WEBVTT - Build a better network from home 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how you can build a bigger

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<v Speaker 1>network even if you're working from home. In fact, especially

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<v Speaker 1>if you're working from home. While working from home can

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes be isolating. With a little strategic planning, you can

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<v Speaker 1>realize that it doesn't need to be. Most of us

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<v Speaker 1>know that we should be spending more time networking. We

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<v Speaker 1>know that a robust network can help with finding jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>landing clients, and figuring things out. Plus it's just fun

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<v Speaker 1>to have people who are cheering for us and to

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<v Speaker 1>have professional friends that we get to watch succeed too.

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<v Speaker 1>But when we get busy, it is always easier not

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<v Speaker 1>to reach out. This is especially true these days when

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<v Speaker 1>many people are working from home and possibly juggling personal

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<v Speaker 1>responsibilities like kids, remote learning too. It feels like there's

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<v Speaker 1>just never enough time. But here's the thing, if we

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<v Speaker 1>are smart about it, we can build a more robust

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<v Speaker 1>network of people external to our organizations while working from home.

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<v Speaker 1>In some ways, it's easier then if you're in an office.

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<v Speaker 1>When you work in an office five days a week,

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<v Speaker 1>you spend a lot of time with your immediate colleagues.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, right you go to lunch together, you grab

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<v Speaker 1>coffee together, and that's great, but you also start to

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<v Speaker 1>feel like your need to meet people in your industry

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<v Speaker 1>is well met. Many offices also have pretty strong time

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<v Speaker 1>norms that make it hard to meet eternal people during

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<v Speaker 1>the work day. If you leave the office at four

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<v Speaker 1>pm to grab coffee with someone else, people wonder where

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<v Speaker 1>you're going. If you skip lunch with your usual crew

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<v Speaker 1>to meet someone else, people wonder what's going on. It's

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<v Speaker 1>not that you're going to get fired for this or anything,

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<v Speaker 1>but needing to explain yourself always puts a little damper

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<v Speaker 1>on the impulse to do these things. When you are

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<v Speaker 1>working from home, however, you can completely escape these time

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<v Speaker 1>norms these days. Of course, we're not really supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>be eating and drinking maskless with people outside of our households.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you want to meet someone to go for

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<v Speaker 1>a walk in the middle of the day, well you can.

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<v Speaker 1>You can have a social coffee by zoom with someone

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<v Speaker 1>and not have the people in the next cubicle here

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<v Speaker 1>are you. And since you are not automatically socializing as

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<v Speaker 1>much with your colleagues, you'll feel more of a need

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<v Speaker 1>to arrange to talk with people, and that is a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing. It can nudge you to reach out, So

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<v Speaker 1>do just that. My friend Molly Beck wrote a book

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<v Speaker 1>called reach Out that advocates doing something like this every

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<v Speaker 1>work day. Reach out to one person, send an email,

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<v Speaker 1>or you could text or call. And this can be

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<v Speaker 1>someone you know from the past, someone a friend recommended

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<v Speaker 1>you meet, or just someone doing something cool in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>The point is to build the habit. If you reach

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<v Speaker 1>out to two hundred forty people in a work year,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a hundred will lead to responses, probably more, but

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<v Speaker 1>let's say a hundred. Maybe twenty of those will become

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<v Speaker 1>solid connections. But twenty connections a year for five years

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<v Speaker 1>means you have a hundred people in your professional network

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<v Speaker 1>who really feel solid about you. That would be an

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<v Speaker 1>impressively robust network. And you can do it all even

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<v Speaker 1>if you're working from home. So today, build in a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes to think about who you'd like to get

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with. Think about who else you could get

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with two over the next few work days.

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<v Speaker 1>None of this needs to take much time. A few

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<v Speaker 1>emails a week, one virtual coffee. But this investment will

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<v Speaker 1>pay off in so many ways over the long call.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you use working from home as a reason

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<v Speaker 1>to reach out more broadly than to just your colleagues,

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<v Speaker 1>your network will be stronger. Because while we all hope

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<v Speaker 1>that everything will go well in our careers, no one's

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<v Speaker 1>job is a certain A robust network means you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to worry about that if things don't work out well,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a hundred people you could call who will

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<v Speaker 1>help you take the next step. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows