It's time to take back the word networking so it doesn't freak us out. Connecting with other entrepreneurs should be something you enjoy doing because you care about people -- that is what's at the heart of networking.

Cara Steinmann is the founder of the Ravel Collective. She helps purpose driven women who are service providers build strategic networks that lead to referrals, collaboration, visibility and fun.

If you've ever thought, I don't like this part of my life, or I'd like to pivot around this area, and yet you felt guilty about it, this conversation is going to be really helpful for you. It was very honest. It was very gentle. But it was also kind of unusual in its vulnerability.

Cara was working in marketing for 15 years, and when Covid hit she realized she hated her business and she was miserable. She was scared because she knew she didn't want to work someone else, but she also couldn't picture what she wanted to do. It was like her imagination went out the window.

She acknowledged that feeling miserable in her business was a hard thing to admit to herself. Otherwise, she has a great family and loves her life; she didn't want to seem ungrateful.

Cara fired her clients and blew through her savings trying to figure out who she was. She earned a coaching certification, and while it wasn't her next step, Cara says she learned so much about self-limiting beliefs.

"It really kind of set me on this path of, 'well, I must not believe that I can have it all, that I can be happy,'" says Cara. "There's something here that's preventing me from making the changes that I want, or having the kind of happiness that I want. I have to figure out what it is. But we have this idea that we're supposed to just figure out what we're supposed to do."

Cara used personality tests, StrengthsFinder and Kolbe to help her find where she was most consistent. She also figured out her core values, which she found to be most valuable of all including when it came to networking. Money comes into your business through people, so be intentional about who you decide to network with. Cara says you can have friends who are in a position to refer you that might be all you need. It's really easy to find those people if you look at how they act and what they say.

"When you like people, you want them to win and you send them business, and you buy things from them," says Cara. "It's not that complicated; just work with people you like."

The level of confidence it takes to just put content out there and not be a perfectionist about it is a challenge. There is a big deficit in women especially when it comes to creative confidence.

There is an opportunity there to build reciprocity by sending the person a message saying how it resonated with you, or telling them they did a great job. People want to be praised for the content they create. Eventually you might get to a deeper level with someone who is in a position to refer you or help you get visibility.

Mentioned in this episode:

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown: https://amzn.to/3Vt49jq WOLFPACK by Abby Wambach: https://amzn.to/3TryiwS

Connect with Cara Steinmann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carasteinmann and https://www.ravelcollective.com/

Other GoG episodes you might want to check out:

Never Ask, "So What Do You Do?" Again https://sarahwalton.com/colleen/

How Values Make You Money https://sarahwalton.com/jennifer-kem/

Building Community Online with Elizabeth Henson https://sarahwalton.com/building-community-online/

You can check out our podcast interviews on YouTube, too! http://bit.ly/YouTubeSWalton

Thank you so much for listening. I'm so honored that you're here and would be so grateful if you could leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts by clicking here, scrolling to the bottom, and clicking "Write a review." Then we'll get to inspire even more people!

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