Real You: 10 Tips for Networking - you can do this!

Here's the thing. We all know we need to network - no matter what we do. As a mom, I network to find good tutors, good doctors, good electricians. Everything. As an author, I network to find out about good agents, good publishers, and to discover new methods of reaching readers.

So given we all need to network, and according to studies, we as women are more reluctant to do so in a business setting, I offer you my 10 tips for networking success. I hope you enjoy them and will take them to heart. You can do this - you're a natural!

1.Know the Real You - who you are, what you do , who you do it for and why you do it.

2. Join organizations that have meaning to you.

3. Remember to give as much as you take.

4. Know your manners, online and off!

5. Reach out to one person each week who can help make your dreams come true; use creative currency to repay the favor.

6. Be candid, vulnerable, authentic. We can all spot a fake.

7. Blend work and personal. Period.

8. Maximize each social media platform by going deeper. Multiple connections make relationships more real.

9. Build a community. Be a leader. Be infectious.

10. Beware of snarks.