That is a common phrase I have heard as of late. For the last few years I haven't been around my hometown much… actually not at all. During this season of life I have been all over the map. Literally all over… Portland, Eugene, Seattle, Redding, Boise, Sacramento, San Francisco, LA, Laguna, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake, Minneapolis, Houston, New Orleans, Austin, Orlando, Miami, Oahu, Bellingham, Missoula, Winnipeg, Chicago, and a few others that I can't remember or would rather forget.

What has set me on the Tour de Airports…

Story telling.

Yep, the developing and telling of stories. That really is the easiest way to describe my "job". It started when I realized how enjoyable it was for me to sit with friends of mine who are business owners and help them see and acknowledge the successes or areas of improvement that exist inside their organizations. After I realized these insights actually helped my friends succeed in their endeavors, I wanted to do it more and more and more.

Once it clicked with them that their story has so much potential, we started putting together plans of how to execute and we would do it together.

The next natural step was making sure all of the people who frequented these establishments knew how amazing these businesses were or were becoming. They listened through different mediums (fliers, campaigns, videos, email, twitter, facebook, redesigned websites, meet ups, word of mouth, rumors, etc.)  and as they listened they added their thoughts and then they began to retell these stories to others around them. It was fun and it worked! Loyalty and community was blossoming.

As I continue to live this story telling adventure, I will be posting some of the experiences over the last few years. Anything from negotiating multi million dollar acquisitions to laying beside dear friends in business on a pool table at 3am dreaming of what can be. The reason for me posting these here is so I don't forget the exciting wins and losses, which I have seen plenty of. In some senses, nurturing a place of reflection for myself to see and not forget.

Oh and the newest project I am working with currently…. www.toor.me.

A few words to describe it so far… outstanding, innovative, crazy, brilliant, exciting! If you check it out and want to share your thoughts with me, go for it. We are planning on changing real estate forever and are on our way to doing so. Already some people like a friends Mike, Stew, Doug, Whitney, David, and many more of you have given me some great suggestions for our concept and we have made some changes because well… a few of you were right and I was wrong.
 

So, that is what I do. I guess in the big boy world it is called, "Business Development". (I like storyteller)

Best Regards,

Nick Smoot

He asked me a question about business that I have never intentionally processed.  (Side Note: The problem with not knowing why you do what you do or how you do what you do is that it isn't transferable or reproducible. So it was a wonderful gift to me in the form of a question from my friend that caused me to process. As a regular practice, you should write out why you do what you do. Why you greet people the way you do… why you keep the same morning routine… how you say goodbye on a phone how you do. You will either learn you are right on track and will keep doing what you do or realize you need to tweak a few things for a better result or to achieve what you really desire. Usually I realize there are tweaks to be made…. ok, done with the rabbit trail.)

So, now to the question he asked. "Nick, how do you network so quickly in a new industry you have never worked in?"

There are many things in business and life that I am poor at, but networking has always come naturally to me. The joke with one group of business partners of mine is that if you need to talk to the Queen of England, give Nick the reason and how much it is worth to you and consider it done.

As I let this question sink in, I realized I have never really pondered it besides… "Oh I guess I am friendly."

While my thoughts sunk down deep I was surprised with what they found… In my heart of hearts, it is about building a team around something that matters. Something that everyone needs to know. Once I believe what I am doing ACTUALLY MATTERS, no obstacle will stand in my way to getting there.

Once you have a passion around your "mission" everyone you talk to is a part of your team. You never know who they know or how they will assist in the mission. Imagine, the whole world is on your team! How cool is that! Every single person in the world has some gem of information to offer you that you don't know about your mission! It is like a massive treasure hunt!

Now let me preface it with this, NO STRIP MINING ALLOWED! It isn't about using people to accomplish the mission.

Each person is a valuable resource and should be treated as such. It is about linking arms in life and developing meaningful connections that are helpful to all people involved. When you actually listen to people and ask questions about their life while offering assistance, you will be surprised how kind the world can be. Zig Ziglar says it best, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."

One meaningful conversation leads to another and another and another…. eventually "Hello Elizabeth, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Oh and don't forget… before you can network effectively you must know the mission and believe in it DEEPLY! If you don't, choose a different mission or tweak the one you are on.