TargetStars

I have been to quite a few networking events and I guarantee you will hear the phrase, “Tell me about yourself.” Many people are able to answer this question with no problem, while others seem to struggle. If you find yourself experiencing the latter, one way to combat this issue is memorizing an elevator speech.

In case you are not familiar with this term, an elevator speech is a short spiel that enables you to convey with others your occupation and what you represent (i.e. attributes) in the same length of time it takes for you to reach the highest floor in an elevator (approximately 30 to 60 seconds). Think of it as a way to “break the ice” when you meet someone new. In order to find out if your speech is pushing the right buttons, keep the following in mind:


Know before you go: First impressions are extremely important. People form their judgments about a person within the first thirty seconds of meeting them. Therefore, when someone requests that you tell them about yourself, please do not waste these precious seconds.

I am not trying to be funny or mean when I say this, but please figure out what it is that you do and what you represent before you are asked (especially if...

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Inspiration can come in many forms. Many are inspired by their families, friends, athletes, etc., so you may find it odd that I found inspiration in my parents rose garden. My family and I would spend a lot of time working in this garden together. However, this is not just any old rose garden. This is the rose garden that many people warned us would never grow. This rose garden, much like my business, is the result of what people can accomplish when they are willing to work hard to achieve their goals and not allow the negativity of others to get in the way of achieving success.

People did not think we would be able to grow a garden in this particular spot. You cannot see it in this picture, but to the left of this garden is a huge tree. When we shared our plans with some of our neighbors about growing a garden in this spot, we were warned not to do so. They told us stories of how other people who lived in this house before us tried to plant a garden in this spot and were unsuccessful in doing so because when you went to water the flowers, the roots of the tree next to this spot would “steal” the water; thus,...