections made in the group. Unlike, BNI groups (which I don't know tons about) - I don't really think there has to be a push for aggressive referrals. I think when someone gets to know you, and really understand what you do, they are the best referrals. People that take you to heart, so to say. That's the world of mouth that every member has the opportunity to build and cultivate within the MET Group.
Just like the old TV commercial for shampoo (and I mean old, probably the first one of it's kind) - and they told two friends, and they told two friends, etc. I forget the name, but recall the product's tall stature, big yellow/orange cap. [Advertising is great: Another oldie pops in my head - "Gee your hair smells terrific" the little blue bottle that make my junior high days come alive!] Ha!
Thanks CJ - excellent suggestion. I can't wait to see what this site develops into! The possibilities are endless - exciting - and best of all, it's all free and will remain that way for as long as it can!
-
Permalink Reply by Janice Porter on -
Hi....
If you still have some hosta you are "thinning" out... I'd love to exchange...
I have TONS of lamb's ear and lily of the valley
My Mom has paccassandra...a ground cover.
Carole Freeman said:A fun way to start gardening if you've never done any before, is to exchange plantings. I have done this with friends before. When we were overrun with a variety of plantings we dug some up and exchanged them. Right now I'm over-hosta planted!! I keep cutting them apart and moving them everywhere. I'd be happy to give some away. Perhaps you also have things you'd like to share. I have ground cover also that needs thinning so can give some of that up. What do you have?
About
Badge
© 2010 Created by Nancy Parker on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
