Master connector Susie Moon breaks down why most networking fails — and what actually turns a contact into a referral partner, a collaborator, and a client.
GROWTH PILLAR: Networking & Community
WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building referral-based businesses
WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Practical strategies for authentic networking, referral partner building, and visibility — from someone who has spent 30 years opening doors for people who couldn't get in on their own.
Most business owners collect contacts. Very few build relationships. Susie Moon knows the difference ~ and she's spent three decades helping thought leaders, experts, and small business owners get in front of the right people, in the right rooms, at the right time.
In this episode of Knack 4 Business, Bernie and Susie dig into what actually makes networking work — and what quietly kills it before it starts. Being transactional too early. Talking too long. Collecting connections that go nowhere. Susie breaks down the anatomy of a conversation that sticks, why vulnerability in a networking room builds more credibility than a polished pitch ever will, and how giving first is the methodology that turns a stranger into a referral partner.
Susie shares the story behind her Referral Roundup events — 75-person monthly gatherings built on no breakout rooms, no note-takers, and no recordings — where the goal is simple: put the right people in the same room and let the connections happen. She also walks through her live networking directory, built in Airtable and free to use, designed to help anyone find the right group without spending hours searching.
Whether you just left corporate, you're tired of networking that goes nowhere, or you're an introvert who dreads walking into a room alone — this episode gives you a practical framework for showing up, starting conversations, and making them stick.
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Browse all episodes — K4B, ETW, CGN
Bernie (00:18)
what if the problem isn't that you don't know enough people? It's that you're meeting them wrong. So most of us collected contacts we'll never actually use. We've got cards, connections, and calendars full of people we kind of know. Today we will get into actually what turns a contact into a relationship and what that shift can do for your business.
Let's go.
My guest today runs what she calls a boutique visibility agency. But here's what that actually means. She gets her clients into rooms they can't get into on their own. Susie Moon is the founder of Susie Moon Consulting. She works with thought leaders and experts who have something real to offer. And she makes sure the right people hear about it. She's known as a master connector and a super sleuth.
She just doesn't make introductions. She studies people, reads the rooms, and opens doors that most people don't even know exist. also hosts referral roundup events, real gatherings designed to bring people together in a way that actually sticks. She's launching an animated video series in April called
Dick tails Yes, that's a real thing. You want to look that one up? Find her at Susie Moon all one word dot net or follow her on LinkedIn. Just search for Susie with two S Moon. Susie, absolute pleasure having you here. Welcome, how are ya?
Susie (01:33)
Bernie, it's so great to be here. You are so funny. I just enjoy being in your presence. I appreciate the invite.
Bernie (01:40)
Susie, you're gonna make me blush now. no. Do you have a do you have a favorite quote you like working with?
Susie (01:45)
Yeah, one of my favorite ones, aside from that's what she said, would be authentic human connection is the most underutilized business development tool available.
Bernie (01:56)
So not everybody starts out being a master connector. Like what from whence have you come? Like w what what what brought you into that space and what led led up to that? Yeah.
Susie (02:07)
It's something I probably didn't realize that I was good at until I started my business and really was involved with networking. So, you know, I spent twenty-five years in corporate and even coordinating events for people. I was always coordinating things, bringing people together and, you know, in charge of events, like, Susie will plan that. Go ahead, Susie, you know.
But I didn't realize that the connection piece of it, the the relationship building part until I started my business and realized how important it was for me to start a business and build relationships and network and that the relationships are really the background or backbone of a business in general. You have to build clientele. and maybe that's not as
Correct for a product based business. but but when you're doing a service-based business, it's everything.
Bernie (03:04)
I can agree to that. The the realization though that you know what your skill set is, the talent that you have, it's not just a personality trait. it's more than that. What actually flipped that light switch on going, you know what? this has some wheels to it or some traction to it. How did you how did you figure out to leverage it?
Susie (03:22)
One of the ladies that I started networking with, her name is Laura Holliman, and she's the founder of the Endotype Formula. And it it was this personality assessment or quiz that I took, and I ended up being a conductor was the the term. And what it meant was that my natural ability to bring people together, think of an orchestra, and I was the one.
keeping people in line and and coordinating and connecting and introductions. that's when I first realized that not everybody could do that well. I just assumed they could. And then people would keep saying, your your introductions are so good. I just met somebody and it was a great connection for me. And then the more and more I heard that, I, you know, I just started to realize this is what I'm really good at.
But at the very beginning, I didn't think that that was a business. Like people get paid to make connections. What? That's silly. But it really is possible. It's it just kind of turned my life around, to be honest.
Bernie (04:27)
So networking, you know, whether you join a club or you go to meetings, you know, like a dinner party, you know, if you're in corporate, it would have been the after dinner parties or the company picnic, etc., which is networking. This is a bit slight a little more different. I mean, yeah, you gotta make sure you don't say the wrong thing to the boss's wife or the boss's spouse, yeah, or you know, tell tell the design person that one really bit the dust.
so knowing knowing certain faux pods, but what's the difference between that and actually networking in a space where, you know, you really don't know who the other person is yet. So w what what does that look like? And what do people do that kind of upset the Apple cart before they even start?
Susie (05:09)
well, I think just being transactional right away is definitely a turnoff. It's it's almost like being on a dating app and you're swiping left or right and all of a sudden you're getting married. Whoa, we didn't ask for this, you know. So
Bernie (05:23)
Well I'm just thinking what type of networking event could that possibly be?
Susie (05:26)
It's the pitch slapping. It's the exchanging business cards and it's all about you and what I can sell to you. That's that doesn't make anybody feel welcome. You know, it feels invasive. And so doing it in an authentic way and and finding out what that person likes to do in their spare time. tell me about your tattoo. Is that a new piece of jewelry or did somebody make that for you? Like just opening up with a few questions that
are inquisitive and in finding out somebody, something they're passionate about. I think that's the best way to start a conversation. and believe me, I've done it all the wrong way at some point too. but I've learned. I've learned from my mistakes and I I didn't like networking in corporate. I hated it because it felt so stuffy. It felt transactional.
But when you're doing it for your own business, it feels different. It feels like you can show up as yourself. And it that's just where it everything feels magical when you can just be yourself and everything is right in the world.
Bernie (06:31)
Do you ever have a do you ever have a time and because I the reason I'm mentioning this is because it's happened to me where I happened to remark about something and it just you know it it caught my eye, caught my it twigged my attention. And it was like something that was, that's a hot button, but in the wrong way. How do you recover from something like that?
Susie (06:50)
With grace. I've done that net many times and just making maybe showing empathy. you know, if you'd like to talk more about that, I'm so sorry that's happened to you. you know, I'm here if you'd like to discuss it. Just being humble and being authentic, I think is is the best way.
But if you wanna recover and go get yourself a beverage or go to the restroom, that's also an escape route too.
Bernie (07:17)
What would you suggest to the person that comes across stilted? And you know, 'cause sometimes it's just fear will do weird stuff to people and and and not that the person they're talking to should be they should be afraid of, but the actual act of causes the the anxiety. How do you get them to chill out without actually going to grabbing an adult beverage and then rifling it back and then start getting into real trouble?
Susie (07:40)
would ask them, you know, what is your goal? Who who do you want to meet here? What's why are you here? What what do you want out of this? And can I be a wingwoman for you? Can I help you in any way? can I introduce you to somebody that let's go meet so and so in the corner. Maybe they're an introvert and they they they're around the outside of the room. how can I be their plus one and and show them, you know, the right people are there. It's just
Let me start the conversation for you and I'll introduce you and then you can work it from there. So I think having somebody that's outgoing and ready to connect you with others is always a great idea. The other thing, before I even go to an event, if I don't know anyone in the room and I know I'm gonna be a one person, you know, man or show coming in, I wanna connect with the host and find out.
Who would you recommend me talking with when I'm there just to make me feel more comfortable in in being there, you know, and especially if it's a costume event and you show up without a costume, you know, that type of event.
Bernie (08:50)
Yeah. I I guess I guess you don't disrobe and go hi, I'm the Emperor's New Clothes segue. Bad one. I that's obviously obviously sometimes I I've been told that I would not fail well in some HR environments.
Susie (09:05)
Exactly.
Bernie (09:06)
that that that said though, have you ever had someone come in and again new to new to the process where
You know, they they want to build that relationship, but what are the things they should do to help foster it? because I've had some people that you know, there's kind of an elevator pitch, it's like 10, 20, 30 seconds, 60 seconds at the utmost. And some people translate seconds to minutes. if you see the person doing that, you know you'll go, Hey, nudge, this is how you do it.
But if you're the person talking, how do you gauge that going, shoot, I've talked too long? Well, like, you know, it's time for me to kind of like park.
Susie (09:42)
Yeah. self-awareness is is a skill that can be taught. and and just the social skills and figuring out what are people's behaviors, are they starting to cross their arms? Are they like looking at their empty drink and needing a refill? Just being aware of those things alone, I think, is important. But when you're when you realize that you're talking about yourself too long, I would redirect and and ask somebody else, how can I help you today? Or
Ask something personal. what is what have you been listening to lately? And don't talk politics, don't talk religion, talk about something like what's the most inspiring podcast that you've listened to lately and something that might inspire a different conversation and that you get to know them in a more authentic way. I guess that would be my approach.
Bernie (10:32)
Although we're, you know, talking about being altruistic and and talking to people, you know, and being with kindness and empathy and not be transactional, how do you find the right person to talk to in the room? Because at a a certain point in time, there is a transaction that likely should be happening, maybe not then, maybe you know, the next day or you know, at another event, another space, another time. But how do you find that right person to have that chat with?
Susie (10:58)
I would find, I would talk to the host for one and find out if they know the right person in the room. I also would look in the center of the room where the clumps of people are because those are more of the extroverts. And if you see somebody introducing someone else, so a master connector like me walks in the room, I would go up to me and ask, hey, do you know if there's any real estate professionals in the room that I should talk to here?
You know, find that super connector that you can talk to that can navigate and be your wingwoman or wingman, you know, when you're in the room. So just use your resources. and maybe even if there's an attendee list, can you just kind of scroll through and see who's here and ask the person checking people in? You know, do you know if there's any cake bakers here? Because I really I have a birthday party coming up and I'd love a
double layer chocolate velvet cake, whatever. You know?
Bernie (11:57)
As we start getting hungry as we talk about this whole thing now. Yes, yes. When you're when you're like, you know, I retired and then I went on a an application and it had different meetings in there. It was called Meetup. And the first time it got to suggested to me, I was looking at my spouse going, Are you telling me to find a date?
'Cause meetups sounds like you know it's more like a a you know, swipe right, swipe left. No, no, no, no. There's there's networking groups in there. I said, okay. And it has a host of other things in there too, like, you know, different different interests in in society. How do you know you've hit the right group? How do you know that you know, either from looking from the outside in or you know, you show up and you know
And you know, sometimes, you know, you might have the first impression that may not be the right impression, because it might be an off day for them or an off day for that group. How do you know you're in the right spot?
Susie (12:52)
Yeah. I think it if you are there for business, it's important are the right either the right referral partners in the room, are the right prospective clients in the room. that's one way to look at it. I also wanna feel like I belong. so if everyone is dressed up in ball gowns with makeup and their hair done, I'm probably not gonna
fit in the right way because I'll be wearing sneakers and jeans and a sweatshirt, you know? So understanding what you're walking into and kind of doing some research. Could you even look on social media and see any group pictures from previous meetups? Could you find that one person that you are connected to that has gone before and reach out to them ahead of time and ask, how is this group? Like what do you how do you feel when you're there?
Are the people, do they have the right vibe when you're in the room? Are they, you don't want to be the smartest one in the room either. You want to learn from people. You want to feel inspired. So if you can find people that are doing big things and you can be in that room and learn things and absorb and walk out with goosebumps, like so ready to work on your business, that's a good room to be in, you know. if you can make just one awesome connection, it might be worth your time.
You know, there's so many ways to look at networking and just being flexible, I think, with how you're entering the room and being adaptable. It's almost a little like improv, to be honest. You know, you you just don't know what scenario it's gonna be. but that's that for me, that's the fun part.
Bernie (14:27)
just as you said improv, well just show up with a Marie Antoinette hairstyle ham just jammed on your head. That'll start the conversation. May not get you the may not get you the warm accolades. W when you're starting out and someone is you know just they left corporate. They haven't been doing this before. Hi, how's it going? and you know you you have the skill sets, you know how to say hi. You kind of get a sense of what you don't want or want.
Or you're just like leary you're now early twenties and you've finished school or you even even you know, s not even doing the school piece, but you're out there. How do you make that connection and make it worthwhile? Like what you know, what what are the what's the anatomy of of talking to somebody and then making that connection stick?
Susie (15:12)
Yeah. I like to I like to start a conversation with something I just learned recently. I spend a lot of time on Threads, the social media app, and I'll see something funny on there and I'll share with them or something that I learned, a new phrase, going to urban dictionary and learning something maybe a little inappropriate, but I like to test the waters as well. So before you asked me about being in the right room.
If I know that the person swears before I do, they're my people. but I don't want to be the one leading with it. so yeah, lost my train of thought with all of that, getting excited. yeah. so I
Bernie (15:50)
Other cussing, other than cussing.
Susie (15:52)
other than cussing, yeah. I I like to do a story. for instance, one of the the things that really stuck
stuck with me was a story I told and I just had gotten back with from a road trip with my dad. We went out west and I was telling the story about how he would throw his underwear away after every in the hotel room. Like so we were leaving the hotel, we were checking out, he'd leave his dirty underwear there because he didn't want to pack it. He just threw it away. So he'd bring the old stuff with him. And she thought it was the funniest story. And this lady, like three years later, still remembers
that story and asked me about my dad. I mean, how delightful. Like you you left a memory in her brain about who you are. And it's not about business at all. And that's okay. But how do you connect with somebody in a personal way that leaves a memory and makes them think of you if something else? So what do you want to leave in that person's mind about you? Is it
A word? Is it a phrase? Is it a book that you're reading? So, how can you incorporate something from your world into their so they think about you? And that's what leads to nurturing that relationship. You know, remember something about every person you talk to, and then you can ask them about that later on. Let's say somebody is a financial advisor and they only work with plumbers.
You know, maybe as you're scrolling through social media, you see an article about finances for plumbers. Send them the link. Send them that article that you were thinking of them. I saw this and I thought of you. I hope you're doing well. Then they will return and they'll be like, I I need to return something, you know, because they were giving me something. And so it's just reciprocity and it's just building that relationship of trust.
You know, giving first is kind of my methodology. And when I give, people feel and maybe it's a Midwest type thing, like Midwest nice, that you have this obligation to return the favor.
Bernie (18:03)
I th I think it holds true across the time zone. I I think so. 'cause I I hear the hear that same concept being mentioned, right? It it's you know, what what what can you do to help somebody? Yeah. How how often should you circle back with the contact?
Susie (18:20)
I think it depends on where what the connection, I don't want to say will get you, but but how close do you want to be? Did they really have your vibe? Are they somebody that you could be business besties? You know, could you build a partnership together? Like it depends on your goal for that relationship. And maybe you don't know right away, you know, if you want to nurture the relationship, they probably if they serve the same clients you serve, but in a different way.
Lock on to that person because they will talk about you when you're not in the room and you want to get referrals for that person. So I would say once a month, maybe if it's a really good connection, or ask what is going on in your business that's new that I should be aware of. when I talk about you, when I refer you, what would you like me to say? You know, and just opening the door for them to share what's new, how you can help.
It it just builds so much trust and that's where the connections can lead to something so impactful.
Bernie (19:23)
Have you had a person ever come up and they have like it's almost like imposter syndrome, right? I'm not good enough. yeah, they are, but they're not, in their in their headspace. Yeah. How do you get them to shake that?
Susie (19:36)
I, well, people call me the mother nudger. So I like to see things in people that they don't realize, kind of offsetting their thoughts, you know. I'm so bad at networking. I just and showing them you're in the room right now. You're networking, you're doing it, you're talking to me, you're doing great. So encouraging them, being a cheerleader for them, supporting them and making them feel seen and
Maybe you don't know them very well, but you can complement them on something that makes them feel more confident, more secure, stand up taller. And there's ways to see the good in everything. So just capturing just a little bit of that can go a long way when that imposter syndrome happens, because it does. And I think being vulnerable in a networking event is huge.
I don't think you need to be the smartest and most successful person in the room that brags every time they they talk. Be vulnerable. Say, I'm really struggling here. This is not, this is what's not working right now. What do you suggest? And ask for help. People wanna, people wanna be supportive. They wanna help. And you'd be surprised at how awesome that connection can be once you become vulnerable.
Bernie (20:53)
How often do you think the touch point should be for for a contact? Is like is there a difference between let's say a B to B to a B to C? And you know, how often should you also make reach out and connect?
Susie (21:05)
That's a great question. I don't think it matters. I think it's because I think you're one person away from something amazing. So whether you're trying to find a new client for your health coaching business, there's all there's B2B people that are great referrals for you. a bookkeeper that knows that somebody's struggling with their health, they're a great referral. Like send that person my way. So
I don't think I don't think it matters, to be honest. I, you know, it might be harder in different ways. What what I don't like is when people c try to connect with me on social media and then reach out to me in a DM direct message and say, my heart was thinking about, I was you are on my heart today. And I don't know them. I've never met with them. How do you
How can I be on your heart when you don't even know what's going on in my life? So I get that ick when when certain, you know, the DMs start flying in and I'll call people out on it. Like we've never had a one on one. I don't I don't understand what you're saying. You know, I don't like it. I'm whining. But anyway.
Bernie (22:14)
Tell me more about your networking events directory. What's
Susie (22:18)
Yeah.
Bernie (22:18)
what's the story behind that? What's the purpose and how how does someone kind of get into that space?
Susie (22:23)
Yeah. I created and this was probably 2020 or 2021. I started an air table where I could just list different networking groups because trying to find networking, it you're searching all different sites. I just wanted to bring everything together, kind of like I do people, and have it all in one place that I can just look on the schedule and see where do you think I should try a new group here?
And so what I did is I reached out to as many networking hosts that I knew and asked them, would you want to put your stuff on our calendar so that everybody looking can find you instead of having to send emails to your list. So if I just bring people together, it's just an awesome resource and it's free. So it's for the common good, you know, and and granted, it doesn't have everything on it.
But it's a place to start. You know, you one new person, you find if the vibe is is in the room when you want it. Do you belong? All of those things we talked about previously. it's it's a source, it's a it's a resource and I I just wanna help people.
Bernie (23:34)
So the animated series. What's the story behind the animated series? Yeah, that one. Yeah. It's not ducktails. It's so close though.
Susie (23:42)
It was so close. Yeah. I I name it well, DickTales is my nickname for it because to describe it, it's basically the day in the life of a penis. You know, as a middle-aged woman, I don't know what happens below the belt on a man. I don't know like day-to-day stuff, what he deals with. this all came about because I was sitting on an airplane on the tarmac. We were delayed two hours, and it was hotter than
Hades, you know, I was sweating and I looked over and a gentleman was wearing a pair of khakis, and I just thought, man, he's just gotta be stuck, like his balls need to be stuck to his leg, you know, and and sticky and hot and sweaty and ooh. And then my brain just went off and just I wonder like what they say to one another. If they were characters, like what would those body parts talk about? What would they, you know, like
If if he farted, you know, man, stop that. You know, I we in my head I was just playing this cartoon basically. And I started writing things out, coming up with ideas for it, and all the scenarios. I even sat in my hairdresser's chair and we brainstormed about all the different scenarios that we could write about and and and and that just
led to talking about it. It's a great way to open a conversation and networking, find out who your people are when you start talking about this. And that's yeah. And now I'm finally moving it ahead. I wrote an episode. I have a production company working on the the videos and I'm just excited to share that with the world. I know. My dad is so proud of me.
Bernie (25:22)
You know, that's okay. I it it it is an opener. It is an opener, 'cause you know what? It hasn't been done before and yeah. S referral roundup events. What is the story behind that space?
Susie (25:33)
Yeah, I I realized that I was spending so much of my time doing one-on-one networking and I was doing intros after each of those. I love introducing people. I love finding out what everybody is best at and matching them up with someone else that either needs that service or is a good compliment. So I decided to just host these groups to bring people together and have them introduce themselves.
And then they can connect on their own. So I don't have to do the introductions all the time. So I'm bringing amazing people together and then let's see what happens from it. So I've just been doing it every month and we max out our our registration at 75 people. It's 45 minutes of time. You know, most networking events I would say are one hour long. We don't do any breakouts, there's no note takers, we don't record it.
What happens in the room stays in the room. And I typically talk about dick tails or some crazy story of, you know, asking my dentist weird questions or whatever comes to mind. You just never know what you're gonna get on the day you show up. So you gotta be in the room and it's just it's fun. I don't know.
Bernie (26:49)
I having attended one of your events, it was I found it very useful in in the conversation and people are open. When someone is because we're meeting online in these circumstances, what's what's a good way to be prepared for that type of meeting? Like what would you suggest to someone having already prepped before the meeting starts?
Susie (27:09)
Yeah, I would definitely know you know, in the 30 seconds or 45 seconds that you have to introduce yourself, what do you want people to remember? And speaking clear, you know, explaining who you are and what are you who are you looking to connect with? And it could be a referral partner, it could be a potential client. And then also having your blurb written up, like what you want to pop in the chat and so people can.
Copy the chat and take that away and connect with you. So just having that ready as well is important. And just having go in with open, open thoughts. You just never know what's gonna happen and who you're gonna meet, but you're gonna see the vibe of people. You know, some people are more serious and some people are just like, woo-hoo, let's go, you know.
I mean, you can kind of tell what people are like based on their interactions. and if they're being funny in the chat, if they're, you know, helping, adding value. You can tell a lot about the behaviors of the people. And it's only 45 minutes of your time. And sometimes we even end early. So it's it's just it's a a thing that I it's important to check out. I I just think everybody needs to attend one just to see.
If there's somebody on there that they were meant to meet, that's my goal.
Bernie (28:28)
Do you find that electronic business cards are the way to go for some people? In other words, they put a link, the QR code, or they're just, you know, there there's one one platform that's out there that you know I've seen heavily used, you know, and and inside that it has a whole bunch of you know different hyperlinks that go to the website, to the YouTube, et cetera. Is that a a value?
Susie (28:49)
I like it. So if I really want to dive deep into that person's background, I can see what they have out there. sometimes I call that stalking. but I g or being a sleuth, I guess. but Yeah,
Bernie (29:00)
Yeah.
Susie (29:02)
being a sleuth. but really you can get a lot of information from social media from what people put out there to see
Is this somebody I align with? and maybe if you don't agree on big life things, if political things, if are they active, are they saying their opinions on social media? Are they an activist of some sort? You know, you get the feel of the person. and it you it's it's ways, it's a way to help you discern who you where you want to spend your time and who you want to spend it with. So
I mean, if I were on a dating profile, I would I would sleuth the person as much as possible to find out anything I know about them ahead of meeting somebody, just so you have a background. But to answer your question, I love LinkedIn. So if I can go on LinkedIn and find information about their business, who they serve, that's my goal when I meet with somebody. But if I really want everything, then I want the whole link of
all of the other links included.
Bernie (30:07)
Yeah. The do you have any other books in the go?
Susie (30:11)
I don't.
Bernie (30:11)
I thought you did. That's that's and I'll have to edit that I I thought you had another bucket of the same air.
Susie (30:17)
No,
no, I I'm not ready yet for that. what what I'm yeah, what I'm challenging myself to this year is really becoming a speaker, calling myself a speaker. I you know, I help speakers, and so I'm I'm so focused on them, but I really need to walk the walk, talk the talk, and understand their whole process. and I and I've
I've been through their process before, but I really want to step out of my comfort zone and be in front of people because I feel like I have a lot to share and I feel like I could make things a little fun. Maybe.
Bernie (30:54)
I th I think you can. I think you can. And which is really awesome. Where do you see networking going in the next couple of years?
Susie (31:01)
think it'll remain to be a hybrid model. I think some people will just want to do in person. And I think those people that we meet from all over, like you, Bernie, we're going to continue doing it online because it's faster, it's easier, and we can still make connections and build relationships. So I don't think it's going anywhere. I just think what I hope is that maybe some of the noise of
all the different groups if we can just consolidate a little bit, you know, so we don't have to be a member of every community. I'm on so many different communities, I can't keep track of them all. and it it it dilutes the power of the connection when I have to be in somebody's group to network with their people. I would just like to do it all in one place. And that's one of the reasons I'm bringing people to me.
is that I don't have to spend hours, hours meeting new people on different networking groups. And I don't like breakout rooms. I don't like breakout rooms.
Bernie (32:02)
Really? You don't yeah, you haven't you see no utility in them or do you see utility if you're doing a project?
Susie (32:09)
If they're done right, yes, absolutely. But I just think putting people randomly in a room and there's no structure, it it's I've seen them done very bad, badly. And then I've seen them done really well. So I just prefer to see everyone and capture the whole group. But that's me because I'm an extrovert and I want to meet as many people as possible. I don't really I don't go to the networking event to
do the one-on-one and to to dive deep. I want to see the whole thing so I can pick out the ones that I want to connect with and who who's a good referral for me. And if you asked me two, two, three years ago, I probably would have a different answer. But I'm being more careful, more intentional about who I spend my time with. And I want it to be meaningful and lead somewhere. So I'm getting older, you know?
Bernie (33:02)
Did have a coach that helped you kind of structure things for you, or tweak things as you grew it?
Susie (33:06)
I've had a lot of coaches. I would say Laura Wright is one of the people that I would give credit to in doing some of this stuff. Pat Miller has been a good resource. He built the small business owners community. yeah, it I've had a lot of great mentors and coaches through my time. and I keep learning more and more.
I would be the one signing up for every event online to learn the new skill and a new thing. And then I'm like overwhelmed because I can't attend them all and then trying to watch the recordings and all of that. I'm that person signing up for everything, you know.
Bernie (33:45)
Yeah, there's only so much time in the day.
Susie (33:47)
Yeah, exactly.
Bernie (33:48)
Your area of service is it just continental US, North America? Are you global?
Susie (33:54)
We are global. we have we have a we have a client that is actually in Australia that we help and we we've gotten her on I think over twenty podcasts since we started working together. she's lovely. it is a challenge, I'll say, you know, in scheduling things, but we're open to working with people that are that are willing to find the visibility that works best for them.
So if they're a speaker and they want to get on stages, I know way more about the US and geography on where to go than I do in Canada or in the UK. So for speaking, I would say like, you know, being on stage in person, I would stick to the US for that. But podcasts, the people can talk anywhere, which is cool.
Bernie (34:38)
Susie, I want to say thank you so much. And I want to tell the audience, you know what? Suzy is a really delightful lady to have a chat with. And you know what? You can reach her at Susie Moon dot net. S U S I E and then the word moon, all one word dot net. And if you want to go to the networking events, it's slash networking events. And she keeps a live directory in that space. And you want to know more about the Dick Tales yeah.
reach out to her. You know, it'll keep life light and lively. And that's that's the key. You know, it's be spontaneous but not a not a a robot and if you're a wallflower Susie probably can help you in that space too right and it's not just about building your Rolodex it's about building good connections and that means you get to know the person, understand what they need. And Susie's really good at that.
Suzy, are anything in as closing you wanna mention to the to the audience from Knack 4 Business
Susie (35:27)
I just appreciate your time, Bernie. You're so easy to talk to and I always get a laugh at some point during our conversations. So I appreciate you.
Bernie (35:36)
Well, Susie that's very kind and I appreciate it too. to reach us, it's a knack4business.com. So the word knack, like the word knock, except an A instead of an O, the number for business.com. And we have a little chatbot on there and it searches the past episodes. So you can you can query that. And there's also registration if you want to be a podcast guest.