It's Who You Know

While I had been working on the idea of In Your Pocket for a while, it wasn’t until meeting with a friend of mine from high school that things started to solidify. Amie messaged me and said “I haven’t seen you in forever. I have a list of people who I want to see now that Covid is ebbing a bit, and you’re on it. Let’s get together.” So we did. We met for drinks and dinner and had a blast catching up. She was talking about work and that her team had 11 events to pull off over the course of three months. I sat there for a moment and said, “I can do that. That’s what I do.”

We had a deal worked out the next day, and I was on a plane to Chattanooga shortly thereafter to scope out event space and try various beers and moonshines (I know - this job is truly rough). One of the needs that quickly presented itself was swag for event attendees. Due to years of building relationships, I knew exactly the person to call: Nina. 

Nina and I met each other through a (now-defunct) Facebook group, and she’s been fantastic in helping me build swag boxes and source items for buyers and clients. She’s always got plenty of ideas and her turnaround time is impossible to beat. 

Nina came in clutch for the event in Chattanooga (bourbon lip balm, anyone?), but even more impressive was when we had a faulty swag product (from a different vendor) at an event in Nashville. I recognized the issue on a Monday, and by Friday, Nina had us supplied with a far superior replacement.

After we had wrapped those events, I sat down and really planned out In Your Pocket. I knew that testimonials from professionals I worked with would be absolutely key - so, of course, I reached out to Amie and Nina (among others). They were not only positive with their endorsements, but they were huge cheerleaders, saying things like “you were meant to do this” and “you will absolutely succeed at this” and “let’s schedule a call so I can get you introduced to people”.

Here’s what all of this confirmed, and I will holler this from the rooftops: make connections. Nurture those connections. Keep those connections. You never, ever know who’s watching out for you or rooting from the sidelines. You have cheerleaders. Keep your ears open. Keep those lines of communication open. Keep yourself open.

I’ve taken the liberty of linking Amie and Nina’s LinkedIns above. My world is better with them in my orbit, and I know yours will be as well!