Neighborhood Networking

Last week, I participated in an open discussion on Horsesmouth, www.horsesmouth.com, on the topic, "How to Land Big Accounts in Small Towns." My inclusion in the discussion as a 'resident expert' was a result of an article that I had written for Horsesmouth earlier this year.

When I originally wrote the article, my definition of a 'small town' was what you might find in the dictionary...a population center larger than a village, yet smaller than a city. Over the years, I have worked with advisors who have had much success in growing their book of business by 'adopting' a town and building their network...person-by-person. It's not a get-rich-quick approach, it seems to take 1-2 years to reap the rewards. However, for those advisors who jump in and commit themselves to a community...the financial and psychic rewards are substantial.

When you look at the networking habits of the business owners, professionals, and movers-shakers in a small town, one thing becomes apparent...they join everything! The Rotary, the CofC, the YMCA, the Lions Club, the school board, the church, the Seniors Center...you name it. To emulate the habits of small town leaders, advisors should mimic these same behaviors...by joining everything too.

I have to confess though, I wasn't raised in a small town myself. I'm a fifth-generation San Franciscan and am more used to the rhythms of city life. I grew up in the southwestern part of the city, where fog was our daily companion. Heck...I think that we invented the layered look. You know how they say the Inuit have 31 words for snow...I think that we had close to that many descriptions for fog; the soft fog that you wake up to in the morning, the high fog, the drippy fog, the windy fog that rushes in like clockwork every afternoon, etc. What did Mark Twain say? I think it was, "The coldest winter I every spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Our neighborhood was decidedly middle class, far-far-removed from the hustle and glitz that most San Francisco tourists are familiar with. Our neighbors were cops, firefighters, small business owners, etc. The closest business district was West Portal...you can get there by catching one of the streetcars that runs along Market St. downtown, the K-Ingleside, the L-Taraval, the M-Ocean View, under Twin Peaks you go...and Bingo!...there you are. A little, middle-class business district in the middle of a much large city.

Sorry...I've somehow turned this into a nostalgic reminiscence of my youth. Where was I, and what was my point anyway?

My point is this...for small town residents, JOINING comes naturally. For residents of neighborhoods of larger cities, less so. However, there are numerous opportunities for those of us who live in the city to become involved and join our neighbors in activities that interest us. Here are a few that come to mind:

• Many cities have neighborhood associations. Minneapolis (where I now reside) has 29.
• Many neighborhoods also have business associations.
• Join your block club, and if you don't have one...start your own.
• Local politics. Tip O'Neill said, "All politics is local." He got that right, this is a great way to get involved.
• Become an election official. One of the realtors in our neighborhood volunteers as a precinct election official. What a great way to meet the neighborhood.
• Your local church, synagogue, or mosque.
• Of course if you have younger children you will have a myriad of activities that are neighborhood-focused.
• How about making  a point of meeting every business owner in your immediate neighborhood, or if it's not too big...your entire zip code? Spend a day a week 'cold-walking', collecting cards, building a network. What if, over a year, you met every business owner in your zip code? That would be fun...and a powerful resource for you too.

Here's an interesting resource to have as you go about meeting your neighbors, the Neighborhood Factfinder from the U.S. Census, (here's the link). If you are curious about the demographic profile of your community, here's where to go. For example, I know that my zip code (55408) has a total population of 30,564, median age 29.1, median family income $34,216, 15,033 total housing units - 75% of them renter occupied, and 40.8% have a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sorry for the rambling monologue this morning. I did think that I got to my main point...eventually. Hope it helped.

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