2010 is ending and 2011 is just around the corner. I’d love to share a review of some of the more popular posts Blue Deer Designs had in 2010. Wishing you a prosperous and wonderful beginning to your business New Year!

1) Top 3 Wordpress Shopping Cart / e commerce Plugins

(a great review of the pros & cons of plugins such as Shopp, WP Ecommerce, and PHPurchase)

2) Selling on Facebook: Core Commerce vs. Payvment

(selling your products on Facebook is the next big thing, learn a few ways to approach it!)

3) Best Business Apps for Smart Phones

(some time saving and business solutions, let your phone work for you!)

4) 7 Ways to making a WordPress Website Secure

(Making sure your Wordpress website is safe and secure can ease your mind and prevent a lot of frustration)

5) Why you should never eat alone!

Have you read “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferazzi? If not, this post might influence you to do it.

Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

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I just finished reading “Delivering Happiness” – Tony Hsieh’s story of how Zappos, the large online shoe store, is pretty amazing. I was lucky enough to get the book for free. The Delivering Happiness campaign were giving the books away for free off of Twitter and I couldn’t resist.

One of the biggest messages I got from “Delivering Happiness“ is how to build community. The author Tony talks a lot on how he built different communities throughout the process of Zappos and some of the relationships were pretty  intimate. Building community helped the company weather different phases of the companies’ growth, as well as provide a place for people to be themselves and encourage a great customer service model. I love how they (Zappos) are know to upgrade a customer’s shipment from ground to overnight delivery, just randomly. They’ve also been known to randomly send flowers to customers too!

Overall “Delivering Happiness” was an inspirational book and it got me thinking how much community plays a role in how we live and work. How can we build more community with our clients, colleagues and all those in-between ?

Recently, Keith Ferrazzi made a few suggestions on his blog on relationship/community building:

*Host a monthly dinner or happy hour

*First thing every day after you turn off your computer, ping one friend and one acquaintance.

These are simple yet powerful ideas. When you reach out to people, there’s this amazing energy that builds and grows. People feel special and want to return it. Bringing people together can be as easy as inviting them into your home, at a bar or restaurant or even a walk or hike.

One experiment I’ve decided to try is personally writing a note to past clients and colleagues, 5 times a week. Many of my clients aren’t in the Portland areas, so a note seemed like a great way to reach out! I decided to send a funny or cute note and in the note, I don’t talk about my business. I ask them how they are doing and ask specific questions about their lives, about their family, their business, etc. It feels really amazing to do this every week. And the response I’ve gotten has been great.

What’s one thing you can do to build your community? What’s working for you now?

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Sometimes you don’t end up reading a book until at least 5 people recommend it. I’m glad I read “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferazzi – it opened up eyes on how to build relationships within my business without the cheesy/fake networking elements.

Keith’s big thing is pushing through the first layer and really getting to know someone – that someone could be a colleague or a thought leader in your industry, etc. He starts out by helping you feel comfortable meeting people every day and dispells the myth that you’ll meet the right people for your network by going to mixers and networking events.

Keith does a great job of pointing out there’s much better places to meet folks, sometimes simply standing in line at the grocery store or at the gym. These are places where you will more likely be yourself and have something in common with the other person. He takes it a step further, if you really want to connect with someone – offer to take them to a baseball game or a yoga class, somewhere you can both have an experience together. That’s really where people bond.

A clear message of the book is to always offer to help others. That’s a golden rule that Keith goes by and we know it works. In addition, it feels good to help other people, especially if it’s a job or resource.

Overall Keith Ferazzi got me to be even more confident to approach new people and find out how I can help and grow their business. Check it out, I bet you’ll learn the same too!

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