The Once Timid Networker Is A Rock Star

As a business trainer, one of the greatest parts of my job is when I see those around me begin to grow in their careers and in their personal lives. To actually be able to be a part of their growth process and see a person begin to bloom like a beautiful rose, almost effortlessly, is one of life’s greatest joys.

Tara Schmakel

Today, one of my great friends, Tara Schmakel, will launch a new business venture–Entrepreneurial Excellence Business Forums. Tara and Frank De Raffele Jr., founder of the organization, are working together to bring the Entrepreneurial Excellence Business Forums to Minneapolis, Minnesota as an outlet for business owners to build quality relationships, gain applicable knowledge, and have a like-minded community of support.

Tara, is also the owner of the Workroom at Tara’s.  She has been sewing since a little girl with her Mother and Grandmother. After doing various needle arts for business and pleasure, she settled on sewing for the home. Her creative sewing abilities have gained her work the honor of being  displayed in ASID showcase homes, on HGTV and published in Better Homes and Gardens magazines and books, Midwest Home and Mpls./St. Paul Magazine.

As if she doesn’t have enough to do, Tara is also a BNI Director in Minneapolis. She has been working with small business owners since 2007 helping them learn to grow their business through a structured word-of-mouth marketing and referral process. In BNI, Tara is also being mentored by the organization’s founder, Dr. Ivan Misner, in The Author’s Mentoring Program where Tara is learning to better promote her business with her writing skills. The Once Timid Networker is a blog Tara has created which talks about how she was at one time a very timid networker, afraid to approach, squeemish at the thought of meeting new people. And, now she has blossomed like a rose and become one of the leaders of networking, not only in Minneapolis, but throughout the United States. Tara, has contacts around the world that she works with, consults, and helps as they work to take their businesses to new levels.

During the last three years Tara realized how much she loves helping others to achieve their goals.  The training she has done for BNI along with the one-to-one coaching she has done for small business owners in the Minneapolis area, allowed her to see not just what she enjoyed, but had a true talent for. So now, The Once Timid Networker, takes one more step forward in her business career by joining forces with Frank De Raffele, Jr., an international speaker and founder of Entrepreneurial Excellence, a weekly syndicated radio show that focuses on helping business owners by  giving them the information and educational tools they need to grow and run a more successful business.

“Tara is now taking her small business coaching and training to a different level.  As a Licensed Associate with Entrepreneurial Excellence and an Executive Chair of the Entrepreneurial Excellence Business Forums – Minneapolis, she will be able to bring world class personal and professional development to the small business  owner,” De Raffele said.

This blog post is my way of sending my best wishes to Tara in her new business venture. I am happy to call her a business associate and friend. You can view my YouTube Video “The Once Timid Networker Is A Rock Star” I created for her and then feel free to leave your congratulations notes to her in the comments section. And please feel free to share this posting, retweet the posting and share the YouTube video so we can help her promote her new business…..that’s what we networkers do best, right?

Cheers Tara. Wishing only the best for you!