Last night I ran into my friend Lori at the Austin Tech Happy Hour. As always, we had a delightful conversation.
She told me she had almost skipped the event. It was a busy week and it would have been the "easy thing to do" just going home. However, she knew the Austin Tech Happy Hour was always well attended and a great opportunity to make connections with cool people.
She decided to drive by the event, leaving her attendance up to "Networking Karma". If she was able to find a parking place close to the venue, then the stars were lined up, and she would go inside.
We talked about how often people decide to skip networking events for a variety of reasons, but when they show up, they are usually glad the were there. The only way to reap the benefits from networking is to participate.
I added that when you bail out on attending, then you have the "Networking Guilt". While you are home early, you wonder who you could have seen that might have lead to future opportunities. Or worse - you start thinking about all the connections that were made by your competition who was there having fun and chatting up all your clients and prospects.
She was glad she had attended, and as always, had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new people.
Have A Great Day.
thom
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