Facebook Groups are Changing How Businesses Connect

FLOOR ED

Lisbeth Calandrino, Flooring Specialist and Associate Publisher and Director of Social Media for Fabulous Floors Magazine

Facebook Groups are Changing How Businesses Connect

Connecting in a Social Media Group for our Industry puts you on the fast track to expand your network. Just like you might ask for referrals to other businesses you can network with in real life.

A significant shift is taking place within some of these discussions; people are connecting more quickly and collaborating in real-time. Paula Anselone, Owner, Anselone Flooring in Mansfield, Massachusetts, speaks to the power of this method of networking within the Women of the Flooring Business group.

“These are women struggling with the same decisions that I’ve had to make over the years, as well as women who are sharing new ideas, which have been so useful to me.”

This is exactly why Michelle Winters, owner of New Braunfels Flooring & Design Center—together with Rachel Berlin, Sales Manager at Precision Floors & Décor, and Business Consultant and Columnist, Lisbeth Calandrino, started the Women of the Flooring Business Facebook group. They felt women needed a place to vent, share and grow.

“At least two of us get together daily, says Calandrino, examining what is happening in the group and what we can do to add value to the discussions. We contribute to the conversations, notice who is participating, and note which issues are at the forefront. We believe it’s our job to see that the group members are being heard and which questions aren’t being answered.”

Floor Academy Podcast host Kyle Hedin opens that (virtual) door with every podcast episode.

Listeners have the ball in their court when each guest shares their contact information. In addition, the podcast has a corresponding Facebook group where people who might never cross paths offline are connecting with these guests and discussing the episodes. Hedin explains how valuable this level of online networking has been in his installation business.

Connecting in a Social Media Group for our Industry puts you on the fast track to expand your network. Just like you might ask for referrals to other businesses you can network with in real life.

“Social Media flooring groups gave me access to an abundance of successful individuals from a variety of backgrounds from across the country and, better yet, the world. I could pick and choose my relationships and work with what I considered the “cream of the crop.” As a result, I have learned the trade in just over six years and built a full-service installation company that provides a generous 100k salary and at least 25k per annum in profit. I could not have done this if I had not been networking outside my local area.”

Established as a place to grow and be challenged, says Winters, “My vision is for all the women of the flooring business to have access to whatever they need to be as outrageously successful as they want to be.”

Active Member Deb DeGraaf, the owner of DeGraaf Interiors, Grand Rapids, MI, echoed just how powerful that access is, “Talking with other women and learning from their experiences is one of the key components to success,” says DeGraaf, “Alone, none of us have the perfect formula. However, the combining of ideas and best practices get us closer.”

It seems the real magic happens in the discussions. Go online and join an industry Facebook group, but don’t stop there. Find a post that you can relate to and start commenting—when you engage in the discussion, it opens doors well beyond your local area, and there is no limit to how powerful your network can become. ■ It seems the real magic happens in the discussions. Go online and join an industry Facebook group, but don’t stop there. Find a post that you can relate to and start commenting…