Greetings from Orlando Florida on this March 21^st, first day of spring! I am here with my family to spend March break.

Today for the first time I have reached the magic number 500 in the number of contacts on my Linkedin profile. For many years I hid behind my shyness and fear of meeting new people and never did any networking.

Then in 2009 I met a business coach Shelley Brown who introduced me to a book called Never Eat Alone. She also sent me a PowerPoint presentation called Networking for Introverts (although according to the Meyers Briggs Personality Type, I am a “mildly expressed” extrovert). She gave me networking assignments and really pushed me to get out of my shell to meet others.

Today I consider networking to be the most important part of my job. Through networking I have met clients, prospects, suppliers, competitors and business mentors. It is invaluable to find new business opportunities, build supply chain advantage and alliances. It is also the most fun part of my job. I love building close, authentic relationships with people I like!

Through meeting others and knowing their needs and capabilities, possibilities open up. Dots start to connect and Linkedin is a powerful tool to mine one’s network. I hope to continue my journey of making connections in person as well as on Linkedin!