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Welcome to the Network Will Grow Podcast, a tutorial where business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals will share their stories, lessons learned, and powerful strategies for building relationships and growing their circle of influence.
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With Melissa Taylor, your host, each week we'll bring you actionable insights to help you build a better network and a better business.
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Let's dive in.
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Good morning.
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We are here with Ashley.
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How are you this morning, my friend?
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Good morning.
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I'm doing great.
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Thank you so much.
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Yeah.
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So now you actually have a nonprofit.
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So a lot of the people that we talk to are solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, small business owners.
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So you have a nonprofit.
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So tell us a little bit about Bags of Hope.
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So Bags of Hope is a local nonprofit in Mecklenburg County.
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And we are providing weekend bags of food for students experiencing food insecurity in kindergarten through 12th grade.
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So we're meeting the critical food gap from when students leave school Friday afternoon until they return Monday morning.
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That is such a needed thing.
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And you know, it's amazing how a lot of people just don't even know how many people are in that kind of food insecurity.
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You know, my kids, yeah, my kids went to school and we had a similar program at our at our elementary school.
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I remember going and helping, and it was surprised to me how many actually needed that help.
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Yes, and it's unfortunately increasing every single day.
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How did you get into this?
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What made you want to open up Bags of Hope?
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So I started, this was just a passion project through my local church.
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I had a new minister, he had a backpack ministry at his previous church in Virginia, and he wanted a way to get our congregation involved, but in a way that was really hands-on, not writing a check, not making a cash donation, but really doing something on a weekly basis.
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So we started a backpack program at our church.
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I organized that, I ran it, and um it was a way for our members to every single week have a hands-on project and commitment that they were responsible for.
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Now that backpack program, was it also about food insecurity or was it different?
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Absolutely the exact same thing.
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So the footprint that we started at our church is the exact footprint that we use right now at Bags of Hope.
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I think it's interesting how back in 2012, when I helped start this program, I would have never imagined this is what I would be doing today.
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It is the exact same thing, packing the exact same foods the exact same way, just on a much larger scale.
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Yeah, a much larger scale because I it how many do you actually do each week?
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So we are going to be serving 950 students each week of this school year.
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We are in 34 schools right now.
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We have 10 schools on a wait list.
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We are heavily concentrated in Mecklenburg County, especially the northern side of the county, but we are providing for schools in Uptown, East Charlotte, West Charlotte University area, and then we're a little over the line in Cavaras County and a little bit over the line in Ardell County as well.
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That is incredible.
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You said 34 schools?
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Yes.
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That is incredible.
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So how did you reach out or did they reach out to you?
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Did they hear?
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How did that network actually kind of grow?
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So uh a good reputation is a good thing to have, right?
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Yeah.
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Well, prior to COVID, we were reaching out to schools.
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Um, and it started because we started through the local church backpack ministry.
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My kids went to these schools, those were my ends, those were my contacts.
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So that's who I reached out to first.
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And as our name began to grow and our reputation in the area, and just the not so much the reputation that we were providing a good service, but that our service existed.
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That's what got us by word of mouth through our school counselors, our social workers, our principals, front office staff, if they had a meeting, um, if they were anywhere around each other, they would say, Hey, do you know bags of code?
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Let me get you in touch with them.
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But when COVID started and the world shut down March 13th, 2020, that's when the floodgates for us opened.
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That's when people were actually searching online, and fortunately, bags of code name popped up.
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And so that's really how we began connecting in our larger community, and we have not reached out to any schools since before 2020.
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That's amazing.
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Now, do you work off of grants or donations or don't like what primarily are how houses funded?
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So we are funded through private donations, grant, and foundation funding.
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Um, every dime that comes into our program, we try and run things very lean here.
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We want to make sure that our donated dollars are actually going to the front lines of the students and families who are serving so that we can serve as many students as possible.
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That's so wonderful because all nonprofits are said that way.
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Yes.
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So you've been doing this since what'd you say 2012?
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Was that right?
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Since since 2012, but Bags of Hope became a nonprofit in 2017.
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2017, okay.
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2017.
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So in 2017, we joined forces with two other small churches in our area who had started their backpack programs based off of my church's program.
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So we were all using the same footprint.
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It just made sense for us to step out of the walls of the church and to be able to serve more students.
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And because we were out of the church, it allowed us to apply for that critical grant and foundation funding that sometimes you can't get within the church.
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Yeah, no, that's very important.
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That's very important.
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So now let's talk a little bit about um you.
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So you have a family, um, you didn't necessarily experience food insecurity.
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What actually you said that your your pastor had come in and he had done this at a past church, but did you ever have any desire to want to do something like this prior to that?
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So I don't know that this is what I thought I would be doing at this stage in my life, running a nonprofit, making sure kids are being fed.
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But my mom was a school teacher right here in Charlotte, where I was born and raised, she worked for the local school system where I attended schools.
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And so over the years, I saw, I heard conversations between my parents when my mom was worried about her own students and families in her classrooms.
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And so that that sort of trickled down, it's probably always stuck in my brain.
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But my family also was a family who we were always taught to give back, taught to volunteer and help and serve others.
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So I think more than just my mom being part of schools and hearing about the students who were struggling in her own classes over the years, was just that sense of uh volunteerism and give back and serving others that I was taught growing up.
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So when I was able to stay home with my own kids when they were in school and I was waiting for them to come home, I would go volunteer different places, oftentimes at my church.
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And so had always been in the community of being connected with others.
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That's so great.
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Okay, wonderful.
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So now let's talk about networking.
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So networking means different things to different people, but what does networking mean to you and how do you approach it?
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Networking has been very eye-opening to me.
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I would say that it's I I started earlier this year.
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Um, but I think I actually started back when I was in college.
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My granddad was a lobbyist.
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My granddad also served in the House of Representatives.
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So, unbeknownst to me, when I was a freshman at NC State, I would go to dinner with my grandparents all the time, several times a week.
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We would go to the same places where my granddad would meet and greet and shake hands and kiss babies with the other members of uh the legislature and those things.
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So I think at a young age, I was accustomed to having to walk into a room cold and being able to start a casual conversation no matter what that was.
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Um, so my granddad definitely taught me a skill set.
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I'm not saying I'm great at it, but it at least gave me a heads up into how do you network and how can you walk into a room.
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I think networking for me now just means being able to meet a group of people or a person where you can create a personal relationship with, not walking into a room where you think, what am I going to get out of this today?
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Who am I going to meet?
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Who's going to propel my business or my business opportunities today?
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It's more of a let's get to know somebody, we have like minds, we have like businesses or like models, and how can we help each other collectively?
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Yeah, collectively.
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That's a great approach to it.
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There's so many times when I say to people, don't go to a networking event looking for a client.
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That's prospecting.
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Go to a networking event, figuring out who you can learn from or who you can actually help out with the knowledge and experiences that you have.
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Let me introduce you to the speaker lead where great leaders are made.
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It's a community built around world-class speakers, real training, and the kind of opportunity to put you in front of the world on the owner.
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Now, when you first started going networking, um, number one, what were you going networking for?
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Because you're probably not going to find a child who is hungry at a networking event.
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But kind of what were you, what was your purpose in kind of heading out in that direction?
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So I think my main purpose was trying to get out into areas where I could make these connections that maybe somebody does want to help support and be the local student, whether that's through a business, whether it's personal, or whatever that looks like for them.
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And so being able to just get out there and meet people.
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And I've already had the instances where I've been introduced to a person and you think it's a casual connection, but they've listened to the Bags of Hope story and they want to know how they can get involved, and they've come back and they have gotten involved.
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So I think just being in these spaces where you're able to have the opportunities to have everyday conversations with people, that is so, very helpful.
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Yeah, that's great.
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So a nonprofit runs exactly like a business, really.
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I mean, there's a there's some differences financially and some reporting things, and but you still have to grow it.
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You still have to sell your concept, you still have to do all those things that that other businesses do.
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Do you find that when you're networking, you get to kind of glean some of that experience from your fellow business owners?
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Absolutely.
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I I think I'm still very much in that stage of being able to be around mentors who can teach me, and I am trying to ask questions.
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This is new.
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And I know that I've said to several people in Network Build Grow, I do recognize that being in the nonprofit space is it feels different because sometimes my approach feels different.
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And how can I get back to those who are willing to put me out to other people and to groups?
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But at the end of the day, yes, I am still running a business.
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It is still very important to make smart business decisions.
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And I think being around people who have grown, been already in some of these situations that you come across every day, whether it's you're trying to find more funding, you're trying to make sure bills are paid, you're trying to make sure that you're making right connections, asking the right questions, those don't change.
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Those are universal from business to nonprofit.
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And I think aligning myself with some very smart people and being able to put my ego aside and asking those questions, how do you do this?
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Or how would you approach this has been very helpful for me.
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And again, I'm still learning and walking down that path.
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Yeah.
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You know, it doesn't matter where you're leading people too.
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I mean, if you have volunteers, employees, whatever the case might be, leading people is leading people.
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I don't care what you're doing.
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So um, one of the things that that's kind of fun about nonprofits when they you start to kind of rub elbows with business owners is coming up with those unique collaborations where a mutually beneficial relationship can emerge.
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So maybe their employees come and do a volunteer opportunity with you guys, and and then they get some social media shout-outs for doing that, and you get some more reach because they obviously are there doing stuff with you.
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How much of your networking time do you focus on kind of finding those types of collaborations that might I think that is my primary focus when I'm doing my networking because I don't have a business necessarily that I am referring people back to or able to really reverse some of our contacts.
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And it was pointed out to me by an Everett Bill Grove member that part of what I personally can offer through Bags of Code is that social media shout-out or is that recognition for a business.
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I really want things to be a win-win for everybody involved.
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I don't want it to be a one-side transaction, that's not who I am as a person.
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And so I think learning to navigate that aspect of how I can give back and um, you know, have it be a mutual benefit for someone else is definitely one of my biggest hurdles and definitely something that I have already seen.
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Okay, this is a good way for me to be able to highlight and give back to someone else.
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And it makes it for an easier conversation when I'm meeting other people.
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Yeah, that's great.
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All right, let's do some rapid fire questions.
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Now, you said you're relatively new to the kind of the traditional networking, you know, go to an event, that kind of thing.
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So give me your number one tip for people just dipping their toes in the water.
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So I think my number one tip would be walk in the room confidently and just be yourself.
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Don't act like you're someone else.
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It's okay to have super casual small talk, anything that you can find to get your foot in that door and just make that first connection.
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I feel like the first person you speak to makes it easier when a third person enters the conversation.
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It makes it easier for you to be able to then introduce yourself to the next person and keep that leaving.
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Yeah.
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Okay, so one other question for you here.
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There's a ton.
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I mean, in Charlotte, there's a gajillion networking events, networking groups, masterminds, all the things.
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How do you think somebody narrows that down to be able to say, I'm gonna go to this one?
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It's funny you asked that question.
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Uh, this is not a big blow up for network build growth, but I will say the best thing to do is to go to several different groups and try.
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Not every group is the same, not every group has the same vibe.
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I sort of liken it to when you walk on a college campus and you either feel a certain vibe or you don't feel a certain vibe.
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I think you can tell when you walk in a room and not the first five minutes.
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I think you need to go, you need to try it out, you need to give it an open opportunity to see is this a good fit for me.
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I think at the same time, just being able to talk to other people and see there are different relationships within rooms that work.
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Um there are some rooms I've walked into, lovely people.
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The group is great, but it's just not the connections I'm looking for, or and that does sound a little selfish, but I think just knowing the type of room.
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Some types of room are very, let's just exchange business cards.
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Okay, now you know I work in this field, so you're going to get my name out, I'm going to give your name out.
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There's different things.
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So being involved in a couple and being able to narrow down where you feel like you fit the best, I think is the best approach to finding which groups rule for you.
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That's wonderful.
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So tell me, if somebody wanted to get in touch with Bags of Hope, what is the best way for them to do that?
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The best way to get in touch with Bags of Hope is they can either check out our website, which is bagsofopelkn.com, or they can reach out to me personally at Ashley at BagsofHope LKN.com.
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Um, we're always open, always love to talk to people, just appreciate the opportunity to share who we are and what we're doing in the community.
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That's great.
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Thank you so much for being with us today, and I hope to see you again very soon.
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Thank you, Melissa.
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Absolutely.
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Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast.
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If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow entrepreneur or professional.
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And of course, if you're not yet part of our community, visit networkbuildgrow.com to connect with us.
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Until next time, keep building and keep growing.
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Welcome to the Network Will Grow Podcast, a tutorial where business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals will share their stories, lessons learned, and powerful strategies for building relationships and growing their circle of influence.
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:21.519
With Melissa Taylor, your host, each week we'll bring you actionable insights to help you build a better network and a better business.
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Let's dive in.
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Good morning.
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We are here with Ashley.
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How are you this morning, my friend?
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Good morning.
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I'm doing great.
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Thank you so much.
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Yeah.
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So now you actually have a nonprofit.
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So a lot of the people that we talk to are solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, small business owners.
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So you have a nonprofit.
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So tell us a little bit about Bags of Hope.
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So Bags of Hope is a local nonprofit in Mecklenburg County.
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And we are providing weekend bags of food for students experiencing food insecurity in kindergarten through 12th grade.
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So we're meeting the critical food gap from when students leave school Friday afternoon until they return Monday morning.
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That is such a needed thing.
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And you know, it's amazing how a lot of people just don't even know how many people are in that kind of food insecurity.
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You know, my kids, yeah, my kids went to school and we had a similar program at our at our elementary school.
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I remember going and helping, and it was surprised to me how many actually needed that help.
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Yes, and it's unfortunately increasing every single day.
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How did you get into this?
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What made you want to open up Bags of Hope?
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So I started, this was just a passion project through my local church.
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I had a new minister, he had a backpack ministry at his previous church in Virginia, and he wanted a way to get our congregation involved, but in a way that was really hands-on, not writing a check, not making a cash donation, but really doing something on a weekly basis.
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So we started a backpack program at our church.
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I organized that, I ran it, and um it was a way for our members to every single week have a hands-on project and commitment that they were responsible for.
00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:20.879
Now that backpack program, was it also about food insecurity or was it different?
00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:24.479
Absolutely the exact same thing.
00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:31.360
So the footprint that we started at our church is the exact footprint that we use right now at Bags of Hope.
00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:40.000
I think it's interesting how back in 2012, when I helped start this program, I would have never imagined this is what I would be doing today.
00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:47.280
It is the exact same thing, packing the exact same foods the exact same way, just on a much larger scale.
00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.639
Yeah, a much larger scale because I it how many do you actually do each week?
00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:59.520
So we are going to be serving 950 students each week of this school year.
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We are in 34 schools right now.
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We have 10 schools on a wait list.
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We are heavily concentrated in Mecklenburg County, especially the northern side of the county, but we are providing for schools in Uptown, East Charlotte, West Charlotte University area, and then we're a little over the line in Cavaras County and a little bit over the line in Ardell County as well.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:23.680
That is incredible.
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You said 34 schools?
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Yes.
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That is incredible.
00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:32.240
So how did you reach out or did they reach out to you?
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Did they hear?
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How did that network actually kind of grow?
00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.240
So uh a good reputation is a good thing to have, right?
00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:40.800
Yeah.
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Well, prior to COVID, we were reaching out to schools.
00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:50.960
Um, and it started because we started through the local church backpack ministry.
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My kids went to these schools, those were my ends, those were my contacts.
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So that's who I reached out to first.
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And as our name began to grow and our reputation in the area, and just the not so much the reputation that we were providing a good service, but that our service existed.
00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:24.959
That's what got us by word of mouth through our school counselors, our social workers, our principals, front office staff, if they had a meeting, um, if they were anywhere around each other, they would say, Hey, do you know bags of code?
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Let me get you in touch with them.
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But when COVID started and the world shut down March 13th, 2020, that's when the floodgates for us opened.
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That's when people were actually searching online, and fortunately, bags of code name popped up.
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And so that's really how we began connecting in our larger community, and we have not reached out to any schools since before 2020.
00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:50.959
That's amazing.
00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:58.319
Now, do you work off of grants or donations or don't like what primarily are how houses funded?
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So we are funded through private donations, grant, and foundation funding.
00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:09.759
Um, every dime that comes into our program, we try and run things very lean here.
00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:19.759
We want to make sure that our donated dollars are actually going to the front lines of the students and families who are serving so that we can serve as many students as possible.
00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:23.920
That's so wonderful because all nonprofits are said that way.
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Yes.
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So you've been doing this since what'd you say 2012?
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Was that right?
00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:34.079
Since since 2012, but Bags of Hope became a nonprofit in 2017.
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2017, okay.
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:37.439
2017.
00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:49.839
So in 2017, we joined forces with two other small churches in our area who had started their backpack programs based off of my church's program.
00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.279
So we were all using the same footprint.
00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:58.800
It just made sense for us to step out of the walls of the church and to be able to serve more students.
00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:08.319
And because we were out of the church, it allowed us to apply for that critical grant and foundation funding that sometimes you can't get within the church.
00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:10.240
Yeah, no, that's very important.
00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:11.439
That's very important.
00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:14.879
So now let's talk a little bit about um you.
00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:20.959
So you have a family, um, you didn't necessarily experience food insecurity.
00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:30.720
What actually you said that your your pastor had come in and he had done this at a past church, but did you ever have any desire to want to do something like this prior to that?
00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:40.399
So I don't know that this is what I thought I would be doing at this stage in my life, running a nonprofit, making sure kids are being fed.
00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:49.839
But my mom was a school teacher right here in Charlotte, where I was born and raised, she worked for the local school system where I attended schools.
00:06:49.920 --> 00:07:00.000
And so over the years, I saw, I heard conversations between my parents when my mom was worried about her own students and families in her classrooms.
00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:05.120
And so that that sort of trickled down, it's probably always stuck in my brain.
00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:13.279
But my family also was a family who we were always taught to give back, taught to volunteer and help and serve others.
00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:29.600
So I think more than just my mom being part of schools and hearing about the students who were struggling in her own classes over the years, was just that sense of uh volunteerism and give back and serving others that I was taught growing up.
00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:39.759
So when I was able to stay home with my own kids when they were in school and I was waiting for them to come home, I would go volunteer different places, oftentimes at my church.
00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:43.839
And so had always been in the community of being connected with others.
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That's so great.
00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:45.920
Okay, wonderful.
00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:47.600
So now let's talk about networking.
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So networking means different things to different people, but what does networking mean to you and how do you approach it?
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Networking has been very eye-opening to me.
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I would say that it's I I started earlier this year.
00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:06.800
Um, but I think I actually started back when I was in college.
00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:08.800
My granddad was a lobbyist.
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My granddad also served in the House of Representatives.
00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:21.439
So, unbeknownst to me, when I was a freshman at NC State, I would go to dinner with my grandparents all the time, several times a week.
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We would go to the same places where my granddad would meet and greet and shake hands and kiss babies with the other members of uh the legislature and those things.
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So I think at a young age, I was accustomed to having to walk into a room cold and being able to start a casual conversation no matter what that was.
00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:46.240
Um, so my granddad definitely taught me a skill set.
00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:54.799
I'm not saying I'm great at it, but it at least gave me a heads up into how do you network and how can you walk into a room.
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I think networking for me now just means being able to meet a group of people or a person where you can create a personal relationship with, not walking into a room where you think, what am I going to get out of this today?
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Who am I going to meet?
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Who's going to propel my business or my business opportunities today?
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It's more of a let's get to know somebody, we have like minds, we have like businesses or like models, and how can we help each other collectively?
00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.080
Yeah, collectively.
00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:31.919
That's a great approach to it.
00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:36.399
There's so many times when I say to people, don't go to a networking event looking for a client.
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That's prospecting.
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:45.519
Go to a networking event, figuring out who you can learn from or who you can actually help out with the knowledge and experiences that you have.
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Let me introduce you to the speaker lead where great leaders are made.
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It's a community built around world-class speakers, real training, and the kind of opportunity to put you in front of the world on the owner.
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:29.440
Now, when you first started going networking, um, number one, what were you going networking for?
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Because you're probably not going to find a child who is hungry at a networking event.
00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:38.159
But kind of what were you, what was your purpose in kind of heading out in that direction?
00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:57.360
So I think my main purpose was trying to get out into areas where I could make these connections that maybe somebody does want to help support and be the local student, whether that's through a business, whether it's personal, or whatever that looks like for them.
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.799
And so being able to just get out there and meet people.
00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:20.159
And I've already had the instances where I've been introduced to a person and you think it's a casual connection, but they've listened to the Bags of Hope story and they want to know how they can get involved, and they've come back and they have gotten involved.
00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:32.080
So I think just being in these spaces where you're able to have the opportunities to have everyday conversations with people, that is so, very helpful.
00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:33.519
Yeah, that's great.
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:36.399
So a nonprofit runs exactly like a business, really.
00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:41.679
I mean, there's a there's some differences financially and some reporting things, and but you still have to grow it.
00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:47.679
You still have to sell your concept, you still have to do all those things that that other businesses do.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:54.639
Do you find that when you're networking, you get to kind of glean some of that experience from your fellow business owners?
00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:56.000
Absolutely.
00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:04.720
I I think I'm still very much in that stage of being able to be around mentors who can teach me, and I am trying to ask questions.
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This is new.
00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:18.000
And I know that I've said to several people in Network Build Grow, I do recognize that being in the nonprofit space is it feels different because sometimes my approach feels different.
00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:24.639
And how can I get back to those who are willing to put me out to other people and to groups?
00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.080
But at the end of the day, yes, I am still running a business.
00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:32.720
It is still very important to make smart business decisions.
00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:51.200
And I think being around people who have grown, been already in some of these situations that you come across every day, whether it's you're trying to find more funding, you're trying to make sure bills are paid, you're trying to make sure that you're making right connections, asking the right questions, those don't change.
00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:54.480
Those are universal from business to nonprofit.
00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:04.080
And I think aligning myself with some very smart people and being able to put my ego aside and asking those questions, how do you do this?
00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.240
Or how would you approach this has been very helpful for me.
00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:12.720
And again, I'm still learning and walking down that path.
00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:13.440
Yeah.
00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:16.240
You know, it doesn't matter where you're leading people too.
00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:22.320
I mean, if you have volunteers, employees, whatever the case might be, leading people is leading people.
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I don't care what you're doing.
00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:39.519
So um, one of the things that that's kind of fun about nonprofits when they you start to kind of rub elbows with business owners is coming up with those unique collaborations where a mutually beneficial relationship can emerge.
00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:51.759
So maybe their employees come and do a volunteer opportunity with you guys, and and then they get some social media shout-outs for doing that, and you get some more reach because they obviously are there doing stuff with you.
00:13:52.000 --> 00:14:14.399
How much of your networking time do you focus on kind of finding those types of collaborations that might I think that is my primary focus when I'm doing my networking because I don't have a business necessarily that I am referring people back to or able to really reverse some of our contacts.
00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:27.120
And it was pointed out to me by an Everett Bill Grove member that part of what I personally can offer through Bags of Code is that social media shout-out or is that recognition for a business.
00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:31.759
I really want things to be a win-win for everybody involved.
00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:36.320
I don't want it to be a one-side transaction, that's not who I am as a person.
00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:56.879
And so I think learning to navigate that aspect of how I can give back and um, you know, have it be a mutual benefit for someone else is definitely one of my biggest hurdles and definitely something that I have already seen.
00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:02.799
Okay, this is a good way for me to be able to highlight and give back to someone else.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.600
And it makes it for an easier conversation when I'm meeting other people.
00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:09.039
Yeah, that's great.
00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:11.279
All right, let's do some rapid fire questions.
00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:17.200
Now, you said you're relatively new to the kind of the traditional networking, you know, go to an event, that kind of thing.
00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:23.039
So give me your number one tip for people just dipping their toes in the water.
00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:29.360
So I think my number one tip would be walk in the room confidently and just be yourself.
00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.840
Don't act like you're someone else.
00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:41.919
It's okay to have super casual small talk, anything that you can find to get your foot in that door and just make that first connection.
00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:49.039
I feel like the first person you speak to makes it easier when a third person enters the conversation.
00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:55.600
It makes it easier for you to be able to then introduce yourself to the next person and keep that leaving.
00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:56.879
Yeah.
00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.000
Okay, so one other question for you here.
00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.039
There's a ton.
00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:06.879
I mean, in Charlotte, there's a gajillion networking events, networking groups, masterminds, all the things.
00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:12.000
How do you think somebody narrows that down to be able to say, I'm gonna go to this one?
00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.720
It's funny you asked that question.
00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:24.399
Uh, this is not a big blow up for network build growth, but I will say the best thing to do is to go to several different groups and try.
00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:28.720
Not every group is the same, not every group has the same vibe.
00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:36.559
I sort of liken it to when you walk on a college campus and you either feel a certain vibe or you don't feel a certain vibe.
00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:41.600
I think you can tell when you walk in a room and not the first five minutes.
00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:49.840
I think you need to go, you need to try it out, you need to give it an open opportunity to see is this a good fit for me.
00:16:50.480 --> 00:17:00.720
I think at the same time, just being able to talk to other people and see there are different relationships within rooms that work.
00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.680
Um there are some rooms I've walked into, lovely people.
00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:17.119
The group is great, but it's just not the connections I'm looking for, or and that does sound a little selfish, but I think just knowing the type of room.
00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:20.640
Some types of room are very, let's just exchange business cards.
00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:27.119
Okay, now you know I work in this field, so you're going to get my name out, I'm going to give your name out.
00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:29.119
There's different things.
00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:39.599
So being involved in a couple and being able to narrow down where you feel like you fit the best, I think is the best approach to finding which groups rule for you.
00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:41.440
That's wonderful.
00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:46.559
So tell me, if somebody wanted to get in touch with Bags of Hope, what is the best way for them to do that?
00:17:47.039 --> 00:18:01.039
The best way to get in touch with Bags of Hope is they can either check out our website, which is bagsofopelkn.com, or they can reach out to me personally at Ashley at BagsofHope LKN.com.
00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:10.319
Um, we're always open, always love to talk to people, just appreciate the opportunity to share who we are and what we're doing in the community.
00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:11.759
That's great.
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.200
Thank you so much for being with us today, and I hope to see you again very soon.
00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.240
Thank you, Melissa.
00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:17.759
Absolutely.
00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:22.559
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast.
00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:30.079
If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow entrepreneur or professional.
00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:36.799
And of course, if you're not yet part of our community, visit networkbuildgrow.com to connect with us.
00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.160
Until next time, keep building and keep growing.
