Sam Olmsted
All right, thanks for joining us. Shayna, how are you?

Shana Sumers
I’m doing great, how are you?

Sam Olmsted
I’m doing great, too. Well, let’s hop right into it. You’re here to talk about networking and all of the great things that can come about from networking. So what are your greatest networking tips?

Shana Sumers
So I’m a huge proponent of dropping in people’s DMs. I think that is a very underutilized skill and we only put it to dating and the pressure that you put there but networking is kind of similar that you have to go in and make sure that you sound interesting, make sure that you’re getting kind of straight to the point and make sure that you’re coming in with an ask as well. If you receive a message on a dating app that’s just like, hey,

Or, yeah, I like that one photo that, of course, everybody liked, or that’s your first photo on your profile. So really, did you try? But if you’re actually coming in and stating like, hey, my name is Shana, here’s what I do for work. I saw your article on this topic. I thought it was super interesting, and I’d love to get on to chat with you more. Here’s when I’m available. Could you make time for that availability as well? Boom. And you’re able to go ahead and get started. And it’s also.

a low hanging fruit way instead of having to go and put yourself into a whole room or having to join like a big networking event. It kind of takes that stress off and you can just do those like one on one pieces of conversations. And I don’t think people utilize it enough as much as we talk about DM culture and dropping in the DMs. I think taking it into a professional lens is one of the best ways to do it.

Meara McNitt
literally never considered that DMing someone could be professional networking. You tell me networking and I’m thinking networking events and I hate those. I hate it. I hate being put into a room with people that I don’t know and having to talk work with them. But you’re so right that like, or like, do you do Twitter? There’s like the Twitter, you know, like the list, whatever they’re called. They’re not necessarily circles.

Shana Sumers
Hehe

Shana Sumers
Yeah, the ones where it’s like they put you into certain categories. Like I could have my community leaders list and I could have my Beyonce lovers list and things like that. And then you go into a specific space and talk with people. And I think that’s another way. I think it’s up and coming, but I don’t think people have established how to make that work, because it is great to pull those lists together just to follow what people are posting. Like I can go in there and just get all of the community digest that I need. But.

Meara McNitt
Yeah.

Shana Sumers
Am I also going to go and stop and message that person? I don’t think Twitter has gotten to that point yet, but it’s like a normal behavior on LinkedIn. So it’s an expected thing that somebody’s going to come and connect and drop in your DMs and do something there. I feel like for Twitter, it’s still filled with sketchy people that come into your DM sometimes. So it’s not as much of a norm, but LinkedIn is literally made for doing that. And so that’s why I always suggest to people to go and do that on LinkedIn.

and make sure that you are having those details in there because the amount of people that I say no to just because they’re like, hey, I see we follow some of the same people and wanted to connect. I’m like, no, you didn’t. That’s a lie. Like don’t come in here. Or they’ll say like, hey, I noticed that you had a podcast and I’d love to be a guest. And I stop and I’m like, you are a cisgender white man that is trying to come on a podcast that talks about the black queer experience. Did you actually read what I was doing? So taking those extra steps to…

just actually put the details in there, do a little bit of research, and then come in with a purpose, I think is just an art that folks can be able to do, especially, like you said, Meara, not having to go into a room and be surrounded by strangers and try and bubble up the energy to be social.

Meara McNitt
So you know that gives me a question. So on LinkedIn all of the cold DMs that I get are sales people and I hate them. No offense to any of them if they’re listening to this. Y’all are annoying. But how do you think if I wanted to reach out to someone and I was like, hey, like you do social ads, I do social ads. How do I message them without seeming like I’m a cold caller who’s going to try to sell them on a product?

Shana Sumers
Yeah, I think if there’s a specific ask that you have, you can build off of that. I think a lot of people come in with the cold calls that are just like, oh, I noticed that, so I work at HubSpot. And a lot of times they just get that tagline of like, I work at HubSpot. So they’re like, I saw that you worked at HubSpot and you all are hiring like crazy. Have you heard of this thing? And it’s like, it immediately sounds like a sales pitch. You coming in, even just starting like, hey, I followed some of your stuff. I know that you do social ads.

I do social ads, I’m interested in learning this specific thing about social ads, and it seems like you do a really great job based on post article talk that you gave. Would you have time to like speak with me about it, or do you have any resources that you could share so that I could learn more about X specific thing? That automatically takes away from a salesy pitch and goes straight into like, hey, this could be a connection.

that works for both of us because we’re sharing mutual information and trying to help each other in that way.

Meara McNitt
I love it. Is there anything?

Sam Olmsted
Do you find, oh, sorry. I was going to say, do you find that when you’re trying to connect with someone, especially through DMs, that if you’re trying to set up a phone call, for example, do you send them a meeting link to your calendar? Or is that, we compare it to dating. Is that too forward? Is that like asking someone on a date too soon? Or how do you?

Meara McNitt
Now you go ahead.

Sam Olmsted
get to that point where you can have a phone call or have a meaningful connection other than just those DMs.

Shana Sumers
Yeah, that’s where at the end I will give my availability and say like, hey, if you’re open to speaking, I’d love to talk, my calendar is fairly open next week, would you be open to me? Consent, consent is key. Would you be open to me sending you a calendar link so we can find time to connect instead of just going ahead and dropping it? So yeah, I would say for me, it’s a bit forward. A lot of times other folks are like, you know, if you’re interested, let’s do this. But then that balances the line of like, is this a sales call or is this a genuine?

like connection. And sometimes I’ll say like, you know, I can send you my personal calendar link that is like away from business and things like that. Like I’ll have two different ones where I’m like, this one is specifically because I am connecting for a work thing or I need to connect for anything else. And I have another link that is set up purposely just for me to network and talk to folks and be like, come find time on my calendar. This one has way more ability on my calendar than this one. So sometimes I say that and I’m like, yeah, here’s my personal link. This one has way more time available. I have another link.

That’s for work. So this one is strictly for us to network and things like that. But always asking beforehand to say like, here’s what my availability is. If that works for you, I’d be happy to send you my calendar links so we can make it easy.

Meara McNitt
Is there anything that you receive that specifically turns you off when people are trying to connect with you other than being blatantly wrong and trying to reach out and being like, we are not the same audience? But is there any way that someone reaches out to you and you’re like, that just gave me the ick?

Shana Sumers
Oh, absolutely. I was like, I actually put screenshots of this in a presentation that I’ve done before. And it’s just, it’s so funny the way that folks come into my DMs. Like a lot of it is one, initially, if you spell my name wrong, I know that my name is simply complicated. It’s not that hard, but if you spell my name wrong, first off, yes. Those simple like one-off answers where it’s just like, hey, hi, how you doing? Hope your day’s going well. I’m like.

Why? Why are we here? Or there’s a lot of folks who see that I do diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and it’s the pick your brain statement. I’m like, it costs money to pick my brain. So you’re not just coming in here being like, hey, can I pick your brain? And then I’ll return and say, cool, yeah, what type of budget do you have for that? And they’re like, oh, like I just thought that I could. And I was like, no, that’s not that’s a consulting. That’s a consulting fee at that point. So things like that where it’s just.

I think the ones that mainly turn off are when the person comes in with something that they want from me, but there’s no return. You have to also, when you’re networking with folks, I think a lot of people miss the point of the fact that it’s like, yes, you’re there to build relationships. Yes, you’re there to hopefully either build your career or find a new job or find a mentor, things like that. There are goals that you have when networking, but networking is a two-way street. You have to be able to provide.

some value as well, whether that’s, you know, an introduction or being able to help with another topic that maybe they’re having trouble with and they are great at something that you’re after and you’re great at something that they’re after. Are there introductions that you can make to people, things like that? Like, are there events that they can share out? It has to be a two-way street. And when people come in with just that one-way mentality, it’s like that’s like walking up to a stranger on the street and asking them to like sign up for.

whatever plan that they have. And you’re just like, anytime you see those people with the clipboards, you’re just like, I’m going to the other side of the street. That’s like virtual clipboarding is what they’re doing. So that’s what I wanna try and avoid. It’s like these folks that come in and are just like, I see that you have this valuable thing and I want that valuable thing. And it’s like, okay. So the number one thing that I’m probably going to ask for in response is like, yes, payment, but also.

Meara McNitt
That’s hilarious. Yeah.

Shana Sumers
if you’re not opening up that conversation or you’re putting up a wall to say like, oh, but my resources are valuable. And it’s like, so then what makes you think that mine aren’t? So it has to be a give and take. Any relationship is give and take. And there’s a lot of like really selfish people that come into the DMs and they’re on a mission to accomplish this goal, but it’s not gonna happen with me. No, thank you.

Meara McNitt
people who like maybe feel like they don’t have any kind of like social or professional collateral yet like maybe they’re trying to grow their career or learn things they’re like well I don’t really have anything to offer like I I’m just trying to learn like what would you say to them what would their angle be

Shana Sumers
Yeah, no, there are plenty of students and folks who are getting started in their careers or who are switching careers who come to my DMs on a regular basis. And you can tell the ones who have taken the time to do a bit of research or to say, like what they’re hoping to accomplish. But they’ve taken the extra time to say, like, hey, I am a student. I’m getting started in this work. I’m really interested in these things while I may not be able to pay or may not be able to do this. Like, I’d be open to.

Having a conversation lays out their goals. Like if there’s clarity also in like what they can, what they are after and how they’re trying to connect, it’s great. Like a lot of times the benefit of it is, so say a student comes and sees me do a talk. And then afterwards they go and say, hey Shana, I was just in the talk and I would love to connect with you over that part of your talk that you discussed about this topic. And…

It really stuck out to me because I am trying to get into this area. The hope for that at that point is the long game. Hopefully that student may be a really great connect for you in the future. Um, hopefully that student brings you in to do a talk at their school or their new job or anything like that. Um, and there are, there’s always something that can work. It doesn’t have to be a whole transactional. I also have a heart. So it’s like, if you come in and say like, yes, I’m a student nine times out of 10, I’m going to be aware of that. Student.

doesn’t have much, but if I can sit and take the time to support them and help them in that way, if they come back and they’re like, great, I got this first job, I’m super excited, like, do you mind writing up something positive for me in this area and things like that, and you’re like investing in these students in the future, it’s really great to see what can come out of that. I’ve had plenty of students who I’ve worked with over the years and are now working incredible jobs.

and they’ll hit me up for talks and they’ll hit me up for experiences. They’ll still ask for advice and things. But at that point, you’re seeing the investment. And as long as they’re transparent about their background and what they’re doing and actively what they come to you for, there’s a lot of students that come in and they’re like, I really don’t know what I want to ask you. I want to talk to you, but I don’t know. And then it’s like, OK, I hear you. And come back to me when you have like specific questions that we can discuss and go from there. But I’m not just going to hop on a call.

Shana Sumers
with you to be like, awkward silence, let’s figure it out. Like that’s where I, whenever I do talks for students, I’m always trying to encourage them to have their list of questions prepared, have a theme, have a goal that they’re trying to accomplish so that they can drive that conversation. And it can also look incredibly impressive for them because I could speak to them and be like, oh, actually the thing that you’re interested in is a role that I’m looking for. And you would be a perfect like entry level.

person to come in and get that started. So that could end up being a win for me as well. So with students, it’s just like being clear or anybody who’s switching jobs or anything like that. It’s just being clear in where you are in your journey and making sure that the time that you spend, if we get to the point of hopping on a call, is valuable for both of us.

Meara McNitt
I think all that’s so important. One of my pet peeves is, you know, the like, oh, I see that you’re hiring, can we hop on a call and talk about it? And I’m like, well, everything that I think you need to know is already out there, so if you just looked into it, you wouldn’t need to hop on a call with me. If you wanted to tell me like, oh, I have this kind of experience, but I’m lacking here, would you be willing to talk, and we can figure out if I am a fit? I’d be like, yeah, sure, totally, but just, Google is free, our website’s like.

the information that I want you to know. I’ve provided it to you already. I already put that time in. I don’t need to give you more of my time. And like, it’s not just hiring, you know, a lot of people wanna work in social media and they wanna talk to me and I’m like, yes, they will talk to you, but what do you wanna talk about? Like, I feel like there’s a, it’s a broad category. So come to me with points. Is there?

Shana Sumers
Mm-hmm.

Sam Olmsted
they want to make an impression too, and that they want their name to stand out next time you see it. And I think that there’s this weird hidden side of, especially DMs and virtual networking, where the true intentions of the people that are reaching out are kind of purposely hidden in that way. So if they say, hey, can we chat? It’s, hey, I just want you to remember me so that next time when I apply in two weeks or whatever it is, you can go back to it and see that’s my name on the…

on the docket there. So it’s so weird. It’s such a strange culture that has grown, you know, from social media now to professional social media that I think we’re all still trying to navigate.

Shana Sumers
Yeah, and I think that point of being able to stick out, you’re going to stick out by being specific. You’re going to be, you’re going to stick out by being pointed, even if I didn’t have a conversation with you, if somebody was like, oh, hey, this person mentioned that they messaged you, I’d be like, oh yeah. I was like, they had a really great opening line. I was like, I shared some of these resources with them and it was great. That already gives you.

Meara McNitt
It kinda feels.

Shana Sumers
that visibility that they’re looking for. And as intimidating as it is, it’s like if I have to sit and continue to poke and pry to try and get to the end result, like sometimes with students, I’ll give those like coaching type prompts or those types of questions to say like, okay, what would you like to chat about? How would you like to go about discussing it? And if it’s like pulling teeth to get those responses and things, then that’s also not gonna give you good visibility prior to me having to talk to you face to face.

So it’s building up those skills and for students it’s just like coming in, having your goal and being very intentional and specific about what you’re coming for.

Meara McNitt
I feel like this reach out that we’re talking about is like the new cover letter. And if you reach out poorly, I am gonna remember your name and it’s gonna be like, ugh, they annoyed me. Or like, ugh, that gave me the ick. But if they have that good opening line or whatever it is, it’s gonna be like, oh yeah, cool. Like I know exactly what they’re going for. But.

Shana Sumers
Mm-hmm.

Sam Olmsted
Yeah, sometimes you don’t want to be remembered.

Meara McNitt
Hang on, let me look at our questions.

Shana Sumers
Well, yeah, I was like, if you if you don’t want to be remembered, then you’re not reaching out in the first place.

Sam Olmsted
Exactly. Shana, we’re talking a lot about virtual networking, but I know that you do a lot of talks, you do a lot of in-person things. Do you have any tips for meeting people in person and making a good first impression?

Shana Sumers
Yeah, I know that one, anytime I go into a talk or speaking about networking, it’s just acknowledging the fact that networking is awkward. You are doing the inherent thing that a lot of our families have told us not to do when growing up is to like walk into a room and talk to a bunch of strangers. And so you’re already moving against the things that are naturally ingrained in us. And…

A lot of times it’s incredibly stressful too. Like if you don’t feel like being social that day, but you know you need to be at this event, you know that there are specific topics that are gonna be discussed that you’re like, I wanna be here and I wanna be in there. So similarly, go in with a goal. You know, you could set it up for how many people you wanna talk to. You could set it up to be like, this is the topic I wanna discuss. You can prepare ahead of time.

and have questions that you want to ask people like that are important for you to be able to learn because you could go in and stand there and ask everybody, hi, what do you do? How is that going? And you leave with nothing. You just know a bunch more people who do this title of work. But if you come in and you’re like, all right, these are like the top three to five questions that I wanna go in and like ask people and see where that conversation leads.

It helps to have that preparation and it also takes away the stress of having to like think of something witty and clever To be able to say even if you have to write down a joke or two like that is okay Have that prepared have it saved in your notes app And work from there sometimes the host will post Who’s gonna be attending the event or you could see who on LinkedIn has like reposted the event and things like that If there are specific people that you want to go in there and talk to

you can vet out who is gonna be there and say like, oh, these are a few people that I’d really like to come in and speak with and then have an idea of the itinerary so that you know, like, okay, I can come in, I can warm up, I can grab a snack and start talking to people and then afterwards, okay, they’re already gonna set up for us to have questions going around so I can stress less about having to prepare for this side and just be ready to do that. And so it’s a…

Shana Sumers
Having that pre-preparation, going in, being able to come in and just open those first few conversations if you’re incredibly nervous, take a friend so that they can help with you and make sure that friend has guidelines to say, I can’t stand here and talk to you the whole time. It was like, maybe I need your help with being introduced to people and things like that. And then be able to make sure that you leave with at least one person’s contact is always what I suggest for people. It’s like, start off with one. And once you get that one, then you know you can get two or three.

and go from there, but it’s also just about that, that preparation of being able to come in ready to ask purposeful and intentional questions. And I always give a reminder to folks like, you don’t have to be the life of the party. It’s like, this is not, this is not a huge social event you go and you’re gonna find somebody on the side or sitting on the corner, or who’s just like right at a table when you walk in and you’re gonna make some sort of surprise connect, but it’s not like.

how we were when we were kids and you go in and it’s like everybody gravitates to the person who’s the loudest and the most boisterous and exciting. It’s like, no, this is probably another room full of introverts as well who are forcing themselves to come out and talk. So find a couple of people, see if they’re there with other people, then they can introduce you to their coworkers and things like that to build it out. So yeah, that’s kinda what I put. That was a lot of information all at once as well.

Meara McNitt
It was, but it was good. But what do you do when you go to a networking event and no one there is like who you’re looking for? I definitely have times where I’ve gone to networking events and almost everyone there is an insurance salesperson and I’m like, no, I’m good. I need to make like professional connections for my career. What do you do?

Sam Olmsted
or realtor.

Shana Sumers
Yeah, yeah, I was like, yeah, you never know. You never know who can connect you with who. And being able to learn about what some of those roles do in understanding like how they work and if it’s towards like, you know, if we’re talking about social media and their realtor and they were just like, yeah, every time I look at social media is just a headache for me. So I never really have gotten into it. Then that’s an opening line for you to say, oh, well.

let’s talk about social media and what are the things that intimidate you and how can you provide value for them? It’s not one of those things where it’s like we walk in and it’s like, just because you aren’t exactly in the space that we’re looking for, I’m just gonna I’m just gonna bypass you. You never know who someone knows. And if you sat and took those few minutes, like you may realize like, I’m not going to talk to you as much, but maybe they know the person that you want to talk to. And you can explain what you’re doing.

their experience with that work or if they have, and if not, you’re just generally having conversation that could lead to any of the other work that you’ve done. Maybe they’ve never heard of your company, and then all of a sudden, that’s a moment to open it up and be like, actually, there are use cases for how our product or any of the services that we provide could benefit you. Would you be happy for me to share information? I can connect you with one of my coworkers. And that benefit can leave…

a memory that then is also like, oh yeah, but actually let me introduce you to this person who I think it would be great for you to talk to, or, oh, actually I’m in this, but I brought my team member who is working in this area. Let me introduce you. And that can lead to another introduction. Sometimes you are going to hit those people who are duds and it’s just like, no, there’s no part of this that are going to engage and that is going to happen. But at any point there is, there’s opportunity for you to be able to like sit and just kind of like,

learn what those folks are. So when you’re coming into networking, you’re coming in with curiosity and you’re coming in to learn and address. And if you’re just coming in with the mission to just be like, I’m just gonna get this stuff done for me and then I’m gonna piece out, you’re not gonna make any genuine connections. So even if you do come in and meet some of those people that don’t fit, like still come in with that mind of curiosity and see how that can work. And then if not, you’ve…

Shana Sumers
potentially met a really cool person that could help you in the future just in personal life and be like, man, actually I am looking for insurance. Let me go and hit that person up that I met or you know what? I am looking to buy a house. Actually, let me go back and hit up that real estate agent that I spoke to. Um, that was in my area and because I actually got to speak to them and they were out at these events, I know that they’re doing the work and you never know what it could lead to.

Sam Olmsted
That’s such a great point. I always try and be genuinely interested in the people I’m talking to. And I think that, um, when you’re at those events, you know, sometimes you don’t even talk about work. Sometimes you talk about the city or the sports team that you’re rooting for, or people’s kids or anything like that. And those genuine connections can be more long lasting than any sort of, you know, two minute conversation about the work that you’re doing.

Shana, I know we’re wrapping up relatively soon, but I wanted to ask and see if you had any success stories that you could share with us about a specific time that you were networking, either online, virtually through LinkedIn or in person, that you think kind of demonstrate some of the principles that you talked about today.

Shana Sumers
Yeah, so I do go, I said I do, but you know, we’ve been home for like the last two years. So previously I used to go to a lot of networking events, but recently I have started to go to a few more in the area. But one of the best ones that I’ve been able to do recently, so I went to a conference in San Francisco and it was one of those like, I’ve been to that conference many times before and I was like, let me ease back into.

being social and networking and talking to folks again. And I was able to come to one of their like after party events that had a mix of different people. But I had no idea what any of them did. And so I found a friend who was then in a group and I got to go and be like, all right, hey friend. And then she was like, hey, like meet all these really cool people. And I’ve been able to meet all of them. And as a result of that, I found out that two of them were actually from where I was from.

and that once we got back, we were like, yeah, let’s go ahead and reconnect when we get back. A lot of times those are 50-50. Thankfully, this one was on the good side of the 50-50. And that person invited me to another networking event that they were speaking at. And we were able to get together, talk, and I was able to connect with another person who is now gonna be coming in and doing a talk for one of our events at HubSpot, which is really exciting.

A lot of times I’ve also done these networking events and those folks have ended up on the podcast that I host. And when I moved, previously I’d lived in Oakland, I now live in Chicago. When I moved, a lot of those guests were from Chicago and now they’re good friends. So it’s like taking it from each of these different levels of things that we’ve been able to do. I’ve had luck in the DMs a lot. That is probably my like main point of connection is being able to connect with folks there.

And I’ve had a lot of one-on-one calls, a lot of calls where I had a friend who introduced me, then I met them and now they’re introducing me to another person who I’m actually meeting with next week. So it’s a big variety of things, but the most consistent thing that I do is after each of these conversations, I take note to myself to follow up with these people that I’ve met to see where the next steps have gone. And so far I’m three for three going into this year of being able to like meet again.

Shana Sumers
or go to an event and meet up with them, or even just like get on a call. So the most consistent thing is I have met you, I’m now going to follow up about the fact that we met, and hopefully we can meet again. And that’s, I think, the biggest wins that I have when it comes to networking.

Sam Olmsted
I think luck in the DMs is a great episode title.

Meara McNitt
How do you start off a DM in a way that, because you know, especially if you’re, I don’t know if you’re mostly messaging people on Instagram or on LinkedIn, but if you were to message someone on Instagram or Twitter, you only get a few quick words that preview before they have to open it up. So do you have any tips on like the best way to start it off immediately?

Shana Sumers
Yeah, so I know like with LinkedIn, you can get the full message as soon as you go in. So you can see what’s going on with Instagram or with Twitter, I just flip how I do it. Hey, I saw you do X thing. I saw you do this talk or I read this article and I did whatever. And then it shows that like, hey, I did this action step as a result of something that you did. Or, oh my God, your post about this thing was amazing. And then they’re just like, oh, that feels nice, I’m gonna open this.

And things like that. So I flipped the, instead of going for me introducing myself first, I flipped to, hey, this is the thing that I saw that you were doing or why you were interested. Like for the podcast, that’s how I get a lot of our guests. I just drop in the DMs and say, hey, I am super excited about the work that you’re doing on this or I just saw you on this, or we’re getting ready to post an episode about this topic. Feel that you’d be perfect. Let me introduce myself.

My name is Shaina. I host this podcast that does XYZ things. And it goes from there. So it’s almost like a salesy pitch, kind of, but you’re just flipping the order in terms of what you’re asking for. And that’s how we’ve been able to get so many people onto the podcast and just to say, we talk about these things. I’m happy to answer any questions. Would love to hear if you’re interested. Otherwise, thanks for taking this message anyways. And that’s just, sometimes it’s just about the order, but I still say that the content is the same.

Meara McNitt
I do think that order is genius because I think if I saw a DM from someone I didn’t know that I was like, I saw you, dot, I’d be like, oh my God, what do you mean you saw me?

Shana Sumers
Right. Like you’re automatically pulled in like, what was I doing? Where did you see me? Like what? And that happens to me a lot. Like some more people are listening to the podcast, which is awesome. And they come in and they’re like, oh, my God, I just listened to. And I’m like, well, I’m going to read this because that means they just listen to an episode and I’m going to see whatever happened. Or they send me sometimes some people will come in with like the send of a post or something first. And I’m just like, oh, God, what could this be? And out of my curiosity, I’ll go look. And then if I see that they shared a post.

Meara McNitt
Yeah!

Shana Sumers
that we did and they were like, I saw this post, here’s what I have to say about it. And I’m just like, yes, actually let’s talk about it. Let’s do those things. So sometimes it’s just flipping the order of what you’re doing, but you still wanna have that here’s who I am, here’s why I’m messaging you and here’s what I’m hoping to get out of messaging you. And if you put it into whatever order, depending on the platform, hopefully you’re gonna be successful.

Sam Olmsted
Well, perfect. Shana, thank you so much for joining us. We’re going to basically wrap it up here. Before we do, is there anything that you’d like to plug or promote where people can? Did I?

Meara McNitt
Love it.

Meara McNitt
Wait, wait, pause. My laptop is literally on the verge of death. I have to find my charger right now. Oh, oh, hang on.

Sam Olmsted
We’re going to keep all this in. This is great. This is good content.

Shana Sumers
I hope so. This is really.

Meara McNitt
Sorry, this is a good stopping point that we can like, cut it.

Sam Olmsted
So…

Meara McNitt
And if I, you know, if my laptop dies during this, like everything that I just recorded goes kaput. Sorry, y’all, the…

Sam Olmsted
That’s true.

Shana Sumers
I was like, doesn’t Riverside keep that so that in case it does happen, it like keeps all the stuff, even if you have to like repet or something. I’m pretty positive it does.

Meara McNitt
Oh, I hope it does. I hope. I hope so, but we’re good. It just like, this just like drained my battery immediately. But okay, we’re good.

Sam Olmsted
Oops.

Sam Olmsted
Are we charging? OK. Perfect. I will say it again. Shana, thank you so much for joining us. We’re going to wrap it up soon. Is there anything you’d like to promote or plug at the end here?

Shana Sumers
Hehehehe

Shana Sumers
Yeah, so I got multiple things. So first at HubSpot, I work on a community called Black and Inbound. It is specific for black professionals to come and connect with other black professionals in order to decrease the gap in social capital. We provide free access to resources and we host regular events on a monthly basis. So if you go to hubspot.com slash.

Black at Inbound, you’ll be able to find all of the events that we’re having. We host regular fireside chats as well as regular networking events. So please feel free to come and join those. Even if you just search Black at Inbound on social media, you should be able to find the site. Also, I’ve mentioned a podcast multiple times. I host a podcast called Bad Queers. It’s about breaking stereotypes in the LGBTQ plus community. You can listen to us anywhere that you listen to podcasts and you can follow us on social media on any platform at Bad Queers Pod.

Sam Olmsted
Perfect, that is amazing. Thank you so much. All right, let’s do our…

Meara McNitt
I think, no, I think we’re good. We don’t need, yeah, yes, we are.

Sam Olmsted
Oh, wait, that’s it then. Okay. We do our outro.