We recently connected with Joseph Luckett and have shared our conversation below.
Joseph , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
My journey to understand networking began in June of 2010 when I was invited to a meeting by a friend. I never knew something like this
existed and it totally blew me away. When this group shared how
much income they earned the week prior from one another’s refer-
rals, I began compartmentalizing how all of this worked. how I could fit into networking and bring even more value to people.
I paid close attention to each person as they shared their success,
but I was puzzled why some people had a ton of financial success
while others didn’t have much at all.
However, once
I found the networking world, I knew this was the time to go for it.
I met with people with the sincerest intent of building REAL-ation-
ships while getting to know them personally and professionally.
Early in my career, I asked myself this
question: What can I do for a living that will impact people globally, possibly outlive me, and eternally add value to people’s lives?
And, boom! The answer became simple: I want to teach business owners and sales professionals of all personalities, races, & cultures across all industries how to network effectively, which will grow their
relationships professionally and personally while enriching their lives in the process.
Joseph , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am from St. Charles, Missouri and is the CEO of Zero to 100™. My true passion lies in connecting people using this mastery of developing authentic relationships. I have created a unique twist to networking that transforms how and why professionals meet one another.
After years of utilizing networking to successfully grow my business, My wife, Carol & I founded Zero to 100™, an inclusive networking movement.
The mission of Zero to 100 is to provide experiential learning and scientifically designed systems to develop better networkers, resulting in more inclusive networking groups and thriving REALationships. With no standard in the networking
community, I’ve found multiple missing pieces to the networking
model, such as:
• What questions to ask in networking
• How to successfully set up introductions
• Structured scheduling
• Calculating ROI (return on investment)
• How to learn the culture and mindset to form authentic
relationships
• How to navigate virtual networking.
With education and exposure, we can resolve the lack of information about networking organizations being readily available to nearly everyone in any community and we can address the lack
of diversity within those groups. There’s a serious lack of people
of color in the networking community; Zero to 100.
One of my most proudest moments is when I made history in 2021, becoming the first Black Man since the inception of the City of St. Charles, Missouri some 250 years ago to receive the Key to the City for his accomplishments and contributions to the well-being and success of the business community. I currently serve as a mentor in the Men of Color Student Success Program for St. Charles Community College.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I believe we all had to pivot a bit in 2020, but I was at the beginning of my start up and my book was scheduled for release. We had so much attention on Zero to 100 and people were eagerly awaiting the book, but whether you agreed with it or not, the pandemic shut everything down. How could I even move forward with ZTO Networking when the world is at a stand still? The book was scheduled for an April 2020 release and we were in the middle of funding along with so many other pieces of Zero to 100. After many discussions with my wife and COO, we decided to move everything back 1-2 years.
My first thought wasn’t “OH NO, WHY?, or HOW?” ..but “EVEN BETTER!” Now we have more time to adjust & adapt to this new climate and make ZTO even more inclusive for everyone.
We finally released the book in April 2021 and it became a #1 International Bestseller on Amazon. We are in the next phase of ZTO with another piece scheduled for release in 2023 and cannot wait to help more people.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Results! Producing results with documented evidence is key. I didn’t speak out about networking until I could prove what I set out to do. Meet with 500 people in 90 days. I wanted to discover how and why people meet and to learn from each. Why were some more aggressive while others were shy. How did some grow a massive business while others were satisfied just being local.
Learning everything I could about the human aspect of networking helped to develop the best way for me to add value to anyone I met during this process. I discovered how to effectively network and connect with all races and cultures while providing value to all. Which equates to a much larger rolodex of relationships & increased revenue.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.zeroto100.io
- Instagram: Instagram.com/joseph_luckett
- Facebook: Facebook.com/josephluckett84
- Linkedin: Linkedin.com/in/josephluckett84
- Twitter: Twitter.com/josephluckett
Image Credits
Kate Porter Small Business Monthly Jessica Ferguson