Shaking hands and finding success

We don't typically dabble in stereotypes, but Joel Jarvis is simply too sparkly to be an accountant.

At least that's what his colleagues kept telling him.

Jarvis spent the better part of the 1990s going over balance sheets for big convention centers and local home builders. But co-workers noted that the gregarious Jarvis "talked too much" to crunch numbers for a living. So he decamped accounting for insurance sales. Along the way, Jarvis parlayed his penchant for meeting people and making friends into a side career as one of Southern Nevada's premier professional networkers.

Today, through Kaercher Campbell & Associates Insurance Brokerage, Jarvis provides coverage ranging from kidnapping and ransom protection to board of directors insurance to health plans for clients as diverse as the nonprofit Opportunity Village and trial attorney Glen Lerner.

Jarvis himself has become a heavy hitter on the city's networking scene with The Link Las Vegas, a Web site and e-mail database he assembled to broadcast word of charity events, trade-group mixers and other networking opportunities. The self-professed former shy guy estimates he has half of the local business community in his e-mail queue. The other half? Open to him pretty much anytime he wants -- through networking, of course.

Question: You've worked with some larger-than-life local personalities. What was it like working with Sheldon Adelson at his Sands Expo and Convention Center?

Answer: He really knew his business. I would go through 22 lines of business within 24 hours of a convention. I'd go see the floral department, food and beverage, the electrical department, the facilities manager. We would measure the meters on the power and gas and water. I could tell you how many times the toilets were flushed during a convention. We would have a meeting after Comdex or some other huge convention, and Sheldon would be there with everyone else, wanting to know the results. We'd tell him some of the results, and he'd say, "That's the wrong number. Go right now and fix that number," and he'd go on talking with other executives about something else. I'd go recheck the numbers, and I am telling you, every single time he said that, the number was wrong. He just knew his business so well.

I would go to parties at (Las Vegas Sands Corp. executive) Richie Heller's house. I was just one of the cogs in the machine, but Sheldon was always very kind to me, and I always liked that. I had never shaken hands with billion-dollar man before and I thought that was pretty darned cool, because when I came to Las Vegas, I didn't know anybody.

Question: Isn't that a quintessential Las Vegas tale, the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story? And what does it say about networking?

Answer: Absolutely. Las Vegas is a melting pot of people who want opportunities. I truly believe if you work hard and don't give up, people will realize that you're the real deal and you can make it.

I truly believe Las Vegas offers the best opportunities in the nation. The people who moved here from somewhere else left their networks behind, and they need to forge new networks with the natives who have been here a long time and are successful. And the people who have been here forever need the newbies to facilitate their jobs. Vegas is a great melting pot for networking. It's great for entrepreneurialism and for opportunity. Even in this horrible recession, there are incredible opportunities to become an entrepreneur and do something big.

But it takes time to build relationships. I chose Allen (Kaercher, owner of Kaercher Campbell) as my mentor. I watch what he does and try to duplicate it. When I was with Sheldon and Richie Heller, I studied how they were successful. Just the other day, I talked to Richie Heller and it's been 16 years since I worked for him. It's so important to maintain relationships. When people see that you work hard and serve them, they don't forget that, and that is the essence of networking: Working for other people, not for yourself.

Question: You also have Glen Lerner as a client. What's he like?

Answer: He is a humble guy. He's a born-again Christian. I have found him to be the nicest guy. He's a fighter, and he works hard. A lot of people don't like Glen Lerner, but they don't know Glen Lerner.

Question: In between careers in accounting and insurance, you took a year off. Why?

Answer: I felt burnt out. I always thought the way to happiness was having a bunch of money. But I found money didn't make me happy. What made me happy was people. I wanted to learn about how people operated and how I could help them. Once I figured that out, it absolutely changed my life. It's not about money, but your relationships. My whole goal became learning about people. I would go to other cities and events, like the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and just meet people. Suddenly, instead of drudging around making money, I was enjoying meeting people.

Meeting people and talking to people is work, but you learn something from every person. More importantly, you can help every person by giving advice or feedback, or helping them in their business. The question I asked myself during my year off was, "How do I make a difference?" We all want to make a difference. The way I make a difference is, I help other people. It's like making deposits in the bank of life. The more deposits I make, the more interest I'm going to get on those deposits in the long run. I don't ever want to touch the principle. I just want to live on the interest.

Question: How did The Link Las Vegas come about?

Answer: I was going to 40 events a month, trying to network and get my name out for insurance sales. I was collecting 100 business cards a week and calling five people to sell insurance. After a few weeks, I had 500 business cards. I thought, "Man, there has to be something I can do for those other 95 people out of 100 that I didn't call." One Sunday night, I was putting together my calendar for the week, listing 10 events I wanted to hit. Then it hit me: I'll tell the other 95 people where I'm going, and help them network better. It didn't get me more insurance sales, but it did make me the king of networking. And that's cool, too.

Question: How has networking changed in the recession?

Answer: People have taken a break from it. It's kind of like how we all hear in a down economy, you're supposed to continue to advertise, but a lot of people don't have money to advertise. A lot of people don't have money to network. It has definitely slowed down, but the quality has gone up. An event that used to have 150 people will now have only 70 people, but they're more committed. They understand the power of networking, and they understand that, no matter what, they have to do it, because it is the backbone of their whole business. And like advertising, the people who network now will have many greater returns when the economy improves.

Question: Do you have any tips for people who aren't sure how to start networking?

Answer: Here's what I say to shy people: Get over it. I used to be shy, and one day, I said, "I'm not going to be shy anymore. I'm going to learn how to do this." I made a commitment to not be a shy person, and things started changing. You have to go shake 1,000 hands. Make it a study. Decide you're going to learn how to be with people.

Also, if you're seeing the same people at the same events over and over and you never get anything out of it, do something different. Hit every event so you can find what works best for you.

Try to be kind to people and recognize them for their work. If you're attending an event and there's a speaker, go up to them afterward and tell them they did a great job, or tell them what part of their speech you enjoyed. Always find something positive in it. Compliment people. That builds rapport, and they remember you.

And remember that it's not about you. It's about other people. If you can help other people, or focus on them and build them up, they walk away saying, "There's a neat person. They made me feel good." They see you as positive and feel you're truly out to help them. That's when you start creating relationships. But it has to come from the heart, or it doesn't sound sincere.

Question: What are your favorite places for networking?

Answer: Follow the mayor for a week. Find out where he's going to be. And some of the best networking in town happens at Clark County Commission meetings. Hang out there for an hour, listen to what's going on and go up to the speakers afterward and tell them you liked what they had to say. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Development Authority are great groups that people have great responses from. Depending on your area of expertise, public-relations and advertising groups are awesome places to network. I also think you have to focus on big events. Don't focus on anything small when you're going to a networking event. Skip the events with just 20 people in a room.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.