What is "Networking"?

Let's make sure we start on the same page. According to Merriam-Webster, networking is "the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions, specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business."

That's a bit more broad than I had in mind, but that's fine. 


Forms of Networking
Networking is simply any interaction with other humans. Pulling a few sources together from an online search, a rather varied list develops:

• Operational Networking: Build relationships within your current organization.
• Personal Networking: Engage with people outside your company for personal professional development, referrals, and long-term career opportunities.
• Strategic Networking: Connect with people who can help you achieve business goals.
• Informal Networking: Casual interactions, such as chatting while getting coffee, attending hobby-related events, or connecting via social media, which can lead to professional opportunities.
• Virtual Networking: Engage in online platforms (LinkedIn, virtual meetups, webinars) to connect with people online.
• Event-Based Networking: Attend organized gatherings such as seminars, conferences, career fairs, or happy hours to meet professionals. 

To me, it all comes down to two types:

• In person
• Virtual/online

Which is Better - In Person or Online?
It depends.

If you can manage opportunities to meet in person, all the better. However, online offers opportunities unimaginable until recently to connect with people from around the world!

Event-Based Networking Opportunities
These are available in person or online. The more in person opportunities you can create for yourself, the more satisfying it tends to be for folks. 

• Seminars: Most education opportunities include networking time in their agenda—the best of both worlds! These can be free or low cost to definitely needing thoughtful budgeting for the expense. 
• Conferences: These tend to be more expensive, often a price break for those who purchase annual membership, and tend to last longer, on the order of days. 
• Career fairs: These are designed for purposeful networking. If you're actively in the job market, this is a great way to meet hiring representatives in person to cut through online job application systems and connect names with faces. This enables your personality to shine!
• "Happy hours": This is the most casual of organized networking. These can be after work or coffee/tea meet-ups. They can also be in person or online!

But I'm an Introvert!
Start small. One event at a time. Start with smaller events and work up to larger events. Many larger events, especially online, host networking "rooms" for a small group atmosphere.

Some event hosts provide discussion topics to start conversations. Consider jotting your own conversation starters if you feel like you freeze when it's time to talk; these will help you feel more prepared. 

I've met a few self-professed introverted trainers on LinkedIn that you may wish to connect with as resources.​Greg Roche, The Introverted Networker, is a great resource sharing on socials, a newsletter, and a podcast. (LinkedIn is hyperlinked; Substack newsletter is here)

Human Connection - the AI Differentiator
Networking and human connection will be what ultimately sets us apart from AI providers. AI can and will be able to do many of the tasks and services each of us provide. Some of our potential clients will be just fine or even prefer the output or convenience of AI providing services.

Those are not the clients we're looking for.

Networking is already a key deciding factor for employers when hiring staff. It's the primary way many in the job market are getting job opportunities currently. This article from OpenArc from October 2025 has a number of fascinating statistics. 

• "85% of available positions are never publicly advertised on job boards or company websites."
• "Online job applications have an average success rate of approximately 2%, compared to significantly higher rates through networking."
• "...referred candidates are hired at a 30% rate, while all other application methods combined yield only a 7% success rate—that’s a 4.3× advantage."
• "According to LinkedIn and HubSpot studies, an incredible 85% of all jobs are filled via networking."
• "Referred candidates move through the hiring process 11% faster than those from other sources. Additionally, referred employees tend to stay with companies 70% longer than those hired through other channels."

What's the difference between you and AI? Human connection. Personality. Interaction. A sense of humor. The unique experiences that you bring to the discussion.

Where Do I Start?
You may consider an AI chat to help you focus your energy on where your ideal client may be. You'll likely want to consider in person and online opportunities depending on your business, time, and energy!

• Local events: Chamber of Commerce, business associations, conventions, community groups (where you live, social media groups, HOA groups), NextDoor, Eventbrite, or MeetUp options in your target audience. Book fairs are great options for authors, and local nonprofit events are perfect for those in the nonprofit realm.
• Library events: Your local library and community centers likely offer low to no cost meet ups or groups that align with your client market. If you don't find a group that interests you, consider working with the facility leaders and offer your services as an instructor to create an event! 
• Online networking: Some social media platforms create events for the purpose of networking. My friend on LinkedIn, Sigrid de Kaste, offers an online networking opportunity every two weeks with a free trial option before membership. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Substack event and group options abound, as varied as your interests. The Nonprofit Hive courtesy of Tasha Van Vlack is a fabulous opportunity I recently discovered. Ilise Benun, Lynnaire Johnston, John Espirian, Felipe Cofiño, Roy Kowarski, and Joe Rando of LifeStarr offer networking communities as do many others on LInkedIn. 

I've Networked - Now What?
Build those new-found friendships and relationships! Keep in touch personally and in group activities. Consistent, regular participation builds your networking muscles and helps you be seen as a trusted resource. 

You won't typically find your new best friend in networking events, but you'll generally develop at least a passing awareness of others (if not deeper) to be able to chit-chat on occasion, refer client leads and opportunities, and support each other on the socials with comments and post engagement. You'll learn along the way, as many networking events are bundled with education opportunities—the best of both worlds in my book. 

Your Turn!
Do you prefer in person or online networking events? Do you have a favorite resource or group to suggest to others?

Love to hear about your networking journey! Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack!

Book Review

I just finished Simon Sinek's book "The Infinite Game." Have you read it? I read his books "Start with Why" and "Leaders Eat Last" this past year and saw good reviews about "The Infinite Game." A lot of the concepts he shares in "The Infinite Game" are very applicable to nonprofit leaders, solopreneurs, and authors. Let's see what we can learn from him.

Basic Definitions
Sinek shares examples throughout his book of businesses and systems with a finite and infinite game mindset. 

• Finite game mindset: There's a clear winner and loser, generally in a given firm time period. A sports match is an easy example or when a business tries to "beat" another in some measurement. The focus is on winning and defeating opponents.
• Infinite game mindset: This is a long game. There are no winners or losers—no behind or ahead. The rules are fluid and changeable. This is more about pursuit of a "just cause" often cited in his book. The focus is on building trust, encouraging innovation, maintaining flexibility, and being adaptable to change.

A Just Cause
Sinek lists five characteristics of a just cause:

• For something, not against: optimistic and constructive
• Inclusive: welcomes all who wish to contribute
• Service oriented: benefits others, not just self
• Resilient: can weather changes in environment and culture
• Idealistic: bold, challenging, and can never be fully achieved

Referring to his books "Start with Why" and "Find Your Why," the difference between a Why and Just Cause:

• Why: tied to the past, origin story
• Just Cause: focuses on the future, the vision being built

Rivals
Rivals have different aspects in finite and infinite games.

• Finite rivals: these are competitors to be beaten or defeated
• Infinite rivals: these are "worthy rivals" to learn from, to improve oneself in comparison, spurs growth you wouldn't necessarily otherwise be inspired to consider. He gave an example of tennis players Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova inspiring each other to be better.

Get to the Point
How are these concepts useful for nonprofits, solopreneurs, and authors?

• A Just Cause: This sounds so inspiring, don't you think? Those I partner with typically have a bigger-than-themselves goal in mind to improve the world in some way. I support my clients in their rise to their just cause, helping to share their message in a variety of ways to inspire others to join their cause.
• Teams lift each other: Everything is more fun when shared with others! "A rising tide lifts all boats." We're all prosperous when one is prosperous. Let's work together to support your clients who can then support others. 
• "Rivals" for "coopetition": A friend through LinkedIn, Brenda Meller, has shared a term I love and hope she focuses on more - "coopetition." A mix of "cooperation" and "competition," "coopetition" is designed to lift others in your field as Sinek's "worthy rivals" suggests. You can get a sense of "coopetition" on her LinkedIn post. 
• Life of service: I am all about serving others and have realized I tend to seek other service-minded folks and organizations to collaborate with. In a world feeling a touch crazy some days, by focusing on those you can partner with and even rival to improve yourself along the way, the world has to get better in the process to lift others. The good we do ripples more broadly to others.

Your Turn
As you can tell, I enjoyed and related to Simon Sinek's book, "The Infinite Game."

If you've read the book, what did you think? Do you tend to focus on finite games or infinite games? (no wrong answer and no judgement - there's a time and place for both)

​Have you found your "just cause" or "worthy rival"?

Feel free to leave a comment or Let's Chat! You can also message me on LinkedIn or Substack. Thanks for reading!

What is Community?

This is pertinent to nonprofits, solopreneurs, and authors: define your "community" and build it. This is marketing at its finest! 

Merriam-Webster defines community as: 

• a unified body of individuals (common interests, characteristics, or history)
• "a state or feeling of caring about and wanting to interact with others in a group"
• society at large

Stanford Social Innovation Review puts it succinctly: "It's about people."

Why Community Matters
A Gemini AI overview compiles these factors, admittedly not seen in any one source, but they seem globally valid.

• Support and Security: members assist each other, especially when it would be difficult to tackle something individually
• Identity and Belonging: members are connected by a broader commonality
• Shared Purpose: members fulfill common needs such as safety, shared values, or mutual goals

Inspiration to Discuss Community
This article created by Tasha Van Vlack of The Nonprofit Hive and posted on Nonprofit Tech for Good grabbed my attention. The focus is on nonprofits, but the sentiments and suggestions are pertinent to all of my clients including solopreneurs and authors. The sentiment is really at the crux of what marketing should be. The entire article is fabulous but I'll highlight key aspects that pertain to my clients to consider.

Community is Far More than Clicks
We have become so focused on clicks, open rates, lists, and membership numbers, that we've lost the point of it all - relationships. People. Truly listening and hearing each other. 

Tasha makes a great distinction: "An audience consumes. A community interacts. An audience receives updates. A community creates momentum. An audience may appreciate your content. A community helps carry your mission further because people feel connected not only to the organization, but to one another." She proposes we find ways to "move from passive presence to real participation." I couldn't agree more.

It is far too easy to become a one-way push of information. Members watch and don't interact or communicate. You'll get an occasional reaction or "like." But your audience doesn't really feel belonging or invested. 

Questions to Consider
I'll share some of Tasha's questions geared to nonprofits to include what's pertinent to small business owners and authors as well. 

• Are people mostly consuming or are they connecting?
• Are we designing for peer exchange or only top-down communication?
• Do people know why they belong here?
• Are we measuring only content performance?
• If our community manager or marketer stepped away for a month, would my audience still connect with one another?
• Are we building something shareable because it is meaningful or just trying to market harder?

That's Nice - But HOW?
Consider how you build relationships. You'll see many overlaps as a business or nonprofit. The key is connecting.

• Networking
  • In person: If you're a nonprofit, do you host events or other opportunities to see community supporters and donors to be able to meaningfully share information and relate? As a solopreneur and author, are you physically meeting with clients or potential clients? There's really no better way to get to know someone.
  • Online: Next best is online networking through messaging platforms, post comments, zoom "chats," and available live events. It makes such a difference when you can take comments and messaging to some online visible meeting to get a better sense of someone!
• Communication: ​Are there ways your donors, supporters, or potential clients can actually chat with you? Consider an Ask the President/Author/Owner opportunity. Online live events that enable two-way conversation are useful. Consider a social media "group" rather than a "page" where all included are able to ask questions and interact, not just the admin sharing curated news.
• What unites you: Beyond simply donating to support a cause or purchasing services, what is your common bond or story? Preserving history - feeding the community - sharing stories of an era - what can you all meaningfully relate to?
• Stories matter: No matter the metrics on posts or emails, are you having meaningful communication with those you hear from? Connecting with a few more deeply is worth far more than vanity metrics. 
• Do you have passionate cheerleaders: Have you shared enough stories that supporters can share them with others to bring more into the tribe? It makes you or your organization more meaningful and takes far less work "marketing." 

Your Turn!
What is "community" to you and how are you building it? I'd love to hear!

Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack! 

Beyond the Basics

This post will share updated information from this post from a year ago based on my own experience and adding insight from a couple of resources. 

Are Newsletters Useful?
"Is it worth my time to create a newsletter?" - yes! Let's review some statistics.


​From this Stripo article, January 2026:

• Return on Investment: For every $1 spent on email marketing, $10-$36 is generated in sales and even as much as $50 for high performers.
• B2C (Business to Customer) conversion: 59% of consumers attribute purchases to email notices received. Sales due to emails account for roughly 11% of company eCommerce sales and, perhaps more importantly, engage customers after sales and increase brand loyalty. 

36Agency confirms many of these numbers and adds more:

• "Regularly connecting with customers, past customers, and leads builds loyalty and keeps your brand at the forefront of their minds. Personalized content boosts open and engagement rates by 26%,..."
• "Monthly newsletters establish a direct line of communication with your customers, keeping them up-to-date with essential information and developments. Unlike social media posts that can get lost in the noise, emails land directly in recipients’ inboxes. This directness ensures that your audience receives your updates without any extra steps, making it a reliable method of communication."
• Newsletters also enable you to gain feedback from customers through survey questions and email replies.

According to Media Beats: "Newsletters are among the few channels that you fully control. They offer data privacy, independence, and long-term customer retention. 88% of people read their emails daily, with 78% doing so before starting work. No other communication channel reaches users as reliably and consistently."

But What About AI?
Newsletters remain useful in this developing AI world—I suggest more than ever!

From The Current's February 11, 2026 post:

• Regulators in Europe and the UK are moving to curb Google's AI Overviews which are increasingly limiting traffic to websites. Proposals have included publishers being able to opt out of AI overviews to others taking legal action, filing antitrust complaints. 
• A repeated theme in sources including The Current post above and Creator's MBA encourages newsletters as one of few owned media options, enabling one to be seen in inboxes and even monetize through subscriptions or advertisement relationships. If AI summaries will reduce website traffic, email newsletters are the way to connect with customers. 

Media Beats identifies newsletters as a powerful tool to boost reach, trust, and revenue. 

Newsletter Options
There are a number of platforms to consider for your newsletter once you've determined your strategy and market. Many, including me, provide a newsletter on multiple channels, including all three listed below. Consider your audience for what your best strategy should be.

• LinkedIn: Newsletters on LinkedIn are a series of articles you identify at the beginning as a "newsletter," which becomes a series of articles going to your subscribers. It's recommended you defer creating a newsletter on this platform until you have at least 1,000 followers as the first edition goes to every connection you have so they can then subscribe to receive news. LinkedIn helpfully offers new connections to subscribe to your newsletter - an automatic feature. Portions are sent to subscriber email addresses and guided back to LinkedIn for the full post. The trick on these is you do not own nor can you see the addresses of each of your subscribers. 
• Substack: Newsletters on Substack are a series of articles initially created as a "newsletter," just like on LinkedIn. It takes longer to build a substantial subscriber list, but you can begin creating your newsletter immediately rather than hold until you reach a certain number to begin. These newsletters can be shared for free or monetized as monthly or annual subscriptions. Substack does have a fee on subscriptions you collect but not extreme. You can download and keep the email addresses of subscribers so they can become your forever property. Substack news goes to subscribers' feed and via email. 
• Direct email provider: You control, create, and select this service provider. A variety of options have been covered on this blog post from a year ago. Many provide a free version of their service to start.

Your Turn!
Do you have a newsletter? Do you offer it on one or more platforms?

I'd love to hear how it's going for you and I love to subscribe to newsletters! If you'd like to talk strategy or need a hand creating a newsletter, Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack!

What's the Big Deal?

An author client asked for assistance to determine how to sell pdfs of stories - digital products - as frictionless as possible, preferably without the vendor asking for a customer's mailing address. 

Turns out, it's not as easy as you may think. 

There are a number of laws to consider, especially if you may have international sales, let alone considering different tax laws among 50 states of the US. (eeek!) 

Selling digital products adds yet another layer of complexity.

Keeping It Simple
This post will not go into heavy technical detail to set up your online store. I'm happy to assist you - Let's Chat! - but the intent of this post is to share a few points to ponder and a few resources available, aiming for the most simplicity to get my nonprofits, solopreneurs, and authors heading in the right direction.

Useful Terminology

• Merchant of Record (MoR): According to this Stripe article from January 2026, "refers to the entity that is legally authorized and responsible for processing customer payments—including credit and debit card transactions and digital wallet transactions—for goods or services on behalf of a business. The MoR is liable for the financial, legal, and compliance aspects of transactions, and its work includes dealing with banks, card networks, and regulatory bodies. The MoR is an important actor in ecommerce transactions and can fundamentally shape the process and experience of online payments." Using a platform that will process sales for you, especially sale of digital items, in accordance with a myriad of tax laws, nationally and internationally, is well worth the trouble—your tax accountant will thank you!
• VAT (Value-Added Tax)/GST (Goods & Services Tax): Sales tax for European (VAT) and Australian (GST) customers. Taxes are based on the location of the buyer, not seller. 
• ISO 20022: Global payment standard (initiated in 2004) effective November 2026 where a minimum of city and country will be required for online transactions. Two forms of address verification will be needed - IP (computer) address that's identified behind the scenes and billing address. 
• PDF Stamp: deters people from sharing his stories for free by putting the buyer's email on every page. Lemon Squeezy, Dodo Payments, and Payhip, when enabled, these platforms automatically "burns" or watermarks the buyer's email address (and sometimes a transaction ID) onto the corner of every single page of the PDF upon download.

Online Sales Vendor Options

• Lemon Squeezy: A full-service MoR, they handle 100% of the taxes globally on your behalf. Apple Pay and Google Pay can be used making check-out frictionless for the buyer. Fees are 5% + $0.50 - reasonable. Has additional tools like newsletter creation options. 
• Dodo Payments: A full-service MoR, they handle 100% of the taxes globally as Lemon Squeezy does. Uses a pop-up overlay intended to make check-out as streamlined as possible. Fees are 4% + $0.40.
• Paddle: A full-service MoR, they handle 100% of the taxes globally as Lemon Squeezy and Dodo Payments. Offers a "contacts us" option if you'll be selling items under $10. Fees are 5% + $0.50.
• Gumroad: A full-service MoR, they sell digital products including memberships and courses. Create a website through their platform or connect it to your own website. Fees are rather steep - 10% + $0.50.
• Payhip: You can toggle off the billing address requirement for digital products. Does NOT handle US sales tax - not a full-service MoR. For the US, Canada, and Australia, they only calculate the tax; your client would still be responsible for registering with states and filing those taxes himself making it far more work. 5% fee and PayPal/Stripe fees apply. 
• Sellfy: Sell digital products, physical products, print on demand items, and subscriptions. Your store looks like a website, and you can connect your own domain to it. Email marketing and a few additional features are available. Fees $22/mo + PayPal or Stripe fees, whichever platform you connect. Does NOT handle US sales tax or VAT/GST - seller takes full responsibility for tax collection.

Thinking Ahead - Newsletter Building
Enable an Opt In button on your sales platform which will legally allow you to add name and email of your buyer to your email list. Just because you made a sale, does not give consent to receive ongoing communications, especially per European standards. 

Get to the Point
If you'll be doing online sales and are not a nonprofit (501c3's do not require tax collection if they have gone through the IRS approval process), you have a few things to consider.

• Who will be purchasing: customers in the US only or internationally potentially?
• What are you selling: physical products that may also require shipping or digital items? (this post focuses on digital items as a unique item) Many websites enable connecting Square, PayPal, or Stripe for payments, but you still need to consider taxes/VAT/GST and how you wish to handle that.
• Will you be handling taxes on sales or is it easier to use a platform that will handle it? Be sure to look for a system that will act as your Merchant of Record (MoR).
• Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay: This makes check-out a breeze for your buyers who use those systems.
• Be sure to add PDF Stamp language to digital items you're selling: Possible language - © 2026 [Name]. All rights reserved. No part of this publication (including text, plot, and arrangement) may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the author.
• Add an Opt In button to all sales: This will enable you to build a newsletter distribution list from buyers who are already your fan!

Your Turn
Have you done any digital sales and worked through this process? Love to hear your experience, what platform you selected, and why - Let's Chat! Or find me on LinkedIn or Substack!