And when it comes to personal networking, I am a huge huge believer of this concept. I truly believe in the statement:

YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR NET WORTH!

I think social networking is a great conversation starter. But serious networkers take that lead and convert that initial conversation into personal connection doing networking with phone calls and meetings one-o-one. I have benefited from this process tremendously.

Thank you for sharing your story. Enjoyed your post very much.

I guess friends are a social network but not a business network.

A business network serves a particular purpose. It includes people related to the business field, people who are “players” (for lack of a better word) in the business field.

Yes, you never know who knows whom, and your friend from McDonalds might know a guy from the business field you’re interested in… but that’s the exception, not the rule.

Ha ha ha ha. That’s–ahem–horrible!!!

No, look, let me be fair– I have nothing about being an adjunct for fun. Like, teach a course in your professional field, for the glory and because you enjoy the interaction with the handful of good students you’ll come across (they do exist, the curious, engaged, hard-working ones, and they are great to work with–when you’re lucky to get them).

But as a way to make a living, in a full-time situation, it’s… overworked and underpaid and unappreciated, and I’m sure you can find better things to do with your time. No??

The only decent way to teach college is to get on a tenure track. It’s not easy, but it’s a decent living. Otherwise– just work in a coffee shop and write your novel!

I think writers have to be more than “just writers” these days. Many pros I know have their hands in social media, SEO and content marketing in order to stay competitive. It seems everyone wants to write these days — but not everyone can do it well.

Congratulations Honey. Sounds like you found a hook that has good earning potential. Excellent job girl!

You can’t just set up a business; you have to run it like one.

One such pair is”legitimate rape.” Another one is “full-time adjunct.”

Congrats to your friend for fleeing the “legitimate rape” of academic employment.

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, please read this:

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2008/10/the_sorry_plight_of_the_adjunc.html

I know of some people who use FB for professional networking, but for me, that’s what LinkedIn is for. I only have FB “friends” who are truly family & true close/long-time friends of mine. I do have some ex co-workers as FB friends, but only because I worked with them for years (like 10+), and we know each others’ families, kids, etc, and are truly friends. I don’t have anyone who is affiliated with the non-profit where I am on the board as FB friends (but they are in my LinkedIn network). This is primarily to avoid any question of impropriety or ethics if a sticky situation comes up.

Ohio does require that the statutory agent of the company is a resident of Ohio. If you are physically located elsewhere, then you have to appoint an S/A who lives in the state.

I have reached out to my professional network (on Linked In, mostly) to find everything from a forensic accountant to a caricature artist for a school fundraiser.

If someone who was a passing acquaintance asked me to refer them for a job, I would be honest and say that I really don’t have an inside track to HR, and have no control over the hiring process, but I would be happy to give them the link to the company’s HR/Careers web page.

Some friends of mine in the tech industry say SEO is already on its way out. I don’t know if I believe that, but it’s definitely worth cultivating other skills such as social media and content marketing if anyone is looking to make a business of it.

However, at this point we have lunch every 3 months and exchange emails maybe 2 or 3 times per month. Mostly those emails are about business, at least lately. So are we still friends? Or have we transitioned into colleagues? I’d probably argue the latter, though we are better colleagues because we’ve known each other almost 10 years and have a basis for friendship.