Pay it forward…

Here at myMarketing Cafe, we promote a marketing model commonly referred to as Netweaving.  In short, Netweaving is a practice of reaching out to your contacts and asking the question, “what can I do to help you?” It is what Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A did for John Maxwell when he moved his business to Atlanta.  It’s also much like the pay-it-forward model that our mentor Stacy Zapar follows like a champ.  If you have not connected with her, you should.

Netweaving is the foundation for building genuine relationships with your audience.  We all have talents and skills that set us apart from others.  So when I see someone struggling with a task, and it’s one that I know I can easily and quickly remedy, I reach out and ask, “how can I help?”  I chose to write about this today because I was offered help in the truest Netweaving fashion.

Here’s the scoop… The web design company we use at myMarketing Cafe recently underwent an upgrade.  When I installed the upgrade, our website pretty much fell apart.  I panicked.  I did, however, break a couple of rules with the upgrade process which I humbly share: I made the upgrade during business hours, I didn’t have a back up file for the current version, and I didn’t wait a few days before installing the upgrade to ensure all the bugs were worked out on the designer’s end.  Lessons learned….

Our cafe is run by a team is a team of professionals who work tirelessly to present our company and our mission in the way in which it is intended.  So, when something as important as our website had a hiccup, it affected our company’s image. I began reaching out to the designers for help.  I posted on blogs.  I sent emails.  I filled out the ‘contact us’ form. I did everything I could to find help.

This morning, a true Netweaver named Jane came to my rescue and helped fix our problems.  She saw my post and reached out to me through email.  Jane shared her expertise and had us up and running within minutes.  This is an example of Netweaving at its very best and it is the way we encourage you to run your business.  As small business owners, we depend on our community to help us succeed.  Besides simply being the right thing to do, following the Netweaving model will help you build community at the local level and strengthen your network on a global level.

I’m sneaking off for a cup of java and taking a breather to give thanks for the many blessings I’ve received.  Why not join me?  Oh, and let me know if I can help you in any way.