networkingpeopleI woke up at 5:30 this morning to get to an introductory meeting of BNI, a networking group. With these types of groups, business people get together once a week or so to share names of prospects and help expand the word-of-mouth marketing reach of the members of the group.

Because I spend many of my days in sweats (or pajamas) by myself in my home office, I am not going to join because I don’t think I have enough to add. (After all, how many times can I pass of my cat as a prospect for life insurance?) But just because I go for days sometimes without seeing other people doesn’t mean I don’t know some amazing folks.

Here’s a brief look at some people and services you may need some day. I’ve known all these people for a long time, and I am recommending them because I know how much they care about what they do and how much care they put into their jobs.

Let me introduce…

  1. My favorite Artist
    David Castle and I “met” via this blog, and I drool over his work. I haven’t purchased any of his big stuff, but I do regularly order his notecards for thank you notes. They’re the only non-recycled cards I buy, but I love them too much.
  2. A prince of a Printer
    Have you ever done a workshop and needed spiral-bound workbooks, plus the resources on CDs? That’s what Omnipress does. They’re one of my clients, and I’m always so impressed with the way they respect their customers. If you call them, tell Chris Uschan I said hi. And don’t tell him I called them a printer. They’re much more than that.
  3. An awesome Virtual Assistant
    I met Dawn Riley on Twitter, and she provides virtual assistance for any number of necessary but annoying tasks. She’s the extra hand you need, there when you need her.
  4. A kick-rear Group Collaboration Solution
    The brains behind Pelotonics is Troy Malone, a very dear colleague I’ve been working with in one capacity or another since 2001. Pelotonics is project management for the rest of us — a simple, intuitive, web-based solution that organizes people and tasks in a project. They give you two projects for free forever in their basic plan.
  5. A superlative Speechwriter
    The amazing Charlie Fern and I were co-managing editors of our college paper together. Charlie runs her own communications firm and worked for a while as Former First Lady Laura Bush’s speechwriter. Yeah, cool, ain’t it?
  6. A lovable San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney
    Ok, so he’s my boyfriend, but D.J. Rausa of Rausa & Mason really takes his job of helping people overcome their debt problems seriously. I’ll call him up to see how his day is going, and he’ll say, “Great! I saved a house today.” I love that helping people is what makes him happy.
  7. The coolest Parenting Resources
    I started out working with DrGreene.com to help them with a rewrite of their website. You have absolutely no idea how many thousands of articles this site holds. You can find everything from real-time results of the top baby names to advice on choosing a multivitamin for your family. Dr. Alan Greene and his wife, Cheryl, are generous, kind, sincere people who live to make the world a safer place for all of us.
  8. The nicest New Yorker for New York City Group Tours
    Melinda Marinoff from NYC Group Tours is another client, and we’ve never actually met. She really, really, really loves New York, and she wants to show you why. She told me one story about the first tour group to come to the city after the 9/11 tragedy. Melinda took exquisite care of the group of older sightseers from the Midwest (I may have my details wrong here), and even Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined in to welcome them to their city. If I ever get to vacation in NYC, I’d call Melinda.
  9. The hippest San Diego Dog Wrangler
    I can’t call Sondra Lagnado a dog walker…. she’s way more than that. She started Your Buddy & Me about the time I moved to the neighborhood. Sondra entertains your pets. She takes them to the many dog beaches in our area. She lets them run with her as she rides her bike. And when a cute guy walks up with a cute dog, she always notices the cute dog first — even if the dog’s really not that cute.
  10. A most excellent Environmental Administration Specialist
    That’s not actually the title I should give my friend Jennifer Jones, owner of Cleanup Fund Reimbursement Services. Jennifer started her own company to help people involved in cleanup fund settlements deal with the red tape and administrative mess that they have to keep track of. She’s the only company of her kind, and she knows what she’s doing.
  11. The guy you need to call if you ever need Online Voting
    Many of my clients have appeared on this list because I know how honest they are and how much they want to please their customers. Michael Tuteur is the CEO of Votenet Solutions, Inc. I interviewed lots and lots of Votenet customers for some of our projects, and I’m amazed by how much people love them. Plus, when you purchase one of their products, they’ll plant trees. Love the green stuff!

Dang… I know there are many more people who belong on this list, but I have to end somewhere.

PLEASE add your own… who’s your favorite web designer? Coffee shop owner? Housekeeper? Accountant? Share the love, people!