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Link In with Style and Class

How many of you are on LinkedIn? Looks like most all of you. No wonder it’s the leading social networking site for building business relationships, sharing information, and searching for jobs.  

Beyond the obvious linking up with colleagues and resume postings, there are hundreds of discussion groups you can join and participate in. They range from alumni groups to shared interest groups to hobby groups and everything in between. You can ask or respond to posted questions or comment on hundreds of discussion threads. But you all know that already.

What you may not know is how easily LinkedIn allows you to make a poor first impression on people you just met or haven’t even met yet. 

(Full disclosure here: I’ve been an enthusiastic networker since before we called it networking. Some colleagues even call me the “Godfather of Networking.” I like that. I prefer high touch over high tech and view social media as effective tools to enhance and expand relationships generally started by face-to-face or voice-to-voice conversations. If you consider that approach as old school or antiquated … I’m guilty as charged.)

That said, here are three simple best practices to help you Link In with style and class.

1. Don’t be a LinkedIn Loser: Do you know people who try to link in with anyone, even people they don’t know? I do. They believe that it’s more important and valuable to have a large number of superficial contacts than a smaller number of solid and meaningful contacts. I don’t. Some call them LinkedIn LIONS …but Loser works fine with me.

Be selective about whom you invite to connect with you and whom you agree to connect with.  A primary use of the site is to ask others in your network to refer or recommend you and to do the same for them. Pretty hard to do that when you don’t even know the person or where the only connection you have is that you’re both in the same discussion group. 

When strangers ask to link in with me, I politely tell them that I prefer to link in with people after we’ve gotten better acquainted and began discussing how we might be able to help each other. Then, I observe how they respond and follow up and take it from there.

2. Don’t be Generic: When you do invite someone to link in with you, avoid the system-generated, generic, “I’d like to add you to my professional network …”  Comes off like junk mail sent to “Occupant.” Instead, take the extra minute to craft a two-line personalized note, indicating why you want to connect with them and what you hope to accomplish. When you accept invitations from others, reply with a short note thanking them and suggesting some ways you might help each other.

3. Don’t be Superficial: When you ask people for a recommendation or referral, also send a personalized note. Make sure they know your work well enough to write a specific and meaningful testimonial. Indicate in that note which of your qualities you’d like them to highlight.  And, of course, offer to reciprocate. When you agree to write a recommendation, check out their existing ones first so you can give yours a different spin.

This all sounds like basic common sense and common courtesy, doesn’t it? Well, our workplace culture killed off common sense years ago and we allowed common courtesy to die off slowly from lack of use. So, if you want to Link In with style and class, do it with uncommon sense and uncommon courtesy. How’s that for old school?

By Phil Stella
Phil Stella runs Effective Training and Communication Inc. and works with business people who what to communicate confidently.  He is the COSE MindSpring Networking Expert and a popular speaker on the topic. Contact Phil at  HYPERLINK "mailto: etcpjs@aol.com " etcpjs@aol.com or (440) 449-0356.
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Dear Subscriber,

Why the Small Business Jobs Act Is Good For You -- and the Economy



Given the name-calling and argumentative one-upsmanship that somehow passes for political discourse these days, it is no wonder that the long-stalled Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 has been called everything from "socialist" to "not nearly enough."

So what are the facts?

The truth is that the legislation, which  President Obama signed into law  on Sept. 27, is likely going to give a nice, albeit modest, kick-start to the economy in general -- and to small businesses in particular. Even better: It can help your small business. Here's why:

See full article click HERE



Corporate Support Services of Nevada, Inc. (CSS Nevada) is an asset protection company formed in June, 1998 and located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a unique company in that it does far more than merely form Nevadacorporations for its clients.

Nevada is, of course, one of the best states in which to incorporate. NevadaDelaware of the West.” For the past several years, Nevada has been among the top ten states in the formation of new business entities. There are many reasons for this. Some of them are as follows: revised its business entity statutes in 1987, positioning itself to become the “

*    Nevada has no state personal income taxes, no state corporate income taxes, no franchise taxes, no taxes on corporate shares, no succession taxes.

*    It is almost impossible to "pierce the corporate veil" in Nevada.

*    There are minimal reporting requirements in Nevada. Only the names and addresses of the officers and directors need be disclosed to the State. Stockholders’ of a Nevada corporation are not a matter of public record.

*    Nevada truly permits a "one person" corporation. One person can hold the required offices of president, secretary and treasurer of the corporation, and also be its sole director, thereby satisfying all the disclosure laws of Nevada.

*    Nevada permits the Board of Directors meetings to be held anywhere in the world. Travel and expenses for the meetings are tax deductible by the corporation.

*    Neither stockholders, officers or directors of a Nevada corporation are required to live in Nevada, nor are they required to be U.S. citizens.

*    Nevada has stronger laws protecting officers and directors from liability for acts done either by the corporation or on behalf of the corporation than any other state. Nevada is the only state which requires a showing of "gross negligence," a legal burden extremely hard to meet.

*    Nevada is the only state in the United States which provides “charging order” protection for a stockholder of a privately held Nevada corporation.

*    Nevada is the only state in the United States which does not have a reciprocal information sharing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service.

*    A Nevada corporation can provide asset protection and be utilized for personal estate preservation.

Most of the above statements also apply to the formation of Nevada LLCs and limited partnerships.

CSS Nevada forms, provides office services and acts as resident agent for the Nevada entities formed for its clients. Additionally, CSS Nevada forms LLCs, limited partnerships, land trusts and living trusts for clients not only in Nevada, but in all 50 states of the United States.

However, CSS Nevada does far more than forming and maintaining entities for its clients. CSS Nevada will form a Financial Fortress for its clients, protecting both business and personal assets. After an in depth discussion with its client, CSS Nevada will form an entity structure which will protect not only the business and personal assets of its clients, but is designed to grow and expand as the client acquires more assets.

Finally, CSS Nevada will provide, at no additional cost, on going consultation with its clients to assure that its clients are kept up to date on changes in the laws in Nevada and all other states in which its clients have entities as well as showing its clients how to best utilize their entities to achieve maximum asset and liability protection.

Alan Russell is the president and founder of CSS Nevada. He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1970. In addition to practicing law in California for over 20 years, he served as a Judge Pro Temp of the Los Angeles Municipal Court for a number of years. Mr. Russell worked for another entity structuring company in Nevada from 1994 through 1998. At that time he formed CSS Nevada and has operated it since. His legal background gives him a deep understanding of the corporate laws and the ability to form complex structures for clients with a variety of assets. He is a well known speaker and has spoken to audiences about asset protection throughout the United States. 

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SBA Provides Additional Capital for Small Business

At a time when capital was scarce for small business, financing from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s growth capital program increased 23 percent in fiscal year 2010, providing a record $1.59 billion to help small businesses grow and create jobs, according to SBA Administrator Karen Mills.

The fiscal year 2010 volume is the highest single-year volume in the 50-year history of SBA’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) debenture program. Increased volume in the program is in part a result of changes made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Those changes contributed to an increased number of new SBIC licenses, decreased license processing times, and initial capital to new funds rose dramatically.

Click HERE to read entire article




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