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Day 30 of 100 Day Check-in

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Thanks to realtor Bernie Small for hosting the third check-in of our 100 Day Challenge to increase your sphere of influence and grow your business. We had five of our 19 members in attendance which seems meager on one level but on another level it gave us some time to really connect and learn more about each other. Each person will get out of the challenge results proportional to the amount of effort they expend. For myself I have managed to add 39 new contacts to my business network in the last 30 days, putting me nearly 10 people ahead of the goal. John Jones reported numbers in excess of mine while the other three participants who checked in declared they were satisfied with the progress they are making and looking forward to continue to build.

My 39th contact is Mike from Patriot Painting who is plastering and painting our entryway and doing a great job. If you need a referral for a good paint and drywall guy give me a call and I’ll pass along his contact info.

Our check-in took place at a condo that Bernie is in the process of selling near Ainslie and Marine Drive.  Part of the strategy is to meet at venues related to the occupations of our challenge members so that we can learn more about what each of us are doing and give those individuals a chance to be the host. If you know anyone looking for a nice one-bedroom condo priced under 150K just south of Foster Avenue and steps from the lake contact Bernie Small.

We all brainstormed ideas to help Cengiz more effectively connect high school graduates with mentors who can help them gain experience and insight regarded to attaining their life and career goals. Susan gave a short presentation related to creating a business plan that could be used for planning virtually any kind of activity. I hope others will step-up and offer to share ideas and expertise that will help to make us all more effective in what we do.

The next event will take place at the Roots Room February 28, 2017 from 6-8 PM followed by our halfway point check-in at the offices of Dr. Edgardo Vargas Friday March 10th from 11:00 to 1:00. A light lunch will be served. So mark your calendars.

If you want to learn more about successful networking consider taking my self directed online course: From Business Card to Business Success.

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Visit to Chicago Math & Science Academy | 2nd Check-in of 100 Day Networking Challenge

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Group photo of 100 Day Challenge members visiting Chicago Math and Science Academy.

Visit to Chicago Math and Science Academy.

What a great meeting and experience we had for our second check-in on the 20th day of the 100 Day Challenge to grow our networks and increase our sphere of influence. Today’s lunch meeting was attended by nine members and took place at the Chicago Math and Science Academy, a charter school on north Clark Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Our host for this check-in was challenge member Cengiz Karatas who is on the staff of Concept Schools, a non-for-profit organization that manages 30 charter schools in seven Midwestern states, including CMSA.  Mr. Karatas is tasked with addressing the success of the school’s graduates by helping to provide mentoring and internship opportunities for the graduates from the schools in the Chicago area. In other words it is the policy of the organization who runs this school that their commitment does not end upon graduation. They make an effort to track the graduates to see how their post graduation plans, college or otherwise are working out, then make an effort to help those who may be faltering or need some assistance making connections that can help them to succeed.

Group photo of visitors in classroom

Photos By Irene Bermudez

By holding some of our check-in meetings at locations associated with our members it gives us a chance to learn more about each other and get a more in-depth look into each other’s business operations. In the case of the Chicago Math & Science Academy we were more than impressed and all of us agreed we were ready to go back to school. CMSA is very up-to-date and includes a robotics lab, 3D printer, ESL teacher for the many immigrant students, a choice of Spanish or Turkish as a second language and an award winning elective music program. Our tour was conducted by three very knowledgeable, courteous and professional high school students who are part of the school’s 17 member ambassador program.

Student demonstrates robot she constructed.

Any business owner who has internship opportunities should contact Cengiz Karatas directly. Our next check-in will be hosted by realtor Bernie Small at one of his condos, members will be contacted by email with time and location information.

The members in attendance all report that they are making good progress toward their goal. I personally have added 18 new contacts to my business network over the past 20 days. More-or-less on target.

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