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Leads Club 90210
LEADS CLUB 90210 Congratulations to Greg Davis for creating the new Beverly Hills Leads Club Chapter meeting on Rodeo Drive every Thursday morning. Formerly a Burbank Leads Club Member; Greg told us last week that; in the first two months of 2010 he has the same amount of business on the books as he did for all of 2009, in a large part due to his fellow Leads Club Member. A perfect example of the Golden Rule of Networking, if you give, you receive!
As a Visitor, I was impressed with the care and dedication the Members show to each other after only a few short months.
Leads Club Beverly Hills, welcome aboard!!
Building A Community
Communities are in all parts of our life. How are your communities supporting you?
Business community?
Family community?
Social/Friends community?
If any of these areas need enhancement, you can start by considering three important basics of building a community:
- Tell everyone and anyone about your new community. Ask them to participate and/or refer you to people who would enjoy and benefit from connecting with awesome people like YOU!
- Treat all Members of your past, current and future communities with respect and professionalism. Yes, even your social communities need to be treated professionally.
- Nurture the Members of your community. Think about how you like to be treated and do the same to others. Look for opportunities to connect.
Share your ideas about building a community by commenting.
Things to know about Gen Y
I hope everyone had the opportunity to take the “Generations Test” that was posted in my June 4th blog. I’ve been receiving really great feedback with regards to your scores and feelings about being more “tech savy” than you initially thought you were. Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back if you scored higher than your “Born Into” Generation!
The test was to prove to you that you have more in common than you think with The Gen Y’s. It shouldn’t be too hard to market to those younger entrepreneurs, right? So you are all ready to get out there and start “tweeting” away to the Trophy Kids, right?
Ummm, not quite ready for that yet? Ok, lol… Today let’s talk about the mindset of Gen Y’s so you know exactly what you will be up against when trying to get them into your Leads Club Chapter or even gain them as a loyal customer for your goods or services.
Last time I blogged about Gen Y social exposure in terms of micromanaged Trophy kids or lack there of in cases of the latch key Millenials. Either way, many grew up without proper in person social skills and may not even know (gasp!) what business networking or 30 second promotional (elevator pitch) is.
For Gen Y’s the thought of going to a 7:30 am breakfast meeting, standing up in front of your networking group, talking about themselves might be a scary thought. . Even though they are actively talking about their personal and professional lives to thousands of people a day on a social networking site, they are doing it in a virtual reality world. Being present at a weekly chapter meeting and doing this in person in the real world is an entirely different experience to your Gen Y counterpart.
In order to communicate and mentor the young Gen Y professional, we must get learn about them, what makes them tick. Here are some good things to know about a Gen Y:
Gen Y Values
- Authenticity
- Balance
- Challenge
- Diversity
- Flexibility
- Freedom
- Friendship
- Sustainability
- To be heard and valued
- World Peace
Gen Y Goals
- Achieve recognition and respect for their efforts
- An interesting, eclectic and diverse network of support
- Authenticity and bold self expression (Let me be more of me)
- Balance
- Engage people in their conversations about what’s meaningful
- Fabulous career
- Flexibility in life and career
- Freedom to work for a company and own an own a small business
- Instant gratification
- Live first, work second
- Make a contribution to the workplace, community and the world
- Meaningful work
- Rich and rewarding life experiences
- To be in control of their choices, career and lifestyle
Gen Y Entrepreneurs
- They challenge the status quo
- They cherish creativity and imagination more than rule-following
- They are not afraid to take risks
- They are relentlessly optimistic
- They are non-stop experimenters. They like having side projects
- They love "building stuff"
- They accept — sometimes enjoy — uncertainty, chaos, and randomness
Gen Y Challenges:
- Anxiety and stress to perform/achieve
- Choosing a great place to live first and work second
- Difficulty speaking in public
- Helicopter parents (hovering to closely) are preventing independence
- Isolation and loneliness
- Managing unrealistic expectations (I can do it all, be it all!)
- Networking face to face
- Overwhelmed
- To see what’s possible
By understanding Gen Y and their technologies, we are starting to bridge that generation gap. I will be putting this information to good use with real life examples in my future blogs, as well as incorporating social networking and the Eight Principles of 21st Century Marketing that Lisa Bentson writes about in her book “Focused Networking” (click the link on this site).
Ok, I have to go Tweet about this blog, my Twitter Follower’s are waiting, LOL!
Traci Smith
Young Professional Liaison & Chapter Consultant Los Angeles
traci@traciwithatoolbelt.com
NEW INSIGHT INTO GEN Y
NEW INSIGHT INTO GEN Y
Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great summer… I have been getting some positive feedback from the loyal Leads Club blog readers regarding the “The Generation Test” posted in my June 4th, 2009 blog. It basically assesses your use and knowledge of current technologies, such as social networking and computer skills.
If you had the opportunity to join us on the Leads Club Cruise to Mexico this past February, you will remember how much fun we had with “The Test”. If you missed the cruise (OMG it was such a blast, Alaska is next May 2010!) or haven’t had a chance to take “The Test” go ahead now and give it a shot. It only takes a couple of minutes (promise, lol). You will probably impress yourself with the results; in fact, you may feel years or even decades younger afterwards! (Now what wrinkle cream can really make that claim?) I will give you another week try it and then I want you to email your results to traci@traciwithatoolbelt.com.
In one of my future blogs, I will let you know how we did as a group, how technologically advanced we really are, and how this new found confidence will increase your business and strengthen your relationships, especially with your favorite Gen Y’s.
In the mean time, I would like to give you some more insights about this up and coming generation of small business owners. Generally speaking, those born during the Gen Y years (1980-2000) are quite different from their predecessors, including me, born a Gen X-er, (no slacker jokes please, lol). We can almost divide the Gen Y population into two segments:
The first segment, we will refer to as the “Millennial’s”, or the Gen Y kids that are products of broken homes. Divorce rates soared during their youth and the dual income family became more of the norm rather than the exception. Have you ever heard of the term Latch Key Kid? What about the notion of computers being used as cost effective babysitters? These kids were left home to fend for themselves and developed a strong bond with technology such as computers and video games.
We will call the second segment “Trophy Kids”, these Gen Y children were raised in very busy families as well. Instead of being left home, they were the first generation that were enrolled in multiple activities such as before and after school programs, which again decreased time at home with family. They were far more pampered and natured then proceeding generations as well. (When I was growing up, I don’t recall every kid that participated in an event received an award like a trophy or a metal unless they won!)
An observation can be made that whether it is the Millennial that was left home with almost no supervision and sometimes forgotten or the Trophy Kid that was over supervised even micromanaged by coaches, teachers and parents, the same result occurred. Gen Y became a group of young adults that are technologically advanced, high performance, but yet quite high maintenance. (…and sometimes a little whiny, j/k…) Many do have the strong “I can do it” attitude, but experience problems in actually being able to accomplish goals due to a lack of proper skills, which can be attributed to this phenomenon of “too little direction” or “too much control”.
The Gen Y entrepreneur needs a leader or a mentor. These kids may be confident and determined, but they also want someone to listen to their ideas and have a desperate need for approval and praise. They have also shown the need to be a part of something bigger and worthwhile in their community, but don’t necessary know how to go about doing it. This is where you come in…
By enrolling a young Gen Y business owner in Leads Club, you are assisting them with their entrepreneurial goals and helping them develop skills they will use throughout their business career. Leads Club chapters provide exposure to all different types of businesses and the weekly meetings provide consistency and demand reliability to prove one’s dedication to growing their business and being accountable. Being a part of this organization, the Gen Y entrepreneur will gain valuable knowledge about how small companies operate; have the opportunity to learn how to network for business referrals from seasoned professionals; be a part of a group that is supportive of their business which will help meet their need for being part of a bigger organization. These skills will certainly help a Gen Y or any age business owner achieve their goals!
A good way to start introducing you younger generation counterpart to business networking is to recommend Lisa Bentson’s book, “Focused Networking”, which is currently in its second printing! (Congrats Lisa!!!). The book (available on this site) teaches the Eight Principles of 21st Century Marketing. It’s an easy, fun read for your Gen Y’ers that lose interest easily or think reading is constantly checking their blackberry to see their bff’s Facebook wall posts, lol! I highly recommend this book for anyone in business today, cause times they are a changin’, and you need to be ready!
In my next blog, I will help to prepare you even more with a list of “Things You Need To Know” about your Generation Y prospects and talk about your role in bridging the Generation Gap!
Traci Smith
Young Professional Liaison & Chapter Consultant Los Angeles
traci@traciwithatoolbelt.com
The Generation Test
- The Baby Boomers (Boom Generation) were the generation born just after World War II, a time that included a 14-year increase in birthrate worldwide. Baby Boomers in their teen and college years were characteristically part of the 1960s counterculture, but later became more conservative. Have also described as self involved or yuppies.
- Generation Jones was the heretofore lost generation between the Boomers and GenXers, which has emerged now as a bona fide distinct generation. The election of Barack Obama to the U.S. Presidency created significantly increased awareness of this generation as many prominent sources referred to Obama as specifically a member of Generation Jones.
- Generation X is the generation born between approximately 1965 to 1979, and connected to the pop culture of the 1980s and 1990s they grew up in. Other names used interchangeably with Reagan Generation, Generation X are 13th Generation and Baby Busters. Most of this generation are children of The Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation. Also know as the “Slacker Generation”. Those born before 1973 spent most of their teen years in the 1980s.
- Generation Y or "Millennials" are the largest generation in American history. Born between 1980 and 2000, they are 95 million strong, compared to 78 million Baby Boomers. Generation Y. Also known as the “Trophy Generation” They have been nurtured and pampered, programmed with a slew of activities as children, high performance, high maintenance and “tech” savvy. They believe in their own worth.
Marketing Leads Club To “Gen Y”
As a Leads Club chapter consultant for Los Angeles and member of the Burbank networking group, two of my most important goals for 2009 are to start new chapters and increase the membership of existing chapters.
I had the opportunity to meet with Lisa Bentson a few months ago and discuss some ideas regarding my goals as well as my observations. Having been a member of several different chapters over the past 10 plus years, the first thing that I have noticed is that I have usually been one of the youngest entrepreneurs in my Leads Club Chapter. This never bothered me and the other members always seem to “take me under their wing”, show me the ropes of their group, act as mentors, and many have even become dear friends.
Continue reading this post…
Welcome to the Leads Club Blog. Here we share business networking and referral tips with solopreneurs and small business owners. Check us out and, please, feel free to leave a comment behind!
