The Art and Power of Connection: Business Networking with Christopher Luna

In a world where the business landscape is constantly changing, making the right connections is more important than ever. Christopher Luna, an experienced entrepreneur and member relationship representative at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, joins Swire Ho in the latest episode of The Small Business Show to shed some light on the evolving dynamics of business networking. Luna's journey exemplifies how a strategic and resilient relationship-building strategy can help entrepreneurs stand tall amongst the crowd.

In today's episode, understand why choosing the right networking events and leveraging relationships within your community can offer transformational growth potential for your business. Luna’s experiences underscore the significance of diversifying your network. Learn from Luna and Ho about the ways to identify networking opportunities in different industries, creating a roadmap for better visibility and lesser competition.

Social Links For Chris:
http://chrislunala.com

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Transcript

0:18

The Small Business show is the official podcast of Garuda promo and branding solutions. Hello everyone, you're listening to the small business show. My name is Swire Ho. You can also call me the promo guy. My guest today is Christopher Lunar from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Chris is a seasoned entrepreneur with a rich background in community engagement and networking. From his root in mexican product industry to working in major corporation and now serving as a member relationship representative of the LA Chamber, Chris Journey is a testament to resilient and strategic relationship building with a mission to uplift entrepreneur and empower community. He shared valuable lessons in entrepreneurship, networking and levering local chamber of Commerce for growth. His extensive LinkedIn network and commitment to to collaborate and ensure that here we share insight and offering listener the opportunity to learn from his expertise. Good morning Christopher. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me today. And thank you for all your support too at the chamber. As a chamber ambassador you do quite a bit and I want to make sure we highlight that we have the opportunity to talk about that as well. Thank you so much. Love to learn more about your background. You got me hooked, right? You work at major corporation, in the finance industry and then in the family business, and now you working at the La Chamber. Can you tell us more about that? Yes. So I was born and raised in the family business. My parents were one of the pioneers to import a lot of hispanic products, starting with hispanic groceries. A lot of those brands like from Procter and Gamble or Harrietos, North, Suisa, a lot of the detergents and soaps and whatnot. So they started in the hispanic grocery industry. So anytime you would go to a von's or Ralph's or food for less, a lot of the big grocery chains, if you walk down that hispanic aisle, a lot of that was from them. So they were one of the first pioneers that changed over time. They got into the candy side of things again, bringing in a lot of those original products like the La Rosa, Mazapans, belones, Lucas. A lot of the people who are familiar with mexican candy, they'll know those names. And they started in a van. My dad would go to Mexico, load up his vanilla, bring it over to the state and transport it throughout different areas in the La region, mostly to small mom and pop stores. And that kind of just grew to a fleet of trucks. So my parents were quite big at some time. That started in the eighties. I took over the family business in 2012, so I maintained and managed that for twelve years along with my brothers and, but prior to that, you know, while I was going to college and, and studying, I was in banking and insurance, actually. That's what got me into this role. Currently, when I was in banking, I would go to the chamber of Commerce quite a bit and a lot of meetings and just networking in general. And that's how I met my vp. She's been there for 43 years. I always say she is the chamber. She's such an inspiration and I know you work with her quite a bit and I had the opportunity to work with her directly. So it's an honor and it's great to kind of have that transition to the chamber. Pat is wonderful. And the reason I have you on today, we love to talk about business networking. You're the expert of business networking, and if you have not seen Quiz Network, go to one of the events that he attend, ask if you could shadow him, and then you'll be amazed and you will learn a lot of wonderful skills in networking. Before we dive into that, I wanted to set the stage. A lot of us have been doing Zoom meetings for the last two, three years, and now in person events and in person networking got back to full force. So with so many options available, how would you advise one to first to find the right networking event to attend? Because there's so many of them. Definitely. I think it depends on your industry, depending on where you're coming from, there's always trade shows and conferences that are within that industry. So I would start there, but I wouldn't get stuck in that bubble. What happened with me when I was in the candy industry, that was all I was doing. I was going to the same candy convections, going to the same areas in Chicago every year after year after year, or in Mexico year after year after year. He's seeing the same people. And in reality, to me, obviously, a lot of my customers came from there and a lot of my vendors came from there. But you want to network outside of your industry, because you'll never know who you're, who you're going to meet. And a lot of times there's less competition. So, for example, if I was in the candy industry, I want to network with a hospitality industry. You want to go and get involved in the hotel chains and have the opportunity to pitch them your candy so they can offer it at their lobbies or in their hotel rooms. So there's always different avenues to your approach. So I think just to kind of get used to the momentum of networking, starting with your industry associations and trade shows would be a start. Also, the chambers you know, the chambers offer that wide, vast network, and they tap into so many different industries in so many different sectors, and it's always great to start with your local chamber of commerce. I mean, that would be close to step one as well. My approach is pretty straightforward. I followed the money. Right. If you ask me, you know, what event are you going to go to? I said, you know, who can bring our company the most revenue? You know what, what I mean by that is I looked at, you know, and I think you're correct, Chris. If I go to, let's say, some well known promotional product event, right. Every of my competitors going to be there, there's going to be tons of competition. Other event that if I attend, I'm the only promotional product person. So I figure because we're in Los Angeles, and if you've been in LA for the past five years, you know that there are a lot of construction, and we will be hosting the 2028 Olympics in LA. So a lot of infrastructure. So I come to conclusion that about three years ago, that construction company are going to have a lot of money and I can sell to construction companies. So it was my mission to attend construction networking. Sometimes they look at me, why? Why are you there? You know, you don't do the drywall. You don't do all the heavy lifting that we do. But I was able to make a lot of connection that worthwhile for my time. Because at the end, if we're talking about business networking, we want resell, right? We want business, we want the revenue. So I think, you know, that's my kind of straightforward approach, looking at it, definitely. I think, like I said, you want to get out of your bubble, and it's always about less competition. If you're in the room with hundreds of people that do the same thing, it's going to be a lot more competitive for you to get that time of day with those vendors or those potential customers. So if you have that niche and you're able to focus in that specific industry and you become that go to person where all these different construction companies, and not only construction companies, but there's public, public and private agencies and transportation, that opens up your world. Right? So I think that being known for that specialty outside of your wheelhouse is what's going to get you highlighted for sure. So let's talk about the preparation before you, let's say, Chris, for you, right, when you attend a business networking event, what kind of preparation do you do? Like, can you walk us through the process? Definitely don't go to an event that you know nothing about, it's a little rude to the people who are hosting it. Do your homework. A lot of times I'm just going to refer to some chamber events that we host. There's, it's either a conference or summit, some sort. But see who's on the panel, see who's keynoting. What are they about? Where do they come from? And really do your research into those people that are there presenting. Right. Because they're giving their, their, their time and they're really wanting to help others. But if you know nothing about them, it's going to throw things off and it helps with your conversation as well. What I look at, and just because that's my background, is I'm looking who's sponsoring the events, who's supporting these events, especially you being in promotions. If you see these hospitals sponsoring this conference, who's that point of contact from that hospital, maybe they would be a great person to reach out to and offer maybe some, some assistance and your promotional items. Right. So it's always who's sponsoring and who's really attached to the event and research that I admit sometimes I go to so many events where I don't really take a dedicated amount of time, but I'll, you know, I'll pull over or right before I walk in, I'll just scroll through real quick and I'm like, okay, I need to see that person, or I want to approach this person, or I'll kind of come up with some talking points just based on the research that I've done on that event. So definitely research a little bit prior to attending an event like that. Yeah, I really like that approach. And especially speaking for myself in my time being a member at the LA Chamber, there are different council, different meetings. So if I attend pancakes and politics, for example, I might meet some politicians. If I go to small business council, obviously a lot of small businesses, sometimes we'll have nonprofit workshop, too. So I know that nonprofits are be there. So I would kind of go into my thinking cap, you know, who can I meet that will be good as a customer? Who can I meet can be good as a partner? Because sometimes I'll be on the lookout for my customer. Right. If they mentioned that they're trying to find a nonprofit to donate. Right. For at the end of the year. So I'll actually be on the lookout for that. So, you know, I like the approach. Like spend some time, know who's going to be there, and sometimes you guess right, who probably if they are sponsoring the whole team is going to be there. Who am I going to run into and what kind of conversations should I start with them? Yeah, definitely. And that's a good question, just with the sponsors, too, is if you go to a women's policy event and you see this company, ABC bank sponsoring, why are they sponsoring it? What attached them to that event? Right. Try to understand the meaning behind the conversation before you even get into a sales approach, and it really opens that door and communicating with these people where they're willing to share with you their background, their experience and what got them to sponsor an event like that. It's very meaningful when a company sponsors these events because it helps with the event in general, but there's a reason behind that. So I'm always curious to know what is the objective and having these great organizations support these nonprofits that way or in a certain area. Right. So I think that that helps with your talking points as well. I want to ask you this question, and I think you're the perfect person to answer. Are you a supportive for a traditional, physically printed business card, or are you a barcode scanning phone guy for your contact information? Both. This is what I do. So I'm at my home office right now, and what I'll do is when I get a bunch of business cards, I'll put a post it and I'll say where I met them and the date that I met them, and they'll start piling up. Right. These are great because physical cards are always good. Because when I get, I mean, I'm just talking about me in general, I get home or my office, and I'll plug him into a system and I'll send them an email right away, just kind of reintroducing myself or. It was great meeting you. Please feel free to save my information. Use me as a resource. I never make a sale or a sales pitch. Right. I always say, if you want to learn more about what I do, or I would love to learn more about you and your role, your organization. That's my follow up. But talking about the business cards, physical cards are great. Digital cards are also great because I run out of cards. Right. So that's kind of my plan b because it really depends on the person. You'll see who you're interacting with. If there's someone that's very technology driven and they understand they use it themselves, then it would probably be easier to do a QR code. Right. The issue that I have with when I scan QR codes is I'll forget who I scanned. So he'll save it to my phone. And, if I may, met John Doe. Well, there's so many other. More John does on my cell phone, right. So I have thousands of contacts on my phone, and I'll forget who it is, so I'll have to remember to screenshot it right after I scan it. So I remember the day that I met that person or what their name was. Cause I'll go home and I'll make. Geez, I forgot that person's name. Who was it? Who was it? And then I'm scrolling through a list. Contacts. I'll never find them. So physical cards are always great in that sense because you're able to. Even at the event, you're able to take a quick note. And. And I've heard people really, like, they'll make. Like, they'll put it in different pockets. Like, if you put it in your right, sand pockets, like, follow up with that person. I try that sometimes. Yes. You know, so there's different techniques to it. I've heard people bending cards, but you could simply just make a star or note on it. But there's. There's definitely different techniques to it, but I prefer both. I think if you're in sales in general, you should probably have both. I think physical cards are really important. I've gone some time without them because, you know, say it'll take some time for our marketing department to reorder them or whatnot. You'll have those people, like, I need a card. Like, they don't want to scan your card or your phone or go through that whole process. So. Yeah, I like that. And sometimes for the cell phone part, I'll leave it at that. Right. So depending on the location, sometimes there might be no reception. Right. So if you rely Internet connection to scan or send it somewhere, to sip it somewhere, it might not work. So there are. There are times that, you know, we both have a phone out for, like, a good three minutes, right. But we try to nervously smiling at each other, but our phone wouldn't connect. So it happens sometimes. So that's why I wanted to ask you that question. Yeah, or you're training them. Like, okay, scan it, scroll down, save it. Sometimes that save button is not the actual save button. So you still got to hit done or something. Right. Because sometimes it doesn't scan it. So there is definitely a learning curve still to it. But I do definitely recommend both. You have been to a lot of meeting. You know, you're well known in the business community, but for some of us who haven't attended a lot of events like you. When we work into your event, after we checked in, what should we do? Like, what's the first thing that we do? I always try. So if you go in early, you always want to try to hit and speak to the people who are part of the event. Thank them for inviting you. Thank you for, for hosting the event. Again, if you see a sponsor. Oh, that's great. Thank you for sponsoring or how did you get involved? Talk to the people who are involved in the meeting. Right. Those are typically people who are there early anyways because they're setting up or whatnot. Once the event gets into, into play, then give them their space. They're busy. Right. They're. They're probably thinking about their speech and what they're going to talk about, and they're no place that they're not in the headspace to talk to you. Unfortunately, during the event, that's where you want to network and, and meet people. After the event, you'll notice everyone rushes to those speakers because they didn't know who was speaking originally. They probably didn't do their research, and they saw them on stage, and now they want to get, you know, get in front of them and. And I'll usually just stand back and again, give them their space. So if you came in early, you had your opportunity. That was probably the right moment. Afterwards, they're probably tired or done, and they want to drink or they want to get out. You really need to know how to approach these situation. What I try to do is just talk to as many people as you can. Try not to get stuck in one place. Um, especially if you're. If you're known. I mean, you want to be a good host, too. You want to make sure you say hi to the people you recognize. If you go with a group of people, for example, if you go, if you buy a table to an event, for example, you get stuck with the people you went with, your colleagues, if you go with a group of colleagues, try to go outside of that circle. Don't get so stuck with the people you're most comfortable with. And I see that a lot. They'll have these closed circles, same people that are talking with each other, and you really want to go outside of that. Go outside of your comfort zone, because you're there to network, you're there to meet new people. If you've seen that person, you met with that person so many times, it's great. Say hi. Or, hey, let's catch up later. Or, hey, I'm working they should know that your, your responsibility is networking, and you want to capture and grow your business. They'll respect that. Right. So definitely try to speak with as many people as you can. I think it's a body language type thing, right. So if you, let's say a team of, you know, from the same company. Right, or they know each other, they form a circle, so you can't really break in. So I actually try, you know, with people that I know, why don't we open up the circle? So now we're spreading out, like, to be like a half circle. Immediately people come talk to us, because if you. It seems like, you know, they know each other, it's. It's kind of hard to break in, you know, for, for most people, right. We don't want to disrupt the conversation. Right. And I just want to clarify before you get to, I said talk to as many people as you can, but at the same time, it is the quality over quantity. Right. You don't want to just go in and get a bunch of business cards. If you see you're able to. For me, if I can get one good, quality person that I know there's some sort of potential or follow up, then I'll spend a lot of time with them. Right. But at the same time, you want to be proper and you want to give your attention to other people in the room. Right. So you want to be fair in that sense, but it definitely is quality over quantity. You don't want to just walk out with 100 business cards and they're meaningless. So you have to be careful. And body language is definitely important. What about, like, the talking ratio? Like other general guideline, I talk half of the time. You talk half of the time. Or are you more listening what others are saying, you know? So how should you balance it? I don't want to give away all my secrets, but, you know, I think it's, I never try to get into the sales, especially in an event like this. I'm really trying to get to know the person. And by trying to get to know a person, you're not giving them your background. Right. They're not there to meet you in a sense, but it really. You go with the flow of the conversation. Some people are very talkative, and to me, that's just easier. Right. Like, okay, you know, I'll hear you out. And to me, it's fine because I'm getting to know them. Right. But some people are very shy. You need to be the one that's, that's a little bit more talkative or be able to ask those open ended questions to learn from them. So it really depends on the dynamics of the conversation. I wouldn't say, you know, you should speak half of the time or give them, but you want to be respectful all the time. It really depends on the dynamics, for sure. Yeah, I really like that. And I think doing the small business definitely helps. I could come up with so many open ended questions that normally, you know, before, I wouldn't have that. Let me ask you this question, and I know you have a right approach for when I need to go, but the other person is still talking about, you know, his wonderful background. Right. So what would be a good way to, to move on or lean on to other contexts that I might be potentially able to meet at the event? Yeah, don't be rude and be like, I have to go to the restroom all the time, because they'll catch on to that, or, or I'm gonna go grab a drink. And it is very awkward. Sometimes you get stuck in these conversations and you don't want to be rude and just walk away from them. I think honesty is key. I think if you tell them, like, hey, I'm trying to meet this person, or I think if you explain your intent that, hey, you wanted to meet this person or the speaker, or you're trying to introduce yourself to this other person, excuse me for a moment, and just kind of get out of that conversation, they'll understand. But if you're kind of fake about it and you're like, oh, I need to go to the restroom, but you don't really go to the restroom. Or again, it depends on the conference, too. Right? I mean, if it's a huge hall and they're not going to see you again, then that's fine, you can get away with that. But if it's a smaller setting, a lot of times like, oh, you know what? I wanted to speak with that guy. Do you mind? And, you know, you could just walk away from that. You know, a lot. It's unfortunate, but a lot of these meetings are short and the time goes by fast. Right. So you have to be able to, to utilize your, your time properly as well. One of the question that I like to ask, as you know, it's go back to what you're saying, an open ended question. You know, acquaintance that I and I just met. Right. We talk, you know, we have good conversation. Normally, I'll bring up this question, you know, so what would be a good referral for you and your business? If I. If I know someone else in, in this event, that might be a good referral for you. I'll make a connection. You know, that's kind of like me saying to move on. Right. I will introduce you to someone better. Right. You know, yeah. I may not be your client. Right. And again, I really steer away from the sale part of it. To me, it's about, how can I help you first before I help myself, if you have that in the back of your mind. And that's your approach from, from going into any conversation where you're really learning off that person and you're learning off of what their role is and what the responsibilities and how they're trying to grow. And if you're thinking in the back of your mind, shoot, I know this guy, and let me connect them, or let me introduce him to this person, or let me introduce them to this company, or, you know, I have this event coming up. If you're always in that mindset of how can I help you, that feeds off. And they know your true intention is not just to capture a sale. If you have that walking in to a conversation and you're really trying to help that other person, I think that builds trust and you're able to really capture the value of that relationship. Yeah. But the follow up question on the flip side of the coin will be depending on that person's role. Right. For not picking on banker, but let's say a banker. You know him. I remember the exact conversation. I asked him, what would be a good referral for you? Because he told me all that he could do at his branch. He said, everyone. Everyone needs a banking account. So that would be everyone. But what should you say to them? Should I say everyone, or should I be more specific, really, to tell you to tell the other person who I really want to meet? Bankers, we come across them quite a bit. There's so many different banks, but they may have a specialty. Who's your favorite type of customer to speak with? Or what's your favorite industry to work in and really narrow that down. Right. Because I know people who are in the banking industry, and that's because that's where I came from. But they specialize in treasury department or international banking or foreign entities. So there's specific roles or specific industries or specific amounts to. Like, I focus on companies 10 million to 50 million or 10 million below or whatnot. So you really try to narrow that down. Right. So obviously, we all want to speak to anyone and everyone, but who do they like to work with? I mean, I think there's a specific industry that they may like to work with as well. If there's someone that wants to work in the construction industry, I work with contractors or that's who I, that's who typically my favorite client is. Break it down a little bit further. Yeah. Because I think that will be a good way to. Maybe that person really likes you. Right. You know, they are really trying to do good, and maybe they know half of the people in the room. Right. That sponsor. So by getting into a little bit more detail, you're not trying to sell that person, but to tell you who an ideal referral for you will be. Like, maybe, you know, like Chris had mentioned their company size, maybe their, their volume, right. For ordering a certain product. Or maybe where should they be located? Or maybe they have a special needs. Right. That you could fill right away. So if you don't go into the specific, you get into everyone, then you don't really want to meet everyone. I mean, it's tough to send you a referral based. Can I send you everyone now? Yeah, exactly. So be a little bit specific. But again, ask those questions. Right. Obviously there's more to that. And we want to learn a little bit more about the role of banking is not just banking. There's definitely more to that conversation, and it's very meaningful. When I was in banking, I loved helping small businesses that didn't even know there were businesses like the landscaper and the house cleaner, and they, they were going, cash these checks. And I'm like, you're a business, like, how can we form, how can we format this and really put yourself in a position to grow rather than just keeping everything underneath your mattress? So I really enjoyed helping, and because I'm hispanic, I really enjoyed helping my hispanic community and really formatting their business. And that's how my parents grew. You know, my parents were a small company, but they weren't able to grow unless they're able to buy properties and buy equipment and really grow their business. But that came from banking and understanding that world, right. And if they didn't have those relationships, they weren't able to grow the way they grew. I think this is one of the best open ended questions. After you greet each other, you know, who will be a good contact for you? That opens up a lot of things. And then you can obviously follow up with questions. Tell me more about that. Why would be a small business who are growing be good for a business? Then you can actually learn more about the others. Maybe it will be a good fit for you. Maybe it will not be a good fit. But think about the potential referral partner that you're able to get, because if everyone at the meeting knows who you're looking for, chances are next time someone like that comes along, they will be sending it to you. You know, and that's probably where my background comes into play, because when I was in banking, working in the retail level, I was always referring business. Right. And you would always try to ask those open ended questions and really discover the client, but you would refer them to your mortgage department or to the investment department or to the insurance side of things. So you would always refer them to your internal partners. Right. So it's about listening to your client, understanding their real needs, and then be able to make that referral. So in our case, obviously, we're not working in banking, but you're always trying to help that customer and understand their needs. And then if it, if I can't help you, then who can I refer you to? So it's kind of the same concept. We had a successful event. You got a lot of business card, and I wanted to learn more about your strategy for follow up. After the networking event, you mentioned you have a stack of card, you date them. You know, what other things do you do after the event? Again, I'm giving you my trade secrets, right? I have two. So one of them is the sales journey and the other one's non sales journey, I kind of break it down. That's my first step. So when I come back to the office and I do it within 24 hours. So I really try not to wait longer than that. Like, I feel bad right now. I went to an event on Friday, and we're Tuesday, and I haven't responded. Right, but that was the weekend. But then it kind of gets too late. Like, I don't want to wait past another day to respond to the people I met on Friday. Right. They'll forget about you. But I, those, those are my two points of contact. So whether they start in my sales journey, I say, okay, there's potential here. They don't know it. I didn't disclose it. But this is my approach, and my approach to that is just following up simply by an email or a phone call. And you can say, hey, I want to learn more about your role, your organization, and really see how we can strategize to work together. You know? Do you have some time in the near future we could sit down and talk. That would be my approach to the sales journey. The non sales approach would be someone who I don't see a connection. I try not to waste my time, obviously, because there's only so much time you have in a day, but you still follow up. You never know, right? And say, hey, save my contact information. Feel free to leverage me if you need me. I'm another resource for you. And just really just make it a point to follow up. You want to be polite and you never know. And actually, a lot of times, again, they may not be your client, but they may know someone that needs to know you, right? You never know that approach, but you're not going to follow up and follow up and follow up after them. Right. With the sales journey approach, you want to have those different touch points. You want to make sure that you follow up and really strategize your approach where you're not too aggressively following up, but you're not delaying them or forgetting about them or showing them that they're not important to you. So that's kind of my strategy after the event. Yeah. If I make notes during the conversation at the event, I will mention a couple of what we talk about too. Because like you're saying maybe they talked to 50 other people, right? So kind of remind them what we are talked about. Or maybe if I said I'm going to do something, I could do x for you, are you still interested? Or maybe they want to learn more about what I talked about. It would be also a good excuse to connect with them as well. How do you use LinkedIn for networking? Do you normally try to connect with everyone on LinkedIn? Please tell us some of your approach using LinkedIn for networking. If I met you in person, I'm going to connect with you. It's hard to connect with people you don't know. Even if there's a mutual connection and there's someone you want to get to know, it's hard for you to kind of go in blindly and just connect with them. A lot of times it's kind of like a cold call. They want to see some relationship there. So if you do see someone that's mutually connected, maybe they can help you with a warm introduction. Say, hey, I noticed you know this person. Do you know them in person or just via LinkedIn? If they know them in person, then help me make that warm introduction. I would really appreciate it. But after an event that's like part of the follow up, connect with them on LinkedIn right away. It helps you grow your network again, whether they're a viable client or not. Still connect with them because they'll see what you're up to. They'll see what you're doing, the events you're attending, who you surround yourself with, and it may not be something potential now, but you'll be surprised. They'll see you more and more active, and they'll reach out to you when they're ready. So definitely connect with them on LinkedIn. Yeah, as an algorithm. Right. You know, once they. They see you, you keep showing all the feed and, you know, now, you know, they. They feel like they know you more. And I know. Always see you post networking pieces. Right. You know, you always take pictures when you attend event. What are the. Some of the suggestion for posting that you would recommend on LinkedIn? LinkedIn, obviously, is a lot more business oriented. Right. So I think rarely I would post something about my family or something personal. I think I do it during the holidays. The personal touch that I give to LinkedIn is probably my newsletters. I relate that a lot to my previous positions or what I'm going through currently, and just kind of my personal journey. Right. And it helps merge those two where your business colleagues can see you in a personal side, and it makes that relationship a little bit more meaningful. Right. The other social platforms. And believe it or not, I just got Instagram this past year, and it was because some of those relationships became friendships, and they're like, hey, you don't have Instagram. Like, no, I don't. I'm like, isn't that just for your dogs or your food? Um, and it's funny because that's what I use it for, my dogs and my food, probably restaurants and just kind of going out and it's fine. Right. But it's more personal. So that will be like business slash personal type relationship. Yes. Because Instagram's kind of nice, the way the layout is where you're able to kind of see, like a catalog of pictures. Right. Um, but you're able to merge those two because your business is your person and vice versa. Like, your. Your personality is your business. It's really hard to separate those two nowadays. I think before, people were really good with that and not mixing those two. People want to do business with the people they trust. And if you're not able to relay that and to show them who you really are, it's not just a suit and tie every day. Right. There's. There's more to me. So I think you open up that dialogue and they really understand you as someone different from what they see you out in those events. And I think it's a good way. You know, obviously, you don't you want to leave out your privacy? Right? If you don't want to share, don't share it. Because if you post it, it will be there for a long time, then I think it kind of help as a filter, too, because, you know, I believe that there's a match, and sometimes there's not a match. If you see that person, maybe the way that they interact, maybe the way that they talk, maybe the way that they, you know, the things that they believe in, maybe you totally agree with that. Or when you. When you see the certain things that they say or, you know, maybe this is not a good fit or people that I wanted to be dealing with, and I think that's fine. You know, sometimes if you force to deal hard enough, you might get it, but later they will become your horrible customer. Customer from. From hell, you know, rather, why don't you? Wouldn't be more enjoyable if you can work with all ideal client who respect you and willing to work with you every day. So I think on the personal stress level, so I think by filtering like that, you're actually filtering out people who are you. Who doesn't connect with you anyway. Yeah, definitely. I mean, you're. You're not that. You're not wasting time, but you're not wasting their time. Right. So if you don't connect and there's no potential there, then let that decision be made up to them. Yeah, I think it's tough. Like, I was one of those people that were really against social media. It took me a long time to get onto Facebook and Instagram. I mean, just like I said, Instagram, I just logged into or just created an Instagram account, Facebook, I was one of the late adapters to it. And I think every social media platform has its use case. LinkedIn definitely is more professional. You have to give them that personal side of you, too, just a little bit. It's not all about business. It's not all about what you're trying to promote or sell. But be a resource. Like, if you see something that's resourceful, comment and repost and share. Share that. Especially if it's from people you know. Right. If they're posting something that's impactful, maybe they're highlighting an event or they themselves have a newsletter. Comment and interact with them. Don't just like, but really be involved in that discussion, right. Because it helps amplify their message. And again, the more you help others, it's gonna. It's gonna come back towards you twofold, I think. What LinkedIn, again, it's it's tough because you don't want to be too personal, but you do want to be show your personality a little bit. Right. And not just all corporate, but again, it is very professional. So don't put anything that you know is not professional or ethical. But I think every platform has its avenue for sure. I think for some. For some reason, right. So if you are thinking about what to post on LinkedIn, like Chris just mentioned, next time when you go to networking event, or maybe you're on the field, right. You know, doing what you do for your. For your work, take some pictures of you working. For some reason, people like that. If I post pictures of products, you know, it'll be okay. But if I sometimes put pictures of myself and I don't want to be on camera. Right. All the time. People are like that. It's tough. Trust me, I am. I'm not. I may. It may look like I like taking pictures, but I never liked being that person in front of a camera, mostly because of my weight or whatnot. I just didn't, I didn't feel, feel comfortable. So it took me a long time to open it to the chamber. Definitely did open me up to, but I'm not doing it for me, even though you see my face everywhere or on my, my feed. But I'm really doing it to promote and amplify my members. I'm really helping. I want to. If I can help them gain business by attending these events and inviting me to these events, I'm there to highlight those members. And it's not just those people, but those organizations, right. There's a lot of nonprofits that need help, that need their message to be amplified. And if I can help in that and by promoting them, because the chamber kind of creates this center of it. All. Right. And if I can help them promote that, then I think that's key. Right. And I'm doing it for. And really just to help make an impact. So, question for you, will be in a digital world where we could really go to overseas or, you know, make any connection virtually, do you think in person chamber of commerce still relevant businesses? Definitely. Definitely. I think there's, there's a need. It's. It's harder to network via Zoom. I've done it. I think we all have now since COVID It's really hard to make that connection. Right. A lot of times when you're meeting via Zoom, it's a presentation and they're giving their, their keynote, and then you'll have the chat. People will post their information. But how often are you really establishing that connection? Whether you're following up with them or emailing them or connecting with them one way or another, it's harder to make that personal approach. But if you are on Zoom, because it's still relevant, right? If you're on these virtual platforms and these virtual meetings, if there is a person that really interests you, really try to make that attempt and follow up with them and say, hey, you know, I noticed you work with this company. I would love to learn more. You do mind if we chat after about there's ways to do it, but in person, I am an in person person, so it comes a lot more naturally. And you're able to really make a personal connection. If you go to in person events, really get out of your comfort zone and the more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities. And again, you want to make sure you help others. If you're inviting people to your events, make sure you go attend their events. It's just like a party, right? Or a family party. If you're inviting people to, to come to your home and to come to your kids party, you want to make sure you do the same and you go to their kids parties. So that's the way I kind of look at it when it comes to networking. Thank you so much. So Chris, for listener who have individual question about networking, who love to reach out to you, what would be the best way LinkedIn. So what I did is I created this URL kristlinla.com dot. It's basically a link tree. It gives you access to my business card, gives you access to all my social media platforms. But I am keynoting an event on May 15 at the city club. It's basically a follow up to this. It's all about networking and it would be a great opportunity to basically give that presentation in person. So if you're interested in attending that, feel free to go to that link and you can register and basically learn a little bit more about the formalities and my approach to things. Again, I have a newsletter that I write only in and just try to help others. And I'm really trying to tie this to the chamber world, right. Really get involved with your local chamber of commerce. Obviously, if you're outside of the La region, get involved in the metro chambers, the large chambers, but really support your local chambers. Every city typically has one and it's really gives you a great sense of community to see who lives in that area and what they're about and how you can really help them right. It's all about helping small businesses. So if you're able to do that, please do so because it really makes a difference. And like I said, I come from a family business. We come from a small, small business. So it means a lot when you really try to help your community. Thank you so much, Chris. And if you haven't done so, go for go. Subscribe to Chris newsletter. It's called beyond networking on LinkedIn. You know, this is one of the newsletters that I open right away, as soon as I receive it. Chris, thank you so much for coming onto the show today. Thank you. I appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. And thank you for your support, too. I know you do a lot, so thank you. This is the end of the episode. If you enjoy our content, please don't forget to, like, subscribe and share. Thank you so much. Thank you. Bye bye. Thank you for listening to the show. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast and share with your friends so colleagues who might benefit from the conversation. Any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect with you.

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