I’m a lawyer. I never thought I would ever have to navigate the world of “sales” when I started practicing law. But I soon came to realize that no matter what profession you are in, you are always selling yourself, your goods or services and your company. It’s called networking, sometimes affectionately referred to as “notworking.”

But what do you do when you have kids and you need to network? Everyone else is going to happy hours and dinners and you need to get home to the kids do to the dinner, bath and bed routine. For so long, I felt like I was not able to network as a mom. It just didn’t work.

Then I realized that there are 24 hours in a day and there so many times and ways that you can network that don’t include missing time from your family. Here are a few ideas:

• Set up coffee dates. I frequently ask people if they can meet for coffee at 9 or 10 am. It gives me time to get the kids settled with childcare/school and get a little work done and then it is off for a break to network.
• Set up lunch dates. I also ask a lot of people to lunch. Pick a few good restaurants and start inviting people to lunch. You have to eat anyway, right? I have the book “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi on my desk and it has some wonderful tips in it.
• Be selective about how you network. Fish where the fish are. Be intentional about the people you spend time with and the events that you choose to attend.
• Once you commit to an event, make the most of it. It might be hard to step out of your shell once you get to an event but I was always motivated to set outside my comfort zone by the thought that I was limited in the quantity of events that I could go to so I could to make them quality. Walk to people, introduce yourself, hand out business cards, collect business cards. Why miss the time with your family if you don’t connections?
• Use social media, especially LinkedIn to easily network from your phone and computer at any time. But, don’t mistake digital connections for real ones.
• Care about the people you are meeting. Genuinely ask about their families, interests and goals.
• Send small gifts – books, mugs, whatever might remind you of someone you met that you care about and enjoyed networking with. A little goes a long way.
• Try to network with “super connectors” – people who know many other people. I have some in my life and they are not only amazing people but they have connected me to so many others that I would never have met without them.
• Be honest with the people that you meet about what you are passion about and what you are looking for from the person.
• Enjoy it! It is so fun to meet other people and build your network. I really believe that this is what life is all about.

I hope that helps you wherever you may in your networking journey. How do you network as a mom?