How to connect on LinkedIn - with Karen Hollenbach, a LinkedIn Strategist

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Our collective ambition has come a long way in the past ten years, and this exciting progression is something Mumbition The Podcast guest Karen Hollenbach knows well. Just over a decade ago, Karen quit her corporate job to raise the two young sons and start her own business, Think Bespoke.

Back then, LinkedIn was one of the few online platforms where small business owners could connect with the broader business community without having to leave the house. It's incredible to think how many online networking opportunities we have now (including our very own Mums & Co).

Karen supports small business owners to go one step further with their LinkedIn engagement by fostering meaningful business connections to create a sphere of influence in their industries.

Karen chats with Carrie and Lucy about how women like you can: 

• Build meaningful relationships on LinkedIn
• Understand the value of your time and how to maximise it

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So, is building relationships an important step in your business growth? Could LinkedIn be a game-changing platform for you? How is LinkedIn unlike every other social media platform?

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What is one thing that you wish all business women would do with their voice?

"It is important to be clear on how you and your business is being represented on LinkedIn. How you interact with connections is a true reflection of you and your business. There is something weird that happens on LinkedIn and that is that people move in to some sort of transactional mode. I don't know why. I'm unclear about why people do it, but LinkedIn is not social media. They go straight to what do I do? What am I going to sell? I think people miss the fact that it’s human first."

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Can you please share your pitch with us?

"As a LinkedIn Strategist and LinkedIn Marketing Mentor, I help change-makers and leaders navigate LinkedIn the right way. Whether you're a business growing your side hustle or you lead a professional services business. LinkedIn is where better clients hang out. LinkedIn isn’t hard, but there is a right way and a wrong way to use it."

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How do you protect yourself from business risk?

"In how we show up online it is important to understand how we show up and how it affects our business reputation. I shy away from talking about religion. I think for me, building a reputation and connections has been about being very careful about what I talk about. I'm a very open networker, but I'm very careful about how I navigate new relationships, and I don't mean I'm tentative and uninteresting."

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What is the most important tip in that path to growing a business?

"Being selective with how you spend the time in your business. It is important to ensure you are spending both yours and potential clients time wisely. Coffee catch-ups, I’ve stopped those. I'm really ruthless about how I spend my time. So now I digitise coffe catch-ups. I now have the 15 minute intro chat where I'm extremely generous within that 15 minutes and I point people to resources. It's not about booking me, it’s a sort of random and open coffee catch up. I've also had to say no to general networking. So rather than attend broad general networking events, I've really moved into focusing on business women's communities."

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Want to know more about how Karen Hollenbach has taught many business professionals how to effectively build relationships with LinkedIn?

What is more important to you giving value or asking for the business? How to leverage your presence on LinkedIn as part of your marketing plan? What does your LinkedIn profile say about you and your business? 

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Ready to harmonise your ambition, livelihood and wellbeing? Join Australia's most caring business network. You’ll find experts, business advice, member directory and events. Sign up to Mums & Co today

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