Every time I give a business workshop or training, I get some form of this question:

How much money do I need to start my business?

Actually, it’s usually more of a definitive statement like, “I wish I could start my business, but I don’t have the funding.”

What I’ve learned is that most people have very unrealistic expectations of what it really takes to get a business off the ground. Many seem to think that you have to have a lot of money to start making money.

The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

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I’m writing this at 7:00am in Honolulu. The sun is rising above the palm trees. I’m sitting at my favorite table in my favorite coffee shop, drinking something called an “island breakfast tea” and nibbling on a warm, crumbly blueberry muffin.

In just a couple of days, I’ll be on a flight from HNL to LAX (my life will be lived in airport codes this month) for our first Launch Your Business Tour stop in Los Angeles. This will be the THIRD year in a row that I’ve gone on tour to different cities to meet and connect with women in our Happy Black Woman community all over the country. In the past, we’ve had women travel from as far as Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina to our DC events and this year is no different. There will be women traveling from several states away to each tour stop so they can participate in what will be a powerful, low-cost live training and networking opportunity!

But there are a few BIG changes with this year’s tour that I’m both excited and honestly, a little nervous about. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes of what I’ve been dreaming up for the last few months. I wanted to share this with you today, from my heart, because I know you may be thinking about hosting your own events and might be a little afraid to get out there with your message.

Because the truth is…this year’s tour is the culmination of a lot of planning and marketing and fear.

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You’ve probably heard that the key to growing your business and getting ahead in your career is to network, network, network. Well, that’s because it’s true! But no matter how popular technology becomes, you simply cannot restrict your networking efforts to the internet. Although I was able to build up both of my businesses largely through social media, my most influential professional relationships have actually come from an initial in-person meeting.

Back in the day, before email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, people actually made connections face to face most of the time. A phone call was more preferable to email, and most business was done through word of mouth. These days, online tools have made communication much less time-consuming, but the old-fashioned ways of networking still hold true.

So here are four ways to build a strong professional network – just like people used to do back in the day.

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