East Bay Business Times - July 31, 2000 
Profile To Sharyn Abbott, it's not who you know – it's who knows you. Abbott has based her company, Elite Leads Business Development, on helping people make business contacts. "I stumbled into the concept that people were willing to help me, and more than willing for me to help them back," said Abbott, 49. "I teach people how to get connected in the business community." It was not something she was born to do, or if she was, it wasn't obvious in the beginning. The road to Elite Leads has been full of twists and turns. For one, she had to overcome severe stuttering that plagued her as a child growing up in Mendocino. More recently, she has battled a series of health problems, including muscular dystrophy and breast cancer. She is now healthy, thanks to a regimen that she discusses every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to noon on her radio program, "Choices for a Healthier Lifestyle," on KEST, 1450 AM. It helps that Abbott is an experienced saleswoman. She has sold everything from her own jewelry line (Creative Impressions) to computer ware, and even spent hours modeling her luxurious brown locks for hair product companies. Abbott, whose education includes some college courses, has also worked as an efficiency expert and owned Uniglobe Premiere Travel in Walnut Creek from 1990 to 1993. But Elite Leads appears to be her niche. "In the '80s, most people who got laid off started a business. They put their shingle out. Now 100 people are doing the same thing with the same business. How do you make yourself stand out?" she asks. Apparently, Abbott is on to something. Elite Leads, which she started in 1991, now has 17 chapters throughout the Bay Area. She has identified territories in Arizona, Texas and Illinois and plans to launch the franchise in Canada. To help others, she wrote a book that was published in May, "Mixing it up: The Entrepreneur's New Testament." Those who have followed her advice seem to prosper. According to her figures, most of the small business owners who attend her networking meetings are still afloat. "Nine out of 10 business fail nationally. In my nine years of doing Elite Leads, I've worked with over 1,500 business and nine out of 10 of my businesses are still in business," Abbott said proudly. Edward Thorpe, owner of Mr. Postcard of Danville, be-came acquainted with Abbott years before she found her calling. In fact, he was the one who encouraged her to start the business. "I met Sharyn many years ago, at a chamber of commerce networking meeting," Thorpe recalled. "When I first met her, she was really shy, really shy. We spent a lot of time together talking as friends. She opened up and started getting more outgoing and the next thing I know she was running the (networking) group. "At first, she couldn't introduce herself without screwing it up. But she realized she had to be able to communicate with people. Otherwise, she wouldn't go too far," he said. "As our businesses were growing, Sharyn and I both learned to get out there and network. Now 99 percent of my business comes from the networking. I don't do any sales calls anymore. I strictly network." Warren Boschin, CEO of Payroll Masters Marketing Inc. of Lafayette, credits Abbott and her techniques with helping his business skyrocket. "I grew a payroll company 1,200 percent in 18 months because of the leads I would get at Elite Leads. It was all because of the connections I received through Sharyn," Boschin said. "Because of her, I joined every single chamber of commerce in the Bay Area. That catapulted me because it gave me exposure to tons of people. "Nobody knows as many people as she knows and can get you so connected," Boschin said. Abbott describes her meetings as extremely professional. Boschin goes further: "Most organizations like this aren't successful because they turn into a social event. With Sharyn, you go to create business and help others. The most important factor when networking is to help others. But you don't go to hug and kiss." The meetings provide a "safe" environment for business people to meet face-to-face and become acquainted with both the entrepreneur and his or her product. "The biggest fears people have is the unknown," Abbott said. "If you have a great business, a great service or a great product, you have an objective to let other people know what you do." Each meeting has 30 members, who pay $250 to attend six months of meetings, which as Abbott notes is much cheaper than an ad in the Yellow Pages. Of course, it takes time to develop trust in fellow business owners, but Abbott said in all her years of doing Elite Leads, she has had to kick out only one member. "The business community is a small community. When you do something wrong, everybody knows about it really quick," she said. They also know when you do something right, and Abbott couldn't be happier: "I am thrilled to be doing something that is this empowering, this much fun, this much of an adventure that is this rewarding." Link to the actual article or copy and
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