The "Connector"

This week I was on a panel about social media and building communities, and the moderator referred to me as a ‘connector.’ Up until that point I had never really thought of myself that way. I’ve spent the past two years as a Community Manager, which by definition is a very social position. The goal of a CM is really to be the face of a brand. This means striving for a level of recognition in the community – building a solid network of relevant contacts and attending relevant events to meet influencers and media. After two years of attending pretty much any and every entrepreneurship or social media-focused event in the city, I’ve formed a pretty great network.

So it’s natural that when I see correlations between projects two people are working on I’ll put them in touch. When I meet someone in the mobile space I’ll recommend they connect with Dave Coleman at Spreed or Kunal Gupta at Polar Mobile. When I meet someone in fashion I suggest connecting with the Toronto Fashion Incubator and fashion entrepreneurs like Jas Banwait. And when I meet people just getting started in social media I put them in touch with Scott Stratten, better known as @Unmarketing, who could explain the benefits of social media to even the most vocal critic.

Sometimes amazing things result from these connections. Last year I met a really cool female entrepreneur named Andrea Lown who started SmartBride Boutique, a classifieds site for everything to do with weddings. I immediately admired her drive, passion, and spunky sense of humour (the title on her business card is “Married”). A few months later I was at a business plan competition at Ryerson University. The winner of the competition was a young entrepreneur named Hailey Coleman who started a company called Damn Heels, which produces fold-up ballet flats in an expandable bag – perfect for women like me who love their high heels but hate the pain that came along with them. When I met with Hailey to talk about her business goals it was an obvious fit to connect her with Andrea from SmartBride – after all, brides need comfortable shoes to get through the night, and Hailey is looking to expose her product to new audiences. After making that initial connection for them I recently found out that Andrea will be adding Damn Heels to SmartBride’s Wedding Day Survival Guide, and bringing samples with her on their media tour.

For me this connection was a natural fit, and it has already been productive for both parties – and it took exactly two minutes of my time. So I’ll continue to suggest connections and facilitate introductions for entrepreneurs I meet on a daily basis, and hopefully they’ll result in more business success stories like Hailey and Andrea. Does this make me a ‘connector?' Maybe. But I argue that anyone can be a connector – pick up those business cards you’ve collected over the last year and find the common links. Spend five minutes making valuable connections for others – and then watch them do the same for you.

Left image courtesy stock.xchng, centre courtesy Erin Bury.