Sugar Owns The Room & Her Mornings With These Morning Fruit Cup Pupcakes

“Networking” has never been easy for me.

Walking into a huge room full of pups that I don’t know.  Trying to strike up a conversation with pups standing together.  Or, simply making small talk about the Puppy Bowl game I didn’t bother to watch is, and probably never be, fun for me. 

In fact, I almost cringe at the thought of going to anything labeled “networking event.”  I’m not socially awkward by any means.  I love meeting new pups, hearing new stories, and learning new things.  However, jamming 50 to 100 pups in one room with no common goal other than to hand out “bark-ness” cards simply seems unnatural. 

I learned very early in this pup business ownership journey that networking is pretty much a necessity.  And although I can’t stand networking events, I was going to have to find a way to get out there and do it.  No matter what. 

So, I took the lead on signing myself up for an after-work “yappy” hour to practice.  The night before, I decided that I was going to approach this “yappy” hour a little differently.  Instead of focusing on the event itself, I was going to build my networking strategy around what I do well.

As I sat in the bed, I thought, “I’m really good at one-to-one interactions.”  So, instead of focusing on meeting every pup in the room, I decided to focus on meeting one pup at a time.  That alleviates the pressure of trying to work a big crowd with surface barking and focus on having good conversation with a few pups in the room.

I’m also extremely goal-oriented.  So, at this yappy hour I decided to focus on achieving the goal of introducing myself to the organizer.  As Paul Meyers stated…

So, setting the goal to introduce myself to the organizer allowed me to focus on achieving that goal.  It took the pressure off of wondering, “what should I do when I get there?”  “How long should I stay?”  “Where should I position myself in the room?”  Once I achieved my goal, I was free to enjoy the evening as I pleased.

And, you know what?  Introducing myself to the organizer led to her introducing me to other pups in the room.  I was able to achieve my goal and have one-on-one interactions with several other interesting pups as well.  So, this networking event turned out to be a lot of fun.

I wish I could say that this great experience at this one “yappy” hour led me to love networking.  I even wish I could tell you that going to networking events right now is a breeze, but I can’t.

I honestly used to sit and watch other pups at events.  I’d wonder how it seemed so easy to “work the room.”  This “yappy” hour taught me that working the room is more than just handshakes and introductions.  It’s about owning who you are.  It’s about learning to focus on what you do well and using that to promote yourself.

This “yappy” hour also taught me that networking takes a lot of practice, and a lot of trial and error.  Sometimes you’ll have great experiences.  And, sometimes these events will seem to be such a waste of time.  However, keep going and keep practicing being you.  Eventually these networking events will be a lot less awkward. 

And, if nothing else you’ll at least meet a pup or two that will more than likely pop up at another event.  So, the more you go to the more pups you’ll know at the next one.

These Morning Fruit Cup Pupcakes are dedicated to owning the room before you even step into it.

And of course, we believe that every pupcake has a love story.  So, while your favorite pup is PUPPY LOVIN’ on these pupcakes, we’d love to hear from you.

What’s your favorite way to network with people?  Or, how did you break yourself out of your shell to try something that you were uncomfortable with?

Please share your pupcake story in the box below.