Do memberships really work?

I recently joined the National Association of Women Business owners (NAWBO) and also the Greater Des Moines Partnership (which is just a fancy name for the chamber of commerce). Having moved with my partner to Des Moines, Ia., from St. Louis, Mo., in late July, I needed a way to get my feet wet and get to know some fellow business owners. I own a one-person graphic design firm named studio3b.

I'm typically a quiet and reserved person, and a self-proclaimed introvert with extroverted tendencies. All introvert really means is how a person processes thoughts and ideas, rather than processing ideas aloud I process and think to myself before opening my mouth. Usually. We'll get to some instances in upcoming blogs where I haven't kept my thoughts to myself.

Back to the question at hand...do memberships really help you network? Yes, they certainly can. After all, it's 3% talent and 97% how you present yourself. For me, I've had it backwards for most of my graphic design career. I had always based my portfolio on 97% talent and believed my work would speak for itself. Wrong!

If you don't find creative ways to network and get the message out about you and your business, you will find that you aren't getting the work you want and deserve. Find an organization that exists for a worthy cause and join. It doesn't even have to be a business organization. I've actually met a lot of business-minded people while volunteering for a not-for-profit organization.

Be careful, though.

You don't want to use that valuable volunteering experience to sell your business. Remember why you joined the organization and use volunteer work to reset your creative processes, while meeting new people. There are appropriate organizations that exist strictly for business networking. In an upcoming blog, I will explore effective ways to network and how not to be that annoying schmoozey person that is always asking for your business.

Until next time, I will continue working on my ongoing design projects. Today I am working on revisions to a database-driven website www.premiumcocktails.com. I decided to launch this site in phases so my client (who owns an upscale martini bar Absolutli Goosed) can approach prospects about purchasing advertising space on her site. It's a little unusual to launch a site without all the components in place, but we are not driving user traffic yet. After all, you do have to keep your clients happy and show them that the product you have produced is worth while and can generate revenue for them.