"Your membership is an investment." - Rachel Sanchez
Advice for New WBCS Members: Getting the Most Out of Membership
by Rachel Sanchez, Prestige Maintenance USA, Ltd
The most important advice any new member can hear is no revolutionizing piece of information—get involved. In fact, get involved immediately. Set personal goals to attend one event a month or to meet five new people per event. No matter what the objective, provide yourself an accomplishable measurable. Until new business becomes your measurement of success, make networking goals your focus.
Join a committee. This allows you to interact and socialize in a smaller setting with other WBEs and corporate sponsors. When our Marketing Specialist came aboard in 2013, he joined the Harvesting Partnerships’ committee shortly after his arrival to our company. He told me “it was intimidating to join a committee where I seemed like the outcast, but after just two or three meetings I already felt like I was part of a family. I loved it and can’t wait to resume meetings for this year’s event.” If you can’t commit to joining a committee, volunteer at some of the major events. Doing the registration desk is a great way to meet lots of people!
Remember: your membership is an investment. It takes time to build strong relationships and it’s no different with WBE’s and corporate sponsors. As relationships develop, these same relationships become business opportunities. You’ve now not just gained friends, but new business opportunities as well; that’s what I call killing two birds with one stone. Be patient. Build relationships and the business will come.
If you’ve just joined the WBCS you’re about to learn that these ladies sure can throw a good party. For professional sake we call them networking events, but either way, they offer a great platform for you to get your name in front of the WBCS by sponsoring events. We have found our sponsorships to be extremely rewarding and beneficial, as well as affordable. You can sponsor events at a reasonable price, and have your membership dues reduced or completely eliminated.