In an age where the ranks of consortium trends being a friend with benefits, the line has become maligned, blurred. Circumstantial alliances hail as normal and a real friend, almost viewed as deplorable falls somewhere between old school Good Times’ Florida and The Brady Bunches’ Carol. Is there a happy medium in business?
 
Goal Friends In Networking: Where one meets and greets a group of individuals
with a common goal of building business connections, references, liaisons.
Great. Now are these your besties? No. Understand the role one plays as a
connection. You can, over time, make good friends within these venues but a word
of caution: initializing these opportunities as a constant party source will
derail your original efforts. You lose perspective and little is accomplished.
The unified goal of team building gets lost in the shuffle.


Suggestion: Utilize this human-friendly portal for what it is: growing your
business and aiding others within your inner circle. Lead a clear view of your
valuable assets. Be friendly, honest and assertive.


Create a platform of women that will help you rise to the top and understand
their roles as creative body builders. Make allowances for reciprocal alliances
that harness a balance of working girl and subtle coffee nuance queen.


Do yourself a favor and resist the urge to pick every group that meets at a
restaurant or happy hour type scenario. Seek out mentoring venues that offer a
private space such as a library with amenities, i.e. adjacent community room.
These are easily accessed by simple inquiry through your local head librarian.
Community groups and non-profits may possess invaluable leads on meeting locals
since they rely heavily on donated goods and services. Network for venues.

Your business mindset is not a streaming ‘by the way’. Rather, it is a
‘because you are’ in business to stay in business as to the reason you push
forward and prevail in gaining and maintaining proper business alliances.

Girl Friends: These individuals are going to be there and have your back on
the worst and best of days. They have survived the bad hair, boyfriends, low and
no money days and are the ride-a-die girls that no matter what will be with you
forever. Heightened layers of trust are already in play here.

In matters of discretion, you know they will not betray you. The reason you
hold them dear is because they have seen you in a bad spot but never would they
compromise or expose you to weakness. These trusted gems are most often heralded in private but shine bright whenever you need them.

Can you cultivate a good working, ethical relationship within those bonds?
The answer depends largely on your professionalism, goals, outlook within your
business model and your personal space. So which is it? Goal, girl or both?


Revisit the pros and cons. Be smart about your career choices, draw the line
in the sand early and make sure both of your objectives leave out pure emotional
response in lieu of practical wisdom. Be a friend who displays an ancillary
attitude and applauds your success. The friend we share fond memories with and at times must say goodbye to as they set sail for new adventures. Knowing they would rush to our side in a heartbeat to support us. Formulate business alliances with forethought without taking advantage. Avoid disguising these as friendships unless you really are building those types of bonds.

We are all poised for greatness so use a sense of balance. Recognize that you
are a value added service to all you come in contact. Be wise and conquer...honestly

Anyone who knows me understands my need for quiet time. The day of an  entrepreneur is intense, extraordinarily busy and rewarding. I had to learn to
allow myself opportunity to decompress. Take in a moment segmented by my choosing.

Deliberate inhale exhale. Seemingly the transition from work to play should be seamless, right? Wrong. Heads of households and businesses know the real deal. We work at work and work at play. The latter ostentatiously becomes our duty as the leader. What happens when the leader wants a
break?

Breaking from the daily grind is not only necessary but critical given
the load we take on upon awakening from sleep. No less than ten things need our
attention. I will give you an abbreviated ten’s list that I mentally draw from
upon first light of a work day:

Exercise
Shower/Dress (ok, counts as two)
Brush Teeth
Read
Prepare breakfast
Emails
New Assignments
Organizing Correspondence
Writing

Not cited are interruptions ranging from phone calls to a knock on my
office door, deliveries and visiting clients. When in all of this do I get a
break? I created one of many spaces in my home for solace. Being a tea lover led
me to imagine my perfect high tea venue. After hitting a few consignment shops
and tea purveyors the picture above is what I can only describe as nirvana. My
second space which I will feature another time is all about sunshine and
bringing the outdoors in.

Do your utmost to dedicate a space for your time away from everything.
Realistic venues in a box if you will can be carried to wherever your respite
happens to land. Pack up a lunch or snack with special beverages normally not on
the grocery list. Make it a non-food venue-to-go featuring water, book, table
cloth or blanket for spreading out on a cool evening. Don’t leave out the music,
no blasting please. Inclement weather, no worries just bring the party inside.
Use your imagination and whatever you do take a break for
YOU!