As a PR consultant working out of Montreal, I’ve been lucky to tap into some great local PR/marketing-friendly meetups like YULBiz, YULBlog, PodMTL etc. I also take advantage of travels to Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver to join local groups there. In fact, I find this such a great way to ensure I maintain a strong professional network that I’ve gathered a group of PR and marketing professionals to launch a Montreal chapter of Joe Thornley’s Third Tuesday: informal monthly meetings on social media for PR and marketing professionals.

As well, I actually find that blogging helps me break my isolation : I often meet other professionals through their blogs and podcasts, or through Twitter or Facebook etc, before actually meeting them in person. I find it much less intimidating to get out to a networking event filled with people I’ve never met when I’ve actually ‘met’ some of them online, prior.

I love working for myself and at the same time am thrilled to be able to work with great collaborators when mandates require. Getting out there (either literally or virtually) has made that possible for me.