Cathy's Purposeful Life Journey Blog: Why You Need to Join Meetup.com Groups in Your City and Build Thriving Communities

by Advice Columnist Cathy Harris, DearCathy.com

Do You Need A Helping Hand?

Why You Need to Join Meetup.com Groups in Your City

and Build Thriving Communities

by Cathy Harris, DearCathy.com, Advice Columnist

June 10, 2015

As a business owner every once in a while you have to look at your business to see what is working and what is not working and as of today, I am abandoning my long e-newsletters. The last two e-newsletters, for Mother's Day and Father's Day, were extremely long and I knew that upfront, even before several of my readers told me that.

I do listen to my readers and their feedback so keep it coming. I also know a lot of people don't like to read. Many people are visual and they have to see and hear something so this is another reason I am abandoning my long e-newsletters to prepare for more upcoming Cathy Harris TV visual youtube.com presentations.

Also sending out an e-newsletter every 30 days is no way to keep people motivated so as an Empowerment and Motivational Speaker, I am going back to short posts every 2 or 3 weeks or when I feel like I have something relevant to say but still I don't plan on overcrowding any inboxes.

Building a new audience as a speaker on the ground, unlike the internet, is not always easy. I have been in Austin since July 2014, a week before the 4th of July, but when I introduce myself on the ground at events, I tell others that I have only been here for a short time.

This is because when I arrived here in Austin last July 2014, I had to finish up several writing projects and that was my priority so the only places I ventured out into were grocery stores, restaurants, gyms and parks.

As an Empowerment Speaker one of the things that I don't lack is focus, unlike many others who know they should be doing something, at this point in my life I am pretty focused on what my life and business needs to look like.

I was able to complete The New CEO: 185 Easy-To-Set Up Businesses for Youth and Adult Entrepreneurs

and I had to rerelease Recession Survival Guide: How To Get Back Into the Driver's Seat and The Failure of Homeland In-Security: The Government's Dirty Little Secrets from An Insider -- not just as e-books but also paperback books.

I have also spent many hours recording audiobooks in my new home recording studio while I am busy taking out all the glitches from my upcoming empowerment webinar series and seeking to start "The Cathy Harris Show" on a regular basis several days a week. If you would like to be a guest email me at info@cathyharrisspeaks.com with the topic for discussion.

I had to get "The New CEO: 185 Easy-To-Set Up Businesses for Youth and Adult Entrepreneurs" released as an e-book and paperback because I knew people really needed that book. Face it until many people, especially many youths today, realize that business ownership is their way out, they will continue to suffer.

I had started working on the book 2 years earlier but I wasn't really in a hurry to finish it until I physically moved out of Atlanta after 20 years in January 2013. I spent an entire year on the road taking my National Humanitarian Tour to 15 states and I witnessed first-hand the deplorable conditions of people in this country, especially Seniors and children, so I knew right then and there that the book had to be a priority - so PROJECT COMPLETE!!!

The book "Recession Survival Guide: How To Get Back Into The Driver's Seat" was another project that had to go from an e-book to paperback because many people, especially Seniors, who are suffering in this country, still don't know what an e-book (also called "digital book") is and many will tell you they still need to feel a paperback book in their hands. Therefore, I sat out to rerelease this book as a paperback because the book will show you how to keep more money in your pocket -- while it teaches you how to get back into the driver's seat - so PROJECT COMPLETE!!!

Many people are continuing to wait around to see if the economy will get better but they need to get out of that waiting mode and get out there and make something happen in their life. Despite what you might think, there are a ton of opportunities in this fallen economy but these opportunities will not just knock on your door.

The book "The Failure of Homeland In-Security: The Government's Dirty Little Secrets from an Insider"

was extremely hard to finish and release as a paperback because it took me back into an abusive workplace mindset so while working on this book, I had to work on myself mentally and physically by eating good brain foods while I engaged in daily exercises for my brain such as yoga and meditations.

I retired 10 years ago, in 2005, from my job as an Customs Inspector and despite becoming a whistleblower

"The Cathy Harris Story," 15 years ago, what happened to me after blowing the whistle, the retaliation -- still seems like yesterday.

So it was an extremely painful book to release as a paperback but now everyone has my story "The Cathy Harris Story: A Whistleblower's Victorious Journey to Justice" and now the stories of what women international travelers went through when they returned to this country. Both books are now released as e-books and paperback books - so PROJECT COMPLETE!!!

I suspect this will not be the last that we will hear about abuses by Customs and Border Protection (www.CBP.gov), under the Department of Homeland Security (www.DHS.gov), because I am being contacted by travelers from all over the country stating that they are being abused by this agency. All these travelers will have in the future are my books in order to teach them how to fight back - so help me spread the word!

I was working on two books at one time but I don't really advise anyone to ever do that! It can be quite overwhelming so pick a writing project and complete it before moving on to another one.

As I was finishing up all the writing projects, I continued to build my loyal online audience and provide them with great tools on how to move forward through my empowerment articles, e-newsletters and coaching services.

Now that I am taking a break from writing books, my freelance inspirations are flourishing. Every day I wake up with topics to write freelance articles about and don't forget that freelance articles can be turned into books.

After staying focused and completing all my projects and still being unfamiliar with my new city, Austin, a few weeks back I realized it was just time to meet others locally on the ground to see exactly what Austin had to provide for the future of my business and -- life -- and I have been pleasantly surprised about all the business opportunities the city offers.

The way I met others initially was becoming involved in the meetup.com groups. Austin has an abundance of these groups with many being maintained by entrepreneurs and for those of you who don't know it, in order to be successful as an entrepreneur, you need to form business alliances and strategic partnerships with other entrepreneurs.

Being a solo business owner is fine but at the end of the day, if you really want to move your business to the next level, you need the support of others especially other business owners.

You do want to be careful meeting people nowadays, however, meetup.com groups are not like meeting someone from Craigslist.com or facebook.com, where you stand a chance of being at risk for a crime. Just make sure the meetup.com groups are in a public setting and not at someone's home unless you received the referral from someone you know.

The meetup.com groups can be used to move your life and business in the right direction. We are using the meetup.com groups in Austin to build a holistic community especially with our "Law of Attraction" meetup.com group and I am glad to be a part of it.

Remember no one is an island and people need social interactions in their lives so go to www.meetup.com and put in key words to find people in your city to meet and form long-lasting relationships with or to form business alliances or strategic partnerships with.

You can put in key words such as Holistic Communities, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Raw Foods, Law of Attraction, Energy Healing, Boomertime, Book Clubs, Dance Clubs, Bike Clubs, Social Outings, Business Women Over 30, Business Women Over 40 -- the sky is the limit on groups you can find and become an active part of.

Don't forget you can form your own group. The membership fees are $18.00 a month but you can ask others in the group to donate at least $10.00 for the entire year. And the meetup.com group will offer you a chance to form at least 3 different meetup.com groups at a special rate so again it is a great way to meet people in your city.

My youngest daughter who likes to move around told me she had moved to some city and formed her own meetup.com group and even though only 5 people came to her meetup, she has now formed a lifetime friendship with at least two of these individuals -- so a lot of good people monitor these groups.

Now there should be no more excuses why you can't form thriving communities in your city and move forward by using the meetup.com groups. To read more about how communities are set up read "How To Take Control of Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide To Empowering Your Family and the Entire Community" (Series 1) -- available as an e-book or paperback. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Cathy Harris, Speaker, Author, Trainer

Angels Press, CEO, President & Publisher

National Non-GMO Health Movement

P.O. Box 19282

Austin, TX 78760

(512) 909-7365