Bob reconnects with high school and college friend Marc Halpert to catch up on life, his multipreneurship and the possibilities of LinkedIn.
Marc started his post college career to get an MBA and immediately moved north He started with Manufacturers Hanover, Manny Hanny, a banking name from the past. He was a multinational corporate lender in New York and Chicago. He came back east to jump into the corporate side in the treasury function. He ended up being the corporate Treasurer for AC Nielsen. During their acquisition, he declined the chance to move abroad and decided t was time to start his own business, and did so just weeks prior to to 9-11.
While this brought the end of that endeavor, Marc did resist returning to the corporate world and kept pushing the idea of developing and promoting electronic payments. This was at a time when folks were reticent to be paid by direct deposit. The recent events made businesses risk-averse, but one prospect he called on did suggest that he should focus on non-profits. He helped them accept member registrations and event fees electronically, and he started to make a huge number of contacts in this niche. It was at this time that he was made aware of a platform that would allow him to keep up with current prospects as well as those folks (like Bob) that were in the distant past. This was LinkedIn.
He started taking a lot of classes on LinkedIn and started to realize that he knew more that many people that were teaching classes about it. As a favor to an acquaintance he visited their accounting firm and gave a great presentation on the topic, after which his friend came up and handed him an envelope with an honorarium that was unexpected. On the train home he opened the envelope and looked at the check was was very pleasantly surprised. This was the moment he recognized he could be a multi-preneur.
Of all of these businesses the LinkedIn work attracts him most because it allows him to connect with people that are doing fascinating work that don't quite know how to express themselves. When they tell him about a great business opportunity they were able to land through LinkedIn, it is quite rewarding. He works with pre millennial generations that are very successful but they can't easily talk about themselves.
In this interview, Marc talks about the need to be flexible in choosing your channel of communication. He also says it is critical to ask for help and more importantly to appropriately show gratitude when it is given.
Marc says that the CEOs need LinkedIn because they can never know how their next great customer will ever find them. He also says job seekers need LinkedIn because recruiters need their profile to complement their resume. Their resume represents their past while their LinkedIn profile is about their present and what they want to do in their future.
Marc's post on Reflections on His Business Anniversary
Marc's website is Connect2Collaborate.com