Courage to Network with a White Cane: Part One

Post Title: Courage to Network with a White Cane – Part One.

PROCEED TO THE ROUTE.

I grabbed my white cane and headed out the door. I couldn’t wait to leave for the Northwest Pennsylvania Small Business Spotlight, a new face-to-face group in Erie I had joined the previous month. The red tote in my lap held business cards, the cover of my free booklet in a plexiglass document holder, synopsis of my books and special bookmarks with quotes from my latest memoir.

I switched on my GPS and Siri started to rattle off directions to the posh yacht club.

When my brother, Mike, first started driving me places, we established a trade-off. He gave me rides and I treated him to a dinner out for giving up his time. Four miles into the drive, we hit a snag. Uh-oh! I couldn’t find my purse. No wallet, no money.

“Sorry, we need to go back. I forgot my purse.”

He sighed. We had been on the road for at least ten minutes. “Do you need it?”

“If you want to eat out tonight, I do.”

Mike didn’t argue or berate me. He simply turned around.

At home, I retrieved my purse and returned to the car. As we headed back to the yacht club, I handed my brother two crisp five-dollar bills.

My forgetfulness cost us half an hour. I hoped I wouldn’t be late. Too bad I missed the pre-session mixer but the main networking had yet to start. Mike dropped me off with a request for “goodies” if they had anything worthwhile to eat.

TAKING THE FIRST STEP.

I walked through the door and swept my way into a big dining room with my white cane. The head honcho, a super nice guy, smiled and greeted me. Richard had a clipboard in hand and checked off my name. He told me to make myself comfortable.

When I scanned the room for a friendly face, I didn’t find any. If anyone saw me, he or she quickly looked away. This is what I had feared arriving late. I stood in the center of the room holding onto my white cane. I bit my lip as I decided what my next move would be. It seemed silly to sit alone since I came to network. But I didn’t have the courage to simply join a group or already formed clique.

Suddenly my spirits lifted. A few feet to my right, I noticed a gentleman looking at me with curiosity. At least he didn’t seem to be put off by my cane. In fact, I had a funny feeling that’s what drew his gaze. So I walked over and asked if the seat next to him was free.

“No,” he said.

My eyes widened. Perhaps I mis-read him.

My hearing prevented me from hearing anything but the tail end of what the man said.  “…the next seat over.”

What was wrong with the seat next to him? It looked vacant to me.

Did he really want me to sit there or was he just being polite? I wasn’t sure. I kind of had to take the aisle seat. I was invited, after all. My bag went on the floor. Before I settled in, I picked up my cane and searched for a snack. There were sandwiches and a relish tray with dip. I took two triangles of egg salad. No goodies for Mike tonight. He had a sweet tooth.

The bright red tote at in the aisle helped me locate my place again. I set my sandwich down. A waiter offered to bring me a goblet of water. The man two seats down introduced himself as Chris.

I busied myself by taking out my carefully-designed marketing materials and arranging it on the table in front of me. There was so much, it seemed I was a new tenant and should be paying rent!

A man sat down in the vacant seat. That’s why the seat wasn’t free. He was off getting sandwiches.

“I remember you from last month,” I exclaimed. “You have a unique business.”

He nodded without commenting, and turned his attention to the food in front of him.

THE NETWORKING BEGINS.

No time to talk. The networking event began. The program kicked off this month’s host, a well-established podiatrist, who promoted a health and wellness business. The host, I learned, had the perk of speaking longer. All the rest of us had only about two minutes apiece so we had to condense our pitch to the group.

Some took charge of the room, boldly expressing the benefits of their enterprises. Other business owners didn’t even stand up. They said only a few sentences before sliding down into their seats. It took the leader to draw them out.

I was the fifth one in the second row. Sweat started to pepper my forehead.

Chris took his turn. Curious, I listened. It didn’t take long. From what I could gather, he enlarged the pathway at a local parkway to enable wheelchair-bound nature lovers to access it. No mention of any business. Was he self-employed? Perhaps knowing others with disabilities drew his attention to me when I walked in with my white cane.

Next, Jack stood up. He seemed to be a favorite among the regulars in the group. And no wonder! When he described the small business he started, he revealed the obstacles he had overcome. He wasn’t the smooth-talking businessman who conquered the room, at least not in the traditional way. Speaking made him anxious, he said. But he spoke anyway.

He told the humorous story of how his business started–all because someone threw out a perfectly good lawn more–that only lacked gas!

Laughter. Everyone in the room championed him.  And rightly so, Jack had a delightful personality!  It struck me how wonderful God was to first, equip him with this particular talent and secondly, to present circumstances in which he planted the idea of a viable livelihood and challenge Jack’s spirit.

He went on to tell a second story. “You know, I had a fear of elevators.”  Whoever he was with at the time, probably a friend, mentioned he heard someone’s stomach growling.’That would be mine,’ Jack said. ‘I’m hungry.’

More laughter. Happy, celebratory laughter.

Jack sat down.

There was no time to wonder how I would come across.

It was my turn to speak.

How have you pushed yourself to move forward in your goals?  Share it in the Comments below.

You have just read “Courage to Network with My White Cane Part One” by Amy L. Bovaird. © June 18, 2019. All rights reserved.

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