Working From The Basement

OK, by now you are probably wondering what a picture of me dressed up in a blue bunny fur coat and a cowboy hat is doing in this article.   Well the CT TweetCrawlers are meeting at Public’s in Middletown Wednesday night for Karaoke and I thought I would present a challenge.  If we can get 25 people to vote in the poll to get me on the stage in this getup (My Halloween Costume) and donate $10 to Operation Home for the Holidays, I will do two songs dressed like this.  Since I am mostly bald shaving my head would have been a bad fund raising idea at best.

So please pledge your support in a comment attached to this article and vote on the sidebar poll. I am looking to raise a mere $250, but would like to do better.  In order to get more people to attend please go to the Facebook Page for this event and invite your friends and direct them to this post to pledge their support.  You can also post a link to this article on your Facebook page or use Twitter, the more the merrier. Public is one of the best night spots in Middletown and is always a lot of fun, please come and join us.  Also remember that the “Open House to Bring Them Home” Party is now free this Saturday.  Below are the details and links for both events, we hope to see you there.

UPDATED EVENT INFO FOR KARAOKE FUNDRAISER:

Wednesday November 11^th 2009
Karoake TweetCrawl at Public’s in Middletown
337 Main Street
Middletown, CT
6:00pm – 9:00pm

UPDATED EVENT INFO FOR MAIN FUNDRAISER:

Saturday November 14^th 2009
Operation Home for the Holidays TweetCrawl
The Warehouse of Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery
9 Austin Drive
Marlborough, CT
1:00pm – 5:00pm
This Event is now “Open House to Bring Them Home” party
Kid Friendly and lots of Raffles and Prizes, please RSVP on Facebook.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

I just wanted to mention a few good events coming up over the next few weeks that might be of interest. This Friday Oct 30, 2009 Diana will be at the Middlesex Expo in Cromwell Ct from 9:00a– 8:00p at her B-Law booth, I’m sure she would be happy if you all stopped by.  Our friend Charlie Schein will also be helping Diana man her booth.

Friday October 30^th 2009
Middlesex Expo 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Cromwell, CT
9:00am – 8:00pm

The ambitious event schedule for TweetCrawl continues with fund raising efforts this time focusing on Operation Home for the Holidays.  If you haven’t been to one of these yet it would be a good time to meet new people and help a great cause.  Diana and I will be at the one on November 11^th in Middletown, we are not sure about which of the others yet.  It’s Karaoke night so stop by and see if you can get Diana on the stage to sing.

Thursday October 29^th 2009
Hot Rod’s TweetCrawl
114 Bank Street
New London, CT
5:30pm – 8:30pm

Thursday November 5^th 2009
TweetCrawl at Wadsworth Atheneum
600 Main Street
Hartford, CT
5:00pm – 8:00pm

Wednesday November 11^th 2009
Karoake TweetCrawl at Public’s in Middletown
337 Main Street
Middletown, CT
6:00pm – 9:00pm

Friday November 13^th 2009
Open Studio
555 Asylum Street
Hartford, CT
6:00pm – 8:00pm

THE FOLLOWING EVENT HAS CHANGED
Saturday November 14^th 2009
Operation Home for the Holidays TweetCrawl
The Warehouse of Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery
9 Austin Drive
Marlborough, CT
1:00pm – 5:00pm
This Event is now “Open House to Bring Them Home” party
Kid Friendly and lots of Raffles and Prizes, please RSVP on Facebook.

7:00pm – 10:00pm
$40 per person to benefit Operation Home for the Holidays.
Order your tickets here or RSVP on Facebook and pay at the door.

Another Event that I would recommend is the “Starting and Staying in Business – What it takes to survive in today’s crazy world“  seminar hosted by Rothstein & Co.  Alan is a great speaker and is very engaging, this should be a really good presentation. A donation of $10 to FOODSHARE would be appreciated, please rsvp to cpa@rothsteinco.com and let them know you read about it on WFTB. The agenda and contact information is listed below:

Job Stability is Being Self Employed
Alan Rothstein, CPA/PFS
Alan works extensively with small business owners and entrepreneurs

What can go wrong in business, and how to prevent it
Susan Busby, Attorney

New Rules on Marketing and Communications
Using Social Networking to grow your business
Darlene Susco, President Susco Visual, Inc.

November 11, 2009
Farmington Marriott
15 Farms Springs Road
Farmington, CT
7:00pm – 9:00pm
$10 per person requested donation to FOODSHARE

I want to thank all the people that got back to us about  Diana’s Thankful Friday post, it was one of our biggest days here at WFTB. It was very encouraging to hear that we are helping motivate others in their daily lives.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

Me and Lisa Davenport holding the rug I won

I went, I saw and well I didn’t Crawl, but I did gingerly step around things.  This week’s TweetCrawl was held at Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery in Glastonbury.  The Home gallery was the first TweetCrawl I’ve been to that was not in a restaurant and I must say it was fun.  My only problem was that I was afraid to put my drink down on any of the nice furniture.  Another thing that was really interesting was that I stood all night while the people new to the TweetCrawl just sat down in the comfy chairs, how’s that for conditioning.

This was the first time Diana and I went out to specifically promote this blog, and based on the results the day after I found that the TweetCrawl is a great place to get traffic to your site.  I also won the door prize again and I am beginning to wonder if my business cards are embedded with superglue.

This TweetCrawl had over 60 people registered for it, and I think most of them attended. A lot of people new to Social Media took up refuge on the couches and received some training on a laptop.  I had a lot of great conversations with people about contributing to this blog and picked up on some great people to follow.  This didn’t stop me from mingling with the group now known as the regulars, and heading out to the Diamond to continue our conversations afterward.

Suzi Craig has been working hard on these events and announced a couple of changes.  In the next month there will be an event or two every week and even a Party in a warehouse.  I emailed Suzi about this and she made a couple of points.

• December is a bad time to schedule anything so there will be nothing in December (as of now).
• A lot of people have been unable to make these events so she is scheduling them throughout the week.
• By spreading to different venues and more diverse locations more people may attend.
• Suzi also announced a fund raising campaign to help Governor Rell bring troops Home for the Holidays, which means you need to have an ambitious schedule.

Suzi also hinted at more changes to come next year, not bad for something that’s only 6 months old and was initially promoted just on Social Media sites.  While I hope to keep trying to make a lot of these, I am afraid even a person normally stuck in a basement like me won’t be able to keep up.  This is by far one of the most fun networking events in Connecticut at the moment and attracts a great bunch of people.  I also promised Suzi that I would not put my business card into the drawing for the next few weeks, so come out while you still have a chance to win something.

Some semi-irregulars and new people hanging out at TweetCrawl

Suzi’s Deep End blog can be found here.
Additional Information can be found at the TweetCrawl Group page on Facebook here.
TweetCrawl Twitter name @CTTweetCrawl.

Again we would like to thank Tim Tracey for contributing to yesterday’s blog and being our first guest blogger.  Anyone interested in contributing to Working From the Basement please just signup as a registered user and shoot a message out to @WFTB on Twitter.

pictures courtesy of the CT TweetCrawl Group on Facebook…

WFTB – Michael Lawson

I thought I would put together a little something about the upcoming TweetCrawl before it happened to entice any one that is on the fence about going.  Suzi Craig from Fathom has been putting these events together for about 6 months now and so far I haven’t been to one I didn’t like.  Tweetcrawl is not only for those of us who use Twitter, but for anyone interested in making connections through any Social Networking outlet i.e. Facebook, Linkedin etc… This is a great resource for the solo entrepreneur to leave the basement and meet other people.

The events used to be held primarily at restaurants, but now are expanding to other places, such as the current one at a Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery in Glastonbury CT.  Attendance has been growing for each event and while there are the regulars such as myself, new people come to each event.  I have met a bunch of people that I wouldn’t have run into at chamber meeting and other such groups.  Remember while you may not make a direct business connection an indirect recommendation works just as well.  One of the side benefits of a trust economy is that you can start doing business with people you actually like and get along with.  Going to a TweetCrawl lets you find the connections you need, while allowing you to  go beyond just an elevator pitch about yourself.

Top Three Reasons I like TweetCrawls:

1. A chance to meet interesting and friendly people.
2. low cost or free alcohol and great food.
3. I get to leave the basement.

Like any good social media event the signup is hosted on a social media site, so let Suzi know you are coming by registering for the next CT TweetCrawl Event on Facebook. You can also follow @CTTweetCrawl on twitter for the latest updates.  I hope to meet some new faces, so come out for the evening and hang out with the cool kids.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

Like all good things in life, I came upon the Marlborough Business Association (MBA) in a serendipitous fashion – a friend of a friend of a colleague insisted that I needed to meet Donna Finnochairo, the President of the MBA.

Two and a half hours into our first coffee at The Gathering, and running a mile a minute with ideas, I was hooked.  Donna is the kind of person who’s full of energy, excitement, and passion for her work and her community. She believes if you’re going to do something, do it right. (As my friend Brian says, “Go BIG, or go home.”)

Next thing I know, I’m drinking the kool-aid and signing up to be on the MBA Board for the 2009 year.  And, I have to tell you, it was some of the best kool-aid I’ve had in a long time.

Here’s what’s so awesome about the Marlborough Business Association:

1. They are real people.  In contrast with the traditional business-networking event, where you’re locked in the corner, getting the hard sell from some copier salesman, the MBA events are really more like hanging out with a good group of friends.  There’s no hard sell.  There’s no polished “Life is awesome, and I’m the best businessperson ever” personae. (Okay, maybe a few exceptions once in a while, but that’s not the point.) This is a group of people who honestly enjoy each other’s company, for the sake of sharing a glass of wine and catching up on what’s happened since the last meeting, and not for “what’s in it for me.”
2. The MBA Board gets shit done.  The group is small enough that it still feels intimate and personal, and doesn’t have the bureaucracy and politics you might find in larger groups.  Want to form an Educational Committee?  Suggest it, and it’s yours.  Technology Committee?  Sure, sounds great!  We don’t need to go through an elaborate approval process to get things done.  We suggest, vote, and implement.
3. They let me have a Wiffleball Tournament at Marlborough Day.  Need I say more?

For more information about the Marlborough Business Association, join the online communities or come to our next event:

Facebook Fanpage:  here

LinkedIn Group:  here

Official website:  mba-ct.org

We meet monthly on the third Thursday.  Location varies – we rotate among local businesses and community groups.  It’s kind of like a secret club – you’ve got to really be looking for us to find us.