Unlocking the Power of Social Capital: How to Elevate Your Business Network
Understanding Social Capital: The Bedrock of Success
Social capital might sound like a buzzword, but its essence is quite straightforward. As Colleen articulated, social capital embodies the relationships, networks, and affiliations that provide access to opportunities, resources, and support. It's about who you know, what you know, and who knows you.
For women in poverty, as Colleen mentioned, a lack of social capital severely limits opportunities for growth. Conversely, for those in the business world, cultivating and leveraging a robust network can be the key differentiator in success.
Building Your Network: Quality Over Quantity
You've likely heard the adage, "Your network is your net worth." Colleen provides a nuanced twist: "Your network should have the right people." Building a network isn't merely about collecting business cards or LinkedIn connections. Instead, it revolves around curating quality, meaningful relationships that add value.
-The Knowledge Factor: Surround yourself with people who possess expertise that you don’t. Their insights can open new avenues for growth.
- The Credibility Factor: Ensure your network includes individuals who can vouch for your skills and professionalism. Their endorsements can elevate your standing in your industry.
- The Referral Factor: A strong network doesn't just benefit you; it also means you're in a position to help others. The mutual exchange of referrals cultivates a thriving ecosystem of opportunity.
Leveraging Visibility and Marketing for Network Growth
- Visibility: Make yourself known through diverse channels—social media, direct mail, billboards, or grassroots efforts. Take Raffi, a local business icon in Phoenix, who uses every conceivable medium to ensure he is top-of-mind.
- Networking: Network actively and align yourself with people who resonate with your energy. Trust your gut feelings about people you meet. Authentic connections often lead to the most fruitful relationships.
Evolution and Adaptation in Networking
The business landscape has radically evolved. Today, much of our interaction is confined to the digital space. But don't overlook the human touch—reach out directly, ask for help openly, and be ready to give in return.
- AI and Technology: While tools like AI offer vast amounts of information, they can't replace genuine human interactions. Leveraging technology is essential, but personal connections remain irreplaceable.
- Adapting Strategies: Your network needs will change as your business evolves. Colleen illustrated this by sharing how her networking needs shifted from seeking business knowledge initially to now collaborating with high-level experts.
The Intersection of Ego and Networking
A compelling point discussed in the episode is the role of ego. Amy and Colleen suggest setting ego aside to foster deeper connections. Admitting that you don’t know everything opens you up to learning and growth. Leaders who exhibit openness and vulnerability attract robust networks willing to support them.
- Ego as Overhead: Chris Sartre aptly termed ego as the biggest overhead, illustrating how it can impede progress and stymie growth.
- Be the Student: Embrace learning. Whether it’s starting a podcast or expanding your business, seeking guidance illuminates new paths.
Conclusion
Unlocking the power of social capital is an ongoing process that requires visibility, the right relationships, adaptability, and a willingness to learn. By integrating these principles into your business strategy, you can navigate your entrepreneurial journey with greater ease and achieve sustained success. As Colleen Biggs exemplifies, when you cultivate a network that supports and elevates you, the possibilities are boundless.
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Transcript for Episode 339. A Powerful Resource to Grow Your Business
Amy [00:00:02]:
There is an often underutilized tactic in business that we are not leveraging. What is it? It is social capital. And that is just one of the topics that we are going to dive into today with our guest, Colleen Biggs. She is a business coach and peak performance coach who helps women grow and really steal step into their true purpose. So, Colleen, I'm so excited for this conversation today. I love your energy. I love everything about you. Welcome in.
Colleen [00:00:36]:
Thanks, Amy. We have had a lot of fun already. Sorry. There's a lot of behind the scenes. Maybe she'll throw some bloopers out there. I'm not quite sure, but, yeah. So I'm so happy to be here because there's nothing that excites me more than talking about the motivated CEO like, well, thank you.
Amy [00:00:53]:
Me, too. Me, too. So let's dive in to this idea of social capital and why it's so important as business owners. Running a business isn't as complicated as we're all making it out to be. And if we really lean into this idea of social capital, we can run a really lucrative business and not have to put a ton of extra time and energy forth. So explain to us, what is social capital?
Colleen [00:01:20]:
Yeah, I don't think it's talked about enough. And actually, it's something that have really honed in working with a lot of nonprofits, especially nonprofits that are working with women that are in poverty. So when women are in poverty, just to go back and kind of give you a vision of a thought of what social capital is, they are not surrounding themselves with information. They're not surrounding themselves with people that can educate or help. They're also not surrounding themselves with people that are there to fuel change. So when you think about those individuals, they lack social capital. And so when we empower individuals with social capital, which are those things we just talked about, who you know, what you know, we talked about knowledge and who knows you. Right.
Colleen [00:02:09]:
That can pour into you, fuel, change your success. That is where the key is. So all the way from working with these nonprofits to where I am today, I've kind of created this whole new notion, I believe, around your network is your net worth. Yeah. Your network is your net worth. It's just like when they say practice makes perfect. No, they say perfect. Practice makes perfect.
Colleen [00:02:37]:
Right. Or you do have to do the right practice. So I also say your network needs to have the right people in it. So if you've got the right people that are fitting those buckets, so you've got people with other knowledge that you don't have now. You're feeling empowered through knowledge. You're feeling elevated through opportunities, because these individuals are opening doors for you. The who, you know, bucket maybe is elevating your credibility. And then the who knows you is all about referrals and opportunity, because now they're reaching out and they're saying, hey, Colleen, someone said that they would need.
Colleen [00:03:12]:
We're looking for this speaker on this stage. Oh, my gosh. You'd be perfect for it. You've got it. You know, I told them all about you. Every workshop that I've taught, company that I've worked with, large, big, you know, Fortune 500 companies, every single one of those jobs have come because of a referral of someone that was in a room having a conversation. They were at the seat at the table. It came up, and then my name was put on the table, and I didn't have to do the work to reach into that company because how would I have known how to get to the.
Colleen [00:03:44]:
To pierce that corporate person that's going to be the decision maker on me speaking at the next event when it wasn't public knowledge. Yeah.
Amy [00:03:53]:
Right. And that's the key. That is the shortcut there. I came into your world through a referral. I had a guest on the podcast, and she's like, you know what? You really need to connect with Colleen, and that's how this works. That is the easy button in business. We have forgotten about the power of relationships and referrals, especially that warm introduction. It goes such a long way.
Amy [00:04:21]:
What advice can you give the woman that's like, okay, I know I need to do this, but I don't know how to find the right people to even network with that. I need to get into their world so I can be there, linking arms with them, elevating them. They elevate me. So it can be that mutual benefit.
Colleen [00:04:39]:
Yeah. So let's go back, like, 20 years. The only way we could ever get information to each other was telephone or probably 30 years. Tell. Cause I didn't own my first cell phone until I was at least 21 because we didn't have it back then. Right. And the Internet really wasn't around for my whole life. So we had encyclopedias.
Colleen [00:04:57]:
We didn't have computers at our house. So the only way we got information was talking to each other. Today, I feel what happens is most of us just go online. Like, we go straight into how to blank, blank, blank. And then a YouTube video comes up. Right? Or tutorial or information on other people. And that's how we're getting our information. Relying on AI and technology is where people are going to freak out to give us all of our information.
Colleen [00:05:26]:
So, yeah, AI is going to take over the world one day. It is going to happen because we're looking toward it to give us everything that we need. Okay, here's the other side of that. People have so much knowledge. So if you would just reach out to individuals and say, hey, I know you're an expert in XYZ. I was wondering if you could help me out with getting connected with the right person for this. With, I feel like, you know, you have to set your ego aside and say, I don't know something, and I'm looking for you to give me the knowledge, or I'm looking for you to connect me with the right person. So, networking is.
Colleen [00:06:03]:
I have two rules in business. I don't even think I shared this with you, Amy, but they're very simple and I share it everywhere I go. And it never changes. Never changes. It's been this way, and I was taught this way, um, you know, before I even launched the first business back in 2001, and now it's been like 360 businesses. And my husband and I own four locally here in Arizona. But I've helped CEO's launch over 300 and some businesses, and the first one is visibility. You need to tell every single person about you.
Colleen [00:06:33]:
So you need to tell everybody that could be in a form of social media, in the form of ads, in the form of advertising, in the form of marketing, direct mail, grassroots. It's everything. Networking, networking, networking. Right? Tell every. I don't care if you get a billboard out there, there's this really famous. He's famous to me because I see him everywhere. He's all over the radio. I saw a bus wrapped in his face.
Colleen [00:06:57]:
Raffi. Raffi. The raffi group. I'm just. I'm sure you've seen him. Cause you've been here in Phoenix. He has billboards everywhere. He's telling everybody about him.
Colleen [00:07:07]:
And then when something happens, like an AP covers accidents, or if he covers, you know, someone to get a citizenship here in the United States, whatever his number one thing is that he does, it's all over. Everything that he does. You're going to think of him first when you're in an accident or have someone that you need to refer. Right. That's because people know about you, so you've got to tell everyone about you. So how do you do that? The woman saying, how do I do that? How do I get the right people? Well, you got to go network, and then you got to trust your gut. You've got to say, like, ooh, don't like this person's energy. The second I got on a video with Amy, her presence, she was smiling.
Colleen [00:07:46]:
We started talking. I was like, I love her energy. First thing, right? How'd you feel about my energy when I got on the.
Amy [00:07:53]:
Oh, my gosh. Right back at you, 100%. I'm like, this is going to be an awesome interview.
Colleen [00:07:58]:
How many times have you gotten on with someone on Zoom and you're like, something's off?
Amy [00:08:03]:
Oh, my gosh. You know, it. Like, first thing. I mean, I'm. I'm, what, 300 and some episodes and. Yeah, I can tell.
Colleen [00:08:09]:
Yeah. So, you know right away. But yet we tend to ignore that, and then we allow somehow those people to suck on all of our energy, you know, take all of our time. It's like those clients that you have that take 80% of your time, they wind up trying to sue you or break a contract or whatever it is, and you're just like, wow, why did I even say yes to this person? Why was I so desperate? So I think we build confidence when we build this social circle of people around us because they're pouring into us equally the amount that we're pouring into them. So think about your circle right now. Do you find the people in your network you're constantly pouring into, and you're not getting that back? Why? And maybe that person isn't right to be in your circle. And I've had to cancel contracts, say no to clients, drop clients. I've had to say no to people in my life because I was growing and they weren't.
Colleen [00:08:58]:
So my social circle changes a lot throughout my time and what I'm doing in my business and what level. When I first started my business, I was looking for kind of people with knowledge of business. Right, starting and connecting, and a lot of those things. Now I'm at a different level in business and looking to meet with different teachers. I want different knowledge now, but, you know, I still have a lot of knowledge to pour into people. I say, you know, like, lead up and leave the ladder down. Like, we always need to be pulling people up with us. There's a lot of visuals for that.
Colleen [00:09:28]:
So that's really how you construct your social circle. You're responsible for it. So if you're surrounded by, in your network, a whole bunch of crappy individuals that want, want, take, take, take, you've allowed them into your circle. Um, and it's your responsible your responsibility to get rid of them. That's what I say. Like, you. And it's not being rude, it's not being selfish. You have to take care of nurturing, uh, who's around you, because they should be nurturing you, too, and pouring into you.
Colleen [00:10:02]:
Yeah. And it just makes it so easy. I mean, I gave those examples when we first started talking about how all the referrals I get now, I haven't been to. I went to a networking event the other night in person. I have a couple cards from there, but I've been going to them in person. And I used to be online doing networking events every day, and now my schedule is full of people I'm talking to every week. But they're all referrals. Every single one of them are referrals from someone that said, hey, you got to meet colleen Biggs.
Colleen [00:10:29]:
And every day I've got emails sitting in my email box of, oh, I got to introduce the two of you.
Amy [00:10:35]:
Yeah. And it alleviates the pressure then of always trying to get more, more, more. But like you said, taking that responsibility for your actions. You can't just sit there and go, I don't know anybody. Nobody's referring me. No, you got to get it out there. You got to put yourself out there. And the more you do it, the easier it gets, because that's what builds the confidence, that's what creates the clarity, is getting out there doing it, because, yeah, you do, you know, trying to say yes to everything, say yes to all the opportunities, say yes to clients that aren't aligned, and they end up being emotional vampires is what I call them.
Amy [00:11:09]:
You know, they just suck the life out of it.
Colleen [00:11:11]:
That's a really good word. Yeah, they are. I think we did an article on one of my first magazines I produced back in 2019 about an emotional vampire and how they just suck all your energy from you. It's so important. You know, here's the other thing. You know, everything around you, your entire brand, is the motivated CEO. You have to be very clear on what you do. So when you get out there, it should be one thing.
Colleen [00:11:36]:
Please do not make it confusing for people to say, oh, I do workshops. I do this, I speak. I. Most of the people that ask me what I do, I'm like, yeah, I'm a. I'm a business consultant. Because there wasn't coaches 25 years ago. The coaches were soccer coaches, football coaches, cheer coaches. They were.
Colleen [00:11:54]:
All my kids were with coaches. Right? And so I was a business consultant, consulted on business. That's what I did. And that most of that, 90% of that was either launching a new business or scaling an existing business or opening multiple businesses. That's really what I did. So I was very clear about that today. I'm like, if you're not where you want to be in your business and you are leaving money on the table and you have no idea how to generate more income, I'm the perfect person for you because it's like, my skillset. It's easy for me, but I'm very clear.
Colleen [00:12:26]:
So if you're out there and you're clear and people are like, oh, Colleen owns this community because I put together a community for women who need visibility. And it's about collaborating, building your social capital. You know the two rules in business that I talked about? That's my community. Other women refer women to it because they're like, oh, you got to get in that community if you need to get more visibility, and it's so great and you get to meet so many awesome people. It's not a networking community. It's a visibility community. It's what we focus on. So I think you have to be very clear, because some people, I don't refer them because I don't know what to tell someone else what they do.
Colleen [00:13:02]:
I'm still, after two years, confused.
Amy [00:13:05]:
Exactly. But it happens all the time.
Colleen [00:13:07]:
Toothpaste? I don't even know.
Amy [00:13:11]:
But it further reiterates why clarity is so, so critical. Because it lets others be your voice when you're not in the room. It allows others to mention your name in a room full of opportunities that even when you're not there, oh, you have this problem. I know someone. That is the perfect solution. That's what this is all about, because times have evolved. Times have changed. Like you said, you know, when I was growing up, you had to go to the library to look up stuff in the encyclopedia.
Amy [00:13:40]:
We did not have Google. You know, I still remember the first time my kids were watching a tv show, and they're like, can you just fast forward through the ads? I'm like, but. But it's live tv. Like, this is America's funniest home videos on ABC. Like, it's happening now. Like, no, no, I can't. It's just such. I don't even know what.
Amy [00:13:56]:
Live tv, right, exactly. It's just a totally different world, and.
Colleen [00:14:00]:
We have to evolve that. I'm glad you said that, because our children today, and I think culture and society has pushed so much and brainwashed so much of us to think we want instantaneous results. So I've met so many people that have come to me and asked me if I could coach them to be a TikTok influencer. And I'm like, nope, wrong.
Amy [00:14:20]:
I never opened TikTok.
Colleen [00:14:21]:
Yeah, yeah. It's not my thing. Like, I will tell you that I get a lot of my information on there because I don't watch tv and I love it, the people, because it will only give me my feeds of what's, like, news and all that kind of stuff. But I, that's what I use the Internet for, is news and kind of stay up on what's happening without having to watch the tv. But we don't even have cable, you know, we don't have a home phone. We don't have any of that. So we are so used to instantaneous, like, I just ordered it, it better be here tomorrow or it'll be dropped at my door at 02:00 today that so many people think I'm going to build instantaneous relationships, I'm going to build my business instantaneous, tanously, make money. I'm instantaneously going to be an influencer because they're watching this small, tiny percentage of people do that in this viral word, and it's really tainted society on what it really takes to build a business.
Colleen [00:15:17]:
And you visually, you have got to push the ball up the hill for the ball to roll down, ball to roll down the other side. And so I say you're in the ball pushing phase, so get used to pushing the ball for a little while. That's the networking that's getting out there, that's telling everybody about you. That might be an investment of time, energy, or money, or all three, but you're not going to have to push on the pedal for a long time. You're going to be able to get it on cruise control after a while. And if you're nothing, not building a sustainable business, if you have to be the one pushing the ball up the hill all the time, then it's all about you. And you're the one that's the ceiling of your success to scale. And it's very obvious to see from the outside looking in.
Amy [00:15:58]:
It really is. But it's hard when you're in the thick of it and you're doing all the things and you're stuck in the mentality that, yeah, we're living in an Amazon culture. We're like, okay, I order something, it's at my house the next day. But that's not reality. That's not how any of this works. It takes time to foster, cultivate, build those relationships. Exactly. As you said, it may be an investment of time, it may be an investment of energy, it may be a financial investment, but it takes time, it takes work.
Amy [00:16:28]:
If anyone out there is thinking, well, but they told me I could just sit there and breathe my weight. A million dollars, okay, but you still have to put action behind it. You know, you've still.
Colleen [00:16:38]:
The belief is good, they've got the number one thing down, you and I believe in that, right?
Amy [00:16:42]:
Yes.
Colleen [00:16:43]:
If you don't believe it, it'll never happen. Exactly. So if you believe you can be a millionaire, you'll be a millionaire if you apply the right action.
Amy [00:16:50]:
Right. You just have to back up with action.
Colleen [00:16:52]:
If you just sit there and meditate all day that you're going to be a millionaire.
Amy [00:16:55]:
Right. That would be really cool. I would love to.
Colleen [00:16:57]:
You probably would get a lot of ideas.
Amy [00:16:59]:
Yeah.
Colleen [00:17:00]:
Just gonna say it's worth a day. It's worth a day to sit and do that.
Amy [00:17:03]:
Oh, definitely.
Colleen [00:17:04]:
And meditate, because that's where I get all my ideas. And it's really what I would call, like, stepping back, going within, clearing my head and taking a moment away from everything and quieting that, you know, like I'm a prayer, so I pray. How do you expect to get an answer if you never stop, if you never listen? Yeah, I feel like life is that way. If we don't stop and we don't listen and we don't kind of step back, then how are you ever really going to know? And I used to do everything myself. I was push, push, push, pull, pull, pull. And then I just started thinking like, oh, maybe I should just involve God more in path because, you know, he's the one that's providing all these path, you know, pathways anyway, so it's just made life a lot easier. But I did the work, I've always done the work. I'm not afraid to put in the work because I know on the back end of that it's like, it's like having kids and then the grandkids come.
Colleen [00:17:59]:
There's a lot of work that you put in having the kids, and then when the grandkids come, you're like, now this is fun. That's what I did this for. So sometimes you wait 25, 35 years, but I'm telling you, it's worth it, but you've got to believe it. That's a huge. That's 50% of it. The other 50% is applied action.
Amy [00:18:20]:
Yeah, exactly. It's as simple as that. And something else you said, you know, was really being willing to set our ego aside, and that's hard. That takes a lot of practice, to be willing to raise our hand and say, I don't know, I need help. And this is something that takes practice, that causes us to stretch outside of our comfort zones because we want to, you know, our egos are. Honestly, it's like Chris Sartre says, it's the biggest overhead. It really, truly is, and will hold us back. But when we're willing to reach out to our network, when we need something and say, hey, can you support me? And be willing to support them in return? Like, hey, you're doing this for me.
Amy [00:19:07]:
How can I support you?
Colleen [00:19:10]:
It's a super big turn off, too, isn't it? Like, when you're the one that is talking to someone and they act like they're, you know, they know everything. And when someone repeats to me back several times, I know. I know. I'm like, oh, well, we're done. There's nothing for us to talk about. Not like I feel like I need to be needed. Not like I feel like I have to educate you, but I feel like you're closed down. I know.
Colleen [00:19:35]:
Over and over again sounds like, oh, you know everything already, so. All right, uh, what should we talk about? The weather? Do you know about that, too? Like, I don't know. So I feel like that person's very closed down. And I have this saying that says, if learning is beneath you, leadership is beyond you. That person is not a strong leader. To me, every leader that I've ever known in my entire life that I followed that I've read books on all the way back to 1930s from think and grow rich. Every single one of our industry leaders that really started, they really didn't know. And so it took them a long time to get the people aligned with them that do know.
Colleen [00:20:13]:
And, I mean, Henry Ford was my favorite, and maybe some people don't like him. What I'm not. See, I always tell people, like, I don't care about the infidelities or what they've done or, you know, if there was a time that they treated women bad, it's not that I don't care, but when I'm talking about someone's knowledge, what I'm talking about is this person was very smart in business, meaning this individual hired the people around him that knew exactly what to do, and they all had a different thing. He hired engineers to build the first engine he did not know how to build. An engine. He had a vision of what the company could get to and what America needed in transportation, and he hired the individuals to get there, and they hated it. They took him to court over and over and over again to prove he was illiterate and dumb. Why? Why do we.
Colleen [00:21:02]:
Why would we do that? It makes no sense to me. I want to be like him. And, you know, some people take that literal, and that's why I say, and all of a sudden, they'll come out of the woodwork and be like, I can't believe you said that. Do you know how he treats women? You're supposed to be a supporter of women. I don't know how he treats women, okay? I don't know the history of Henry Ford, but I know that he built one of the biggest businesses in the industry that has ever existed today, and he put people around him that have the knowledge. He didn't say, I know everything. I'm going to build this based on all my knowledge. He put people around him that have the knowledge, and we need to do the exact same thing for ourselves in our companies and build the people around us that have knowledge.
Colleen [00:21:40]:
It's watch other people light up when you go to them and say, you know, I really want to start a podcast, but I really don't know how. Can you help me? Do you know how to start a podcast? They're like, yes. And they just get all excited, like, here we go. And now they get to be the teacher, right? And you get to be the student. I love being the student because I'm the teacher a lot, and I love just absorbing and being the student. And it's my favorite thing because I get to learn.
Amy [00:22:08]:
Yes.
Colleen [00:22:08]:
Yeah.
Amy [00:22:09]:
Oh, my gosh, Colleen, these nuggets of wisdom were absolutely pure gold. I could talk to you all day. Where can we get into your world? How can we listen to your podcast, learn all the things about you? Tell us all the things.
Colleen [00:22:25]:
I'm glad you asked, because, you know, most people love to say, like, here's my podcast. Here's my website. Just go there, and you can, if you're a website kind of person, go to colleenbiggs.net. you know, have a ball. There's a lot you can connect with me on there. I love Instagram. That's probably a place that I put my grandkids, my life, my everything out there. So, Colleen Biggs on Instagram.
Colleen [00:22:47]:
But I will challenge everybody out there to google their name. So go Google my name, Colleen Biggs. You get to see my whole resume, my body of work, my everything I've done, who I am, what I stand for, it's everything. And if you google your name and you go out there and you look at Google and you're like, oh, I'm not. I'm nowhere, then you're not being seen by anybody. And that's kind of the test on is your business visible? Is it being seen by other people so you can google me. I mean, that's a great way. I don't have anything too embarrassing out there, I don't think.
Colleen [00:23:19]:
But you can google me. And my podcast is called Take the Leap. And that's because, you know, we need to design our lives the way we want our lives to be done. And a lot of times, that's a lot of big leaps that we need to make, and we have to trust and have faith that everything's going to be okay. And so that's what that podcast is designed for. It's on everything. It's on audible. You can ask Alexa right now.
Colleen [00:23:42]:
I'll help you if you want me to. All you have to say is, Alexa, play take the leap by Colleen Biggs. There you go. And then she'll play it for you. So I hope none of you have Alexa in your room right now, because you're screwed. Sorry.
Amy [00:23:54]:
Oh, my gosh. Colleen, you are amazing. Thank you so, so much. I appreciate you. And until next time, cheers to making the money you want so you can create the impact you desire to.
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