In high school I often used basketball as a cover up to fulfill my obsession with business and entrepreneurship. There were many times when I would tell my family I was going to the gym and go to business workshops at the local community college first. After attending a couple of meetings I was eventually given my first opportunity to build with someone else’s money. At one point I had actually started searching for other free seminars and drove an hour away to attend. However, I kept all of this to myself as I was terrified of what my mom or aunt would do if they found out. At that time they only wanted me to focus on getting a good education. I had moved back to Fayetteville, NC but ended up not going to school with my old friends and living on the opposite side of town. In most cases I still went to the gym but I made a few detours on the way.  After I began to meet people at my school, so I would go to play basketball in the morning on the weekends, then go to a bookstore or library by myself afterwards.  I’ve continued doing that until this day and some of my closest friends’ joke that I’m the “coolest nerd” that they’ve ever met. My mom loves to tell anyone that will listen that I use to read books instead of going to the mall like normal kids.

I’m telling you this because finding success at networking events usually means being able to establish some type of connection with a complete stranger. More importantly you have to make that connection interesting so that that they well remember who you are since they are also there to make new connections. Many younger individuals often find that most older business owners automatically assume that you are only attending because it is required for some type of school project. Once I let people know that I was attending completely by choice I had to find a way to overcome the age difference (20-30+ years in most cases). Surprisingly being able to talk about a book and what I took from it was a great ice breaker for me to establish my connections. Every networking event and award ceremony that I have attend since I’ve been in college I’ve made it a priority to wear a 3-piece suit, when I know an older audience will mostly be in attendance. I watch CNBC often and remember seeing a guy that was very successful in business who they called Mr. Three Piece as a nickname.  I tuned in late so I never caught his name or what he did but I remember his face. As a 19 year old attending events with adults that were much older than me, I figured that dressing up would make them remember me. I’m usually over dressed but people have complimented me about looking nice and not being afraid to stand out, since I tend to listen and watch people more when I first meet them than talk. I want Business Empire to stand out and I realized that I had to change my own mindset first, as there was no room for being shy if I wanted to be successful. It’s taken a lot of practice but it has paid off as I now have many contacts and people remember the suit even if they have forgotten my name. Find your stand out piece and use it to your advantage.

-Bryan