Moving, Shaking, Connecting: From Alaska to Arizona

I’m moving. Cats out of the bag. After 8 years in Alaska, my husband’s work is taking us from rural Alaska to deep Southwestern Arizona. Yuma, to be exact. From one extreme to another…

Don’t think they have 65 below temps here!

Recently, I came across this great blog post from Barbara Fowler - Five Ideas to Re-build Your Personal Brand After a Move. Here is how I’m following some of her tips right now:

Tip: Send a note to all of your Linkedin contacts, telling them about your move. Request help in getting new contacts in the new location.

LinkedIn once again proves to be an excellent profesional social networking tool. Not only do I have a few wonderful colleagues who have relocated to Arizona over the years, I actually have one who has done business in Yuma, and she very graciously offered to make personal introductions.

Tip: Join local Linkedin Groups.

I’m not much of a joiner of online groups – or at least I join them but have limited mental bandwidth to pay close attention – but through LinkedIn Group searches, I can find groups of likeminded businesspeople in the region. Nice!

One of the other things I am able to do with LinkedIn as a LinkedIn Pro member is to locate businesspeople in Yuma and save their profiles for future reference and direct networking.

Tip: Look at the organizations you are currently in. Determine if they have a chapter in the new location.

In seconds, I found Arizona Presswomen (I’m connected with the Alaska equivalent). Because I’ve worked with Small Business Development Centers in the past including in Alaska and Wyoming, I immediately searched for the Yuma SBDC. I’ve also spoken at Chambers of Commerces all around the country so that’s another natural fit.

Tip: Subscribe to the local business journal and local newspapers.

Check! I’m subscribing to the Yuma Sun business news. And the Yuma Chamber’s news, too.

 Tip: You meet a lot of people when you move, including mortgage brokers, real estate agents, real estate repair people, home inspectors etc.  Make sure everyone knows what business you are in and ask for their help.

We have the most amazing real estate agent down in Yuma. She is indispensable, working incredibly hard for us, and is a natural problem-solver and connector. I’m looking forward to meeting her in person and connecting with her beyond buying our house.

What ways have you made new connections in a new town?

P.S. Are you in Arizona or even Yuma? Would love to hear from you!