I stood before a room filled with 150 people, all talking, engaged and energetic. After getting their attention, I began to speak to the group.  It was thrilling to think I had made this a reality…

It started long ago…

I was the FIRST, a spoiled grandchild raised by 6 – yes 6 – very strong Italian/America females in New York.  They raised me to believe I was special – that I would achieve great things in the world.  Because of that, I have lived my life with an extreme drive to succeed.  And, why not? I couldn’t fail.

Shortly after making the 21st spot out of 1,000,000 video auditions for The Apprentice, Season III in 2005, I realized that if I had the ability to make it to the top 21 out of 1,000,000 people, I had the ability to create the exact reality and life I craved.  I decided I wanted to live life on my own terms, shed myself of corporate handcuffs and live a life that was unique, dynamic and diversified.

In 2005 I moved to Puerto Penasco, Mexico as a single mother with 8- and 11-year old daughters.  This was after 6 years of service at CB Richard Ellis and The Staubach Company where I received the President’s Award for my innovations and leadership.  This was a “secure” position for life where I would be able to comfortably make a 6-figure income (but not much more) forever.  But I knew that was the fate of someone less courageous!

Armed with moxie, my daughters, my life savings and an abundance of courage, I said BUH-BYE to corporate America and set out on a journey that would prove to be one of the most financially rewarding and emotionally lucrative endeavors I had ever taken on!

In 2005, I was TOP PRODUCER for Century 21 Rocky Point.  This was #7 in all of Mexico and followed that up with TOP PRODUCER at The Sonoran Resorts in 2006 and 2007.  I sold over $20-million in properties in less than three years.  And I put my money where my mouth was and invested that into real estate.  I then took the bath of a lifetime.  The only solace was that I had some pretty good company.  Little did I know then that  fate had MUCH BIGGER things in store for me!

Back to the states…

Humbled, broke and wondering what the heck it was going to take in this NEW ECONOMY to create abundance again I took about 90 days to mourn the fabulous life that was now in shambles.  How does one look into the eyes of the daughters that remember the “poor” days as $100-k a year and tell them there is no money left for school clothes, accessories or anything else?  Fortunately, my daughters had experienced a third world country from the perspective of some of their best friends for three years. During that experience they had witnessed families living on dirt floors with their six brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents.  With their own eyes, they still saw the LOVE and JOY that existed in these modest homes.  I believe this experience made the next two years of financial devastation more palatable for the girls.  But as a protective momma bear, this lifestyle was UNACCEPTABLE – unless I was using the time to BUILD something GREATER!

Back to Commercial Real estate…

As one of the world’s longest sales incubation pipelines, commercial real estate means that you work your butt off building a pipeline for at least 18 months and not see a dime!  The good news is the checks are big after that incubation period.  But ONLY if you have a LOT of clients that you have won over during that “canvassing” period.  I was a good girl; I did what my broker told me to do.  I made 125 in person door-to-door knocks a week on tenant’s doors and built a database of tenants for over the next six months. In addition to the door-to-door effort, I made 125 phone calls weekly.  E-mailers, direct mail, radio and hosted learning lunches and other methods where used so we could teach tenants how to arm themselves against the landlord.  ALL THIS WORK for a few measly new clients a month?  Surely, there had to be a better, faster and more effective way.  Cold calling was for the birds! I persisted.

After much research on search engine optimization (the art & science of getting to the TOP of Google), I realized that Google was important, however I was intrigued by the new kid on the block – Social Networking/Media.  I figured social media was like the proverbial underdog, ROCKY and it would soon be kicking Google’s butt to the curb.

Social Networking…

So I created an all women’s networking/business directory/referral group called www.ArizonaWomenNetworking.com, spending only $9.95 for a minimal web site.  My concept was that I would have one expert for each industry in each geographical area. I knew that collectively we would RULE the Valley of the Sun by means of a term I have lovingly coined – “Electronic Community Management.”  This spider web network would use Social Media (Primarily FaceBook!!) as its platform for expansion and market domination!

I convinced a small group of powerful women with diverse backgrounds (Lawyer, Doctor, Accountant, Psychic, Architect, etc…) to join me on what I promised to be a fun, rich and lucrative ride!  I am still so grateful they believed me!  When I announced FaceBook as a platform early on, a marketing “guru” at the time laughed and walked out on us.  She thought it was unprofessional and ridiculous to try to attract business on something as juvenile as a social network.  Back then FaceBook had less than 300-million members, now we are well over 500-Million.  I say we, because I am part of that collective.

Social Media…

The question isn’t whether or not we DO social media – it’s HOW WELL WE DO IT

Please watch this 2-minute video for statistics that will BLOW you away.

http://www.arizonawomennetworking.com/about-arizona-business-women/

Now I knew what I needed to do was find the EXTREME EXPERT in social media.  This proved one of the more difficult tasks as 3,000 new social media “so-called” experts erupted, especially since many could no longer make money in their old jobs.  So I fished and I spent 90 days researching, interviewing, and vetting these companies to find my REAL SHINING STAR.  It was on FACEBOOK that I found Todd Newman who introduced me to his LOVELY wife Donna Newman, who were partners with Jim Lupkin at www.WeBuildYourSocialMedia.com.  It was akin to meeting your soul mate and “knowing” this is the one.  It was that clear for me!  Here was the team of experts that were going to lead and coach me and my ladies to prosperity by means of FaceBook!

Ya, ya…No one believed me!  People still chuckled, doubting this was the way to go - until I started cashing the checks.  It was juicy to send copies of those checks to the naysayers. It was piling-on when we got the nod from ABC News Channel 3 www.arizonawomennetworking.com (Please click on the News 3 video link on front page to watch for this portion of “The Story”) and we were featured in the INNOVATOR section of the Arizona Republic (See article here: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/06/03/20100603biz-azwomen0603.html )

My companies…

I used FaceBook as my primary tool for gaining new clients.  I took that database of clients and STOPPED COLD CALLING, STOPPED KNOCKING ON DOORS and STARTED adding the CEOS and President’s of those companies into my FACEBOOK and LinkedIn.  I found that 80-percent of these CEOs would ACCEPT my FRIENDSHIP on FACEBOOK.  Starting with about 200 “Friends” in 2009, between my personal page and my business fan pages, I now have over 12,000 direct followers in my local area.  Mind you that my reach also extends to ALL the FRIENDS of those 12,000 followers, so the reach is quite strong.  I now host events for AWN and www.ArizonaMenNetworking.com that are standing room only – and ONLY advertised on FACEBOOK.  56% of all the leads come in come from FACEBOOK/Google.  The others come from the members themselves, which are usually derived from FACEBOOK.  We have women in the group who JUST MOVED HERE, knew NO ONE who are already super busy with work.  They are now extremely popular because they were dropped into the plug and play Electronic Spider Web network we have created.

Both AWN/AMN started with two $9.95 websites in ‘09 to a nearly 300-member organization a year later, with members paying $50 per month in membership fees.  Do the math…it’s a great ROI and growing everyday   And, the best part is, I ONLY USED FACEBOOK, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote – with most of the emphasis on FACEBOOK.   It works!

Gia The Marketing Guru is another company I created for $9.95 – because of the relationships I have made in the community that were nurtured on FaceBookI   This past election I was hired by two leading political candidates – our new Maricopa County Attorney and Arizona District 7 House Representative.  Both won their campaigns, both came to work with me and my companies because of the social media and internet publicity I could generate for them.

My commercial real estate business grew so busy I had to get a partner!  Within another few months, I had to take on a second partner to keep up with the busy demands.  Since June, 2010, in only 5 months, we have added over $1 million dollars in potential commissions to our sales pipeline using only Facebook coupled with Face2Face networking.

Corporate testimony…

UPS corporate stores (All 138 branches in the Valley) were pitched this STORY last month.  After hearing the opportunity, there was a loud burst of applause and a UNANIMOUS vote to accept our proposal.  UPS agreed this was a NO BRAINER for company-wide implementation.  Again, my geographical reach expanded with an expert on nearly every important corner valley-wide!

But wait, there’s more…

I can teach you how to do exactly THIS for your businesses though a comprehensive marketing strategy/branding session.

AND, I am looking for GREAT Leaders in other cities, states, countries, continents to grow this GLOBALLY!  I will be selling licensing agreements as well as

Email

Gia@ArizonaWomenNetworking.com for more information!

Blog Edited by Professional Editor/Copywriter:  Steve Kellogg: http://www.arizonamennetworking.com/category/editor-copywriter/

Ladies, Thanks to our PR, Lauren Rosemberg, and the growing success of the group, Awn is now in the news. You can read the story “Networking, Marketing On Site” here.