Let me introduce you to Lynn Miller (twitter handle is @organicmania). She’s a client of mine. I picked her up a couple years ago. She needed a simple WordPress blog theme along with maintenance and support from time to time. If I compare her to some of my other clients in terms of monetary value, I wouldn’t put her on the higher end. I certainly have other clients who pay me more.

However, as many of us professional service providers know, money, is but a small factor in our relationship with our clients. Lynn’s contributions to my business can be measured in other ways. Whenever one of her friends or business contacts needs my services, Lynn will refer them to me. We also share similar professional interests in the fields marketing and social media. Those commonalities allow us to go outside of the client-designer relationship and talk as peers all the while brainstorming.

But then there is the personal relationship. About every 2-3 months, I host something called The Amazing Dinner, which is an at-home dinner party for entrepreneur friends. I always invite her because I want to introduce her to other like-minded entrepreneurs. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we are hang-out buddies, I do think a certain personal relationship has evolved too.  She’s connected to me on Facebook and has admitted she’s taken an interest in my various activities and drama that goes on in my personal life. Whether it be me going skydiving or being completely confused by women (aren’t we all), she will reach out to me over phone, share her own life experiences, and just be a bit more than a ‘client’ to me.

So you might be asking, “Why is a web designer talking up one of his own clients?” Good question.

I have several reasons;

1. It’s very rare that you see any consultant or any business talk up one of their clients. I am not even sure if I can recall ever seeing a web designer bragging about one of his clients. But I chose to do so here for the simple reason that none of us entrepreneurs would be here without our clients. Yes, sometimes they drive us crazy and we feel like cursing them out when they don’t follow our directions. But from to time, you’ll find a client like Lynn who makes things worthwhile.
2. Business does not always have to be business. There’s nothing in the rule book that says we can’t venture beyond the typical business relationship. I wanted to introduce you to Lynn to help show that there is value beyond the status-quo business relationship. Some of the best experiences we have in life isn’t necessarily the travels and adventures we take. But it can also be the daily interactions we have with friends, strangers, and business contacts.
3. Let’s face it; this economy is making it tough for many of us business owners. We tend to focus on what is lacking. And what is lacking is more clients! I hear ya. Believe me, I do. But no amount of focusing on what you’re lacking will ever get what you want in life. So I choose to be grateful. I choose to be grateful to have wonderful clients such as Lynn. Thanks Lynn. Gratitude folks, gratitude.
4. This one is targeted towards fellow web designers and internet professionals. We work in a field where everything is ruled by technology. Our clients come to us because of our understanding of internet technology. But behind the codes and the internet jargon are real people like Lynn who have real ambitions. They rely on us to help power their dreams into reality. Let’s remember that.
5. To encourage others to start a similar practice that I am starting. Look at your existing roster of clients and see who you would like to spotlight from time to time. What sort of value have they added to your life beyond the money? Would you be willing to go so far as to write up a blog entry about them and let them know how much you appreciate them? I hope so.

Seth Godin says that “small is the new big.” How true. There are certain advantages that a small design studio like mine can have that the bigger agencies don’t have. We develop stronger relationships with our clients. In the bigger firms, there’s no such thing. If your a small business, embrace your “smallness”. But always think big.

We would not be where we are today without our clients. They help pay our bills and are the catalyst of our dreams and ambitions. But it is not a one way street. It is very symbiotic. We help them while they help us. Let’s keep moving.

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It seems like everytime that I show up at a business networking event, I am inevitably asked the question, “How does one use LinkedIn” or something to that effect.

I’ve read enough on the site as well as other social networking sites and know enough people who are the experts on it, that I wanted to create a lists of resources to help further and accelerate your networking on it.

I hope you find these resources to be helpful;

Blogs and Forums On LinkedIN

1. Scott Allen has a blog called LinkedINtelligence. It covers all things LinkedIN. You definitely want to read the category that talks about how to use LinkedIN effectively.
2. Vincent Wright runs a Yahoo Group that covers all things LinkedIN. He also has a Ning platform called My LinkedIN Power Forum that is a bit more interactive as well. As an aside: I knew of Vincent virtually for a few years and finally had a chance to catch up with him over phone a few months ago. He is one of the most cerebral and intelligent business people that I know. I actually knew that before talking to him because of the way he articulates himself online. I could probably talk to him and pick his brain for hours on end. I usually don’t say that of most people.
3. LinkedIN Learning Center, which was just announced on the LinkedIn Blog, is a resource center to learn more about using every aspect of LinkedIn. I especially like how they created relevant user guides for certain types of professionals such as entrepreneurs, consultans, and VCs.

Articles On LinkedIN

1. Anita Campbell wrote a blog entry that covers why Entrepreneurs should use both LinkedIn and Facebook. It’s a great read because there is this endless debate as to which platform is more business productive.
2. Guy Kawasaki got a free LinkedIN Profile Makeover from the folks at LinkedIn. If you ever want to know how to increase the effectiveness of your LinkedIN profile, then this is a good visual read for you.
3. Kawasaki also blogs about 10 ways that you can use LinkedIn.

Books On LinkedIN

1. I’m On LinkedIn. Now What? Jason Alba writes a great book that answers the question the everyone inevitably asks themselves. It’s also available in ebook format.
2. LinkedIn For Recruiting. If you are a recruiter then I would highly recommend this book. I’ve known the authors, Bill and Des, for awhile and both are highly competent professionals when it comes to this topic.

My LinkedIn Profile

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I’m about to publish the 2nd Annual Dean’s List. Some people ask what exactly is it and what’s the importance. I guess I never really did fully explain the full meaning behind it. Here is my attempt;

Back in college, if you made The Dean’s List, then it means you achieved a certain level of academic excellence.

As defined in the Wikipedia, Excellence is the state or quality of excelling. It is superiority, or the state of being good to a high degree. I realized that every year, there will be people who will have excelled in adding value to my life. So in 2007, I developed the first list of people who I thought had added tremendous value for the year of 2006.

I believe in having the attitude of gratitude. With so many things that often go wrong in our lives, it helps to be thankful of the good things in our lives. By developing a focus on the positive aspects of our life, we develop an anchor of sorts that allows us to continue to make positive strides and attract what we truly want. Nothing was ever accomplished with a state of negativity.

It turns out that the good things that came into my life was always because of people. So the most important things in our lives aren’t things at all. They are people.

The year 2007 has just passed and I find that I’ve developed relationships with various people who have added value to my life for this year. Without them, I could not have achieved or moved along in my life’s journey. Some of them are repeats of 2007′s list. And some of them are new to the list.

Somehow and someway, they managed to excel and enhance the quality of my own life. Some people do the holiday card thing. Others send cookies. As for me? I publish an annual list of people who added beauty to the life that I try to live.

And for these people, I thank them with my heart and my soul.

If you ever truly want to know the impact that such a list has had on me since I’ve been doing it, I would highly advice trying something similar. You will be pleasantly surprised.

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How long does it take to become somebody to someone? Do you have to spend several months of building a relationship before making an impact? Several weeks? Several days? Could you detect potential after just one encounter?

It’s tough to say. Some of you received an email from me last year where I declared that I would only need one New Year’s Resolution from now until my dying days. Ok, so it may have been a bit melo dramatic of me. But I wanted to really set the tone for what 2007 was going to be about for me.

I insisted that I would become somebody to someone and just as equally, I was going to find people who would be a somebody to me and where I wanted to go in life.

Because you see, so many of us lack the “right life” and fail to realize what it takes to develop it. We don’t make the right money. We don’t have the right life partner. We don’t have the right essentials in our lives.

I realized that in order for me to have the right life that I would have to surround myself with the right people in my life. Last year was my first year in consciously and openly developing, strengthening, and maintaining my social and professional network. Prior to last year, many people had known for me having a pretty decent network and the wisdom for building it at a young age. I’m turning 30 on April 1st! Seriously.

But in typical Dean fashion, I was never satisfied. If the concept of networking, meeting people, and developing relationships was akin to being a game of sorts, then I wanted to take my game to the next level. I wanted better meaning, weed out the not-so-serious, and develop more remarkable relationships with the right people.

So one year has passed. Where am I now?

After the first year of being in what I call “The People Business”, I realized how much progress I’ve made and all the interesting people I’ve met along the way. I collected remarkable stories. I was never in the business of collecting emails, phone numbers nor business cards. But I was in the business of trying to collect people and their stories of who they were and where they are going. Perhaps I could come along for the ride with them. Our life is like a book. Each chapter unfolds with new characters coming in and some leaving. And I wanted to meet as many interesting characters as possible and see where our journeys would take us.

As a result, I saw an increase in my own business. I made a few new friends along the way. I managed to overcome the fear of jumping out an airplane- skydiving. And I grew personally, spiritually, and emotionally as well. Not too bad for just trying to meet new and interesting people, eh?

I knew that the first annual Dean’s List of 2006 would be completely different from that of 2007. Some names will drop out. New ones will get added in. Relationship building is a constant ebb and flow. For the official story to how I developed the Dean’s List and it’s significance, I would refer you to this blog entry that I wrote about it.

In short, The Dean’s List is a symbolism of excellence in relationship building. It’s the list of people who, in some shape or form, meant the most to me and made an impact on my life. They became somebody to someone and that someone was me. It didn’t’ matter if I knew them for one month or five years, remarkability can come in many forms and can happen anytime, but only if you allow for it to. I am reminded that the beauty that we see in others or lack thereof is a reflection of ourselves. I always tried hard to see the good in others because I knew that I would be rewarded for it.

Some people send out holiday cards. Some people send out an ecard thanking everyone for the year that just passed. Me? I got my list of characters and this annual email that I send to my entire professional and social network.

My goal with this email and the list itself is several fold;

• To be a reminder and encourage excellence in all types of encounters and relationships that you build with people. To help encourage you to build your own list and thank those people who came along the way.
• To publicly acknowledge those who made the most impact with me for the past year. Sometimes a simple acknowledgment of another person’s contribution is often enough for them. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• To reinitiate and start a conversation with many of you who I have not seen or heard from in a while. Maintaining a network with over 300 people on it is seriously a lot of hard work. Help a brother out here. Drop me a note of hello. Comment on this blog entry. Say hello and feel free to bring this up as a source of conversation. Refer me business, if you must (hint, hint) Do whatever, but feel free to keep in touch with me. Serendipity can happen anytime.

And so for those who made my own personal list, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope that this public acknowledgment be enough of a reward and to let whomever may read the blog entry know of your character and contributions to my life.

And without further ado, the 2007 Dean’s List is below. I welcome both comments on the blog and/or private hellos.

Based on last year’s response, I was flooded with emails so do bear with me if I am slow to respond initially.

If you are inspired by this, I would encourage you to forward this story to others in your own network. I knew of a few people who took this idea and made their own list last year. Or the ultimate form of inspiration is to create your own list about the people in your life.

Here’s to a great 2008. The sky’s the limit.

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My clients- Where would I be without you? Probably stuck working for someone else and giving my boss a hard time before he decided that he wanted to fire me for having too much of a smart mouth. While I can’t publicly acknowledge every single client that I have acquired over the past year, I hope that this simple paragraph would be enough for you. I mean hey, how many other consultants and designers do you know who are publicly thanking you on their own blog in front of 300 of their own social and business network? Not many. Thank you for trusting your business and hard-earned money with me. Thank you for allowing me to create a vision for what I have for you and your business. I hope that you’ll be able to refer your own colleagues and contacts to me in the future. Regardless, do stay in touch with me I always like to see the little guys (small businesses) win.

Chris Moran- One of my good guy friends. It’s so funny how we never hit it off initially but now I think so highly of you. Funny world, isn’t it? You have proven that nice guys can finish first. I’m extremely happy for you and Jennifer whom I also think the world of. And despite the new person in your life, I hope we’ll be able to share more adventures this year and have some great stories come out of them as well. Thank you for your friendship and some of the crazy anecdotes that has occured along the way. I hope we’ll find even crazier stories this year

Rick Dassler- Dude- If you were 10 years younger and single again, we’d be out partying all the time. I can only think of a handful of my business contacts who not only do I respect as a professional but like as a friend as well. But despite the age difference, I think very highly of you as a very accomplished professional. I am very grateful to be able to have come to you for not only sound business advice, but solid advice about life as well and the occasional girl issues! You can be my wingman anytime!

Maria Sipka- What can I say? We really haven’t kept in touch much in the latter part of 2007 especially with the launch of Linqia and all the jetsetting that you are doing. But I will always remember you as someone who gave me the time of day and kept her word. I find it’s tough to find business people who will keep their word much less go out of their way to help you. And even though some of our propositions never did work out as they were supposed to, it is sometimes the thought and the gesture of goodwill that goes into it that matters as well. Thank you so much for just being genuine. Here’s to some exciting stuff for 2008.

JC Duarte- Of all the people on this list, you are the one person I have had the least contact with. But yet, your work and passion in the field of love and romance has had an impact on my own life. It is through your passion for charm and poetry that has helped rekindled a long lost interest of mine- poetry. Little did I realize how much fun it was for me to express my own feelings through poems. And I thank you for that reminder. I want nothing but the best for you and Maria. It’s so rare that to find a relationship that the two of you share that not only is respectful of each other, but is also very adventurous. I think most people can live an entire life and never find the sort of love and relationship the two of you have. Hang onto it my friend. I know you will.

Andrea Goulet- I was so sad to hear you retire the business and go back to the corporate world even though I know it was a great gig that you landed. Even though our personalities were like night and day, I was truly impressed to find another young entrepreneur who shared mutual passions and similarities. Even though I never did tell you this, you were always an inspiration to me because of all the obstacles and challenges that you faced last year. I always knew that I could do it if you could too. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to know you for the short time that you were here. Truly an inspiration.

Sunny Cervantes- I know of so few people who have such a self-deprecating humor of herself than you do. You never take yourself too seriously and I completey dig that about you since I always seem to take myself too seriously. I thank you for all the private laughs we shared as well as your unconditional support and help that you’ve given to me in business and in life. Your insight into life and business is always appreciated and the occasional love advice never hurts either…even if I don’t always listen to you.

Kim-Lien Nguyen- You are truly one of my dearest friends in this whole wide world. I hope you’ll stay that way. I know of very few people whom I can rely on for such wisdom and insight that you provide. I know that when I drop you off at the airport this summer to go back west, that I’ll get a big hug from you as I always do. You give the best hugs. I’m going to sorely miss you, your physical presence, and your spirit. If I ever got married and had kids, I’d hope to instill the same wisdom and integrity into them that I see in you. I can count on one hand as to how many people whose word I would never have to doubt. You’re one of them.

Lin Chen- My other Lien, if you will. I was going to say that words could not describe what I think of you. But I guess that would be a lie as I believe I found a gift that described perfectly what I think of you, eh? When I think of you, I see a girl who has more to offer than she sometimes gives herself credit for. But I think it takes the right individual to see that and to have the right traits to bring that out of you. There are a few people who on this list who I could probably spend a page or two writing about. You’re certainly one of them. But I’ll save that for some other time. I know you think that it’s the adventures that we’ve shared that put you on this list. But really, it’s not. It’s what you’ve allowed me to understand and know of you that puts you here. And for such a supposedly simple girl, that simply says a lot. More than you’ll ever know. Heart to heart.

Geoff Livingston- Considering that we both stood each other up on our first encounters, I think it’s simply amazing that I would even write anything about you. When I first asked around about you, the one common response that I got from people was, “Yeah, Geoff is a nice guy.” And apparently you are! Thank you for your generosity in business. I know you don’t do it for reasons of altruism at all, but a thank you still helps. It’s also ironic that I’ve never had to turn down as much business as I’ve had to do with you as well. But regardless, I thank you for being you and your generosity in business. Here’s to hoping that I don’t keep turning you down as often

Leesa Barnes- Damn girl. It’s been a long time. I know that you’re out and about accomplishing the dreams that you set a few years ago when you took the faithful leap of being an entrepreneur. I’d like to think that all it takes a simple phone call for us to pick up where we last left off. I appreciate us being there for each other in our down time as young entrepreneurs. Sometimes it just helps to have someone there that we can bitch and moan with and let it all out. No one does it better than Leesa and Dean.

Marinel Dejesus- While we may we fuss and fight, I always still care and hope that I have shown that I can walk the walk while talking the talk. I thank you for all the private laughs that we have shared during endless dinners and the dance floor. I appreciate you coming to me for advice on love, life, and relationships. Just make sure that you keep listening to me and you’ll do just fine in life

Sharon Moore- Funny how all it takes to get to know someone is to ask for a number, eh? When I think of you, I think of validation. Thank you for validating and acknowledging the principles that I have tried to stand for in building remarkable relationships. I never knew how much my presence meant to you until that one night in Rockville. Thanks for being on the other end of the phone and listening to my endless analysis of everything and anything in life. Thanks for being talkative but thanks for also knowing when to shut up and listen. Thank you for being you.

Honorable mention: Some relationships are still rather new and you never know what might happen if time and energy are put into them. Below are just a few people have made an impact on me in such a short time period. I think we all have a few of these types of people in our lives.

Dana Shaddad, Jennifer Mitchell, Tak Lo, Paula Hay.

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Update 3/31/08: I had to share a few private responses that I got from people that I thought were very poignant and flattering in many ways. It’s these types of responses that encourage me to spend quite a few hours on this one communicae.

1. This is a very beautifully written article. You are saying what many wondering souls in DC have been trying to tell but hardly did.
2. You should feel proud to be uninhibited enough to share your thoughts with us and it is very admirable that you publicly acknowledge/thank people who have made a difference in your life. Good luck in 2008!
3. …I felt honored. We both enjoyed your company immensely. You have a kind spirit and a positive energy that we both connect with; there’s definitely a reason why we all found each other this year.

Update 4/3/08: I must be on to something because I see a simliar meme going on here which is now spreading here and here and who knows where else. People always said that I was ahead of my time and now I know what they mean

Thanks Mitch for being inspired to have your own list as well. Any more takers?

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Scoble talks about Why Facebook is the “it” social networking platform right now. I completely agree and it’s what I’ve been thinking especially when he compares it to LinkedIN. He articulates it better than I can.

He says;

To tell you the truth, the reason Facebook is the better networking tool is BECAUSE it’s personal. I don’t really care that Danny is at McCann Erickson. I would have known that anyway cause the first thing Danny tells me whenever we talk is what he’s working on. He told me the day he got accepted into Cornell, for instance. That stuff just comes up in regular conversation. But I don’t remember his wife’s name, Facebook shows that (they just got back from their honeymoon). I didn’t know his favorite drink. Mojitos. I got just the place to take him for great Mojitos when he comes out to visit. Facebook shows that. And I didn’t know anything about his social network. Facebook shows that too. Looking at the groups he’s added I can tell a lot more about him. He’s into going to free movie screenings in NYC, likes BMWs, reads the Economist, and lots more.

Solid networking is based on the relationship and the search for commonality. True connections aren’t based on some quantitative number that some platforms says. Oh great, I have access to 2 million people through my 2nd degree contacts. What does any of that matter if I can’t even get my foot in the door because I don’t know what we have in common?

Successful relationships are built on the commonalities that we share together and Facebook does that well. We can explore commonalities and build those relationships far stronger here.

I notice that Leesa is done with her book cause she updated it her in profile. Or that Ross, Andrea, and Geoff are attending some upcoming social media event in my area. I can start a dialogue with them based on that. Or that Maria is about to launch her new company that might be relevant to my business goals. Great- that’s an easy way for me to start a dialogue and develop some business synergies.

I’m not saying that LinkedIN is dead by any stretch of the imagination. I still use the platform and would recommend it to others.

But that’s the reason why I log into Facebook everyday (and apparently so does half the Facebook membership); I want to know what’s going on with my friends. I want to explore how I can keep building and sustaining those relationships.

I was reading Chris Brogan’s entry on how he uses Facebook especially at it relates to business. He says;

On the flipside, I try my hardest to find a connection between me and the person I’m trying to connect. We’ve met at a conference. We know lots of the same friends. I’ll stretch it to as far as “I’ve read your blog for years, and love your work.”

Exactly! That’s been what I’ve been doing for awhile now. I seek commonality. Once commonality is established, the possibility of a fruitful relationships emerges.  Commonality => Connection => Relationship = >Relevancy => People who are willing to help you out.

We do business with people whom we know, like, and trust.  That can’t happen unless you have the proper information on this person. Facebook allows for that.

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One of my Deanisms, if you will, is that everyone is looking to be somebody to someone.

Look into the eyes of a mother as she stares into the eyes of her baby. It’s then there that you realize how strong that truism is. She knows that she will always matter to that child and she will always be relevant throughout the lifetime of her child. She knows that she is a somebody to someone else.

I sat down the other day to have dinner with some friends. I have some single friends and they started to talk about relationships and seeking that “special someone.” One friend couldn’t help but dream about finding that special someone and how much it would mean to her. I believe we can all relate to that.

But while we hope to find someone that will be a somebody to us, I can’t help but wonder how much of us are willing to be a somebody to someone else first? Afterall, life gives us what we give in return. Do we give as much as we are willing to receive? Do you practice what you preach? We are what we attract.

I believe these axiom matters as much in the business world as it does in life. Another Deanism of mine is “This is the business life.”

The business world is really no different from the rest of our lives. Troubled is the person who believes his values should be one way in his personal life but should be completely different in his business life.

As we encounter a lot of people in the business world and hope that they can do us a favor and give us a break, how many of us are willing to reciprocate in kind? Are you waiting for others to do it to you first before you would respond in kind? Or do you choose to lead with kindness and know that eventually others will follow because of the example that you set?

How many of us are becoming a somebody to someone? Sometimes I wonder why some (business) people would go out of their way to help another person. We all have busy schedules and yet some of us have a natural propensity to help others and become their somebody. I didn’t have to look too far for the answer; it’s human nature for us to want to help others in need.

By helping another person land a new job, find a new contact, or get a new business lead, we validate our own humanity and the contribution we made to her life. Some may be lead to believe that such people are completely selfless but this truly is not the case. We also do it to serve our own need. It is our need to validate our own humanity by helping another that drives us. There is a great feeling knowing that we’ve left a footprint in the life of another person. We know that we played a role in their story. We were a character in one chapter of their life before the next chapter evolves.

So think about the following;

In your everyday encounters, are you becoming a somebody to someone? Did you become that somebody who made a major introduction to help that someone in need? Did you become that somebody to someone who just needed a break and you came along just at the right time? Did you become that somebody to someone who searched high and low for a solution, but you were the only one who could provide it? Did you become that somebody to someone who just needed a sympathetic ear?

Everyday in every way, we are presented with opportunities to become somebody to someone.

When you grew up, you wanted to be somebody. Well, here’s your chance.

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I’ve always believed in this. But it helped reinforce my belief when I had a meeting with Christina Haylock of Ford Communications the other day. We sat down to talk about all things marketing. As we finished up the meeting, Chris had said that the concept of self referral doesn’t work in networking. She, of all people, should know. She runs her own BNI group in Reston, Virginia and is exposed to all the different types of networking activities that occur.

For those not familiar with the concept of self referral, it’s very simple to understand. I meet you at a networking event. We sit down and get to know each other and are supposed to refer business to each other. I refer you and you refer me business. That rarely ever happens.

Why? For any myriad of reasons. One explanation is that networks are not built in that manner. You might be in finance and she might be in the IT business. There is little to no synergy there and it’s most likely that the two of you hang out in different social circles. Birds of the same feather flock together. Neither one of you have the same feather.

Referals tend to work in a more haphazard manner and is more serendipitous. This picture below is a better example of how networks and referrals work;

The teal figure refers business to the figure in baby blue. The baby blue figure refers business to the navy blue figure. And then the navy blue figure ends up referring to the teal figure.

That’s just how the world works. If you don’t believe me, go out and keep doing what you’re doing. Keep expecting others to refer you business just because you met each other at an event. That’s an easy way to go broke and a complete waste of time.

What’s a better way? Know the type of feather that you have. Go hang out with people who have the same feather or want to meet people of the same feather. If you’re a financial advisor ( and there are tons of them out there), then go hang out where other tax attorneys, CPAs, and estate planning professionals hang out.

Determine who your target market is and reverse engineer the process to figure out who the hubs are.

But don’t ask or expect the self referral process to work. If there is a high likelihood that you won’t refer business to them in the immediate future, then whose to say that they’ll refer business to you anytime soon?

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Managing my own design studio and online marketing consultancy, I find that there are 5 types of professionals that I am looking to collaborate with that will offer the most synergy.

First, please understand the three services that I offer to most small business and entrepreneurs as it is crucial to understanding how they can be of value to My Fave 5. I’ll list my three primary services again here;

1. web design & content management systems (CMS)
2. business blog design and consulting on how to use blogs as a way to help small businesses promote their business and communicate with their customers.
3. localized search engine optimization strategies.

I’m looking for professionals who are considered “hubs” or trusted resources for their clients who happen to be entrepreneurs and small businesses. Collaborative opportunities with these professionals can produce a win/win opportunity as the hub can help meet a need that he otherwise could not otherwise offer through his services while still helping the client meet their business objectives.

In essence, I’m looking to establish vendor relationships and channel partnerships whereby we both serve the same type of clientele but achieve it through different services. Another name given to this methodology are strategic alliances.

The reason why these people would want to meet me is that I can make their life as well as the life of their clients alot easier.  As trusted professionals, they want to be the one stop source for their client’s needs. Having a service provider such as myself who is knowledgeable in the field of the web can make them look better in front of their clients while reinforcing the image as the trusted go-to professional within their field. Complete win/win.

Here are the type of professionals that I would love an introduction to. They are listed from most important to least important.

1. Business planning consultants or business advisors. They typically work with businesses to help them develop a business plan or get started. In the beginning, the client will need someone like Sachi to help them develop an online presence for them as they start up their business. Anyone who works in an advisory role to other businesses may want to learn more of what I do.
2. Marketing Communication and Creative Consultants. This is such a broad category but this include professionals who work in
   • branding,
   • graphic design,
   • advertising,
   • marketing consultants who provide market research and strategies,
   • public relations,
   • copywriting, and

Because web design and development can be considered as part of the marketing process, there is a strong possibility that these professionals will need to collaborate with Sachi.

3. Internet marketing professionals. This can include professionals who provide online marketing strategies such as;
   • pay per click advertising,
   • search engine optimization strategies,
   • social media marketing (think Web 2.0) or,
   • consultation on blog design or content development strategies,
   • email marketing.

Alot of these professionals may not have a strong knowledge of web design and will need someone like myself to help develop the website while they work on the online marketing campaign of their client. I have a well rounded knowledge of some of these areas as it relates to web design so I can provide alot of value add that a typical web designer may not be able to.

4. Other web designers and developers. The world of web design is so vast and every web developer has their own skillsets where there is not always direct competition to each other. There may be some possible synergies here. Perhaps there are programmers who are not very skilled in front end design (HTML, CSS, graphics) and could use me to come on board and collaborate with them.
5. Small business and entrepreneur organizations. These are usually groups such as local area small business development center. Businesses and startups often come to them for help in their business planning needs. These local area groups pride themselves on being the go-to guys for the needs of a small business. This includes everything from workshops, marketing how-tos, business planning, and more. An introduction to the people who work at these centers and are in close collaboration with these small businesses would be fruitful because I can act as an additional resource for them and their constituents.

So now you know whom I always on the lookout for! Introductions to these types of people is always appreciated.

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I’ve been giving it some thought and I’m starting to realize how powerful a story can be used in a business setting. Or in a personal setting as well. I was talking to Maria the other day, and she gave me a good reference on the art of storytelling. It also led me to the book, “The Story Factor” to which I ended up buying. Wow- what a great book on this unknown art.

It seems that one can actually make it a decent living out of storytelling as well as seems to be the case with local professional storyteller, Ira Koretsky. I think I found him through Cynthia
Perhaps I should reconsider my current title of Chief Web Evangelist to Chief Story Evangelist? Or maybe, Chief Fairytale Evangelist? Hey- everyone loves to hear a happy ending, right?

Every business, especially entrepreneurs, have a story to tell. Through my services of web and blog design and consulting, I am able to help entrepreneurs use this form of medium to communicate their story to their customer base.

I must have known this for awhile since I told everyone at the beginning of this year that everyone you meet has a story to tell and I am made it a personal goal to learn more about the stories of others. Of course, this means that I’ll have to rebrand myself and my online image. Hmmm…ok, maybe not.

But at the least, I will certainly find ways to make my services to be more desirable by implementing the power of stories into my business brand.

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After I had written the famous Dean’s List post, I got so many positive responses from it– publicly and privately.

There was one person who read my post and sent me a card that said the following;

“Some people have a gift and are able to see others clearly, and how things fit together. You are one of those. Others seem to have some kind of tunnel vision. Recognition and appreciation seems to be a forgotten art.”

I was touched. It was then and there that I started to realize that maybe I do have a gift for understanding people.

The recognition for my ability made me realize just how important it is to be in the people business. It’s not the web design business. It’s not the IT business. Nor is it about small business. It’s about the people business.

Learn the principles to succeed in the people business and you’ll do just fine in life.

Thanks Heidi for the reminder.

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